Happy Owl-O-Ween!!!

Happy Halloween guys! I made these owl cupcakes to take to work... they were a hit! I realized driving home yesterday that I had nothing to take to work for Halloween so I pulled into Kroger and remembered seeing these on Pinterest. They were so fun in the picture so I knew I had to make them :) Plenty for my work crew and Brian's... and I've even got some to take home tonight! 

I think my favorite part of Halloween is handing out candy, the kids are always so cute!! We used to spend our Halloween's at the church carnival, bobbing for apples, coke/cake walking and "fishing for candy." 

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!! 

fabulous mirror!

I really can't wait to share my super fun, fab mirror with you all!

 I've seen this project on pinterest sooo many times but seriously just looked over it because it looked too complicated... and I figured there would be no way I could get it right. But then I saw this design on Monday.. 

this mirror looks way more simple than any of the other tutorials... THIS I can do! (For less than 5 dollars FYI!!) So I pulled up all my tutorials that I had pinned, decided which parts I liked from each. My reason for choosing this design was because of the simplicity of it... you simply glue the paint stirrers to the back of a mirror. DONE! I don't have any power tools so the others were out of the question. 

Then to colors... well my walls are white, I had to do something bold. Until I found this picture.. 

...and I thought... that would look awesome on my plum wall. So there you go.. there's my color scheme. I go to Hobby Lobby, get my paint and mirror... I got Folk Art Metallic Taupe and Metallic Sahara Gold. The mirror is from the candle section, mine is an 8" but you can also do 10" or really any size. It was half off.. so I got it for $2.50!! Okay, now I need 40-50 paint stirrers. And I want them now, I can't be doing this steal 5 or 6 every time you get paint. I just bought paint and I'm a horrible liar/stealer. So I stop in to see my good friends at the local Sherwin Williams (BTW, the one in the heights is the best, they are SO nice!) I asked if I could buy paint stirrers in bulk.. he said he'd just give them to me.. 50 free sticks! 

I make it home.. start painting my sticks.. 25 in taupe, 25 in the gold.. done! 

I didn't paint them the whole way down because I knew I wanted to omit the curved part from my mirror. I decided the darker color would be up front leaving the lighter silvery color up against the wall (better contrast) I cut the darker sticks down to 9 inches. Super easy, all I could find were wire cutters and they worked perfect. Time to glue to the mirror! I divided the mirror into quarters and drew out lines as a reference... 

I only ended up using 20 stirrers per layer. I used gorilla glue to attach the sticks. It takes longer to dry so I had flexibility with the sticks until I had them in just the right spot. Only problem is.. I'm impatient and I had to wait until the next day for them to dry. 

24 hours later, round one was dry and secure (i love gorilla glue) so I added the second layer. I ended up cutting down the sticks a bit so they would all fit in a circle. I  took maybe 1.5 inches off. Then I glued round 2 in the holes, waited 24 hours and..... 

Love! At first I wasn't sure but when I hung the mirror, I fell in love! And FYI, these pictures do not do this creation justice! BTW, do you notice how it's hanging on the white wall? Yes, I couldn't bare to hang it on the purple wall where no one could see it. I decided it had to be front and center-- meaning my living room. I hung the mirror with 2 sets of command strips (the kind made for picture hanging- they can hold up to 12lbs- it's very secure and easy) 

So what do you think? Does it look too homemade? I think the colors ended up working fine with the white wall. If you hate it please don't tell me.. because the more I look at it.. the more I love it!! 

happy tuesday!

Hello! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and this week is getting off to a great start :) Tonight I came home from work around 6 (slight detour home, had to make a stop at Hobby Lobby & Sherwin Williams) and I was starving! So I got to thinking about this hamburger soup that I've been dying to make for weeks now, luckily I had all the ingredients so I went to work. This soup is sooo easy and so delish. I really can't wait to eat it for lunch tomorrow! Here is the LINK to the recipe. I actually cooked the pasta in the beef broth, tomato soup, water mix and it saved some time.  AND I added 2 cups pasta instead of the 1 cup that was called for. I love pasta!

Again, I'm not good at taking pictures... especially of food but I tried.

AND I wanted to share a little preview of a project I'm working on. That I've been working on for what seems like forever! Hopefully I will finally finish and I can reserve a special post all about this (hopefully beautiful) creation!



monogram love.

I love monograms! I sign with my initials a lot "arh." I don't know why i love a monogram so much but I do! I've been dying to have one in my bedroom since I saw this picture on pinterest...

I know you agree, this is so pretty! SO, I got on my new favorite website, etsy and ordered a wooden monogram from Scrappin Plus. (I ordered the 14 inch) This woman is actually located in Fayetteville and she does amazing work!

LOVE! So I painted it blue, attached it to my canvas with gorilla glue and TA-DA! (I've since repainted the monogram to a lighter silvery-blue- more like the one in the first photo) I absolutely LOVE it!

This project is so simple! I think I spent a little over $25 on the monogram after shipping was calculated in. The canvas I got 50% off at Michael's. Do it! You will love!





food, food, food...

Tuesday night we had some of the best quesadillas I think I've ever eaten. I found the recipe on pinterest but I omitted the beans. They were delicious, Brian says they might be his new favorite thing I've ever made. Mission accomplished!! They were really very simple. (Please forgive me, I am not a good photographer)

Chicken, Spinach and Cannellini Bean Quesadillas

I also have another recipe to share. Remember about a month ago I shared the crock pot oatmeal recipe I tried? Well Sunday I woke up to realize I was out of instant oatmeal.. but I really wanted some. I got to thinking.. surely I could make my own. So I adapted my own recipe after the apple slow cooker one.

I had some steel cut oats so I used those, some apple juice, water, cinnamon and brown sugar... it was soo good! I only made it for once person so you could adjust the recipe accordingly.

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup apple juice

1 cup water

sprinkle of cinnamon

sprinkle of brown sugar

(obviously i didn't measure the cinnamon and brown sugar, just add to your liking)

cook on high for a few short minutes and you have a quick, delicious breakfast! I actually like this just as much as my everyday maple and brown sugar oatmeal :)

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week. I'm off to a Brad Paisley, Scotty McCreery and Band Perry concert tomorrow.. woooo hooo!! 



Happy Birthday, DAD!

Wanted to wish my dad a very happy birthday today!

I'm not in El Dorado this year to spend his birthday with him but I'm heading south as soon as I get off work on Friday. Can't wait to spend the weekend with Mom, Dad, Lauren AND little Clarky... but most importantly... this cat..

Sweet little Bo! I'm pretty sure she hates taking pictures ;) Anyway, make sure you wish my dad a happy birthday if you see him!

Weekend Warriors!

WOW! I just checked my stats on my blog and I had 149 views in ONE day!! That makes me so happy, hope everyone loves the blog and doesn't think reading it is a waste of time ;)

This weekend I got SO much accomplished. When I moved in my apartment they said I could paint it, really do whatever I wanted to make it feel more like home. All the walls are white, bright white, awful, bright, ugly white. Why would they do this to me? Can't I at least get a beige or light tan.. something?! I've been planning for some time to paint my front door (plum- pinterest idea, of course) and then I thought it might be fun to do a statement wall. (most likely chevron) I finally did it! I am in LOVE with my door!

I painted the door on Saturday and surprisingly it wasn't hard. I hate painting, I'm sloppy when it comes to this kind of painting. It's so annoying when the paint doesn't cover or drips, etc. After my first coat I decided this was an awful idea.. the paint job looked horrible and the color was too light. I had to remind myself to be patient and it paid off... after 3 coats the color is perfect and the paint job is near perfect!

I listened to the Arkansas game (WE WON!!!) in the background while painting. Did anyone notice how many Home Depot commercials there were?! It made me think of the "weekend warriors" commercials that used to run and all I could think was that I am a legit weekend warrior this weekend!

Moving on, when I finished the door I decided I might as well do the chevron wall... I had to leave my door open for a few hours for the paint to dry, my floor was already covered in a drop cloth, why not? So I taped off my pattern... I used envelopes, taped together to make a chevron pattern... like so...

I kept them in pieces because I found it easier to trace off small parts at a time. I also painted such a small area (with a bar cut out) that it was easy to not have the envelopes as one long line. I started with just 1.5 inch painters tape but realized the white to paint ratio was too small... so I added another inch of tape to make the white 2.5 inches wide.

I need to add that I started in the middle, traced the envelope and then taped above and below the "envelope tracing." Once I taped it off then I would trace the envelope again, below the tape. One step at a time to keep it equally spaced and the painted line thick enough. 

Then it was time to paint! It didn't take long, I used a roller, and I only used about 1/4 of a can of sample paint from Sherwin Williams.  I used 3 coats but could have easily got away with 2. I just kept thinking the color would be more of what I wanted with more coats... it really just looked the same. Seeing that tape on the wall really made me want to change my color and go with navy but I stuck with the yellow...

This isn't the best picture (I have very poor lighting in my apartment) but the paint job turned out near perfect! I couldn't believe when I took the tape off that it looked so fabulous, I just knew paint would leak through somewhere. The color isn't 100% what I wanted but it's fun and I won't live here forever. It definitely ties the rooms together, which is what I wanted. Small wall, yet a fun big statement!

Hope you LOVE it! I'm pretty pleased with how everything turned out. Just a few more projects to complete and I'll be ready to invite my friends over. I also have this new itch to paint everything the room. AND with sample paint cans only 5 bucks at SW I'm sure to find something else to do soon. Stay tuned!

Happy Fall!!

Who doesn't like fall? I think you'd be lying if you said it wasn't one of your favorite things ever! The smells, the cool air, sleeping with the windows open, apple cider, football season, pumpkins, i could keep going all day... Since fall is officially here I've started with the decorating. Starting with my facebook page :) I updated my cover photo this week to a picture of my Grandma & Nonno's farm.

My moms parents live in Tontitown, a small little Italian town outside of Fayetteville. We have always went north around this time every year. My Nonno has a HUGE pumpkin patch. He grows every type of pumpkin and gourd you could ever imagine! Orange, White, Green, Cinderella, Jack-O-lantern, etc... He grows massive pumpkins and would always grow our names into a pumpkin for us.

Lauren and me in the pumpkin patch

Pumpkin delivery from Tontitown!

Nonno and Clark



So I posted the patch on facebook and fell in love with fall all over again. Brian and I are going to Tontitown in a few weeks but I'm hearing from my aunt Toni that Nonno is almost sold out! This makes me really sad. He's going to put some back for the Hale's though :)

When Nonno was in the prime of his farming he would sell to Walmart and go to the farmers market each week on the Fayetteville square. He's always done this as a hobby but he used to grow every fruit and veggie you could imagine. He's still big in tomatoes and grows few veggies for the family. Since he's cut back, he just sells the pumpkins at his house for fun. It's kind of become a word of mouth operation. They put up a doorbell on the garage and people just come out to let their kids play and buy pumpkins. Grandma and Nonno love it... they actually draw pretty big crowds, especially on the weekend. So now I'll share with you some patch pics :)

If you live in or are visiting NWA in the next few weeks you should really go visit. They love when people come out. Just let me know and I'll get you the address. Hope every has a fabulous weekend and a very happy fall!

ETSY!

I started an etsy shop!! I'm not really expecting to sell anything but people have been telling me for a while now that I should start one... sooo.. I did! I don't have much up right now, just things I had pictures of. Since you can sell things as "made to order" I can just put up examples and personalize orders as they come in. I'm not expecting any but will be thrilled if I get just one :)

Of course, for any of my family and friends you can just call me if you want something. No need to go through etsy!

click here for my etsy shop! 

Here's one of my latest creations for my door at home (it's listed on etsy for sale)

So we'll see how this goes. I'll be sure to keep y'all updated. I say that like I have a huge blog following when I honestly have no idea! :)



Rocks & Sand

I actually saw this next story on Khloe Kardashian's blog (I KNOW) but I really liked it so I wanted to share. Hope you are having a fab Wednesday :)

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2″ in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed.

“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you."

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

“Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

homecoming past & present...

Sooo I went to my first high school homecoming in 8 years this past weekend. I had a handsome date but unfortunately no corsage. However, I'm going to forgive Brian because I don't know that my cotton shirt could have supported the size corsage I really wanted :) (more on that later)

Anyway, for those of you who don't know.. Brian's youngest brother, Dallas, is a senior at Wynne. Each Friday night we've been going to the games... The jackets are unstoppable this year! They are 5-0... we're talking 2 back to back shutouts, both scored at 43-0. I think they have enacted the mercy rule the past 3 weeks!!

El Dorado hasn't had their homecoming yet, not that it matters because I haven't been back to homecoming since my senior year in 2004. BUT this year is my sisters 10 year reunion so I'm actually going to go home for homecoming. Lauren and Josh live in Nashville so I try to make it home every time they come to Arkansas.

In honor of homecomings past and present I figured I would take a little walk down memory lane and share some homecoming memories :) Enjoy!

Okay, lets start from the beginning. This was some time during elementary school. Our campfire group used to be in the parade each year.. this must have been one of the years we just rode our bikes or something (since I don't have on some outrageous costume on). One year I remember we were all football players... like 3 of the girls were Wildcats and the rest of us were the other team... we all had  "black eyes" or something like that. Nice looking corsage.. of course it was from my parents :)

I just found this one on facebook.. this must have been the same year. I'm in the car somewhere...

Next stop- middle school! Look closely cause that corsage just got huge!! My mom still jokes because I loved those things so much.. If i didn't have a date, I would still make my mom buy me a big one! Wow, I can't believe this picture is even making it on here. Love it, we are babies!

8th grade homecoming- my face is actually covered up by a balloon in this one but who loves this!? Check out those old school cheer uniforms.

9th grade! Our first year to actually go to the high school and since we were freshmen we didn't have to cheer at the game so we actually got to go to the game. WHAT WAS I THINKING?! What am I wearing?! You live, you learn.

I don't know that this is actually from homecoming... now that I've posted it I think it might be from a purple and white game. But my little brother is so cute so I'll keep it up :)

Senior Year. Our class brought back the homecoming bonfire, the night before homecoming. It's actually (probably like most places) a week long celebration and war between classes. Each grade has a huge 18 wheeler flat bed that they decorate and then all ride on during the parade.. I always cheered so I never got to ride. Anyway, after school... every grade would work on their float the week of homecoming at the fairgrounds. It was really just a big party. At 8, when the work stopped we would have "sign painting parties." I don't know that we ever painted a sign, maybe once.. in the hall of my dads office so it wouldn't be destroyed. The whole point was to get in egg/water balloon/whatever fights with the other classes. But it always got way out of hand.. one year my car got egged and paintballed.. all in the same night. I got questioned by the police one night and then called in the principals office the next morning to get questioned again (class officer) So. Much. Fun.

So I mentioned cheerleaders didn't get to ride their own class float... the cheerleaders had to ride the firetruck and we were always the last float of the parade. Seniors rode in the bucket!

Homecoming game time, senior year! In front of the SR 04. Each class passes this along, paints the letters and makes whatever year they are, '4' in our case. We burned the class of '03's 3 at our bonfire. I'm sure that's what happened to our 4 a year later. I really wish I had better pictures... these are just the only ones I had scanned in on my picture site or on facebook. Look close on the '4' and you can see Alex H.

AND PRESENT- Wynne Homecoming 2012 with my handsome date, Brian!

Hope y'all enjoyed my walk down memory lane, I always love a good memory fest! holllla