Bragging on the husband.

About a year ago, J came home with a sheet of leather and announced he was going to make a gun holster. And he did! I was very impressed as he hand-stiched the thing together and it ended up fitting his gun perfectly. But as he'll be the first to admit, while it looked good, it didn't look professional.


Fast-forward to two weeks ago and in he walks with another sheet of leather. But what he did this time, was just freaking awesome. So freaking awesome, that I had to share.


And apparently I had to take a million pictures too. I'm just so proud!

Here's proof that he started with about a yard of leather and used leather stain to make it this beautiful color.

And here are some pictures so you can enjoy his excellent work as much as I do! 

I just love the hand-stitching! 

And I think the buckle detail on the holster is like the icing on the cake.

Unfortunately he wouldn't pose with it on for me. I guess he's not a showman.


But trust me when I say, boy looks good. Real good.


Linking up!

Mulch: my new best friend.

Since I was having people over for my sister's Pampered Chef party this past weekend, it was the perfect time (and excuse) for me to do something about our awful, awful flower bed in the front of the house.


Anyone familiar with builder-grade landscaping knows that they don't go above-and-beyond. They don't line the bed so weeds run amuck unless you pull them on the daily. And since we moved in when it was 120 degrees outside every single day, I wasn't all about that.


Next spring, we plan on ripping it all up and doing it right but I couldn't stand it in it's current state any longer.


My solution was a pretty easy one: nuke the area with a weed killer, cover with new mulch, and line the bed with stone.


I forgot to take a picture before I started laying down the new mulch but I think you can get the general idea from these.

Of course the big difference is made by the stone. Apparently, leftover stone from a new-construction house is taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. I learned this when my neighbor told me that the stone in her backyard came from our house. 


Thankfully they just built a house behind us and since the other neighbors have completed their landscaping (and we got it it first), it was ours! 


AND IT WAS FREE!

All in all, this little project set us back about $40 and it made such a major difference.

I purchased seven bags of mulch and ended up having an extra, so I used it on the two trees in the front.

Randomly, by doing this, I learned that our two baby trees are oaks, and therefore they produce....wait for it...ACORNS.

Turns out that I lied when I said I didn't have access to acorns. But that's okay, because I don't have nearly enough for a wreath yet.


Maybe next year...

Helping a sista out.

I can't help but get excited when I'm about to see my family. If you ask J, he'd probably tell you I get a little crazy.


Anytime we drive up to see my family on the weekends, I get extra impatient at his driving. We can't get there quick enough and the man refuses to drive even 4 miles over the speed limit.


So it probably goes without saying that any excuse for any member of the clan to visit, I'll take it.


My sister, an amazing stay-at-home momma to the two most beautiful children in the world (true story), recently began selling Pampered Chef products. Of course I agreed to host her first party so she can practice her techniques. 


Side note - THANK YOU to everyone that came! We both really appreciate your willingness to be guinea pigs!

Another side note, when hosting a Pampered Chef party, be prepared for the ladies to gravitate toward the mimosas, not the water and tea! Or maybe that's just my friends...


Aimee demonstrated some of the products and made a Veggie "Garden" Pizza and some Rocky Road brownies.

I will most certainly be posting the pizza recipe as soon as my pizza stone comes in the mail. It may have been the best pizza I've ever tasted. Yes, that good.

Mom (aka Nana/Ninni) kept Kate entertained.

And thanks to the purchases made by the ladies, I got over $115 in FREE products. Amazing.


But the real bonus was that I got to spend the weekend with my three favorite girls.

And I also learned that Kate has a strange fascination with beards. Or maybe she just recognizes a good-lookin' man when she sees one.

PS: If anyone is interested in purchasing anything from Pampered Chef, let me know and I'll connect you with my sister! You won't be disappointed! 

HELP! We've got a stencil emergency.

We finally finished painting the office and since I have the day off and will have a bunch of friends over here tomorrow, I thought I'd try to finish stage two.


The goal was to have a wall that looks like this:

I've had my eye on this particular Cutting Edge stencil for awhile and I was super pumped to get it up on the wall.


I finished my first section and before I even pealed it off, I knew it wasn't going to be good.


You know, unless you stand far away and then it looks great!

But up close, it isn't good.

As in, really, really bad.

These textured walls will be the death of me. Does anyone have suggestions or is it just not going to happen?

The Daniels are pregnant!

This past Saturday, my fabulous (and very pregnant) friend Jolie asked me to take her maternity pictures.


Her amazingly talented photographer and friend, Katy Marshall, couldn't make it down so she opted for the next best thing: FREE*!


*A grande nonfat vanilla latte.


Thankfully Katy agreed to edit the pictures for her so they'll end up looking like someone semi-professional took them. Or at least a semi-professional's assistant's assistant.


Anywho, Jolie's journey to becoming a mother has been a long one and I couldn't have been more thrilled to help her out. That and the fact that we now live on opposite sides of the universe, it was an excuse to hang.


The wind wasn't really cooperating with us but we made it work.


Here are a few of my favorites. I can't wait to see what they look like when Katy gets done with them!

Love you, woman!