Overdue Update

Since I knew I'd never be great at keeping up a blog, I guess I can't really say sorry. So, here's my attempt at a quick update of what's been going on with us this year... in no particular order.

Back in May, we got to meet Lily Elizabeth Keel, daughter of Maegan and Adam and sister to Chloe Belle. I can't believe how much those girls are growing!

So tiny!

Our church plant has continued to grow and deepen in community. This is on the day the name was revealed: Ekklesia. Greek for "church". We were still meeting at the warehouse at Hunter's work. Now, we meet in the BCM building on Vanderbilt's campus.

In June, we stole away to the Riviera Maya for a week. 

It was the perfect way to start the summer!

Enjoying paradise!

In July, I went with two friends from work to take classes, volunteer, and tour in Cusco, Peru for two weeks. While I was there, I visited Machu Picchu! The pictures don't do it justice... it was amazing!

Oh you know, just hanging out at one of the WONDERS OF THE WORLD! Talk about experience of a lifetime.

This is one of the classes we volunteered with and helped teach English.

Just hanging out with some women in typical Peruvian clothing... and a llama!

This is Gabriella, the lady I stayed with while in Peru.

These are two sweet girls at the preschool I volunteered with the first week I was there.

With Michelle and Natalie, teachers at Glendale.

Also throughout the year, we'd have occasional game nights with the family... (Dad, Hunter, and Mom pictured.) Mom and I are on a serious winning streak in Cranium, FYI.

We also went to Sips N Strokes with Josh and Elizabeth back in August!

Here we are at Musicians Corner in Centennial Park, one of our favorite free summertime activities.

This isn't the best quality, but I had to include this picture... this is with our first community group out to eat at Mellow Mushroom. These people (Haegers, Hayses, Bryans, Williamsons, Brett, & Eglys) have such a special place in our heart! We prayed for a new community to plug into after leaving Birmingham, and this group is a definite answer to that.

In October, we went to Catalyst. Since we were in Atlanta, we knew we had to take a side trip to visit the cutest little boy... Owen Kilpatrick Jones, son of Oliver and Ashley.

That same weekend, we also visited some friends in Birmingham who had recently had baby girls. Here is Hunter with Emily Ann Johnson, daughter of Brian and Ashley.

She was so cuddly!

We also met sweet Johanna Morgan, daughter of Jared and Ashley. She was a little fussy... but still absolutely adorable!

In October, my dear friend, Shelley and I went to the Wine and Easel to paint. She is such a blessing in my life!

Hunter and I also spent some time at Radnor Lake, a beautiful retreat about 10 minutes away from our condo.

I also had a fun baking day with my sis-in-law back in October. We share a serious love of all things sweet!

I continued having fun with projects around the house, and have joined the bandwagon of Pinterest. Here is my fall wreath.

Here we are with our first ever trick-or-treaters on Halloween, Mallory, Karis, and Ansley.

I went with Mom to a Christmas craft bazaar. Lots of fun!

Now it's Christmastime here at the condo! Here's our shelf decorated since we don't have a mantel.

... and our Christmas tree!

I got fancy with the wrapping this year! I had fun using pretty ribbon and stamps!

... and here I am with the love of my life! We just celebrated 3 1/2 years of marriage the other day! Crazy how time is flying by! 

There obviously have been many other events that I don't have pictures for. Sadly, I didn't quite have my camera out when my brother married his beautiful bride, Amy, back in November. It was absolutely amazing! I guess I figured the photographer would capture the best pics anyway. Check out this link to see some stunning photos of their big day: Wedding.

We are enjoying life in Nashville and are eager to see what the Lord with do in 2012!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!

Summer of Projects: Guest Room Stool

Back in the spring, Hunter and I went to his family's cabin in Livingston, TN, a great place to get away and get quiet. We were looking around the garage, and I chanced upon this beauty:

We're thinking it might have been a piano stool (?). I saw it and knew I could whip it into shape in no time! I had been looking for something to put in our guest room, so I chose a fabric that would coordinate well with what we already had in there. I bought it at Hobby Lobby for about $9 (and if you add up the new foam cushion, I probably spent a total of $18). 

I unscrewed the board, ripped off all the old fabric and filling, cut the new cushion to fit, stapled on a thin sheet to hold it into place, and then stapled the new fabric on. 

Then, I took the stool up to my parents' house (they have the BEST basement and backyard for DIY stuff!), and my mom helped me sand it down. Then, I sprayed away with Rustoleum's Satin Ivory Silk spray paint. It covered SO nicely! I did, however, have to go out and buy another can about 2/3 of the way in... :) 

Here it is in the guest room after I got home:

I quickly decided that, while I LOVED the way it turned out, I wanted to give it a little more character. I took some sandpaper, and scuffed up the edges, and it was just the perfect touch! Shabby chic if you will.

This project was fun and easy, and made a great addition to our guest room! (excuse the poor picture quality)

Before ...

... and After!

Summer of Projects: Vintage Records Frame

Another project I had fun doing involved the use of vintage 45s! My mom gave me a whole box of her old records for this! It was so much fun looking through them all! I chose the records based on their color so they would match the color scheme in our living room and on the songs... we ended up with "More than a Feeling", "Save the Last Dance for Me," "Leaving on a Jet Plane," and "Some Kind of Wonderful." 

So here's the rundown: 

I bought the square frame at Goodwill for about $3. I knew I wanted a brushed silver finish, so I bought some spray paint (I think it's made for high heat, like on grills and stuff, but it worked just fine!). I sanded down the frame, spray painted it, arranged the records, and glued them onto the matting (that was already there from the previous owner). Simple and fun! I plan to display this on a shelf that I've ordered that will go above our couch. I promise to do a post on that later on!

Summer of Projects: The Wreath

So this summer, I've had a lot of free time to do something that I LOVE to do... DIY projects! I finally set aside to put them up, so here we go with the first! I got this straight from a blog (Jones Design Company) and just added my own twist. I love how it turned out!

The fabric I used was leftover from my headboard project, so this was a very inexpensive effort! For the "Y", I Mod-Podged some Bible pages to it. I found that little bird at Michael's. 

We love the simple touch it adds to our front door, and I like that it can probably be used throughout most of the year.

Thrifty Attempts # 2: Table Runner Art

So a project I did this week, because, well what else is there to do when you have a full week off of school because of SNOW, is a simple art piece for our small hallway. The materials included: a table runner (bought in exchange for a sweater from Christmas that didn't fit at Coldwater Creek... so in my mind it was free!), a TV box (free), a curtain ($7 at Ross), a staple gun and some craft glue. Yes, this only cost me $7!

Again, I got the inspiration from the Thrifty Decor Chick.

We have this switch box in our hallway that is so gray and ugly! We've been trying to find the perfect piece to cover it up, without covering up the light switch. 

Ok, so I am HORRIBLE about taking pics along the way. This is the pile of things near the end of the project.

I'll try to explain what I did...

First, off, the table runner I got from Coldwater Creek wasn't quite wide enough to cover the gray box.

So, I had to figure out something else to go behind it or around it. I thought about making a frame for it, but when I went to Michael's, it was going to take a lot of time, cost more than I wanted, etc. etc. 

Since I became a pro at stapling fabric during my last project, I decided I would cut a piece of cardboard (how perfect it is that we had a new TV box we needed to get rid of!) , and then staple some fabric around it. This would serve as a background/border to the table runner. 

So, after cutting out the cardboard and then stapling the brown fabric around it, we mounted the table runner by using the staple gun. You can't tell by just glancing that we used a bazillion staples to secure it to the brown border. 

Yes, my mom rocks and helped me with this project, too! Then we used some craft glue along the edges to make sure it stayed. 

We let it dry for a couple minutes, and then hung it up! 

I think it's the perfect piece for that hallway!

Close up! I LOVE this table runner! The wooden pieces are so cool and rustic. 

 

Before...

After!

Thrifty Attempts # 1: DIY Headboard

So since we've gotten married and had our own place to decorate, I've kind of gotten into home decor and I follow a few blogs that like to do the same... under budget! In the past I wouldn't have considered myself a "thrifty" person, but it's becoming a game to see just how cheap I can make/buy something that looks just as nice as something you'd see in a store. Just last night I was bragging about a new lamp project I'm working on that cost me $7 (and the lamp shade came from Pottery Barn!)

Here is the first big DIY project. It ended up costing about $60... and that's with having to buy a staple gun.. a one time purchase.

DIY Headboard:

Our new condo has a 2nd bedroom :), but we didn't have a headboard for our bed. I knew we didn't want to make a huge investment in that room, so I found some blogs about making a headboard DIY! I used these blogs.. they rock! Thrifty Decor Chick and Centsational Girl.

I made this with my mom one day over Fall Break! It took us a good part of the day, but we had a blast and I LOVE the results!

I bought this piece of plywood at Home Depot for $6. I just got the cheapest one they had since it's not necessary for it to be sturdy. 

First we measured out where we wanted the buttons to go... I wanted a tufted look. I think we measured them about 10-12 in apart and about 15 in from the edges.

Oh yeah.. bring on the power tools! We then drilled a hole for each button which we'd use to sew the buttons on.

I felt SO cool using a power drill!

My mom rocks! I definitely couldn't have done this without her expertise!

Next, we used spray adhesive to coat the board.

Then we applied the foam (egg crate bedding) to that. I read in one of the blogs that egg crate bedding is much cheaper than the foam they sell at craft stores. It looks funny here, but it looks great in the end.

We stopped taking some pics, but after we put the foam on, we had to cut it to fit the board. Next, we took an old sheet, and used a staple gun to attach it to the plywood. This secures the foam and provides a smooth surface for the final layer of fabric.

Phase one complete!

  

After this, we took the board upstairs and stapled the fabric to it, just like we did with the sheet. I got the fabric at Hobby Lobby. It's a natural linen-like fabric. 

Next, we used a button covering kit and some extra fabric, to make buttons for the board.

I love how they turned out!

The next step was to sew the buttons on! This ended up being the hardest thing because it was hard to find the hole through all the foam! 

Luckily, Mom and Stephen were better at it than I was!

Yay, we got them!

... and here it is! Our finished headboard! 

I LOVE it!

Before...

After!

I love the natural color. It blends perfectly with the bedding and walls.

 Thanks, Mom, for the help!