This Week's High Fives

I normally love Fridays, but today has already started out rough. Good news is the weekend is here and we have tons of stuff planned! Tonight we are celebrating a friend's birthday, tomorrow a BBQ at my boss's house and then a wedding reception tomorrow night! I think Sunday will be the perfect day to sleep in and catch up on things around the house.

1. Milo in his favorite spot, sleeping on my husband burrowed in his neck. It's really quite sweet to watch.
2. I went to setup a booth for work at a mall and loved seeing it all decorated for the 4th. Look at all that bunting!
3. On Saturday I took my niece out to the Lowe's Build and Grow program where we had some one on one time. Such a great program. Can't wait for the next one!
4. This sweet little man, Shea, had his first birthday party over the weekend. It was mustache themed and sooooo cute!
5. Got to meet up with my old room mate from college for dinner last night. She's expecting in October! We spent most of the meal discussing pregnancy symptoms. I love that she is ahead of me and can warn me on what to expect just around the corner!

My goal this week is to blog everyday. Can I do it?! Now that I'm feeling better, I really have no excuse. Can't wait to read every one's high fives!

Linking up with Lauren @ Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

Build and Grow Clinics

Another busy but super fun weekend! In case you missed it, over the weekend we announced some pretty big news! We are completely over the moon and thank everyone for their well wishes and congratulations. Don't worry, I'll be using my DIY Chalkboard to track Baby Bolt's progress. I think Tuesdays will be a good day for that since I'm not longer doing weigh-ins. :)

Today I want to share with you a program that every parent (or aunt and uncle like us) should take advantage of (and no this is not a sponsored post). It's called Lowe's Build Grow Clinic. My friend told me about it, so on a whim I signed up to take my 7yr old niece as a fun outing just the two us. I had no expectations as this was a free clinic but wanted to see what is was all about. After all, it was Disney themed so how could I pass up such an opportunity?!

The clinics are on select Saturdays and at select Lowe's but you can get all that information as well as register from their website here. The next one is scheduled for July 13th but they haven't opened registration yet, so keep checking back! Rumor has it, it will be a Toy Story theme project!

For this week, the theme was Monsters University (seemed fitting as the movie came out over the weekend) and we made a wood chest. When we walked up, we handed our printed and signed waiver (it was sent to you when you registered) and were given a kit, a kid sized hammer and if it was your first time participating in the program you got an apron and safety goggles. How much was it all? That's the best part. It was FREE! They directed you to an aisle to sit down and begin your project. Everything you needed was in your kit and because there were children of all ages, it was nice that you worked individually. This project definitely needed adult help especially with the younger ones, as it required you to nail nails into wood.

So here are some pictures of us working on our project:

 

At the end, they gave you a certificate and a patch themed to that week's project to iron on to your apron and every time you come back, you get a new patch to add to your apron.

 

All the kids seemed to really enjoy it and I think it taught them all something different depending on their ages like following directions or fine motor skills. Sure you are there to help and coach, but as long as you aren't in a rush you can sit there and really let them do the majority of the work.

Again, I have nothing negative to say about this program as it seemed to run smooth and you get so much for no cost! Definitely worth taking the family on a Saturday morning for a very kid friendly activity.

Special "Addition" Saturday!

Yep, you read that correctly. We are expecting our very own little one come January and we couldn't be more excited! It has been torture keeping such a big secret, but totally worth it now that we are able to share the news with you.

So far Little Bolt is doing well. We have been able to hear the heartbeat twice and everything seems to be going smoothly. I am finally turning the corner on this whole morning all day sickness nonsense and ready to get back to normal (as normal as you can be while pregnant).

That's all for now, just wanted to share our news! You may now get back to your regularly scheduled weekend. :)

High Five for Summer!

Today is the official start to summer and I'm celebrating by wearing Lilly on "National Wear Your Lilly Day"! I can't wait to see every one's Lilly today! In other news, today is also my one year anniversary of this here blog! I can't believe it's been a year. The only reason this is still going is through the love and support I get from YOU! I thank each and every one of you for making me sit down and write about life, crafts and fashion. You guys are the best!

Enough of the sappiness, it's high five for Friday so here are some of my highlights from the week!

1. There is a BBQ truck that comes right by my work a few days a week, so I HAD to check it out! Nothing like fresh, home cooked BBQ to break up the work day!
2. I am going to a mustache themed birthday party so I decided to make my own shirt. Of course it is Disney themed. :)
3. I got the most super soft blanket from Bed Bath and Beyond for my birthday and I'm in love. Also so is Milo. Seriously, this blanket is a piece of heaven. I highly recommend it.
4. Our development does movies on the lawn during the summer on Fridays and it's always a good time. We saw Rise of the Guardians and couldn't have asked for a more perfect night!
5. I have quickly become obsessed with Alex and Ani bracelets after I received my first one for my birthday. I have since purchased two more: Washington Nationals and a "B".

I'm excited for cookouts and parties this summer! Bring it on!

Linking up with Lauren @ Lauren Elizabeth for H54F

Birthday Recap!

This year my birthday was on Father's Day, something that happens about every 10 years or so. It was fun to get together with family and celebrate both occasions. But even better, I got to celebrate with friends and family all weekend long!

It all started on Friday at work when some of my coworkers surprised me with a donut cake! Such a perfect  start to any day! Then one of my friends got me my first ever Alex and Ani bracelet (Disney one of course) which now I'm obsessed with. And to top it all off, we went out to lunch. Successful pre-birthday celebration if I may so so myself.

Saturday was spent relaxing and cleaning before heading out to dinner with friends. My husband went to see Superman during the day while I got to have the house to myself and clean, watch tv and listen to music until my heart's content.

Sunday was a busy but fun day. My sister-in-law, her baby (Jacob) and mother-in-law drove up in the morning to take me out to breakfast. Then we went shopping and waited for my father-in-law to come up so we could have a mini Father's Day celebration with him. After they all left, we went to my parents house and had dinner and cake (no birthday is complete without cake). So all in all I would say I had a successful birthday weekend!

Isn't Jacob just the sweetest?!

Thanks for all the birthday love! Now time to work on a craft for tomorrow's "Saw it. Pinned. Did it." Have a great day!

H54F

Did anyone else feel like this week went by in slow motion?! I am so ready for the weekend! It's my birthday  on Sunday and I can't wait to just relax and spend time with my family. What are your plans for the weekend?! 

Here are my high fives for the week:

1. Have you ever had the mac and cheese from Panera? If you have, you know that it is probably some of the best mac and cheese out there! Good news, Velveeta makes a white mac and cheese that tastes identical to Panera's! Now I don't even need to leave my house for this stuff. This is going to be dangerous!
2. Yesterday, you probably saw my DIY Chalkboard tutorial. I am just so happy with how it turned out, I had to share it again!
3. I got a few complaints from leaving Milo out of last week's H54f so here he is! This just about sums him up; sitting in his favorite chair with his most favorite toy, a tape measure.
4. My day week was instantly made when this picture of my niece was text to me! What's not to love about this picture? This will turn around any one's bad day!
5. Nothing like some homemade chocolate chip cookies and a good Redbox to cap off the evening.

Linking up with Lauren for H54F!

DIY Chalkboard

They are popping up everywhere. Every modern, organized home seems to have one. What am I referring to? Why a chalkboard of course! They are the next big thing in home decor. If your home doesn't have one yet, then it's time you get one. Or better yet, make one!

Today for "Saw it. Pinned it. Did it", I am going to show you how to make your very own chalkboard frame. This was probably one of the easiest projects I've done lately, However time is key. You don't want to rush the drying process so be aware this is not a project you start and finish within a few hours. You will need a full 24-hours before you have an end result. But trust me, it will be well worth the wait.

Step 1: Gather your supplies. You will need a picture frame (old or new), chalkboard paint and another color spray paint if you choose to paint your frame. 

I searched the Salvation Army but they wanted $30 for their frames, so I went to Kirklands (home goods store) and found the cheapest picture in the size I wanted and only spent $17 on it. I also chose to go with the spray chalkboard paint instead of the roll on form as it was only $5 vs the $15 for the quart. I also felt this would be less mess and quicker, but it's entirely up to you.

Step 2: Take it apart. I removed the glass and picture from the frame so they could be painted separately. You can paint on a framed mirror if you would like, but that requires taping (something I'm definitely not good at)

Step 3: Paint it! Now the fun part, spray paint the glass from the picture with the chalkboard paint. I also chose to paint the frame white so in between chalkboard coats, I painted the frame.

Step 4: Let it dry. This is where patience comes in. You need to leave everything outside to dry and just forget about this project until tomorrow. 

Step 5: Sand it. I was so excited to see my finished project and begin to immediately use my chalkboard, but was quickly discouraged when it felt super rough. Why didn't it feel like a smooth chalkboard? I followed the directions perfectly! After a quick google search, I found out that sanding it down will give you the smooth finish you expect. Phew! Crisis averted. That is until.....

I forgot I was working with glass and as I was sanding I put my hand right in the middle and leaned in to sand the top. Then, CRACK! I broke the glass. I was sooo close! How could I have been so dumb?! After a mini breakdown, my husband saved the day. He took the picture that came with the frame (which was mounted on cardboard) and decided to spray paint this! (Brilliant!)

Step 6: Put it back together and decorate it! After the broken glass disaster, I let what my husband did dry overnight and the next morning I had my chalkboard! All I had to do was sand it down (wasn't going to break this time) and put it all back together in the frame! Once it was all together, I was so happy. It turned out exactly how I envisioned. Now it was time to put it to use. I am using this chalkboard in my craft room to keep tabs on all the projects I have going on.

Still needs to be hung and displayed properly, but here it is in action!

And there you have it. It really is an easy project to do and cost me less than $30 even with buying the frame. Now I'm going to start hunting my house for things I can turn into chalkboards! Look out!

Linking up with Stephanie and Katie for Saw it. Pinned it. Did it.

High/Low Wednesday

It has been a minute since I last did an outfit post. My wardrobe has been far from inspiring lately, so I thought I would spare you from the monotony of my outfits. However, this week I dug deep and tried something new! Sometimes that's what you need, to step out of your comfort zone and try something you never thought you would wear. You will be surprised as to how it makes you feel.

The high/low skirts are super popular right now and it was just the thing I needed to free me from my clothing slump. I found this gorgeous teal (you know that's my favorite color) high/low skirt for only $7 at Target last week! It was one of those perfect finds where it sat alone on the rack as a one of kind and just my size!

The next battle I had to face was to figure out what to wear with it. This turned out to be easier than I thought. I wanted to wear it to work, so a white button down with my favorite bubble necklace seemed to be the perfect pair!

What do you think?! Can I wear high/low skirts? I am really looking forward to wearing this with a plain tank in the summer and some flip flops for a more casual look.

Linking up with Lindsey @ The Pleated poppy for WIWW.

Hair Drama

Those of you who know me well, will instantly roll your eyes and throw your head back and groan just after reading this title. You see, my hair is such drama because I can never decide whether to keep it short or grow it out! I've been rocking the "graduated bob" haircut for many years now and every few months or so I threaten to grow it out. Then I get to the awkward stage and cut it back to where it was. I never make it past my shoulders!

So here we are again, and it's been 3 months since my last haircut (sounds like I'm in the confessional) and I'm at the point where I need to decide to just deal with it or cut it back to where it was. This is where you come in. Help me decide what to do!

 

Option 1: Cut my hair back to this

Option 2: Let it grow through this awkward stage in hopes to get it long once and for all

So there you have it, my hair drama. Sorry these aren't the best of pictures, but hopefully it gives you the idea. Let me know your thoughts! I hate making these decisions on my own so I'm counting on you! Have a happy Tuesday y'all! 

High Five for Friday

Another short week at work because we were in Disney for a long weekend; not going to complain about that! Looks like we are going to bet some serious rain these next few days so what better way to spend the weekend then catching up laundry, cleaning and generally relaxing on the couch? I'm actually really looking forward to this!

For this week's high five's I thought I would share some more photos from our trip!

1. I have the best mom ever! She knew I wanted to replace my Disney Dooney and Bourke bag for about a year now but could never justify buying the exact same purse, so for my birthday she gave me one! It's actually better than my old one, it's bigger AND has a zipper. Not to mention it is white instead of the dirty off white mine had become. IN LOVE!
2. I can't wait for June 21st! Monsters University comes out and of course Disney had special topiaries on display at Epcot to advertise.
3. So, we were "that couple" on our last night in Disney. We found the "I'll be your Minnie" and "I'll be your Mickey" t-shirts and of course wore them in the parks. I have been tempted to buy these for a long time, and the second my husband said he thought they were cute I didn't waste any time to buy them (I had to do it quick before he changed his mind!). He even offered to wear them in the parks!
4. We love staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Because we booked our trip last minute, they only had Savannah view rooms available. I sucked it up and said ok. (I kid, Savannah rooms are ALWAYS sold out so I was stoked to have gotten one!) This was a picture from our balcony. No big deal, just a giraffe chillin'.
5. We of course were there for "Star Wars Weekend" so instead of waiting in line for pictures, I would try and get pictures without other people in them. This one of Darth Vader worked out really well!

Can't wait to read about how everyone else's weeks went! As always, I'm linking up with Lauren @ Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

Disney Recap

As you know, I took an impromptu trip to Walt Disney World over the weekend (hence my lack of blog posts) and it was a blast! I went with my husband and mom and we drove all the way from VA to FL on Thursday night/Friday morning and drove back all day on Monday. Even though we drove, we still had 3 whole days in the parks and got to experience a TON of new stuff!

Since we go to Disney so often, there are good trips and not so good trips (never a bad trip). To us, what makes a trip extra special is seeing all the new additions to the parks and let me tell you, this trip had all that and more!

One thing that has always irritated me was the park tickets. If you didn't have them tied to your room key, they were just pieces of paper. Even annual passholders just got a piece of paper! Disney has spent a lot of time and money integrating a new technology throughout the entire resort called MyMagic+. This allows you to ditch the flimsy paper pass and have a room key type card (much more durable) to use at the entrance of all the parks.

I of course chose Minnie (you have a choice of: Mickey, Minnie, Donald or Goofy)

So with this card, all the parks have removed the bulky turnstiles that always caused a back up at the opening of the parks and other busy hours. Now there are these magical gold posts with no gates or barriers that you walk up to, touch your card to the icon and press your finger to the touch pad. When it lights up green, you are in! I was so fascinated by this for a few reasons. 1) Even during busy times, you could walk right up and be in the park without waiting in a long line. 2) My park ticket is now a worthy souvenir. It always annoyed me that my room key was better quality than the park ticket I spent most of my money on!

Moving on from that, we of course got to ride the Ariel ride in New Fantasyland which you may remember me riding during my quick work trip last fall, but my husband and mom hadn't yet so that was new for them!

I just love this ride! It's a mix of the haunted mansion in regards to how the ride moves, with a little bit of the old Snow White ride in that it tells an abridged version of the story, all mixed together incorporating your favorite Little Mermaid songs!

The area is still being worked on (which isn't always magical when walking through the park) but they're saving the best for last, the new Snow White Mine Roller Coaster!

Then last but definitely NOT least, we rode the NEW Test Track at Epcot! This ride was closed for nearly a year undergoing refurbishments, and the result was awesome! The entire ride got a face lift. The que was completely gutted and re imagined to give it a more hands on feel while the ride track remained the same, the concept and surroundings completely changed. It is now very Tron-like (Disney movie from the 80s that was recently redone a few years back) It's all dark with neon colors and very futuristic. The concept of the ride is to design your own car (while waiting in line) and see how it measures up to all the different cars people designed. Everything is stored on a card that you touch right before you board the ride. My favorite part was after the ride, and taking that same car and doing all sorts of different things with the car you designed. You can make a commercial promoting your unique car, you can race it with others or completely redo the car. I just love how Disney has really embraced technology and is using it everywhere they can.

This was the car we created. You only had 3 minutes and there were so many options! Things got stressful!

I hope you plan a trip soon to see all the new things Disney has to offer. If you haven't been in as little as 5 years, then you will be in for a treat. There are so many new things to experience with your family but don't worry, all the nostalgia remains!