My Family is Crafty

So, several months ago, my sister made this fabulous Spa Bench for her entry and it turned out so cute (and she claimed it was SUPER easy). She reads this blog called "Knock Off Wood" which is a DIY furniture blog and has some fun designer knock off furniture plans - I fell in love! Leigh linked to a Farmhouse Bed plan and I decided to persuade her to coordinate it with all our siblings for our parents for Christmas.

A little back story...my parents have only had one "real" bed that I can remember. It was a water bed that we had when I was a kid. When we moved to Utah, the bed didn't come with us and they just got a bed frame and mattress/box spring. I think my mom has secretly wished for a headboard for ages, and I thought this Farmhouse Bed would be the perfect resolution.

Leigh got both my parents on board (as much as we wanted it to be a surprise, there was no way we were going to all that time and effort only for them to say they didn't want it) and we got to work (I say "we," but really it was just Leigh...I just went along for the ride). The 5 of us spent some quality sibling bonding time and hammered (well, really screwed, NOT hammered) it out. From start to finish, I think it took us the better portion of about 3 days, but it was well worth the effort. We were able to give this bed to our parents for only $35 a piece ($35 x 5 children = $175 TOTAL! And that includes paint). It really was a labor of love :)

It totally transformed the look of their room! Here are a couple alternate views...the lighting isn't the best, but you can get the picture...


Next step...finally hanging the iron bar and frames that we got my mom for Mother's Day 2009...

A huge thanks to Ana at Knock Off Wood for this awesome plan!

Sissy's New Shoppe

Wow...it's been a whole month since I posted. Holy cow.

Well, now it's time for some shameless marketing for my favorite sissy's new little shoppe. She is the proud owner of Feathered Whimsy, a place for fancy, feminine accessories (namely darling little headbands). I'm BEYOND proud of her. She's always been a crafty and domestic diva and she's finally been able to put her creative wiles to work for her!

Her Etsy shoppe has only been live a little over a week, and already she's being featured on another blog with a giveaway! Check it out and enter to win the Hayzl headband.


Feel free to spread the word. She's in the growth phase and would love new customers!

a day off

When this girl takes a day off, there had better be a good reason. Today's "good reason" was that I have accumulated too much vacation/sick/comp time and I now have to burn it off before it expires. SO, I tried to think of what fun things I could pack into my day to make it worth the time out of the office. Normally, when I have a day to myself, I run, sleep in, go to a movie, bake something, and/or (if it's warm), lay out. Since I overdid it on my run on Wednesday, and I decided to give it another go last night (and aggravated the injury), the run was out. I did manage to sleep in (until 8:30...haha), and lounged around in my bed, checking emails and watching Gilmore Girls until about 11 am.

Last night, while recovering from the 2-miler Bre and I did, I stumbled across a FAB baking blog. Since I'm single and I don't have a husband to cook for, I end up trying my hand at some new and different baking projects. THIS was the recipe that caught my eye last night. When I finished getting ready this morning, I threw on my shoes and walked up to the Smith's. After filling my basket with my supplies (and some impulse items), finished ringing myself up at the self-check and reached for my debit card. Since I didn't have my purse, I didn't have my debit card. I summoned the self-check babysitter over to my station and told her my problem. Sadly, I did have to leave behind my strawberries, doritos, and vitamin water. I only had enough cash for the essentials.

I wasn't sure I had enough time to throw these delicious morsels of goodness together before I had to leave for my 1 o'clock appointment with Braden, my new masseuse (he got a good tour of the assets...sadly, my running injury is in the gluteus region), but I worked at lightning fast speed and got them in the oven with just enough time to garnish before running out the door. I'm proud of these little beauts! They were quite the accomplishment for moi.

Back to Braden, my new best friend, who singlehandedly (well, doublehandedly, really) pressured the kinks out of my back and booty. He was quite the attractive devil as well. Secretly, I had hoped that he would be ugly so I wouldn't be so self conscious about my bare booty on the massage table, but was fantastically pleased when Braden came into the waiting room to take me to the massage table. What a glorious hour. Let's hope the effects carry on into tomorrow's 8-mile run.

Maybe tomorrow, if I'm feeling super ambitious after the run and the SWEET BBQ, I'll try my hand at these. Don't you wish you lived at my house?? Come on over...I'm more than willing to share :)

So we thought we'd be domestic...

Conference weekend for Mormons is pretty well consumed by listening to the words of the prophet and napping. That's how my Saturday went - conference (+nap), running, conference (+nap). For men, it's even more consuming with an additional session on Saturday night. Don't get me wrong, it's more enjoyable for me than actually attending church - and the talks are FAB, but it makes for two long days (of slothful, lazy bliss). For Lynsey and I, however, we managed to find some domestic activities to keep us busy on Saturday night.

We started out by hitting the Roberts (remembering that they have this HUGE ladies night out event on conference Saturday after we had arrived). We decided to brave the crowd of moms and kids to get our crafting supplies for the evening's festivities. Perk to this outing being that I won a bead spinner (no clue what the perk to actually having a bead spinner is, but thrilled to win, nonetheless). We spent far too long perusing the printed papers, and I dropped far too much dough, but I just couldn't limit myself! I'll take the matter up with the Budgeting Gods later...

We then hit the Home Depot and realized where all the hot guys hide out on the weekends. I never thought I'd say this, but my sister has it so great actually working there! I think I saw several guys I would have gone out with, or would have hit on, at the very least. After walking the length of the store a few times, we left and found ourselves at the WalMart. I got the hankering to make cupcakes, and I had neglected to get some glue applicator sticks at the Roberts.
Words cannot describe the kinds of things you witness while shopping at WalMart. I joked with Brian on Friday night that he must be allergic to white trash because his allergies flared up once we got inside the store (did I just admit to shopping at WalMart two nights in a row??). The caliber of people who shop at WalMart crack me up, ranging from the annoying teenagers who just want somewhere besides home to chill, to the inconsiderate families who just can't manage to make room for one more person in the aisle. Anyhow, we settled on easter egg cupcake papers and devil's food cake and headed home.

While the cupcakes were baking, I taught Lynsey the delicate art of magnetry. I never thought I would be imparting crafty wisdom to another, but since my ever-so-thorough tutelage from Leigh, I am a magnetress of unparalleled proportions. Turns out, Lynsey's not too bad either. The cupcakes turned out remarkably (I'm even thinking about telling Martha Stewart about my endeavors in the kitchen) and the frosting was oh-so-creamy. We even learned that the adhesive we used in the creating of the magnets is industrial strength - most commonly used to bond cement or metal or repair conveyor belts. So glad we're using it to attach paper to glass (no wonder it smells worse than perm solution - perhaps we were a little high on fumes).

We even topped off the evening watching Food Network Challenge: Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 Birthday Cakes. What can I say - we got sucked in; I can't be held responsible for my viewing behavior.

What a fantastic Mormon girl retreat (unplanned). I felt so domestic and productive - after running almost 8 miles (my personal record), it felt nice to give in to the Mormon girl stereotype (no matter how brief) and embrace my pioneer roots. I'm sure the ancestors are proud ;)