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Blog Books

So a few weeks back my SISTER and I found ourselves talking about books that you can have printed through flickr or Snapfish etc. She told me about the greatest thing EVER! It's called BLURB. If you haven't heard of it, awesome: I'll be the one to let you know. If you have heard of it then you already know how ridiculously amazing it is! Using the BookSmart feature, it uploads you blog and puts it into a book for you. That's not even the BEST PART! If you had a post that you didn't add all of the pictures on for fear of driving people away or a 10 page post, you can add them. 
You can add text. 
You can edit the font. 
You can rearrange the pages. 
You can add page breaks where you want them. 
You can combine posts to one page. 
You can make a book of particular years (what I did) or a book that is a complete compilation of your blog to date. The list goes on and on!  It is such a great way to ORGANIZE your blog/pictures/stories/journal. The prices are really reasonable as well. I have been wanting to find someway to print my family blog since it has turned into my journal of sorts. Obviously printing it outright would take a lot of time and A LOT of money for the paper and ink. Plus it wouldn't be near the quality of a hard bound book. I am so excited about this new find and can't wait to finish my books! Head on over there and check it out! 

Amazing Bathrooms

The Hubs and I have recently been discussing needed changes to our Master Bath. Although these changes aren't going to happen in the immediate future, it has been fun to discuss ideas. as long as we don't mention textiles and a color pallet, the convo stays humane
We've discussed everything from gutting the existing space to getting crazy like, turning my craft room into a ginormo walk-in/dressing room and using the existing walk-in to expand the bath. prob not gonna happen, but it's fun to dream. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a claw foot tub with a separate shower. He would love to have a separate shower and I don't think he would really mind what the tub was. :) Good luck to us in the decision making. Here are some pictures that I've found via Pinterest that have blasted my creative thinking into the next dimension. I can't wait until we eventually get to start this project.
The first 3 photos are from a recent Feature done on Design Sponge and this bathroom's Before and After photos are nothing short of amazing. Don't forget to pick your jaw up off of the floor when you're done looking.








  



Hope you Enjoyed! Have a GREAT Weekend!!


Photo Sources From top to bottom (starting with the 4th picture): House of Turquoise, HGTV,  Pinterest , HGTV, Sarah Richardson Design,  House of TurquoiseApartment Therapy

Stripes

For the past few weeks my 3 y/o H asks me to lay in his bed for a few minutes at bed time. Last night while we were squished on his twin bed, I asked him what he wanted us to do in his room. He said, "I want stripes on the ceiling, but not on the fan or the light bulbs. You can't put stripes on the light bulbs." He also told me that we needed stripes in the hallway too. In light of his recent decision, I decided to add stripes to my blog, if only for a little while. 

H & N


Here's the next segment of the Birthday Party DIY.
This next project is something that's been in the works for about a year. Must be spectacular right? Nah! I purchased the letters about a year ago from Hobby Lobby for $.50 ea. They are normally $1, but they were half off. Can't beat that. Then I had a heck of a time deciding what to do with them. When it came time for the party, I finally decided I just needed to do something. I purchased the frames at Wally World for like 5 bucks each. I loved the size and the detailing was perfect, especially since I was planning on painting them. I ended up leaving them gold and I love it! Anywho. The original plan was to secure an empty frame and letter separately. Then I realized that the glass panel and a bit of gorilla glue would work even better. I glued the letters right to the glass. (After spray painting the letters of course) 





After they were dry I simply hung the frames on the wall. Super easy and they look great, if I do say so myself! Hope you enjoyed. 

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup




Ironically enough, when I was growing up, I HATED soup. Couldn't tell you why. Maybe it was because soup can sometimes look icky to a little kid. My dad tried and tried and tried to get me to eat it, but never had any luck. I never ate it! haha! I was probably a teen when I had my first bowl of soup that I can remember. Now I LOVE it!
This is probably my absolute FAVORITE thing to eat! EVER! HANDS DOWN! I could eat this all day everyday. except it has real whipping cream in it so I don't want to be the next half ton woman on tv.  I got this recipe from my mom. She got it from the Lion House Cook Book that she's had since before I can remember. My favorite thing to have with it, is home-made bread bowls! I have my bread machine make dough, like you would do if you're going to make rolls. Instead of making normal rolls, I make GIANT rolls. Cut off the top pull out the insides. Then you have your own bread bowl! Even though it's 110 degrees outside, I could probably go for some Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup! 


Birthday Garland

As some of you readers know, last Saturday was my boys' birthday party. I put together most of the decor myself. It was only my first party so I learned some things and found some things I would like to be different. Anywho. . . As promised here's the first portion of the party breakdown.



The garland was one of my favorite things. I saw this tutorial over at Visual Vocabulary. I knew I HAD to do it for myself! 
I followed her instructions almost exactly. 
I don't have a round roll cutter like she does so I had to cut it all by hand. Not a big deal, but when it came to the foil paper (gold), it was impossible to cut. It would have been nice to have a cutter like hers.
I got the colors of tissue paper that I wanted  and went to work. It was great because my niece was able to help. I did learn that this is easier with 2 people as apposed to 1. If you want to make it yourself, make sure you have someone to pull the rope tightly while you twist the tissue paper. All in all I was very happy with the end result and it was fun to put together. Plus, I felt super awesome when people said they like it. haha. You may be laughing but you know you feel the same when people compliment something you made, so don't judge! The best part is that after the party I just moved it to my son's room. They love it because now they have a "Birthday Party" in their room!!! 


Check back later for more tips on putting together a party.


A Compromise


In light of my recent post about the trim fiasco that is know as my house right now, I have been searching desperately searching for a solution to the problem. I think I may have found one. He says, "Never in a million years will I LET you paint it all white!" (he's dead serious) I say, "It feels . . . bleh and the base isn't even the same stained color as the door casings and the doors! It looks stupid." Here's what I think now. . .

 
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DUH!!! Paint the trim and leave the doors stained! I have to admit, the doors in my house are absolutely beautiful!!! It's the trim that gets me. Don't have stained doors? No problem!!! You can always paint. How's this for eye candy in your home!?!


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I think this could possibly solve the problem. It would allow for wood filler on the trim (without having to spend decades of my life sanding and restaining all of the trim and hope it matches the base and doors) and would also allow my wall color to contrast better with the white. (which is what I had in mind when I picked it) It will ALSO give the hubs what he wants by not painting the doors or "all of it." I'm pretty excited to present this idea to the hubs. What do YOU think!?! let me know!

Birthday Party

This past week was my boys' birthdays! H my oldest turned 3! N my baby turned 2! That's right! They are Exactly 53 weeks apart. Keep me busy. Anywho. . . I haven't had a birthday party for them since. . . well never. So this year, now that we're back home by friends AND family, we had a party. (last year I just forgot til it was too late. oops) 
Some may say I went a little crazy, but I had fun putting it together. I couldn't have done it without the help of my awesome SIL Kim and my BFF Heidi! You gals are the BEST!!!
Here are a few pics of the spread. I'll be putting together some tutorials for some of the little things. Enjoy!














Thanks for looking. Come back soon for all the juicy details!

Agree to Disagree?

Since we've moved into the new house we've begun our decorating adventure. Adventure is definitely an understatement! I have discovered that the Hubs and I couldn't have more different decorating taste.



Exhibit 1. We have stained wood trim throughout our home. I say wow! This has great bones and would look Amazing WHITE! He says (and I quote), "Ashley, if you paint that trim white, I WILL divorce you." My response? "You better start writing up the papers." hahaha! Probably not the ideal way to begin our new life in a house, but We'll eventually come to an agreement on that. 



I know that this dark stained trim can be beautiful, it's just not for me. My Aunt has agreed to sneak in while the Hubs is out to help me turn it from that into. . . 



This white trim that looks so crisp! I love how the color pops against the white! "Pops" is also a word that he dislikes when I'm describing color. haha. He's so silly.

Exhibit 2. I want WHITE cabinets and MARBLE counters with the classic subway tile backsplash. HE wants DARK stained cabinets with TAN granite counters. 

This kitchen from Honey We're Home is a PERFECT example of what I want. If I could just take this from her house and put it right into mine, I would be the happiest woman ON EARTH! Her home is pretty much EXACTLY what I would want. It is beautiful. If you haven't already, you should check it out.



Although this kitchen is beautiful, I don't want it in my house. haha. That may make me a snob or whatever, but I just think that if we're going to invest that kind of money into our home, I should love it! . . . but I guess so should he. . . maybe. I dunno.

The list could go on! and on and on and on! Is anyone else experiencing this!?! I suppose until we can reach a total agreement, we'll just have to take it one thing at a time. Literally. I love this guy and know that we'll be able to figure it out. This should be fun. . . or at least interesting. :)

Wish me luck as we make a house "Ours" whatever that may end up being
Under My Mulberry Tree