Projects

I've tapped into my creative side since we've moved to California. It most likely has to do with having space, our own furniture, and of course money and time. Here are a few things that I, and even Travis, have been working on.

First thing that we finished was this rocking chair. No, we didn't make it, but it was unfinished so Travis sanded it and put on coat after coat of stain. It was my parents rocking chair and they didn't want it anymore so they offered it to us. After seeing it all prettied up my dad asked for it back, but he was just joking...I think.

Next thing that we finished, that took longer than I thought, was our headboard. It started out as just a door that I found at an antique store for $75. I got this idea of using a door as a headboard from Design Star on HGTV. They used two doors and stood them up side by side. I thought that looked a little awkward having such a high headboard so I just bought one and turned it horizontal. The door knob wasn't in the center of the door so we cut off both sides, one side a little more than the other, to make it center. I'm still thinking of something I can do to use those extra pieces. I'll let you know when I do.

Before

After

I've always wanted a card holder to display Christmas cards and I found the perfect one at Pottery Barn. Only thing was you had to order it from their catalog or online and it was already $50 without shipping! Since we already had our first Christmas card I thought something needed to be done. I went to Lowes and picked up some wire and needle nosed pliers and got straight to work. I was able to finish in a couple hours, but my hands were so sore by the end! I bought some brown, speckled spray paint for an antique look and finished it up the next day. I did the whole thing for less than $22! Beat that Pottery Barn.

Does a Christmas tree count as a project? Well, I'll count it this time. This is our first Christmas with tree :) It was really fun getting into the Christmas spirit while decorating the tree! Although, I got out of the Christmas spirit really quick when we got up the next morning and it had practically fallen over! Travis didn't have time before work to mess with it so I decided to try to fix it myself. Bad idea. It almost came crashing down a few times so I just pushed it to lean against the wall since I realized I couldn't do it myself. I called my mom for help and she told me that we probably didn't have it all the way down in the stand. She was right, there were branches keeping it from going all the way down. When Travis got home he held the tree still while I sawed off the branches. Why it was me sawing off the branches, I don't know? Oh ya, I remember why. He didn't believe that was the real reason why it wasn't going all the way down so he made me saw them off to prove I was wrong. Uh hmm, I was actually right and it slid right down and has been straight ever since! Unfortunately, we had to undecorate it to fix it and then me, and only me, decorated it again. I guess I didn't read the fine print that said 'if you have to decorate the tree, AGAIN, you do it by yourself.' Below is the picture of me putting the star on for the first time. I'm glad I don't have a picture of my face decorating it for the second time. I wasn't all that happy.

Here it is standing straight and redecorated.

And last, but not least, here are some ornaments that I made. I got the idea, again, from Pottery Barn. I thought about buying them, but they were pretty pricey for only one ornament. So, I bought a pack of styrofoam balls and ribbon and went to work. It took me a few tries to figure out how best to make them. I ended up making 6 for under $10 compared to paying $6 for only one!

I have more projects in the works; a shelf, quilts, dress form...the list goes on. I'll keep ya posted though.

The Phantom of the Opera

We had another fun day in the City Saturday. My parents drove up Friday night just in time to have dinner at a local Italian restaurant that they (and us) love. The last two times they have come up we've eaten there. I don't think it would be a stretch to say that we will probably eat there every time they come to visit us.

Saturday, we picked up my brother and had a family picture at the Golden Gate Bridge. It was an abnormally bright, sunny day in the City. That didn't last too long though. It soon got really cold and rained/hailed on us while we were walking around to find a place for lunch.

And the reason we were in the City to begin with-The Phantom of the Opera! I loved it! I had only seen the movie, Travis had seen both, but couldn't remember the musical and my parents and brother hadn't seen either. Everyone enjoyed it and had a great time. I was surprised at how close the movie version is to the musical. Some of the songs are a little more pumped up and cut short in the movie, but if it's the only version you get to see then it's great. If it comes to your city though I would take the opportunity to see it!

HSM3

I'm a big High School Musical fan, I'm not going to lie, and when I heard they were releasing the third on the big screen I just had to see it! I know they are made for tweens, but I think there is nothing wrong with supporting a good, clean movie. I actually think I like this one the best out of all three. I couldn't convince Travis to see the movie and I didn't want to see it by myself so I asked Kara to see it with me. She had the great idea of us doing their signature jumping picture.

We may have looked like the biggest dorks while doing it, but I think it was worth it! We had a blast!