Fence Fest!

Ladies and Gentleman, WE HAVE A FENCE!

This weekend was Fence Fest, in other words we put up a fence. You see, we put "fest" at the end of anything requiring our parents help to get them excited to help with work at our house. Fence fest, paint fest, tree fest. Well, they are starting to get the hint. We are thinking of changing from "fest" to "palooza" to fool them again. Patio Palooza anyone?

Anyways, back to Fence Fest. We started off on Saturday and planned to finish Saturday, but that didn't end up happening. Whoever said we could finish in a day lied. This was definitely a two day job, but well worth it when we finished! 

We have been wanting to put up a fence since we moved in, but after getting Lucy we set the ball in motion a little sooner than we otherwise would have.

(Warning: There are a lot of pictures in this post)

We enlisted our families to help get the job done. It was a beautiful two days to work in the yard and we tried to have as much fun as possible. Adam even strengthened his knee as he wobbled around. And although no one will admit it, I think everyone may have even enjoyed themselves a little bit. 

Once Lucy was allowed off the leash, she didn't know what to do with herself. Every time I threw a ball across the yard, she would hesitate when she got to the edge of her usual leashed area. When she finally realized she could venture out around the whole yard, we could not get her to come inside! Even in the rain, she fell asleep under the overhang until we forced her to come in.

Adam couldn't wait to be able to take this picture: 

"Well, you know Tim..."

Once the fence was up, we barbecued followed by a nap lounging on the couch and watching Last Man Standing.

Did anyone else take advantage of this gorgeous weekend to get some work done outdoors?

First Blogiversary

Today is my one year blogiversary!

Image from Sweetapolita

Last year, I started this blog as I was in the midst of wedding planning to share my DIY wedding projects. I didn't know at the time that it would eventually be a place to share all my favorite things: DIY projects, holiday decor, making our house a home, reading, and everything in between.

I am inviting you all to ask me any questions you would like in the comments section. They can be blog related, or they don't have to be. I will try to answer them all in a later post!
Also, don't forget to follow Melanie Gets Married if you haven't done so already :)

Thank you so much for following along on this wonderful journey with me. I love being a part of the blogging world and I hope to continue to grow this blog as time goes on!

Springtime Wreath

My "Springtime Wreath" was meant to be an "Easter Wreath", but it didn't quite make it on the door in time. I made it weeks before Easter, but kind of forgot about it until it was too late. Well, I wasn't about to let this adorable wreath go to waste, so I put it up as soon as I remembered. And since it is still SPRiNG, I decided it isn't too late to share with all of you!

I was originally inspired by all the cute yarn wreaths I've been seeing lately. When I went to Michael's to pick out my yarn, I came across this. I loved how different it was and for only $1 a roll, it was hard to pass up. The bright colors give it the perfect springtime/Easter look!

Please excuse the nasty front door with the chipped paint. I am currently in the process of deciding what color to paint it. i'm thinking burgundy with black shutters.

Have you ever made holiday decor in advanced and forgot about it by the time the holiday came around? Please tell me I'm not the only one!

Pre-Fence Bush Removal

Now that it is warming up, we have started taking our projects outdoors. We are planning (weather permitting) to put up a fence this weekend so Lucy can finally run free. This has been on the to-do list since we moved in, but we were too busy last summer with the wedding to get it done. When we got Lucy, it was decided that as soon as the ground thawed, it would be a must. 

Just our luck, there were rather large bushes on either side of the house right where we want to put the fence, so they needed to be removed. Adam and my dad pulled them out this past weekend, so now we are officially ready for that long-awaited fence.

A rather large pine tree was removed in October from the dirt area in the front. Beautiful pine tree, but it was waayyy too close to the house and was resting on the roof, so it had to go immediately!

The bushes didn't go down without a fight. Adam hurt his knee...again... and has been on crutches ever since. I have spent the past 4 days waiting on him hand and foot, but he is planning to go back to work tomorrow. 

Lets hope he has a full recovery by Saturday to help with the fence, because lets face it, I have no idea what I am doing!

Any advice for tackling the fence would be greatly appreciated!

Make Your Own Pillow Covers

I have been wanting to learn how to sew forever, and yesterday I finally learned pretended to know what I was doing. I headed over to my parents for a sewing lesson from my mom. It was pretty much the blind leading the blind while we set up the machine, but at least she knew the bobbin from the foot. Eventually, we figured it out and made these fabulous pillow covers.

These pillow covers were the first step in decorating our basement. I decided before we bought our house that I wanted a grey, blue, and yellow basement. I saw this fabric online, purchased it months ago, and it has been sitting in a closet ever since (yes, i even procrastinate on projects). Well, today I pulled the fabric out and decided to make something of it. Our basement pillows went from DRAB to FAB in just a few easy steps!

I am telling you, these are so easy! If I can make them and learn to sew on the same day, you can definitely make them! So grab your sewing machine and get some old pillows and fabric. You will not be sorry you made these!

what you'll need:

fabric, old pillows, sewing machine

FIRST: Make the front cover. Measure your pillow and cut it out based on the exact width and length.

SECOND: Make your two back flaps. Take the length of your pillow and add one inch, then divide in half. Finally, add 3 inches to each flap for overlap. The height will be the same as in step 1.

example: my pillow measured 22inx22in. For the length, I used the original length (22in.), divided by 2 (11in), and  added 3 inches(14in). My two back flaps measured 14in x 22in.

THIRD: Sew a seam on one longer side of each back flap. I folded the seam twice to create a smooth seam and found it easiest to iron the seam flat before folding.

FOURTH: Pin the back panels and front panel together so the pillow cover looks inside out (all fabric facing inward). Then, sew all four edges of the pillow cover.

FIFTH: Flip the fabric right side out and insert your pillow. Admire for hours and enjoy!

(view from the back)

Here is what the new pillow covers look like in our basement. While they don't get match the couch, it is a step in the right color scheme direction!

Since these were such a success, I can't wait to cover all my old drab pillows with fun new fabrics. The best part... I can make pillows that match my holiday decor as well!

Has anyone made holiday pillow covers before or is that going a bit too far? 

Who is going to try this now?