Button Swap

I love finding new blogs to read, and usually spend a lot of time scanning blogger's side bars for some of the blogs they enjoy reading. I would love to swap buttons with you to share your blog  and mine with new readers. Sounds fun, right? 

If you're interested, shoot me an email at melaniegetsmarried@gmail.com. 

Here is what I will need from you:

-your button with a width of 300 pixels

-link to your blog

-button size you will need from me

You may also use one of these buttons I have already created if you'd like!

<center><a href="http://melaniegetsmarried.blogspot.com/"target=_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSKpIyljSmwmu8mDdBTrWJdgygyCn0MPDE4XF0VjLr4HKAGrORVgBtNH4sY7IjoxsqwBB04UxgvANoyQ6T_JzBHk1AiSRVAyB_W0lGQBmdJ0vJ_noKvpwlw-zebwHfidMvIMEsTqQ67c/s800/button4.png"title="Melanie Gets Married" /></a></center>

<center><a href="http://melaniegetsmarried.blogspot.com/"target=_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWiA72K1y16JzzP-GEw1Q8ohbf3Z41QdUX2w_mJNNngciS43ARY9VgFyFxQ55LoD_5u7LZD1yb4OI0fyqZiy697A7jDmROpnVNW4PU5Rl_Hl5JmR7PEitz4rh2tyAgqL_C2UeIT9W9aI8/s800/button5.jpg"title="Melanie Gets Married" /></a></center>

Can't wait to hear from you!

Wood Plank Coffee Table

I had been wanting to switch out our coffee table for a while. There was nothing wrong with the coffee table we had, I was just ready for a change and envisioned something that matched both our entertainment center and our bench.

Since I am always terrified of ruining our furniture when doing a makeover. I always try to makeover our older pieces, or pieces people have given us (usually those hanging around in the basement). So when I decided to do a coffee table makeover, it's no surprise that I used the basement's coffee table and put the other one in its place.

This coffee table was still in pretty good shape as well, it just wasn't really my style. While plain and do-able for a basement, I wanted to create something amazing for the living room. 

what you will need:

paint of your choice

wood stain and poyurethane

7-1x4's

sander

wood glue

Our first step was to lightly sanded the top of the coffee table to ensure the wood glue would stick properly and then I painted the bottom. I used Folk Art's Chalk Paint in White Adirondack, as well as their Clear Wax. I ended up needing two coats of the chalk paint before waxing. 

While I was painting, I enlisted my husband to cut the 1x4's to a length that just fit over the coffee table. He sanded all the edges and curved them a little bit for me as well. Once he was down, I stained all the wood. 

Once everything was dry, we used very generous amounts of wood glue to put the planks in place. We also used my school books and some weights to hold all the planks down while the glue dried. We waited to put the polyurethane on until the glue had dried and we could remove the books and weights without shifting the planks. Another 24 hours for the polyurethane to dry, and our wood plank coffee table was complete!

I think that it really does tie in well to the rest of the living room, it matches the TV stand and bench nicely as well. Now that I've made the coffee table, I want to make some end tables to match! In fact, the matching end tables for the coffee table are in my basement too!

Now if I could just figure out that funky corner where the shelf is, we'd be all set!

Happy Hump Day, friends!

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Happy National Dog Day!

Happy National Dog Day to our Lucy Lou!

"A dog is the only being on earth that loves you more than he loves himself"

Lucy Lou,

You put a smile on my face each and every day. 

I look forward to your cuddles each morning and your excitement each afternoon when I walk through the door. 

I love your floppy ears and your fluffy tail.  

You are the best first dog I could ever ask for.

Thank you for making our house a home.

Your daddy and I love you very much!

Celebrating Two Years

Yesterday, we celebrated our two year wedding anniversary! When we woke up, Adam made me my favorite breakfast, chocolate chip waffles. The morning and afternoon were pretty typical weekend days for us. Adam mowed the lawn while I worked on a coffee table redo (hoping to have this done by wednesday to show off). We noticed a few branches in our large tree out front that had cracked, so we attempted to get those down as well. One out of three isn't too bad, right?

Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for our big night out. We exchanged gifts before leaving the house. I made Adam a t-shirt that says "Need S'more Camping." 

And he got me a....

KNEE BRACE!!

...just kidding. Inside the box was a beautiful bracelet I have been wanting for a while. Somebody was very good at picking up on some obvious hints. 

The bracelet is from Vintage Stamp Jewels. It is the Sterling Silver Infinity and Heart Bracelet. Did my man do good or what?

Next on the agenda was attempting a few photos of us before heading out on our big date. We even tried to get Lucy in on a few. She was less than thrilled.

We went to Olive Garden for dinner and had a fabulous meal. With full bellies, we headed over to the putt-putt golf course in our town. Adam ended up winning, but I gave him a run for his money. AND I even got a hole in one on the last hole! When we left he said "You did good. I didn't beat you nearly as bad as I usually do!" Thanks babe. I don't remember my putt-putt skills being that bad.

On our way home, I was informed that I had two chapters of reading and nine worksheets to finish for the first day of class on Tuesday. Summer was so good while it lasted!

HAPPY MONDAY!!

Two Year Anniversary!

TWO YEARS.

twenty-four months.

one hundred and four weeks.

seven hundred and thirty days.

seventeen thousand, five hundred, and thirty-two hours.

one million, fifty-one thousand, and two hundred minutes.

sixty-three million, one hundred and thirteen thousand, and nine hundred seconds. 

Two years ago today, I married the love of my life. 

I am such a lucky lady to have this wonderful man by my side. 

Happy Anniversary Adam! 

Thanks for putting up with me and all my crazy projects.

 I love you MORE.

Last year, I wrote an anniversary series for the week leading up to our big one year. Read all about

How We Met, The Proposal, The Wedding, and The Honeymoon

Chocolate Chip Stuffed Raspberries- A Simple Snack

Say hello to my new favorite snack...

The past few weeks, Meijer has had their raspberries on sale for a dollar. One dollar people, how could I turn that down? The answer: I couldn't. I stocked up on one of my favorite fruits and started eating them by the handful. But what's better than a bowl full of raspberries? A bowl full of raspberries and chocolate!

If you have not tried these yet, you must! All you have to do is wash your raspberries and stick a chocolate chip inside each one. They are to.die.for. 

I realize that this is something that we have all seen on pinterest so I know I didn't just create some groundbreaking new snack. All I am saying is if you haven't tried it yet, DO IT! Especially if your grocery store is selling raspberries for a dollar! And hey, it's fruit, so it's at least somewhat healthy right?

Fabric-Covered End of Summer Wreath

I am the kind of girl who always has a wreath hanging on her front door. Well, I've been a big time slacker (what's new?) and had left the front door bare for a few weeks after taking down my red, white and blue wreath for 4th of July. As it is already mid-August, I realize how silly it was to make a summery wreath, but the truth is, I am just not ready to admit Fall is on it's way. 

I love the navy, yellow, and pink fabric leftover from my bench makeover, so I knew those bright colors would be perfect for this summer wreath. 

Proof that things don't always turn out the way they are suppose to: 

I purchased some navy blue ribbon to hang this wreath, but once I went to put it on the wreath, I realized how different the two navy blues were. No problem, I had some burlap downstairs that would work just fine. After hot gluing it on and taking some pictures, I decided that also was not the look I was going for. How about that gray chevron ribbon I used for the bow? Sure, except then it looked too matchy-matchy. 

I left it, telling myself that it would grow on me, and it lasted one day before I was driving to Hobby Lobby for 50% off their ribbon. An hour and a half and 8 spools of ribbon later, I came home with yellow chevron ribbon you see pictured above. Instantly, I felt much more proud of my wreath. 

 The struggle is real, folks!

I am kind of in love with how it turned out. I could "ooh" and "ahh" over it all day, but who's got time for that?

Anyone else love to decorate their front door? 

Do you ever have trouble deciding on small details with your projects?

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Puppy Popsicles

Happy Hump Day, friends!

This weekend was a fabulous one as far as weather is concerned. It is the middle of August and it was finally starting to feel like summer in Mid-Michigan.... until yesterday. This weekend, it was easy to work up a sweat while doing anything outside. Lucy Lou, loves to be outside all.the.time. but when the sun is shining, her black fur is hot hot hot. 

On a hot summer day as a kid, I loved eating popsicles (who didn't?), so being the cool dog mom that I am, I decided to make Lucy some popsicles of her own.

INGREDIENTS:

18oz. Plain Low-Fat Yogurt

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Jar Banana Baby Food

1 Tbsp Honey

Dog Bones

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients, except dog bones.

Pour mixture into small paper cups. My cups were a little larger, so I only filled mine 1/3 full.

Stick one dog bone into each cup to serve as the handle.

Freeze until completely frozen. 

When ready to serve, peel away the paper cup from the popsicle.

Watch you dog drool over his/her new favorite treat.

I was able to get 8 popsicles out of the recipe. 

Also, if you have a smaller dog: my mother-in-law made these for her rat terrier, and used an ice cube tray instead of cups. You could also use smaller dog bones to stick in the ice cube tray as well. 

As you can see, Lucy really loved these new treats. It only took her about 5 seconds after I was done taking pictures to bit the whole thing right off the bone.

I hope she realizes how loved and spoiled she is!

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Leibster Award

Last week, I was nominated for a Leibster Award by Shanice from City of Creative Dreams. Today, I am here to answer all the questions from Shanice, nominate some of my favorite bloggers, and ask them some questions. 

If you've never heard of the Leibster Award,  it is an award that is passed from blogger to blogger as a "keep it going!" award. It's for bloggers with under 200 followers and is meant to encourage bloggers to keep blogging! All nominated bloggers answer the questions from the person who gave them the award, and then they get to nominate their favorite blogs (under 200 followers) and ask them questions as well. SO here goes nothing....

1. What made you want to start a blog?

I started this blog when I was engaged to document the projects and events that went along with wedding planning. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to keep at it even after the wedding.

2. How did you choose your blog name?

This is an easy one. I wanted to document our wedding planning process, so Melanie Gets Married seemed to be a suitable name. Now that I am married, I figure it still works because the blog goes through our newlywed life, which wouldn't be the same if I didn't get married.

3. What is your favourite post or project that you are most proud of?

I have so many projects that I love, but I would have to say I am most proud of my Ruffled Curtains. I am not a very good sewer, and this project challenged me more than I ever thought possible. The day I was able to actually hang those curtains up, I am certain my face just lit up.

4. What is your favourite blog?

It is so hard to chose just one favorite! However, there is one blog that I have followed since the very beginning and have never missed a post. I am not sure what it is about Jessica from Little Baby Garvin, but I am border line obsessed. It was her chalkboards that lured me in, but somehow she's managed to keep me around. Maybe it's her elaborate gatherings that I wish I could attend, the way she makes any meal into something beautiful, or her sweet baby girls that I just can't get enough of (or all of the above). And I know I am not the only one who loves her. I swear, this girl could start taking pictures of her poop and we would all wish ours looked the same.

5. What advice would you give yourself as a young child or teenager if you could go back in time?

I would tell myself to truly enjoy spending time with my family, and to be nicer to my siblings. Now that we are older, I would choose to spend time with my family over just about anything else. I am lucky to live close to my parents and sister, but my brother is an hour and a half away and we don't get to see him very often. My teenage self would be shocked if I told her how much she would miss those family vacations and simply eating dinner together.

6. What inspires you to keep blogging?

The sweet comments, my followers, and my passion for creating beautiful things for my home. 

7. If you could go join a course or go to school for something right now, what would it be?

Aside from working on my masters in occupational therapy, I would love to take a photography class! It is something that has always interested me and something I feel that I could be really good at (if I ever get a DSLR camera of course). 

8. What is your favorite spot in your home? Why?

Currently, my favorite spot is in the backyard laying on our hammock and staring up at the trees. It is so peaceful back there and incredibly comfortable. Puts me to sleep every time. 

9. Who is your favorite celebrity? Why?

Gee, I don't really have one favorite. But considering I am in the middle of watching Gossip Girl, I will say Blake Lively. I have loved her ever since her days on the sisterhood of the traveling pants, and I continue to love her as I commit myself to hours upon hours of the "scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite." 

10. What is your favorite song right now on the radio?

My Eyes by Blake Shelton.

11. What are your favorite kinds of blogs?

I love the blogs that have new decor for every season and are constantly knee-deep in yet another DIY project or room makeover. Lately though, I have been reading more "lifestyle" blogs and have become way to interested in the lives of strangers. Whatever it is, it must have pictures!

And now for the fun part! Here are the blogs that I have nominated to pass along the Leibster Award. Here are seven wonderful ladies that I am loving right now! So go check them out, I'm sure you'll love them too!

Seeking Individuality
This Crazy Thing Called Life
The 26th of August
Polka Dots In The Country
Burlap and Babies
First Comes Love
Little House. Big Heart.

And here are the questions for all of my new nominees:

1) Why did you start blogging?

2) What is your favorite project that you have made since blogging, or what is your favorite blog post? Leave a link so we can check it out!

3) What is your favorite room in your home?

4) What is your favorite holiday? Why? Feel free to tell us about some of your traditions for that holiday.

5) If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

6) Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

7)  What is something you would like to learn to do really well?

8) What are some of your favorite books you've read lately?

9) What is your favorite thing to spend money on?

10) What are three of your favorite online shopping websites?

11) What inspires you?

Nominees, all you have to do now is make your own Leibster Award post in which you answer the above 11 questions, and pick some of your favorite bloggers to nominate as well. The only rule is to pick bloggers who have under 200 subscribers. Have fun!

Thank you so much Shanice for your nominating me, and thank you to all my followers for being so supportive. It really is what makes blogging that much more fun and inspires me to continue creating!

Happy Monday, Friends!