Candy Bar Bouquet: Fathers Day Edition

My dad loves candy. In fact, he always has a "secret stash" of chocolaty goodness hidden in the house so he can have it all to himself. We eventually find his stash and when we do, he finds a new spot to hide all his candy. 

This Father's Day, I had a hard time deciding what to get my dad. I always get my mom flowers for Mother's Day, and thought it would be so nice if I could do the same for Dad. I settled for a candy bar bouquet, which I can assure you he enjoyed it much more than a bouquet of flowers. 

This would be a fun gift for anyone on any occasion, and so simple to make too!

I just used a foam block wrapped with tissue paper for the bottom and stuck it in the gift bag. I taped the candy bars to the skewers then stuck them in the foam block. The most difficult part was making sure the weight was distributed evenly to keep it from falling over. 

The finished product:

My dad loved it!

Now I just hope he shares with his favorite daughter...

What are some creative Father's Day gift ideas you have made in the past? 

I always have such a hard time thinking of something creative for my dad. Does anyone else have this problem?

By the way, only two more weeks of classes for me, so I hope to be back to regularly posting again soon!

Engagement Gift Basket

My best friend is ENGAGED! I received the phone call the night of her engagement and couldn't contain my excitement. The first chance I got, I ran out to Target and set out to find a bunch of goodies and helpful wedding planning materials to send her. 

Engagement Gift Basket:

 Frame with Personalized Engagement Art

This is something the happy couple can hang in their new home as a constant reminder of the day she said "yes!"

Bridal Magazines

Every girl needs an endless amount of ideas for her dress, hair, budgeting, etc.

Dry Erase Board

For her endless to-do lists or ideas to remember, a dry erase board will come in handy to jot things down quickly.

Post-It Notes

These make great bookmarks to refer back to articles in magazines.

Note Pad

Keep the bride organized with this note pad of weekly tasks, important notes, and when payments are due.

Shoe Stickers

If you are anything like me, it's the little things that make the day perfect. These stickers can be worn on the bottom of the bride and groom's shoes for a cute picture.

Jewelry Cleaner

The bride will appreciate this so she can keep her new ring sparkling like new, even months after the engagement

Nail Polish

The bride can show off her ring with freshly painted nails. This particular color is called "soulmate." I found it fitting.

Wedding Morning Playlist

Create a mix of fun songs for the girls to dance around to the morning of the wedding.

Engagement Card

No explanation needed.

I hope Jenna likes her gift as much as I do!

What are some thing you have included in your engagement gift basket? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Redneck Wine Glasses

Well my friends, I have survived my first week of grad school, barely. I suppose I should have warned you earlier that I may be posting very infrequently for the next seven weeks while grad school takes over my life.
Oh well, consider yourself officially warned! 

I was able to take a short break to make these redneck wine glasses last night, and today, I am excited to share them!

These were so easy to make, only taking about 10-15 minutes to make all eight of them!

what you'll need:

candlesticks (dollar tree), mason jars (any size), and E6000 

Simply place E6000 around the top rim of the candlestick, place the mason jar on top and centered, and press firmly. I allowed approximately 24 hours for try time to be safe. 

I also find it helpful to place something heavy in the mason jar while drying to hold everything in place. I'm not sure if this actually works, or if it's all in my head. 

I chose to make mine in two different sizes for a little variety, and I love them!!

Perfect for summery drinks on the patio!

Speaking of summery drinks, anyone have any must-try drink recipes? Let me know!

On The Nightstand: Two Kisses for Maddy by Matthew Logelin

Matt and Liz Logelin were high school sweethearts. After years of long-distance dating, the pair finally settled together in Los Angeles, and they had it all: a perfect marriage, a gorgeous new home, and a baby girl on the way. Liz's pregnancy was rocky, but they welcomed Madeline, beautiful and healthy, into the world on March 24, 2008. 

Just twenty-seven hours later, Liz suffered a pulmonary embolism and died instantly, without ever holding the daughter whose arrival she had so eagerly awaited. Though confronted with devastating grief and the responsibilities of a new and single father, Matt did not surrender to devastation; he chose to keep moving forward-- to make a life for Maddy.

In this memoir, Matt shares bittersweet and often humorous anecdotes of his courtship and marriage to Liz; of relying on his newborn daughter for the support that she unknowingly provided; and of the extraordinary online community of strangers who have become his friends. In honoring Liz's legacy, heartache has become solace ---GoodReads

I loved this book, but it also terrified me. I think the fact that this could happen to anyone really got to me, and definitely made me appreciate my life a whole lot more. I think Matt did a great job describing his feelings and painting a picture of what his relationship was like with Liz, how much he loved his daughter, and how he dealt with the death of his wife. 

Although the story was a difficult one to read, I couldn't put it down. There were times I couldn't help but cry, and times that I had a smile on my face. An emotional rollercoaster for sure, but definitely worth the read. 

Read any good books lately? Let me know in the comments section, I love getting book suggestions!

Burlap Rosette Heart Wall Decor

I have been wanting to post this for weeks now, but holy burlap rosettes, this took forever to finish!
Let's just say, I had burlap flowers coming out of my ears. Finally, this week I enlisted Adam, my currently injured and awaiting surgery husband, to cut the burlap so I could focus on gluing. This was a hugggee help! And thanks to his help, I present to you (finally) my Burlap Rosette Heart wall decor!

in order to make this, you will need:
beadboard, paint, burlap, hot glue gun

The project overall was simple, just time consuming. I swung by home depot one day and bought a piece of bead-board  I had them cut it to size right in the store so I could get working on it right when I got home. I used photoshop to create a heart outline that would be big enough for my 40inx30in piece of bead-board  I traced the heart onto the board using pencil.

Once my heart was traced, I painted everything but the heart form navy blue using a foam brush.

Then came the fun part...making the rosettes out of burlap. I bought 3 yards of burlap, and had a little left over. I used my hot glue gun to make the rosettes, and to adhere them to the bead-board.

We used 3M strips (the ones that hold up to 16 lbs) to pin it up on our wall.

It is great to finally have something up on those poor living room walls!

 And note to self (and others I suppose): don't mix burlap, even if you think it isn't noticeable! I started with some burlap I had lying around in the basement, then ran out and had to buy more. I didn't think it was very noticeable, but I can definitely tell in these pictures. blahhh.

Well, what do you think? Did anyone else notice the random mismatched burlap (before I mentioned it)? Adam claims I'm the only one that can tell.

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?