I H.E.A.R.T. Chalkboard Paint

I don't heart anything--in fact the phrase itself annoys me, but that's just how much I lurve chalkboard paint. Maybe it has something to do with my teaching roots, but I think it's just fabulous. When I discovered my first can at Hob Lob one day I knew I needed a project to use it on.

Shortly thereafter I found a number of silver trays at a thrift store for $1.00, Bob.

So I taped it off:And followed the directions on the can of chalkboard spray paint--seriously do as they say--or you will be left with a message board with lots of "ghost messages."I gave a few of these away as wedding gifts and kept one for myself. I love that I can change the message and personalize it. This is just one use of chalkboard paint though. The possibilities are endless! I'd love to hear how you've used it!

xoxo, Shel & Bert

Madness

I am disappointed in myself for not being better about blogging since school started..shame on me! It has been a busy couple of months!

We celebrated Trey's 28th birthday:

And made some D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S cake balls:

If you haven't made/tried these they are TO DIE FOR! I'm not even kidding. I'll post a later blog with the tips and tricks I learned while taking on this project.

I started with a new group of 19 precious angels. All of them want to go to UT--or at least I'm doing my best to brainwash them :)

We've accomplished many-a-project around the house just too many to post all at once so I will FORCE myself to post more this week, but for now I'm super excited about my new window treatments for the kitchen that were just delivered this week (by my fabulous parents-in-law).

They still need to be steamed, but I'm waiting for them to fall a little this week. Oh but I lurrrve them and they look so stinkin' cute with the coordinating bar-stools:

Finally, I'll leave you with our weekend update. We celebrated Trey's Grandmommy's 90th birthday with a fabulous party at the Hilton Lincoln Center. She was surrounded by loved ones including 9 of her grandchildren in order by their age (yes, Trey is the baby).

Our madness continues, but we like our lives that way.

xo, Shel & Trey

Wall Art

Well, you know what time it is...back to school time. Trey waved bye to me this morning as I headed off to my first official day back to work. Sigh...Which means my the majority of my projects have come to a screeching halt (although I'm still going to squeak a few in on the weekends when there's not a UT game to be watching).

Just about every time someone comes over to the house they comment about this wall art:

I luurrvee being able to smile proudly and say, "I made that! And it was SUPER easy." Now, let's get real here, folks, I am not a creative genius. In fact most of my projects have been stolen by someone else that I've discovered on the web.

So here's whatchagottado to make this project happen.

1) Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and find a piece of MDF (in the lumber section).

2) Ask a sweet employee to cut it down for you into 12 inch squares (they may groan a little or give you a look like you are crazy, but they get over it...promise).

3)Sand the edges of each of the pieces a little (so they are smooth) and wipe down with Mineral Spirits or a Tack Cloth (both available at H.D. or Lowe's also).

4) Spray paint the edges with your color of choice. I used an espresso brown with a satin finish. Let it dry for the recommended time.

5) While the paint is drying find some cute scrapbook paper you'd like to use. That's right...scrapbook paper I had a pack of paper lying around with coordinating colors that I liked.

6) Use spray adhesive on BOTH the board and the back of the paper. Let it set for about 30 seconds or so.
7) Lay the scrapbook paper on the board and smooth it out. BE CAREFUL when you are laying it down because this is a PERMANENT bond and it will not come off gently.
8) If you're like me and can't seem to lay it just perfectly you can go back with an exacto knife and trim the edges.

9) Drill a hole in the top center of the back of each piece of wood (about an inch down from the top).

10) Screw in your wall hanger like so:

Now here's where you have an option. You can leave it alone or you can add 2 bumpers to the bottom corners. I find that it prevents the board from wiggling so much on the wall, and it's as simple as putting on a sticker.

Your project is ready to hang! Hooray! I HIGHLY recommend getting another person to help you hang your project. I did it by myself using my handy dandy laser level, but I'm convinced my time would have been cut in half if Trey had been around to help.

I liked the project so much that I found other paper I liked and made another smaller on for our bedroom with a wedding picture.

All of the materials together cost me about $35-$40 which is a heckuvalot better than the $200 piece that is similar in Ballard Designs.

My friend, Tara, made the same project after I explained it to her to put above her mantle. I wish I had a picture of hers to share because it's gorgeous. She had a 10 inch square wood piece to put in the center so she had all of her pieces cut down to 10 inches. The possibilities are endless!

I'll post again after I get back into the swing of school and Trey's birthday!!!

Happy back to school all you teachers!!!

xoxo, Shel & Bert

Our Favorite Weekend Breakfast

Almost every weekend we have a big breakfast because I get tired of the cereal and milk or fruit smoothie routine that we live by during the week. So I thought I'd share my recipe for our favorite biscuits.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening (I like to use the shortening you can buy as a stick and just cut it)
3/4 cup of buttermilk (if the buttermilk is really thick you may need a little extra)

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or criss-crossing 2 knives, until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
3. Stir in buttermilk until dough leaves the side of the bowl (dough will be soft and sticky).
4. Place dough on a slightly floured surface (I like to use a baking mat, but wax paper works well too).
5. Knead lightly 10 times.
6. Roll out until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick.
7. Cut out with a round biscuit cutter (honestly, I don't have one of these so I use my round cookie cutter which is a little big, but it does the job--hopefully I'll get the biscuit cutters I want for Christmas from William Sonoma).
8. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart
9. Heat oven to 450 degrees (this is important to do this last and wait until it heats all the way. This allows the chemical process with the baking soda, powder, and salt to take effect, which causes your biscuits to rise better).
10. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Enjoy!!!!
xoxo, Shel & Bert

Ode to Teddy

Okay, so I'm slightly obsessive about my dogs. I admit this, however, in my defense these precious boys have been with me for 6 years now. At one point when Trey and I started dating he asked me, "If I asked you to pick between me and the dogs who would you choose?"

Crickets....Chirp...Chirp....

It's a good thing it never came down to that.

Teddy's 6th birthday was at the end of last month so I thought I would post a few of my favorite pictures of my snuggle bug.

Seriously...who gets their own real-life teddy bear???

Teddy's formal attire

An injured (and very sad Ted)

Last summer while I was interning, Teddy got sick so I had to take him to work with me. He helped answer the phones :)

Teddy (wearing his UT jersey) doesn't like to be left out of snuggle time.

Don't worry all you Arche lovers, his post will come soon--when I've slept through the night without being woken by his snoring.

xoxo, Shel & Bert

Weekend Projects

Whew! What a project-filled weekend it has been. One of the many joys of home-ownership!

Trey spent all day Saturday in the garage with my dad fixing the valve cover gaskets (and an array of other things--spark plugs, fuel filter, etc.) on his 1999 Nissan Maxima with 220,000 miles (no, I am not kidding). They claim there were no parts left over after putting it all back together, however I did walk out there at one point right as my dad said, "what the hell is that?" It didn't explode when we test drove it this morning so I think the repair was a success & it saved us about $300! Whoo-hoo!

Sunday, Trey and Dad hung a ceiling fan in our master bath! HOORAY! I HATE it when my make up is dripping off of my face after drying my hair because it is so flippin' hot in the bath room under the lights. Problem solved!

Words cannot describe how much I lurrrve this fan!

I put the boys to work one last time hanging a pot rack I found at Pier 1 last week.

Perfect! I hadn't bought a pot-rack previously because typically they are so flippin' expensive. This one was $45! Pretty reasonable!
So you're probably wondering what I was doing while my favorite men slaved away on cars, climbed into the ridiculously hot attic, and stood on counter-tops. Well, I can say that I definitely worked harder than Teddy:

R.O.T.T.E.N

I was building my behind-the-sofa-table.

When I first mentioned this project to Trey, he rolled his eyes, BUT after he considered the set-up of our living room he said, "YEAH! Because if the sofa is a little further away from the wall, the surround sound will be better!" Geez...not what I was going for but anyways....

I went to Home Depot and found one piece of wood that was 12'' by 6'. Perfect. Then I found another piece that was 10'' 10' and had John at Home Depot cut it down into 4 pieces so that each piece was 30'' long. I bought 8 L brackets (they come in packs of 4) and some black paint with a gloss finish.

When I arrived home, I sanded down each piece a little so that there weren't any splinters hanging off. Then I wiped each piece down the some Mineral Spirits on an old towel. Next, I attached the end pieces first for the legs of the table. I was going to put both of the other pieces in the middle to support the weight, but that made the table a little wobbly. Trey (who took physics in high school--I did not) recommended that I put one of the pieces perpendicular to the other legs to give it more stability. HA! What a genius! I knew I kept him around for something. So when I was all done it looked like this:

Then I painted it with the black paint I bought:

Then I slid it bewtween the sofa and the wall/window:

Is this a professional job? Heck No! But it cost me about $20 for the wood, $5 for the brackets plus the cost of the paint. Total money spent about $30 for the perfect size & height table for behind the sofa. Even better, this project took me about an hour...seriously....it was that easy.

Now what will I put on it???? Hmmmm....sounds like I have some shopping to do. :)

xoxo, Shel & Bert

Placemat Pillows

Since we have moved into our new house, there has been a lot of money going into furnishing, decorating, etc. I mean A LOT. I keep assuring Trey that I am SAVING us money by making things myself. He is not convinced. So when I told him about some throw pillows for the couch I wanted to make, his response was less than enthusiastic. In fact, I'm pretty sure it went something like, "Why are you going to spend more money on pillows we move to sit down?" BECAUSE THEY ARE CUTE!!! DUH!

So I ignored his comment, bought a 2 bags of poly fill at Hobby Lobby for $1.99, and found these placemats at Pier 1 for $4.50.

Then I used a seam ripper (little scissors work, too) to create a hole big enough for my hand to fit through in one corner of the placemat and stuffed the crap out of it will the poly fill (it takes a full bag).

Then I just stiched the corner back up with some brown thread for $0.50 I found at Wal-Mart. I do NOT claim to be a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but no one will ever notice (please do not come to our house and examine my pillows).

So now they look like this:

Cute, right? Even Trey likes them...sort of. :) So for $7.00 you too can have your very own placemat pillows!

xoxo, Shel

4 Years Ago Today....

I met this man at a bar establishmentthatservesadultbeverages:

I had no idea what I was getting myself into...but with no hesitation I did this eight months ago:

I can say, I have never had another dull day since I met this man (shocker).

"In your darkest hours, will I love you still? I have and I always will."

Alonzos X 2

This weekend Debra & Gil (Mom & Dad) came in town to see the new house. Friday night we went to the Ranger game. The Rangers lost, but some ball park nachos and a couple of cold beers made it worth while.

Saturday everyone was up bright and early. The boys project for the weekend was to install a new faucet in the down stairs bathroom. It is a pedestal sink, so a project they thought would take a couple of hours turned into a 12+ hour project with probably 6 different trips to the Home Depot. It looks GREAT now! Well done, men!

Debra and I found fabric for the valences in the kitchen and to re-cover the bar stools. (BTW before you go to Joann fabric, be sure to look online for coupons. We had a 40% off one item and a 50% off one item and it saved us $70!!!) Trey and I had found these bar stools on clearance at the Rooms-To-Go outlet and thought they just needed a little love. They had a wood seat and I wanted them covered, so I attempted myself and they turned out like this:

They even included this cute DOG! Who desperately needed a haircut at the time--no worries that has been taken care of. Not a bad job for my first time, but it wasn't great and I never loved the fabric. So after a little tutorial from my favorite mother in law and new fabric they look like this:

I LURVVVVE this fabric! It's a little retro & it has all of the colors of the kitchen. The valence fabric is the same color as the olive green in the chairs with a part in the middle with this fabric. Don't you worry, I'll post pics when they are installed.

To cap the weekend off, we got free tickets to the ZZ Top & Aerosmith concert! Holla! Thanks Brendan & Jen! We had lawn seats and we got there pretty late so we sat pretty close to the back, but it was still a ton-o-fun (and the people watching was FAB). If you look really close in this picture you can see Steven Tyler's mouth (although I'm pretty sure you could see it from space).
WHEW! What a weekend! Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!! xoxo, Shel & Bert

That was then, this is now

Since we just recently moved into our new home, I thought you might like to see where we came from and where we are now.

This was our rental house in Lewisville. Truth be told, this place was a piece of _____ (I'll let you think of a word to fill in the blank). In fact we were convinced that we would come home one day to find the front half of the house detached from the back. HOWEVER, it was the first place we were able to call "home" together, and for that I will always treasure our time there.

With all gushiness out of the way, I'd like to introduce you to our new home!

A fairly dramatic step-up if I do say so myself. AND we're not worried about it caving in during the night, filling our lungs with black mold, flooding when it rains, or any other ailments that we were used to dealing with.

We've been pretty busy this past month getting moved, but I'll post soon about some of our fun projects.

xoxo, Shel & Bert

Fab Five Reunion

It only happens once in a blue moon, but all of the fab five was together this weekend...for about an hour. This is what happens when we live in 4 different states/countries and try to coordinate schedules. Tiffany and Lacey came in on Saturday night and we all went to Tara & Ryan's new house to hang out for the evening. Sunday we went back over to their house for the formal housewarming party. The house is gorgeous and it was great to hang out with everyone.

Carolina came in Sunday evening and four of us went out to dinner (Tara was exhausted from the weekend).

Monday morning Tiffany had to fly back to New York, but Tara came over bright and early so we could all drive her to the airport (hence the one hour of time with all five of us together). Most of Monday was spent just hanging around the house--it is amazing to me how normal it feels for us to just be lounging around together when we see each other just a couple times a year. Monday night we played some Mexican Train dominoes, talked, and laughed til we cried.

LOVE YOU GIRLS! Can't wait to see everyone again! xoxo

Trying....

Alright everyone...the time has come to blog. Since we've just moved in to our new home and I have oh-so-many fun projects going on I've just got to share so my husband doesn't go crazy with me talking about them non-stop.

Updates are coming!!!!