Etsy!

This week (hopefully) I will be opening my very own Etsy shop.  Etsy is a great online marketplace for handmade crafts and vintage goods.  So what will I be selling?

These!

Colorful floral silhouettes!

I tried my hand at these a long while ago and did alright, then I tried again.  It takes a lot to get the paint even and make the flower/leaf appear clear and defined.  I also mat and frame them to make them stand out.  In addition, I also embellish a few of them by adding gold lettering or a pearl or two (there is a pearl in the middle of the pink daisy in front!)

It is my goal to have 10 up for sale in my Etsy shop, which is cleverly named Herban Landscapes.  Get it?  Herban?  Like a plant.

So tell me what you think!  I'll be posting the link in a bit when I get everything on the business end straightened out. :)

Dani

G and H

I'm back!

I am the worst, most horrible, inconsistent blogger ever.  But I have an almost good excuse.  You see, while my brain has been making a list of all the wonderful things I can blog about (you know, little life changes like moving, pets, and cruises) my iPad was not cooperating.  iPads are great, don't get me wrong.  But they are not the best word processors and the Blogger app sucks.

So how am I blogging right now?  You see, I had this computer that was a Christmas gift almost 3 years ago.  The computer decided to be terrible and stopped working on and off.  Then when it did work the 'G' and 'H' and a few other keys stopped working on the keyboard.  You try blogging without a G and H.

Then I lost the power cord between moves, then we moved again.  But I found it yesterday.  And, to my complete and utter surprise, everything works.  After fumbling around with my password (you would forget a password too if you had not logged on in almost two years!) I logged on and found out everything is up and running, including my old buds G and H.

GHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGH

I'm still pretty stoked over the whole thing, especially since I was contemplating buying a new computer.

So what does this mean for you?  MORE BLOGGING!

Here are a few things I have coming up (and yes, long overdue):

• Our new home!!!
• This will probably include a mini-series of posts highlighting different rooms
• Our new kitty!!!
• She's adorbs
• Our cruise to the Bahamas
• A DIY or two
• And maybe a few recipes :)

So get ready folks, I'm back. 

DANI

Our New Home!

We have been so totally and completely blessed in our marriage.  When we decided in October 2010 to get married in December 2010 (Yes, just over 2 months!) we had to find a place to live ASAP.  We were able to find an inexpensive basement apartment with landlords that have become friends over the past year and a half.   So, in short, God provided for us with the right apartment at the right price at the right time.

And here He is again.

We were looking for a place to live that would give us more space (we quickly outgrew our basement).  After the door was essentially closed on buying a house right now, we looked at a house this past Tuesday.  We looked at it knowing there were already applications in on the house.  Yet we still got it.

Here it is!

Unfortunately I did not take any pictures and there are no more on the listing, but this at least gives you an idea.  It has a bit of a yard and our very own driveway!  We have not had a driveway here at our current apartment and that boils down to us finding scarce street parking, even though we live in a suburban neighborhood.

It has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.  The master bedroom has TWO closets, one of which is a walk in.

I am thrilled and we have so much to do in the 19 days till we move in!

I'll be posting pics as soon as we move in!

Dani

Moooooving Update

I have decided this beautiful bovine will be our moving mascot.  So after you look at the cute face, read on for a moving update.


We have decided (actually, it was decided for us) to rent for another year and build credit.  It's definitely true what everyone says, no credit is worse than no credit.  If we combined my credit with Jon's income, we'd be set.  But since I have little to no income and Jon has little to no credit, we will be renting.

That being said, we are relieved that we will get to "try out" the town we were looking at moving to and will get to experience the commute before we commit on a larger scale.

We are awaiting word about an application that was submitted this morning on a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home that is only a few blocks from the house we were looking at buying.  It's in a quaint town just off the main highway.

If we don't get this house (there were other applicants when we applied) then we will keep searching.  God has a plan for us, it's just a matter of trusting Him!

But until we hear, I will be packing and cleaning like there's no tomorrow.  I got a TON done today, which always makes me feel great.

Moving is definitely NOT a fun process, especially when it is in the middle of my end-of-semester rush!

Anybody have some super cool moving tips?

~Dani

Life as it is Now

I feel like the more that is happening in my life, the less I blog.

The biggest news I have at the moment is that this marriage is moving above ground.  Yep, we're moving.  We are currently working with lenders and an agent getting ready to own a home, Lord willing.

It is a huge step and is not an easy process, but it is definitely worth it.  I will refrain from posting pictures of the home we have our eyes on for fear that it will not work out and I will have you all excited for no reason.  but trust me, it's cute.

I will keep you all updated on that and other developments.  I am hitting my high stress point for the year with final exams creeping up on me.  But a sweet summer is just around the corner.

Pray for us!

Dani

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone!  Last year, I set up a whole scavenger hunt for Jon to do when he came home from work.  It took him all over our area of town and led him to a picnic.

This year was different.

It began with us going clothes shopping.  I redid my whole summer wardrobe.  I got so much BOGO and on sale, it was ridiculous.  But that's not what I came to blog about.

For a LONG time now I have wanted a tattoo.  But not just any tattoo.  I wanted one that showed my faith, something I would be proud to show off for the rest of my life.  And that is what I did.

Wednesday, after dinner out, we stopped by the shop to get a price quote and to schedule an appointment.  Met the artist, Danny (!), then paid my deposit.  The non-refundable deposit.  This was for real.

Then I started sketching my ideas for the rest of the week.  I knew I wanted an Ichthus, the Greek fish that came to represent Christianity.  You know, the one you see on cars all the time?  That one.  There is a cool story behind it too, look it up.

I doodled and looked at tons of pics online.

Then I decided on this one:

I read about tattoos and prepared myself for the pain.  I figured I would work myself up so when it came down to it, I would be relieved it didn't feel as bad as I thought it would.

The best advice I got from friends with foot tattoos was, "Don't throw up like I did." and "It was my worst tattoo."  Thanks girls. :P

After shopping (and changing into our fresh outfits) we marched ourselves to the tattoo shop.  Oh boy.

My stomach was in knots.  Had I not already paid the deposit, I would have chickened out.  Not because I wasn't sure about having this on my foot for the rest of my life.  I was ready for that.  But not the pain.

We were led down the hallway to the room.  It was FREEZING!  I was sorry I didn't bring a sweater.  After a while it made sense as to why it was a bit chilly in there.  By the end I was HOT!

No videos were allowed, but Jot got some pics.  Not my most flattering 20 minutes.

I was so so scared.  That face says, "what the heck am I doing?!?"  I am pretty sure I said that multiple times out loud too.

As he was prepping my foot, the shakes began.

Danny was very patient with me and my shaking.  He knew it was my first.  Also, he had a grip of death on my foot.  

I was not sure how I was going to get through it.  Literally, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do if I couldn't sit through the whole thing.  Turns out, it was worse than I thought it would be.

At one point, Danny stopped, looked up at me  and said, "Sweetie, you have got to stop shaking."

Jon had to remind me to keep breathing.  Forgetting to breath is a rare occasion.

I was in a ton of pain.  

It's done!!!  So. Much. Pain.

Big Band-aid.  

Still feeling it, but Froyo made it better.

There it is!  Danny did a great job!  Plus, the weather is perfect to show it off with some flip-flops.

All in all, it was a good experience, minus the actual getting it part.  It hurt a lot.  At this point, this is it for me.  It hurt so bad I don't want to sit through that again.  Also, the amount of shaking I was doing is not great for getting a nice looking tattoo.  Danny must have a lot of talent (and a good grip) to get such straight lines out of this!

Thoughts?

Dani

Recap

Here I am again.  Apologizing for being away for so long.  Except this time I don't have a good reason.  I only have class twice a week and I am not working this semester.  That's right, I'm a bum.  


Actually, my only decent excuse is that I rarely use a laptop anymore since I got an iPad in November and there really isn't any good way to blog from the iPad.  Additionally, I will try to blog on my laptop and when I go to add pics, it crashes.  


But enough of that.


I think of things I want to blog about ALL the time.  I have missed SO many good opportunities to blog since I last posted.  I've done some DIY art, colored my hair, been on trips to West Virginia, and I've started babysitting and tutoring.  So, as usual, I will post a list and *hopefully* be back on the blogging road.


So here it is, my "What's Been Poppin' Lately" List:


1.  I colored my hair back to my natural color (dirty blondish-brown).  I was tired of coloring my roots.


2. Jon and I are in the process of becoming members of a local church.  We miss our home church immensely!


3. I started following Shades of Shayes, a blog by a fellow CNU Captain.  If you need a good love story, read the Saga of Office Boy.  You're lucky you have tons to catch up on.

4. West Virginia has drive-thru liquor stores!!! 

5. My January furniture re-do project is still sitting in my parent's garage 3 hours away.  


6. I got a lot better at snowboarding this winter.  Lots or soreness, but it's all worth it.

I'm in the intimidating pink and hubby's in the blue.

7.  My baby brother is growing up!  He is 5 months old already and is drooling through his first couple teeth.

He has the same big red birthmark in the middle of his forehead as me.  Mine only makes appearances when blood is rushing to my head and when I'm crying.

8.  My shelves under the stairs were completed and I got them organized to the point that I am satisfied with the space.

9.  I did my own artsy project right off the front cover of Better Homes & Gardens, which you can find HERE.

These were easy to do after a few tries.  I definitely recommend practicing on scrap paper before doing it on  the canvas.

10.  Jon and I have been on a manhunt mousehunt since February.  We have caught two.  As I type this I can here the remaining members of the colony scurrying through my walls.  Not a cool sound.  Also, I would like to reclaim my kitchen.  I hate cooking and cleaning in there now.  


That's all for now folks.  As you can see, I have been taking pictures a lot so I can blog, but then I forget/get lazy.  Fail.  


I will make no more promises about blogging.  Maybe I'll surprise you all and start doing this regularly again.


**SNEAK PEEK**


Here's a sneak peak about my next post coming this weekend!  

Dani

My Special Space

With so much going on in my life (not now, but come next Monday when school starts!) I needed a place where I could sit down and focus and be able to put up my goals in a place where I could see them.  Yes, I could sit at the diningroom table, bu it's just not the same.

So after some online shopping, I found my desk.  $39.99 at Walmart.  It was available in my local store, so I went right away to pick it up.

The Box

At this point in the game I was pretty confident.  I mean, why couldn't I make a simple desk?  I was excited and promised myself I would not get frustrated.

Ahhh!  Too many pieces!!

 I kept pulling pieces out of the box.  There were far too many pieces for this one desk.  Also, the instructions were like 20 pages long.

At this point I was only at step 4 out of 12.  It was starting to look like a desk, though, which was encouraging.  However, the construction was not without frustration.  These types of things are always tricky because if you mess up on one piece or if you bend a screw, it all gets messed up.  We only had one part that was bent when I hammered it in, but Jon quickly corrected it and sent me back on my way to finishing.

Eventually, I finished.  I kept wanting to stop and take a break to eat lunch, but I kept chugging along.  It took an hour, more or less, but I was super proud of myself when it was all finished!

The corkboard was $1 at a thrift store.  I added the design.

Here it is!  My special space.  I know it won't always look this good, but for now I can appreciate the organized space that I can call my own.

Dani

Zebras, cheetahs, and woodworking oh my!

I am having a wonderful time at home (aka my parent's house, which will always be home) while Jon hunts this weekend.  I brought along several projects I wanted to accomplish while I am home.  My dad, you see, has a garage and wood shop with every tool imaginable (to me) and he can fix and make anything.  For real.

I have this vision to make something I can't even find an exact picture of on the internet using recycled wine bottles.  This is a teaser, so there will not be any pictures this time around. :)  I cannot wait to show off the final product!!

Another project, and a New Year's resolution was to refinish a piece of furniture.  I found it.  The only glimpse I will give you before I finish is this:

Yes, it was that bad.  I am not sure what possesses someone to paint cheetah spots and zebra stripes all over a piece of furniture.

So, be on the lookout for two handy dandy posts about my projects.  I am indeed enjoying winter break.

Dani

New Years Post!

Happy New Year!

I know...five days too late.  It's the 6th and I have already broken almost all of my resolutions.  But, it's also early enough to start over. Armed with a new hair color (Blonde!), I am ready to take on 2012.

Looking my 2am best!

  I want to be better at a lot of things this year including reading my Bible, blogging, crafting, cooking, and taking care of my body.  It's a long list, I know.  Oh, and add to that the fact I want to be organized about it all.  As much as I hate disorganization, my life is full of it.  From my dresser drawers to my bathroom cabinet, it's all a mess.  I definitely feel there is a connection between the mess in my drawers and the mess in my life.

My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 

As much as I love this verse, it plagues me just the same.  I think of it when I'm flipping through the radio while I drive or when I'm standing in front of the RedBox picking out our date night movie.  As challenging as it is, I want to become closer to God this year by following this verse and dwelling on positive things that will bring me closer to Him.

So here is my official 2012 Resolution/Project List

Drum roll please...

1.  Read my Bible everyday
2.  Spend time during my commutes to worship/spend alone time with God
3.  Limit fast food to once a week (that's huge for me, people!)
4. BLOG at least twice a week
5. Refurbish a piece of furniture
6. Exercise twice a week at least (Baby steps, right?  Also, I count Zumba on the Wii for 30mins as exercise)  

This is more of a general lifestyle change for me.  I predict the fast food one will be the hardest, especially when I am back in school.  Wish me luck!

Dani