lyrics love

my next project, in which i have already started, is to decorate our stairwell. it is so bare and has no color whatsoever. i have been trying to think of ways to brighten it up. at first i thought i wanted to do large paintings but recently we decided that the art paintings are actually going to go in our window cubby behind our couch so it can double as decor and to block the crazy amount of light.

i found some inspiration that i really liked off of pinterest

but i decided to save the photography art for our dining room. i really want to do an abstract collage of our favorite prints on canvases in there.

so i decided to altar the inspiration above with some lyric art that i have been wanting to create since i came across it on etsy. each of these lyrics mean something to josh and i and i thought it was a great way to come home each day to see love all over the walls. (our front door faces the stairwell wall when you walk in)

i do love me some phototshop :)

this is our wedding song :)

this was my favorite song (next to our wedding song) that i found last minute to play

 before the wedding. makes me smile every time i hear it.

 this is our "dave" song. if you know me, you know i have to have some dave on the wall :)

and of course! "home" which is such a great song and so fitting 

to see when you walk in the door :)

i'll post pictures when done!

happy friday!

new things around the house

sorry that it has been awhile since the last update - but ever since i started "bracelets for a cause" life has been crazy! i didn't expect the kind of support and interest in it that i originally did. i thought maybe there will be ten orders at the most...ummm - more like thirty orders in two weeks! so happy to do it and to help out anyway i can. am i sick of making bracelets yet? nope - still love it every bit as i did when i made my first one :)

besides that i have been super busy with work - i was in denver all last week, missed the hubs and the bubs (short for "bubby" AKA our dogs) but it was good! i saw probably the only snow i will see all fall/winter, got to get wear my favorite boots, scarfs, and jackets

AND i was so excited on the first because i walked through a light blizzard and snow slush to starbucks to be greeted by THE red cup.

 yep - starbucks has officially said to the world that its the holiday season AAAAND the best surprise? i didn't have to wait until thanksgiving for my favorite....gingerbread latte!

so on to THE house

 - i have to back up a little bit here - so if you remember my living room inspiration from a few posts ago...i had originally wanted to find an old dresser and try my hand at refinishing. but after weeks and weeks of searching...i FOUND one!....ALREADY refinished and it was CHEAPER than what i budgeted between the dresser and supplies...and better yet? it is PERFECT! i am so super excited about this since it is THE piece of the room. everything else will be pretty neutral.

the color doesn't really show up here very vividly - its actually a little more teal than in the picture. when all is said and done we're going to get the tv mounted and do infrared signal so the boxes aren't on the dresser.

oh and i can't forget! i went to this super cool quarterly event in houston call the urban market - its where all of the local "crafty" merchants come out and sell their super original home goods. AND if you go on the day that all of the designers go - you pay a little extra but you get wine and food! well, when i was there i picked up this super cool carved key holder :) now it graces the wall next to the front door.

(note: my walls are DEFINITELY not that yellow)

so now, on to the craftiness. 

i want to start this by showing you what my "kitchen table" has now become...my craft table :)

so to take a break from all of the bracelet craziness i decided to do some projects that have been on the back burner for awhile.

so if you remember from the "polaroid coaster" post i had mentioned that i was going to do it eventually - well i finally did! my inspiration came from a pin on pinterest - unfortunately it was to an esty shop - but if you know me... i don't like to buy i like to make

(my dog is not ferocious - this was actually mid yawn haha)

if you're interest in making some - they are SUPER easy! here is a tutorial :) they would be make great gifts for christmas or newlyweds!

the other project that i finished today was our holiday wreath (btw i added some cinnamon sticks from the local craft store so it even SMELLS like christmas)...starbucks - you have already gotten me excited and i started the holiday decor early...you and your damn red cup :)

bracelets for a cause

besides my family i have two things that i love and make me happy: friends and crafts. 

the craft that i have recently picked up are chan luu type bracelets. i really enjoy making these (just making them is somewhat therapeutic) but i realized there is no way i can wear them all :)

since i had no interest in actually selling them for a profit, i decided that instead it would be really great if i could make them but have them benefit a charity or a cause.

i have two friends near and dear to my heart that have lost someone very close to them and i decided that i would sell these bracelets and have 100% of the profits go towards the charity in the name of the person that they had lost.

charities/causes:

one of my best friends from college julianne gage lost her sister, jessica gage a few years ago to brain cancer. when you purchase a bracelet in honor of jessica your donations will go towards the national brain tumor society.  

on october 9th, two people very close to josh and i, ashley and sean dugan lost their baby boy, royce haskell dugan just two weeks before he was due to come into this world. when you purchase a bracelet in honor of royce haskell dugan your donations will go towards MEND (mommies enduring neonatal death)

below are some examples of the bracelets i have already made (to give you an example of what they look like). bracelets with gold, silver, or pearl beads: $60 and bracelets with all other colors are $50. you can either choose to order one from the examples below or you can customize a bracelet to be any bead and leather rope color of your choice. for orders please email BraceletsFAC@gmail.com

for more information visit Bracelets For A Cause on Facebook.

silver bracelet: $60

pearl bracelet: $60

mutli-color bracelet: $50

gold bracelet: $60

leather cord color options

home improvement

so as you know josh and i recently moved in to a new home back in august. since we're still in the process of selling our other house, buying new furniture and decorating has been on hold until we sell the other house...but it doesn't mean i can't daydream and get inspiration for how i want to decorate the house for when we do :)

the good part of having to wait to buy furniture (we're going to replace almost everything we have) is that i have time to find exactly what we want instead of feeling rushed to buy something and it be a compromise compared to what i had envisioned in my head. with that being said below is my living room "board" as far as the colors and furniture that i have on wish list for the living room.

one exciting thing is happening in terms of decor that josh broke down and let me get is the media console! i had originally planned on buying an antique dresser off of craigs list or oodle and then refinished it to be that seafoam color above. after weeks and weeks of searching for the perfect piece i stumbled upon a beautiful dresser AND the owner already recently refinished it in the EXACT color i was wanting...and the best part is that it was cheaper than what it would have been to buy one and refinish it myself (not to mention all of the time in actually refinishing it!)

we pick it up on sunday and i am SO excited :) :) :)

(if you look at the drawer on the top - thats what the finish is going to look like when its done)

besides decorating - the other "to-do" on our list is our kitchen...nothing needs remodeling but when we bought the house - it came with white appliances and it doesn't really go with the finish and countertops in the kitchen so appliance by appliance we are replacing them. but luckily! (kinda) our dishwasher broke - which meant buying a new dishwasher! (now we only have the microwave and stove/oven left) - and to save $150 on the installation fee i decided to take on the dishwasher installation myself! it took me about three hours but i got it done :) (FYI youtube is awesome for installing instructions)

(we are 95% there - just need to re-add the modeling to hide the insulation)

not gonna lie its a pretty satisfying feeling knowing you installed something 

(especially the money saving part too!)

happy friday :)

a few of my favorite things

today i felt like sharing a few items that i have purchased over the past year or so that i realized has made my life either easier, more comfortable, or organized.

ralph lauren newbury wristlet
$58

i was so tired of either carrying around a purse or misplacing my id/credit cards because i was always putting my cards and phone in my back pocket (when i didn't want to carry a purse).

after searching and searching for a wrislet that wasn't too big or only had enough room for my cards - i found this amazing wrislet at zappos.com...its perfect bc its juts big enough to hold your phone (iphone or smaller) and a few cards - i can even put my car key in there. additional plus is that its saffiano (like) leather, which means it doesnt scratch easily or discolor and holds up to wear and tear unlike canvas or traditional leather

coffee mug tree

$14

seriously i use this everyday - i know its silly to think that having your coffee mugs on a tree rather than in your cabinet - but if you drink coffee as much as the hubs and i do it makes life so much better (and prettier if you have cute mugs) when you're half awake in the morning trying to make some coffee

(they have these and bed bath and beyond)

dog bowl water mat

$10-$15

i know this seems pretty simple but josh and i actually didn't acquire one until we moved into our new house. seriously - how did we go so long without one (and having two dogs) i'll never know. its great because it contains (most) of your dogs lapped-out water/slobber. just seeing all of that stuff on the mat and not on our hardwood floors makes me happy. (ps. they come in colors other than pink - only image i could find)

pretty plum sugar robe

$65

i know most of your probably have robes - and before this one i had about four. now i don't even use the other ones. why? well being tall most of the short robes don't exactly cover my bee-hind and if they are long enough they are too thick and in the summer that just won't do. this robe is great because its knee length and the pattern options are super pretty, and the material is light - i feel girly just putting it on :)

tory burch robinson work tote

$550

ok - so out of all of these this is definitely the most expensive by far. before this bag i have never owned a designer bag and don't plan on making a habit out of it. but after breaking the handle off of four $50 bags from target from wear and tear at work and traveling i had had enough and finally was willing to dish out the money for quality. so far - i definitely paid for what i got. when i travel i carry about 10-15 lbs worth of stuff in this sucker and it has shown absolutely no signs of wear and tear whatsoever. and the best part is that its true saffiano leather which means it won't scuff or stain (which is great because i have already spilt about three things on it and it cleans right up). net-net: if you need a work bag that will take a beating - this is your bag

victoria secret's "pink" v-neck t-shirt

2/$26

i know what you're thinking - "a t-shirt is a t-shirt" and yes i would have agreed with you before i came across these bad boys. i had about four different brands of your standard v-neck t-shirt (what can i say i love me a great pair of t-shirt and jeans) and then i saw these at vs one day and decided to give them a try. these are seriously the best t-shirt out there - it's super soft (think vintage tee) - fits great and to top it off they have them in about every color under then sun. all i am saying is that if i could wear these every day of the week i would be a happy girl.

water carafe

$5-$15

yea, i know - it's just a water carafe. but if you drink water or tea like josh and i do - this is absolutely amazing. we have two - one for water and one for tea. i got this because josh and i were constantly pulling out our ginormous tea pitcher (full weighs in at about 5 lbs) but then got tired of it so we started using this (especially for dinner). its great because its convenient and its super cute (and cheap).

magnet wall calendar

$20

this is probably one of the most used items in our house. as josh says when i tell him about my travel and events in our life "put in on the calendar" - this is better than your standard calendar bc its MAGNETIZED which means that it goes right on your fridge which is something you go to multiple times a day. and the other thing is that its dry-erase which means you don't have to buy one every year

last but not least!

calphalon panini grill

$40

panini-schmanini: i have never used this "panini" grill for paninis. BUT what i do use it for is inside, stove-top grilling. i use this most awesome pan for everything from grilling salmon, to aspargus, and of course chicken. it's great because it does a great job without burning (or scorching) your food and the best part is that its non-stick and there is hardly any clean-up. but please for the love of god - DO NOT dishwash this..ok? :)

diy bracelets

so if you're like me and get on pinterest on a daily basis - you know when a certain decor, photography concept, outfit, jewelry piece, or celebrity is really popular. why? bc i get email notification after email notification (think about when your friend tags you in 100 photos and fb sends you a email every time you have been tagged) - yep same thing. well one item that i "re-pinned" this week got that exact same reaction...which was the "diy - braided hex nut bracelet" image below. i think it got "re-pinned" or "liked" about 100 times in two hours. so since 100 random strangers in two hours thought it was pretty neat - i thought you might too. :)

braided hex nut bracelet

(click on image for link to tutorial)

how hard was it? well i may be a little biased since i have attempted to make my own version of a chan luu bracelet (that sucker took over three hours and it only wrapped around twice!) - so after that experience i'd say that its pretty easy and straight forward. if you are looking for some pointers that make this bracelet easier take the following notes:

1. use a clip board to hold the end of the bracelet - otherwise you will become frustrated when the braceles starts twisting in all directions when you start stringing the nuts on

2. pre-string all of the nuts instead of one at a time - that is unless you have three hands and find it incredibly easy to hold a braid tight, hold on to the nut so it doesn't twist or become loose, while trying to string your nuts on one at a time onto a really long string (ok i know, i know, i think i have said "nut" about ten times)

3. one thing the tutorial forgot to mention was how the heck you're supposed to actually close the bracelet in order to wear it...create a knot at the end by tying an extra nut at the end of your braid and then at the other end tie a knot at the end of your braid and then tie another one about half an inch down. then you are able to string the knotted nut through your extra string so that it has a secure closure.

now - these aren't really notes but just more of an FYI on where to buy the stuff

1. you can buy some hemp string at micheals or hobby lobby (i personally couldn't find the rope used in the turtorial above) and I ended up grouping three strings each to then make the braid string thicker. i was able to find a multi-color pack for about $6 and each string group will make one bracelet.

2. i found the nuts at home depot and i would recommend either a #10-32 or a #8-32 and i selected to use brass since i am a huge gold fan - but if you prefer silver you will actually find way more of a selection. the ones i used came six to a pack (you will need eighteen) and they were $1 a pack. (so roughly $4 per bracelet. cheap, cute bracelet ftw!)

below is my final product after my try at it - i am excited to make more in different colors as well as using leather rope the next time around.

if the whole "hex braid" bracelet doesn't float your boat then i have included some links (click on image) to some more bracelet tutorials below. good luck and enjoy!

friendship bracelet

woven chain bracelet

wrap bracelet

pinteresting

pinterest: if you haven't heard of it - well then you have way too much time on your hands. pinterest is the next best thing to wasting time since facebook. no really. 

i discovered pinterest about two months ago and its pretty much the best thing. ever. i one day i stumbled upon it and decided to look for inspiration for DIY wall calendars. and then photography inspiration. and then living room curtains. and then....pretty much anything i can daydream about. and if you're a bride to be - forget all of the wedding blogs like weddingchicks.com, 100layercake.com, or stylemepretty.com - why? bc all of those inspiration photos all can be found on pinterest.

so what is pinterest? to put as simply as possible...pinterest is like a filtered google image search - but it only brings up the best images - none of that junk from google where you maybe find two or three images that actually interest you after getting all the way to page 10 of your search. why? well everyone on pinterest is super creative. and there really isn't any "facebook" like pictures that are from joe smith's canon point-and-shoot. 

personally i love it - especially since i like to think of myself as crafty and it gives me so many ideas on how to decorate our new house (once we sell the old one of course) and i already have a few projects i have started 

like this one (wall calendar painted with chalk paint)

or this one (going to restore antique dresser for craig's list in this color for a media console)

or this one (keep the mantle but change out for the holidays/seasons)

and the best part? you don't even have to know what you're looking for - just start following some people and they will do the work for you. why? because their "pins" show up on your "feed"

one more thing - you need an invite to start - so if you want to be a member leave a comment below and i can send you an invite or you can request one from the site. enjoy! :)

http://pinterest.com/dfernandez/

new home :)

for many reasons we have been wanting to move into the historic district in houston called "heights" but we always thought it would be quite awhile til we got there - but suddenly a great house showed up in our price range and we took it the same day we found it. we are so super excited to move to this part of town bc its so close! close to so many great things: great family, great food (no more chili's and macaroni grill), great shops, great people, great architecture (no more cookie cutter subdivisions), and great art. we are so excited and today is finally the day that it is all ours and i am just as excited to start decorating and making the home ours :)

happy friday!

the front :)

the back! (can't wait to set up seating area with strings of lights!)

polaroid coasters

so my new obession is pinterest.com. if you haven't joined or discovered it yet, you definitely should - especially if you are the type that looks for inspiration for everyday things through google search. anyways, as i was going through my regular feed of awesome inspirational images today i noticed these gems! 

polaroid coasters!

immediately i wanted some for our new house that we're closing on on friday, but then my brain started working and i realized that these would be great as gifts or favors for weddings and parties let alone for your very own coffee table!

unfortunately the etsy shop owner that makes these is so overwhelmed with orders (totally understandable) that i started on the search for how to make these must-haves myself. 

if there is a will there's a way :)

if you don't want to wait until i try my hand at it then here is the great tutorial i found on how to make these super original coasters.

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2010/11/how-to-make-photo-coasters.html

second times a charm

so i attempted again to make my own cd/dvd envelopes for dana fernandez photography - the first time didn't turn out very well (or at least to my liking) so i tried again. this time i got punch holes (or whatever you call them) and instead ironed the fabric so that the ends didn't end up frazzled. i definitely like the way it came out the second round. now if only i could figure how to sew on the high-tech sewing machine that my mother-in-law gave me...

using "recycled" card stock i printed the logo and then cut out 5" x 5". then i punched a hole and hammered the eyelet on the back

i cut a similar size for the width of 5" and then cut where i had wanted it to fold over for the front. i then sewed the bottom in the center of the top flap but left enough slack so that i could wrap twine around the button later

i traced the longer of the two card stock onto some fabric that i had and then iron the edges over for clean lines

 thread and needles (good to have varying sizes depending on the thickness of the thread

then i layered the longer card stock with the button facing down, fabric facing up and then the smaller sqaure card stock. then (by hand) i sewed a seam all the way around. finally, i made a double knot of the baker's twine and strung it through the eyelet

turned over the flap and strung the baker's twine around the button.

i have seen these used for photography businesses as well as invitations or save-the-dates for weddings and events