Michael's Room { Idea Two }

So after making my dream room from yesterday's post, I heard that my brother wanted a basketball theme.  Grrrrr(-eat!).  I told my mom he was messing with my vision.  So I decided to throw together a grown up basketball themed room. 

Below is Michael's Bedroom Option two.  It has basketballs that hang from the ceiling, a chalkboard with a basketball court on it, and Sports Illustrated Pictures for artwork.  Pretty good, huh?  I think it's super cute... but I am in total favor of room uno.  While I think this one might be a bit more creative, I think the other is a better fit and something that won't need to be redone again. 

Dresser - Ikea - $279

Other Dresser - Make from Ikea's Rast - $29

Benches - Target -$207

Basketball Chalkboard - Make - $50(?)

Rug - Ikea - $179

Art - Make - $20 (frames)

Curtains - DropCloth - Make - $20

Total = $991(ish)

While I think this one might be a bit more creative, I think the other is a better fit and something that won't need to be redone again. Still an affordable room and something that could be done for cheaper I'm sure, but I think we've decided on #1!!! YAY!!! I love that room! 

So... here we go... hopefully I'll have recaps to post on Monday! 



Michael's Bedroom { Idea One }

This weekend my (no so) little brother leaves  for his first spring break trip.  It will be his first time on an airplane AND to Florida.  I hope he has a great time.  But while he's gone, my mother and I will be re-doing his bedroom. 

Right now his bedroom is pink and purple.  It used to be my sister and I's but when we moved out to go to school and all else that comes after that, he moved into there since it was bigger.  So poor Michael has been living in a pink and purple room, with soccer stuff left up on the walls from my sister. 

I've decided we are going to make this a cool room for him.  Or at least what I hope is a cool room for a just turned 13 teenage boy.

This is my idea one...

I think I love...

And at only $693 for the redo, I think I'm sold.  The breakdown is below!

Beds - Have

Dresser - Ikea - $179

Desk - Make - Have Pieces

Rug - Ikea - $149

Curtains - Make or Ikea - $30

Lamps - Make - $15

Trunks/Benches - Target - $80 each

Ottoman - Meijer - $60

Flag - Ebay - $20

States Chalk Board - PB Teen - $80

Globe - Find

Total - $693

What do you think?  This was my inspiration room from DecorPad! How did I do?

via



I Die

So I love Rachel Zoe.  Not sure what it is... or why exactly, but I do.  Maybe it's her crazy sense of style, or her silly antics, or that she over dramatizes everything!  Love her!  In her own words... I die. 

This morning, I got my usual Piperlime email.  It was all Rachel's picks!  Uh, Holla!  I love everything she's picked.  Unfortunately for me, I'd say that half of them are over $200!  WOAH!  Not going to work, but I will show you my favorites of her favorites! 

First off... I'd buy this dress if I were a twig!  A stick thin little chica who could pull this off with sass!  That I am not, but I still love it! 

via

Next up... WEDGES!!!  I love these!  And at only $75... umm.... yes please!  I would totally wear these even if I do then TOWER over Mike!

via

I also love this Tunic Top!  I am in love with anything that covers my tush!  It's not the same as it used to be!  These tunic tops are oh so forgiving!  But I guess I'll have to look for Style for a Steal on this one... It's $315.  WOWZA!

via

I'm loving these two coverups.... one a jacket and the other a silk cover up... LOVE!  They are so cute and so simple but would add so much to a white tee and jeans! 

And lastly... this Marc Jacobs bag.  I think I'm one of the only people I know who doesn't have a NICE purse!  I don't have a coach one like EVERYONE that I work with does... I don't even have a nice one from TJ Maxx...  The nicest kind I have is Jessica Simpson.  I am a fan, yes.  But this bag... saw it in Nordstroms a week ago and am dying to have it!  Lottery... Let me win!

via

So what do you think?  Do you love Piperlime and/or Rachel Zoe as much as I do?  I probably have a problem, but at least I can chat about it!  :)

Skating Weekends

It's that time again... competition time. 

I feel like we have one every weekend through these spring months. 
That might be because we did last and this weekend.  Last weekend I had six little kiddos compete and this weekend three. 

Skating competitions for coaches are like riding a roller coaster for anywhere from 2-6 hours long.  It's a roller coaster of emotions.  Skaters are either excited or not happy with how they skated, upset or confused with how they placed, nervous about how they'll do or how they'll place, scared, don't care, afraid they'll forget.... I think you get the idea.  It's a hard job to keep them calm, make sure they are still in the game all while realizing that once they step on the ice, it's all in their hands.  You train for these things, but you never know what could happen.

Last weekend all my little skaters did great!  I think we wrangled up a 1st and multiple 2nds. 
This weekend all my little skaters did great too!  We wrangled up 2 1sts and a couple of 2nds. 

Last weekend I thought Mike was going to die when this little girl walked by him in a mini red dress.  She was probably 3.  :) Don't get any ideas... it's not happening.  There will be no skating for my kids... I hope.  Too expensive and too subjective! Even though you see this...

I'm sure it will be a battle to keep them out of hockey/figure skating... but I think it's one I'm willing to fight!

Mike you are going down...

Just kidding

Anyways, so happy for my little skaters who did so great this weekend! 

It was great to go back to my hometown too! 

I always get to see my old coaches, my old friends, and all other oldies but goodies from my skating life!

Happy Monday!

Sending Love

Have I ever told you how much I love the name Lucy?  I'm not sure why.  It is very popular right now, that could be why.  Or maybe it's because it feels old world to me.  You don't meet too many people these days named Lucy or Lucille.  It's just so charming. 

Well anyways, I've {for the longest time} wanted to name my first born daughter Lucille "Lucy" Jean.  I just love it.  I don't know why, I just do. 

Today I was doing my blog hog sorta thing... I go through all the new posts on the blogs I follow, open up the ones that I think I want to read, minimize them all, and then go through them one by one.  When I went over to see what Kristina was writing about at A Perfect Dose of Life, there was a link to another blog.  3 Kids, a Mini-Van, and a Mortgage - A blog that has become about Lucy. 

Lucy is the daughter of the Kate.  You can read all about Kate and Lucy's Story here.  Kate's daughter Lucy is 5 years old, and was suddenly diagnosed with multiple brain tumors. She recently lost her ability to walk, although she is doing physical therapy to try to get moving again and since February has undergone several surgeries and developed some complications.

Reading these words this morning brought tears to my eyes.  I've said it before and I'll say it again... I can't imagine going through these things with a child.  I'm sure if anyone saw me at work crying at my desk, they'd probably be like "are you ok?" and I'm not sure how I'd respond.  Things like this are so unfair, but it seems like Kate and her family are dealing with it as well as possible.  That's one thing about blogging... it's a great release... and the blogging community is so great in spreading the word, sending love and prayers, and reaching out to each other.

Please hop on over to Kate's blog and send her your well wishes, love, prayers, comfort... or whatever you want.  Everyone deals with things like this differently... I know I try to laugh, joke, distract <-- probably not always a good thing!

Keep Lucy in your thoughts and prayers.  

No Sleep, Time to Shop

What do you do when you can't sleep? 

I was sick in bed all day (with a headache -- it's that time of year again) so naturally when it was time to go to sleep for real, I couldn't.

Normally, when I can't sleep, I just lay in bed until I just fall asleep.  Not this time.  Tried that and it didn't work.  I wish it had as I get up for work around 4:30am.  Nope, not today. 

Instead, I moved out to our loft and popped open my computer and started this post.  However, when it comes to interesting things to do in the middle of the night when you can't sleep, this doesn't cut it.  So I decided to go shopping.  With my Garnet Hill and Lowe's Outdoor Living catalogs, I'm setting out to remake a couple of outfits via Target, Old Navy, and Gap and decide on some outdoor projects for this summer!

Outfit 1:

Style for a Steal Version:

Top: Target- $12.99

Khakis: Target - $20 (roll up)

Shoes: Old Navy - $20

Scarf: Target - $12.99

Bracelet: Stella & Dot - $59

Earrings: Stella & Dot - $39

Outfit 2:

Style for a Steal:

Top: Old Navy - $23

Cardigan: Old Navy - $17

Jeans: Old Navy - $35

Belt: Old Navy - $13

Shoes: TOMS - $48

Earrings: Stella & Dot - $29

Bracelet: Stella & Dot - $39

Necklace: Stella & Dot - $69

Well, that was fun.  I now KNOW that I must go shopping soon!  Do you like these outfits?  Maybe I'll actually do some online shopping right now. 

Yep, still not tired. 

Weekends

What a weekend. 

It was filled with highs, middles, and headaches!  I felt busy all weekend, but of course, took no pictures and I also felt like time was moving slowly so that I could just continue on. 

Starting on Thursday, I was in bed with a migraine all day.  Ugh to migraines!  They stink!  I get them all the time, but especially when the weather changes a bit and since it's going to be 72 degrees today and 40 on Thursday, I'm guessing another is in my future soon. 

Friday was nice.  I had to run some errands and finish up my shopping for the blog swap!  Excited to see what Miss Maria thinks of her little gift.  I hope she enjoys!  Then had lunch with my grandma who insisted on buying me something!  I wouldn't let her.

Saturday I had to teach ice skating at one rink and then put my kiddos on at a competition at another!  I woke up with my head pounding, but couldn't let the little kids down so I just drugged myself up with Excedrin and pushed through.  That took me through 3pm.  My kids did sooo great!  Morgan - Basic 4 - 2nd, Rachel - Basic 5 - 2nd, Lindsay - Basic 7 - 2nd, Sarah - Freestyle 1 - 2nd, Reid - Freestyle 1 - 1st, and Grace - Limited Beginner - 2nd!  So proud of all of them!  Can't wait to see some pictures taken by the lovely Andrea!  Then out with grandma so she could buy me that thing!  So... I got some TOMS.  Love them!  And then dinner at Benihanna's.  LOVE IT!!!

And finally Sunday!  I think it takes forever to get here!  But we got up and went to this place called Jim Dandy.  Anyone ever heard of it?! Well, we had a coupon so Mike wanted to go.  Never again.  Sorry, Jim Dandy.  But I can get warm food for the same price and it's probably better at Perkins!  Oh well, at least we tried it!  Then we came home and raked the yard so we could reseed it.  Our yard is an on-going process!  It never ends!  Last night I gave Lou a haircut.  Wish I had a picture of his bum... got a bit too close... well, not closer than when they do it at the groomer, but I'll have to post it tomorrow!  You'll laugh.  He's got to feel naked! 

And so far it's not been to bad of a Monday. 

Thursday Night Faves - Round Up

Here we are again.  Doesn't it feel like the weekends take forever to get here?  I swear the work days take longer than ever!  But it's here!  It's finally here and it's time to do a little weekly wrap up!  I'm excited for this week's wrap up!  It's been a pretty good bloggy week! 

Let's not forget about the horrific events that are still going on in Japan. The crisis over there is so scary. Tomorrow I’ll be participating in a Bloggers’ Day of Silence, organized by Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours. This means no posting on Friday, as a way to bring awareness and to acknowledge the devastation in Japan.

Faves of the week!
 
My hubby's hockey team won the Indiana High School State Championship!!!  Mike's alway getting to the final game and ending up 2nd.  Not this time!  Check out the post here!

Our wedding was featured by Rhiannon at Hey Gorgeous and there were so many lovely comments that it just made me feel so good!  I worked really hard on our wedding and I was mostly concerned with everyone having a good time.  To hear/see that others enjoyed what I came up with detail and decor-wise was very very exciting and gratifying!

via Me - My DIY Boutonierres

Sherry and John over at Young House Love did some 5 dolla art!  I love me some cheap art!  Remember when I did these?  I already had the frames and printed out the pictures.  Well, Sherry and John got some frames from Ikea and used scrapbook paper.  It's like large color blocks!  I die!

via Young House Love

Over at A Brooklyn Limestone, Mrs. Brooklyn refinished a sideboard for one of her rooms... It was very nice.  Loving the color and loving that it's "worldly."

via A Brooklyn Limestone

Thanks for stopping by late tonight!  No blogging tomorrow to bring awareness to the situation and need for donations!  Please feel free to share stories, donations, etc! 

Don't have a blog?  Don't worry, you can still participate by making a donation to Shelterbox USA. It’s so easy to feel helpless in a time like this, but every little bit counts. Working together we can send some disaster relief along with our thoughts and prayers. If you want to learn more about For Japan With Love, check out these posts on Ever Ours and Utterly Engaged.
Much Love and Happy Early Weekend!

Shamrocks!

It's March 17th. 
I hope you are wearing your green because if you aren't, you probably know by now because you were pinched that...
It's St. Patrick's Day!

Big plans? 
Green Pancakes?  Green Beer?  Green spaghetti?  Green dinner?

Here in Indy, we do a couple of different things...

We make Colt's t-shirts for the day!

We have a parade downtown where people do this!

We turn our canal green for the day!

We always used to have green spaghetti.  Does anyone else do that?  I always thought it was weird to have a green Italian meal instead of an Irish meal.  Hmmm... Tam, did you make that one up?
I'll have to do a recap of whatever we do tomorrow on Friday Faves... :)  Maybe she just did it because it was easy.... the easier, the better, right? 

Oh well, still a good tradition to carry on...

What's your St. Patrick's Day tradition?
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Deposit A Gift

Ahhh... Wedding Wednesday is upon us again. 

When we did our registries, I was trying to think of our guests and what would be most convenient for them. Everyone told me that most people give cash, but I wanted to give them an option.  I choose to make registries at Crate and Barrel, Target, and Macy's.  I didn't advertise any of them, but if people asked, I told. 

Now, looking back, I think any newly married couple might prefer cash gifts.  I know that we could have used money better than some of the gifts we got.  And that's nothing against the gifts...we asked for them... I just think we could have put the gifts to better use if they were cash.  But I think we only got 1 or 2 items that weren't on a registry. Sometimes I think when you go in and register you probably get super excited and scan whatever you think you might want ever... or if you are like me, you have a husband who just goes around and scans EVERYTHING in sight! 

And I don't want you to think we are ungrateful! We appreciate everything we got!  And for us, it really wasn't about the gifts... it was about throwing a great party for our guests!  We must have done something right because everyone still either asks "When are you getting married again?" or tells us "That was a great party!"

But the other day I came across a website called Deposit a Gift.  It looks amazing!  Basically, you create a registry with them, people can deposit monetary gifts to your registry, and then you can cash it out!  You can use the money on whatever!   Isn't that great?!?

I think this is something any soon to be bride should look into!  You never know what you'll need cash for and even though you might want that cute little teapot or set of china, you might get better use out of having the money! 

If I could do it all over again, I'd defintely start a registry here and one with Registry 360 by The Knot.  

Could you have used the cash gifts after your wedding?  I know we could have!  ;)

I mean, who can't find a use for cash? 

Or maybe you did get a good amount... what did you find yourself using it for?

And things will always come up... after spending a ton of mulah on your wedding,

it's nice to have a little stash to count on!

TGIW - Thank god it's Wednesday

Anyone else super bothered by darn daylight savings?

Duh Winning

Ok, so while I'm not a huge Charlie Sheen fan or anything this phrase was HUGE this weekend at our house!

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that I've been posting

asking for all the luck in the world so Mike's team could go to State and WIN. 

Well... it must have worked!

Duh Winning! 

Is what we said since Mike's Team went to the State Championships this weekend and

WON!!!  4-0!!! 

I'm so proud of the CCHC Hockey boys! 

Check out their article in this past Sunday's paper!  Cathedral Chatard saves best for last!

I feel like they are my boys...

I hear all the stories I need from Mike. 

Thanks to all the boys, the parents, the coaches, the administrators, etc for dealing with my husband as the coach!  We are all super excited for what lies ahead with the Cathedral-Chatard Hockey Club!

CONGRATS!

*Photos from IndyStar.com and Personal Shots*

Hey Gorgeous :: Daily Wedding Pretties and Advice: Beautiful Indiana Wedding by Amanda Wilcher Photog...

Hey Gorgeous :: Daily Wedding Pretties and Advice: Beautiful Indiana Wedding by Amanda Wilcher Photog...: "Simply put, I love this wedding. It could be the bride's dreamy Melissa Sweet gown or her vintage brooch bouquet created so lovingly by her..."

Our Wedding at Hey Gorgeous

Did you really think I'd leave you hanging with that blog generator post?!? 

I was just waiting on one thing...

Rhiannon Nicole from Hey Gorgeous featured our wedding today!  Yay! 
How sweet is she!?! 
And the comments are so lovely! 

Hop on over and check it out! 

Ever Need This?

Do you ever have days where you need a topic to talk about?
I know I do. 

Today is one of those days...
I have a lot of topics in progress, but nothing is finished because most of them are DIY. 

So today I'm using this. 

A Blog Topic Generator. 

Let's see what it says?
It said the Most Terrifying Animal. 


No thanks...
Have you had any luck with this type of thing or how do you decide what to blog about?! 

Happy (hopefully) Monday!

Really?! Thank you!

So here I am...
It's Friday.  All I can say is TGIF!!! 

All in all, it's been a long successful week.
*I made it through all my skating.  Just one week until competition!  Don't worry... I'll post something from the competition. 
*I successfully pulled of a semi-hockey pizza party.  By semi, I mean that I did a little decor... not much, but enough for 22 teenage boys. They probably didn't even notice it.  I'll post those pictures sometime next week.
*I drank wine and didn't get a headache!
*Kristina over at a Perfect Dose of Life passed on a Stylist Blogger award to me! Really?!  Thanks Kristina!

With this award, I need to share seven facts about myself. 

I'm not even sure if I have seven facts about myself! 

Seriously... I'm pretty boring!  I'll see how well I can do!

1.  I am a newlywed.  I guess they consider you that for the first year of your marriage.  Married life is married life... we've been together for six and a half years so I'm not sure that we should still be considered newlyweds!  When people ask us how married life is, we respond... we are still married.  I think that's funny.  Sometimes it makes people worry.  Well, don't.  We are just dandy.  I love my Mike!

2.  I come from a family of six.  Mom, Dad, Me, Johnny, Libby, and Michael.  I love having brothers and sisters!  While it's not fun to fight with them, I think we are finally outgrowing that stage!  I'm the oldest and my brother is 23, my sister is 20 (21 in MAY!), and my brother is 12 almost 13 at the end of the month.  Yes, there is a gap there... you didn't read that wrong. 

3.  I was a competitive figure skater from ages 7-18 and when I was 19-20 I toured with a couple of shows professionally.  I competed in the midwest regionals 5x or so... and I completed all the freestyle and moves in the field levels (beginner-senior) and I did a little ice dancing.  When I was at my best, I was doing 3 triples and a double axel.  That was exciting for me...not everyone gets to those levels so this is something I'm very proud of!  I'll have to feature some old school pictures sometime soon!

4.  I went to Catholic School all my life!  AHHHH!!!  16 years!  I swore when I graduated from high school that I would not go to a Catholic College, but I did.  Ooops!  Actually Mike and I went to the same elementary school (a few years apart).  I was a Panther, a Saint, and a Knight!

5.  We have two dogs.  Lex is our almost 5 year old Labradoodle. He's the best!  Best temperament, best attitude, best dog.  Everytime we take him to the dog park, it never fails that someone says to us, "what a cool dog."  He is!  He is the best!  Then there's Louie.  Louie is our 2 year old Schnoodle.  I call him Lovey Louie.  He will jump up in your lap and fall onto your chest so you'll pet him.  When we first got him we couldn't figure out what to name him so one day he was Fukadome (we had just gone to a cubs game) and another he was Batman (because we say his ears are broken and they look like wings when he's running fast).  Oh my pups!

Lex

Louie


 6.  I'm forgetful.  I think it's just because I usually have so much going on at one time.  But I feel like those Bing commercials... have you seen them?  If not, here's a link.  Check them out and think of me.  It's just going from one topic to another to another to another and you get the idea.  So... I feel like a bing commercial all the time.  On overload!

7.  I'm a cancer.  I don't even know what this means really.  LOL.  I think Mike recently did a compatibility thing using our signs and apparently we are least compatible.  Again, oops!

Well that wasn't so bad...
Happy Weekend!

*Special thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by today's earthquake in Japan and the tsunami's in Japan, Hawaii, the West Coast and all other countries*