Another Gallery Wall...

Last weekend at my mom's house she put me to work. 

She's been asking me to help her with "her pictures" for a while now.  We attempted a few weeks back, but we did not have pictures or enough frames.  So then, instead of working on the layout, we ordered the pictures she wanted so she could get that ready until I came back again. 

Well, that time had come.  It was 8pm at night when we started and we didn't get finished until about 12am.  Ugh.  I know.  Ella and Mr. K slept on the couch while we finished.

We started with ALL the frames she had.  That was a lot!  And only a handful did not have pictures so I put them in just figuring she could find a picture to use later whatever the layout of that frame may end up.  We laid them out across the living room floor. 

We did this a couple of times and then this is what we ended up with. 

Once she gave the go ahead on the layout, we went to the wall.

Now, I will say that I'm not much for measuring.  I'm more of an eyeballer if I do say so myself.  My mom?  OCD.  Seriously.  Well not seriously, but might as well be.  So, for her sake, I did measure a few things, and used small nails in case we had to redo any holes. 

Here's half the wall...

And here's one my mom sent me of the entire wall...

Don't you love the tags on all the pictures?!?  That's my favorite. 

Wine Cork Monogram

I was so excited to get my crafty on again!  Do you know how good it feels to sit down and work with a glue gun when you can't remember the last time you had a minute to yourself to do something crafty and fun?  Well let me tell you, IT'S WONDERFUL!

I recently worked on an art wall for my mom which you can read about here.  That wall needed a little something and my mom had a ton of corks from her wine!  So, one day we decided she needed to make an H out of them.  Our last name is Hake.

So... Here's what I did. 
Of course the task fell on me, but my mom is super crafty and artsy fartsy herself so I'm not sure why she couldn't do it... but that's besides the point. 

I started out with just laying the corks in an H shape to figure out how big I wanted it.  I had check previously how big it could be with the layout on the wall.  It's actually very cool.  I didn't want anything too small because then it wouldn't have enough punch that the wall needed. 

I ended up with 16x3 on the sides of the H and 7x3 in the middle.  It's a good size. 

Then I started gluing.  I only glued three together at a time to make it a little more manageable.  I thought if I just kept adding to the sides it would get heavy and or just uncomfortable to hold and work with. Once I had enough 3s, I glued 5 of those together and then started over. 

She had a few corks that she wanted to accent or feature so I chose to put those in the middle on the top to give a little dimension.  I gave them a fun little pattern too so that they would stand out and you could see the cool designs on them!

And then I made sure to flip a few to show the reds from the Merlot...
I love how they all have a little bit different shade...

And here's the final product. 

What do you think?  What do you do with your old wine corks?  They are something that will probably not always be available as we are quickly moving to twist offs! Boo.

Linking up with Elizabeth & Co

My {New} Easy Peasy Pantry Bench

FINALLY! 

I have something to share!!!  Yay!

After an entire evening of working on loose ends, preparing for the weekend, and taking a lot of pictures, I think I'm ready to be caught up and get back to bloggin'!

Remember how I've been saying that I needed a new bench for my pantry?  And I'd been looking everywhere for one?  But I wanted one with character and not just a typical PB bench (even though that would have been fine and I'm sure I could have found one of those)...???  No?  Well, I've been saying it for a while... and looking for a while...

Well, one day I was cleaning up the pantry -which is still a hot mess - and I was looking at it thinking that I needed more room to the left of it for my cleaning items i.e. mops, brooms, vacuums.  But I had an old green storage bin thing that I had found at an old antique store when we first moved in.  It was a steal at $25.  Love it. 

*Wouldn't you know it, I have ZERO pictures of the bin before we got started in it's original state*

Moving on....

One day while passing through the pantry, it hit me!  That old wood railroad shelf could be a bench, right?  Let's just try it on it's side.  I'm ashamed to say that it stayed in the same spot from the time I bought it until just a couple of weeks ago when this idea hit me.  I can't believe I did not think of this before.  And the bad blogger that I am, did not get a picture of it laying on it's side in position either... oops!  I must do better!

This is the best I have...

And please do not judge the state of the garage... it's on my list.

But these things cost $$$ people!

I enlisted the help of Mr. K.  He stays home one day a week with Ella so one day when he was out and about with her, he picked up some legs at Lowe's.  We thought we needed a little height.  He grabbed 5 legs and 5 silver plates and last night we started to do this easy peasy project! 

First screw the pates on in the corners. 

The legs screw into the plates and it looks like this.

And after about 15 minutes of screwing the plates in and twisting the legs on, I had a new bench.

A new bench with character! 

And a one of a kind!

I love that it allows for functional storage as well as offers up a place to set the car seat, new buys, groceries, or Ella when she gets old enough!

And the writing on the top is my favorite!

I am in love.

And I can't believe how easy it was!  Seriously. 

Now... to paint the legs a funky color?!?  Hmmm...

Funny how my pantry has changed over the years though...

Year One

Year Two

Year Three

And why does it always look like winter at our house?!? 

Oh... that's because we always need winter coats for skating... boo.

And I'm linking this up at a couple of parties...
 

Promises Promises

Do you ever feel like there is really just not enough time in the day?!? 
Do you ever feel wronged by people in your life?
Do you ever feel like coffee does not contain enough caffeine to keep you running?
Do you ever feel like the day should be over and it's really only 11am?!? 

Ugh... Me too.
It's one of those days...

And I know I keep promising posts, but I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE posts tomorrow! 

I need to share my bedroom, my new bench, my bugaboo - Ells, and some other updates around the house!
I'm so behind...

But in the mean time check out this picture I took of Ells the other day with her Sophie. 

Presh.

Losing It - Week Two Recap

Good Monday Morning Blog Hogs!  Hope you are all doing well and enjoyed the lovely weekend.  It was B-E-A-utiful here so I'm hoping it was for you as well! 

It's time for the workout recap.  It's been two weeks since I put the smack down on myself and am making myself be more active.  Ha!  Not going as well as I'd hoped. 

Last week, I ran 3x.  Better than nothing.  I probably did the stairs at my house a whole bunch of times... does that count?!?  I'm thinking new shoes are in order... those always make you feel better and run faster... no?  Are you sure?  Well, at least feel better.  I'm headed out to grab those today.  A couple of runs will probably develop blisters, but I'll get over it!  I found out use can use Butt Paste for Blisters (dries them up - can't believe I didn't know this YEARS ago!) and lord knows we have plenty of that hanging around here! 

So I ran 3 miles, 3 miles, and 2 miles.  Two were with the jogger and one was without... and surprisingly, the 2 mile was without.  But I did it while we were home in Fort Wayne for the weekend and my run was different... too many houses... too dark and shady, too many trees... can you believe I'm saying this?!?  I ran at about 8 am which is seriously unheard of for me to do and it was supposed to be 90 degrees that day so yea, why wouldn't I heart the shade, trees, breeze, etc?!?  I don't know, just didn't.  I would have liked an open running area to look around. 

And it's a good thing I ran that morning because I got sunburned that afternoon so for probably a week, I'll be running late at night or with long sleeves on!  I know, right? 

But that's all I have.  I think I'm going to have to reevaluate my schedule.  It's changing here again with June and it seems to be too hard to get to the gym after skating because I have to drive all the way home to get Ella from Mike and then go back to the gym.  I might try it tomorrow since I now have Birth Certs for Ella.  Yes, I'm the bad mom who almost forgot. 

I'm thinking more Pilate's at home will help offset the running.  I don't know... any ideas?!?  The suggestion box is wide open!  But seriously have to lose this baby weight... it's beginning to bug me. 

Hopefully updates later!  I got crafty last night and was working on a few things!

New Favorite Baby Thing & Sneak Peak

Wednesday night Gigi came over - That's my Grandma and Ella's Great Grandma.  Gigi LOVES to buy for Ella...probably more that Gram Tam (Ella's Grandma).  Anyways, I sent her on a little trip to a children's boutique owned by a friend of a friend.  It's actually called Piper Children's Boutique.  My friend Stacey is best friends with the owner, Piper.  I've never been in and am quite frankly a little scared to go... too many cute things!  I live vicariously through their facebook page and constant updates on what they've got in! 

Stacey bought Ella this outfit... LOVE IT!

And the materials is stretchy and soft!  But then just saw this on their website... might have to finally make the trip in to buy this cutie! 

I sent Gigi to Piper's for a specific item.  I saw this little nuk attached to a giraffe on their facebook page last week and knew it was a done deal!  Ella must have one! 

It's called a Wubbnub. They come in all different kinds - dogs, elephants, lambs, bears, and more.  And they are the best thing EVER!!!  Ella has just recently become obsessed with burp clothes and so this is a way to have something soft and "suckable" for lack of a better word AND has a pacifier stuck to it.  No more losing the bink!  Love it!  And so does she!  It's like her little friend.  So now she has wubbanub and Sophie (another must have). 

Now for the sneak peak...

Look what I've been doing this past week...

Can you figure out what room it is?!? 

More this weekend if I can, but definitely Monday! 

Happy Friday!

Enjoy yourselves!  It's going to be lovely here so I hope it is where you are too!

Typical Day In My Crazy Life...

4:50am
Alarm goes off.

5:00am
Really wake up.
Who am I kidding...

5:00-5:30am
Get Ready... This usually consists of quickie shower, brush hair, brush teeth.
Figure out what clothes fit and what to wear. 
Skirt and sweater set.
Crap, didn't shave my legs.
Pants and sweater set. 
Where's my badge? I just saw it... I think. 

5:35/5:40am
Leave for work. 
Are my skates in the car?

5:40-6:00/6:10am
Drive to work.
Put on Make up.
Grab Starbucks.
I need to be able to teleport to work so I can be more on time.

6:00am
Arrive at work and get started.
Check emails, work on to-do lists, meetings, etc. 
Catch up on blogs inbetween.
I have so much stuff to do at home.  Did I bring music for skaters?  Did I bring boombox?  Will need to grab batteries for boombox.

12:30pm
Lunch.
Usually just a coffee at Starbucks, but sometimes will meet Mike. 
An hour is over already?  I just got my computer up and running and finally connected to the internet... Crap.

1:30-3:30pm
Keep up with emails.
Make sure I get what I need to get done, done.
3:30 can't come fast enough... Finally time to go home to the rink.

3:30pm
Leave work for skating.
Call Mr. K to see how things are going
Not sure why I call him becuase he never answers when I call... NEVER.

4:00pm
Arrive at rink.
Bulk up with jacket and pants and lace up my skates.
Crap, I have to pee. Time for bathroom break?  No probably not...hold it.

4:15pm
First Lesson.
Usually a basic skills skater and on a public session. 
Fend for room on the ice, make sure skater doesn't get injured.
Figure out if music is on so we can practice program over loud speaker. 
Damn, it's not and my batteries are dead in the boom box.  Pretend I didn't know!

4:30pm (still in lesson)
I hope Mr K got Ella today.  Hmmm....?
Check phone.

4:45
Second Lesson.
Typically a little higher level, but not by much. 
Was supposed to bring music to pick from... see what's on my phone?!? 
Start new program with uncut music (that could change).
I really don't like that music for her... or anyone... Still need to go to the bathroom.

5:30pm
Third Lesson.
Freestyle... Finally!  Skaters that I still enjoy to watch a little...
Reminisce about how much fun it was when I skated... The memories that we had.  The choices we had to make and sacrifices that came along with those choices. 
Will these kids ever really understand that?  Probably not. 
Work on new routine for Preliminary level skater. 
Ahhh!  I can't remember the last time I got to make up a routine that did not involve dips and two foot hops! Hope she can handle it!  I'm going to make it a great program and hard! Insert evil laugh here.

6:00pm
Fourth Lesson.
Work on spins.  POUND into child's head that she must WAIT on three turn at beginning of spin. 
Work on jumps.  MAKE HER JUMP!  No flat footed, no bending the knee stuff.
Why won't she bend her knees and push through her toes and jump?!?

6:30-7:30
Sometimes 5th and 6th lessons. 

8pm
Finally my sofa baby girl! 
Need to exercise... does walking up and down the stairs a billion times because I keep forgetting things count? 
Eat dinner.  What?  Hmmm... No idea. 
Sit on couch and watch a show from last night.
Look at emails on phone.
See if I can't accomplish stuff on my to do list.  Nope
KEEP EYES OPEN!

8:45
Bath time for Ella

9:00pm
Bottle and Bedtime for Ella

9:30-9:45pm
Ella finally goes into her crib. 

9:45pm
Downstairs say hi to my husband.

10:00pm
Back upstairs
Bedtime for me... hopefully. 

Sometimes (usually) bedtime gets pushed back to 11 or so... I need to catch up on the emails that have come in from students and other coaches. 

To do list remaining:
Return Emails
List things on EBay
CLEAN UP
Fold Laundry
Do dishes
Wash bottles
Put rest of groceries away
Exercise
Schedule Ella pictures
Pack for trip home this weekend

And then it all starts over again...

Is your day as long as mine?

Losing It - Week One

So yesterday was supposed to be an update on last week's workout progress... Oops...
Is that a sign of how it went?!? 
Maybe a little. 

Here was what I was supposed to do:
Monday - Run
Tuesday - Strike
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Strike
Friday - Run
Saturday - Run
Sunday - Off

Well, here's how it really went:
Monday - Run
Tuesday - N/A
Wednesday - N/A
Thursday - Run
Friday - N/A
Saturday - N/A
Sunday - N/A

Can you say FAIL?  Yep.  Started out good, but then somewhere between skating, Ella, and Mr K leaving for the weekend I fell off the wagon.  I'm just so tired anymore and I never get out of skating when I should and now I really just want to come home and see my baby. 

Monday I was determined to complete the goal of hitting the gym or path each day except those I was off.  Tuesday I got out of skating late and then came home and realized that we didn't have anything to prove Ells was 3 months old which is the minimum age to take her to the gym... oops!  More on that later.  Wednesday I was exhausted... worked from 6-3:30 (desk job) and then 4:15-7:30 (skating) and when I got home around 8:15 I was sure that it was going to be an off day.  Thursday I was thinking I needed to get back on the bandwagon and did attempt to make it to the gym, but didn't.  So before a friend came over for dinner, I got in a quick 30 min run.  Friday I was so tired all day and watched Ells all day and then had skating which meant she went to Gigi's and then from there we all went to dinner... another late night and no exercise.  Saturday I felt like I got hit by a bus... and decided to tackle a few things at home... Sunday again took the day off. 

Not the progress I would have liked to make, but it was progress nonetheless...
And last night I ran for 28 minutes straight.  Yay for me!  And it felt good...
Until I was done.  My joints and everything are aching AND I'm so tired today that it's not even funny.  I have to decide what to do when I get home tonight.  I'm thinking the 20 min pilates and skip a run because my back is hurting...

Goal for this week...
A little less structured as we know my schedule is crazy...

Monday - Run - Check
Tuesday - Something
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Something
Friday - Something
Saturday - Off
Sunday - Something

We shall see how well I do this week...
Any exercise will count this week! 

What He Doesn't Know Won't Kill Him

This weekend, Mr. K is leaving me (again) to go to Sarnia which is somewhere (I'm unsure where) in Canada.  He wanted me to go with him, but I have a competition to attend with my little kiddos on Saturday.  I think I'll be sporting Ella in the Baby Bjorn as well... it's only 1.5 hrs and she'll enjoy the skating, right?!?  I'm still torn on that idea, but anyways... this means that for most of the weekend, I'm without a hubby! 

So... what he doesn't know won't kill him and I've decided on the projects to take care of!  He hates being Mr. Handyman so I have learned to ask him only on the things that he will actually help with and not tell him about the ones that will annoy him, like painting our bedroom, yet again. 

Yes, that's one of the projects.  I purchased paint samples this week at Lowe's and will be testing them out tonight and tomorrow.  I am going with grays... probably a trend, I know, but I'm trying to make my house flow and right now I feel the sage in our room doesn't go with the rest of the house and it's left me uninspired.  Mr. K will kill me for painting it AGAIN (3rd time in 3 years) but he'll be gone so he can't say anything... so long as I get it finished!

Another project is to frame out our mirrors... or at least our half bath mirror and our master bedroom bath mirror.  I found some great tutorials out there and am going to attempt to tackle this!  There are a couple of things I need for this and am going to go shopping tonight or early tomorrow. 

Purchase list for all projects:

(1) Paint - decide on a color and do it! 

(2) Miter Box with Saw - to cut the edges of the molding for the mirrors

(3) Caulk Gun - should make my life a lot easier

(4) Liquid Nails - to hang the molding

(5) Paintable Molding

(6) White Paint for Trim/Molding

(7) Clear Paintable Caulk

(8) Washers - to replace the plastic clips that hold the mirror up

Totals for the Mirror supplies are about $30 give or take and the paint will probably be between $40 and $50. 

So I should be taking this...



To something like this...



via

 

And this...

To something like this...



via

I'll share the progress next week!  Wish me luck! 

Oh...The Places I Want To Go

Oh the places you'll go...

I hope I'll go here...

To these places...

More than just with pictures....

Maybe at least one before I'm 30? 

That's a good goal!

Now, to travel the world...

India

I want to take my shoes off at the Taj Mahal!

via

China

I want to walk along the Great Wall of China!



via



London

I want to visit Buckingham Palace and see Big Ben and maybe wear a fascinator!!

via

Brazil

I want to take the cable car to Sugarloaf (Pao de Acucar) and then see Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor)

 

via



Egypt

To visit the Pyramids and Spinx of Giza and maybe ride a camel in the desert!

via

Dubai

Visit the mall where you can ski indoors, time our visit so we can see the Dubai World Cup (Mr. K would love), see the unbelievable Palm Trilogy, and The World man made islands and maybe visit the underwater hotel!

via

Italy

I want to visit the Vatican and see the painting of Da Vinci and then see the Colosseum, Pisa, Ruins, Pompeii!

via



Australia

To see Koalas!  And the Sydney Opera House!  And maybe pop over to New Zealand for a day or two...

via

South Africa

To go on a safari, have some wine from 350 year old fields, maybe time it just right to participate in the Sardine Run, and see the Big Hole in Kimberly.



via



That's a good list for now...

Now, how to get there...

I'm guessing the total package cost will be somewhere between $5K-$7K each. 

Better get to saving...