We’ve Moved!
Hey all, just wanted to let you know that I’ve upgraded the site. I now reside at http://www.lemondroplife.com so check me out over there!
For all of you that have subscribed either via e-mail or an RSS reader, you will need to re-subscribe to new URL. The links are over on the new page! Thanks so much for all the support, you guys are seriously awesome and your comments make my day!!
My Least Favorite Cleaning Task..
Dusting. Hands down. Do you know what dust is made up of?? Warning: if you have a weak stomach, stop reading RIGHT NOW! It’s mostly made up of dead skin cells and the corpses of dead dust mites. Lovely thought, right? If you’ve left your computer to go dust everything in your house I don’t blame you.
I honestly don’t know how it accumulates so quickly in our house. It’s amazing/appalling.
This post was brought on by the fact that I’m doing some cleaning around the house today in preparation for our family cookout on Monday. So I was chugging along, listening to some tunes, and shaking it like Beyonce (What? You don’t think I can dance like her? Psh.) when I looked up and realized it had been a while since I cleaned our fans. We have them in every room in our house except the bathroom. Mucho annoying. So I hopped up on a chair, and was basically slapped in the face with a mountain of dust. How is it that I had gone this long without cleaning them? I’m not sure, but you can bet those fans are on my radar now. You hear me, ceiling fans? I’ll be seeing a lot more of you, my dear frenemies.
{Sidenote: I found this tip online that I plan to use from now on: take an old pillowcase and place it over each fan blade. Simply pull the pillowcase off and all the dust will be contained inside. Then you can just take it outside and shake it out, and then throw it in the laundry. Genius!}
Hello, Beautiful September
Happy September 1st! September is probably my favorite month. Besides being my birthday month, it brings the beginning of fall, cooler weather, changing leaves, football games..so many wonderful things!
I’m itching to bust out my fall clothes..scarves, hats, boots, tights..I love it all! Here are a few things on my fall wishlist :
via Nine West
I’m ready to switch out my summery straw tote for something a little less whimsical and a little more substantial. I think this Nine West tote would do just fine.
via Asos
I need this dress to go with this horse watch (also from Asos, but they no longer sell it) that I already own. I think I have a horse obsession.
And last but not least…oh no, certainly not least.
via Steve Madden
I die. And I will own these before too long, mark my words. On a less dramatic note, I’m super into oxfords this season. I’ll take a pair in every color/finish available, mmkay?
What are you must haves for this fall season?
Weekend Update
This is the post that was originally intended for Monday, but my week was totally thrown off by a couple of different things. Sorry for the delay..well, actually I’m not because my niece is here and she is beyond amazing 🙂
Any SNL fans out there? Weekend Update was always one of my favorite sketches, especially when Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon were together. Mostly because you could usually count on Jimmy to crack and start laughing.
But anywho..let’s talk about our weekends! I made a few changes around the house and wanted some input from you guys. I’ve been trying to come up with something to put on the wall next to our front door. A while back, my mom gave me this cool old accordion-ish coat rack that I thought would work well there.
I do like how it looks and obviously it’s functional, too..but it looked so sad on the wall all by itself. So, I thought maybe if I added some coats/scarves/hats..maybe that would help to fill up that space.
Meh. That’s the only feeling I have about this. No matter how I styled it, I was just never happy. {Sidenote: I think it’s also time to change out that summery scarf on Mr. Ram for something more fallish} What do you guys think? Maybe I need a different variety of colors/patterns? Or maybe I need to add some non-clothing decorative type items (the only thing that comes to mind is a horseshoe)? I really want to make the coat rack work there, but if I can’t come up with something better than this, then I may have to give it the boot.
I made one other quick change this past weekend..one that I’m actually pretty pleased with. Before hubby and I got married we purchased a matching bedroom suite for our house. And now that’s one of my biggest regrets. I much prefer the look of a ‘collected’ bedroom over one that’s all Matchy McMatcherville. But what’s done is done and we’ll live with it for now. So, in an attempt to de-matchify everything, I switched out the knobs on my nightstand. I started with this:
Nothing fancy. Just your run-of-the-mill chrome knob. BO-RING! Five minutes and one Philips head screwdriver later, I had these:
Aah, much lovelier! I picked these up at Hobby Lobby for $3.99/each. There’s only one issue: they only had these 3, and there are 16 knobs total (3 on each nightstand, and 10 on the dresser!) in our bedroom. So, let me pose another question to you guys. Do you think it’s OK to have a mix of hardware on your furniture if it’s in the same room? Should I use a more masculine knob on JP’s dresser? Maybe it will help everything look less matchy if I have a mix of knobs? I know you’ve got opinions, so let me have it!
Introducing…
You guys remember the niece I did this high chair makeover for? Well, guess what…SHE’S HERE!!
Again, this is not the post I had planned for today…when it rains, it pours! After yesterday’s fender bender, I was in a pretty icky mood. But around 8 pm, we got a call that said Ceara’s water had broken and that our new niece was on her way! So, we jumped in the hubby’s car and drove (carefully) down to Indy.
After a long night of Popeye’s chicken, Twizzlers, and energy drinks, she finally made her debut at 4:35 am. So, I am proud to introduce to all of you lovely lemon-droppers..Lyla Mae Sluis!
Momma and baby
Everything went smoothly, and Ceara & Lyla are both doing really well. So here are the stats on the little bundle: born at 4:35 am; 7 lb., 10 oz; 21″ long; cutest thing you’ll ever see. Ok, that last one may not be an official stat…but it’s definitely true!!
Daddy Jake and his baby girl
Everyone said Jake did an amazing job keeping calm and coaching his beautiful wife. Way to go, Jake!
I mean, really?! Check out the Angelina Jolie lips on that girl! Is it wrong to be jealous of a baby?
Proud uncle Jordan
Can’t get enough of my new little niece!
Oh goodness, I love that little girl and I can’t wait to shower her with more hugs and kisses!
PS – did you guys watch Design Star on HGTV? I hated to see Kellie go, she was my favorite!
Fender Bender
Well lemon-droppers, I had a nice little post in the works for you today..but sometimes, life happens. Boo. On my way home from work, someone broadsided me on my passenger side.
I’m alright, and everyone in their car was fine too..but unfortunately, I can’t say the same for my poor little Jeep. I don’t have any pictures of it for you (I don’t want any evidence to remind me of her sad state), but the front right tire was flattened (a tire we JUST has replaced..grrr) and the whole right side of my front end was basically hanging on the ground. But at least it wasn’t my fault, so insurance should *fingers crossed* cover everything. Thank the Lord for small blessings.
So, I will be back tomorrow with today’s intended post. Until then, I’ll leave you with a little bit of post-wreck humor:
via Pinterest
My New Favorite Show
Have you guys seen Picker Sisters yet? Oh my word, it. is. awesome!
Basically, these two designers (who used to be on Extreme Home Makeover and are totally ditzy-hilarious..I think we could be BFF’s) travel around the South looking for old farms, run down factories, shipyards..basically any place that has old rusty junk. And then they take it back to their home base in LA, where they re-purpose it into some AMAZING pieces. I’m talking jaw-dropping good here, people. Unfortunately, I can’t find many pictures of the stuff they’e made, so here are a few I pulled off the Lifetime website.
This was one of my absolute faves! They found this wood, called ‘pecky wood’ that had been essentially rotted by some fungus, but it left it with this awesome texture. They filled the pecky holes with resin and then gold leafed it for a little bit of glam. I die!
Or how about this seating made from an old drainage pipe? Awesome!
Rustic chandelier? Why, sure!
I just love the rustic-meets-modern look. I’m telling you, it’s a must watch! Seriously, every Tuesday night you will find me parked on the couch, living my life vicariously through these two delightful women. Sigh.
How Does She Do It?
I’ve often wondered that myself when I come across a woman who’s able to work a full time job, keep a clean house, take care of her husband & children, and still put a meal on the table every stinkin’ night.
Looking back on our first year of marriage, I have definitely slacked off on that last category. I do work full time, our house is relatively clean (thanks to a hubby that doesn’t mind pitching in to do laundry, etc.), and I manage to make sure Lucy is taken care of (she’s the closest thing we have to a baby). But when it comes to preparing nightly meals, I get a big fat fail.
I am not one of those people who can just whip up something off the top of their head using ingredients they already have on hand. I need to follow a pretty strict recipe for anything more complex than spaghetti. So when I’m done working at the end of the day, thinking about planning a meal and going to the store to get ingredients, makes my head want to explode. Luckily, I have a husband that is in no way picky and doesn’t mind having a bag of steamed veggies for dinner. But I always feel bad that I’m not providing a ‘real’ meal..and thinking down the line to when we have kids, I know I want to be able to sit at the table and have family dinners every night of the week. That was always a tradition in my parents house, and it’s something that I cherish today. I loved that 1-2 hours we spent around the dinner table every night, discussing each others’ lives and world news, etc.
So, last week I did some research on meal planning tools and came across some interesting options. The one that appealed most to me was a website called HowDoesSheDoIt.com.
It’s a site that allows you access to a bunch of recipes (uploaded by other members) and you can essentially choose what recipes you like and add them to your Favorites folder. You can also upload any of your own recipes as well, and you can choose to share them with other members or keep them private. Then you can start planning your daily meals. It allows you to plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. So if you have a bagel and cream cheese every morning, you can add a “recipe” for a bagel and cream cheese and then add that to your Favorites folder so that you can use that for your breakfast meal. {Sidenote: recipes like that one, where it might just be a single food or something that is specific to me, I chose to keep private so that no other members are confused by it when they’re searching for other things} And once you have every meal that you want planned, you can print out a grocery list of everything you’ll need. It’s pretty awesome! And the best part? It’s 100% free! Here’s a little tutorial video which explains it much better than I can:
For now, I started out by planning just dinners, as I always eat lunch at work and Jordan usually makes himself a sandwich. I planned for two weeks worth of dinners, and we went grocery shopping last week. Tonight will be the first official night of the plan, and I must say it feels pretty good to already know what I’m going to make and know that I have everything I need at home. I’m really hoping this works out well for us!
Do you guys plan your meals out in advance or do you just go with whatever you’re feeling on any given day? Do you have a different website or tool that you use? I’m open to suggestions!
{Sidenote: I was not paid to advertise this website. I just enjoyed using it and wanted to share it with all of you!}
High Chair Makeover
For the past month or so, I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of something I could give to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law for their baby girl that will soon be making her debut in this world. Miss Lyla Mae is set to come August 30 and I couldn’t be more excited to meet my little niece! I wanted to give them something special, so when Jordan and I saw a great deal on a vintage wooden high chair, I knew it would be perfect. The high chair was definitely in rough condition and in need of a little lovin’.
I pictured it with a coat of fresh white paint, topped off with some antique glaze to make the details pop. So I started off by sanding it down with a medium grit sanding block, and then wiping it down with a damp paper towel to remove all the debris. Then I gave it a coat of white using Rust-Oleum’s Paint and Primer in One. I ended up doing three coats of spray paint, and sanded in between each coat.
I let the last coat dry for 24 hours, and then I went to work glazin’. And let me tell ya, it’s just about one of the easiest things you could ever do and it adds so much dimension! I used Valspar’s Antiquing Glaze.
I poured some out in a bowl and then used a paintbrush to brush on a thin, even coat.
I then used a damp washcloth to wipe it off in a circular motion.
I wiped mine off immediately as opposed to letting it sit because I didn’t want it to be too dark. Also, remember that when you’re applying glaze, you need to apply it to the whole piece of furniture so that you’ll have an even finish. I made sure to get the brush down into every nook and cranny so that they would soak up the glaze and really stand out.
See how simple? Once you get the technique down, it goes really fast! And depending on the size of your piece, you may want to have a few cloths on hand to wipe it down. Once one of them starts getting too dirty, you can switch to a clean one.
Doesn’t that look better? When it was finished, I sealed it with a couple coats of poly. It’s gotta hold up against some wear and tear!
I went back and forth with myself about whether I should find a way to add on a tray, but in the end I decided against it. I didn’t want to end up messing up the chair completely, and I figured they can just use this once Lyla gets a little older and can eat at the table.
Have you all been working on any projects lately? I’d love to see them!
1 Year Anniversary
Well, I’m kinda sad that our 1 year anniversary has come and gone so quickly (I love a good reason to celebrate!), but I had a wonderful time this weekend with my hubby. On Friday night, we went out for Indian food, which is one of our absolute favorites. At this point, I had absolutely no idea what he had gotten me as a gift. He had dropped several hints that made me think I knew what it was, but it turns out he planted those as red herrings (he is “berry, berry sneaky sir”..name that movie!).
So, when he pulled out a ring box my heart got all fluttery. ‘This is it,’ I thought, ‘He’s going to propose!….No..wait a second..we’re already married..what’s with the box?!?‘ But when he opened it up, there sat a beautiful custom band to match my engagement ring. See, the ring that he picked out for me when we got engaged had a very unique cut to it, so it didn’t come with a matching band. But I loved the ring so much that I really didn’t care. So, we just got a cheap-o plain band that I could wear with it. Jordan always hated it because he thought it looked awful, but I always said we could get a custom band made for an anniversary or something down the road. I had no idea he’d do it for our first!
Please excuse my gratuitous ring shots here, but, my goodness, I love this band!
Purty, isn’t it?
I’m almost embarrassed to show you guys what I got him..how could I possibly top his present?! He’s been looking for a business card holder for his desk for months now. He didn’t want just a plain ol’ stand..he wanted something masculine, rustic, and quirky. So, when I came across this guy on etsy, I figured he fit the bill:
via houseofoliver
When I got him, the base was just raw wood, so I stained it with some MinWax Dark Walnut so it would play nicely with the darker wood he has in his office.
On Saturday, we did another on of our favorite things..SLEEPING IN!!! Anymore, it seems like we rarely get to spend a weekend at home. Neither of our families live in Lafayette and neither one of us were raised here, so if there’s an event with our family or old friends, we can pretty much bet on the fact that it won’t be in Lafayette. So, we were excited just to have a whole day at home with nothing to do. Sundays are always a busy day for us with church, so we wanted to get as much vegging out as possible done on Saturday. Mission accomplished. We made pancakes, caught up on our DVR, took a drive to look at browse houses and neighborhoods we like (another favorite activity of ours), and just relaxed in general. It was heavenly!
Then on Sunday, we spent the majority of our day at church but we did have some time to sneak in a tasting of our wedding cake! I have no idea how it tasted a year ago..we were so busy we never even got to eat a piece. But it tasted pretty good a year later!
Behind me you can see the beginnings of our gallery wall. It’s a work in progress.
We also took a celebratory picture together, which is a tradition I’d like to keep up every year. Forgive the weird angle. My head looks gigantic and JP’s looks miniscule. I promise that in real life we have very similarly sized heads.
What about you guys? Do you have any special anniversary traditions? Does your husband (or wife) totally outdo you on presents all the time? Do tell.
Lemon Drop Life 