Since we moved into this house almost two years ago I knew I wanted a specific functionality in the office upstairs.I had dreams of cabinets and counters or rainbow murals or so many others. What we ended up doing was even better and honestly way easier for us to manage do it ourselves!

Here is what the room looked like until we changed it - almost two full years and this functioned just fine until Andrew started working from home when the pandemic hit. He took over the desk where my computer is in these pictures, and then I moved to the smaller silver desk on the side wall. I was more than happy to give it up since we are so fortunate to still have this wonderful job throughout this pandemic. The dresser held my vinyl both adhesive and heat transfer plus the bottom drawer held all the sample shirts for my small business. I used the furniture we had to make the office functional and as I said, it was time for a change for both function and happiness!

First thing we needed to do was paint and put up the shelves I wanted. We used MDF board from Lowes and the brackets are from Amazon. Putting up the shelves was QUITE the feat! We got the brackets up on the wall, using the screws included with the brackets (see where this is going yet?) and as we tried to screw the board to the brackets, it came crashing down on our heads and ripped all but one bracket from the wall ouch! BUT we then went to the hardware store and got way better screws and then redid the brackets, and it worked! I pulled out all the trinkets I'd been saving in closets and boxes. My favorite things are the Disney ear hats I procured while working at Disneyland, my Holocrons from Batuu, the unicorn and rainbow lights! I love these shelves so much and Andrew has some things he's going to add to his side to make them a bit more HIM hahaha

We also added RGB lightstrips to the bottom of the shelves to light up the room with fun!!

The next place we needed to go was Ikea. We got Alex drawers (1 & 2) and Ekbacken countertops! The initial colors I was looking for weren't available, but according to the website (and the worker upstairs IN the Ikea) none of the office stuff was in stock in my store. We decided to check the bins downstairs regardless since we had driven so far (Our IKEA is about an hour away from our house so we don't go often). The plan was white drawers and wooden countertops for the desk and once we got downstairs we found white drawers of one of the types I wanted BUT not the others. Eventually we found that they had the drawers in both style in the same grey-turquoise color (which isn't even advertised online as an option!) and I was like - let's do this thing! The countertop we initially wanted was also out of stock BUT they had one that looked like white marble which would be perfect against the teal in the room so we grabbed it and I got excited! NOTE: the drawers are not the same size in any way, so if you decide you like this idea, measure everything for your space!!! The wider drawers are much shorter AND not as deep so be ready for that.

We got the drawers put together and after a quick online look at the hardware store for a platform type thing for the shorter wider drawers, we landed on pavers hahaha The original plan was wood but they couldn't cut what we wanted so Andrew found the pavers for .50 a piece and I was like "YEP! Let's get it done!" The drawers came with casters but since we already knew they were going to be short, we didn't want the wheels making our lives harder to find a way to raise them up. The rug is from Home Depot and I thought I had gotten the bigger size so oops - I'll be ordering it soon hahaha then this one will go somewhere else to light up a room!

Next was organizing everything that was already in the room and everything we had taken out. And we had to find homes for the furniture we were no longer using! The desk we decided to give to the girls as an official art station in their play room. This way they have a dedicated space and hopefully one place to keep all the craft crap to vs all over my house hahahaha The silver desk I had been using went to Rory and she was BEYOND thrilled that she now has a grown up desk, she's still not doing homework in her room (I don't think she's quite ready for that step yet) but she journals there and reads her books there when she wants to.

The closet was in desperate need of help. I had just been chucking stuff in there willy nilly, knowing I would "get to it later" and then forget immediately forget about it. So I emptied it, and emptied the dresser that held my sample shirts so I could have them all up and seen! It's going to make my business run so much smoother knowing what samples I have currently, and to actually SEE the colors! I added spacers between the sizes so I can find them easier too. This closet also holds all of my photography equipment and backdrops, our electrical cords/software boxes, gift wrapping supplies, extra backpacks, and my Disneyland backpack. It's a mish mosh of stuff but now I know where everything is!

I have a bit of a sticker problem and I just love them so much! I wanted to have them out and displayed so I could enjoy all the art that these stickers are! To me, they're like pins - little works of art people put lots of work into.

​Now for what you've all been waiting for - the grand reveal!

And there it is! Our shared office space and it works really well for both of us now. This office was first only for me when we moved in but with the pandemic, Andrew now gets to share it and have a dedicated space for when/if he continues working from home!

Artwork on the walls from the AMAZINGLY talented artist Christian Wizyakuza

Let's be honest: how many of us discovered so many things in our homes that needed attention once we were forced to sit still with it all???

My poor sweet husband has had to listen to me gripe about how much I hate the wall color in our home since the day we saw it and decided to buy it, and to be fair, I still do and someday we'll be able to have the entire house repainted but for now.....

We were fortunate enough to collaborate with PhotoWall for this Master Bedroom Glow up! It wasn't a complete renovation but we did quite a lot to make this into a more serene, grown up space!

Here's our oh-so-glamourous before shot of our bedroom! We were in desperate need y'all!

Now I'll be real honest, I've never worked with wallpaper before. Like the closest I've ever gotten to wallpaper is when we made a paper mache chocolate waterfall for the jr high play in 7th grade! Hahaha so to say we were noobs is a complete understatement but we were willing to try it out!

When I finally picked out the print I wanted, I knew I needed to change up the walls in our room too because this contractor beige nasty color is just that - nasty. So I used the handy dandy Home Depot ProjectColor App to find the perfect shade of white to match the wallpaper (also did you know there's a million shades of white??? WHY?!) I ran to Home Depot, wearing my mask made by a sweet lady in my neighborhood so I could stay as safe as possible while being out, and grabbed a sample of Winter Morn from Glidden! It has a slight purple hue when you open the container but it's a gorgeous white once it's on the walls!

​When we got the product it was even more gorgeous in person than online! I was so excited to finally make an accent wall in our room. As we got started we discovered that they had given us quite a bit extra on the bottom of each panel (which could absolutely be my fault when entering measurements, lezzzzbe real) so we tried to move it up a bit to keep the excess a bit less but that was our first mistake hahaha

About halfway through we realized we had made an even bigger mistake so we just kinda made it work hahaha I won't tell you the mistake for fear of making ourselves look fools (again) but I will say that once we were finished we realized how we should have started and begun the process. Aaaaaaand we also realized that that was what the instructions were telling us the entire time but we were just too impatient/inexperienced to understand that hahaha OOOPS! *facepalm*

Overall, we discovered we are not handy enough to handle wallpaper on another surface hahaha the product we received is incredible, amazing quality, and for people that have done wallpaper before it's probably easy but for us that have never done anything like this it was a bit over our heads hahahaha

After getting this gorgeous wallpaper up on the wall, I knew we needed something else to make it even better and more of a grown up room - enter Wayfair with a killer sale!!

We've been without a headboard since we moved into this house because it got broken in the truck - it's always at least one thing right?? When I found this one on Wayfair I was so excited! It's the perfect simple style with just a hint of glam ya know?? We've been wanting wall lamps for a long time, even before we moved into this house. I knew the general idea of what I was looking for but couldn't ever find the right one until these beauties showed up on my search! And on a serious sale too to boot! I was so happy to add them to my cart!

One of the only things I actually liked in our room before was the vinyl on the wall with the words from our wedding song. So I knew I needed something to be able to have them back up again. My sweet friend and her husband actually built me this 24 X 36 sign and then I painted it and used vinyl from Expressions Vinyl to complete it!

My heart has been so happy these past couple days with a beautiful new master bedroom! I have PhotoWall to thank for this amazing transformation! And as a thank you, they're also giving me a discount code for all of you lovely people!

Use code: ourhappilyeverafter2021 at checkout for 25% off your treasure for your walls!

They have so many amazing prints, it took me almost 3 weeks to finally narrow it down and then an extra one to make sure this was the one! 

Thanks PhotoWall for the opportunity and the amazing wallpaper makeover!

Let's talk crafts shall we??? 

Y'all know I LOVE Disney and that I collect Disney pins both from the parks and from independent creators. And for the past 10 years I've had them inside a pin bag which is awesome....except that no one but me could really see them on a daily basis. Plus then I'd have to get the bag OUT and what a pain! 

So I've had this idea of a shadow box type thing for the pins but I couldn't figure out how to display them in a cute way. Enter Expressions Vinyl and their amazing adhesive PATTERNED vinyl and inspiration struck!

Aren't they so cute!? I was seriously proud of what I came up with! SO let's break it down just a bit so you can make one too!

To do this project I needed:
- Disney pins
- Corkboard squares (mine are 12 X12)
- Floating Picture frames (again mine are 12X12 from Hobby Lobby)
- adhesive patterned vinyl from Expressions Vinyl
- scissors

First thing I did was decide which pins would be grouped together. I did mine based on the pages I had them on in my pin book, so all my Mickey and Minnie were already together and such. Then it was time to sort through my collection of amazing vinyl from Expressions (no, this isn't sponsored at all, I just really REALLY love their products, pricing and that they are a family run small business - so I support them wholeheartedly!)

Then I cut the corkboard down to the right size, the frames may have been 12X12 but that meant that the corkboard had to be trimmed by a bit to fit. Once trimmed then I adhered the vinyl to the square. Trim off excess vinyl, you could save them as scraps for another project too!

Take the frame apart and get rid of one of the glass pieces, you don't need both. Place one of the glass piece back into the frame and then stick your pins through the vinyl/corkboard. You will not be able to put the backs on the pins but that's ok! Once you have the pins all in place put the corkboard pin side down right against the glass. Carefully put the rest of the frame together minus that extra piece of glass and voila! You are finished! 

With all of this extra time we've been given to do so much I'm hoping to get more crafting done so that I keep busy! Plus even though my office has been taken over currently (curse-you-work-from-home-situation-but-also-thank-you-that-Andrew-still-has-a-job-to-do!) I'll have to get more creative on how we do crafting in my house hahaha

What's your latest crafting/sanity project been??

I've been on the search for MONTHS for something to hold all of my vinyl and such for my business
and let me tell you, IT'S HARD TO FIND THE PERFECT THING! If I had no budget to worry about, I have plenty of wishlists I could share but let's share the reality shall we? ;)
 
Then I found it! My sweet friend was cleaning out her garage and had an IKEA dresser (similar here) that she had made super cute and just didn't need anymore. I quickly volunteered as tribute for it! When I saw it in person I was so happy and knew it would be perfect!

I got it home and put it in the space I had cleared for it (the room is super funky in layout, weird walls and let's not even talk about the horrid colors in here - they were from the previous owners and we didn't have money to have them paint before so there ya go!) and I quickly put everything in the drawers.

Guys, I HAVE A FLOOR AGAIN! (And yes, I've been folding in the Kon Mari style WAY before this year folks hahaha) 
 
Owning your own small business is no joke y'all. It takes a lot of time and effort but is also so much fun!

I also got myself the Cricut EasyPress 2!! I bought the 12 X 10 press and the 20 X 16 mat that they suggest for it. I haven't been this happy in a long time! It's so easy to use and will save me TONS of time and backache!  If you want to see a full tutorial for how to use it, stay tuned! There will be a post soon!

If you can't wait any longer because you just love all things crafty, I DID do a small tutorial on my Instagram Stories and saved it in my highlights on my profile!

30 years of life have happened for me. I initially thought I'd do one of those "30 in 30" things but I decided to just put out some musings I've had instead.

I am not super woman.

There. I said it! I am incapable of doing all of the things I'm "supposed to do"!
 
And that's ok!
 
It's ok to not do all of the things. For example: this October we didn't do a pumpkin patch, carve pumpkins,  or anything super fall related other than Trick or Treat. And my kids are still ok. So my mom guilt can take a backseat for that thank goodness.

 I have to listen to my intuition/gut more often than my guilt or what others say. I don't know if any of you have this happen to you, but I've learned to mostly be able to say "No" or "I can't right now". We're heading into the crazy busy season and I've already had to say that a couple times to keep my sanity.  Or if there's a situation that doesn't feel right, I have to listen to that feeling and follow through.
 
It's ok to put yourself first sometimes. As a wife and mother I am constantly giving and giving and sometimes I literally have nothing left.

For me, one of the ways I put myself first is getting my hair done. I only get it done maybe twice a year but I feel so good afterwards. I feel so incandescently happy!  See this Instagram post for more of that musing!
 
It's ok to feel emotions.
Feeling sad is ok.
Feeling happy is ok.
Feeling angry is ok.
Feeling exhausted is ok.
You have to give yourself permission to feel your feelings or you can not heal. More often than not we're told to "pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get on with it" and that's good advice for the most part! But for some of us, hearing that just makes the guilt worse. I agree that we have to move on BUT everyone has their own pace and we have to find ours and do what's best for ourselves and our families.
 
It's never too late to start your dream!
It took me far too long to finally just start doing what I wanted to do: Open my own t-shirt and vinyl business! I've always wanted to make shirts at an affordable rate for ALL sizes and design my own stuff and it has been such a fun blessing for me!

It has helped my mental health in so many ways to create custom things for people! It's stretched my imagination and skills set. I've learned new things and can't wait to see  what next year has in store for the shop!

Life is good! Even when it sucks, which we all know it does on occasion, it is good!

I have my gorgeous girls, my amazing and supportive husband, my little business, a home, a working car, etc etc. How can I not see the good even dealing with the gross??

30 years old. I remember thinking 30 was so old and wise and you'd have it all figured out by now. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh how I was wrong, but also how much better it is than I thought! As I say goodbye to my 20s and welcome the next decade I'm excited to watch certain parts of my life end and new ones start. So here's to turning 30 and what a fun decade it will be!

I've been getting to know my Silhouette machine on very intimate terms in the past few months most especially. It and I have embarked on many adventures, some have worked, some have crashed and burned hahaha But let me show you some of the fun things I've been able to do!


First let me start by saying "THIS MACHINE IS AMAZING AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH AND IT'S MY FAVORITE!" Ok ok ok lets back up to the end of the school year shall we? For Teacher Appreciation Week I bought tumblers at Walmart and tripped them out!

These were for Jade's amazing preschool teacher, Rory's kindergarten aide, and Rory's kindergarten teacher (in that order) And these pictures were before I sealed them with resin to keep the vinyl on!

I put them in these CUTE tubs I also found at Walmart (on clearance even!!) with some chips and salsa and their favorite soda to fill their tumbler with ;) Ms Sue's preschool is Bee themed so she got a special tub! And she doesn't drink soda so I gave her more goodies and treats :)

These teacher gifts are also PERFECT for the beginning if the year! It would be a great way to start off the year! I was so happy with how they turned out AND how much the teachers loved them!! I even ended up making some for my best friend's kids' teachers and we got the best thank you notes on the planet! 

Bonus thing I did: At the end of the year I didn't buy Rory a yearbook. That just seems silly for a kindergartener to me. BUT I did want something for her little friends to be able to reach her if they wanted so I came up with this cute idea: K.I.T. Cards

I'm working on getting a template ready for y'all but it's taking a bit more work than I initially thought it would. I thought this was gonna be such a nice and awesome thing and I got so many compliments on them and then I ran out! OOPS!!! So lesson learned: cut out more than you think so you have enough!

Ok so it's not very "tutorial" ish cuz it's hard to take pictures in the midst of it all but I have some pictures to help describe how to do it.

Super easy!

Ok so you get: flowers, (I got mine from Michael's cuz they give teacher discounts but any fake flowers will work) felt pieces, (again at Michael's for .29 each), hot glue, any embellishments, (jewels and such) and hair clips from anywhere.

SO first, you cut the flowers down to their stubs.

Hot glue a piece of felt at least 1 inch around, and big enough for the clip to fit on, to the flower stub.

After you have hot glued the felt to the flower, simply hot glue the clip to the felt.

Now don't be silly like me and forget to only glue the ONE side, open the clip and wait for it to cool before closing it so it can't accidentally stick to itself and therefore become unusable.

I ended up putting smaller flowers inside bigger ones on occasion, to add some "oomph". Looks pretty good eh?

After 5 hours I had these 9 (I stopped to take breaks and to wait for things to cool, no worries, it doesn't actually take that long)

And now I've added the greens and the big orange one, as well as a purple/white/yellow rose one.

These are all the flowers I still have left to use later on! I've not been this excited for a project in a long time, and I have tons more I want to do once summer starts! If anyone has any questions, or anything's unclear, please comment and I will answer them!

So I've been really wanting to do something creative. Then at my bachelorette party my friend Noelle gave me this awesome vase thing that would be awesome to do something with. And then an idea struck me as I was walking around Wal-Mart today.

I walked by the Christmas stuff (waiting for the pharmacy to re-open had to kill time) and saw these cute little ornaments in different colors but I loved the red and silver the most. And then it was a light bulb came on inside. I could put them in the vase!! And then I saw this really cool white flower thing that worked wonderfully for the middle of the centerpiece.

And lo! Here is the finished product! I'm so proud of myself and I'm gonna make it a goal to try to fix it up with new arrangements every so often. Yay!!

And it was super cheap too!! The little ones were $3 and the bigger ones were $5. Ribbon was $1 ;)