SEDIY

Someone Else Do It Yourself 

(aka the reason I don't have a Pintrest account)

     Due to the holidays approaching, lots of free time, and a small budget, I have been literally addicted to DIY projects. At least 4 or 5 times a week I will inevitably wander onto the website StumbleUpon.com and look at crafty, cute, inexpensive projects that I "can do myself". I used to have like 12 categories check-marked on that site, but one bold day I unchecked all of them except Crafts and Design.. and I haven't turned back. I have never been able to comprehend the extreme vastness of the internet until this recent addiction. 4 times a week, probably 20-50 pages a sitting, for at least the last 3 months.. and I still haven't been to the same DIY site two times. I have 82 pages marked under "favorites". It's honestly getting to be a problem. 


 List of current, incomplete projects:
- Really cool 3D glittery snowflakes
- Refurnishing/painting 2 old end tables that I bought on Craigslist
- Felt 3D Christmas-ornament-hangy things
- A piece of framed glass with snowflakes and "Merry Christmas" etched into it 
- Glitter flats
- Flats with a scarf bow
- Exchanging the buttons on an old sweater for new, fun ones ( since it was missing a button)
-  A book clock thing
- A project with 9 small canvases and a quote and modge podge.
- a Christmas present for my mom that cannot be disclosed on here!


List of completed projects:
.
..
...
....
.....
- 1. Little, tiny, ONE. ( It was a melted crayon on canvas project and it only took me $4 and 30 minutes. booya) 


But seriously, ONE?


     I just can't keep up! I have so many Christmas gift ideas and only one female in my family to gift them to! I have never been more bummed out that I didn't have a sister. Glitter, glue, and an old lampshade just doesn't cut it as a "boy gift"...sigh. Well, mom, I've got you covered for Christmas, your birthday, Valentines day, mothers day, your anniversary, and any other excuse I can come up with to give you a gift for the next decade.


     Because I have finally admitted to myself that I honestly can't keep up with this rate of discovering DIY projects and trying to complete them, I give them to you. Here is a list of a few of my recent finds:

Handmade Modern Ornament Cards

http://tinyurl.com/6u7xatu 

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

http://tinyurl.com/8ytke7y

Scrapbook Paper iPhone Covers

(I don't even have an iPhone!)

http://tinyurl.com/7859bhn

Wrap Bracelet

http://tinyurl.com/7serh6d

Ikea/plain Rug Makeover

http://tinyurl.com/7serh6d

Tissue Rosette Balls

http://tinyurl.com/7yke7he

A Chalkboard Vase

 ( Why on earth someone came up with this.. I have no idea)

http://tinyurl.com/73gnfc4

I can't get enough of these crafts. They are so addicting and enticing and make me wish I never had to work another day again! The only way to harness my growing obsession is to look at the path I am on and realize that if I don't get a grip, my home someday will be so kitschy and crafty and glue-sticky and grandma-ish (no offense, grandma) that I won't be able to able to buy something "complete" from another store again. 


So please, please someone else.. do these yourself! 

It's beginning to look a lot like... my favorite time of year!

Welp, after a 4.5 month hiatus, I finally have something to write about again.


I am in this Autumn daze right now. And I don't hate it one bit.


Ever since I can remember, I have always despised Spring. Actually I am not that big of a fan of winter either come January 2nd. When the Christmas-y holidays are over, the snow is useless (for me, at least, because I don't ski or snowboard... And snowmen after Christmas are just... weird). But Spring is the worst. The soggy brown land that used to be grass, melting snow (if we're lucky!), constant grey skies, that freezing wet air that chills you to the bones no matter how many layers you are wearing, ALLERGIES, and no great holidays to look forward to! 


After Christmas/New Years, Valentines day feels like a consolation prize. Like someone decided that we needed a love-y holiday to keep us from falling into a deep depression abyss that could only be instigated by the arrival and persistence of brown snow and endless puddles. But as we all know, a consolation prize is nothing you actually get excited for. We want the gold medal (4th of July!) But instead, next we get St. Patrick (Eh, you're alright. but same consolation prize deal) and Easter. I feel sort of guilty for not loving Easter. The true celebration of Easter is amazing, and blessed. But at the point when bunnies, pastel colors, jordan almonds, and   stink-like-egg refrigerators come into play, I am out. Easter service at church, I am all yours. Egg salad sandwiches, I am even yours too. But Easter as a bunny/pastel/jordan almond/stinky fridge holiday, you don't quite cut it. So in a nutshell:

Dear Spring, I hate your stinking guts. You make me vomit. You're scum between my toes! Love, Kellianne.

 (High five if you can name that movie reference)

So, that leaves Summer and Autumn. Summer, you rock. I love every single thing about you, especially visits to the lake, Camp Reed time, hammocks, barbecues, flowers, nights when it's warm enough to hang out outside, and plenty more (mosquitos not included). But I'm just not ready to settle. On paper, you seem like the perfect season. You've got it all. But the chemistry isn't quite there. Especially when Autumn is just around the corner giving me those sweet eyes, Thanksgiving, and hopefully a new pair of boots. 

This brings me to Autumn. The holy grail of seasons. The sultan of swat, the titan of terror, the colossus of clout,  the king of crash, the great bambino of seasons! When world series/fantasy football chatter fills the air, I know fall is just around the corner. 

Because the beginning of this post was so negative, I am going to provide a list of things that are great about Autumn. Also, to prove my point.

1. Above all, fall colors. There is nothing on earth that I will ever think is as beautiful as the trees on Manito Blvd in October.

2. Boots

3. Scarves

4. Sweaters (Yes, each of these needs its own thanks)

5. Halloween

6. Thanksgiving

7. Pumpkin flavored anything and everything.. especially seeds and pie.

8. The crisp air sans-mosquitos and bees

9. Hot soup

10. Scarywood (new addition to the list this year)

11. High school football games

12. Golf season is over/variety of conversations at the dinner table

13. Christmas shopping

14. Food drives

15. Bubble baths!

16. Apple cider

17. The flu (because it's sort of fun having a frog voice for one day. And also because everyone else has it so it's like everyone is suffering/nurturing together. aw)

18. Notre Dame football

19. Sports= guacamole. guacamole= accidentally my entire meal too often

20. Castle is back on tv.
21. THIS stuff. (photo credit to Ryan Ferguson, master photographer even with instagram!)  

That's it. There is really no argument here. Autumn rules, Winter drools, Summer sort of drools, and Spring really really drools. 

Also, my boss just gave me something to work on!  So peace out boy scout. 

(Also, did I psyche you out with the title? Did you think I was referring to Christmas?! haha gotcha.)

The Sibling Bathroom Diaries

     I feel like sharing a bathroom with someone has a bad rap. 

     The Brady Bunch taught me that sharing a bathroom was so bad that it was second only to eating liver and onions for dinner. The brothers and their sisters were always whining about waiting their turns for the shower, the sink, and the toilet (Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!)  Horror stories of untidiness, lack of counter space, wet towels on the floor, and most of all cold showers seem to be the characteristic complaints of sharing bathrooms. 

Though this is pretty much (exactly) true in my case, finding some way to harmoniously share a bathroom with my little brother the past 14 months became the grounds for a defining moment in our sibling friendship. In fact, I might go so far as to say it is the reason I consider Connor one of my best friends today. 

     Though we can never keep our shared bathroom clean for more than 12 hours (sorry mom), sharing this personal space has taught me how to quietly deal with piles of wet towels, golf polos, and socks on the floor, and the toilet seat constantly up. Meanwhile, I'm sure it has taught him to deal with hair in the sink, hot curling irons, and the toilet seat constantly down. During this past school year at 7:36am on the dot, the shower would wake me up and I would lie in bed for 20 long minutes waiting my turn for my now-lukewarm 5 minute shower. Some mornings when Connor and I were both hurrying, we would stand together while we groggily brushed our teeth in front of the mirror, but usually our exchange was limited to "Good morning" "Good morning" "Have fun at school all day, I only have 1 class... and it starts at 10:00" "You too, wait.......you suck". And then we'd laugh and he'd run upstairs and out the door. (And I would dilly dally around the house for a few hours and somehow manage to sneak into class just in the knick of time). 

     The evenings, though, are the reason I have liked sharing a bathroom with my brother. When I would come home after my long day at school, or work, or be sneaking in late at night after an evening at Sean's (sorry mom), inevitably Connor was always awake. I swear that boy doesn't sleep. He was always ready to tell me his latest joke, or juicy high school gossip (be jealous), talk about Camp Reed, or just sit together on my bed and Stumbleupon. 

     Eventually though, we would force ourselves to get sleep. So we'd lazily walk to the bathroom together, brush our teeth, and wash our faces. It was this time that we'd half-jokingly get mad at the other person for being messy or invading each others' side of the counter (usually me getting in trouble for that. So what?) and try to continue our riveting, tired-jollies-stories with mouths full of toothpaste. Then we'd rinse our faces, meanwhile drenching the counter because the sink is not wide enough, and complain that all the towels to dry our cleaned faces were still wet and on the floor. This whole scenario seriously played out like 5 nights a week. You'd think we'd learn. 

     Then, after retreating to our own rooms, we'd still try to continue our conversation and laughter through the wall until one of us finally dozed off. It was then that the reason I love sharing a bathroom would sometimes happen.

     Occasionally, Connor or I would have to get up in the middle of the night and use the restroom. At this time, one of us would take the dry erase marker (you don't have one in your bathroom??) from his drawer and write a secret note on the mirror to the other for the morning. Sometimes it was just a hello, sometimes a joke, sometimes a reference to something from earlier conversations, and occasionally, something that was left in the toilet (sorry mom). After I wrote mine, it always left me with a little excitement or laughing (because I always wrote funny notes, duh) because I imagined a groggy Connor hurrying in for his shower the next morning at 7:36 and laughing from my hilarity. 

     Anyways, this awesome bond from sharing a basement bathroom together has (weirdly) been one of my favorite parts about living at home the last 14 months. And when Connor heads to Camp Reed in 10 days to live the best summer of his life thus far, I am going to miss the heck out of him and his mirror notes. But that won't stop me from enjoying my first hot shower in 14 months! ;)

Re-inspired

 Once a year my mom and I make a point of getting out of town together for a mother-daughter weekend. The last couple days I have been in Seattle with her shopping at great boutiques, eating succulent food, 

exploring parts of the city we have never seen, and re-visiting some of our favorite spots. 

  It was quite a treat to spend time with my mom and the change of scenery re-inspired my design brain. I took a couple pictures of pretty little spots that caught my eye and have inspired me for spring/summer projects! 

When we returned home tonight I visited some of my favorite design blogs and have compiled 

a few new pictures with some of my favorite images that I've been collecting

 I LOVE all the glassware and neutral palette with natural wood. So basic and beautiful

Fresh flowers in glass jars are so beautiful in the summer! Or any time of year...

I love the scale of this dining area. Such a charming table and beautiful blue accents contrast perfectly with the enormous wall of windows. It makes this such a glamorous space.

The COLOR in this photo is gorgeous. Light blue paneling, a painted brick wall, and white wooden ceilings could make for a blah-feeling space but its decorated so beautifully that walls and ceiling add a perfect amount of interest without being overwhelming.

This is such an earthy, peaceful bathroom that I don't think I could ever get out of the tub. ahhh...

I love how this simple, vintage end table is accentuated with an old photograph that compliments it perfectly. And the vase of flowers adds such a feminine touch!

BEAUTIFUL.

Can I steal these flowers and put them next to my bed? 

 

A photo I took of a bed in Anthropologie that I LOVE. I am a big fan of all white sheets/duvets/pillows, but this is so beautiful! 

And I will!

Have a great weekend kiddos!

Gleek.

Before you start with me, I can do what I want! It's my blog. If I want to post twice the same day I even start my blog, I can :) 

And this post is a minor emergency.

During my lunch break, I was reminded that next week is the finale of my favorite show:

I actually want to cry a little.

Last (school) year, I owned a tv and probably turned it on a total of 9 times the entire course of the year. I've just never really been a tv person. My family doesn't watch much tv unless Notre Dame is playing or the Masters are on, so I just never got into any shows. 

Apparently, I was never really aware of what I was missing out on. 

First things first: I like real life a lot better than watching television.

Real life, however, just isn't as good as living vicariously through high school glee club.

It really isn't. You actually can't convince me of that.

It all started one night when I was hunkered down in my cave of a room and couldn't sleep (because i wasn't really trying) so i decided to try to "get sleepy" by seeing what shows were on Hulu. Unfortunately (for my sleep that night) and fortunately (for my life) one of the top shows that week was an episode of Glee. 

Now, I had heard of this show and knew some self-proclaimed "gleeks", but that was about it. So I decided to see what the madness around this show was all about.

Little did I know that this would be life changing (barely a hint of sarcasm).

It would seriously take me until the end of work (and not just because I am a slow typer) to make a post explaining all the reasons this show is awesome. But here are my top 5:

1) Sam Evans. Because he is sort of perfect.

2) The seriously cool songs/mashups every episode and breathtaking voice of Rachel Berry. Don't believe me? Watch this and honestly tell me it isn't awesome. ( I still won't believe you). 

3) Finn/Quinn/Rachel love triangle is better than any love triangle in any show ever. Because I sort of hate but mostly love all 3 of them and I just can't decide who he should be with. It DOES matter. 

4) Sue Sylvester has spot-on humor. And lets face it, USUALLY girls just aren't that funny. But in this case, she wins. Every time. 

5) All the actors/actresses are the ones actually singing the songs! Uh-mazing. And their songs make for an amazing playlist while working out.

In all seriousness, this show makes my Tuesdays so happy. And it makes my Wednesdays suck. Do yourself a favor and watch it tonight. Sure it might be "predictable' and have what you might think is a lame-o plot line (it's not though), but from another self-proclaimed gleek to you, it's worth a watch ( or a night of no sleep because you just miiiiight not be able to stop watching every episode available on Hulu) 

I love finally "having a show" and the fact that it's the best one ever.  

If this post finds you thinking I am a weirdo, or perhaps "loser", I don't care and I leave you with a final song:

( creeper final words: If you have a Twitter, follow the cast too. They're pretty awesome in real life)

Why the title? And other things I adore

Why the title of this blog? It makes no sense, right? 

Well then you obviously haven't read this book:

My FAVORITE book.

Sorry Nicholas Sparks, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, and all you other big time authors.

Sandol Stoddard Warbug wrote the best one of all.

And the title of this blog is straight out of its tiny pages:

"On the fourth of July, I like you because it's the fourth of July.... On the fifth of July, I like you too."

Said by a little boy to his best pal. And it takes the cake for the title because I know exactly how he feels. 

It's a strange little book with words that are funny to say out loud, but it's my fav. And if you are ever in Aunties, you should look for it and buy it. Promise it will make you smile. Works like a charm every time for me!

On another note:

I have been doing a LOT of browsing for apartments, furniture, fun ways to decorate my eventual new apartment, and clothes. And I have found some great gems. And been reminded of some lovely things I already have in my life!  So at 11:45 on a monday morning, here are some things I ADORE.

my old house on this beach:

totally necessary circus animal waffle maker:

These shoes:

This family:

and this family: 

These storage boxes are made for me:

And I would kill for this bed:

Anyways. This is my blog and I'm gonna do whatever I want with it! No agenda, no subject, just day-to-day things I like and thoughts I have about the world around me. Because what else does one do when they graduate? ;)

(speaking of which, YIPPEE!!)