Making a House a Home...On a Budget!

Cars + I will have been married TWO years in December (marriage rocks!)--> Anyway, the last few months, we have been making small improvements to our home...on a budget. Man, it can be quite a task. But I must say, we have made big improvements (leaps and bounds) from our small TINY place in Wymount w/ cinder block walls. It's really exciting. Growing up, my sisters and I loved art and crafts. What better way to get started then to reach back to my roots?

Some of my latest tactics: 

#1. Painting. I have found it so therapeutic and relaxing after a long day at work to come home and paint into the later hours of the night (an even bigger bonus: painting sessions w/ the sisters!). We don't really have tons of money to go buy extravagant things for our walls but I can buy a $3 canvas at Hobby Lobby and paint things that will (hopefully) be a pleasant site to wake up to. 

Here is a sample of the latest:

 

#2. Organize. I needed some way to declutter my night stand/jewelry. I saw ideas similar on Pinterest and decided to go for it. The last two weeks, Cars has been MIA with the IS Junior Core at BYU, this is how I spent one evening....

#3. Collages. Here is one of the collages I have started. I am working on framing some of my favorite photographs I have taken of various places (NYC, Jerusalem, hikes in Utah, etc.). This is as far as I have gotten. (P.S. I fixed the frames in real life--so they aren't crooked...but you get the idea!)

I decided to be brave this weekend and step away from the smaller projects to jump into some things that will take a wee bit more time. Yesterday, was a no-shower, errand-running day. (We even went to Lowe's 3x...I know, excessive. ) Carson was such a champ. I know this would not be on the top of his list for a Saturday afternoon but he helped me pick out the wood, make measurements, and find the tools that we would need for these projects. Talk about a crafty Saturday, eh? 

(We are in the process of creating our own headboard, redoing a $20 dresser, and creating a wooden-framed mirror for our room.)

These are really just the beginnings, and somethings are still not perfect (in my perfectionist mind) but I hope to only improve from here. Do any of you have ideas or things you have done and loved? 

***

“You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” 
― Maya Angelou

*Free Bird*

Good News: I am on Spring Break! (Major fist pump.)

I feel like a free bird. I feel like I have lost 50 lbs. I have carried so much stress and worry for so long (read blog below). And now, I get a week to rejuvenate. It feels good. It feels really, really good. I actually slept in, read what I wanted to read, ate meals with Cars between his classes, cleaned, went on a run to one of my favorite spots in Provo [in the beautiful sunshine], and made homemade bread w/ my sweet friend. Get this...I even went on Pinterest and started creating projects that I wanted to do. I went to the craft store--> made it happen. (I can't wait to put them up on our book shelves/walls in the new place in 3 weeks.) 

Today, I reflected on how my life has changed over the past 5 few years that I have been in Provo.  I am grateful. I am grateful Carson is my husband. I am grateful for TWO loving, supportive families in my life. I am grateful for sunshine and nature. I am grateful for a college degree and a job I feel fulfillment and purpose. I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the weekend, we went home to spend time with our families and to listen to General Conference. It was beyond perfect. I soaked it up like a dried-up sponge. I felt I was going to explode of happiness--it was just what I needed, the basics that I had been longing for.

Painting nails, eating yummy smoked salmon, visiting grandparents, going out to dinner, watching conference, "ooed and awed" at my sister and sister-in-laws' prom dresses, movies....There was one moment, when I was squished on the couch downstairs with my sisters and my mom. All of us. Together. Tears were streaming down our faces-->we were laughing so hard. I thought my heart might burst. I am grateful.

"The spirit of gratitude brings true joy and great happiness." -Dieter F Uchtdorf

^^ Did I mention that we have been catching up on months of lost sleep? 

Makell was sneeky and snapped a pic from yesterday. 

What are you grateful for today?