Life is a Fairytale!

Today is a very special day!  It is one of my beautiful friend's birthday!

I met Tara a few years ago after becoming her assistant in her hair and makeup business, Fairytale Hair & Makeup.  I learned pretty quickly that Tara is ten kinds of crazy, incredibly brave, successful, passionate, and secretly wishes she could be reincarnated as   believes she is a Disney Princess! 

Back when we met, we spent a lot of time in the car together, driving to Los Angeles to do hair and makeup for weddings at hours where there were only two kinds of people out:  criminals and us.  (and GIRL do we have some funny stories from those days!)

Since then, Tara has become a huge part of my life!  She has taught me so much about adventure, love, & following dreams.  It's definitely safe to say I love this crazy chic!  

So without any further blabbering, Happy Birthday to my fabulous friend!  Life is so much better with you in it!  Thank you for showing me that with some faith, (and a little bit of pixie dust), every story can be a fairytale!  MUAH! 

xoxo
Dani

PS-
Be sure to head over to her facebook page and show her some Birthday L-O-V-E! 
Fairytale Hair & Makeup on Facebook

PSS-
See that yin-yang chocolatey goodness in the picture?  If you have not been to The Melting Pot and ordered it, drop everything you are doing and go get some!  The. Best. Ever!  Seriously. 

Well That Was Lame...

Fortune Cookie Inspiration

 

This last week, I sat down to write about ten different times and even wrote multiple pages of material that I will probably never use because I wasn't happy with it.  And when I can't write, I can't sleep! 

I finally decided I'd had enough.  My one person pity-party had to come to an end!  It was time to suck it up, put on my big girl panties, and actually finish a blog post.  This sounds like a simple enough task, but my writer's block had gotten the best of me, leaving me frustrated and irritated at my lack of production every time I sat down at my computer. 

So last night, after getting both girls to sleep, (this is an accomplishment in itself), I still couldn't pin down a subject.  Rats.  This definitely called for some popcorn.  (Normally this would call for a glass of wine, but since I'm out right now, popcorn had to suffice.)  I opened the pantry door to get some kettle corn only to notice a fortune cookie staring me right in the face from the shelf.  "Hmm, what if I opened the fortune cookie and wrote about whatever the fortune inside said?"

After pondering whether the idea was stupid or not (hindsight is 20/20 by the way...) I decided that this was the perfect exercise to break out of my funk!  And so it was decided...the subject of my next post was in the hands of whomever (or whatever) stuffed this little buddy over at "Baily Fortune Cookie" factory!  I unwrapped the cookie, and before I could even get it out of the wrapper, unintentionally cracked it in half.  Excited to see what it said, I hurriedly pulled the paper fortune out, inadvertently crunching stupid fortune cookie all over my counter at the same time (apparently this was a very brittle fortune cookie!).  I carefully turned over the paper only to read...

 

 (and yes, this is really the fortune cookie I opened!)

I sat and stared at it, dumbfounded, wondering what the heck kind of "fortune" this was, and laughed at the lack of though provoking subject matter it contained.  Usually they at least give notion to some deep thought about friends, family, or prosperity.  But, nope.  Not this one.  Not tonight, when I was looking for the perfect little piece of inspiration! 

The funny part was, though, this is exactly the kind of thing I needed.  Nothing perfect, silly even, to shatter through the brick wall I have been scratching at for this past week with nothing to even show for.  I then thanked the Lord for his sense of humor, finally wrote something worth sharing, and headed off to bed.  

So remember, friends, when life hands you a fortune cookie, never take it too seriously, and definitely, definitely don't blog about it! 

xoxo

Dani

 

DIY His & Her's Coffee Mugs

As much as I would love to take credit for this idea, I saw it all over Pinterest and have been wanting to give it a whirl.  It just so happened that our first wedding anniversary was coming up, and I needed a perfect and personal small gift for the Hubs.  

Anyways-- these make awesome gifts and are a very inexpensive way to add some charm to your coffee mug collection.  (Ehh hem... your company called, and they want all of their cheesy, logo mugs they give away at the Christmas party back!) 

So without further addooooo... (I know that's spelled wrong, but I'm too tired and lazy right now to look up the correct spelling.  Sorry to all you grammar nazi's reading this.)

DIY His & Her's Coffee Mugs

You will need:

-An oven
-Sharpie(s)
-Coffee mug(s)
-Cookie Sheet

Directions:

1.  Remove any price stickers and clean your coffee mugs.  You can wipe them down with rubbing alcohol if you want, but honestly, I've done it both ways and soap and water seems to be just fine. 

2.  Write your design on your mug.  The options are endless!  I chose to use a line from our first dance because I wanted it to be meaningful!  I also added some personalization on the bottom of the mug.  You will want to go over it with the sharpie more than once to give it a good, bold color.

3.  Set them on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.  It's best to put them in and THEN turn on your oven.  BUT-- when I made these I forgot to do it that way and they turned out just fine. 

4.  Remove, cool, & enjoy! 

Viola!  You now have some super cute new mugs that didn't set you back $15 each OR have your a company logo on them! 



xoxo
Dani

Have you tried this?  Share any other tips in the comments below!  :)

God Sent Me a Letter!

Tonight, I'm feeling extremely unmotivated to write.  I really just want to curl up in bed with a glass of wine, my heating pad on my achy back, and watch trash television.  There are just a couple problems-- I'm still fasting (ie- no wine) and my freaking heating pad is busted.  To top it off it looks like a nuclear laundry bomb exploded all over my living room and I've been trying to comfort a colicky baby for the last three nights to no avail.  Needless to say I am one tired, irritable, not-feeling-so-mentally-stable kinda momma. Aaaaaand it's only Wednesday.

Cool... (In case you can't tell, this is me being sarcastic.)

But just when I'm about to hop on the enemy's pity-party bus... My totally-awesome-mind-reading-ever-present-satan's butt kicking God steps in and directs me to the book of James, revealing to me my own little personalized letter!

"Why James?" I'm thinking...  So I hurry and open up my YouVersion Bible app to the book of James to read this:

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." (James 1:2-3 NLT)

A little further reading lands me here...

"God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.  Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, "God is temping me."  God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.  Temptation comes from our own desires which entice us and drag us away." (James 1:12-14 NLT)

And then it gets really good...

"So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls."  (James 1: 21 NLT)

Wow.  Just...wow.  I love moments like this, when I'm feeling "off" and God just steps in an reveals himself to me, time and time again. It never fails. HE never fails.  I could sit and mope all night, or I can be thankful, better yet, JOYFUL for a challenge that is going to allow me to grow and take my faith to the next level.

All-in-all, I hope this reaches or inspires someone, even if it's just one person who needs to hear it, who needs encouragement, because clearly, I needed to hear it too!  We are never done growing in our faith, and we are never too old to make some changes!  So as the saying goes, "Carpe Diem!"

xoxo
Dani

PS- If you don't have it yet, go to your app store and download the You Version Bible App.  It's free, handy, and is loaded full of devotionals, reading plans, etc!

Free Pink Dresser Re-Do; Fit For a Princess!

Before we got married, we moved around the country wherever Brian was playing baseball, never knowing where the next summer was going to take us.  Because of that, we never really kept furniture around for long, and it also meant that people were constantly giving us furniture they didn't want anymore (umm...thanks?)! 

At any rate, we ended up with this very old, (VERY heavy), dingy, white dresser.  It ended up in The Bug's room and served a good purpose!  As usual, Brian wanted to burn it and crafty little me had a fabulous vision for it!

**Because this was pre-blogging days, I only have before and after pictures for this pink dresser project.  However, this dresser was simple because of it's straight lines, flat surfaces, and the type of paint that was on it previously.  We simply did a light sand on the entire surface of the dresser with 120 grit sandpaper and then painted it with a semi-gloss from Walmart. I spray painted the original handles with white Rust-oleum spray paint in a gloss finish ** 

This was my inspiration picture I found over at Melony's Whimsy Daisy!  You can see her original post here. I still drool every time I see this dresser!  I love its charm!

BEFORE

And then we have our plain-Jane, dirty, white dresser pre-makeover (don't mind all the crap on top of it).

 AFTER

Pink dresser fit for a princess!

I think I spend around $30 on all of my supplies, but to be honest, I can't exactly remember because it was a couple years ago!  Either way, it was considerably less than a new dresser would have cost.

This was the project that really woke up my inner DIY goddess, thus creating a fuel for way more future projects than my poor hubby ever signed up for!  But I'll share those later!  Until next time...

xoxo
Dani

Un-"wine"-ed

It's really ironic that as I am starting this blog, I'm actually on a fast.  So I haven't even had any wine in 12 days.  Now, this probably makes me sound like a big lush, but I promise you that's not the case!  The thing is, for me, writing usually looks like this...

- Put the girls to bed
- Clean kitchen & pickup living room (or if I'm being honest, load dishwasher, swipe crumbs from the counter into the sink, and throw any toys in living room into the catch-all basket.)
- Pour small glass of wine, and drink half while I peruse around facebook, news articles, and decide what to write about.
- Start writing, realize my glass is now empty, refill, and go back to writing.

There is just something therapeutic about drinking my wine, unwinding, and writing.  I suppose it's sort of like baseball players and chew, or a bride insisting on wearing something blue.  It's not really necessary, but to me, they tend to go hand in hand, and I like it that way. 

So this week, and for another 8 days, instead of being The "Winey" Mom, I guess I'm the Un-"wine"-ed Mom.  It's been good, tempting, and refreshing.  But above all, I've been able to focus on what really matters.  And that is that no bottle of Merlot or crisp, chilled Chardonnay in all of their grape-ey goodness can measure up to the amazing peace that God can bring when I seek him.  God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.  With that...I leave you with an excerpt from Psalm 46:10. 

xoxo
Dani

Yes, I use CLOTH DIAPERS!

"They still make those things?"

I get asked that a lot by people when I tell them that we use cloth diapers. The answer is yes, yes they do!  (And no, I don't make my own soap, churn my own butter, or use cloth toilet paper! --insert eye roll here).  

I'm still learning a lot about cloth diapering, but what I do know is that I love them, and don't know why I waited so long to try it. Well, actually, I know exactly why... I had no idea where to start, how to do it, or what to buy.  Shoot, some days I still feel like that! 

To someone that has no clue about cloth diapering, just figuring out where to begin can be extremely overwhelming.  I dare you to google it, and see the mass amounts of information that comes up.  You will see terms like pre-folds, pockets, AIO's (all-in-one's), AI2's (all-in-two's), hybrids, fitteds, blah blah blah blah blah!  As we say around our house, "It's crazy talk!"

For me, it boils down to three simple things:

1.  Cost Effectiveness
Because we want to have more than two kids, it makes sense to me to purchase diapers once.  Sure, I may pay more up front, but isn't that why people love Costco?

2.  Skin Sensitivities
My babies tend to have hyper sensitive skin (which they can thank me for).  I just feel better having cloth against their skin rather than the chemicals in 'sposies!  In simpler terms, I don't wear paper underwear, so why should my babies? 

3.  The Cuteness Factor
Let's be honest.  Disposable diapers are just not cute. End of story.

Within the next week, I'm going to try really hard to do a couple video reviews of the cloth diapers I do use.  My favorite brand is Fuzzibunz, but I also like Flips and BumGenius as well.  I'll go into more details later but until then, here is a pic of a few of my diapers; two Flips covers and a Fuzzibunz Elite!  Enjoy!

xoxo
Dani

A little Paint Can Fix Just About Anything!

I typically always have a project going on in our garage, and am always seeming to have a vision for furniture that everyone else wants to burn for firewood!  I'm pretty positive that by now my hubby has given up trying to talk me out of my so-called "projects" and instead has embraced my hobby by letting me make a mess of the garage and parking outside when I've got paint and drawers laying all over!

I would say that my skills are novice, at best.  So if I can do this, anyone can.  All it takes is a little vision, elbow grease, and the right tools!  If you are going to start refinishing furniture, you are going to need a few staple items that will make your project a heck of a lot easier!  Here are a few...


Sanding Block

You definitely want to use a sanding block if you are going to sand anything flat by hand.  You don't want to be rubbing sandpaper right on the surface with just your hand.  Try it once, and you will know why!  Considering you can get this for under $3, there really is no reason to not have one! 

Tack Cloth

This tack cloth by 3M is used to wipe down the item you just finished sanding.  It is actually "tacky" and will pick up all of the dust leaving you with a clean surface to work with.  Just trust me when I say, skip the old rag, and use the tack cloth.  Once you go TACK you never go BACK!  (Don't mind my workshop humor!)

Electric Hand Sander

This bad boy is the best $30 I ever spent!  I can't believe how many projects we did without this!  It will save you so much time and energy.  I got mine at Wal-Mart, but you can get them pretty much anywhere.  I know some people prefer the Mouse Detail Sander to this, but I didn't want to have to deal with buying special pre-cut sandpaper, plus I wanted a larger sanding plate to cover more area in less time.  The mouse sander would be great for distressing things, but even then, that can be done by hand or with this sander as well. 

Aside from these, you will obviously need tools, sandpaper, paintbrushes, etc.  But if I were to go back to when I started, I wish I would have always had these items on hand! 

Next, I'll share some of our projects, the steps we took, and the products we used to transform them!

Until next time...

xoxo
Dani

How To Get Gum Out Of Hair

Lucky me!  The other day my four year old came to me with a huge glob of gum in her hair...right. behind. her. ear. 

After I gathered my bearings I calmly anxiously googled "How to get gum out of hair."  Lots of different suggestions came up, and as I suspected, the best method seemed to be a pantry staple.  Olive oil. 

The problem was, all of the "directions" I found for how to get it out included crappy photos of pretend gum and someone trying to go through the steps, which for them was probably a great thing, because clearly they were never in a position where they could really document the icky step-by-step photos for how to get gum out of hair!  

How To Get Gum Out Of Hair

You are going to need a few things:

- Olive Oil (or any oil you have laying around your house)
- Fine tooth comb
- Baby wipes, or wet paper towels
- Towel for draping over shoulders
- a bit lot of patience!

**This can be a messy process!**

Step 1:
Drape your lucky "client" with a towel so you don't dribble olive oil all over them or get the sticky-icky gum all over their clothes.  Pull the hair without gum in it up in a pony tail to keep it out of the way!

Step 2:
Rub olive oil on and around the mass of gum and hair. 

Step 3:
Let it set for a few minutes.

Step 4:
Begin slowly pulling the strands apart, as if you were trying to get out ratted hair.  The gum will want to pull with it, so you will want to make sure you begin working the hair apart, but not the gum.  The oil will help the hair pull away from the gum, strand by strand.  

**As you begin working the hair out of the gum, be sure to keep it out of your way by flipping it up over the head or using a small clip.**

Step 5:
After a bit of working, the gum will start to get, well, gummy again.  You will need to add more oil at this point.

**Notice the differences in each picture below, the first is "gummy" and the second was after I added more oil.**

Step 6:
Continue to pull the hair slowly out of the gum.  The oil will help break down the gum into smaller parts and it will start to look like this...
Also, as I get the gum out of the hair, I used a baby wipe to get it off of my comb.  I also used a baby wipe to keep one of my hands remotely oil free through the process. 

Step 7:
At this point, you will be able to use your fine tooth comb to comb the gum out of the hair. You will have to do this in small pieces until it is all out. Here is where you will need to whip out your patience!  In the below photo, I had removed about half of the gum.

 I was then left with this...

Step 8:
Add more oil and let it set for a few minutes!  

Step 9:
Finally, I was able to slowly pull out as many strands as possible, and the gum began breaking down and releasing from the hair.  I was able to slowly and gently come the rest of the gum out of the hair, and as I did it came out in one big clump! 

FINALLY all of the gum was out!  It really didn't take as long as I thought it would, either!  No scissors, peanut butter, or ice cubes required!  

Last and final step -- bath time! Keira was definitely happy that I didn't have to cut any of her hair off and I was happy at how easy the process was! For now, we have banned her from chewing gum, although I doubt that will last long!  So when that moment comes, at least I know how to get gum out of hair!  Ha! 

I'd love to hear suggestions or more tips!  Please share your secrets on how to get gum out of hair in the comments section below! 

xoxo
Dani

Who is The "Winey" Mom?

Hello and welcome to my latest creative outlet!  I've been meaning to start a blog for quite some time.  Actually, I've started several, with not much purpose or vision.  And I've got to say, the first post is always the most daunting.  Because, really, where do I even begin?  

Lets see... if you are reading this you are probably already a friend or family and know most of what there is to know about me!  For those of you that don't, I'll sum it up for you here!

First of all.... This is me...(and my super hunky hubby!)

However, in my own little world tucked away deep inside my innermost imagination, I like to think I am one of those super fantastic housewives from the 1950's that could bake a cake, clean the entire house, and still serve dinner in pearls and heels!  You know... like this:

But let's be real here, its 2013, and most days, the reality is more like this:

I guess if I were to sum it all up, I'd consider myself to be a modern-day, kinda-crunchy, pretty-crafty, wine-loving, Jesus-serving Mom & Wife!  I hope you all enjoy and return! 

xoxo
Dani