Happy Engagement - Anniversary!

Two years ago, my Hubby, (then boyfriend), melted my heart on a sunny beach in California with those four little words every girl dreams about, "Will you marry me?" scribbled on the crisp leather of a brand new baseball. 

I still get excited when I think about our engagement, because it was so perfect and so perfectly tailored to us and our story.  We had talked about marriage plenty, and even talked about our future wedding a lot, in fact, the ring was already picked out (with my help of course), but I wanted an official proposal.  I wanted the kind of proposal that we would have fun retelling to our kids someday.  One with romance and young love -- (you know, the kind of story that will make them want to gag and leave the room! HA!). 

The bar was set pretty high, but boy, did my man deliver!





What the video doesn't show was his cousin hiding to capture the entire proposal on camera for us.  Or the bag he had already packed for me with a change of clothes and my makeup to get ready for dinner, which he had already made prior reservations for. Or the personalized bottle of champagne and balloons from one of our good friends on our table when we arrived. Or the engagement gifts that awaited us at home already. It definitely doesn't show the six years prior to being engaged that we had devoted to each other: the good, the bad, the trials, and the celebrations (and trust me, there were plenty of all of those things!).

It was a day that I had dreamed about since I met Brian and knew he was "The One".  It was the kick-off to the best Valentines Day ever.  It was a moment that will never be overlooked, under-appreciated, or forgotten.

Happy "Engagement Anniversary" Baby!  Thank you so much for taking the time to plan the most perfect, special, & memorable proposal two years ago! 

xoxo
Dani


How did your husband propose?  Or if you ARE the husband, how did you propose?  Please share in the comments below!  I love to hear stories :)

DIY Desk Re-do: From Trash to Treasure!

As I've mentioned before, one of my favorite hobbies is refinishing old furniture!  I love seeing each piece come to life after a transformation!  This project was one that almost didn't happen, but after seeing how beautiful it turned out, I'm so glad it did!

I'll spare you the details on where we got this desk, because it's kind of a long story,  but we didn't pay a dime for it!

This is what it looked like when we brought it home...

Ugh!  I can't lie, it was pretty nasty looking.

**If you aren't sure about the difference between supplies, sanders, etc... see my post HERE**

First Things First!  SANDING!  

The first thing we did was sand it down using our hand sander.  Brian took over this part of the project since I was consumed with "Motherly Duties", so I can't comment on what grit he used, but I'm pretty sure it was 60 or 80.  The idea is just to "rough up" the surface layer.  You want to make sure you aren't scratching it all up or trying to sand off more than necessary!  

Tack Cloth is My New Best Friend!

Next, we wiped it down good with tack cloth.  If you are going to be sanding anything down, I HIGHLY recommend having tack cloth on hand!  It's super cheap and gets the job done.

Primer Isn't Always Necessary If you Sand Properly!  

We skipped primer and went straight to paint.  If we weren't painting this desk black, I probably would have used a primer just to help coat the darkness of the finish, but I personally think primer is a waste of time when going from dark to darker!  If you have sanded well enough, there is no reason the paint shouldn't adhere. 

Quality Paint Makes a Difference! 

I can tell you from experience, that quality paint makes all the difference when refinishing furniture.  I have done projects with just cheap interior wall paint, and I've done projects with pre-mixed higher quality paints.  For this project we used a pre-mixed black Valspar paint. Since I'm not home, I'll have to update with the actual paint we used later!

Don't Skip the Sealer! 

It's important to seal your project!  We use a spray-on, Valspar clear semi-gloss.  It goes on so nicely and finishes off the project.  It makes wiping it down easier too!  You definitely don't want to finish this step.

Finish With Affordable Hardware!

Hobby Lobby is usually my go-to spot for new hardware.  It's incredebly cheap, usually $3 a piece, and they have a huge selection.  However, they didn't have the sleek, silver finish I was looking for, so we headed to Target.  Luckily they had what we wanted for about the same cost!

FINALLY My Vision Came to Life!  

It turned out perfect!  Even Brian, who really, REALLY didn't want to bring this desk home admitted that he was glad I talked him into it! 


More projects to come!

xoxo
Dani

Finish The Sentence Friday: My Stint With Reality TV!

Today is a big day for me!  I am joining in on my first "Blog Hop!"

If I'm being completely honest, I have no clue exactly how it works, but I'm happy to jump in because (a) I don't have to choose a topic to write about, it's already decided for me... and (b) I get to meet lots of other cool bloggers.  Win-win!

This particular blog hop is called Finish The Sentence Friday, and the topic this week is:

When it comes to reality TV shows, I... 

...Remember the time I got to be a part of one!

Yup!  You read correctly!  Never in a million years would I have thought I would be a part of reality TV, but a couple years ago the opportunity came up and I jumped on it!  

If you read my last post, you saw that I worked with my friend, Tara, over at Fairytale Hair & Makeup.  Fairytale specializes in hair & makeup for weddings, specifically on-location (that means, there is no studio or salon, we drove wherever we were needed). Tara built up quite a name for Fairytale, and one day she got an offer that none of us could refuse:  An opportunity to do the hair for a bridal party that was being featured on David Tutera's "My Fair Wedding".  

 

 

 

In case you don't know who David Tutera is or don't have a clue about the show My Fair Wedding, for us at Fairytale, this was like getting to go to the SUPERBOWL of the bridal hair & makeup world. (It's. a. BIG. Deal!)

 

 

Besides the excitement of getting to work along side the fabulous & gorgeous David Tutera, we were all sick with nerves at our work being on TV!  Talk about pressure! 

 

 

 

It ended up being an amazing experience, loads of fun, and David and his crew were completely awesome to work with.  Fairytale gained a ton of exposure and future jobs with the show (which of course I no longer got to be a part of since I moved out of state- BOO!).  

Overall, it was something that I was so glad I got to be a part of!  I was lucky to have my little (correct that), very tiny place in the reality TV world!  

And just for kicks, when I was digging through old location pics, I found this little goodie from when we had a gig for a Progressive Insurance promotion and we got to meet FLO!  And no, that is not a look-a-like, it was really her!  So much fun!  

Do you have any good "Reality TV" stories?  Share them in the comments below!  

**Link up to Finish The Sentence Friday Here**