Thrifting and Upcycling: Part 1

If you didn't know, I love thrift shopping!! I have done this with my Mom and Grandmother since I was little.  I go anywhere from Goodwill to Salvation Army to local little thrift stores to find goodies!  I go to these stores to find things for me to re-create and make awesome!  I also love to find antiques and furniture to fix up and give a home.  Currently, I have my eyes out for some awesome mirrors and frames. I want to do an eclectic frame wall for pictures and find a really luscious and ornate frame for a mirror for our bedroom.

So today I had an hour to kill before my massage (post half marathon massage that is) so I ran over to Goodwill.  I haven't had time lately to check into the stores and of course its a Monday and all of them except Goodwill were closed.  I always seem to forget that part and it is truly SO annoying! I try to get in there every couple of weeks to see what's new and if there is anything that needs some TLC from Jets!  As I was perusing for another up cycle project which I will share with you later, I found a little lonely chair!!! It was screaming at me and telling me to buy it, since it was only $5! I looked and it was truly a super easy fixer upper! Here is what it looked like before. 

Quite a beauty huh!? All I had to do was unscrew the seat from the chair to recover it and spray paint the chair!! 

So first, I recovered the seat cushion. Again line up the cushion on top of the fabric and begin stapling  in the middle out toward the corners. Once all the sides are stapled down, fold your corners like a present, trim any left over fabric, and staple them down.

Next, I took the chair to the yard to spray paint. This was an utter fail. One thing I will just not miss about Oklahoma is the wind and all the bugs! I guess bugs are everywhere, but they were totally ruining my project!! For some reason they like spray paint and wanted to get stuck in there. Luckily I realized this early on and just moved my project to the garage to avoid both annoyances.  I used Rust-O-Leum 2x coverage spray paint with primer built in.

After I let it dry for a good 45 minutes I was able to screw the cushion back on to the chair, and as easy as that I have a new chair for the small desk in my guest room! Or I may use it elsewhere who knows, but it looks super cute and cost me hardly anything!

Playing With (staple) Guns and Fabric Part 2

In the same breath that I made the new pillow covers I decided I hated the fabric I had used to cover a bench that Ryan and I had made together. Just a side note, the bench is SUPER easy to make and we will be making another one when he gets home because I have left over material, wood, batting, foam, and paint and cannot let it all go to waste!  Ok, back to the reupholstery story!! I had bought this fabric when I made the ottoman out of an old end table I found at a second hand store. I really bought it because it was on sale and the right color scheme. Now I feel like I should be in Florida or Hawaii when I look at it and my house decor is no where near what you see in those 2 states. As for the ottoman it would be a pain to recover because my Dad helped me add buttons for a tufted look and I decided that is more stress than it is worth right now! However, the bench we made would be SUPER easy to fix! Here is what it looked like before:

So the lesson here: Don't buy fabric simply because its ivory and on sale. Spend your money on something you really like!!!  

What you need: 

fabric

scissors

staple gun ( I use an Stanley electric staple gun)

decorative nail heads (optional) 

hammer

screwdriver 

I started by removing all the decorative upholstery nail heads along the bottom of the bench. For this I just used a screw driver to get underneath the head of the tac and lift it out. I actually left the fabric on the bench because number 1, it didn't show through, and number 2, I was in a hurry (and lazy).  Again, I used the curtain fabric in the same print as the throw pillow shams.  I ironed the fabric to eliminate wrinkles and then put the fabric on the bench and eyeballed where to cut it to get the piece I would use to reupholster. 

 After you have your piece of fabric cut to size, you can begin stapling from the middle out toward the corners. I do both sides out to the corners and then tackle those tricky little corners. I usually have extra fabric hanging down around the corners and this usually will get cut off so that I have clean corners underneath. I don't really have "directions" for the corners except to say I fold them like the corners on a present, pull them underneath tightly and staple down with the staple gun.

Here is what you will have after you finish stapling the corners down.

The bench looks awesome and you could totally stop here and be done, but I love the look with the nail head trim. They are really reasonable at about $1.99 for a pack of 50 at Hobby Lobby.  I spaced them out about 2 3/4" on the short sides and about 3" on the long sides.  So basically, measure, line up the nail, and hammer that baby in! Easy as that!  

This bench looks super awesome at the end of our bed and matches our decor SO much better!! The fabric is so much more chic than my Hawaii 5-0 print (which I will still have to bear with on my living room ottoman :( ) 

Playing With (glue) Guns and Fabric Part 1

Some of you know that I like to get crafty! I try to do projects for the house that will look awesome but cost me less than just purchasing in the store.  Of course I said I was done with projects until after the move, but I truly cannot help myself.  I get an idea and then I just roll with it!

I decided to make more pillow covers to take with me to Germany. I was going to make them there, but then decided I wasn't sure if my glue gun would work over there, so better to just make them now right?! I found some awesome curtains at Ross for $14.99 for two 36x84 inch panels. This is a cheap way to get fabric for these types of projects.  Another thing I have done is to buy drop cloth  in the paint section at Walmart or Lowes.  It is usually 8-10 ounce Duck Canvas, which provides a simple cream ivory type color. I use these in several other rooms in the house and even recovered some old Louis Style antique Dining room chairs with it and it worked perfect!

I like to make pillows in the form of a sham. They are so easy to take on and off and easily switch up your decor when you are sick of it! You can find the tutorial here.

Here is what you need:
Fabric
scissors
Unique Stitch fabric glue or Hot Glue
Iron

Take note if you use the Unique Stitch, then they will be washable, however if you use hot glue, I would not take the chance of washing them in the washing machine.

Since I used the curtains I had to first cut the grommets off along the seam.

Next, you will need to use either scissors or a seam ripper to rip out the seams on at least 2 sides of the panel.  This allows you more room for fabric to use so it will go a little bit further! 

Now comes the time for cutting your fabric! Most of my pillows are 18x18, so if that is the case for you, you need to cut a square 20x20 piece of the fabric you choose. Then you will need to measure and cut 2 side panels roughly 20x15 each.   Some of mine end up being around 20x 13 and they ended up just fine.

Next, get ready to glue these babies together!! You will need to lay the 20x20 square with the right side of the fabric facing up. Then, align your 20x15 backside panels with the right side of the panels facing down.  I like to use the iron to make sure there are no wrinkles in the fabric and also to run it over each glued seam for extra adhesion.  You will also want to glue a seam along each back panel so that when you turn them inside out they will have a finished look and no rough fraying edges will be exposed. I do this first, then begin glueing the backside panels to the front piece.  I let them dry for about 5 minutes and carefully turn them inside out and voila, they are ready for a pillow to wear them!

And here is the finished product! I really love how easy and economical these are to make! They averaged out to 6 pillows for $15- meaning each was around $2.50 each! Most pillow covers I see online are at least $20 or more each! So for less than that I was able to cover 6 throw pillows and totally change up my living room for a little while! 

Dirty 30 is Grown Sexy: Dallas 30th Birthday Weekend

Recently, I celebrated turning into a new decade of life, yes the big 3-0! I didn't really know what to expect or how to feel. Some people say its awful, while some people say its the best decade in life.  I guess I'll start off saying I was a bit disappointed that my hubby wasn't here to celebrate with me.  So many of my friends have had crazy exciting 30th birthdays to Vegas, New York, or even just surprise parties.  I had a brief poor me moment, you know the whole "woe is me, my husband is deployed so he can't throw me an awesome birthday, and I live in Oklahoma so what the heck is cool to do around here" moment.  But, then I put my big girl panties on and just remembered that this is a new season of life with new changes and challenges.

I decided in February to go to Nashville with some of my Indy girls, Lauren, Allie, and Jodie.  So I decided this was a prime opportunity to start the 30 festivities!!  Lauren and Allie both have February birthdays and were turning 31, while I was pre-celebrating my 30th! I was a little worried because it was going to be a short weekend trip, but can I tell you that Nashville can show you a good time in 1 day or night let alone a weekend!  We went down to Broadway each night and heard amazing Country music! Saturday night we got to hear Brad Paisley at Bridgestone perform and his opener was Chris Young!! There is something about fun people and great music that just make it impossible to not have a good time.  Here are some fun pictures from the weekend of us ladies pretending we could still be party monsters!

Then came birthday month!! While Ryan wasn't here to do something crazy for me, he put some friends in charge of making sure I had a great time.  We decided to take a small group of of JAG ladies and go down to Dallas for a weekend. I was really happy that we were able to do this considering only one other friend is kid-less. These ladies really worked their schedules around to be able to come down and celebrate with me, and for that I am sincerely grateful!

If you know me, you know I love food. So most of the weekend revolved around good food and drinks. I found a Groupon for The Adolphus Hotel in Downtown Dallas for about $100 a night for a suite! Since we had 6 girls, we needed more space and this hotel seriously rocked!!! Some people say it's haunted:) however, we did have any ghost encounters while we were staying there.  This hotel is made famous by the famous people that have stayed there including JFK and The Queen of England!

When we first arrived to the hotel, we checked in and popped a bottle of champagne.  We started getting dolled up with Natalie's crazy amounts of makeup and all of our accessories that we brought with us! It is so much fun getting ready with friends! It takes me back to my Chi-Omega days with everyone getting ready to go out at night! SO-MUCH-FUN! 

Soon after, we met up at a SCRUMPTIOUS restaurant called Fireside Pies in Knox/Henderson. Jennie and I had seen this place when we were in Dallas for our Spin Certification course and wanted to try it. This was one of the best places we went to by far!! Delicious food for sure!

After a great dinner, we went to Vickery Park for drinks and then headed to Renfields Corner for more drinks and celebrating! The Bar tender had heard from the Fireside Pies Bartender that it was my 30th and he gave a free round to celebrate. It was a really fun fun night!

The next morning called for Brunch, which included bloody mary's and mimosas! So tasty!

We were in a hurry at the end of Brunch because I had planned for us to jog to Klyde Warren Park for a yoga class! My cousin Holly was also going to be meeting us there so I didn't want to miss it! 

This was another highlight of the weekend! It was a beautiful day and just so nice to move our bodies in a beautiful park surrounded by city!

Don't forget the food trucks! Such delicious food is dished up at these pretties too!

After some delightful yoga, we headed back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation!

Then it was time to hit the town for some more fun Dallas sightseeing! We went to the mall for some shopping and hit up another one of my favorite Dallas Food Spots, The Porch. This was also located in Knox/Henderson! 

Sadly, it was time for the last night out! We decided to hit up Taverna Italian, one of my favorites for dinner! Again such an amazing meal. The owner gave us a complimentary round of champagne and the waiter said I looked 25! Then we went out to Black Friar Pub for some more entertaining people watching and some adult beverages! 

Overall, it was an fabulous way to turn 30! Good friends, good food, good wine, and doing all of the above in a great city like Dallas! Thank you friends for taking time to make it special and thank you Dallas, Texas for being a beautiful, fun, yummy city to celebrate in! 

Booked a ONE WAY Flight to GERMANY!!

We have been super busy working on all of the Overseas PCS business.  I had to apply for my command sponsorship in order to be put on Ryan's Army Orders and allowed to move to Germany with him.  That all went through fabulously! I also recently received my No Fee Passport so that I can move to Germany as well.

Ryan received an email from our new sponsors. They seem wonderfully friendly and have been really helpful on all things moving.  For my non-Army friends, when you receive orders for Overseas, the Army issues you a person to take you under their wing and show you the ropes when you arrive. They help you find housing, get your car, drive you to appointments, and so much more.  They are a good resource for all things living overseas.  I am so thankful the Army does this. It would be horrible if you just moved to a new country and had no one to guide you along the way.  Our sponsors are a Captain and his wife that are a part of the unit Ryan will be joining in Germany.  They have informed us that we need to get a German banking account to pay German utilities. We haven't really gotten too deep into this process, but I will write about it as it draws closer. They have also assured us that we will still be able to use our iPhones in Germany. We were really worried about this, so we are happy that there is way to still be able to use them. Again, this won't happen until we arrive, so I will explain the process after we get through it.

We finally received our orders, which seemed to take a lifetime!!! We found out we were penciled in for Germany in late November, early December. Then we found out we were officially going in January. It took until February to get an RFO (Request for Orders), then we officially got our orders (with ME on them:)) in March. There were several steps in the moving process we couldn't do until we got the orders in hand, so I was so excited to start checking things off of the list.

First, we made reservations at the hotel on Ramstein Air Base. We were advised to book this temporary lodging well in advance, especially with our little Molly in tow. We were able to secure a pet friendly room for 1 month. This process was pretty easy. Ryan was in charge of this duty and I believe all he did was call and reserve the room. We then received email confirmation for the reservation and that my friends was checked off the list!

Second, we were able to book our FLIGHTS!!! Oh yes, the excitement is oozing from my pores! It still hasn't hit me that we are moving to Europe!! A lot of other planning rides on when you are officially flying out of the country, so this was a vital step in moving planning. We have luckily been in touch with the head of the travel office on Fort Sill. She has helped me with command sponsorship, my passport, and also booking our flights.  You hear horror stories of people not really knowing what they are doing, so I am SO happy that this lady was a wealth of information.

Since we will be flying a military flight through Patriot Express out of Baltimore International, you cannot book flights until you are 90 days out. Once we hit the 90 day mark, I was on it! We decided to try to get to Germany earlier than our Orders are written for. Once they give you a report date, you have a 30 day window that you are allowed to arrive earlier than the report date. So if your orders say you have to arrive by July 15, you can arrive as early as June 15. We will be flying out of Indianapolis with a connecting flight in Raleigh and then on to Baltimore.  From Baltimore we will be flying directly to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany! The original plan was to drive from Indianapolis and rent a car, so that our Molly dog didn't have to suffer through several flights. Ryan then decided he would rather not make the 10 hour drive to Baltimore, so we are now flying from Indy. I am super nervous to make 3 flights with Molly. It could be great or disastrous that could probably be a whole blog post in and of itself!

For Patriot Express flights, they allow only a few in cabin dogs. Our travel person made sure that we have our flights with Molly in cabin! I can't imagine her under the plane, she would have a heart attack. That dog thinks she is a person and she would be totally offended to be under the plane. They will allow us 2 carry ons and two 70 pound checked bags. We will pack a lot of our life into these bags, and I am also going to be packing lots of beauty products/liquid items that I cannot part with since the movers will not pack liquids.

As for these suitcases, it was interesting trying to find matching sets. We had one set from target from our wedding registry. It was decent, but I wanted all matching. I had purchased the small carry on Samsonite piece when we first arrived to Oklahoma because my carry on was like 10 years old and had finally bit the bullet. I had planned on purchasing the entire set, but never got around to it. Then we find we are allowed all of this luggage to move, so naturally I was on the hunt to find the matching pieces of luggage a year and a half later. I searched everywhere, but finally found them all at Tj Maxx and Marshalls in Austin! I had looked at several  places and online and had no luck, so I was pretty pumped that I found them!

Last on the agenda for flight booking was ensuring Molly had the appropriate carrier for the flight. Patriot Express will allow for 10 pet spaces to include dogs and cats only and a very limited amount may fly in cabin. I was so glad our travel person booked our flights to include an in cabin pet! The dimensions for our pet carrier have to be no larger than 20 inches long by 16 inches wide, and 8 inches high, in order to fit under the seat in front of you.  Not to mention the pet has to be able to stand up in the carrier and turn around.  A friend who PCS'd to Germany last year had recommended the SturdiBag, so after checking all of the plane measurements we went with this one.  It was about $60.00 on Amazon and has several mesh openings so she can see. It also has an opening on the top for her to stick her head out of. However, I am pretty sure they won't let us do that on the flight!

Dimensions: 18"L x 12" W x 12" Flexible Height

Molly fits pretty well into this carrier, and so I am hoping we have no glitches along the way. However, trying to get her to go into that thing was like I was trying to throw her into fire. She wanted no part of it! I guess I need to start some practicing before a long day of flights, huh?!

We will likely have to pay to transport Molly on our civilian flight from Indy to Baltimore. I am not sure of those costs as of yet, but I am sure it will not be cheap. As for the Patriot Express flight is should average about an extra $110 for Molly. When we arrive there will be a Veterinarian on duty to review her documentation and clear her to enter the country. There will be a 55 Euro fee to clear her from that point on.

All in all, I am glad that we have the tickets booked, the carrier and luggage purchased, and our hotel reservations booked. This has taken a huge load of stress off to know that we WILL be making it to Germany one way or another.  It doesn't stop here though, more blog posts to come on the other pieces that are required for an overseas move!