Collections on a Wall

Before the holiday season started in October.. yes, we celebrate pumpkin carving and candy eating :), I took the time to gather several items and frames I had been setting aside KNOWING they would make for an excellent photowall/gallerywall/PinterestMasterpiece :).

 

Then, I taped a very unproportionate square on my living room carpet and laid out my design...

 

BUT. Then we had the holidays and NUMEROUS other household projects... and we didn't tackle hanging anything until April/May.

 

FIRST. We had to paint the wall. We knew we wanted the WHOLE room to go from light tan to a powerful grey- so we started with the "photo wall". A great way to try out the grey before committing to the whole 12 foot tall room and hallways! We LOVED the grey that I painted, so Tyler agreed we could start hanging pictures.

 

Let me explain...

 

My nanny family, the Slaters, gave us a very generous Groupon giftcard during our engagement. I chose to spend it on a deal for two professional photos turned into canvas portraits. GREAT SPEND! Can not thank them enough!

The tan portrait is Tyler and I during our First Dance as a married couple- at our Wedding Reception. The second, Black and White portrait is from our engagement session at the Barker Farm with our precious son, Buddy :).

 

Also during our engagement, while shopping dangerously at Kirklands... I found two plaques that spoke to my heart. I bought them, and right away knew that they needed to be added into a photo wall. Enjoy reading these gems...

 

Next.. I searched for a small frame to fill the whole in my carpet-layout ;). While at khols, who has AMAZING frames for cheap, I found a four selection frame. I thought "It will be too high to capture photos this small of a size" but the frame PERFECTLY fit the measurements I needed, so I bought it. After a few too many days wasted on pinterest, I realized that so many people were framing fabric and scrap book paper for room décor. Got me thinking... why don't I frame the fabric samples from the fabric I've used in my living room and kitchen for curtains, pillows, etc. So I did...

 

 

Both of the Hanging plaques have been in my apartment and at our parents homes while we lived at home waiting to get married. The dog portrait looks JUST LIKE our little guy so when we saw it at the Southern Living Christmas show in 2010- I bought it. The fisherman plaque came from Kirklands... and it was just TOO good to be true, especially now that we are married and living together. I gave it to Tyler for Christmas the year we were engaged and buying our home.

 

From early on in our dating relationship, Tyler and I had a little phrase we repeatedly used, "Love you more". To our content, we have found a picture frame and even a candle with the phrase. This plaque, however, Tyler found and brought home. Beautiful surprise and a great "cherry on top" of our "photo wall". The wood slice was cut by Tyler for our wedding and written on by my crafty sister, Amy. Both are wonderful treasures...

 

 

Please note: The window framed mirror was made by Grandpa Crawford!

 

We still need to find frames to go around the wood slice, and pictures to go inside... but our photo wall is almost complete! My husband spent two complete days measuring out every piece to make sure the wall would look perfect. He is the best!

 

"He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer."  Exodus 35:35

 



 



 





#Twentyfive

There are several years that have passed where I have found myself thinking, "Wow that flew by".

And yet, turning 25 years old seems impossible. Surely those quick years don't add up to 25.

"How in the world have I already lived a quarter of a century?"

 

I know that 25 is not "old" and I know that my adulthood has honestly just begun. However, 25 is a long time. Even though the majority of my life is just beginning (hopefully), I have already completed being an infant, a toddler, a child, a preteen, and a teen. I have graduated high school, and earned two college degrees. I have become a young adult. I have married my best friend and adopted our first child... even if Buddy has four legs and a tail... he counts! I have opened a savings account, bought a reliable car, bought a home, been hired by a reputable company, and started a garden. I have even traveled, not outside of the US but to every eastern US state and San Francisco, CA. Heck, I even owned and operated my own business, Buddy Care, for five years. I even did all of that pretty well- I was an athlete, I worked for a local TV station, I was on honor roll, president's list, dean's list and a collegiate national honor society. Through the God lord's blessings, I accomplished a lot in what seems like short amount of time until you put a number to it!

 

WHAT IS LEFT TO DO?

 

Lots!

 

Once I started thinking about HOW MUCH I did in the first 25 years... I decided I wanted to make sure I accomplish just as much, if not more, and grow my knowledge of life in the following 25 years! By the time I am 50... woahhh... I want to ExHaUsTeD from accomplishing life and not wasting it! So here goes... I will start with 25 things to do before I am 26!

In a little less than one year I hope to...

 

1. Hit my savings goal, and keep that amount in my savings account, untouched, so I will have it in case of emergencies OR to eventually retire on :).

2. Pay off at least HALF of my car loan!

3. Be at a healthy weight and BMI with habitual exercise and healthy eating!

4. Be in prayer and scripture reading daily, with proper tithing and church attendance. Serve in the church and make more relationships with other believers!

5. Finish projects! Start with finishing the kitchen table and chairs,

 then make the upholstered headboard.

6. Hang photos, paint the interior walls, and keep organized/decluttered!

7. Sew regularly as a means of relaxation!

8. Spend time outdoors! In the garden, under the sun, redneckin' with hubs, running with bud...

9. Take several quick weekend getaway's with hubs.

10. Strive to do better than the day before!

11. Make goals/deadlines and Achieve them. Home projects, Work assignments, etc.

12. Advance within the company in knowledge and skillset.

13. Blog Often!

14. Take photos and actually print them. Make the 2nd year-in-review photo book!

15. Get to know a neighbor.

16. Have people over to our home for fun evenings, often!

17. Spend girl time with friends. Take a girls trip!

18. Learn to play an entire song on my guitar.

19. Find something to do when not happy, other than eating! Make it a habit/natural reaction.

20. Spend time with family, immediate and extended.

21. Volunteer & serve: help those in need. Share God's love!

22. Make sure I am being a great wife- don't get too busy to forget to show love!

23. Make new traditions with hubs and continue ones already created.

24. Make cleaning the house less of a hassle by doing a little each day.

25. Try new things and blog about them :)

 

Here's to Gray Hair...

 

"Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life." Proverbs 16: 31

 

 

Spring into March Madness

You read it right...

 

In the Morenus home... we do not wait on April showers to bring May flowers... we start spring NOW. We had a beautiful Sunday in Charlotte, NC with spring like temperatures and the ability to stay outside all day and not catch a cold [Knock on wood]. So we are officially celebrating Spring!
{Even though it will most likely drop below freezing again this week...}

 

March is a GREAT month for college sports fans! We get to see multiple basketball games as the March Madness challenge unfolds. I always complete a bracket with DUKE winning the entire thing, and haven't been correct in awhile. Tyler always thinks UNC will go all the way. We WILL decorate with {some} our Duke and Carolina items and there will be lost battles resulting in wearing your least favorite team's apparel, etc. It makes for a fun month! Hopefully the leprechauns will bring some luck DUKE's way middle of the month! You can see below that my colleagues are Carolina fans and have already started a battle...

 

 

 

Back to spring.
We have completed a few things already to prepare for the change in seasons.
The red and pink pillows were stored away in a pink Rubbermaid to be used again next February.
In their place now lives blue pillows and our friend, Mr. Squirrel.
My lovely sis, McKenzie, made the other two pillows!

 

 

 

On the Side Tables, we have stored away the winter flowers and brought out our spring vase and cherry blossoms. Fake of course... I have a brown thumb!
I have also purchased a few gold items to give the room a new accent color.

 

 

My most favorite... I took down the City of Charlotte Christmas painting my sis, Amy, and I made and re-hung my Grandfather's painting of Spring. This is one painting from a set of all four seasons. My mom and two sisters have the others. My Grandfather could barely use any of his muscles and was completely handicap by the time he passed away, but yet he produced some amazing paintings before he lost all muscle function. He died a few days before my 10th birthday, so sadly I do not remember much of him. Glad to have this artwork to connect me to him!

 

 

~** SNEAK PEAK **~

 

This week I will be finishing the pedestal table and chairs for our kitchen. We bought them last fall at a yard sale for $40 total... table, pedestal, 4 chairs. The seats of the chairs and the table top are maple wood  (remaining that way) and everything else was an ugly green color. I was confident I could strip the green away... and man is it hard to do! It has taken awhile but now that our garage is clean and spring is approaching... I am motivated! I will do a post on the table project when it is complete but here is the progress so far... note the finished product will be maple wood & brown distressed paint (seen on chair legs below).

 

Of course, Buddy wanted to say, "Hi" too.

 

 

I won the Sunday School bible drill yesterday :)...
"For the wages of sin are death but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"
Romans 6:23

 

February Month of love... Continued.

Projects have been completed...

 

The snow not only gave me more time at home to complete craft projects, it also inspired me!

 

 

 

First... I cut strips of fabric and then cut the strips into squares. Then I folded the squares in half and cut SEVERAL hearts! I kept the heart outlines and the hearts and crafted away...

 

 

 

 

 

I also made pillows. The HUGE pillow was made from sewing two tablecloths together that my mom gave me from her holiday decoration bin. The smallest pillow was purchased from Target in their dollar section...too cute not to add to my collection! I have also stitched a heart shaped pillow but the snow is keeping me from getting to Hancock Fabric for more stuffing!

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you all enjoyed. The Morenus' house is loving February so far! Lots of quality time, snow fun, crafting, AND... we bought a new car :)

 

 

Don't forget to take all of your worries to the Lord!

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18.

February is a month of love in the Morenus home.

 

We were married in February...

Buddy's birthday is Feb 4th, just like nana's!
McKenzie's is Feb 20th and Grandma Ruth's is Feb 11th!

 

Valentine's Day is celebrated...

 

We take a trip to the beach to see our Crawford Grandparents...
Who share our wedding day which happens to be Grandma's birthday, too :)

 

 

So it is easy to see why I wanted to decorate for February... a whole month of hearts, and red and pink surrounding the home to remind us of how special the month is.

 

Starting today, January 31st... maybe I procrastinated.. I will take the following items and craft them into February Love Decorations...

 

 

 

Visit again throughout the month to see what they became :}

 

I hope you have a month of love too!

 

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those

 who love him and keep his commands."

Deuteronomy 7:9

Ring Christmas Bells...

I couldn't help myself... Christmas decorations have started to appear at the Morenus home. Mark the calendar... the tree went up on November 21st.

 

 

I am taking my time at actually adding the ornaments and such. It was a miracle that we even found the tree. It was not in the shed with the other decorations and it was not left in my parents attic. I panicked but Tyler found it in our attic along with a few other boxes that were thrown up there during the move. POINT FOR HUBBY!

 

Let me remind you that all of our tree ornaments are DUKE and chapel hill themed.

And most have a matching pair, like these two...

 



I will post the fully decorated tree once it is complete!

 

The crafts that have been completed so far for Christmas 2013 are...

 

"Jail Break Deer"... Tyler named him...

 

A dry erase board count down... with a deer for tyler and a penguin for me...

 

A miniature burlap wreath... planning to make large sized wreaths too.

 

 

Lastly, I held my first "pinterest party" where some of my favorite ladies came over and spent a few hours crafting... so much fun! Here is what it looks like when six ladies craft together...

 

 

Here is some of the items we made...

 

 

Thanks for reading :)

 

**He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.** Colossians 1:15-17

 

 

 



Pruning Cabinets...

Our Pastor did an amazing job teaching us about pruning on Sunday, so I figured I would keep the theme going. After all, we did in fact prune our cabinets after church... and all day... here's the details.

At the beginning of summer our neighbors set three beautiful cabinets on their lawn. I drove by, circled and came back by, left for a little while, came back home, drove by twice again and finally called Tyler who had also seen the cabinets that morning. He said to go for it, so I rang their bell asking if they were getting rid of them. THEY WERE! And they WERE FREE! The lady had a friend move in with her and he brought with him several pieces of furniture that weren't needed and he just wanted to know that the cabinets would go to a good home (check) and would be used (check). The man and the lady even helped my sister, Amy, and I get the cabinets to my house and in my garage! SO HEAVY!

So they set all summer just waiting to be worked on. Yesterday, we "painted" the cabinets with a polyurethane remover and scraped all of the goo off of the first cabinet. IT TOOK FOREVER! It is a very "easy" process but very time consuming! SO WORTH IT! This week I will tackle the other cabinet. My wonderful in-laws helped us... one cabinet down. We brought it into the home to take a photo, and returned it to the garage. Once I finish the other cabinet we will clean both of them and return them to the living room to be accessorized :}

Below: left side has been worked on (but not cleaned) right side is original...

**Note: The mantel is still missing... that project is coming up next! Also, my father-n-law and husband "Puddy and Sanded" all the nail holes, etc. left from the previous owners... so we have "Dalmatian walls" for a little while too. Luckily, PHO (previous home owner) left the paint codes so I can go get some touch up paint and restore the clean, smooth paint look!

"I am the TRUE vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15: 1&2