The Magic of Paint

I love our new house and want to make it the prettiest house on the block. However, instead of spending money on new furniture I decided to try to save a few bucks here and there by taking old or cheap items and making them look fabulous.



My mom's before painting,
I didn't want to paint over it!



Dresser Before

My latest project was a 5 drawer small dresser.

I had it when I was a kid and my mom, who is extremely crafty, painted it to match my bedroom at the time.

I haven't used it in over a decade but when I moved into our new house my parents were more than happy to get it out of their basement!

I figured why not paint it to match our black furniture and put it in our bedroom. I mean, you can never have too much storage right?!



love that clearance sticker!



I bought some super cheap black paint at Wal-Mart... I wanna say the paint was like $8. While shopping around at Wal-Mart I always go to the clearance section to see if there's something I don't need. And lo-and-behold I found two table lights on sale for $5 each!! They'd be perfect next to our bed! Only problem... they were off-white and our furniture is black.... spray paint it is! I also found heavy silver drawer handles in the clearance aisle. Ten drawer pulls for $4!! They were originally $20. I felt like I had won the lottery! I purchased my paint, spray paint, drawer pulls and lamps for less than $30. Oh man, I could hardly wait to get home to start my new projects!!

So after a quick spray with the spray paint (I bought the Krylon brand) the lamps were complete! I went to my favorite place, Target, to purchase the lamp shades. Each were $8.

My dresser on the other hand took a few coats of paint. But after one evening of painting both projects were done! I have a new found love for painting furniture... this could be trouble!! 

I am so happy with the finished projects!!









picture perfect

Where have I been! Needless to say... it's been awhile. Between wedding stuff and buying a new home I think it' safe to say I was a little busy. Now that life is calmer, I can start posting all of our wonderful wedding projects and home remodeling projects. In the mean time, enjoy some engagement photos shot by the wonderful Steve Sanders of Steve Sanders Photography!! Will post more later - these are just a little teaser...

Making the Movies Jealous

It was a beautiful Saturday in October. It was the perfect day to go take pictures for Jeff and my first ever Christmas card together. Yes, we had been together 4 years at this point, but it was the first time we were no longer long distance and finally living together in the same town!! WOO-HOO!

As we were getting ready Jeff was really being picky about his outfit and what "our kids would think of his jeans"... I mean come on babe, it's just a Christmas card! They'll probably never see it! (now I know why...)

 

My parents - just hanging out



My parents came over to our apartment to meet up with us and Jeff's parents who were in town from Iowa. They were going to be our photographers for the day - we're cheap ok... we wanted to save money but still have a nice Christmas card so yes, we used our parents and their nice cameras.



Trying to find the perfect spot!

We arrived at Wyandotte County Lake and quickly found the perfect spot with the fall trees and lake behind us.



Love the fall trees

 






My handsome man



Jeff and I got into our first pose and started taking pictures... there were four cameras going at one time - all I could think is man, we're bound to get at least one good one here folks. We kept changing locations to mix up the scenery and 'options' until we landed at this  last one (pictured left). I noticed Jeff breathing a little heavier but thought he must be dying of heat in that sweater!

I hopped down from the window ledge to move on to our next location... I was walking in front of Jeff and asked him where he wanted to shoot next. He tapped my back with his response of...

"How about an action shot?" (my mind started thinking a jumping shot)

I turn around to see the man of my dreams... my knight in shinning armour... my best friend down on one knee with the prettiest ring I have ever seen.

"Will you marry me?"  -- my answer "Are you sure!?"... nice one Liz. Seriously, that's the first words out of your mouth!? I guess I just really wanted to make sure he knew what he was doing. I quickly realized I hadn't verbally said YES out loud so "YES! I will marry you!!" There's no turning back now son! I remember calling him a 'lil stinker' a couple of times - he really put some thought into this day. After realizing what happened I turn my head to see cameras flashing non stop. Oh... my... gosh... he planned this all just how I dreamed... family there and pictures to remember it by. Wow, I am one lucky girl.

Brown cork... brown leaves... ruh roh

After my mom and his mom oh-ing and ah-ing over the ring, my dad and Jeff's dad took off to the cars... what they brought back was perfect. Champagne, chutes, cheese and crackers. Jeff popped the cork... into the fall leaves which I quickly told him I wanted to keep that! So the boys all took off into the matching colored leaves to find it. No worries - my FIANCE found it for me :)



My dad telling the story of Jeff asking for my hand


We all raised our glasses to our new families coming together. Had some cheese and crackers, shared stories and moments leading up to this day, and enjoyed the start of the new chapter that was beginning.

I look at these pictures all the time to remember how thankful and blessed I am with a man who not only cares about me but also my family. Having them apart of our day truly makes the engagement that much more special.

 Here is a picture montage of the moment my life changed - my perfect day: