Our Project is Complete!

Mission accomplished, my friends!  Josh and I have successfully completed our furniture restoration project!

What do you think?  Josh and I feel as if we didn't do too shabby...

Josh and I also feel as if this will be our last furniture project for a while.

We love the outcome but, man...it was a lot of work.

A lot of work that started out with seemingly endless sanding.

Sanding that soon led to painting.  I wanted the little dresser to be black like the antique cabinet Papa and I refinished before I left for college. 

But then, once the dresser was black, I decided I wanted the antique cabinet to be cream.  So I painted it cream.  And Josh walked away muttering things I shall never repeat...

Kidding!

Well, we did paint the cabinet cream.  And, actually, we painted the little dresser cream, also.  But only because that was part of the plan.

You see, we had to get the old furniture looking new again.  Because I wanted to make the "new" furniture look "old".  My version of old.

So, once everything was painted cream, Josh and I went at it with sand paper.  Again.

We never want to sand another thing.

There were even times we considered jumping in the truck and going to buy an electric sander.

But we didn't, because that would've negated the goal of completing this project on a budget.

We did jump in the truck to go get ice cream, though.  A few times.

Don't judge us.  It was necessary for survival.

Finally, once everything was sanded, we decided to torture ourselves a little more by applying stain.  To everything.

And staining isn't easy when it's 184 degrees outside.  It dries on contact.

Basically, all I'm saying is that it was definitely a lot of work--more work than what I would've done had it not been for Josh's help.

Thank goodness for significant others.

Because we now have some really beautiful, special furniture.  And we even managed to have a little fun.

Do you guys have any fun projects in the works?  We'd love to hear about them!

much love always,

Darcy

Things I Forgot to Mention...

As I was looking through pictures last night, I realized there are a few things I've forgotten to share with all of you.

One thing being that I graduated from college...

Another thing being that Josh also graduated.  With his master's degree.  Yay, Josh!!!

And, finally, the last thing being that he, my mom, and I all went to Colorado.  Just for funsies.  And we stayed here, at The Stanley Hotel.

If you haven't heard of The Stanley, you should definitely go online and read about it. 

But in a nutshell, it's in Estes Park, Colorado, it inspired The Shining, and it's absolutely stunning.

Prior to this vacation, I had been slightly worried about staying at The Stanley.  Because it is a historic hotel, there's no air conditioning.  And I had heard the rooms were a little outdated.  And the whole dang place is supposedly haunted.

Much to my relief, none of that ended up being an issue!

We were at the famous hotel in May, so the rooms were always comfortable.  No air conditioner needed.

The rooms were beautiful and not at all outdated.  (See above!)

And the ghosts left us alone!  Woohoo!!!

Although I did sleep with my head tucked under the covers every night.  I wasn't going to risk seeing a  ghost if they did happen to show up.  So I can't really attest to the ghost thing.

In the mornings, we had the most fabulous breakfasts at the hotel restaurants. 

Josh and I got steak one morning.  It was divine.  I could eat steak every morning.  I could eat steak for every meal, actually.

Josh also got venison sausage, which isn't really my thing, but I think it completed his perfect breakfast.

This photo is probably the happiest you will ever see us in the morning.  We're not morning people.

But we can manage to pull ourselves together when a good breakfast is involved.

This is my mom and I wearing our coordinating leopard prints. 

Josh doesn't like leopard prints.  I bet he was mentally calling us tacky while taking this picture.

I love Estes Park because there are elk everywhere.  These elk were outside of town, but you can almost always find them in town.  Sometimes they're even walking downtown!

Probably window shopping.

Hi!  Can I borrow your credit card?

We also spent a couple days in Breckenridge. 

Most of you have probably heard of Breckenridge.  It's adorable.

These very feminine bucks were hanging on a storefront.  They've provided me with newfound inspiration for decorating with Josh's mounted deer!

As you can imagine, Josh is thrilled...

While in Breckenridge, we had a fun dinner at Bubba Gump's. 

"Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich.

That- that's about it."

Finally, to round out our trip, we headed over to Vail.  The building in the above photo is in Vail, and it's one of the most gorgeous buildings I've ever seen.  The photo doesn't do its detailing justice.

I've decided it's hard to not take a beautiful picture in Colorado.

Josh hadn't been to Colorado since the last hunting trip he'd gone on a couple of years ago.  And since the trip this year was more about sight-seeing and shopping, he worked to spot wildlife in any form he could find it.

Poor guy.  He was such a good sport.

This is one of my very favorite photos of Josh.  I bought him treats whenever we came across a bakery or candy shop of some sort.

The kid loves his sweets.  And I love how happy he looks enjoying them.

much love always,

Darcy

Wedding Wednesday: Invitations

Acorn Invitations

I've been to a lot of weddings.

I've helped plan weddings.

I've even been in weddings.

But none of that prepared me for what was ahead of Josh and me when we began the process of picking out the invitations to our own wedding.

I can't tell you how many invitations we looked at.  Fall-inspired invitations.  Acorn invitations.  Pine cone invitations.  Invitations with trees on them. 

Letterpress invitations.  Thermography invitations.

Invitations that tuck in, fold up, and pop out.

Invitations that tie with ribbon.  Invitations that tie with lace.  Invitations that tie with burlap.

And then we considered the wording.  Traditional or contemporary?  And what about the reception cards?  And response cards?

Cards, galore....

Then, we got to the envelopes.  What color?  Matte vs. shimmer?  Envelope lining?  Inner and outer envelopes?  Printed return address or return address labels?

Oh. My. Word.

We made it, though.  Our invitations were officially ordered on Sunday, proofed on Monday, and will arrive any day!  Woohoo!!!

Now Josh just has to listen to me counting the hours until the invitations get here.  I'm beyond excited to see them.  I have to say, even though the vast array of options felt overwhelming, picking out invitations has been one of the most memorable,wedding-y experiences of this whole planning process. The first time you type in your information to customize a wedding invitation, hit submit, and suddenly see the preview pop up, complete with you and your future spouses' names in really fancy font...well, it's a memorable moment.

I'm so looking forward to showing all of you sweet readers of ours our actual wedding invitation.  Because we have family members and friends who read this silly blog, and because Josh and I are trying to surprise our guests with as many wedding details as possible, I can't show the actual invitation that we decided on...

And that's killing me.  Because I have THE hardest time keeping surprises.

But the second we can show you, it'll be on here.

In the meantime, how cute is the invitation in the picture?  A really talented lady with a really cute blog makes these!  Can you believe that???

I wish I was that creative.  I'll work on that.


much love always,

Darcy

Happy Birthday, Amelia!

Amelia Earhart

Have I ever told you guys that Amelia Earhart is my relative?  My great-great-grandmother was an Earhart.

Crazy, isn't it?

In school, I always had a good time sharing this little fact.  It was my favorite tell-the-class-something-interesting-about-yourself statement.

Kids were normally somewhat intrigued by it.  I think they were, at least.

But, I wasn't just name-dropping to sound cool.  I really am proud to be related to this special lady.  She was pretty and adventurous and  far more courageous than I've ever been.  I often hope there's a little speck of her bravery tucked somewhere in my DNA.

I also often think about how interesting it would be to get to talk to her.  To ask her about her adventures.  About what inspired her.

Or, on days like today, to wish her a very, very happy birthday.

But, since I can't, I'll just keep her in my thoughts today.

And be grateful for having such a cool relative.

Happy Birthday, Miss Amelia!

much love always,

Darcy

Another Cool Cookbook

Have you ever bought a gift for someone that you were excited about...because you knew you would enjoy the gift, as well?

That's an awful thing for me to say.  But I think we've all done it.  Haven't we?

Well, that's what I did with Grady Spears' cookbook, Cooking the Cowboy Way.  I promise I didn't have completely selfish intentions, though.  Upon flipping through it, I knew Josh would really like it.  He likes any cookbook that has grilling recipes in it.

And he likes any cookbook that inspires me to cook for him. 

So I thought it was a win-win.

After all, it has fun stories...

mouthwatering photos...

and recipes that are to die for. 

This really is a fabulous cookbook.  And I think it makes a really great gift for someone special.

Or for yourself. 

Or for someone special who will let you enjoy it as much as they do...

Whatever works.

much love always,

Darcy

A Public Service Announcement From Mom

Let me preface all of this by saying that my mother is slightly crazy.  In an innocent sort of way. 

When I was little, I used to think that she lived in a world where it was always Christmas and where it endlessly flurried powdered sugar on the gingerbread house she called home.

I've called her an elf ever since. 

But basically, she's just a lady that believes all things should be right in the world and that one little person can make a huge difference and that world peace would be possible if we'd all start giving more hugs. 

She's sweet.

So, here's her latest save-the-world project...

She's saving wild rabbits from the blazing summer heat by establishing a small animal refugee center in her back yard.

The photos in this e-mail are what I've been periodically receiving from her over the past few weeks.

Hi, Darcy!  Look at my new pets!  They just showed up in my yard.

Darcy, the weatherman says it's going to tornado.  Please ask Josh how I can keep the rabbits from blowing away.  Or else I WILL bring them inside.

Darcy, the rabbits are twitching and don't look quite right to me.  I'm going to set up fans outside.

It all started with putting water and carrots out for the little rabbits to keep them fed and hydrated.

And then it moved on to freezing water bottles and putting them out for the rabbits to lay against.

And then she just started putting out ice in any form.

Which was followed by the process of keeping the dirt wet so the area would stay nice and cool.

But that became a problem when the dirt was dry 2.5 seconds later.  So she started freezing water in milk jugs, putting them outside with the cap removed, and leaving them tilted downwards on the ground so the ice would melt and gradually drip cold water onto the animals' dirt patch.

And the rabbits have absolutely loved it.

That wasn't enough, though. 

Darcy, I need Josh or Papa or someone to build the rabbits a house.

Uhh...what??

Papa had one built the next day.

Which, as you can see above, has been yet another big hit with the rabbits.

I'm guessing mom's currently sitting on her laptop ordering the little animals some ceiling fans, light-blocking, energy saving curtains and maybe a couple decorative accents.

Now, Darcy, don't be silly.  Curtains would inhibit airflow.  The rest is a great idea!

And here's my favorite part of the whole story.  This crazy kid keeps coming around.  He loves Miss Gail's Small Animal Refugee Center.

He can just sprawl out and soak it all in. 

And why wouldn't he?  Go for it, man.

It's kind of like how I feel at the pool.  Except I try to keep my sprawling to a minimum.

And, wait, there's more...  Little kissing birds are showing up now, too.

Yes, this is real.

No, you are not on hallucinogens.

Or maybe you are.  In which case, I bet this is even funnier.

All joking aside, though... I think my mom might be on to something.  The birds and squirrels and rabbits, in particular, love their new place to hang out.

And the friends my mom has shared her story with are starting to do it, too.  And it's helping their local animals also.

So I guess the main reason I'm writing this is to pass along my mom's idea to all of you.  It's really, really hot outside, and the little animals are having a hard time staying hydrated and keeping cool. 

If you get the chance, maybe put out a little bowl of water.  Or a little bit of ice.

I'm sure they'd really appreciate it.

much love always,

Darcy

One of My Favorites

I could eat Mexican food every single day and never, ever get tired of it.

In fact, I used to wonder why we couldn't have chips and salsa before every meal.  No matter what we were eating.

But then I got older and learned about calories.  Which brings us to today...

There's no way I could ever give up Mexican food, not even for the sake of wedding dieting, so I'm relying on one of my very favorite recipes to get me through.

I can't remember the real name of it, but Josh calls it Avocado Bowls, so I guess I've adopted the new name.

However, the real recipe with the real name can be found here, in George Stella's fabulous cookbook, Real Food Real Easy.  (You may remember I made another great recipe of his a couple summers ago...  He's wonderful.)

Basically, all I do to make this is start by boiling and shredding a few chicken breasts.  Once the shredded chicken is cooled, I combine it with a little light sour cream, a few tablespoons of salsa, and a little onion (just until it passes a taste test), and spoon the mixture into halved and pitted avocados.  I top it with some freshly diced tomatoes and a little sprinkling of cheese, and it's good to go!  It's as simple as it gets, and it's absolutely delicious.

And, as long as you don't also eat an entire bag of tortilla chips, you don't even have to feel guilty eating it.  Avocados are one of the healthiest things you can eat, you know...

Try making this sometime this summer if you've got the ingredients laying around.  It's cool and refreshing, and it'll leave you feeling happy about eating something that was deceptively healthy.

I love things like that.

much love always,

Darcy