Friday's Letters

Margaritaville in Biloxi

Dear husband, we had such a wonderful vacation, didn't we? Even though I picked on you the whole way home about it, I'm glad you won enough money in Biloxi to buy the video game you've been wanting. Happy anniversary! Dear Bentley and Bella, I missed you so much while we were gone! I'm glad I left you in good hands though. Thanks for puppy sitting Hailey! Dear Destin, I think I've got the hubby convinced to buy a condo once we retire. That's only 50 million years from now. Sigh. Dear air conditioning, did you really have to start giving us problems before we left for our trip? Now that we are home, I guess we've got to call someone to come see about you. Dear reality, I'm still trying to lay low so you don't know I'm home yet. Gotta make it last as long as I can right?

See ya next week!
Miranda

DIY Weekend 9/12

Welcome to another DIY Weekend! I'm currently relaxing on the beach with my husband celebrating our one year anniversary. Want to check in and see all the fun? Follow me on Instagram!

Because I'm away, our link party will be a little different. I won't feature anyone from last week (sorry!), but anything you link this week is fair game to be featured during next week's link party!
Here's some house rules for you:

1.) Link up any crafts, recipes, home decor, tips, etc. but don't forget to link back here!

2.) PLEASE be sure to link to your specific post not your general blog.

3.) PLEASE visit and comment on the post before you and after you, on top of any others that catch your eye. Everyone loves comment love!

4.) And most importantly... HAVE FUN!!

Our First Anniversary

Our one year anniversary is here! We've definitely had a whirlwind year. We bought a car, our first home and added our youngest fur baby, Bella, to the family. What's ahead? I'm not sure. All I know is whatever it may be R.J. will be by my side. 

How are we celebrating? We're having a super fun photo session at the fairgrounds where we got married. After that, we are off to the beach for a relaxing week-long getaway for the two of us. Hallelujah! 

While I won't be as present this coming week, I'd like to leave you all with this - a look back at our big day. I thought about writing a post about what I would've done differently now, but I couldn't come up with a single thing.

The Wedding: Budget and Advice

The Wedding: Bridal Attire

The Wedding: Our Reception Part One

The Wedding: Our Reception Part Two

The Wedding: Our Ceremony

The Wedding: First Look

Enjoy your week!

Miranda

Friday's Letters

Sunset. Atlanta. Wednesday night.

Dear husband, our one year anniversary is Sunday. WOAH! Are you as ready for our beach trip as I am? Margaritaville here I come! Dear Bentley and Bella, I'm sorry we had to play beauty shop tonight, but ya'll were getting a little stinky! Bella, I'm sorry you got your last puppy shot today, but at least you are done now. Dear Emory Hospital, your cafeteria is pretty yucky. Maybe that is why it is so cheap! Dear God, thank you for my family and my friend who I consider family. These last few weeks have been very difficult, but I have never felt alone. For that, I am beyond grateful. Dear wedding, I am having event planning withdrawals. Anyone in the market for a wedding planner? Sigh...Dear anniversary photo shoot, I'm really excited for you! I've got some really cute ideas that should make some blog-worthy pictures - not to mention great Christmas gifts for the parents. Dear readers, please keep both RJ and I's families in your thoughts and prayers. Like I said, it has been a rough few weeks for various reasons and any prayers would be greatly appreciated.

See ya later!
Miranda

DIY Weekend 9/5

Welcome back for another great DIY Weekend link party! I am certainly counting down to the weekend this week. Four days until we leave for the beach! But don't worry. I've already got a DIY Weekend scheduled for next Thursday so no fun will be missed.

What is DIY Weekend? Every Thursday, I host this link party to showcase my top three DIY project picks from last week's link up party and give you a chance to show off your latest projects. You can link up just about any topic and share your tips, tricks, projects and more! If you don’t have a blog to link up with, take a minute to browse the links! There really are some great blogs out there with wonderful ideas. For example, our three showcase projects above:

1. DIY Yarn Letters from EmmaLilyAllSorts

2. Orange Zest Lemon Soap from Essentially Eclectic

3. Spanakopita from Culinary Flavors

**Please note: By linking to this blog party, you are giving Mr. and Mrs. Winslett permission to use your photos and content as part of the weekly features if selected.**

All featured projects will also be pinned to my Pinterest boards. What are you waiting for then? Oh! The house rules, of course:

1.) Link up any crafts, recipes, home decor, tips, etc. but don't forget to link back here!

2.) PLEASE be sure to link to your specific post not your general blog.

3.) PLEASE visit and comment on the post before you and after you, on top of any others that catch your eye. Everyone loves comment love!

4.) And most importantly... HAVE FUN!!

Halloween Wreath for Our Front Door

Happy Tuesday!

I hope you enjoyed your long weekend as much as I did. I love long weekends because they give me some free time to craft. However, I did not have much of a crafting budget this week. We paid for husband's class, my monthly student loan bill and the mortgage this week.

Super tight budget + Overwhelming urge to create = Challenge accepted! 

I created a Halloween wreath for the front door for a grand total of $5.58 (and that's including tax ya'll). It is officially September so it is socially acceptable to start decorating for Halloween, right?!

Please ignore my arm reflecting in the glass of the door...

Being the craft supply hoarder that I am, I had most of the items for this project on hand like the paint and ribbon. All I had to buy where the letters which I got from Hobby Lobby for $1.74 each. 

Ready to try your hand at it? Here's what you need:

• Letters
• Black acrylic paint
• Orange acrylic paint
• Orange ribbon
• Q-tips
• Paper plate
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors

Step One. Paint all three of your letters black and let dry. It only took one coat for me to cover the letters completely.

Step Two. Once dry, squirt your orange paint on a paper plate and using your Q-tip, paint free-handed polka dots on your letters. Again, let the dots dry.

I promise that's not yellow paint...

Step Three. Once the letters are completely dry, tie them together using your orange ribbon. I was worried about the ribbon wiggling lose because I just tied it into a bow so I hot glued the back of the ribbon to the back of the letter.

Step Four. Secure the top ribbon that'll go on your wreath hanger with some hot glue. Once the hot glue has had time to dry and set, place that sucker on your front door.

I can't wait to get some pumpkins and some more mums to really bring my Halloween/fall front porch to life. Until then, Tilbolt, our garden gnome, will have to suffice. 

Happy creating!

Miranda

Blog Redesign

Happy Labor Day!

I wanted to pop in for a quick minute and introduce you to my blog redesign! Looks a lot better, huh? R.J. and I are closing in on our one year anniversary (Sept. 8 to be exact) which means my humble, little blog has been alive and thriving for just over a year now.

In this year, my blog has grown and taken off a lot more than I honestly expected it to. With that growth, I figured I need a more professional and clean looking blog design. I've got some big plans for this blog so its design needs to fit those BIG expectations, right?

What's new?

• New template - my blog redesign was created by AngieMakesWebsites. It was super easy to install and she provides some excellent tutorials to walk you through it all!
• New About Me - I sharpened up on my Photoshop skills for this one.
• Pin Button on ALL pictures - Instead of having to copy my link and pinning it onto Pinterest yourself, I've made it easy to pin by just putting your mouse over the picture. Try it out!
• Instagram Slideshow - See all my latest Instagram pictures while you read the blog. Boy, I love fancy gadgets like that. 
• Search Bar - Instead of hunting through archives, just type your keyword in that handy bar on the side bar.
• Follow Me Buttons - Before, I only three buttons. Now, I've got one for each of my social media sites for easy access.
• Most Popular Posts - Are you a new reader? Be sure to check out my most popular posts conveniently located on the side bar as well. 

Woosh. I've been a busy girl. Hopefully, this layout and design will be a lot easier for you to navigate. I'm kind of in love with it myself. 

See ya tomorrow!

Miranda

P.S. I've got a super cute tutorial coming your way tomorrow!