#fortiis40

So, it happened.  40... the big 4-0.  It came and went.  It was a whirlwind of activity that has sadly died down... and I'm left with my thoughts.

Over the past 2 weeks, I flew to the West Coast, visited 4 cities, saw my BFFs from college and Disney, made new ones, and witnessed the wedding of 2 amazing men. I flew home, hugged my babies, resumed mom duties, was surprised by my sissies and 2 more Disney BFFs, got a lap dance from a drag queen, and then was surprised again by my hubby and sissies with an amazing "This is Your Life" party... and now, it is Monday.  Monday.  The excitement is over and I'm still 40.  I've been so busy I haven't quite grasped it.

As the birthday was approaching I started looking back and, at first, all I could see was negative.  I recall numerous times wanting to write this blog post yelling at my 20 and 30 year old self for all the things that went wrong.  It was the biggest form of self-deprecation from someone who prides herself on staying positive.  Was this 40?  Was I turning into negative nellie? 

Questions popped up such as:  Why did you settle in your 20's?  Why didn't you make more money in your 30's?  Why did you make so many poor choices?  But then, I walked through the door to my parent's house, the house I grew up in and left in my 20's, to a party that was all about my life.  My sister's had set up stations that focused on the highest points in my life.  I was so overwhelmed by the people and the day, it didn't hit me... until today.  Monday.

All the negative washed away as I looked over the stations - the photos, the moments, the friends and family.  Sure there were crap moments in my life - we all have them.  But to quote a great movie "I crawled through a river of shit and came out smelling clean on the other side".  I am 40 and here is what I want to tell my 20 and 30-year-old self:

Jenn, in your 20's when others we sticking around the hometown, you traveled to 12 countries and came back worldly, excited and with the knowledge there is more out there in the world.  When others were graduating and getting "real" jobs or married, you packed up a U-haul, your BFF and your car and moved to Nashville with nothing.  You survived, you soaked in new experiences and you made it on your own.  When your "real" job wasn't the dream job, you followed your dream to work for Disney and while I know you wished you had done more there, look at the friends you have made - they are everywhere and they will always be there.  When you left to find your fairytale, you learned you can't make everything perfect, but you did make 2 perfect boys.

Jenn, in your 30's when your life was crashing into a thousand pieces you finally realized how to ask for help.  You also found strength, independence, maturity.  You surprised yourself (and I know you are still surprised).  You leaned on others - some stayed, some didn't.  When you started to "give up" on fairytales, you decided to open another book and read it through different eyes.  When you thought family was just made through bloodlines, you realized that family is all around you.  Family is everything.  Family is those who throw you a party that make you see all the positives.

So Jenn, you are 40 - what will these years bring?

This will be the decade where I stop making time for negative.  Where I focus on what I do have, rather than what I don't.  Where I will choose sitting on the sidelines of games over sitting at bars.  Where I travel more - and bring the kids.  Where I realize I'm not perfect and that's ok.  Where I will spend more time with and focus on family and friends no matter how far away they are.  Where I will remind my husband more often of how thankful I am for him turning me around in my 30's.  Where I will watch my boys turn into men... and then watch them walk out our door and into their 20's.

I'm ready, I'm excited, I'm 40 and I'm positive I'm gonna like it!

Ahoy Pirate!

From a previous blog post you know I love anything nautical... so when a friend asked me to make pirate themed cupcakes for a bridal shower, I was setting sail with excitement!

Not wanting to go too "childish" - I stuck with a blue, gold and cream color palette and used peals and coins for a more bridal look.

Ocean Blue Cupcakes:  Chocolate cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream frosting
Golden Treasure Cupcakes:  Vanilla cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream frosting
Fondant gold coins:  Vanilla fondant stamped with a pirate coin and painted with edible gold
Fondant treasure maps:  Vanilla fondant squares with rolled edges and chocolate treasure map
Edible pearls in blue and white

Straws with printed pirate flags and sayings

• "ARRR you ready to say I DO?"
• "Bridal Booty"
• "Walk the Aisle"
• "You had me at Ahoy!"

For other fun edible creations, you can check out my Facebook Page! 

Storage of my life

My boys do NOT like One Direction.  I couldn't even tell you what they look like, but I do know every time their song "Story of My Life" comes on the radio, it has to be changed.  So, while hubbie installed our stair storage, I came up with lyrics of my own - just to annoy the kiddos (extra awesome parental unit points for me).

This stair storage project was all hubbie's idea - cuz, well, he's a genius in my opinion.  I said (in typical fashion) "I have an idea... let's add shelves to the wall going to the cellar".  He said (in his typical fashion) "I think we should add a faux ceiling, drywall it, add shelves, install a new light fixture, frame out and paint the breaker box, put molding up to cover all the wires and paint the whole thing."  I then said "my ass will be on the couch with a glass of wine, let me know how I can assist from there."

Here you catch a glimpse of the exposed wiring, the before of the breaker box, the ceiling and drywall.  I will point out that I did get off the couch to use the power drill on some screws, so I wasn't THAT lazy.

Pretty breaker box, super cute hubbie

And with that, I have 4 shelves for extra storage!  Look at them fill up!!  My case of seltzer has a home!  It's been empty like this for a week!!  I feel like running to BJ's so I can buy in bulk... but instead, I'll just sing my altered One Direction lyrics:

Written on these walls is the storage that I can't explain
All this space open but it stays right here empty for days

The storage of my life
Is in my home
I drive all night
To fill them more and I'm
Shopping

Controlled Mess

Remember when I told you we needed more kitchen storage and then that turned into a kitchen renovation? Well, it turns out, we didn't need more storage, we just needed to reorganize and donate items.  But since I hate admitting I'm wrong in moments like these (aka: it would make me sound like a hoarder/disheveled person), I just kept to the new storage concept.  So while hubbie tackles turning our cellar stairway into a mini pantry - keep up the great work honey! - I'm going to share a fun and quick storage DIY project.  Don't fret, his hard work on the pantry will be featured soon.

Project time:  5 min per box.  Unless you are watching an episode of Castle while doing it - it was a good one!

So here are the storage bins I grabbed from my local box store for about $5/each:

Next I grabbed my favorite stencils that I bought at an antique store.  You can find letter stencils at any craft store/aisle - just pick the font you like.  Instead of using paint, I pulled out my handy dandy paint PENS (I love these things)!  No mess and better control (which really should be the tag line for these pens AND our kitchen project).

Then I stenciled on what I wanted the bin to say/hold.  Sky's the limit on this one!  I bet you'll never guess what I put in this bin...

I bought 4 bins to store food items in our snack cabinet.  This is where measuring first would have helped me.  Only the "Chips" and (also creatively named) "Crackers" bin fit on the shelf.  So again, instead of admitting my mistake, I searched for other cluttered cabinets.  I found that we had boxes of oatmeal and pancake mix just hanging willy nilly - I thought they should be friends and I named their box "YUM!" (oh, I'm on a roll now).  Under the sink, cleaning supplies were in a see-through bin - OH THE SHAME!  "Give us a private bin!" they cried, so I obliged with a title that is also a reminder for the kids...

PRO: I've used these bins in different rooms of the house and find they fit a ton of stuff
CON: That "ton of stuff" is now hidden and, therefore, forgotten... and now I sound like a hoarder/disheveled person.  Full circle people, full circle.

Modern Vintage Industrial Kitchen

I think I've held you in suspense long enough.  I wasn't trying to be mean, I was just tweaking the decor.  I still am, to be honest, so I'll be posting our "accent wall" soon... or, once I am happy with it, which could take a while.

Our kitchen went from ok to awesome (in our opinion)!  New wall and cabinet paint, new hardware, new floor rugs (and coming soon: new table and chairs) was what it took for us to achieve the look we wanted:  Modern Vintage Industrial.  Is that a style?  If not, I'm making it one now!

If you want to recall the process with me, look here

And no room re-do is complete in our house without a panoramic shot (courtesy of hubbie)

Put a cork in it

We just completed a kitchen re-do at our house which began with the need for more storage - makes sense right?  In the process of painting, adding new hardware and several trips to the donation pile, we managed to free up some storage space and make the cabinet interiors look neat and clean.  Today, I am showing you how we freshened up our kitchen drawers!

Project time:  1/2 hour (longer for me since I have project ADD) for 5 drawers.

While you can't fully grasp the insides of the drawers from below, believe me when I say they were tired, sad slabs of particle board.  Sure we could have just painted them but between utensils and "junk", they were bound to get scratched (and, helloooo, we needed to cover up paint drips).

Solution?  Cork... self-adhesive cork (heaven!!)  Purchased at our local Home Depot - 2 rolls were more than enough to do our 5 drawers.

Supplies:
Self-adhesive cork (around $15/roll)
Measuring tape
Ruler/level
Scissors


1. Measure depth and width of your drawer and cut cork to size - scissors are all that you need for this stuff (super easy)
2. Peel back a bit of the contact backing and set into corners.  Continue to peel it back slowly as you press the cork into the drawer.
3. DONE!

The cork gives it an updated, clean look while also giving contact paper a good name!  Now, where else can I stick this stuff??

Honey, I have an idea...

At our house, most couch conversations start with "so I have this idea" and this usually "idea"  explodes into a lot of work.  So recently, I casually mentioned that I would like to repaint the kitchen and hubbie was all for this.  Repainting a few walls quickly evolved into a major kitchen transformation.  My goal, to lighten up, freshen up and achieve a vintage/modern look.

Project time:  1 week (this includes a 5 hour, 3 store, door hardware debate)

Here is a before of the wall color and cabinets

We had already removed the old out-dated hardware on the doors (hence the holes)... and, clearly, downed a 6 pack!

Entryway, old curtains, old rug

This is behind our stove - clearly the previous owners wanted a "loft"look and wanted it to outlast a nuclear blast.  Instead of ripping out a wall, I opted for paint - it does wonders both on the budget and hubbie's sanity

Now we move on to the in-between stage

New wall color, no 6 pack... yet

Lighter, brighter... getting there

See!  Paint!!

Want to see the "after shots"?  Well, like Season 4 of Downton Abbey, I'm going to leave you hanging.  Just for a bit though, we are finishing up on some details (aka, I'm redecorating).

What's In A Name?

Thanks to my mom for naming me the most popular name in the 1970's, growing up it was pretty easy to find personalized items (although they were probably sold out!).  Nowadays you will still find my name on the keychain rack but gone are the days of me wanting my name on every pen, pencil or sticker I own.  This does not mean, however, that my love for personalization has ended.


For years I've been inspired and addicted to the monogram.  Whether it is just one initial or all 3, I delight in its simplistic beauty.  Something about them that subtly says "this is mine" in a non-territorial-possessive-type way.  From home decor to accessories, I continue to find ways to incorporate the monogram.
Here is an example of home decor - mine, actually - my sons' initial above their dresser (the room has recently been completed, hence the missing lampshade). I found these goodies at my favorite flea market for $5/each and sprayed them orange...

And while we all know and love LL Bean for their personalized items... here are a few more that I have found and can't wait to add to my collection...

Sources:
Clutch: Tiny Tulip
Acrylic Necklace:  Etsy




And don't forget to add a monogram or 2 to your home:

 

Sources:
M wall decal:  Zazzle
Pillows:  Etsy