Kid at Heart

Life got pretty busy there for a while but I am back. This upcoming months "theme" is to being a kid at heart and having fun with it! Don't let life's matter bog you down. Go out there and have fun! One thing that many adults forget to do these days is to think about themselves. Find time each weekend and go do something you enjoy. Weather it's going on a nature hike, taking a roadtrip or just cuddling up with the hubby watching a movie. Life isn't just about working, bills and putting meals on the table.

For me, it started out by taking a visit to the beautiful Ledges State Park. We took the lil' one there to go on a nature hike.

This week I have decided to bring out my childhood memories and re-visit my old friends at the zoo...the monkeys! Unfortunately they were all "asleep" as we decided to go to Zooktoberfest, which obviously there are no after hours for the animals ;) We ended up sitting and listening to polka music, which turned out to be fun! So off to Omaha zoo it is!

Yet to still be visited this fall is the High Trestle Trail Bridge. Can't wait to go there!

Meet Cummins

Welcome to the family Cummins! We got her on February 2nd, 2013.

Bedroom Design

Next on the list was my bedroom. My favorite color it pink so I wanted to pull that color into the room yet keep it classy at the same time. So here is what I came up with for my design plan. Something to keep in mind is to design the rooms to fit your style. You want to come home to a room you love not dread. 

The Fun of Dieting

We all know how New Years Resolution end up.  Well why not have fun while dieting?  That's right I just used fun AND dieting in the same sentence. When you think of dieting you think all the dreadful diets there are out there; The three day diet (starving yourself for three days. Woohoo...NOT!), the all green diet (only eat things that are green), the cleansing diet (only drinking a lemonade concoction),etc.  I have tried all of these but none of them seemed to be what I was looking for.  So I did a little research and found one that after one week I was more than impressed with.... AND I DIDN'T HAVE STARVE MYSELF!!!

So what was the secret to this diet?  Well, there was only one that I found and it was to pay attention to what you eat. In a way with this diet you can pretty much eat whatever you want but you need to stay within the limits of your calories.  Mine for example was a 1,215 calorie limit.  I downloaded an app on my phone which was the key to this diet. If you click here you can download the My Plate Calorie Tracker application.  Was this a calorie diet? Yes, but the fun of it was keeping track of my calories yet staying within limits.  You can also earn points towards awards such as gift cards.  I wanted to start eating healthy which meant I was able to get creative with new recipes in the kitchen. It would amaze you how many calories there are in certain foods so it was a learning experience as well. Here are some screen shots of the My Plate Calorie Tracker Application:

Along with the diet I also decided to take on a 30-Day Challenge with a collaboration of my own exercises and a little help from Jillian Michaels.  Helpful Hint: Take before-and-after pictures because they can really help motivate you as you are able to see your progress!

Living Room Design

Up first in the designing project, the living room.  I did an impulse buy at Target and bought the two lamps you see below. So I had to incorporate the yellow into my design. Etsy would soon became my best friend as I found all my pillows that would help incorporate the yellow.  I ended up going with natural tones with "pops" of color.  The photo below was pieced together by my sister. It is helpful to take a photo of the room you are designing and add in things you like so that you can get a better idea of how it will look. 

Rustic Barn Board Table

I don't have a light in my living room so I needed come up with something. Doom & gloom is not my style! It was either a floor lamp or a table lamp. I decided to go with two table lamps but wanted something different than just putting them on end tables. I saw a post on Pinterest for a table that goes behind your couch. 

This looked perfect!

I went scrounging on my parents farm and found this 12' board. I would need 7' for the the top of the table and then 2' 8" for the legs. 

Here is the board that I started out with.

I then gave it a light sanding with a palm sander and stained it with Minwax Early American.  I only did one coat as I was afraid if I did another coat I would lose the natural look to the wood. 

Oh and those teal boards I am using for a upcoming project so keep checking back!  = ]

To attach the legs to the top my dad came up with using these antique hinges.  He had to weld the hinge in place so that they didn't move when attached.  Thanks Dad!  = ]

Here is the final Rustic Barn Board Table

Overall, this was a very easy project to do and took me approximately two hours and that was mainly waiting for the stain to dry.  I am very pleased with the results!

The Game Plan

Welcome to Studio Twenty-Three! Living in an apartment can feel like living in a luxury jail cell. My goal was to make my apartment my home. I will be designing on a budget and would have many obstacles. As I mentioned I live in an apartment and of course with apartments comes all the rules; No painting, wallpapering, nailing, tacking, gluing or taping to ANYTHING! Well this is going to be interesting but come on who doesn't like a challenge. So here begins my journey of designing. I hope you enjoy!