DIY Jute Mirror Tutorial

So while browsing Pinterest the other day, I came across this mirror that I fell in love with.  It was featured in a home tour on this blog and I knew I had to have it. 

I did some searching to no avail, and I realized it wouldn't be difficult OR expensive to make, so I hopped (actually waddled in my case) on over to Hobby Lobby to get my supplies. 

Here's the inspiration:

 

Here are the supplies I picked up:

One foam wreath

Two big spools of Jute

One round mirror

and I used cardboard I had around the house, and my hot glue gun

All I did was tightly wrap the jute around the wreath form until I made it all the way around.  I secured the beginning of the jute to the wreath with some hot glue, and then I glued the end piece.  

I then mounted the mirror to a piece of cardboard that I cut to fit the back of the wreath.  I used LOTS of hot glue to attach the cardboard/mirror to the back of the wreath, and VOILA!  My very own jute mirror!

I actually made it for the nursery, but decided to go with something else for the intended wall, so now I think it's new home will be in the living room.  I think I might make two more and stagger them on a wall in our master bedroom, but I'm not sure yet. 

So that's it!  Super easy, affordable, and I think, pretty cute!

Making Meal Planning Fun

Now that I am pregnant, I'm able to stay home more and focus on the things I really love-like taking care of our house, crafting, decorating and cooking.
Vince is SO excited for me to make meals for us during the week, and I have to say, I'm pretty excited about it too.  I've learned that a successful week of home made meals involves a lot of pre-planning on my part.  In order to make this a little more fun, I made some cute grocery shopping lists today.  I'm going to glue the tops of them together and add some magnets to the back so it'll be a notepad on the fridge.

Here's the front... I printed it out on brown kraft card stock so it looks much cuter...

I organized the categories based on the order I go in the grocery store

Here's the back of the list:

This way I can just flip my list over if I forget what meals I'm shopping for.

I think this is going to be a great way to keep me organized and help in my weekly shopping.  I may end up getting more detailed because I buy certain things at Whole Foods and certain things at Publix.  I might have to make two separate lists for that, but for now we'll see how this works out.

I'd love to hear how you all plan your weekly meals.  Do you plan ahead or just shop more often for meals?

You can't always get what you want..

But if you try sometimes, you just might find....you get what you need!

So, we have been back and forth about the home buying situation.  To buy or not to buy.  To rent or not to rent.  To stay in a tiny apartment that we barely fit into and I can't entertain or decorate the way I want to and we can't store anything here so I can't BUY anything for our house one day....or...uh..not to.

We have to let our apartment know by next week what we are going to do when our lease ends in December. 

Here are the options:

*Try to get 100% financing and buy something by December.

*Sign another lease and save for a down payment for the next 6-12 months (whatever we decide to resign)

*Rent a house in December and try to find one that is roughly the same as our rent 

*Lease purchase a house in December, and hope the market doesn't get even worse.

*Move into my parents basement (haha)

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!

 

So much of me wanting to do the (I think) irresponsible thing and get 100% financing is because I want a YARD.  I want a big KITCHEN.  I want a place to BE that isn't a tiny apartment.

Tonight we got out of the apartment.  We made mashed sweet potatoes and caramelized  onions.  We marinated chicken and put everything in a bag with a candle and an iPod, and we went to the picnic table/grill area near our front door.  It was great.  We felt like we had our own backyard.  Of course there were people walking their dogs through it, but we didn't mind :) 

So, since we can't have what we want right now, I think we will make the best out of it.  Be happy that we have so few walls to separate us from each other.  Be glad that if something breaks, we just call maintenance.  Be happy that we have each other!  Be glad that we have a place to live!  There are always things to be grateful for, and it's important for us to remind ourselves of that.