Man Cave

What do you do when your husband tells you on Tuesday that he will be having 9 guys at your house for the weekend??
Well I immediately said absolutely not!
The last thing I wanted was 9 guys destroying my little house. Where were they all supposed to sleep, eat, and shower. I would say the maximum capacity of our house is 6 people and there is not really room to entertain. We have one guest bedroom with a little double bed and 1 shower...for 9!! Really, this just sounded like a recipe for disaster.
After I accepted the fact that I do share this house with my husband and I did have 4 friends over the previous weekend it was only fair that he be allowed 4 this weekend :) Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. He couldn't just uninvite his friends. So it was time to get creative!

My mom came down to visit and we decided to make a "man cave" for the guys in the basement. At one point our basement was finished so there is paneling on the walls, there is a half bath and cement floor. Perfect! They could play their drinking games and go to the bathroom down there! As far as I was concerned they would never have a reason to come upstairs...
The biggest problem us that the basement was a complete disaster with junk everywhere! We have been trying to put new ceiling tiles in so we had all the old and scraps of new ones covering the floor. Plus all the other junk basements seem to accumulate. We also wanted to put a little carpet down there to make the space more inviting. So we got to work!
Of course I only thought to take a picture after we were halfway through cleaning...
Lots of vacuuming and dusting!Nasty floors!

Laying carpet with Hudson and Cooper helping of course
We had lots of obstacles to cut around: The pole in the center of the room, a small closet, and two small sticky outy parts of the wall. Turns out we are pretty good at laying carpet :)
Not too shabby right!?

We used Steve's hockey sticks for decoration :) Also, very thankful for all the folding chairs and lawn shairs we got as wedding gifts. Perfect furniture for the man cave!
This is the other half of the room where they were able to set up beer pong on a hunk of wood they found in the garage.
After doing all of this I told the boys my house better be clean when they left and I took off to Holland. I think it was better that way. They had all the fun they wanted without me hovering or being mad about the house. I was very pleased to come home on Sunday night to a perfectly clean house.
Thanks boys!

Pinterest Crafts

Meg and I had a ton of fun crafting a few weekends ago and I wanted to share a few more of our completed crafts.

First, toilet paper roll wall hanging. Who would have thought!? Cheapest wall decoration ever and it looks much more expensive (maybe not for every home, but it works for ours). Plus, if you get sick of it in a few months you don't have to feel guilty getting rid of it.

Step one: start saving toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls
Two: flatten the rolls the long way. Make sure to get a good solid crease on both sides.
Three: Cut them into roughly 1.5" sections. This does not need to be perfect. In fact I think a little bit of variation looks better
Four: Play around with the design you want. You can do a specific pattern or create something different
Five: Hot glue!
Six: Spray paint it
Here is my finished product on the wall...
Not too shabby right?!

Next was Meg's project:: Red Neck Wine Glasses
This project took some searching to complete...
What you need: mason jars, glass candle sticks and glass glue
Step one: Find the darn candle sticks! We went to 5 different dollar stores in search of them. Dollar tree is where they are at...I think  (the one with the green sign)
Two: Glue the candle sticks to the mason jars
Three: let them dry and they are done!
Fun and cute for a backyard bbq. :) Some stores sell these for over 10 bucks each. The cost less then 2 bucks to make...so get crafting people!!

Homemade Dog Bed...

I have been wanting to buy Hudson a dog bed for some time now. Our whole house is wood floor and I feel bad that he has to sleep on the hard ground. I always look at dog beds no matter where I go: meijer, target, TJ Maxx, Petco...but they are all 40+ bucks and feel like they have 10 cotton balls stuffed into a huge sack. Not very comfy and not something that would hold up for a significant amount of time.
So, this Pinterest crafting weekend I decided to make one for my little baby :)

I found two different DIY ideas online and combined the ideas to make what I thought was the perfect dog bed without using a sewing machine!
I started with hitting the thrift store looking for an old fluffy comforter for the insides of the bed.

I found 2 of these lovely superman twin size comforters at Goodwill for 50% off! They were 2.50 each :) I then used a big needled and upholstery thread to sew the corners together. I wanted to make sure that once inside the cover it would still stay in the shape of a bed.
Hudson was excited from the beginning and insisted on laying on it while I was sewing haha
Next, we laid out the fleece and measured it against the size of the bed. 1.25 yards was the perfect amount!
So we started cutting strips into the sides about 1.5" thick by 3.5" long.
Once all the strips were cut we started tying in double knots. We left one side open so we could put the bed in at the end. One the final side, we only tied in single knots so that if I need to wash it eventually it would be easy to take apart.
Hudson LOVES the finished product!
Look how relaxed he looks :)

Along with the dog bed post I will include a quick recipe for dog treats with ingredients you most likely have in the house...
What you need:
-2 Cups whole wheat flour
-1 Cup Oats
-1/3 Cup Peanut Butter
-1 and 1/4 Cup hot water
-1 egg

Mix the flour and oats in one bowl, the peanut butter and hot water in another. Then combine. Roll out dough into 1/2" thick slab and cut out shapes with cookie cutter. (I used a soup can because we didn't have any cookie cutters)
Once cut out and placed on a cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg. This gives the treats a shiny complete look :)
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes and WaLa!
Delicious, crunchy, cheap dog treats :)

Updating the upstairs

We finally got rid of our old, ugly bathroom sink. Every time I washed my hands I felt like I was in a middle school bathroom...you will understand when I tell you about the sink. Remember back to your middle school days. Do you remember the wall mount sinks?? The white porcelain ones with the 3 "spoke" handles to turn the hot and cold water on/off?? If you don't this should help refresh your memory!
Does this look familiar?! Maybe it was just the school I went to.

The absolute worst part of this sink was the fact that the water never turned off completely. The seals were ruined and it constantly ran. NOT dripped...but ran. We finally started turning the water off at the valve under the sink...every time we used it!  Very irritating!

I really wanted to take a before picture of the bathroom, but the boys were too quick with removing it. My mom and I were still out shopping for the vanity and they pulled everything out...However, I was able to find one older picture for you.
See, we made things work for us. We bought a cute little storage cabinet and put all of our bathroom essentials in there. However, when we got electric toothbrushes for Christmas we had no idea where we could charge them since there was NO counter space near the outlet. The other thing I don't miss is the fact that we always had to look at ugly plumbing pipes...Soooo here is our beautiful new bathroom counter/sink/vanity!
LOVE the granite. LOVE the drawers and cabinet. LOVE the height of the vanity. LOVE the counter space. LOVE the under mount sink!
The new vanity was the perfect height. It fit snugly under our built in soap dish and cup holder :) and look we finally have a place for our toothbrushes (we take turns charging)
There is still and ugly mirror there, but it works. We may change it out eventually, but it is a built in medicine cabinet so it is not a quick easy thing...

We also finally got around to painting Steve's office. Ceiling and walls of course because the previous owner must have decided that it was much easier to paint the ceiling the same color as the walls rather than being careful and edging or cutting in the wall color. Awesome.
Here is a before picture:
I thought I had a more recent before picture, but this is right before we moved in. Earlier, this fall I took the ugly wallpaper border down, which came off very easily thankfully. We also changed all the switch plates to white to make them look a little nicer.
If you can't quite tell in this picture, the walls were an ugly green color and incredibly DIRTY! The previous owner must have burned a lot of candles in the home...
After!

We chose a darker blue/gray because it is an office, for a boy, and Steve prefers it darker when he study's :)

Hope you like our updates...we are loving them!

Crafts and Christmas

I was so thankful that my mom came to visit today! As winter approaches I am seeing more and more cold weather...and less and less of my husband. Steve is becoming increasingly overwhelmed with school and his workload. I think we are both looking forward to Christmas break!
Anyway, I was so excited to have a friend to hang out with today.
We didn't do anything too exciting; just ran errands, went out for lunch and made a craft. She also helped me with some decorating and encouraged me to buy some Christmas decorations (and bought some for me :))

I wanted to make something with the beautiful windows we found in the garage...so we got some sweet craft paper and made wall art!

Here is our final product...we just need to get the hardware to hang it on the wall...
Hobby Lobby has 50% off all their Christmas stuff so we got two stockings, cute reindeer stocking holders and a cute/decorative Christmas tree...and since I had no fall decorations...the Christmas decorations are up!

and the dogs got to play together today...always a nice night when Hudson is all tired out :)

Guest Room

As you know, we have been working on our guest room for a llloooonnngggg time. There really is no good excuse for why it took so long. It just wasn't fun to work on. Projects always seem fun and exciting before you start them, halfway through you are starting to get bored, but still excited for the finished project. With the guest room we got about 3/4s the way done and we were just sick of it...so there it sat.
Finally, I was bored enough yesterday that I finished painting and then when Steve got home from school at 8pm...sad :( we hung the curtain rods.

So as some of you know curtains and curtain rods are stinkin expensive! At least I think so. 50 bucks for a pole seems a little steep to me. The bargain hunter in me looked everywhere hoping to find something better....and of course I did :)
We found raw wood curtain rods and holders at hobby lobby. This was perfect because the other rods we have in our house are a dark wood, I also had just recently purchased a dark stain for another project. AND bonus...the girl at Hobby Lobby gave us 30% off!

Looking good!
Final Product:
We were quite pleased with the results and it cost about half as much!

A few pictures of Hudson...he by the way, is the STAR of puppy school. What proud parents we are :) He is such a fast learner, it is amazing to see how quickly he picks up on tricks...Here are a few we have learned so far.

Shake: 

High Five:
      Slam Dunk: (Sorry I couldn't get the angle right for self timer...deal with it.)

He also knows sit, down, crawl, and we are working on rollover and play dead or (BANG!)

Last...When Steve left for school this morning Hudson and I decided to keep snoozing. After dozing in and out for a bit I rolled over to find the dog sleeping like this....
What a gentleman! Ha...

Survivor!

I thought I would let you all know that I am a survivor! I made it through my first two night shifts. There was high anxiety, stress, and many many tears...but I did it. Go Me!!
I just need to continually remind myself to be thankful that I have a job and have been given the gift of being able to take care of these patients who need my help/assistance. I must remember to be thankful that I am not the one sitting in a hospital bed, feeling exposed in a hospital gown and in pain from surgery or a car accident.

I also wanted to throw up a few pics for you!

We finally got our new roof! Just in time for me working nights...thankfully it only overlapped one day. While I was trying to sleep they were nailing in shingles above my head...joy!
Here is an older picture and then a new picture...I think it looks significantly better :)


The garage was in desperate need of 2 things. #1 a new roof or the insurance company would not cover us and #2 a good cleaning! There was a lot of stuff left in the garage from the previous owner. A bonus to having the roof done is that we had a dumpster at our house that we were allowed to fill to the brim...so we did!
It looks so clean and organized :)
I also found 3 of these windows....treasure! Can't wait to use a fun pinterest craft on them.

Finally, a picture of our tired Hudson. He has been so good the last few days. He sleeps with Steve at night and when Steve leaves for school in the morning and I get home from work...he sleeps with me again. I can't believe he is a puppy...he has been SO good. Today, he had a few shots at the vet and apparently it made him really tired...
We were also trying to train him with his electric fence again so he becomes crippled with fear from the warning beep. Today we even taped the probes so he could not get shocked even if he crossed the boundary...he wasn't taking any chance though. He sat in one place the whole time his collar was on. ha

Enjoy your weekend! It is back to work for me tomorrow night!

Night Owl

Tonight is a BIG night for me. It is my first ever night shift. Tonight will also be my first time ever pulling an "All Nighter." I have to admit I am terrified for it! I am not a night person at all! I go to bed around 10 or 10:30 every night how am I supposed to stay up until 8am the next day?? I mean it would be one thing if it was an 8 hour shift...no problem. 8 hours is not so long, but 12!? 12 which ends up being at least 13?!?! Oh my, I am giving myself anxiety just talking about it...ughh... Oh well, it is time to put my big girl pants on and suck it up and do it. But do I have to??
I suppose it is part of being a mature grown up, but it seems so cruel to make someone stay up from 7pm to 8 or 8:30am...I mean, how am I supposed to be normal?? My schedule will be completely opposite of the real world...eeek! Okay enough of this...I WILL BE FINE!!! (I keep telling myself that...although it is not helping)

Back to the positives of being a nurse. I have not worked since last Friday...that is like 5 days off in a row...and that will be normal for me! Crazy :)
So, on those days off I try to keep myself busy playing with the dog, going on walks, doing laundry, going to the grocery store and many other very thrilling things ;) I am sad to see our beautiful weather slipping away. It is not as much fun taking Hudson for a walk when I can see my breath and my fingers are numb...he seems to enjoy it no matter the weather. Go figure!

I also wanted to share a yummy recipe with you all...have I mentioned before that I LOVE pinterest! I love when I find easy recipes and feel like I hit the jackpot when I already have the ingredients in the house...this recipe was most definitely a JACKPOT!

It is called: Crispy Cheddar Chicken
(if you click on the name it will send you to the original blog with recipe)
Again not the best picture...but so delicious! All you need is chicken, cheese, and ritz crackers (although any sort of cracker would probably taste delicious)

Time for this girl to take a nap! Hope everyone has a wonderful day...think about me tonight as you are warm and cozy in your bed!

Advice from friends and family :)

As some of you know at our wedding we didn't use the "normal" guest book. Instead, we used 18 small guest books each with a different question on the front. We tried to keep them circulating throughout the night so everyone had a chance to write in one. What we ended up with was sweet, thoughtful, and hilarious answers to our questions so I figured I would share some of the notes with all of you!


Things Steve can do to keep Ashley happy...
     -You need 4 words in your vocabulary..."Yes Dear" and "I understand"
     -Clean the toilet
     -Don't stay up too late hitting the sticks. (playing video games...for all of you who do not know what hitting the sticks is..)
     -Don't make her watch sports all the time
     -Give her the remote
     -Always respond with "yes dear!" and don't mess with her hair!

What is the best marriage advice you can give us?
     -Pick your battles
     -Make sure you tell each other how much you mean to each other every day
     -Don't assume that you told each other something, because you probably didn't.
     -Plant the seed, let him think it was his idea, and praise him for his brilliance!
     -You are now your own family! Watch out for each other, care and love each other.
     -Say "I love you every time you part ways, even if you are mad at each other.
     -Sexy time...
     -Laugh together everyday
     -When your spouse says "Just drop it"....Just drop it!
     -Forgive, forgive, forgive

Things Ashley can do to keep Steve happy...
     -Prepare great meals
     -Don't be afraid to say I'm Sorry
     -Show up naked, bring beer
     -Just be you! That is who Steve fell in love with.
     -Do things together
     -Let Steve watch his favorite TV shows
    
Give us ideas for cheap dates...
     -Go to the zoo! Have a little picnicky
     -Groupon
     -Whatever "Smash" has a coupon for
     -Sex
     -Have a game night
     -Eat at local "Ma & Pa" restaurants, breakfast dates can be cheap and a great way to kick off the day!

Hope you enjoy these as much as I have :)
I will post more at a later date!

Look at Me...I'm Crafty!

...and I can rhyme ;)

What a wonderful week it has been! Steve is on fall break and we have actually had time to hang out :) I am one happy wife! After working all weekend and Steve doing homework alllll last week we were so excited to have time to hang out on Monday.
I made some delicious monkey bread for breakfast and then we headed to Michigan City outlet mall to go shopping. I was looking for new work shoes, but unfortunately we found nothing good. Oh well...it was still fun. Then we took Hudson to the dog park which was an adventure. We took him home covered in mud, sand, and other dog's drool...yummy. Lucky for him, he got to take a shower with dad when we got home.
One tired puppy after the park and a shower :)
On Tuesday, Hudson had his first day of school at puppy Kindergarten. No surprise to us, he was the star of the class :) We realized how fortunate we are to have a puppy with such good behavior. All of the other dog owners shared horror stories including their dogs ruining all the furniture in their house, the dog pooping all over the floor, baseboards, and wall, and many other things...
We are loving our Hudsaroo even more!

Onto my crafting! I am so excited about it! Usually, I try to to do something crafty and it turns out just crappy...not this time! I am so pleased with my results. Thanks to Pinterest and step by step instructions from other bloggers my crafts are beautiful :)

Here are the supplies I started with:
(notice the M&M's and Diet Coke...Happy Day)
I was originally planning to make a yarn wrapped wreath with felt rosettes on it and a big "K" in the middle made from buttons...However, when I went to Hobby Lobby a Styrofoam wreath was 5 bucks and the little stick wreath was $3...a no brainer...a perfect fall decoration :)
Hobby Lobby has felt  pieces 4/$1..what a deal!
So I started by attaching a piece of felt to the back of the wreath...then drew a "K" with chalk and started placing buttons...I was nervous about this because I thought the buttons were going to look to "perfect" because the space was not big enough to make a thick letter...but it turned out pretty good!

Then I started working on the rosettes...which surprisingly were really easy!
You start with your piece of felt, cut out a swervy circle... then start cutting a spiral in the circle so you end up with a long spiral snake of felt. From there, take the end where you started cutting and start rolling it up in a perfect little circle (like you are making a cinnamon roll).Look how cute it turns out!

So finally, the big reveal :)

I am very pleased with it! I just didn't know where to put it...
So for now it is added to our mantle :) Cute!
NOTE: When using a Hot Glue Gun...Be Careful! I got it under a fingernail..Ouch! Although I was able to use my blister as an excuse to not do the dishes that night...the hot water just aggravated it :) There is always a silver lining!

I also wanted to make something with yarn...using the wrapped yarn wreath idea, I decided to wrap a big "K"
It was kind of a pain, but I am happy with the results. I started with a thin wooden "K" I got from Hobby Lobby and wrapped and wrapped...I actually felt like a knitter with the ball of yarn in my lap...a bit of a stretch, but hey :)

See look how cute :) I love the texture

Naughty Pants!
Notice he is running away as I am taking this picture...he knew he was going to be in trouble. For some reason he has an affinity for kleenex, paper towel, toilet paper, and dryer lint. He goes nuts for it! Unfortunately, he discovered the roll of toilet paper this week...he seriously checks to see if we accidentally leave the bathroom door open...if we do, he feels like he hit the jackpot and we always have a mess to clean up...yay!

And one cute picture of him playing in the leaves :)
We were trying to train him with his electric fence...however, the second we put his collar on he refuse to move an inch...hmmm

Have a wonderful weekend!