Getting it all together

So, I thought that life would get back to normal after the wedding.

Ha. "Normal" got a lot more busy than I remember.

There is so much to do, I can’t even map out my thoughts to tell you about it! But this is what I know:
        I have three costumes to finish by Saturday night (one of which requires a yarn wig made from a knit hat, which I’m making).
        I need to get 3 baby shower gifts together over the next three weeks. Setting the bar with baby diaper cupcakes was such a bad idea.
        There are two product parties coming, with stuff I really, really want and can’t have, unless I find a job.
        If I don’t deal with the large pile of linens I have left over from the wedding, the will “magically appear” outside on trash day.
        Thank you cards need to go out, like, yesterday.
        The kid and Ricklet have to have a lunch every morning, and the Kid has to be picked up 4 days a week from football.

I need more coffee in my life.

I have managed to get a project together to share.

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Side Tables with Runners

If you’re anything like me, you have very little space and keep a lot of stuff next to your bed. The best fix I found was a 31” shelf-in-a-box on each side of the bed: perfect height and plenty of shelves. The problem is the either have loud doors (not good at 3a.m. when your significant other is sleeping) or they are open for all your crap to spill out on the floor, not to mention being an eye-sore.

They have pop-out fabric drawers that you can put in them. But I have two issues with those: 1. They look a little young and messy. 2. It is way too easy to turn that in to yet another junk drawer. So now we need a cover, and it needs to be a cover that is sleek, easy to get under, easy to clean, and (Ricklet’s special request) won’t slide around the top. So… Runners win.

Before I get in to the (very easy) “How To”, here is what I’m getting at:

Go from BEFORE                   to AFTER    

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WARNING: This explanation is for those who don’t currently know how to sew.

For a 31” shelf you will need:

Fabric – at least 13”x44” (try craft fabric - about $2 at A.C. Moore)
Fabric pins
Sewing needle
Thread that matches your fabric
An iron
A pencil

Start by hemming the long sides. You will fold it over ½ an inch and pin it down every few inches. Iron it down. Repeat so it is now 3-ply for ½ inch on each side. Yes, iron twice! Stitch hem ¼ inch from edge.

Now, on one of the short sides follow the same steps, only instead of a ½ inch, go with ¼ inch or as small as you can. This part won’t show, so don’t fret too much. Just try to make it square.

Now, you are going to sew the pencil in to the other end to help weight it down and keep it from flapping around. Fold the fabric over once about ¼ inch, pin and iron. Roll the pencil in fabric once, and pin it like you did the hem. Slip out the pencil and iron. Sew the hem without the pencil in it, making sure not to sew the ends shut. You should be able to slip the pencil in and out easily for cleaning.

This is how it looks with the pencil inside.

Now fit it to your shelf by tacking the non-pencil end to the back, making sure it stays straight down the front. You can also use Velcro in the front to tighten the top, just be sure to stitch it to the fabric.

Yay, done!

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I also managed to work out that baking bug a bit, too. Check it out:

Yummy Banana Pudding with a double layer of vanilla wafers (because that is totally the best part)

Excellent Ovaltine Chocolate Cupcakes dusted with powdered sugar, espresso powder, and Ovaltine. They just didn’t need frosting, especially since mine turned to butter.

P.S. Check out our new "About Us" page, posted on Thursday.

And they all lived happily ever after...

So I started this blog for two main reasons: 1. I had a very limited wedding budget and did some really crazy and out of the box stuff to save money. Most of it worked, and the hubs sweetly reminded me of all the other cool and different stuff I’ve come up with. Basically, I thought I had info to share.         2. Hopefully, someday soon, I’ll be able to contribute to the health of our pocketbook again.

I always knew, realistically, #2 was gonna take a while, but I was still silently mapping out posts all through my wedding planning process.

Well the wedding was just under two weeks ago. My house is finally back in order. My brain is firing on all circuits once again. I finally have the time I didn’t have before the wedding to flush out all those nifty posts I thought up.

Only… I can’t stand to think about ANYTHING wedding ANYMORE!

Just the thought of even finishing up the last bits of the budget bores me to tears. Tips for you on how to pick a coordinator? Untold tedium! I don’t even want to return things that didn’t get used, no matter how much needed funds it will bring.

Even though I’ve never really been a froofie girl, I have to admit, I kinda loved the planning. It was one huge, intricate art project, and I dug it.

But now, I just want to be a girl again.

I want to read a book. Maybe bake brownies. Or take a long bubble bath. I could even catch up on the projects that got tossed aside in the arrangements sandstorm.

And that is just what I did today. All of it.

And man was it a weird day. 

It was like waking up from a three month coma.

I’m all “oh yea, I can do whatever the heck I want to… aside from the whole breaking vows I just affirmed thing. Cause that’s just wrong.”

And “What the hell? Since when am I living with two boys? And they smell funny! And can’t cook to keep themselves from starving.”

Oh yea, and “Why the hell do my feet look so old and crusty?! You’re 25, not 80, woman!”

Very weird day.

But at least it was way more entertaining than dealing with wedding crap.

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So you may be wondering if I’m done now with the blog, out only 3 posts in. I hope you’re glad to know that the answer is no.

The wedding stuff may come, maybe in the form of another blog. For now however, I’ll try just a slight shift in focus. How about some crafting and saving of sanity, yes?