Monogrammed Beverage Buckets

Awhile ago we purchased these white buckets from Lowe's to hold ice and drinks when we have company over.  

I decided that I wanted to add a monogram to the buckets... just because that's what I do.  Basically, my motto is, when in doubt, add a monogram.  I'm not kidding, James is worried that if I buy a monogramming machine, he will come home to every single pair of his socks and boxers monogrammed.  I feel like that is a little excessive, but you never know...

I ended up finding a website that offers 3 large custom acrylic monograms for $24. The great thing about the website is that you don't have to order 3 of the same monogram-- so you could purchase one for yourself and the other two you could give away as gifts.  The process of transferring the monograms to the buckets was pretty simple.  The acrylic stickers come with instructions and you just have to be careful to center the sticker and transfer the it to the bucket slowly to avoid bubbles.  

So just to recap, the buckets are from Lowe's and cost $10 each, the monogrammed stickers were $8 a piece, and the project literally took 5 minutes to complete.  I think that's pretty good for a customized look that we will be able to use for all kinds of entertaining.

Lamp Revamp

I was feeling crafty this morning, so I decided to give the lamps in our bedroom a revamp.  Here they are before:

Nothing special, just basic white lamp shades.  I was never a fan of the yellow light they cast. So I headed down to the fabric store this morning in search of fabric and jute trim.  On my way back, I stopped at Michael's to pick up spray adhesive and fabric glue. 

First I traced the lamp shade onto the fabric using a pencil. I started at the seam, and slowly rolled the lampshade, tracing as I went. Shout out to James who was trying to work while I was doing this little project and had to put up with me nagging him to take pictures for the blog.  I mean obviously, documentation for the blog is much more important than tying out a financial statement for a multi-million dollar company.

Once I cut the two pieces of fabric out, I moved the project outside for James' sanity to avoid getting fumes inside the house.  Starting at the seam, I sprayed the lampshade with the spray adhesive and attached the fabric making sure to smooth out as I went to avoid bubbles.  

After the lampshades were dry, I cut off the excess fabric and glued the jute trim onto the top and bottom of the shades using the fabric glue.  

Finished Product:

I'm happy with the way the lampshades turned out.  It's funny how small details can make all the difference.

Curtains

In the back of our house we have three sets of french doors that open out onto our back deck.  I have been wanting to find curtains for these french doors for awhile now.  I went back and forth whether I wanted a fun bold fabric, a solid or a smaller more subtle print.  After seeing these curtains at Ikea, I decided to go with the solid white curtains.  Yes, I realize white will probably get dirty easily, but at the end of the day a pair of curtains was 25 bucks, so if I decide I want something different a year from now I won't feel the least bit guilty about changing them out.  The only downside of the ikea curtains is that there is a bit of labor involved.  All of the curtains come 98" long, and unless you live in a super fancy loft in downtown, it's highly likely that you will be hemming them.  The hemming process honestly wasn't too bad.  Each pair of curtains comes with no-sew iron-on hemming tape and you simply measure the length, hem the bottoms by ironing them and then cut off the excess fabric. We looked around for hardware at Ikea, but it was all a bit too modern for my taste, so we ended up purchasing our hardware from Lowes.  Here is the finished product:

Hardware purchased from Lowes

  

Eventually it would be fun to find a patterned fabric that I absolutely love and won't get sick of, but for now, I am loving these.

Jinna Anne & Aidan's Wedding Weekend

Last weekend we celebrated my brother's wedding to Jinna Anne Tucker in Chattanooga, TN.  The wedding weekend kicked off with a Bridal Luncheon at a little tea room called Beyond The Garden Gate.  The venue was so sweet and the tea room that the luncheon was in was truly southern, y'all. I mean, there was a picture of Scarlett O'Hara hanging in the room.  It was a delicious lunch and a fun time to spend with Jinna Anne and the rest of the bridesmaids before she officially became a Clifford.

Jinna Anne with her Mom and Maids of Honor

Haley Nall, Katie Guess, Jeslyn Anderson & Lauren Pike

Mothers and Daughters--- if you look close you can see Scarlett in the background

Later that evening, the wedding party met at the Patten Chapel for the wedding rehearsal. 

Bridesmaids at the rehearsal

There was a bit of downtime between the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner, but since my parents were hosting the dinner we went straight to the venue to help get everything set up.  The rehearsal dinner was at the Tennessee Aquarium.  My mom enlisted me to help with the decor for the dinner.  Because the event was in the "River Experience" part of the aquarium, we opted for a rustic theme. 

Burlap & tall reeds

Place card table

Once the room was all set up we joined the rest of the guests for a cocktail hour overlooking the river.  The dinner was perfect-- delicious food catered by Bluewater Grille, thoughtful toasts and a slideshow of pictures of Aidan & Jinna Anne.  They are one good-looking couple and judging by their baby pictures, they will have some adorable kids one day.

James and I at the cocktail hour

Mother of the groom and mother of the bride

Aidan & Jinna Anne

Mom and Aidan

Mom & Dad-- the hosts for the evening

On Saturday, we all arrived at the church for pictures before the ceremony.  It was probably one of the most low-stress, chill afternoons before a wedding (as it should be).  Jinna Anne looked absolutely beautiful-- my brother is one lucky guy! 

The ceremony was very touching and I may or may not have teared up a bit when the musicians started singing The Prayer.  It was an honor for both James and I to be a part of the wedding.  We enjoyed each and every special moment of Aidan and Jinna Anne's day.  

After the vows we all headed up the mountain to the reception at The Lookout Mountain Fairyland Club.  The reception venue was beautiful and had a stunning view overlooking Chattanooga.  The Tucker's threw an amazing party-- everything about the wedding was perfect.  After the delicious meal we hit the dance floor.  Im pretty sure we were on our feet the whole night dancing!  

Mr & Mrs Clifford--in the party bus headed up to the reception

Mother-Son dance

Me with my new sister! Love her

Cheers! My parents at the reception

Awesome 10-piece band

We couldn't be more thrilled for Aidan and Jinna Anne.  While it seems like Jinna Anne has been a part of our family for awhile, it is now official.  We are so blessed to have siblings and in-laws that aren't just family but amazing friends.  We can't wait to spend time with the happy couple in the years to come.  I see many weekend trips to Birmingham to visit,  fun vacations over the years and hopefully one day raising our families together!