autumn

Is it Autumn Yet?

Friday, August 30, 2013

I don't know about you guys, but this weather has me longing for fall! I decided that I would make some autumn decor...after all, September is in a couple days!!!

I picked up some burlap and lace at Wal-Mart for a cute little bunting!



I made a pattern with some cardboard, and cut out each triangle, and sewed them to the lace. I used this process to make the stencils and paint the letters on the bunting. 



It looks great on the front porch! I thought I would just hang it up long enough to take pictures, but I think I am going to leave it. Maybe it will bring the colder weather this way! I will wait to add more fall decor, but it won't be long! ;)

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!

motivation

Chasing Vera

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Is anyone surprised that I am writing a post about Vera Bradley? I didn't think so!

A while back, Dane came up with a brilliant way to encourage me to run...this was after his attempt to "do dishes" while I was at the gym. (I came home to 2 dozen freshly baked cookies! More dishes and tempting treats...NOT HELPING!) Anyway, Dane decided that he would encourage me with Vera Bradley! For every mile I ran I earned a dollar towards some Vera of my choice! I just love him! (For many more reasons than this!)

 Last week I went and cashed in a few of my Vera dollars on this beauty!


 The little hipster is the perfect size (for a smaller purse) and I LOVE that it has a wallet compartment built in!

 I was torn between Jazzy Blooms and Plum Crazy, but I am so glad I went with this one! It matches everything!

 The real motivation for working out is being healthy, but it is also nice to have a goal to work towards. Knowing that I am only 5 miles away from a wallet or pair of Vera Bradley sunglasses makes it easy to get out and run! AND... I don't feel guilty when I buy something. After all, I earned it!

 What motivates you to stay active?

five star vacations

2013 VanHandel Family Vacation

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

 We're back! Dane and I spent the weekend on Table Rock Lake. We had been looking forward to this trip for a long time (I mentioned it a couple times here and here), and it was quite an adventure! The trip started early Friday morning. We met 10 of our friends (wearing matching shirts), loaded up an RV, and hit the road. About one hour into the trip the air conditioner stopped working, but we didn't let that ruin our fun! A few rounds of Would You Rather, lots of laughs, and SIX hours later, and we had arrived!



(This photo was edited using the Rhonna Designs app.)

 We quickly unloaded our belongings from the RV and got them on our houseboat! We rented the houseboat through a company called Five Star Houseboat Vacations. They were so helpful, and made loading the boat a piece of cake!



 Our houseboat was amazing!!! There were 6 bedrooms, a hot tub, and a slide...what more do you need, right?! Once we found a spot on the lake, we got in the water for a while. It was nice to float around and cool off. Later, we made supper and watched Pitch Perfect!

The next two days we spent floating, eating, and sleeping! It was wonderful.





We did move the boat once...to a place with an amazing view and some fun cliffs!





On the second morning, I took a little walk to the cliff edge to drink my coffee and enjoy the beautiful scenery.



THEN...I saw a snake! It was about 30 feet below in the water, but it was enough to make the spot a little less relaxing! I snapped this picture to show the crew...AND apparently there was a photo bombing turtle! I didn't even see the turtle until I looked at the picture!



The weekend was great! I would definitely go on this vacation again!





Hope all of the VanHandel's are ready for next year! (We aren not actually VanHandel's...but that is a very long story!)

-Britt

This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own!

blog

Happy Birthday...to the blog!

Monday, August 19, 2013

My sweet, little blog just turned 2! I have had such a great time sharing DIY projects, favorite products, and many random thoughts with all of you! It is hard to believe that 2 years have passed. I cannot wait to see what fun posts I will be writing in the future! Happy Birthday, blog! Feel free to celebrate with some pancakes!



(These were actually Dane's birthday pancakes...I try to be a sweet wife!)

fall favorites

Pre-Fall Favorites

Monday, August 12, 2013

I don't know if it is the rain or my craving for a pumpkin spice latte, but I am ready for fall to get here. Anybody with me!? It is my FAVORITE season! There are just so many things to love...I won't even try to list them all! However, I am going to share some of my pre-fall favorites with you.

1. Sweater 2. Bahama Mama 3. Jeans 4. Phone Case 5. Shoes

You can never go wrong with jeans and a sweatshirt...but I LOVE this updated version! I may buy this in every color and just get rid of my hoodies all together! Okay...I probably won't get rid of my hoodies, but one of these will be hanging in my closet very soon!

laundry room

Just a Simple Makeover

Sunday, August 11, 2013

I love little updates that make a big difference! I have been wanting to do something with our laundry room for a while. What I would really like to do is put some cabinets in for all of my cleaning products, extra toilet paper, and my large nail polish collection whatever else I may decide to store. I envision something like this drawing.



 Yes, I did use graph paper to ensure I made straight lines...don't judge!

 Anyway, this weekend we started working on it! It will be a while before the rest gets done, but I will embrace the baby steps! I just stained a board that I picked up at RP Lumber, and Dane used brackets to fasten it to the wall. It was probably the easiest update ever! I don't know why we didn't do it sooner. The whole project cost about $25! Check out the before and after below!





I am LOVING the they way it looks! What do you think?

august

Hello, August!!!!

Thursday, August 01, 2013

August is here!!! I am soooo excited about this month, and there are so many reasons why!!!

 I don't want to get ahead of myself...before I go on about how awesome August is going to be, I need to tell you all about July. We kicked off the month celebrating the 4th of July at the lake, I took a trip to Chicago with some pretty awesome ladies, and we enjoyed several family gatherings throughout the month! I also found out that my little brother and his girlfriend are going to be having a little boy! I am so happy for them! It will be fun to have a little one running around. SO many babies! :) Be still my baby loving heart!



 Okay, now about August! First of all, I get to celebrate the birthday of my lovely momma! I won't tell you how old she is going to be, but I will tell you that she is NOT two years older than my dad (even if he likes to think that)! This is the first year in a long time that I will actually get to see her on her birthday! She is usually off vacationing, and doing something awesome...LUCKY! This year they went on vacation early, so I think that a celebration will be in order...I better put striped straws and streamers on my shopping list!

 Also in August, I am going to be an aunt...again!!!!! I cannot wait to meet and snuggle baby L on August 28! I am counting down the days!

 PLUS...Dane and I are going on vacation! This trip has been on my mind and my bags have been packed for MONTHS! We are going on a house boat with 5 other couples, and basically it is going to be awesome! You can check out our houseboat here. I know, it is pretty awesome! ;)

Hope you have a great August!