I LOVE young house love!

So I have still been feeling pretty lousy from this cold, but yesterday I got just the thing to cheer me up! (p.s. I apologize for the lack of blogging) When I got home from work 1) My passport was in the mail (with my new name on it) and 2) There was a package at the doorstep w/ my name on it! Ok, so you are probably thinking WOO I get packages all of the time...not exciting. Well, you are WRONG! This was one very exciting package. Why?

It said it was from Barnes and Noble and I thought to myself "I didn't order anything from there, did I?" I proceeded to open it and inside was a beautiful thing:

Get yours here

THE Young House Love book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My AMAZING friend Denise sent it to me as an early Christmas gift. She sent it early because there is a book signing this Sunday! And now I get to go :D I need to get reading through the book before then!! I wanted to put it on my Christmas list but I kept debating that since I wanted to buy it in time for the signing. Well, my wish came true!

Anyways, John and Sherry (if you ever read this) I can't wait to meet you on Sunday @ Mongrel!

Now I just need someone to go with...anyone else want to join? It will probably be a long (but well worth it) wait in line.

Here are some of my favorites from their blog:
(All of the following images belong to Young House Love)

They got married in their backyard too!

They have an adorable little girl Clara and dog Burger!

Their GORGEOUS kitchen! (and the rest of their house too!)

They are willing to try anything!

They give great tutorials!

They are super creative!

They are one of the 2 blogs that I check every day!

They are the blog of all blogs!

(Hopefully that was enough reasons for you to go and check them out)

If not here is one more: they live in RICHMOND!

THANKS Denise!

XO Samantha

more diy-ing!

I am ready to tackle my next project. I really want to try and make some Christmas decorations this year instead of buying them and also be more creative in wrapping them. Of course I went to Pinterest looking for inspiration. I can't wait to sit on the floor wrapped up in blankets, drinking hot chocolate, blasting Christmas music and crafting :) Anyone want to come over when I do that?? Hope these get you into the Christmas Spirit.

Buddy the Elf!

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Speaking of which, we got our tree while we were home and now we are ready to get our decorating on. I will be sure to share those pictures with you (when I finally take them). We bought all of our decorations last year after Christmas knowing that they would be really inexpensive and that we would need a lot of them this year. I don't remember what all we bought so I can't wait to dig them out and see.

Tim and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We ate wayyyy too much, got to visit with family and play with the little ones, watched the Hokies beat UVA, had a bonfire, and I shopped til I dropped! I think that just about sums it up. Oh, and I realized I took 0 pictures...FAIL! We are almost done with Christmas shopping now YAY! I did catch a cold, but hopefully I can get rid of that quickly. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Did you do anything fun/exciting? Are you in the Christmas Spirit already?

Gift Wrapping Ideas

Using Newspaper and Doilies

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Photo tags instead of name tags!

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Paint Chips but in Christmas colors

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Neutral wrapping with names stamped and bright ribbon!

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And if your very crafty/brave fabric wrapping and flowers. (Just be sure they don't get smushed!!)

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Decorations:

Glitter Trees on a candlestick!!

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Ruffled Tree Skirt

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Starbucks jars painted with greens and ornaments)

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Mason jars w/red candle and mini wreath

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Tree Branch Centerpiece

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Food:

Hot Chocolate Bar MMMM 

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YUMMY

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Just for Fun:

Candy Cane Nails

Pinterest

Pug in a Santa Hat

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P.S.(If you have a blog) I made a button finally. It's over on my left side bar so be sure to grab one! Let me know that you did and I will get one of yours too :)

XO Samantha

Get this Look #2

I enjoyed this post so much before that I decided to do another one. So I hope you enjoy it too! It's a bright, eclectic and very unique dining space. Do you want to get this look? Well, here is how you can!

Inspiration Photo

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Trestle Table:

Raindrop Vase:

Molded Plastic Chairs w/Dowel Rod Legs (Eames look-a-like):

Painted Teal Hutch:

Crystal Ball Chandelier:

Benjamin Moore- Smoke Embers

Benjamin Moore Somerset White

Would you want to recreate this look? Do you prefer the budget look or the luxury look?

Things I'm looking forward to:

1. THANKSGIVING (and the first as a married couple)!
2. Visiting home for a long weekend and getting to see everyone!
3. VT v UVA on Saturday (Go Hokies)
4. Black Friday Shopping
5. Hopefully getting to see Breaking Dawn Pt 2 soon!
6. Decorating for Christmas when we return to RVA

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I am thankful for all of you for helping my little blog grow! <3

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

XO Samantha

Teal Chevron Curtains

The moment you have all been waiting patiently for...it's the BIG reveal. Unless you have forgotten about them which is possible! I am of course talking about the teal chevron curtains that I made!

If you want to refer back to when I started talking about my inspiration for making these, then go here! Like I said previously, I got the 2 Pier One drape panels at a yard sale for $2!!!! I figured I might as well try out something cool on them since I wouldn't take much of a loss if they turned out horribly.

I looked to Pinterest for inspiration on the design of the chevron stripe. I really love the narrower, less chunky stripe but laziness took over my ambition. I decided to do 4 thick stripes (2 light and 2 dark). I went on a search for the perfect shades of teal. I attempted to match it to my navy and teal blanket. (Side note: The guy mixing my paint looked at me like I had lost my mind when I told him I was going paint curtains). Once that was decided on, I started taping which takes a while... it was not very much fun but I kept telling myself I would get to that part.

After a few weeks of the taped curtains sitting in the floor (don't judge), I got the time to paint them and it went by pretty quickly. I was very eager to hang them and since they weren't big enough for the window I kept the shear white panel in between.

Enjoy:

The Outcome

The lines didn't come out perfectly clean, but I kinda like that they are a little messy. It gives them character. They are kind of stiff but most of the tutorials said that wall paint worked well so that is what I used. I have a good amount left over. What should I paint teal next??!! Any ideas?

I'm so happy I used 2 different shades of teal. I feel like it is my unique spin on the trendy chevron pattern. I was worried that painting on tan curtains rather than white would affect the color, but surprisingly they turned out pretty bright. The pictures don't quite capture the true color. 

(I love the black and white to show contrast!)

What do you think of them? Would you paint curtains? What other Pinterest crafts have you tried?

What you will need to create your own:

Curtains- (white works best, light tan or grey would be fine too) try THESE or THESE!

Paint- wall paint worked well for me; fabric paint might be a good alternative (I used 2 quarts since I had 2 colors; you could probably get away w/ 1 quart per 2 panels if you only use one color)

Drop cloth- you want to use a plastic one because the paint bleeds through

Roller- I used a skinny foam roller instead of a brush; it was pretty fast and smooth, no brush strokes

Painter's Tape- I used thicker tape so if I went over a little it didn't matter.

Have fun and happy DIYing!

Here is the project in Young House Love's book :) linking up to their Book Projects

#227 Paint Your Curtains was a success (which project to do next? hmmm)

 

XO Samantha Horseman

Link Parties:

Craft-O-Maniac

Skip to my Lou

Tatertots and Jello

Keeping it Simple

High Heels and Grills

Give me the Goods

The Blissful Bee

Wedding Wednesday #2

WOW! Everyone really seemed to enjoy last weeks Wedding Wednesday post A LOT! So I am going to continue with that because I LOVE writing about it. I know I am not an expert on weddings but I do feel like I have a good bit of knowledge to share on it now (and a lot of pretty pictures). So today's focus is going to be on.....

BRIDESMAIDS!


I actually can't speak from past experience on this...yet! I am going to be a bridesmaid but the weddings aren't until next summer! So what about bridesmaids am I going to discuss? How to pick them? Make them feel special? Picking gifts for them? Picking dresses that they'll love? I will hopefully cover all of this in one post! Whew :)

1. Choosing your bridesmaids

• What is the size of your guest list? This should help determine about how many bridesmaids you have. If you are inviting 50 people you probably don't want to have 10 bridesmaids. That might look kinda strange. But what if you just have 10 BEST friends that you just can't see leaving out? Give them other tasks. But you have to ask, don't just assume they will be okay with helping in another way. They may just want to enjoy the wedding from the audience if they can't be a bridesmaid. Don't feel so bad about hurting someones feelings because you should expect a lot from the girls you choose and you want the ones that will really stand by your side. When you do choose them, find a unique way to ask!!

(those are ring pops on the outside of the envelopes so they could have some bling too!)

2. How to make your bridesmaids feel special

• Now that you have chosen your bridesmaids, how do you make them feel like they were hand picked specially by you? Include them! Talk to each girl and keep her in the loop on your wedding plans. It may seem like you are driving them crazy with all of the wedding talk, but trust me if they are really your friend then they want to hear. Ask them if they want to help if you are making things, but don't force anything on them. Help them get to know each other so that no one is left out when it's wedding time. Be sure to take individual pictures with them at the wedding. They will cherish those forever!

3. Appropriate gifts for the bridesmaids

• I struggled with this part a lot. I wanted to get individual gifts that were unique to each girl, but I ultimately decided to get them all the same thing. Why? Well like I said before, you want to make each bridesmaid feel special. I was worried that someone would want the other's gift and I didn't think I could manage to spend the same amount on each. So I got the girls navy flip flops for dancing, a j.crew canvas bride bag to carry their stuff and the pearl necklace and earring set that they are wearing in the picture above. We went to Olive Garden for a bridal luncheon the day of the dress rehearsal and I gave them their gifts! (Luckily, Brittany took pictures there!!)

4. Picking Dresses that they will LOVE

• First of all, be aware of their budget. You will definitely be focused on your budget, but be aware that they will spend a lot on your wedding as well. I know my girls put in a lot of money and I am so grateful that they love me enough to do so. A bridesmaid not only has to pay for their dress, but potentially could have to pay for their nails, hair, makeup, a hotel, gas/flight, gifts for you, and any activities that you may do. So pick a sensible dress that will be comfortable for the setting/temperature, something that the girls approve of, that flatter them (this could mean different styles of the same color and material) and that they can hopefully wear again. If you can do all of this, you have found the perfect dress!

Ashley, Brittany, Morgan, Olivia and Sammi: Thank you for being by my side! I love your girls :)

Denise and Olivia: I can't wait to be a part of your special days! You are going to be beautiful brides!

The day, the dress

The bride, the groom
The joy, the tears
Will all come soon
Professing true love
To my husband-to-be
With all my family & friends
All watching me.
I hope the sun will 
Be shining down
Keep your fingers crossed
I’ll fit in my gown.
But there’s just one more thing
That needs to be….
And that’s to have you
Standing there with me!
So on my wedding day,
I will need you more than ever,
Please say you’ll be my 
Bridesmaid…
And my friend forever!

*(author unknown)

XO Samantha

Linking up to: