Lima Bean Wreath

 So...I came across this Lima Bean Tutorial a couple of weeks ago and thought it was super cute! I've been meaning to get  a new wreath on our door for the longest time! But I could never find the "right" one.
Best part about having a painted door is it adds SO much to your curb appeal.
Bad part. Trying to add decor around it stinks! :-/

So it's taken me awhile to figure out what to do.

 Here's what I came up with!

 I grabbed:
A foam wreath- $7 (so wish I had a coupon!)
2 bags of large Lima Beans- $1.25 each
(ended up using 1 1/2 of the bags)
Loads of Hot glue sticks (already had them)
Rustoleum Almond color spray paint- $5
(love this color! I have tons left over still!)
Wooden Letter "A" - $1
 Vinyl (already had)
Black felt (already had)
Staple gun (already had)
Ribbon (already had)
And I used my strong adhesive to attached the letter "A" to the beans...

Then I whipped it all together like so...

Adding the beans is the longest part of the process...
so I did it while catching up on America's Got Talent! ;-)
I started on the inside and filled in completely.






















Then I did the outer edge...

















Then I just started hot gluing them on however they would go.
I stuck with more of a pattern. But, it looks super cute too if you just stick them on however!

Sealed the whole wreath with Rustoleum's Almond color Gloss Protector so the the weather wouldn't hurt it.
And let it dry overnight.


















Painted my letter "A"  black and added a vinyl scroll on top of it that I cut out with my cricut...

*TA-DA* Love it!!! Way super easy!






















Hot glued felt to the back of it so it wouldn't hurt the door

















And then used my heavy duty staple gun to attach ribbon to the back
(This is kinda a must! :-/ The first time I just hot glued my ribbon on...from the weight of the beans it wouldn't hold with just glue!)

















 Here's the final product!
I absolutely love it! :-)

Our front stoop finally looks complete! Yay! ;-) lol

Courtney

No Soliciting Signs Available Now!

Yup! 

They're listed and ready to go! 

Enjoy! ;-)

www.CourtneyRoo21.Etsy.com

 P.S. If you're Military enter (MILITARY) in the coupon code section for 15% off when you check out! 

The Lost Energy Month and Befine Exfoliating Cleanser Review

Needless to say, my week has been extremely crazy/emotional!

I've been so busy. I've hardly had anytime to sit down and blog! lol 

We're in the 3rd month of Tim's deployment. 

The month I loathe. 

Hate. 

Despise. 

Wish never came. 

Count the days till it's over month. 

It's the month when you have no more energy. Everything's bothers you. Your patience has flown out the window 50 miles ago. And nothing makes it better until it's over. I knew this month would come. But, it's hit me like a ton of bricks. It's just something you go through with a deployment. "The Lost Energy Month". No one gets it unless you've gone through it. 

Emotion drained.

Physically drained.

Over it drained.

Especially since this deployment is way harder than the last one. The last time Tim was gone for a year, but Allie and I lived with my mom and dad. So someone was always there to help. This time. Not so much. Plus, the guilt of asking someone to help when you're a stay at home mom sucks. So, you just deal till the hubby comes home. 

Or you go insane. ;-) 

Insane over guilt? 

So of course the independent mom in me picks insane. lol 

But enough from the Debbie Downer Chronicles! 

I want to share about this amazing exfoliating cleanser I got as part of my BirchBox.  

(Of course, I should have been getting some much needed rest! But, stayed up to play around!)

 Befine Exfoliating Cleanser

So. At first glance I thought YUM! This is going to be yummy! 

Brown Sugar, Sweet Almonds and Oats! Oh my! :-)

Then I opened it. And smelt it. Let's say.

It doesn't smell so yummy! 

Far from it actually! More like all that combined. 

But, in a rotten kinda smell. lol 

Good review so far huh? lol

But, I still had to give it a try! I grabbed a wooden stick from my waxing junk...

(*Esthetic Advice- Never put your sweet little fingers inside a container to get some of your product! The moment you stick your hand in it. You've ruined it! Everything you might have on your hands is then left behind in your jar and sealed up nice and tight. And grows and grows until all that's basically going on your face is bacteria and a not so effective product! :-(

...pulled some out of it's package, snapped a quick pic. 

Then bravely lathered it on...;-)

And what did I find? Heaven in a little package? From this weird smelly goop? LOL Why yes. Yes I did!

This crazy amazing product not only exfoliates your skin without overdoing it. The sugar beads slowly melt into this creamy milk like cleanser, then when rinsed off sorta foams away.

Leaving the most amazing feeling skin!

Yup. Not a bit of make-up on!

It was a strange experience.

Being so put off, to instantly falling in love. 

And you know you're in love with it when you run out after scrapping the inside day after day and is sad to throw the package away.

I've been using it with another sample I got from the same product line. Review on that one later...But, so far I'm pretty impressed!

My pores are already mad at me that I haven't used it in a couple of nights. 

I'm pretty picky about what goes on my skin!

And this ones a for sure keeper! 

Loves,

Courtney

August BirchBox

I have literally been checking the mail everyday for the last week in anticipation over this box.

I was so excited to find it in the mail this afternoon! :-)

As a mom I'm always feeling like I don't "treat" myself enough. If I find something at the store for me and Allie, but I only have a limited amount of money to spend and can't get both. I more than likely put back mine and get what I picked for Allie.

(Plus, she's a lot cuter to dress/accessorize for than me trying to stuff myself into the size I want to be and then just get depressed. haha)

I think it's a good thing. I hope? As a mom, to be always trying to give. But, I'm kinda always feeling like I don't have anything that's nice. And just for me! 

Well, I've always had this obsession with make-up, hair products, nail polish...you name it in the cosmetic world. I'd probably love it. ;-) Going to Esthetic school was the best 9 months of my life. I was the most stressed, crazy 18 year old, who cried almost everyday. But I LOVED all the fun I got to have playing around with all the make-up and wax and facial products I could get my hands on. As soon as I walked in and sat down I was in heaven. I knew it was where I belonged. haha (I know, over cosmetics?) It might sound silly to some, but that's just always been me. 

Well, last month I came across this company called 

Birch Box 

 that sells Deluxe high end beauty samples. 

Wait! Whaaat? Amazing? Yes! 

For $10 dollars a month (Free shipping) you get a surprise box in the mail full of samples for you to try. Then not only do you get the samples, you get points for every box you order, every product you right a review on, and if you refer a friend, more points!

The fabulous part about all of the points you earn, are for money to use towards your favorite product! Every 50 point ='s $10

Here's the list of the products I received this month.

Befine Exfoliating Cleanser
Befine Night Cream
kate spade new york Twirl - 3.4 fl oz
blinc Mascara
LIFTLAB Lift & Fix™ High Potency Solution
Twistband Hair Ties

(I actually didn't realize this was a product! I thought it was part of the packaging until I was in my account over looking everything. So no pic right now... ;-)

Take a look at it's fabulous-ness! haha

Here's what the box looks like.

 A letter on-top explaining what they're show casing this month and why.

 All nice and neatly packaged...

 All un-packaged:

The first product I picked up and tried was the perfume.

Twirl by Kate Spade New York

This mini for your purse is so perfect! 

I love how it's an actual spray bottle instead of one of those samples that you have to take the top off and blot it on your skin...doesn't ever seem to go right!...well, for me at least. ;-)

The scent is a really Fresh Fruity Floral.  Perfect for summer! 

It does kinda make you want to put on a cute summer dress and Twirl around while spraying it on! I've had it on for a couple of hours now and I still love the smell. 

Very ladylike, during any time of the day.

I'm so glad I did this! 

A perfect little something for me every month that I get all to myself and it doesn't break the bank! 

(Now, it does feed my obsession with cosmetics but, hey! Every momma needs something just for her!)

More reviews to come on the rest of the samples I received! Yup, I'm just as excited! ;-) haha

Have a great weekend!

Courtney

Candle Stick Re-Do for under $10

 So, I came across these candle sticks a few months ago on a clearance end cap at Wal-Mart. They were
only $3.99! I couldn't believe it! haha I loved the shape of them. And the base of the sticks are really cute! But not so much on the wood. :-/  Not me at all.

 They've been sitting patiently on my counter waiting for me to fix them. 

So I finally got around to it...like 3 months later! ;-) 

Member my handy dandy palm sander? He came in handy here! I gave a quick sand down on all 3 of the sticks. Cleaned the dust off, then used Rust-oleum's Textured white spray paint. (Which I'm beginning to fall in love with! ;-) Did 3 coats with a good 15 minutes in between. Took my palm sander again to the sticks after they were dry and roughed them up a bit...

 And *TA-DA*

Don't they look Fabulous? Eek! I was so excited they turned out so great.

 So much better now!

  Adn they're now back on their counter all nice and pretty. 

(sigh) ;-)

Here's the BEFORE:

And the AFTER:

This project took me an afternoon during nap time. The spray paint dry's super fast and is really easy to work with. My total cost is right around $10 for them. Like I had mentioned before, the candle sticks were $3.99, the paint was almost $5 and I already had the sander and sand paper. If you didn't have a sander this wouldn't hold you back from doing this by the way! You could just pick up a sanding block that runs about $3.50 and use that as well. The sander is just a lot faster and for when you're being lazy!...like me! hehe ;-)

Happy Thursday,

Courtney

Yup, It's Love...

You know you really do love something when you want to come home and share it with everyone! ;-)

Well, I randomly came across this blog one day called: Paint in my hair. Fell in love with the pieces they re-finished. And knew I had to have one! haha I couldn't take it anymore! Once I saw their latest re-finish post on this coffee table. I had to get in there and get my hands on this piece! I've been searching for the "right" coffee table to help offset our new sectional. I knew it needed to be light since the leather is so dark. And let me tell you. It's so pretty sitting in my living room right now. I think I could just stare at it all day! haha

Okay, okay. I'll stop talking now. And let you look at it's prettiness. 

Ohhh those original handles get me every time! ;-)

 And the detail on the legs...

 She's a little tall but I think I'm going to shave a few inches off the bottom. 

(underneath the lines of course! ;-)

 UH, I wish I had a better camera so this picture would come out better! 

But, I'm so glad someone else's trash is now my treasure!

 I stole the BEFORE picture off of the Paint in your hair blog.

But, I just had to show off the fabulous job they did!

 Head on over to their blog and check out all of the pieces they have for sale! 

They also take custom orders! 

And give classes to share with you how to re-finish your own furniture!

http://paintinmyhair.blogspot.com/

Happy Wednesday!

Courtney

Helping spread the word!

Over at Whipperberry is an amazing giveaway going on...

The pictures pretty much speak for themselves on how adorable this mix and match necklace is!

Head on over to the Mix~n~Match Post to get more details about how you can enter to win!!

Loves,

Courtney

Sneak Peek:

Here's a Sneak Peek at our new 

No Soliciting Signs that stake into the ground.

They will be available in Red, Brown, Creme and Black 

paint by Benjamin Moore. 

With the choice of Black, Brown, and Creme vinyl. The vinyl used is a high quality, UV resistant, coated with an aggressive, permanent, pressure-sensitive adhesive.

We be $15.00 with $5.00 shipping and handling. 

I'm so excited! 

Can't wait to show you the rest!!

Courtney

**PROOF**

Proof that Scentsy really is Amazing! haha

The other night I was cleaning up from a dinner with a friend. Went and wiped the counter down 

(a little to quickly) caught the bottom of the cord and Whoops!

 Everything came toppling down. Onto, not only my counters, down the inside of the warmer,

but on me as well...

 The awesome-ness of Scentsy is that if you just leave it sit for a sec to dry it literally just peels right up! Everything cleaned up perfectly and is back to normal again...:-) And I just dumped the wax back into the warmer again and it re-melted into their yummy Sunkissed Citrus scent! (Fabulous for summer btw!)

 And it doesn't burn your skin! We've spilled a lot of wax before. From my husband playing ball in the house... ;-) To just normal everyday. Like Wiping the counters down. haha

We've never had a bad day with Scentsy! lol

This is a bad pic of my hand but, see! No burns! :-)

 If you'd like to order yourself some yummy scentsy. My friend Megan is currently having a 10% off sale! 

Contact her here: Megsorensen.scentsy.us

Have a great day!

Courtney