Collage Wall

So, life has been busy. I finished my first year of graduate school. This summer we sold and bought a house, then moved. I was working and doing an internship. The girls had swim lessons and we were trying to put together a new home. While we still have a long to-do list, I finished my collage wall and I'm pretty happy about how it turned out.

I didn't bother taking a picture of the blank wall before I started. I'm sure you can image a large, blank wall. Got it in your head? Good. I used butcher paper to trace all my frames and mark where the hangers are. Then I used the butcher paper to decide how to place my pictures. This was nice because I could rearrange my pictures without punching a bunch of holes in the walls.

See the little triangle? That's where the hanger is on the frame.

Once I finally had an arrangement I was happy with I started with nails. I actually used use these gorilla hangers because they are designed to hold the weight better and JM felt better about them than nails. I ended up having to shift some things around when I started hanging. You never know what is behind your walls until you start hanging things.

Lest you think this was a quick process, it wasn't. The butcher paper was on the walls for a few weeks while I decided if it was what I wanted. After some thought I bought a few more frames, and made the large blue "S" monogram. It's also a clock; I love clocks.

I also knew I wanted more than just picture frames. I thought it would be too flat with just frames. That was another reason I added the big monogram letter (its a cardboard letter from JoAnns, painted). I also put up a little shelf that will add some dimension. JM was really against the shelf initially, but he liked it after it was all put up. I love the way my wall turned out!

It fills the large wall well and it shows all our great family pictures. I like that it's asymmetrical; I didn't want it perfectly square. That also worked to my advantage when I had to shift pictures over an inch or two because of pipes or studs. Now I have several other large walls that I need to fill, but I need some art for those.

Wanna see something cool?

Life is crazy busy. Between going to school full time, working, and family life, I am just barely keeping up. That means that blogging has pretty much been eliminated for lack of time. But I wanted to put together a quick post asking for your help.

Graduate school is expensive and I can use all the financial help I can get, so I have entered a video scholarship contest. It would really mean a lot if you would take 90 seconds of your time to click on the link below to watch a PSA about drinking and driving that I produced. That's it. You don't have to send me money or register anywhere. Just watch the video online.

Part of the contest judging will be on how many views and likes my video gets, so if you are feeling really ambitious, you can click on the thumbs up after watching. If you feel like going above and beyond the extra mile, you could send the link to your own family and friends or post it to your blog to help me get more views. If spreading video links isn't your thing, that's perfectly fine. Your view is much appreciated.

Link to amazing PSA: View The Video Now

Thank you! I will let you know if I win.



Sponsored by the Personal Injury Attorneys at Davis Law Group.

It's only hair, it's only hair, it's only hair...

With two girls, I knew the day was coming when one (or both) of them would cut each other's hair. We had a minor incident last year when BG cut a snip right up front. It was small enough that we were mostly able to hide it with a deeper part and some patience. It was juuuust getting long enough to blend in with the rest.

This time, I was not so lucky. It was a Sunday morning and I had the audacity to take a shower, leaving them unsupervised. JM had left for a hike and their girls were instructed to play quietly. The sight I beheld after dressing was depressing. Blanche took the major hit, length-wise. I took pictures while I scolded them. I had to suppress my laughter and amusement at the whole scene- again I figured it was coming at some point. Yet, the last thing I needed was for them to think I thought it was funny. No sir, that's some reinforcement I don't need when it comes to scissors.

Blanche looks bad from the front. Even worse from the side.

 Not so much this side... (note how long her hair is)

but this one. Yikes!

BG managed to yet again, get the right-up-front scalp snip. Sadly this time it is too substantial to just hide with a deep part and patience.

An hour before church (of course!) I texted my hair dresser in a panic, requesting immediate, emergency appointments. We scheduled them for the next day and I did my best to make them presentable for church. (Blanche's was surprisingly well-hidden by two half-ponies. There wasn't much to do for BG.) (Side note: I've had several friends comment of how this picture of BG looks like a mug shot- not what a mother wants to hear.)

The next day after repeatedly drilling into their heads "Only a grown up can cut your hair!" we set off for professional cuts. My stylist did a good job (with what she had). We will just have to be patient and invest in headbands.

Blanche got lots of side-swept bangs. It's not too bad from the front.

From the side, it looks a little like a 70s shag, but it's much better than before. She also lost a long of length to try and make it look as "intentional" as possible.

 Headbands help the look. Too bad she doesn't keep them on very well.

 BG got some cute bangs. She begged and begged for bangs. They look pretty cute. After having them for a few weeks now, she mostly pushes them off to the side, revealing her snipped lock and totally defeating the purpose of them altogether. She claims she is "not used to them", but hates it when I try to push them back down. Sigh.... It's only hair right?