Answers: Part One

Lucy asks:
What is your favourite/least favourite DIY project you've done?

Hmm.. Fave DIY project would have to be my glass lamp. It was just such a spur of the moment thing- the idea just came to me in the store, and it ended up looking like a million bucks!

Least fave.. Probably my mid-century modern dresser. What Project Pretty readers didn't see is what happened when I applied a coat of Polyurethane. I had 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of white paint on that baby and it was looking good. And then I applied a THIN coat of poly. And the whole thing turned yellow. I had to paint all over again. I might have been so mad I cried on that one... ;)

What does a day in the life of C look like?

I wake up at 6am & cuddle with Z for about 10 minutes. Then I shower, get ready, eat breakfast, make Z lunch, and leave for work at 7am.

I start work at 7:30am. I always start by checking email. Then, depending on the day, I work on payroll, billing, various contract work, etc. til I get off at 4.

On my way home I run my errands- which are usually either to the bank, post office, grocery store, JoAnn's, Menard's, Marshalls (that's an errand right? :)), or Target.

On a good night, I get home and cook dinner. If something's in the oven, I usually run out & get a project set up in the garage. The food's usually ready by 6, then Z helps me clean up & we're done by 6:45.

I usually spend the next couple hours working on some DIY project in the garage or at my sewing desk. The rest of the night is usually spent reading design books, blogging & reading blogs, or Z and I will settle in on the couch for a movie about once a week. When we're on the internet or reading, we like to do it in the same room so we can chat about what we're doing. Oh, and if it's a really good night, I go for a run just before dark. :)

And ... are you SURE you're not pregnant?? ;)

Ha! No, I'm not 100% sure. But I will be in a couple weeks. :) Although, I HIGHLY, highly doubt it's possible.


Carol asked: What is your fave meal to cook?

Hmm.. If I'm feeling like super-wife, then Bruchetta stuffed chicken. If I feel like a quick meal then either Corn Chowder or Baked Ziti.


S asked: Have you always been into design?

When I was a lot younger, I always thought about being an interior designer.. but figured I'd have to move to a big city to do it. I never saw myself being too far away from family so I put the idea out of my mind. As I grew up, I made my own purses, and designed my own skirts, etc. I spent hours playing the Sims game. I'd design the houses and then quit. I didn't care what the "people" did as long as I made the house look pretty. :) I have always found a creative outlet somewhere. I thought I wanted a career in Marketing, so that's what I started going to school for. And I hated it. God showed me that being a kick-butt boss lady in some corporation wasn't going to make me happy. It would've turned me into someone less than my best. It was then that I fell in love with wedding design. I did a little bit of wedding planner work. Then that turned into falling in love with interior decorating. It almost became an addiction. When I realized that I could work towards owning my own wedding design & interior decorating business, I was ecstatic. The idea of getting to share my love for design with people and give them an event or space that they loved made me feel so... full. Whew! That was probably more than you asked for huh? ;)

How long did you and z know each other before you got engaged?

Z and I met in 2002 at a summer leadership camp/conference. We kept in touch somewhat & went to camp for the next 5 years, but had no romantic interest whatsoever. That changed the last year we were there. We started dating in Sept. of 2007. We told our families we wanted to get married that December (yes, after barely 4 months of dating). Z proposed in April of 2008, and we were married November 29, 2008. It was a whirlwind, but I've never been so sure of anything in my life.


That's the end of Part One! I'm sure some of you have got to have a few more questions, so fire a few more off, and I'll answer the rest tomorrow. :)

Pieces..

.. of my heart.

I've talked about some of them before, like:

• Z
• My family
• Piano

But some of them I haven't really gone in to, like:

• Design. There's just something unbelievably satisfying and rewarding about creating beautiful spaces. To turn the plain or ugly into something warm, inviting, relaxing, exciting... something that makes you FEEL.. is unexplainable. The pieces are slowly coming together for my future in design. I have found a correspondance program where I can get my interior design certificate in a rather short time frame, and I've got a pretty solid plan for a business in mind. Honestly, I've been scared to totally share my love for design. I don't just want to be another girl who drools over a gorgeously styled space, but never creates the gorgeous space herself. Let's face it, the prospect of going out on your own and starting a business is scary. I'm so proud of the ladies I've met through this blogging world who have done this. They're a great encouragement, and so are all of you. Thank you so much to those who have commented, emailed, and supported. I don't talk a lot of design on this blog, that's what Project Pretty is for.. but I definitely feel much more free to share here, and the tone here is much more personal. So thanks for that.
• Ministry. God gave me a passion for people a long time ago. Specifically, teenage girls, and young women. The soul of a girl is so precious, so fragile, so beautiful- no matter what front she puts up. I did a good bit of work in youth ministry while still in high school. While I was in MI for college, I was flown back to ME to be the keynote speaker for a weekend women's retreat. I was in charge of the girls from 13-18. I've never felt so used before. Used as in, God was using me- big time. Do you know how touching it is to see the face of a 15 year old girl look up at you, and tell you that because of God speaking through you, she has given her life to Him? Amazing. That's worth living for. Since moving here, I haven't had a chance to be involved in this kind of ministry. But I think during this break, God has been refining my faith. I'm still so far from where I need to be.. but He uses broken vessels. And I'm so glad.
• Honey Bunches of Oats. [I had to throw this in after the last two being pretty heavy :)] Seriously.. when my parents dropped me off at college, my dad put a case of this stuff under my dorm bed. Love that man. Oh, and I love Sam's Club. They supply me with family size combo boxes that I shamelessly polish off on. my. own. :) I could eat this stuff all. flipping. day. long. :)

So.. now that I've shared with you all, what do the pieces of your heart look like? Do tell!

Learning Faith

There are a lot of things in my life that have caused my faith to have to grow.

Like marrying Z. He challenges me on a daily basis. And he's predictably unpredictable, which forces me to be flexible.

Like moving to a totally unknown place & taking a job I don't love. I have to believe God has a reason for this & it's part of a bigger plan.

It really is funny how I've changed. I was always Ms. Planner herself. Maybe even a tiny bit of a control freak every now and then. But I always portrayed a totally put-together, professional image. Funny how God humbles us & stretches us, isn't it?

If you've been reading my blog for long, you know we had grand plans of buying a house. You're also probably starting to feel like we don't know what the heck we're doing because of how often the plans change. Really. I've kind of stopped updating you on that whole situation because... it changes all.the.time. And that'd just make me look spastic (or maybe you already think that.. oh well, can't trick you, can I?). :)

So you want to know what's been going on?

I was starting to feel like God just kept closing the doors on us buying a house. I mean, 3 full price offers, and still nothing? Seems like a closed door to me. So then my heart started to dream about moving back east.. even though I didn't want to let it because it hurts so much every time I let that dream creep out and have it smashed again. Like.. makes me teary-eyed just thinking about it. K. moving on.

But then, inevitably, it did get smashed. My logical husband (yes, I love him for it) didn't think it was a good idea. So, after a self pep talk or two (or ten), I started feeling like we should just be adventurous.

We both have jobs that aren't holding us down. Meaning, we could move anywhere pretty much and make what we're making now. Wouldn't really set us back. So I thought- let's move somewhere fun! Colorado mountains? NC shore? TN lakes? I figured, if I can't be close to home, why not just enjoy this time!

Then Z finds an estate that's up for absolute auction. Big house, 10 acres, barn, pond, lots of woods, beautiful property, good neighborhood.. house needs a lot of TLC. The auction is next Thursday. Z wants to bid. Okay.. so no moving to fun places if that happens. And buying a house and putting a lot of effort into making it nice lowers the chances that we'd move home before having kids. Breaking heart...

Honestly, it's almost made me indifferent. I feel like my dreams and my desires don't really matter anymore. I'll just take a back seat, let Z make the decisions & let God guide us. And turn the feelings off. Because truly feeling each step in this journey would be far too difficult. The ups and downs leave my composure fighting for air.

So maybe I'm learning faith.. or supposed to be. But maybe I'm just tired. A little unsure. And just praying for the faith to be positive through this time.

Book Happy

Anyone else ever get a little more excited than they should over new books? Well, when I got an email from Amazon this morning saying my order was shipped, excited would be an understatement! I can't wait for them to get here!! Here's what I got:
And.. a $5 subscription to Real Simple- can't beat that!
As you can probably tell, there's a theme to all my books- interior decorating. It's a dream of mine to own my own business staging, decorating, and beautifying people's homes. So, if it's true that "Success is when preparation and opportunity meet", I'm going to try & prepare myself the best I can. Oh, and bonus=Z considers this spending an investment, so I get to order books guilt-free! Yay! Books + no guilt over spending = Book worm heaven!

What are your most recent book purchases? Anyone have any of the above books??

Oh, and PS- A BIG thanks to Marianne for introducing me to Thom (1st book) with her guest post on Project Pretty! I'm officially a fan!!