FRIDAY.

So excited for the weekend! There will be a tutorial (hopefully) by Monday of my new DIY curtains. Maybe pillow cases too! Yay for do-it-yourself projects.

Oh, and yay for June! Summer is my favorite time of year.

Time for pizza and movie night plus workout and hot tub time with the hubs. Happy Friday!

Look at those beautiful mountains!

Future.

Sometimes thinking of the future absolutely terrifies me. Will we be able to travel around the world? When will we have kids? Will I work? Where will we live? And the list goes on and on.

But, even though it is so easy, we cannot get caught up in the "scariness" of the future. Our Heavenly Father already has it all figured out, and it will be great (no matter how many bumps we incur along the way).

So rather than spending my time worrying about things that are yet to come, I will choose to be happy with what I've got right now.

And that's my little piece of wisdom for the day. Happy Thursday, friends!

Dresser.

Well, ladies and gentlemen.... The time has come. The dresser is (nearly) finished!

So you've all seen this picture, and I know the anticipation of seeing what's underneath the tarp is absolutely torturous.

But, in my excitement, I forgot to take a picture before I took the drawers out (oops). Here she is though. Isn't she great? Complete with animal-themed drawer pulls.

So first, we removed the drawers and the hardware from the drawers that we were still planning on using (we are only using two of the six drawers). Then we got to sanding. Power sanders are your friend in this tedious process. And so are face masks (or in our case, dish towels tied around our mouths/noses to protect us from the dust).

I hand sanded the drawers and all the crevices that were unreachable by the power sander. You don't have to make it look perfect. Remember, it's a DIY, it doesn't have to look professional.

And here's this gem of a picture that my husband said I had to include. Anyway, moving on....

If you buy a dresser and it has these pretty little details, you'll end up hating them for the duration of the sanding/painting process. But when it's done, you'll love them again, I promise.

Then we tested the paint (....I got too anxious to wait....).

Oh, and about removing shelves.... Not the most fun I've ever had. I started by breaking the board that supported the middle drawer (it wasn't hard since it was made of pressed wood). Then I proceeded to hand saw the middle support beam (not sure what to call this, but bear with me), this part was a treat. When we finally got through the piece of wood, we hammered the sides out until it came completely off. Then we took off the tracks that the drawers slide on. This part required unscrewing one screw, and pulling the nails out from the back side. Make sure you get all the pieces, or it will really mess up your paint job.

This process with leave holes in your wood. Don't worry though, we will fill them in.

Then we cleaned her up! I vacuumed the inside, and the hubs wiped her down with a wet rag.

And then she looked like this! Not too shabby.

And then we painted. I am loving our light teal color choice! Although the pictures don't do it justice.

Then we painted the inside.

Remember those holes? We filled 'em. Make sure you sand after this step. Well, unless you like your wood to look lumpy. And then just paint her up!

Ah, look how great she is. Now we just need the drawer pulls.

Money Breakdown

Dresser........................ $40

Gallon of Paint.............. $26

Paint brushes.................$10

2 jars of Wood Putty........$7

8 knobs...................$11 (give or take)

Total.............$94

But, we have about 3/4 of a gallon of paint left (you probably only need a quart for this project), 3/4 of a jar of wood putty, and a free side table. Plus, a beautiful TV stand. And that, my friends, is priceless.

Next job is the side table. Then, curtains! Can't wait to post more about those DIY projects.

There's No Place Like Home.

Well, we are back to regular old life here in Utah. But our trip was amazing! I'll admit that taking pictures wasn't entirely my first priority, so there's not a whole lot here. But here you go... (PS: excuse the low quality pictures.)

All packed up and ready to go!

Ready for take off.

Made it to Indy!

Mat's HOME!

Driving right by Indianapolis.

Ball State! Chirp Chirp.

Some of our favorite food selections. Steak n Shake and Sunshine Cafe! (And you can't take a trip to Muncie without getting Puerto Vallarta. Sorry, no pictures).

The circle in Indianapolis!

Spending time with family. (Again, sorry... No pictures with Dad, Gpa, Malory, or Elise). But there are pictures with the Marsee family that are yet to come!

Quality time with my favorite pup! No pictures of my fat Zoe girl though..

Saying goodbye.

And we're off!

Hello there, Phoenix.

Happy Memorial Day back in Utah from the Marsee family!

---------------(pause)---------------

We are so grateful for the time we had to be home with our families (more pictures later, promise)! We could not have asked for a better way to spend our week. We love you all!

And I am so glad that we have a day to celebrate those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. I have so many friends and loved ones who have or are still serving. I am truly grateful for you. Thank you mom and dad for serving our country.

Finally, happy 5 months to my favorite boy. I can't believe how quickly time is flying! We have already had so much fun being married, and I can't wait for all that the future holds for us. You da best, babe!