Today's post brought to you by the color GREEN

Noah and I have been house hunting for the last few weeks, which has put me into full decorating mode. It's a great way to distract myself from the constant worry/excitement/stress cycle that overwhelms me whenever I have too much free time.

Last week I stopped by the local Salvation Army and found some great items. I spent $6.00 total and bought this cute (well not yet) side table and these mini shutters.

I had found a very cute green spray paint a few weeks back. I had been looking for something to use it on, and both of these screamed "Paint Me GREEN!" So I did :)

Primed and ready to go!

Beautiful next to the redone headboard! 

Not sure where these will go, but B-Bop thinks they are wonderful!

And while I'm obsessing over GREEN, I found these locker baskets at Gordman's a few weeks back. They are awesome :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOAH!

Well, actually Monday was Noah's Birthday, but we were having so much fun that there was no time for blogging. I think he had a pretty good day! He got to do lots of his favorites :)

1. We started the day by house hunting! So maybe this was more fun for me, but I think he slightly enjoyed himself.

2. SWIMMING! Ellie and Cece got to take Uncle Noah to the pool. We had to go buy some swim trunks because there was no way he could miss pool time! He LOVES pools! He got to spend time reliving his lifeguard days teaching Ellie all kinds of swimming skills.

3. Sonic MOZZARELLA STICKS! We stopped after the pool for some Happy Hour Slushies...and since it was his birthday, we added in some cheese sticks :)

4.  MOVIES! Noah's parents came up and Jeff took Noah to see Green Lantern. I was secretly relieved because I had promised we could go, but I'm not as big as a fan of movies as those two...

5.  Out to eat at HuHOT! This has to be one of Noah's favorite restaurants. A few months ago when I was back in Ankeny visiting, I noticed one had opened in town. I instantly called Noah! His responce, " It's a sign!" We're going where we are meant to be :) Noah's brother, Evan joined us, and we stuffed our bellies beyond full.

All in all, a great birthday...26 years, wow we're getting old ;)

Evolution of a Headboard...

This week I have been a busy bee! I gave you a wonderful list of DIY projects to tackle last post, but looking back I shouldn't have numbered them. My first project came the bottom. But I do have good reason... I decided that I should tackle any furniture projects I have prior to moving so then they will effortlessly move from here to our new place :) I started with our guest room headboard.

First of all, I'm really bad at remembering to take before and in-process pictures. But I tracked this photo down from a few years back when we were stuck in a tiny little one bedroom apartment.

Follow the orange arrow, and you'll catch a slight glimpse of before...

I wasn't a huge fan of this headboard, mostly the color of the wood tone. It looked like any other piece of furniture you would buy at a second hand furniture place (which we did). So I decided to give it a nice coat of paint to bring it some life.

Primed and ready to go! 

Anyone that uses spray paint often MUST invest in one of these triggers! Sooo nice :)

Here's the finished project! I promise it will look wonderful when it is not next to the exact same color wall!

Lots more to come!!

DIY Bucket List

I consider today my first day of vacation. Yes, I have been out of school for two weeks, but up until today, each of those days has been full of plans. This week I spent all day Mon-Thurs working the Winnebago Girls Basketball camps. It was really fun, and also sad, to spend the week with the girls for the last time. I wish them lots of luck in the future.

Anyways, back on track to my first day of vacation. My major goal of the summer (besides moving back to Iowa) is to complete a number of DIY projects. This has mainly been fueled by my love of Pinterest.com, a wonderful site that allows you to see way too many projects and ideas :) I'll let you in on a few of the major projects I hope to conquer:

1. A number of duvet covers. I tend to want to change my bedding with the seasons, so I've picked out a few designs I can sew myself.

I am well on my way to completing this duvet, pictures to come :)

Next in line...not sure white is the color for me...

 2. I also want to create come felt flowers to add to out current bedroom lamps (that are very boring).

3. This hamper is a must! For some reason, I cannot get my clothes from the bathroom to the bedroom hamper...

4. And this pillow is a must! I want it to be really BIG so I'm on the lookout for a sale :)

5,6,7... I have others on the list, particularly the repainting of a headboard, side table, and ottoman redo, but I'm not sure how to tackle those projects yet. Don't worry, I will keep you updated!

Summer: Week One

The first week of summer has not exactly been relaxing, but it sure has been FUN. Last Wednesday, I had my last day of school in Winnebago. I spent the afternoon and evening golfing (who thought 18 holes was a good idea?!?) and grilling with some of the friends I have made in my time there. They are wonderful people who I am very sad to leave. We had a blast and vowed to re-enact the day throughout the summer.

This weekend I ran the Dam to Dam 20K in Des Moines with Molly and Becca, Josh, Jill, Tina, and her friend Jamie. Although I really hadn't had as much training this spring due to softball and asthma :( I still was able to finish under 2 hours with a time of 1 hr and 51 minutes. Miles 9-12 DID NOT go well, and I'm a little disappointed, but still proud of the accomplishment. I vow to run it again and feel better doing so :)

Saturday night the Cronbaugh Clan camped out at Saylorville Lake and celebrated Ellies 7th, repeat 7th, birthday! We had some delicious food and stayed up doing what we do best. Have I mentioned that I love summer? 

I did have the chance to talk to Ellie and Cecilia about Noah and I moving to Ankeny. Ellie understands and is excited, but I'm not sure if Cece quite gets it. I asked her if it would be cool is she could come over to my house whenever she wanted. Her response, "But we have a swingset!" Why would she want to go anywhere else!! Ha!

Summer Lovin'

Sorry about the brief hiatis from blogworld. Our laptop decided it no longer wanted to charge...the culprit seems to be the actual power cord. A quick visit to amazon.com, and a new cord is on its way! Now let's keep our fingers crossed that that really is the problem ;) Anyways, No laptop = No blogging, or easy blogging...we have the desktop, but he's not nearly as convenient!

The hiatis may also be caused by the craziness that has been the last few weeks. As you know from last post, we will be moving back to IA this summer, meaning I had to resign from my current school. I have spent the last two weeks of school, not only preparing for finals, but packing, completing/sending paperwork, having mini-goodbye parties with each of my classes and teams, and spending time with some of the friends I've made during my time here. It has been a bitter-sweet two weeks, but I know this all will be worth it!!

And with that, WELCOME summer! I have one more day of school next week, and then its summer lovin' free time :) More about that soon....

"Is this Heaven? No, it's IOWA."

Heaven might be a little extreme, but I definitely feel as though I'm walking on clouds. After a few weeks of disappointment (See post: It is what it is) things have turned a complete 180! Last week, Becca (Joshy's Love, Molly's Co-Worker, Ciara's Friend, My Half Marathon Buddy - in no specific order) found a FCS job opening in a district about 15 miles from Ankeny. I quickly submitted my application and we sent up some prayers. I was asked for an interview a few days later, met with them this morning, and was offered the position this afternoon! LOOK OUT IOWA - HERE WE COME!! Noah and I have talked about this sooo much the last few months, but it still seems like it happened so fast! We have some details to sort out, and will probably face some bumps along the way,  but right now Life is definitely SWEET!!