Spring makes me feel crafty.

I love home decor...especially on the cheap! On the weekend I had a bout of motivation for a couple of last-minute projects, despite the fact I had to finish 90 wedding invitations. I think I can credit it to some new blog inspiration...thisyounghouse.com is fabulous...and saving money is always at the forefront of their posts.

So for a quick mini-makeover (sorry, I have no before pictures...I need to start doing that so I can see the changes!) I whipped out some paint, some paper, my handy new Wal-Mart paper cutter, and...

Here's project one:

I found these frames at Good Will about four years ago for three dollars. You can tell when you flip them around that they're completely handmade, which I think is super cool. Shortly after I got them I spray painted them this colour. After a few moves they got thrown in a box and forgotten about, until now! I pulled them out on the weekend, took some 100 grit sand paper to them for antique-y worn look and gave the glass a good cleaning. I then went through my wedding decor and scrapbooking boxes and found these beautiful dollar store papers I hadn't found use for yet. A few quick slices and my hand dandy hanging skills (I don't need Trav for this! : ) ) and ta da! This is what I ended up with and I'm quite pleased with the results! And all for about six bucks. Not bad.

Project two is very simple. I've had this corner shelf since I moved out on my own five years ago. It's a Wal-Mart special. I think it was around twenty bucks. Anyway, I felt like this corner of our kitchen was looking dark and blah, and then I thought, why not paint that shelf? I didn't feel like pulling out our cans of wall paint, so I looked again in my wedding box and remembered that I have a ton of this acrylic craft paint from the dollar store. And it worked like a charm! Three quick coats and this corner is lighter and brighter. Notice I moved Hank's water to the bottom shelf - now the bottom shelf has a purpose while clearing up some floor space.

(Hank's ear[s] frequently make random appearances in my photos...)

My next project is to completely revamp my dresser in our bedroom. It's in great shape, quite large, but is made of that dreaded, outdated dark wood. Right now I'm on the hunt for some beautiful glass knobs to highlight the fresh white/light blue combo I plan to paint it, and I found some I love at anthropologie.com (great place for inspiration!) but it'll cost me $115 for seven of them with shipping!!! AHH! I don't think so. I may have to wait until the store opens in West Ed. I do have my heart set on them. So stay tuned...hopefully that project can happen sooner rather than later!

Some of the knobs from Anthropologie I love...I think the second one is my fave.

This mini makeover was the quickest! Old bedding that was taking up closet space is a perfect solution for Hank's new bed. Trav build a wood frame that sits underneath the thick, cozy comforter, and that pillow used to be my favourite...until Hank took a bite out 

of it (I flipped it around so you can't see it.)

Encore?

I made it through the weekend in one piece! Dance competition was fun, stressful, exciting...all the things it usually is for me. Gosh I miss it...I guess it means I miss being young. All the opportunity there was! To be 17 again and competing for reals - not as an adult! 

I wish I would've started dancing earlier...I feel like I missed out on a lot of opportunities because of that. But I know you need to work with what you have. I can still learn. It's not like I'm that old...plus, no one is too old to learn anything (I'm sure there are some exceptions). I think at this time I need to brush up on my ballet and jazz technique. I love choreography and feel more inspired than ever, however I'm finding I'm forgetting the names of certain steps, and as for ballet...all I remember well is the feet positions, turns, a little bit of a barre work, that's it! Eek. That's terrible. Does anyone know of an adult ballet class that would be appropriate for my age and level? I never did take much ballet, but I do have solid understanding of body placement and technique...and there is A LOT of room for improvement.

Anyway, back to competition. We were at Candance, which is huge. Five crammed days of dance...it started at 8 am most mornings and finished at 11 pm. That's a little ridiculous, for kids especially! On Saturday night I didn't get out until midnight. It annoys me that adjudication only happens three times a day...it means you have to wait around for hours just to hear what medal you got as the judges don't give comments. I got a platinum for both my solo and group. I was fairly pleased. Diamond is best - if you score 95 or higher. The judges certainly gave that to only those who were deserving... Some dancers were amazing, other were amazing too but were just so practiced - so, I don't know, blah? TRICK TRICK TRICK...oh there's an arm movement...TRICK TRICK. Ugh. It's expected and rehearsed so much that it feels almost robotic, they do it without thinking or feeling. And that's what bothers me, because that's what dance isn't. That's exactly why it will never  be considered a sport. Growing up I may have lacked the superb technique and quad pirouettes, but I sure had passion. I think I still do...why else would I be 24 and still doing it? Haha.

My soloist I taught this year, 16 year old Jena, did awesome! I'm amazed by the passion she has brought to the stage in her lyrical solo. She was more of a technical dancer, but I'm really seeing the true emotion come through after working with her for awhile. And she got a high gold at her first comp this Sunday! I was so proud...she was in a tough category (with a really good guy to boot) and she came out right on top. She dances again this Friday at Shy-Ann, a competition I looked forward to every year growing up. I'm looking forward to going back!

As for myself, I'm itching to start a jazz solo...I just want to choreograph more! I still hope to have my own studio though, despite knowing that it won't make me money and will cause headaches and frustration. But I still think I'd love it. Maybe one day.

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Awesome new blog alert!

After the wedding Travis and I will need some inspiration to get some much-needed house projects done. I've been wanting to retile the kitchen SO BAD. Just check out my 100 in 1001...there's much to do! So I'll be visiting thisyounghouse.com. It's fab - a young couple shows exactly how they turned their old, modest house into a comfortable, stylish dream home. They've become mini-celebrities in the home reno world...and have been able to dedicate themselves to that full-time now. (And they both used to work in advertising!) I love it. They also blog about saving money, their wedding, and other random things that I can totally relate to right now. Check it out if you have a sec.

AH!

I want to scream! Just a little busy...I have that feeling that this week is going to feel like constant catch up. Whew. Deep breath. We're not dealing with the end of the world here. Okaaayyy...

So I've got competition this week! EEK. My first lyrical solo in YEARS. It's about time I just go out and have fun with it! Our group is Saturday...I'm nervous but excited. It's funny how I get more nervous for these things as I get older. I think it should be the other way around!

And I must get my invites out in the next two weeks! This is going to prove to be difficult. Trav still needs to get fitted for a suit and choose a style, we need to register, and there's about a thousand little crafty things I need to be working on. It's fun, but wow. Like a full-time job!

I'll let you know how it all goes soon!!!

I'm published in Avenue Magazine this month! Check it out if you see an issue, or read it here. I'm also a featured contributor.

Adore

So I'm loving these dresses from Top Shop. I'm obsessed with girly little dresses - they're just so easy! Throw it on and go. I wish we had a Top Shop here...