Christmas/Winter Wreath Project

I saw the idea of a "bubble wreath" on Pinterest (obsessed) and decided to make one of my own! I had an old fleece blanket that I never used so I decided to use that instead of spending money to buy some new fabric. I also had a wire wreath form that I was going to use for a fall/Thanksgiving wreath but I never came up with one. Here are the steps!

Wrap the wreath form with duct tape - all I had was black - color doesn't matter because it will be covered. This helped to have something to glue to.

Cut 64, 5in X 5in squares of fabric - you can vary the size from 4-6 inches, and the number can be approximate. I just liked that I could evenly space them.

I used a glue gun to fold the squares in half diagonally, glue, then fold in the remaining corners and glue.

Glue the squares at the "4 corners" of the wreath, then evenly between the 4. I liked this because then I had 7 squares to glue in each section (I am a little obsessive)

Once I was done with all the gluing - probably 2 hours total - I thought the white was a little plain so I decided to add some red beads and gold/white/black fancy buttons

 Here it is!

Im debating hanging it on the front door outside because it probably would get pretty dirty, but I think it will look better against our brown door instead of the plain white one inside...opinions?

Full of Thanks

With Thanksgiving coming up in 4 days, I am feeling especially thankful for my life.

-I am married to the MOST AMAZING man you could imagine. Seriously. I am constantly baffled by Ryan. He is a natural at this whole husband thing. You might think Im just spouting the good stuff for the public eyes, but he truly is worthy of your jealousy :) He is so smart and such a hard worker. His bosses can not stop complimenting him and telling me how great he is. (and my dad isn't the one who's his boss anymore so it counts!) He is always willing to cook dinner if Im not in the mood, run to the store if I forgot something, rub my back if Ive got a knot, and he never hesitates to take a quick break at work to talk to me when I call with a problem. He gives the BEST advice. He just knows what is the right thing to say. He never has to "insert foot in mouth". You will never hear Ryan judging someone or talking down to them. He is strong and protective, yet gentle and sensitive. We discuss every decision in our lives and almost always agree. I am so glad we believe in the same things and want to raise our kids with the same discipline ideas and values. I do not doubt that I will be incredibly, blissfully happy with this man until the end of time.

-I have a great family!! I was born in to the Barlows - the craziest, funniest, most loving family! People are drawn to my parents and siblings. I always have someone to talk to, laugh with, and confide in. I married in to the best family too! Those Wallaces are so open and caring, Ryan is just a small piece of that amazing family pie.

-I have a place to live and sleep! It may be tiny, but its perfect for us right now and there's not much to clean!

-I have a car to take me places!

-I don't have to work. I know this sounds terrible but I am so glad that I don't have to get up and go some place every day. I am thankful Ryan can support us and I can focus on the home and hopefully growing babies one day!

-I am thankful for modern medicine. I don't know what kind of shape I'd be in without the help and hope modern medicine provides us. Many of my family and friends have been saved and I am so thankful for that.

- I have fantastic friends! You all love me for me and support me in times of need. I am so grateful to always have someone to call on when I have a fun story or need a laugh. My friends rock!

I could go on and list every tiny thing I am thankful for but Ive written enough.

Lastly, I am so glad for THANKSGIVING!! I love that it brings my family together to eat and be merry! Can't wait for this week!

Crazy Dreams!

I have VERY weird dreams. I have always been one who remembers my very vivid dreams.

Last night I had a particularly crazy one that I feel I should share :)


I was golfing with my dad (I don't golf) and we met up with Justin Bieber and his dad. My dad and his dad were really good friends, so *naturally* Justin and I became best buds. Golfing was a blast.

Then I was at the Oakland A's Coliseum at a game and I was looking for Justin! All my friends didn't believe me that I was friends with JUSTIN BIEBER so I was trying to find him to prove that we were really supposed to be at the game together! He wasn't there...his dad said he was in surgery for his stomach and couldn't make it. So I began panicking and wanting to see him!

After searching, I was with Justin and he was on crutches (for his stomach...) and had a big cut and stitches on his lower abdomen. I was then asking him what happened and how he was feeling - and of course I was expressing my sadness that he wasn't at the game with me. He promised he would hang out with my friends and me very soon.

Halloween Door "Wreath"

I had seen the idea around to make a Halloween wreath with candy corn. So I made one and it was ADORABLE! Then it put it on the front door and the next morning there were candy corn drippings all over the door step...it was melting! So I asked around and found out I needed to spray protective coating on it. Done. Rehung it. Next morning? MORE DRIPPINGS!! And some of the candy corns had disintegrated so much they were falling off...time to scrap that idea.

While at my favorite store, Target, I was browsing through the bargain bins at the entrance and found a foam "BOO" sign for $1...I had an idea! So I brought it home, hot glued some ribbon to it, and made a new door hanging! Overall it probably cost me $2 :)

Sidenote: I decided to redesign our blog the other day because I was bored. I chose the font for each blog title because it is EXACTLY how Ryan writes.

Sunday Baking

I just made a DELICIOUS Texas Sheet Cake. Yum. Here's the recipe I found online.

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 box (1 pound) confectioners' sugar, sifted (4 1/4 cups sifted)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Cake: Combine butter, water, and cocoa in saucepan over medium heat; heat until butter melts. Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, soda, sour cream, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan (I grabbed a 15X13 disposable foil cookie sheet at Safeway, it was deep enough). Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes.

For frosting: Once the cake is almost done...combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well with electric mixer. Spread over the hot sheet cake.

Let cool and enjoy!

*Photo googled and stolen from yourhomebasedmom.com because I didn't feel like getting my camera out to take a good one!

My FAVORITE Place to Eat

I am a "mood eater". Meaning, I eat what I'm in the mood for. There isn't one place that I would eat any time no matter what. So I have a couple places I love!

Hunan Chef Wong in Pleasanton...they have the BEST Chinese food! Out of all the places, this is my fave and its never crowded at the restaurant because they do mostly delivery.

Cafe Rio. YUM. Unfortunately we don't have one here, so any time I go to Vegas or Utah it's a must stop.  Sweet pork burrito or salad is the best!

Ruth's Chris or Cattleman's. I may have lied when I said there isn't one place that I would eat ANY time. I'd eat steak every day if it wouldn't kill me. I'm a definite carnivore. I'm drooling just thinking about steak...

 

I also love Espetus Brazilian Steak House in San Francisco. It's expensive but the best meal I've ever eaten. In. My. Life. Go there for your next birthday or anniversary, if you like all kinds of meats you wont be sorry.

Catch Up

Sorry, I missed quite a few days of my blogging! We went to Las Vegas last weekend for Ryan's niece, Malaya's 5th birthday. It was a short trip but it was GREAT to see them! Here I am with little Makylie (3) who I became bffs with over the weekend.

My blog challenge for the day is "My Dream House". Ryan and I dream of the "simple" life. A big house with a huge yard for tons of kids, wrap around porch, and that country charm...basically like these:

We probably won't ever get it, seeing as we live in the Bay Area and land is NOT CHEAP. So our dream house will be where ever our family is. We would like to buy a fixer-upper for a steal and make it our own. That will be our dream come true.