A Poor Girls Walk in Closet :)

My dream is to one day, have a gorgeous walk in closet.  The kind with a chandelier in the middle and an entire wall that will house all of my super expensive shoes (they will more likely be shoes that were purchased from Payless and Nordstrom Rack... but whatever).  You know, like the kind of closet you'd see on an episode of Real Housewives.  Until that day arrives, I decided to dedicate one corner of my bedroom to my cause and create a space that is totally girly and all mine. Hopefully, this will fill the void that is my need for a giant Beverly Hills closet :)

In my dream, I have a section of my closet dedicated to my jewelry.  It's not that I own all these expensive, elegant pieces but I want to feel as if I'm walking into a darling little boutique every time I have to go put something on.  What girl doesn't want that?!  Plus, I am a huge fan of large chunky necklaces and bracelets and well, they are a little difficult to shove into a drawer somewhere.  The biggest challenge for me, was coming up with a way to display all of my earrings.  I am sure I saw this idea on Pinterest or at a flea market somewhere but when I was brainstorming ways to hang them up, this was the first idea that popped into my mind.

To create the earring display, you will need:

* Desired photograph or artwork
* Picture frame
* Chicken wire
* Wire cutters

Flatten out the chicken wire as best you can, you won't get it completely flat but the waves that pop up will help you hang your earrings better.  Remove the glass from the frame and match up one corner of the chicken wire with one corner of the frame.  Make sure that the edges of the chicken wire over lay the lip of the frame and are fully against the side.  Hold the chicken wire in place and then use the wire cutters to trim the other two edges.  Once the wire is cut, put the glass back into the frame, making sure that the chicken wire gets pinned between the side of the frame and the glass.  Add your picture and the backing.  Since the chicken wire is a little thick, I needed the help of the screw driver to push the tabs on back down, making sure they were snug.

Honestly, this is one of the easiest projects that I've ever attempted and I was amazed at how great it looked once I put all of the elements together.  For me this whole thing wound up costing me $0 since I already owned all of these items (just had to repurpose the picture, old frame and white shelf).

I did need to break out the major tools (yes, my hammer does have a bottle opener on the end.  You would be AMAZED at the amount of times that came in handy :) in order to get this little beauty up on the wall. but all in all, it wasn't that hard to do.  I then hung up the white shelf and blam-o  I have my very own jewelry display.

While I don't think any of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will be calling me for decorating tips anytime soon, I absolutely love my little corner of heaven.  Whenever I'm getting ready to go out, all I have to do is reach over and pull something off my shelf or grab the earrings off the frame.  I always know what I have and I never have to untangle a thing (which I LOVE!).

Some Easy Fall Fun

The fact that I have recently been MIA is not due to my crafting laziness.  I promise!!!  Nor, is it the fact that I've gotten take out almost every day for the past 3 weeks.  Well, I have, but the reason is far greater than my unwillingness to get near a stove.  My current home remodel has taken up ALL of my time (that, and this little thing called work) so I have not been able to do/blog ANYTHING.  I have, however, been daydreaming of things I want to do once I've set fire to all of my paint brushes and am finally moved in and settled to the new place.  So here they are, some fun things I want to do this Fall, in no particular order...  

1. Make my own Ravioli from scratch and learn how to make homemade Pierogies (this will require some assistance from my delightful, little, Polish friend Michelle :)...  I know this isn't a typical "Fall" activity but I can finally turn my stove/oven on without turning my house into a sweat lodge, so I say it counts.    
2. Knit a new winter scarf.  I've been learning to knit and feel like it's time to up my game.  My dog has enough blankets.    
3. Enjoy some hot Apple Cider Donuts while sitting in my yard (weather must cooperate, not too cold, not too warm.. looking for the perfect brisk day... let's make it happen Skilling).
4. Have a Ghost Adventures viewing party since the new season is kicking off on Friday, September 23.  Nothing gets me in the Halloween mood quite like Zack Bagans and his amazing hair gel and graphic tees.  If you've never seen the show before, then I urge you to tune in to check it out (with an open mind, of course).  I promise you wont be disappointed (fyi: you might find yourself making side comments throughout the whole episode, ala Mystery Science Theater, but that's where half the fun lies).  
5. Get a side job so I can purchase this ultimate Fall sweater.  I love me some "sweater weather" and this one just looks so incredibly cozy.  But, I can be practical and order this comfy cableknit which is more in my price range.  
6. Drink some Hofbrau Oktoberfest from the one liter stein that I carted back from Munich after college.  Due to its extreme weight and the lengthy distance I carried it, it has been decided that this mug really needs to see more action.  
7. Finally, finally, finally make my dog a Halloween costume.  I have no idea what he will be yet, but this year, I am making sure it happens. 

I feel like 7 is a random number to end on but I ran out of ideas... if I come up with anymore good ones (during a fit of spacing out at work) I will make sure to add them to the list!  Ohh man, I am so ready for the Fall. 

Redneck Wedding Bingo

Best Way to Spend a Friday Night

Bingo isn’t for the old ladies anymore!!  Grab your best cutoff t-shirt and your camo colored troll dolls and come on down for some Redneck Wedding Bingo.  What is Redneck Wedding Bingo you say?  Why, it’s the best damn reality show on tee-vee combined with church approved (don’t act like your dad wasn’t the crowd-favorite-Bingo-caller at your parish growing up) form of gambling.  Do you like mud wrestling, wedding vows, pick-up trucks and duct tape on wedding dresses??  Are you bored with just sitting there, WATCHING trashy reality TV?  Do you want to turn reality TV into a cut-throat competition right in your own living room?  Then you’re in luck my friends because Redneck Wedding Bingo is HERE!!! 

I fell in love with this show awhile back and realized that way too many people are missing out on its awesomeness.    I mean, the stereotypes are so real you just sit there in dumbfounded awe.  The game itself is so simple.  All you have to do is...

1.  Print off the game cards that I have provided for you HERE!!  There are 20 cards in all and they are all different.  Some squares may lend itself to some “interpretation” but that’s for you to discern. 

2.  Find episodes of My Big Redneck Wedding, which is easier then you think.  Just click here and you will find a TV schedule, plus full episodes you can watch online.  You can also do what I do, get a little TiVo happy and record a bunch of episodes so you can play more than one game at one time.  CMT does like to run marathons so check your local listings!!    

3. You can also add the “Drinking Game” component to it (well, let’s be honest, you can add the “Drinking Game” component to just about anything) and take a swig every time you get a square.  One time, I added a “Beer Grab Bag” which was literally a giant metal tub mixed with 6-packs of Schlitz, Natural Ice, Busch Light, Old Milwaukee, Budweiser, Old Style and Hamms.  WARNING: When you purchase all of the aforementioned beers, all at the same time, at your local liquor store, you will probably get a couple of questionable looks and be recognized by the sales girl from there on out.  The brews were then mixed up and hidden under the ice, so you had to reach in and wish for the best.  Big money, no whammy!!  Or you can classy it up a bit, like I did the next time I played Redneck Bingo and have some dirty martinis with some delicious blue cheese olives...WARNING: Amend drinking game to "sip martini if you win" not "sip martini for every square you get," especially if you play five or six games and especially if you play two cards per round...just some friendly advice... not speaking from experience...

I hope you enjoy this game as much as I do!!  Now go grab your Keystone, put on your coveralls and let’s play some bingo y’all.  

March Madness Indeed

Time for the brackets, the all-day basketball binging, the cheering for teams that you just found out existed and the over-all excitement that comes from watching day after day of college basketball.  Weee!!  I always get amped up for the start of the tournament but my interest normally wanes half-way though because my final four teams are knocked out by the third round (what can I say, I perpetually vote for the underdog).  If it weren't for the March Madness drink specials, I think I would lose interest all together because if I can’t win something then what’s the point in cheering for teams I have no invested interest in.  Dumb.

So, in an attempt to bring a little friendly competition to the homestead and keep my interest in the Madness going to the very end, I’ve devised a round by round bracket competition where each team is picked randomly.  Therefore, the whole thing is left up to fate and not my crappy team selection.

I decided to turn the brackets into artwork (yes, this is on the living room wall), so we will ALWAYS know who is winning and losing, thus keeping the trash talking current and up-to-date.  The only drawback is that this is really only a two person game L I haven’t figured out how to devise it for the masses.

  

1. Choose your teams.  This was determined by coin flip.  Each person needs to be deemed heads or tails (ie: I was tails and the bf was heads) and each part of the bracket needs to be deemed heads or tails (ie: top team heads, bottom team tails).   So, for the first game....  Player coin flipped tails, bracket coin was heads.  Therefore, I got Ohio State (I’m orange) and the bf (represented by blue) got UTSA/Alabama State.

Then, we went through each game, flipping our coins each time and filling out the bracket as we went…  This “coin flip team selection” will be repeated for each round of the tournament. 

2. Points.  Points will be awarded by round.  1 point for each team that wins the second round.  2 points for each team that wins the third round. Etc. 5 points will be awarded to the team that wins the championship.
   
   
3. WINNER:  Will be determined by who has the most points in the end.

As we went through the team selection process, there were several FAQ from my competitor.

• So, I may not be cheering for the same teams as the games progress? No.  Since you coin flip for every round, you could switch each time and are not committed to one team for the duration of the tournament.  Some could call this condoned bandwagon jumping but that’s ok. 
• How often do we have to sit down and do this coin flip thing? In order to make sure that each person has a team to cheer for in each game, the coin flip must take place before each round of the tournament. 

Happy playing!!!

The best part is that this game only costs PRIDE, and however much you decide to wager.  It doesn't get any better than that!