LEVI'S STYLE + FRESHLY PICKED

A few months ago I came across Freshly Picked on Instagram + I've been stalking I mean following them ever since. I'd been looking for moccasins for awhile so when I came across Freshly Picked, I could not resist.

I LOVED everything about Freshly Picked!!! Not only do they provide a great product but their customer service is AMAZING & the packaging was fab + simple. 

We took a family trip to Florida where he could run around in his new diggs. Can't wait till it warms up in New York so he can style in them here.

DIY: MAKE NEW WOOD LOOK OLD/OPEN SHELVING

It's been 4 months, 3 weeks + 4 days since we moved from our house in Charlotte to our apartment in Queens. HUGE difference but we didn't want that to stop us from styling up our little pad. Marc LOVES design blogs + often comes home with new ideas. We both wanted open shelving in our kitchen but we didn't want generic shelving + what we liked in West Elm was way overpriced. I did some hunting on Pinterest + found the picture below which became our inspiration.

We were able to complete this whole project for under $50. That's less then just one shelf at West Elm.

We started out by measuring the area where we wanted the shelves to go + went on over to Home Depot for some wood. Measurements do vary based on your space.

At Home Depot they will cut the wood for you as long as you have your measurements. REMEMBER: Measure 2x + CUT ONCE.

For this project we picked up some white wood + the workers at Home Depot cut it for us since we don't have a garage anymore to work on our projects. They did a great job!!

We also picked up the following stain options below. Once we were half way through the project I realized that I didn't like how dark they were coming out, so we had to pick up a lighter walnut stain. More on that later ; )

Knock the wood around with your hammer first. Go all around the edges and the sides to dent them in and smooth them out. Next, be sure to put your screws in a bag and just drop them on the wood. Depending on how old you want your wood to look just give it a few whacks. I like using the meat mallet for some deeper nicks in the wood.

In order to get our white wood to look like it had seen some hard days we started out with the following items.

*Paint brush, heavy duty latex gloves, hammer, bag of screws, meat mallet (clean of course), rags to   wipe up the excess stain various objects we found in our basement.

We followed a great tutorial from Young House Love + then changed things up a bit for ourselves. They do such a great job of explaining the process. Marc introduced me to their blog + I really do LOVE it.

You'll want to get a bowl for water. We did dip our brush in the water first and applied it to the wood prior to putting on the first stain. There really isn't a specific method but we did try to follow what we learned from Young House Love and then go from there.

Use your rag to wipe away the excess stain. Let it dry once you feel you've reached the look you want with the first stain (Ebony) When the wood is dry apply the second stain and use the same technique. 

I almost forgot to mention the brackets. Marc wanted metal and I wanted wood. In the end my darling husband let me go with wood. IKEA was the place to go for brackets. Picked up these bad boys + brushed them with the same stain as the shelves. Marc did a crazy good job with them.

See how the 2nd one in looks more golden then the others? That's what I wanted but for some reason they kept coming out darker like 3 + 4. Thank goodness Home Depot is a few blocks away. 

Golden Pecan did the trick with a little light sanding. 

I was so excited to finally display all of my treasures that I've collected along the years. Who would have thought that these were just plain old wood? We wanted character + I think we got it!!

Don't be afraid to buy wood with some imperfections. If you want the weather looked with some character it pays to take the extra time and look through the wood. I LOVE this piece.

Got these marks by using the meat mallet. As crazy as it sounds but it really helped do the job. 

We used a hammer + the end of a drill bit for these beauties. Play along with what you have. You cannot go wrong.

Here is the finished product + this small but AMAZING change makes me want to be in my kitchen even more. Marc + I do that thing where you turn the light on + off and just stand in amazement by what we've done. 

We picked up these sweet succulents at the Farmers Market in the city to complete our project. PERFECTION!!!

HELLO INSPIRATION!!!!

Feeling very inspired these days!!! Winter months seem to last much longer in NYC then down South so I've been at home a lot more. I'm still finding my way around to antique shops + the best Goodwills in town to style up our space. It's been a lot of fun rediscovering the city I've grown up in. Since moving out of state five years ago a lot has changed so we look like tourist most of the time.

Against my husbands wishes I've picked up a drill + hammer to get our apartment up to par. He wasn't so upset once he saw what I had done. There is so much more I'd like to do but we are only renting so I can't go crazy.

With that said I just wanted to help spark some inspiration in all of you. There are hidden gems every where, like in your basement, a piece of furniture you're about to junk or that Goodwill you always pass on the way to work but never go into. Sometimes you just have to dig a little or check out a blog or two to help your creative juices flow.

How fun is this bar cart? I've got to go shopping to spruce up ours!!

Love natural wood + metal paired together.

MY TWO DUDES ON FOX NEWS

I know I'm a few months late with this but better late then never, right?

Marc + Levi were asked to be apart of a animation bump {commercial} for Fox News this past December + I wanted to share it with you.  This wasn't a paid gig but we didn't care!! It was so funny watching it all come together. We came ready for whatever Levi might throw at us. Of course we had to bribe Levi with white cheddar puffs and in between takes Levi ran the hall to get the sillies out. Levi did pretty good considering + we LOVE the end result.

They are right at the beginning of the commercial + again towards the end. See if you can spot them!!

Behind the scenes pic taken by ~ "Super Ninja Mom" 

ADVENTURES + HOPE + SURRENDER

I cannot get enough of my daily adventures with my little family. Yes, we are little but tons of fun!! 

For as long as I could remember, I would day dream about someday having a family of my own. When I married my husband Marc in 2003, I never thought we would have difficulty starting a family. Marc and I were in our 20's and healthy so of course it wasn't even a thought. Just a few months into us being married I became pregnant and was able to carry our daughter till 26 weeks.  Madison Grace was her name and I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was a routine check up and we were going to find out the sex of our baby. Exciting, right? Instead of the tech congratulating me on having a girl, he delivered the news that our little girl had no heart beat. Words cannot begin to explain how our world fell apart that day.

For years after I would continue to miscarry and the hopes of having a family seemed out of reach. We finally sought out a specialist to figure out what was going wrong. The doctors and nurses were amazing. We did tests for weeks and couldn't find anything wrong. The one time in life you want the doctor to find something wrong so at least there's hope of being fixed!! 

In our 6th year of marriage I couldn't take it anymore. Marc and I decided that we would take a break and explore the possibility of adopting. Shortly after that we received a call that would change our lives forever but I didn't realize it then. Several months later I became pregnant and knew this was it.  All of my daydreaming would come true. The months past and it was hard. Hard to trust, hard to hope, hard not to give into fear but we held on. 

Levi Saul Rodriguez would be born on February 12, 2011 and change our lives forever. Everyday I get to wake up and witness a walking, talking miracle. We hoped and prayed for years and finally he was here without any medical assistance BUT instead by a promise from God. I have the privilege of teaching, loving, molding this amazing boy that's not perfect but he's ours. 

Everyday I wave a "white flag" to God. I don't wave it outwardly but within my heart. I wave it in surrender that God would have his way in my life. I often have to surrender my way of thinking, what I feel is right for my family and our future.  Being a parent is such an honor and carries a great responsibility. I can't do this without God. I don't want to do it without Him. 

I'm grateful for everyday I have with my family. I thank God for jumping puddles, dancing + singing in the rain, playing in the mud, train rides that freak me out and everything else in between. If you're like me and often try to do everything in your own strength instead of leaning on God.....WAVE THE WHITE FLAG!!! Learn to take the steps of surrendering to Him and His ways. It's not easy but it's worth it.