DIY Pencil Vase/Blog Changes

The blog is currently under construction as I will be the sole writer now. As you may have already been able to tell, I kind of took over the blog. So, be looking for more changes to come, but for now...

Where my teachers at?? Are you ready for August? I know I am! Looking for an easy Back-to-School project? Here's an easy one. Have you seen this on Pinterest? I think it is supposed to be a teacher's gift, but I liked it and wanted one of my own, so I made one. The link on Pinterest takes you to a page that no longer exists, so instead of trying to find a tutorial, I decided it looked easy enough to just do myself. So I did. And it was!

What you will need:
*Empty aluminum can (cleaned)
*Unsharpened pencils (I used 42 of them)
*Hot glue gun
*Floral foam
*Flowers
*Ribbon

Steps to make your very own:
1. Lay all the pencils out, take the first one and put hot glue EITHER directly on the pencil (which I found to work better) OR directly on the can (but make sure you have a very steady hand and can make a straight line).

2. Press and hold pencil down on can until glue is dry. (FYI: Be generous with the hot glue, because you don't want these pencils falling off.)
3. Continue hot glueing each pencil around the can until you have no empty spaces.
4. Take the floral foam you have and put it into the can. You can also do this in the beginning- I just chose to wait.

5. Put the flowers that you have inside your vase.
6. Tie the ribbon you have around the pencils. You can even put a dab of hot glue to keep the ribbon in place.

Teachers, I hope you are enjoying your last few weeks before going back to school!

DIY Tinted Mason Jars

We all have that DIY board on Pinterest, am I right? Well, I am going to DO some of those DIY's and post them on here so we can all see what they look like when regular people do them. No-these projects don't always turn out the way the picture looks, but since you did them yourself, they are perfect. Have you seen the pin of the beautifully tinted mason jars? If not, here it is. Well, it has been in my "Home Sweet Projects" board for a while, and Matt and I went to dinner at some dear friends' home this past weekend and she had some. I told her I was determined to make them. So I did. You should too. If you follow the pin, the tutorial is really great. But, here is my version of a tutorial for your reading pleasure...

What you will need:
*Mason Jars
*Food coloring
*Mod Podge (glossy)
*Dixie cups (or something similar)
*Wax paper

Steps to making your very own:
1. Add food coloring generously to about a tablespoon or less of water, and mix.
2. Add in 2-3 tablespoons of Modge Podge to the mixture, and mix well. I found adding more was better so that the mixture would be thicker.
3. Pour this mixture into the mason jar and rotate the mason jar around so that the mixture hits all parts of the inner-surface of the jar.
4. Repeat these steps for however many jars you are making. (I actually made the blue mixture and used it, then made the red mixture and used it, and then I just mixed the two together for the purple mixture.)
5. Turn jar(s) upside down to dry for about 25 minutes. (I put them on a stack of paper towels.)

6. Place jar(s) upside down on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Put them in the oven on a "warm" setting for another 10 minutes. The lowest degree my oven would go to was 170°, and it was fine.

7. USING OVEN MITS, turn the mason jars over so they are up-right, and leave them in the oven for another 20 minutes (or until the desired look you want). 

8. Take them out of the oven and let them cool. And, you're done :)

My finished products are pictured below. They have streaks, they are imperfect, but aren't we all imperfect? So, here is one DIY done.

         

           




















Have you pinned anything that you have always wanted to do but haven't? Hopefully, this gives some of you a little inspiration to DIY.

Anniversary Trip, Part II

The second part of our vacation was just that--VACATION. We drove from Santa Barbara to Sonoma.  The drive took us about 7 hours. We knew it was going to be a long drive, but we were so excited to be in Sonoma for four days. The drive was absolutely gorgeous. We stopped at In-N-Out Burger, and I had gotten us cupcakes earlier in the day for a road snack.

     

     






















We loved Sonoma! Our little cottage was perfect. We walked, we wined, we dined, we swam, we tanned, we enjoyed. Our first morning there, we walked from our cottage at the Marriott to downtown Sonoma. We picked out different places to eat, shops, etc. that we wanted to try or go to while we were there. The first wine tour we went on while there was Gloria Ferrer. I am a big fan of sparkling wine, so I really loved it. We went to a couple more that day, and then we enjoyed a great dinner at Hopmonk Tavern.

                        

        

       


















We did a bike tour through Napa Valley on one of our full days. It was definitely something that was out of my comfort zone. I had not ridden a bike since I was in middle school, but we did it! We visited three wineries on the bike tour and ended up riding about 17 miles. We had a fabulous tour guide who was very knowledgable about vineyards, wine, Napa, and Sonoma. He even stopped us to pick wild blackberries.

        

      

After a full and wonderfully relaxing four days in Sonoma, it was time to make the trek homeward. We drove from Sonoma to San Francisco for our last day and night. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. We ate at two delicious restaurants for lunch and dinner thanks to some recommendations, The Grove and Delarosa. We spent the afternoon at Pier 39, got to see sea-lions, a juggling show, and Alcatraz from afar. We rode on a cable car and made friends with the man who controls the breaks-a good friend to have if you ask me.

     

      

All in all, we were able to spend some quality time as husband and wife. I could not be more thankful for this wonderful man God put in my life. We had a blast on vacation, but nothing is better than living our life here at home as The Bormanns. 

Anniversary Trip, Part I

Summers are just as much for teachers as they are for students, but just like when I was a student, there comes a time in the summer when you think you are ready to go back to school. That is how I am feeling right about now, and I am thinking the Mr. is thinking the same thing. I have the shopping trips to prove it.

However, summers definitely have their perks. One of those perks is vacation. Anniversary-wine-country-Sonoma-California vacation. We got to enjoy nine days of that vacation at the end of June. The first part of our California vacation was actually what we like to call a "work-cation." Matt worked during the day, and I got to play! Here is a picture of all of our luggage--now picture the two of us walking through airports and hotels with all of it. Hopefully you got a good laugh, because we definitely did.



We flew into Los Angeles, but we were off as soon as we left the airport. First stop, Long Beach. After walking around for a while, Matt had a lunch meeting and needed our car, so being the math/science teacher that I am, I decided to spend a few hours at the Aquarium of the Pacific. In true teacher fashion, I asked if there was a teacher's discount (because hey, we are newlyweds) and there was! I loved this place. I would definitely go back, and I would suggest it to anyone in the area. I drained pretty much my entire phone battery taking pictures and videos.

We spent the next two days and nights in Bakersfield. If you have ever been there, you know there is not much to do in Bakersfield, but we enjoyed seeing two movies while we were there. However, by far the most exciting thing that happened to us was that we got a flat tire our first night there after coming out of Movie #1. Good news is that my hubby is extra manly and changed it within about 10 minutes of us even realizing it.

Our next stop was Santa Barbara, well Carpinteria. After unloading our luggage at our hotel, we went into Santa Barbara and shopped til we dropped, went to the wharf for dinner, and then walked on the beach.

On our last day of the "work" part of our vacation, I got to enjoy a coffee date in the morning with a great friend from college, Kaitlyn. It was so great to see her, and I loved getting to catch up! While Matt was at meetings that day, I walked around and found a cute little place called Crushcakes, and got lunch and cupcakes for our road trip to Sonoma that afternoon!

Anniversary Trip, Part II coming soon...

Father's Day / DIY Corn Hole

Whenever I even think about my dad, I get a little sentimental-feeling. I look up to him so much and always have. Father's Day is the one day a year that we recognize our fathers for everything they have done for us and for everything they mean to us. We get them cards, buy them manly presents, and spend as much time with them as we can. My dad is really the best. When I was part of the dating game before getting married, I looked for someone who had many of the same qualities as my dad, and oh my- did I find him? It is crazy how similar my dad and my husband are, and I would not have it any other way. 

It is always hard to buy presents for men. I have always thought that. Men have it much easier... get her some flowers and jewelry and call it a day. Men- not so simple. So I was thrilled when my brother called and had the idea of building a tailgating game for my dad for Father's Day. We went back and forth between corn hole and washers and as a team, finally all decided on creating a corn hole game... from scratch. 

First task was buying the supplies: 

• two 24" x 48" sections of 1/2" plywood (we ended up just getting one big piece of plywood and cut it ourselves)
• four 2" x 4" x 48" for the frame (sides)
• four 2" x 4" x 21" for the frame (top and bottom ends)
• four 2" x 4" x 11-1/2" for the legs (two on each board)

Then, we decided since the most use it would get would be at the Fighting Texas Aggie Football Game Tailgates, we would put the Texas A&M symbol on it and paint it maroon. Once that was decided, all supplies and kids ended up at one place, and so began the DIY-ing...

Cutting/Assembling each of the game boards:

• Cut the plywood into specified measurements.
• Cut the 2 x 4's into specified measurements for the frames of the game boards.
• Attach the 2 x 4's to form a box, ensuring the 21" pieces are placed inside of the 48" pieces. To attach, use 1-5/8" screws.
• Repeat steps for the second game board.

Cutting/Assembling the legs: (this is where it got a little tricky... especially in the dark)

• Cut the 2 x 4's into specified measurements for each of the four legs.
• Measure 1-3/4" down the length of the 2 x 4 and mark it in the middle. Place a compass point in the center and create an arc. Use a jigsaw to make the cut you drew. 
• To attach, turn the game board upside down. Place a leg in the corner, parallel to the board so that the arc is tucked into one of the top corners. 
• Drill a 1/2" hole through the side of the box and through the leg.
• Install the carriage bolt through the hole, and attach it on the inside with a washer and wing nut. (We used the locking ones just to be on the safe side.)
• Repeat steps for other three legs.

While the legs were being assembled, Brooke was intensely sanding all parts of both game boards, and Katie was cooking us a delicious dinner!

Painting the Game Boards:

We had bought a can of spray paint that covered 25 sq. ft. (and much to our surprise, it wasn't enough). It covered one board fairly well and a little of the other, but we did as much as we could with what we had. To create the stencil, we had traced a Corps of Cadets trunk that had a huge "aTm" sticker on it. Then we used that stencil to create our design. 

Finishing Touches:

The following day, I had purchased two more cans of maroon spray paint and a can of polyurethane (and we already had the white and black paint). I coated both boards a few more times, and also finished our aTm logo. A few coats of polyurethane later, and we had our finished product ready to give to Dad for Father's Day...

As you can imagine, he was very surprised and very excited to receive his gift. He couldn't believe that all five of us worked together to make this for him. We gave it to him Saturday night at the bay house (one day before Father's Day), and all the boys played that evening. Success!

The following morning, we all went to church together as a family (probably one of my Dad's favorite things), and we took up an entire row at the West Isle Presbyterian Church in Galveston. 

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you!!

Ahh... Summer!

I really cannot believe it is already June. That means that I have completed my first year (well, semester) of full-time teaching. And now I get almost three months off- amazing. What will I do with myself? I plan to craft, play, shop, cook, and spend sweet time with my sweet hubby. All of these things will hopefully begin consuming this blog. I also plan on spending a whole lot of time with our family and our friends. We have already gotten to spend so much time with friends, and I've loved every minute of it. Here are a few highlights from the last month:

May 5th -- Cinco de Mayo at the Hills

May 26th -- The Holder/Schaefer Wedding

May 31st -- bayhouse with two of my favorites

June 4th -- PPL Roomies Reunion Dinner

June 5th -- Astros Game with a whole crew (yes, we won!)

June 8th -- The Witzenman Wedding...

...and the USA v. Ireland Rugby Game with the Batte's

We really have the best friends. Both the Mr. and I have been very blessed in that area of our lives. We are surrounded by people who not only are fun to be around but that support and encourage us in our walk with the Lord, as well as in our marriage. We are looking forward to many more dinners, games, parties, weddings, and weekend adventures this summer. 

I hope you are also having a wonderful summer beginning! 

One Year in One Post

DISCLAIMER: I want to start off by apologizing for the length of this post.

This weekend signifies our One Year Anniversary as Mr. & Mrs. (the paper anniversary), so I guess we will be getting each other Hallmark cards... and plane tickets! We are going to Sonoma! That will end up on a later post since it will be after school is out for me. For now, we are just going to sit back, relax, and reminisce on our last year together as husband and wife. On April 28th of 2012, we were married at the same altar my own parents said "I do" thirty years ago. It was the most amazing day of my life, and I love getting to relive it with pictures from that day that make me feel like we are getting married all over again. (Thanks to the one and only Kelly Hornberger Photography) I don't really want to get all gushy on the world wide web--I can save that for the Hallmark card. So, instead, here goes some highlights from our first year as "The Bormanns" in pictures...

APRIL 28th: Starting from the beginning, our wedding. I got to dance the night away with my handsome groom, and we were sent off by all of our family and close friends! Thank you again to all of our incredible vendors!

APRIL 29th-May 5: We traveled to Kauai, Hawaii for our honeymoon! We enjoyed every minute of it and called ourselves "The Honeymooners." The first picture was before we took a tour of the Kauai island from a helicopter (with no doors) and the second picture is from the Smith's Family Luau. We cannot wait to go back one day.

May-July: My parents bought a bayhouse, and we all spent many many days over the summer down at the bay. Matt caught the very first fish out of everyone--hopefully, there will continue to be many more catches! 

July-September: Our sweet girl, Avery, went to training camp a puppy and came back a wonderfully trained dog. Even though she was gone for a long time, it was well worth it, and she had a blast. We called it "Summer Camp".

 

October 5th-7th: We went to Palm Springs, California with my parents and grandparents to play golf and enjoy resort-life. This was our first married vacation after the honeymoon. Let's just say that we looked better than we played. :)

October-November: Many, many Texas A&M University tailgates and Corps of Cadets march-ins. Gig'em! 

November 21st-24th: We spent our first Thanksgiving in Dallas with Matt's amazing family. We started the morning off by running in the Turkey Trot in Downtown Dallas, and then his grandmother hosted all of us at her house Thanksgiving Day.

December 15th: I graduated from Texas A&M University! (finally) I walked across the stage, received my diploma, and then we celebrated. Along with Matt's and my immediate families (including my wonderful parents), both sets of my grandparents were there (man, how I love getting to say that.) It was such a special day.

December (Christmas): Our first Christmas together as a family. We spent part of our Christmas break in Gruene, Texas with Matt's family. We participated in the "Annual Bormann Bowling Party," but unfortunately did not come home with the trophy this year. We came back home for Christmas dinner with my family.

December 31st: I planned my first wedding. What? Yes. Well, kind of. My cousin got married on New Years Eve, and she and my aunt had planned most of it, and then I came in and helped with the "week-of" planning and bossed people around the "day-of" :) Okay, not really "bossed" but you get the idea. It was so fun--something I hope to get into more a little later in life.. or now. We'll see.

  

January 8th: Start my first day of my career as a middle school teacher. I teach the most hilarious and quirky little 7th graders. The subject I teach is science, but I hope and pray every day that they are learning more than just science from me. 

January 13th: After 6 months of training, the Mr. completed his very first marathon! We ran in the Chevron Houston Marathon (Mr.) and the Aramco Houston Half Marathon (Mrs.) This was definitely a huge accomplishment. I am still so proud of him for running 26.2 miles! Awesome!

February-March: The Mr. and I both joined Houston Rodeo committees back in October--the Mr. on the Calf Scramble committee, and I joined the Mutton Bustin' committee. We had a blast working our shifts in the 2013 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. We also met some new friends this year in our Newlyweds or Close class at church and got to take them to the rodeo for the first time. 

March (Easter): We went to the bay for the first part of our Easter break with my grandparents and parents. Easter morning, we were back home and got to go to the early service at church and then had a delicious Easter lunch with family at home. He is risen indeed! 

 April 12th: Another Aggie in the family got his Aggie Ring! We spent the day in College Station, Texas to celebrate with Matt's brother, Sam, who got his Aggie Ring!

April 19th: We celebrated the 60th Wedding Anniversary of my grandparents. What an incredible example they have set for the rest of us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus in every part of our marriage.

And here we are. One year later. A pretty awesome accomplishment. It's not 60 (yet), but we are on our way. Thank you to my husband for being my better half and best friend. I have loved going through life together this past year, and I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. I know it will be great things. I love you!