If I could, I would....Porch Swing Beds!!!

I saw this idea once in a Southern Living magazine back in High School and have always dreams of having one.....Porch Swing Beds! The one I saw was on a balcony over looking the countryside swinging in the summer breeze under a big ceiling fan and of course, had a big glass of lemonade next to it! What a heavenly place to be, kind of like to day! Until then, I at least have my hammock. Here are some images to get the idea images:

The one below I saw in a house in VA. It is a private screened-in porch just outside the masterbed and again on a balcony overlooking the mountains

This one is my most FAVORITE!!! I can just imagine hanging out with my kids, reading books, playing games, taking Sunday naps!!!! Just HEAVENLY!

If I could, I would....

There are so many things I want to do and can't wait to do, nevertheless the timing isn't right, I don't have the time or it's not apart of God plan for us right now. So to help subside the desires and dreams, I thought I would document them here. Today's "If I could, I would" is .....Plant a garden of my favorite plants and flowers.
I would have some awesome VEGGIES and then some delicious FRUIT TREES, strawberry bushes, etc.

Then I would have MAGNOLIA TREES (Magnolias are the southern bell flower you know)

Then there are some of my favorite flowers like TULIPS

GARDENIAS

AND PEONIES (WHICH MY CURRENT FAVORITE. THEY WERE ALL THROUGHOUT OUR WEDDING!!)

GOOD GRIEF CHARLIE BROWN!

As you may or may not know my amazing daddy has a famous name, Charlie Brown! Yes it's true. Even though he did not marry the little red-headed girl, he did married a beautiful brunette (no her name is not Lucy). It wasn't until last fall that my mom (Karen, by the way) decided that being a cat person for the last 5 decades she was ready to have a dog. She get got a 13" beagle and named it.....drumroll please......SNOOPY!



Even though he is too cute for words he has been the challenge of a life time for my parents. I mom has since then, realized she was a cat person for a reason and have tried to get rid of Snoopy in the paper but even with some nibbles, she can't bear to let him go. She is finally realizing he is just working through the puppy stages and is not destroying things as much as he did at just 2 months old.

One of the fun things Snoopy has done since he joined the family is enjoying the snow we've gone. He loves eating it, digging through it. Well with this last snow, Fayetteville got just over 12 inches of snow and since Snoopy is about 13-14 inches tall, he just barely peaks out of the snow. So when were taking him for a walk here is what he was doing to walk/play in the flakes:

My Latest Arts & Craft Projects

Being a newly wed means being a lot of things: today it is being frugal and making due with what you have. So for my first and ever attempt to recover a piece of furniture, I took an ottoman from the 70's (it was given to me by mamaw-K. It was in our playroom growing up). I ripped off the 70's fabric that was falling apart as I went. Then took some fabric I got at Hobby Lobby in the leftover scratch section (super on sale....one of my love, love, loves).

My Second project is a headboard. Alex and I have been sleeping on a queen size bed (my bed since I was a little girl) and seeing that Alex and are table people, we have been "very close" at night for the last year and an half. So as a Christmas/Anniversary present we saved up for a King-size mattress set. However when started to prices beds, or even just a headboard, we were looking at about $250 easy.

So it got me thinking, what if made one! I found some fabric that I feel in love with and by God's awesome timing it was 50% off! Plus 90% of the tools I needed we either had, I could borrow or found on sale as well!

Then I found a " how-to" video on Youtube for a twin headboard and applied the method to a King-size (minus a few steps. didn't use the same design they did). It took me a full day to do the project and when i got to the part of adding the fabric, Alex helped me out from there on. I was going to tuff matching buttons but once we got the fabric on we loved it just as it looked. So we left it as that. Hope you like it. AND BONUS: we did it all for a fraction of what a headboard like it would have cost us! We feel like we are in a hotel get-a-way every morning! Hope you enjoy!

Bathroom Art at it's best!

I had lunch yesterday at Eistien Bagels in Rogers and while using the ladies room I saw this picture infront of me:

I was completely inspired to start singing but then remembered I wasn't in my own bathroom and wasn't brave enough to go public with my music abilities!

My Hero!!!

Ok, so today started out as a no good, horrible, bad day. It started with losing my earring (the ones Alex gave me on our wedding day). We crawled all over the apartment, took apart a sink and looked under everything for a good 30 minutes before finding one on the bathroom floor and the other in my Bible (don't ask). This left me no time to get ready, fix my hair, have breakfast and hurry out the door to not be late for a meeting. So as running out the door, I split half a bottle of water, knock over a bike and forget some notes for my meeting while leaving. Great start, I thought to myself.

As the day progresses I get to my monthly flow and cannot concentrate in my back to back meetings with my pulled-back unfixed hair and empty tummy. All I could think is I want to go to bed and start over. Several hours later, 5:45PM, I get home to my sweet, amazingly, awesome husband who has......

CLEANED THE WHOLE HOUSE AND THEN EVEN STAGED IT FOR ME!!! YES LADIES HE IS THE BEST HUSBAND EVER AND GOD HAS BLESSED ME WITH THE MORE IMPRESSIVE ALEX CONSTIEN! He mopped, he vacuumed, he cleaned the bathrooms, unclogged the sinks, cleaned all the dishes, UNLOADED THE DISHWASHER, took out the trash! AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF HE THEN LIT THE OIL SCENTED LAMP, TURNED ON THE ASCENT LAMPS AND WAS WAITING TO GREET ME AT THE DOOR WITH AN AMAZING "HELLO" (kissing and all!)


Yes it was a no good, horrible, bad day until my Hero, my husband come to my rescue! Thank you God for my SuperHusband!!!

Over due

Too much has happened to recap in deal seeing that the last time I blogged it was 2009, we were looking at buying a house, headed to Africa and so on. Now it's 2010, we are not buying a house and not going to Africa. God has done a number on us and it has been one-such-an-adventure. The house, and the houses after that, fell through at the very last minute after each time we felt peace to move forward on such sure deals. The beautiful of it all was how we had peace when each house was a final no. What we gained from the experience then was learning more about our faith as a family when God is asking us to move. We both learned and experienced what it would look like when God would move Alex and I and then we would make a decision together. What a bonding moment for all three of us! Trusting each other while not know what God was doing but having faith in His steps before us.

Even months later we are still getting confirmation from God on how we were not suppose to get a house right now, even if it is a "buyers market" right now. I love how our Lord works and makes Himself known to us. I love how He even uses it two-fold by also teaching us something in addition or bring us closer to others or answering other prayers. Or such as answering prayers. We have been praying, asking God what life looks like after Alex graduates. Through this journey we are more than confident to say in the apartment until he is done and then God will reveal something then. Something we new but now have confirmation to hold true to that truth.

Also, God shut the door to Africa the same day He opened a door to Haiti. Again there is more but the it all boils down to God making Himself known to the Constien Family in a way that has given us inspiration to keep on keeping on for His Glory!