My List...

While reading one of my favorite blogs, The Farmer's Trophy Wife, I came across a post called My List...a list of things that she aspires to own one day. As someone who drools daily over fashion blogs and has quite the mental list of my own, I decided to make it official and type these up! If I don't own at least 3 of these items in ten years, hold me accountable! Many of the items on my list are the same as the F.T.W.'s.

MY LIST

1. Custom cowboy boots. A girl came into Ben's store a few years ago wearing these, and I've been pining ever since.



2. A Chanel jacket. And purse. And sunnies.

3. Christian Louboutin pumps.

4. Cle de Peau makeup-preferable the whole she-bang but at least the concealer!

5. Diane von Furstenberg dress. (Or a whole closet of them.)

6. A Mason Pearson hairbrush.

7. A Cartier love bracelet. (Hint hint BEN!)

8. A Burberry Trench.

9. A Rolex watch.

10. Diamond stud earrings..like these from Tiffany.

I mean, why not?

What's on your list?

Pinterest Challenge

Hello hello! I wanted to do a quick mini-post about my Pinterest Challenge! My favorite HGTV host, design blogger and personal style icon Emily Henderson invited her readers to join her in the challenge on her blog last week. Pinterest is a virtual peg board where you can post any image you find on the web and organize it, just like a bulletin board! I'm so obsessed. So the challenge was to choose an image on pinterest that inspires a DIY project, and complete it in a week. I was all over this, because I had an old piano bench that I bought at a thrift store for $10 that I intended to redo "when I had time", aka never. So the deadline appealed to me. Here is my inspiration photo:



Taken from countryliving.com This is Sarah Richardson's summer home...one day when I was home sick I watched her show about redoing this gorgeous house all day long, and then her home was featured in Country Living, so I was very happy to see the show translated to photos. Of course those windows are ah-ma-zing but I also love the relaxed and slightly shabby chic combo of the blues and whites. Since this is the general vibe of my master bedroom, I decided to redo the bench with this photo in mind. I started out with this.



Nothing great, but it was only $10! I couldn't pass it up. It was in generally sturdy condition, and it has this neat label inside the lid to the storage compartment:



So this sucker's at least 50 years old, and it once belonged to a piano! It needed a new home.

Here were my tools for the outside portion of the DIYing. Don't forget the Off...



I used Rust Oleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Sunbleached, because that was all that Lowe's had here as far as a light stain. It worked out nicely though, the color was more blue-gray than white, so I liked it. Plus, I didn't strip the bench, I just sanded it down, so some of the original stain would show through and create an even more rustic look than straight up whitewash. I let it dry overnight, then ventured on over to the one fabric store in town: Wal-Mart. I found two foam cushions that together would work perfectly, and then some quilt batting to wrap around that and create smooth edges. Finally, I bought some ticking stripe fabric to cover the cushion. The ticking stripe matched perfectly with my bed skirt, but I upholstered the bench with the stripes going horizontally since the bed skirt stripes were vertical, so it would have a little contrast. (The bench now lives at the foot of the bed, to no doubt collect clothes.)



Sorry for the poor photo quality. I'll try to take one with a better camera with the bench actually in the bedroom. (Maybe that can be the next challenge? Actually take a good photo of your project!) Overall, I'm very proud of myself, mainly for the reason that I actually did this in the first place. I'm not a good DIYer for the same reasons Emily said she wasn't-I'm not patient enough. Besides waiting for the stain to dry-this was a pretty quick little project.

Plus, Patsy really enjoyed the Mother Theresa headscarf I made her from the scraps. You can just see the sheer joy on her little kitten face.



Check out my boards at www.pinterest.com/ruthmarie86

What I Learned Watching the Casey Anthony Trial

I’ll admit it; I’m way late jumping on the Casey Anthony bandwagon. After seeing about a bajillion facebook statuses along these lines: “OMG, I’m like, totes obsessed with the Casey Anthony trial,” did I decide to flip to HLN and check it out. I only watched the closing arguments of the case, and like the rest of the world, I got sucked in. I’m not proud, but I’ll own up to my recent creepy obsession. What I found most interested, however, was not the case itself, but how different actual court cases are from what I see on TV. It’s a lot more like my high school debate rounds than a sexy episode of “Law & Order” or “Franklin and Bash.” (What? You aren’t watching Franklin and Bash? Three words: Mark. Paul. Gosselaar.)

Here is what I learned watching the Casey Anthony Trial:

1-First, I was struck by how ugly the courtroom was. Who designed that piece of crap? Courtrooms aren’t historic and beautiful? No! They look much more like a lecture hall at a Junior College. Where’s the natural light filtering through large and beautiful windows? Don’t they know fluorescents aren’t flattering? Where are the marble floors and richly stained wood podiums? The reality is, it ain’t pretty folks.

2-They say things like “Objection!” “Overruled!” “Order in court!” and “You can’t handle the truth!!!” a lot less than Hollywood would have you believe. Lame, I say!

3-Guest stars really happen! Yes, TV’s Dr. G was called as a witness. Say wha??

4- It would really suck to be on a jury. As I’m watching, I kept thinking that if I was on that jury, I’m pretty sure I would be bawling crying the whole time. 1-Because it’s Fourth of July and I’m in a jury box. 2-This case is pretty boring most of the time. The décor isn’t the only thing that recalls the days of Junior College. These lawyers can be really repetitive and boring to listen to! Can you imagine sitting in the same (undoubtedly uncomfortable) seat all day, not by your own will? And 3-they have a terrible decision to make! I came into this thing thinking I knew where I stood, but after listening to both the defense’s and state’s arguments, I tend to believe whoever is speaking at that time. Which brings me to number 5.

5-The media really screws things up. I already knew this of course, but when imagining the jury trying not to consider the views of the media when making their decisions, I realize how much influence the media really has on our daily opinions. It’s sick really. I just wish I knew the real truth! Which I think is the same reason why so many other women seem to be obsessed with this case. (Side note: why do only women seem to be engrossed with this ordeal? Curious…)

I leave you with this thought- I hope I’m never on a jury in a murder trial. (Knock on wood.) I’ll be praying for this jury and trusting that our judicial system will see justice served. Until then, you can find me watching reruns of Nancy Grace.

The Reel World: Livingston

That's right folks, we are moving again! Fourth move in a year and a half of marriage! Life sure is crazy. This time we are heading back to the beautiful Pineywoods of East Texas...Livingston! Population 6,155. Well, now 6,157. One movie screen, Wal-Mart, Palais Royal, and of course Baskin's. That about sums it up! The good news is, we will be so much closer to family, so we will save a lot of time and money getting to visit everyone. The biggest change will be during the holidays; this past season was really tough on us. We've been missing our family a lot. I'm also so happy that ZTA will allow me to stay on as Texas A&M Corpus Christi's General Advisor for the collegiate chapter here, and I will still get to travel to Indianapolis this summer as their advisor. I will miss my Zeta and Chic to Chic friends a lot; they have made living here so much more tolerable! So, we will trade seagulls for love bugs, traffic for tractors, palms for pines, and all in all, we are excited and ready for the move! Right now, it looks like we will be moving mid-May, but we still don't know for sure. They sure like to keep us on our toes!

You might be asking yourself, "what in the heck is Jessi going to do for a job in Livingston?" Let's see...I could be a greeter at Wal-Mart, but I think that has age restrictions. OR, I could start my own exciting, home based business! That's right, I have a new job! I am a proud Independent Stylist for Stella & Dot jewelry!



I couldn't be more excited about this opportunity! The way it works: I will be selling this fabulous jewelry in client's homes at trunk shows, as well as year round from my personal E-Boutique, www.stelladot.com/jreel . Want to host a trunk show and earn free jewelry? Need help selecting that perfect piece for Mother's Day? Interested in earning some extra money in your free time? I'm your girl! I'm going to need all of your help to get this thing off the ground, so be expecting some calls! I'll have a Facebook fan page up and running soon too. This is a great company and I'm so proud to be a part of it! You can check out more information on my personal website.

I think that's all for now! We are so grateful for everything God has blessed us with! Shout out to my most faithful and loyal reader, my mother-in-law Kim! I actually blogged!!!