DIY coffee table.

As much as i wish that i came up with this idea, i didnt. I found it off of pinterest of course and thought it was too ingenious to not do it myself.

We were in desperate need of a coffee table. I had searched on a daily basis every thrift store imaginable, hoping that i could find one that was short enough to be proportionate with our couch. I never had any luck, or i was being too picky so thankfully i happened upon this fabulous tutorial.

I headed to Ikea with the $39.99 'Lack' coffee table in mind. Found the table, gathered a few other nick knacks that I definitely didnt need but you cant just get 1 thing at ikea, its way too tempting, and headed towards the check out. Each time before i leave ikea i always have to look through the 'as is' section. havent heard of it? its always by the check out, where they put items that have little breakages, scuffs or tears for mostly 50% off. it is honestly my favorite part of ikea. I walked over and guess what i found? the exact table i had in my cart that was going to be $39.99 for $24.00. WHAT?! i was one happy girl and asked the random shopper next to me to help load it on to my cart.

okay so here i am at $24 for this project. Next i went to Lowes to get the wood. I gathered 5 pieces of 1x4x8 wood. side note: did you know that if it says that the wood is 1x4x8 it is ACTUALLY 1x3.5x8? it will always be a half an inch smaller in width than what it says on the sign. just keep that in mind :)
each piece of wood was only $1.48 which is a steal of a deal. I had them cut each piece directly in half, which they did for free, then next I had to deal with the legs of the table. The table was too tall for the couch, thank heavens ikea furniture comes apart so i took each leg off. I brought them with me to lowes and had them cut each leg 1.5 inches off. They were super skeptical because i guess they arent allowed to cut 'outside wood'. i wasnt about to be okay with that so i just kept saying 'okay, will you do it anyways?' and they finally did, they also did that for free. The inside of each leg is hallow, so it really doesnt cause any problems if you decide to have them cut an ikea piece.

 finally, i took everything home and painted each piece of wood lightly with a hand brush and white paint that i've been painting everything in my house. Let it dry for about 15 minutes then i used wood glue and nails to hold each piece of wood in place. I bought the small size of wood glue and almost used it all. I nailed 3 nails in to each piece of wood then i stacked a bunch of heavy items on to the top of the table to let it set and dry. I let it dry for about 24 hours then took everything off. I lightly hand sanded the top of the table then i used a circular handle sponge from hobby lobby to put on the polka dots. 

FINISHED! the total project cost was $38.00 not too shabby, right? I am so happy with the ending result. This coffee table looks so perfect in our little place and it was also a project that only took me a total of 2 hours, labor time.

please excuse all of the extra business going around in these pictures. There are lots of projects under way that i'm also having a good time with. 

Cayman 2012

I call Cayman my second home. My family started going when I was 5 and I have been lucky enough to go back multiple times a year since. We have a home there on the outer skirts of the island where the tourists are far away so that we can go and do absolutely nothing except relax and put the real world behind us. literally we do nothing, it is bliss!

Each of the homes on the island has a name and a color, any color you could ever imagine. Our home is named Kailypso and it is light blue. This year I got to introduce Landon to this dreamy place that I love so much. I cannot tell you how excited I was for him to experience what I have for so many years. I hold this place so close to my heart, I know that sounds totally lame but I really have so much passion for this little island and for our cute little house. It gives me the goosebumps just talking about it! I wish for each and every person to be able to go spend some bit of time in this perfect place.

Now that our family is complete, meaning we are all married, we were able to go to Cayman as a whole. Each person in my family + their spouses + children were able to go except 2. On July 31st we were off for the most perfect 10 day vacation.

We got there in the middle of the day, so naturally I didn't hesitate to show Landon around, but couldn't wait until we had spent a full day there so he could really see what I'm always talking about. That next day we did what we do each and every day; eat breakfast, lounge around, swim, make lunch, go out on the boat, stingray city, snorkel, lounge/play some sand volleyball, eat dinner, play games and on this trip particularly..watched the olympics. Now, that may sound like a lot of stuff and not a whole lot of relaxing but seriously it is such a trip that will recharge you in many positive ways.

We do the same things every single day but maybe add a little bike riding, visits to rum point and kaibo, the pig farm and going to see the mango lady. All things that are a must on our side of the island but not every day sort of things.

We swam in the ocean for uncountable hours, Landon is still shocked by the incredible temperature of the water. It was almost not refreshing with its 90 degrees and our 85 degree + 90% humidity days. but i'm definitely not complaining. I LOOVE the hot hot heat and the warm ocean water, there's something about salt water that I just cant get enough of..I think I must have been a fish or a mermaid in my other life.

We ride on the boat to stingray city on a daily basis to go feed none other than..well...the stingrays! I was anxious for Landon to interact with them because every ones first reaction is always soo entertaining and hilarious. People aren't used to these weird/cool looking things that are slimy and soft and all up in your business. I guess thats the most surprising part, that they literally press up against your body once you get in the water because they are too friendly and just want some dang food! So, we gave them food and after the first day Landon was already pretty used to them. He wasn't being totally aggressive or anything but he would welcome them with open arms. haha. They are really just like dogs but live in the water and are a lot softer..mm I just love it.

The ocean water is also very clear and there is some amazing snorkeling. Landon thought it was a pretty sweet gig. Snorkeling on the reef with colorful fish and coral. Its like being in a real life Finding Nemo movie.  And then there's the eel that after too many years of tour guides feeding the guy, he got really aggressive which caused the tour guides to stop feeding him for safety purposes. He still sticks around in the reef rocks so whenever we find him its always a good time because he just slithers his way out of that rock and freaks people out. Landon swam back a few feet once he saw him, he said he was not expecting that at all. it was funny. The eel is a pretty fish but very intimidating with his very long, sleek green body and sharp teeth. Thank heavens none of us have ever been bitten but I guess thats why we still hunt him down whenever we are there..

Each night while the sun is setting we would board the boat and head out to watch the sun set with slight hopes of seeing *the green flash* which we have yet to see but maybe someday.. the sunsets in Cayman are gorgeous and never disappointing. Landon and Kelsey would fish while we just bobbed in the water.

a few other highlights from this trip: the massive rain falls that would happen in the afternoons,The rainstorms in Cayman are ridiculous so I was really happy for Landon to experience them.  My brothers iphone case can go under water so we took full advantage. my sis and I had an underwater photo shoot and did a little bit of recording, olympics style. it was pretty fun! The ice cream man came by, of course we couldnt pass that up!

all in all this trip was SO great. Landon said he would go back in a split second, I was relieved that he loves it there (almost) as much as I do. He loved our little Kailypso ocean side home, playing horseshoes and beach volleyball every evening, swimming, night time card games, the water and all things Cayman.. and I am one happy gal. I am so happy that I got to take my husband, the love of my life, to Cayman and to have such a great trip with my whole family.

cayman's incredible sunsets.

my #1 pet of choice.

ophelia's eyes are cracking me up

why cant i spin this picture! grr. 

itty bitty pumpkin ice cream cones. some of the best ice-cream i've ever tasted!

too bad its hard to see the rain, its unreal.

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