Happy SUMMER! We are BACK!

Even though we've been doing summer-ish type stuff since May it's finally summer-summer-summer time with this Saturday being June 21st. We've been super busy doing mostly nothing at all...just taking a blog break. But we wanted to catch you up a little on our life before we get back into the DIY and home decor stuff that is on the way!

Summer starts with selfies with the dog on car rides!


And Snapchat selfies (everyone piled in the guest bedroom bed) when friends come to our house for a weekend of fun!

True beauts in the morning! Photo/Snapchat Credit to Hollie @ Fancykins 

 Partying with family especially my sissy...

 My grandma knows how to really get the party going!

Grillin' out....

Throwing a kegger for memorial day....

A quick girls trip to Nashville!

Dressing in that good old red white and blue...and matching your husband.

Don't think we would forget to get our house summer ready too!

Planting fake succulents in cute vintage pots, and tricking your friends into thinking you now have a green thumb...

Taking a photo of a real life plant so you can remember it before you kill it. (I try to keep them alive, I really do.)

Jumping up and down and taking 13 photos of the very red and plump strawberry you grew all by yourself. There is hope for plants in my future!

Watched my husband play "The Hero" in a murder mystery in the local community theatre!

 What would summer be without flea markets!!

 3rd Sunday Market. My favorite.

Our next big project this summer....

Staining the deck, more on that soon.


Tons of posts sitting in the draft just waiting for me to finish edits and will be posted next week. Everyone enjoy your first weekend of summer!

You can see more of what Adam, Scout & I have been up to this summer by following us on instagram!
Follow me on instagram!

Spring Vignette and Mantel

Finally! Was that a long winter or what?  Spring is here, and apparently so are the April Showers...which I keep reminding myself...

Source

Then sadly, I remembered I didn't even plant May flowers. I did plant a few June flowers. Gah, not good enough. I made a mental note to plant 5,000 tulips for next Spring. I need tulips in my life!

Anyway, my favorite "Spring-y decor" in our house is our entryway.
This old sewing machine table is really beat up, but I kinda like it that way. To create this vignette I shopped my house and the thrift store.

My sweet baby lamby greets guests at the door. I think she fits perfect in the Spring theme.

I took some cheap-o dollar store plastic eggs and mod podged some old book pages to them. Then stuffed them in a mason jar. Done.

I found a few ducks and bunnies at the thrift store and gave them a few coats of silver spray paint.

QUICK STORY: When I posted the above photo on my Instagram, somebunny (my mother) demanded she have the bunny holding the egg for herself. So off to her house this little rabbit went...

EDIT: here is the bunny in his new home, on my mom's kitchen counter.

Anyway, back to the vignette. The chalkboard was an old frame from Family Dollar of all places. I sprayed the frame white then used a little antique gold rub and buff.

Add a spritz of fresh grocery store flowers for a cheap and true spring touch. (If you are smart and planted yourself some tulips, you are lucky, you can use those!)

I love decorating with old books. The funny thing is, I pick them up for a quarter at the thrift store, and my husband ends up reading them. If he knew I ripped out the pages of some to make these eggs he would may or may not be cranky.

My mantel also had a few Spring additions. I made a burlap and lace banner one evening with a girlfriend at our monthly "Wine and Design"

Added a few little bunnies too, and my mantel is ready for Spring!

See my Winter/ New Year Vignette.
See my Fall/ Autumn Vignette.
You can jump back and see my Christmas Mantel right here.

What do you do to get ready for Spring in your house?
Do you have Spring flowers popping up?

Gulf Shores Adventures

A little over a week ago. Adam and I and 3 other couples headed down to Gulf Shores Alabama for a quick getaway.

We rented a beach house. On the beach of course.

We cooked out.

The men cookin'......

We walked on the beach, even on the day it was chilly (65 degrees, steaming HOT compared to Illinois!).

Played a little beach football and some serious games of sand volleyball!

We relaxed by the ocean.

Enjoyed several of these milkshakes---with booze in it.

Alabama Bushwhacker

Went out for a night on the town....err at the Marina club...

The lovely ladies before an evening at Tacky Jacks...

Went fishing....

and caught just a few...

Went out for oysters.

And shrimp and crab legs!

And giant drinks.

Swigged a couple afternoon drinks at a pink bar on the beach.

Complete with a pink viewfinder.

Had lots of laughs, along with a few hangovers and sunburns....

Then said goodbye to the ocean and the sand, packed the cars up and headed back to the cornfields of Illinois.
We loved Gulf Shores and we will be back!


Have you ever been on a road trip to the beach? 
Ever rented a beach house? 

Be My Guest | Ashley from Attempts at Domestication

While I am relaxing somewhere on a (hopefully sunny) beach. I've asked a few ladies to fill in for me. Today's guest is my friend Ashley.

Hey there Let's Just Build a House readers! I'm so excited to be here while Trina is on vacation, even though I'm totally jealous. I'm Ashley and I blog over at Attempts at Domestication! I live in Richmond, VA with my handsome husband of three years in a cute little house in the suburbs. I blog about all things domestic from crafts, home decor, cooking, sewing and life. My husband and I have also dabbled into woodworking and the pieces that we've built together are some of my favorite things about my house! Our first project was building a large 8 person farmhouse dining room table. We painted the legs and apron a crisp white and stained the tabletop dark walnut. It's an amazing combination and I never thought I could love a piece of furniture so much! The chairs were an awesome $80 find on Craigslist and I really think they compliment the table very well. I plan on refinishing them, but I can't decide if I should finish them in a fun color or leave them white. After successfully building a table we got brave enough to try our hands at building a nightstand for our master bedroom. We searched high and low for a nightstand that met all of my requirements, which included having a drawer, a shelf and being made from actual wood. My husband did a fantastic job at constructing the nightstand and I absolutely love it. It is painted the same crisp white as the dining table and the top is the same shade of walnut. We splurged a little on the knob, it was $8 at Anthropologie, but I think it's the perfect finishing touch. My favorite home decor projects to date has to be the old window that I turned into a picture frame for a few of our wedding pictures. I love having reminders of our special day hanging up in our bedroom in such a fun way. I also created some fun typography of our vows that hang over our nightstands. To see more of my projects and to get to know me a little better be sure to pop over to Attempts at Domestication or follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Thanks so much to Trina for having me over! I hope you are having a blast on your vacation! :)

I've been reading Ashley's blog for a few years and I'm still impressed with her crafting and DIYs. You should follow her on instagram too. She posts her adorable outfits and photos of her wine drinking (like me!). Be sure to hop over and visit her. I know you will stick around! 


REMINDER!

If you haven't entered the Giveaway for the super awesome Teak Bench from Teak Closeouts Please head over here to enter for your chance to win! Giveaway closes in a few days!