Barn Wood Height Chart DIY

 I saw a picture of a height chart similar to this quite some time ago and have been meaning to try and make one myself. We started one on the wall when we first moved in, and Everett thought it was SO cool to be measured! I thought something like this was a little more pretty than marks on the wall and also potable if we ever move.
This project was super easy and only took me about an hour and a half all together.
What you need:

• An old piece of wood(I got this for free from an old shed my brother torn down).
• Painters tape(the thick kind would work best, but I didn't have any on hand).
• White paint. Spray paint or canned paint, whatever you prefer(I used both).
• Number stencils.

First measure your board and mark off every 6 inches. You don't want to start inch one right at the bottom of the board(unless you're planning on nailing the bottom of it flesh against the floor). Next, tape off every other six inch space.

 Start spraying(or brushing) your paint on.

Once your painted sections aren't sticky anymore you can remove the tape and start painting your number stencils on.

Optional step: You can finish with a top coat if you want it to last a little longer. I also went over it later with a light sanding to give it a little older look.

And... Viola!

Importance of Beauty

{Photo taken back in 2009}

The past few weeks, as you might have imagined, have been filled with running back and forth between places. Running errands for the new house and moving from one house to another. I can't even start to guess how many miles I've put on my car lately by running small emergency errands or taking little loads to the house. I feel like I've run that route enough to leave a small gully with my tires into the pavement. It's been exactly two months non-stop of it. I'm definitely not complaining though. Having a house and so much on my plate to keep me busy seven days a week is a lot to be thankful for. There's a big part of me though that is ready for a change from the back and forth, inner city routes. I feel like I'm well ready for a little scenery and fresh mountain air. Maybe it's just the summer that's getting me in this outdoorsy mood, but I do know that I'm definitely ready for a little break and a little road trip filled with hiking, camping, lakes, and whatever other summer adventures await!

Spending plenty of time outdoors during the years has always been pretty important to me, but when we get so caught up in a busy lifestyle, it's hard to stop and remember every once in a while to take some time and enjoy a little bit of the great outdoors. So, my hopes for this summer is that I can spend a little more time enjoying some beauty. No matter how little of importance it is, it's still important. So, I hope you, too, can take a little time out of your busy summer to enjoy a little beauty. xo -Liz

Life This Week(according to cellphone pics) #45

Spending too much time by the river, dessert, Out, hwkin it, What he thinks of my music, making my favorite soup, birthday dinner 1, &2, birthday sign just for me, making dinner, cousins and friends, “There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them.”, Happy to see "Bin-Bin", double peanut chip pack!

Currently

enjoying the weather and blue skies

Obsessing over... I know I mentioned earlier how I'm not a big mushy romance film lover, but the other night I saw Pretty Woman for the first time and I LOVED it! I don't know how I haven't seen it before! I know, there is a few cheesy romance parts, but it is now probably one of my favorite chick flicks. And now next, I'm moving on to some more oldie but goodie classic romance comedies I've never had the chance to see before like, an't Buy Me Love, and Pretty In Pink.
Working on... Curtains for the house and finishing up Everett's room.
Thinking about... How incredibly active Everett is. He jumps,and swings from everything and even somehow taught himself to summer salt just by being his active self one evening. I'm thinking that gymnastics might be a good answer for him.
Anticipating... A photoshoot with one of my best friends!
Listening to... Currently listening to the collision of the new Shelock Holmes movie and Cookie monster movie together while I'm typing this out. Musicly though, I can't really pinpoint an exact artist because its been so divers the last couple weeks.
Eating... Egg-in-the-middle bison burgers w/ potato wedges.
Wishing... a) that there weren't so many flying bugs sneaking into every crack of our house in the evenings, but it's probably worth it, being able to live so close to the river. b) that we could take more summer trips. I'm so ready to take one!

On Turning Twenty... Something

{photo via}

Every one likes their day of birth. No matter how much some people don't like to admit it, or don't like to hear that they're ANOTHER year older, there is always some part of you that likes that ONE DAY A YEAR that's yours. Ever since about my eighteenth birthday I've tried to block out in my mind that I'm getting older by the minute. There's just that point in your life when getting older is no longer as fun as it used to be. But no matter how hard you try or how much you avoid the subject, you can just keep telling yourself that you're the same age you were a few years ago, it just doesn't change the facts. So, recently I've been trying to grasp the unlikable facts and take back actually celebrating being another year older. I mean hey, you only have one life to live and if you live it loving who you are and loving yourself, even though you might not love the age you are, you will probably live a much more fulfilled life. Turning another year means you have another year of experiences and things you've never been able to see or do before in your your life. Just think about all the wonderful fun things you would have missed out on if you could actually "skip" another year of getting older. When you think about it that way, getting older isn't so bad! So, instead of pushing aside the things we don't like, let's celebrate that we were able to live one year more and hope for a whole other year full of amazing adventures ahead! Let's actually LIKE getting older!

Home II

It's hard to believe that its already been almost two months since we closed on our house. There are so many little things that still need to be done, it feels like it will never end. But it's such a nice feeling when something gets done it really keeps me going. Our house is literally, truly a disaster right now with so many unpacked boxes and things that don't have a place yet. Maybe one day I'll share some embarrassing "True Life" Photos. But in the mean time, here are a few more photos of what's been happening around the house recently.

Our Weekend

I didn't realize, until a couple days before, that our anniversary landed on Father's Day this year. We ended up celebrating it more on Saturday, but didn't have anything planned(like every year). We ended up doing a few things that I've never done before so it was a lot of fun! After lunch and dropping off the kiddo for the day we went to the driving range. I didn't like it too much at first, but after watching other people and more practice, I was able to get it down a little better which made it a lot more fun. After that, we just decided to go wine tasting because neither of us had gone before. It was SO much fun and I'm really glad we went. We learned a lot and it was such a unique experience. If you've never tried it before, it's totally worth going. After that, we played some arcade games and enjoyed the batting cages, which I had never done before. For dinner we went to our favorite "special occasion" restaurant and had an AMAZING dinner and then split their award winning desert which came with a side of beet ice cream(which I had never tried before). It was so dreamy!

Father's Day shot by so fast, but it was a good day. We had brunch at my parents and hung out with them and then after Everett woke up from his nap, we spent the rest of the day with David's family. 

I was really a great weekend... and since I didn't have time to blog on Sunday, I want to wish a late happy father's day to all you dad's out there. We love and appreciate everything you do! 

P.S. sorry for only i phone pictures. We were running around so much this weekend that I didn't have time to pull out my real camera.

Unexplainable

Today, we enjoyed some much needed "fun time". My mom, SIL LaRae, and niece Shyla came along with us to Moon Farm and it was the funniest experiences. Moon Farm is a kid friendly farm with all sorts of animals and playhouses to explore. I used to go quite a bit when I was little, so it was pretty cool to take Everett. But everything is pretty much EXACTLY the same. It's so old, that everything has this creepy haunted feeling to it. I know the kids probably don't see it as much as me, but there were times when I was literally freaked out, but yet I already want to go back again. It's awesome yet creepy. It scares you, yet you want more. It's magical yet scary. I really don't know how else to explain it! I still do highly recommend taking your kids if you live near Grand Junction. We snuggled and kissed some baby bunnies and the kids got to see and experience a lot of things they never have before! Anyway, here are some photos from our little adventure.

Wedding Part 2

This is part two to the Goaks's wedding... To see part one, click here.