Sunburst Mirror DIY

The space above my TV has been longing for SOMETHING for months now. That big blank wall has just been staring me down. Because my TV is a giant rectangle, the last thing I needed was another rectangle of art--- To pinterest I went!

I quickly discovered what I had been needing all my life long was in fact a sunburst mirror. I mean, how in the heck can you say no to this:

$135 from Samjen Arts' Etsy shop

Or this:

$199 from Bliss Home and Design

Or this?!:

$34 +shipping from Target

The Target one by far was the most affordable, but all of the mirrors were about 2ft in diameter (hello, my TV is 50 inches, 2 feet above that looks like NOTHIN.

So the pinterest search continued and I found some great DIYs. I got some great ideas from Stephanie Lynn and House of Fifty that you should check out. Awesome. After some more looking though, I really found a way to blend these and other DIY mirrors into something that was absolutely what I wanted. So without further ado, My Sunburst Mirror DIY!

Yes, we were watching TV and Yes those are our bikes. BUT IT LOOKS GOOD RIGHT?!
Don't worry, more pics to come.

All my shopping was done at walmart and I got everything for $22.33. Roll with me here.

For about $14, I got this mainstays 5pc mirror set.
Mirrors range from 8-11 inches. So for $14, I got 5 little mirrors waiting to be born into lovely sunbursts.

For 97 cents I got a pack of 100 of these BBQ skewers. They may seem small (12 in long) but when we glue them to the mirror, it is going to add a full 24 inches to the diameter, without even adding the mirror into that measurement, its bigger than the ones from the websites above. 

And for 3.97 I got this gold spray paint. I have never bought spray paint before so I didn't know what was good. For future reference: THIS WAS GOOD. It was all I could do not to spray paint everything I own gold.

So that is our shopping list. I already had my hot glue gun and tape at home. Woohoo! I will add that when I bought these three things at walmart the guy was like "So what are you going to do with all of this?" and I tried to explain it to him. He said "interesting". Clearly did not get my vision. Well walmart guy, I will prove you wrong.

First, take out your mirrors. Notice it says "ready to hang?" Ohhh mainstays mirror set, you couldn't be further from being ready to hang.

Take out your mirror, grab some fat tape (all I had was packing tape. C'est la vie.) And go across your mirror with the tape, pushing down in the corners.

Repeat that a bajillion times. I did a pattern like I was cutting a pie. You can see in this photo I still have some more tape to do, but you get the picture.

Once it's all taped up. Grab a knife and slice around the edge of the mirror. 

Once you have cut the tape, pull it all off so the frame of the mirror is exposed, but the mirror itself is still taped up. Essentially we are just taping off the mirror here, but it's a trick that worked for me.

Grab your sticks and your mirror, and spray paint them!

Once dry, peel off that tape. It won't be perfect (as shown), but just grab your knife again and scratch off the paint that got stuck. 

Once the mirror is taken care of, flip it around and start gluing! Just like with the tape, we are going to place our sticks across from each other. One DIY-er said they layered on the glue, after doing a few of them, I can tell you now that that isn't the best for the hot glue. It doesn't need a crazy amount, just a dollop. 

I actually would put the glue down and let it cool a bit before I stuck them on there, otherwise I had to hold those sticks for a looooong time.

Here we are, about half way!

I had to take a sneak peek!

And here all the sticks are glued. You could probably fit some more in there if you want an even fuller look.

Even though there was already a hole in the back for hanging, I fashioned one out of photo frame wire. Much easier to hang up in my opinion!

TA DA! It is finished!

Usually my projects seem to look....homemade....but I can honestly say these have turned out looking WAY better than I ever expected. They have a nice clean look to them! My mirror ended up being 34 inches in diameter, and it really fills the space. I love it because it really does look very high end and expensive (and it was not!)

Local folks, if you are interested, I have made up all the mirrors and I am selling them for $10 bucks a piece. Cheaper than it would cost to do it yourself AND you help me get rid of all these sunbursts I have now ;) So let me know if you want one!

xoxoxo

Regrets From the Single Years

As my parents can attest, I have always been excited to get on to the next phase of life. I crave change and development, and I have always had the most difficulty accepting a LACK of change. Not only is it boring, but it makes me feel like I am not progressing. As I have tried to get better at it, I swing between wishing everything would change all of a sudden to wishing nothing would ever change and Derek and I could perpetually live as newlyweds forever and ever (which isn't that healthy either...I am aware of this).

Lest my eagerness seems without consequences, I present to you my regrets from the single years!

1. Girly Girly Girly. There is nothing like cozying up in a nice bright pink flower comforter. No joke. One of my biggest regrets of pre-married life was that I didn't make every piece of my decor just absolutely and undoubtedly feminine. And even though Derek insists he would be fine with it if I went femi-crazy on our decor, I know that A. His guy friends would make fun of him for it when they came over (because I guess having a boring bachelor pad and no one to share your bed with at night is more fun?!) or B. a constant feeling of guilt that I have surrounded my manly man with the pinkest of hues.

So single ladies, do me a favor, and go buy this bed spread:

Get everything from this Walmart ad:

And bask in the glory of your girly-a-fied space.

2. Being More Social. While I have always been a social butterfly, there were certainly people I avoided because I felt weird starting conversations if I didn't know them. It has been really hard for Derek and I to make any friends here, so I am really wishing I would have spent more of my time with others when I really had the chance. Here's to hoping that the next place we move to will be more friendly. But in the mean time, singles: go hang out and just be goofy. Meet new people and have fun.

3. Find something you love and embrace it completely, even if you suck. It wasn't until I got to college that I found that I actually loved fitness. And while sometimes I am more in-shape than others (like right now I am pretty much just in-shape for a doughnut competition) I still love the challenge and have fun running, doing stadium stairs, yoga, and hiking. Growing up I had seen people be so good sports, I felt like there was no way I could ever be good at something like that, so I never even tried. The same applies to art, writing, cooking, and getting an education. Try EVERYTHING. You may hate a lot of it, you may be bad at a lot of it, but you may also be surprised with how alive it makes you feel!

My First Marathon!

Inferno Challenge (a really hard workout...)

Junior Year: 180+ pages of writing

100% On my history final!

Derek and I painted this!

And I painted this!

I cooked my first turkey!!!

I graduated college...WITH HONORS! :D

You may be surprised where all this takes you...

Enjoy the life you are living! Go out and have fun! xoxo

Marriages are Permanent and Precious

Firstly, I hope you guys enjoy our recent blogger face-lift! I think this one will be better for mobile users, but let us know :)

I've been thinking a lot about marriage recently, given our recent anniversary as well as several recent couples' engagements. How strange is it that many of us (particularly within the LDS church) make the most important decision of our earthly life (and entire eternity) before we can legally drink, purchase a hotel room without getting the third degree, or rent a car without that huge fee.

Perhaps that juxtaposition comes from the fact that we are trying to take God's path in an a society touting an ever-extending period of adolescence. Yet it also suggests that God's plan was never for marriage to be the end-all-be-all of life on earth. In fact, marriage is the beginning. Marriage is the tree we plant that will bring forth all other experiences: careers, children, education, travel, and all the trials in between. While marriage and family life remains the highest of God's commandments and callings, it is the foundation of almost everything we will do in our lives.

How important it is, then, to choose a partner who will help us bring about good, help us experience joy, and help us experience completeness; being ever mindful that Satan has his counterfeit to each of these emotions. Although "all you need is love" is a cheery song to sing in the depths of newlywed poverty, it is always important to understand that the healthiest of marriages will always require more than love and affection. Humility, hard-work, mutual understanding, and a spiritual foundation keep marriages progressing.

Marriage should always be viewed as "permanent and precious". The greatest joys in this life are to be experienced hand-in-hand with another.

What We Learned about Life, Marriage, and Each Other in 365 Days

People always say that "the first year is the hardest"....I don't think there is any possible way that could actually be true, because we basically skipped effortlessly through each month of marriage. Some of our hardest moments were more about us getting used to each other emotionally, but we are both pretty forgiving people, and luckily neither of us has the energy or interest to hold any sort of grudge...so those moments were few and far between, especially after the second or third month. As a matter of fact, after celebrating our anniversary this weekend, I got to thinking "could I have learned anything in these last 12 months?"

After some reflection here are our lists of things we have learned about Life, Marriage, and Each Other.

Derek's List:
1. Anytime is chocolate time

2. Arianne has an eye for interior design and crafting

3. I've seen a much greater measure of Arianne's character. Arianne is consistently sacrificing her needs for others and always is looking to help others.

4. Foot rubs are almost next to chocolate in basic needs.

5. Life is not just to be enjoyed but to be shared with others.

6. My wife is an amazing cook.

7. Arianne is quickly forgiving.

8. An ounce of prevention in communication saves a pound of hurt

9. When we take time to budget finances, life is so much less stressful.

10. Change your tax status early.

11. A hug and a kiss can go a long way after a rough day.


Arianne's List (Naturally mine is much more loquacious. Roll with me here.):
1. Relying on the Lord's blessings is much easier than relying on your own strength and intelligence.

2. The Lord blesses us for the sacrifices we make.

3. Waking up on a Saturday morning next to my sweetheart will forever be the best thing on earth.

4. Derek is extremely thoughtful and introspective, while I am extremely spontaneous and busy. Sometimes it can be frustrating when we are both being stubborn, but when we let go a little and try to have thoughtful moments AND spontaneous moments, we both have a lot of fun.

5. Derek is the best person on the planet to go through anything with ever. Funny. Smart. Hardworking. Creative. This man is the bomb.

6. Derek is hardworking, grounded, and ambitious, while also being a big dreamer. I feel like it is so easy to get lost in that 9-5 ambition that we forget to dream about who we want to be, where we want to live, where we could visit, etc. With Derek, though, this mix is completely natural. He works hard for us all day but is never too exhausted to speculate on where life could take us.

7. Life is so much more fun when you allow yourself to believe that you are awesome!

8. Allow your spouse to pursue their ideas: I feel like I put the kibosh on a lot of Derek's ideas, and after a year of marriage I think that is one of my biggest regrets. Will I actually let him fill the basement of our future home with racks of servers? Probably not (sorry hunny), but I think it's important to let each other dream about things without crushing each other with reality. We have enough time for life to crush our dreams! hahah

9. Sometimes you just need a snuggle!

10. It is important to spend time alone: Personal development is just as important as an adult as it is when you are a teenager. As awesome as it is to spend 100% of your time with someone you love, it is equally important to devote some time to "center" yourself through spiritual study, prayer, and introspection....otherwise you don't have time to set goals or think about where you want to be in 5 or 10 years.


We've had so much fun this past year. Sending a huge thank you to all of our friends and family who made our wedding possible. We are grateful for your continued support throughout our marriage! Lots-a-love to you :)

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

It has been a couple weeks months since I last wrote. Despite my desire to keep a record of our life together, I just have had trouble making it a priority when I have so much going on! So here's a little update for you all!

The Sugar:
-Derek got a new job (in addition to his current job) as an IT manager for some condos here in Pullman. He is such a hard worker and is looking forward to his first day!

-Derek and I paid off our first student loan: 4,371.46 dollars! We are so excited! We are doing the Dave Ramsey plan and we are loving it. Technically, the plan calls for us to pay off our smallest loan first, but we both felt very impressed that this was the one we needed to get rid of. Not only did it have the worst interest rate, it was our largest, and it was also the only one my Dad had cosigned on. I have some more ideas about the loan, but I figured I would save those for another post so we could all get on with our lives ;)

-Honor Cords, Caps, and Gowns OH MY! I graduate in 22 days! Hard to believe that in just 3 weeks I will be walking at my college graduation! Those years go by so fast. They weren't always fun but I did make an effort to work really hard. I have student teaching in the fall at a local middle school, and then I am all certified to begin teaching and substituting! I am graduating with a 3.68 Cum Laude honors, in addition to my Outstanding Senior Award from the history department and my Phi Beta Kappa honor cords. So weird to think this part of my life will soon be over (but at the same time I am so grateful it will be! It's can be really hard!!!)

-We have a nephew!!! Or more importantly, my wonderful sister Hillary and her husband Nick had a beautiful, healthy baby boy. On April 14, 2014, Daniel Pulsipher Steckler came in to the world at 7lbs 3oz, and 19 1/4 inches long. His mommy says that he is "very strong, alert, and loves to check out his surroundings wherever he goes." We are very excited to meet the little guy, but unfortunately we may not be able to for a little bit. For right now, we are enjoying looking at pictures of our sweet little baby.

The Spice:

-A little low on the Vitamin D. Always a rough world for me, particularly in the winter. I hate feeling agitated, tired and depressed, but when my Vit D is low, that's pretty much all I feel. I had a really bad week in early April, but I have been doing fairly well since I increased my Vit. D. dosage. So far I have only had one other rough spot. I hate thinking this is something I will live with for the rest of my life, but I am encouraged by the fact that soon I won't have to live in Pullman. Or Washington for that matter. I always enjoyed sunny days, but I have a greater appreciation for them now more than ever! My dream would be to move to southern Utah or Nevada to get some much needed sunshine. The summer here will do me good, but I am in need of sunshine 365 days of the year! :)

-Saying goodbye to an old friend. In March, we said farewell to our old friend, the Jeep. Derek had inherited a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee from his father. We had so many great memories in that car and it was so hard to say goodbye! Unfortunately, there were a lot of issues with the car and repairs to be made so it was smarter financially to sell it at a decent price to someone who thought it was worth all of that! Initially we were going to buy Derek a newer car almost immediately, but sharing a car wasn't at all as hard as we thought. We decided to put a majority of that money towards the loan and continue to save. We are planning on getting another car in July.

Everything Nice:

-Love my husband even more! Saturday is our 9 month anniversary! I can't believe this year is going by so quickly! We just have so much fun together. It was actually pretty exciting because these past few weeks we have made our first BIG decisions together. Selling the car, and paying off the loan. As fun as it is to reach my own goals, it is a million times more fun to work together with someone else I love so much. Making those decisions together has actually given me a lot more confidence to make more big decisions together over the years. Everyone says that the first year of marriage is the hardest, but I don't think there is any way I could possibly agree with that. Derek and I have been blessed beyond belief and we just have a blast together! He is my everything!


Thanks for reading!

Half Marathon Training Plan

Derek and I have been very busy recently prepping for our next race! We have a half marathon in March and a full in May! Whenever I start training, I get a lot of requests for my plan. I make changes every year, but so far I am really liking what I have going on this season.

Week 1:

Monday 3 mi

Tuesday XT

Wednesday 3 mi

Thursday rest

Friday 3 mi 

Saturday 4 mi

Week 2:

Monday 4 mi

Tuesday XT

Wednesday 5 mi

Thursday rest

Friday 4 mi 

Saturday 6 mi

Week 3:

Monday 5 mi

Tuesday XT

Wednesday 6 mi

Thursday rest

Friday 5 mi 

Saturday 8 mi

Week 4:

Monday 6 mi

Tuesday XT

Wednesday 8 mi

Thursday rest

Friday 6 mi 

Saturday 10 mi

Week 5:

Monday 6 mi

Tuesday XT

Wednesday 8 mi

Thursday rest

Friday 6 mi 

Saturday 10 mi

Week 6:

Monday 6 mi

Tuesday XT

Wednesday 8 mi

Thursday rest

Friday 6 mi 

Saturday 12 mi

Week 7: 

Monday 5 mi

Tuesday XT

Wednesday 5 mi

Thursday rest

Friday 5 mi 

Saturday 12 mi

Week 8:

Monday 3 mi

Tuesday XT

Wednesday 1 mile walk 

Thursday rest

Friday 1 mile walk

Saturday 13.1 mi

Essentially, every Tuesday is a cross training day. These are low impact activities that exercise the heart, build endurance, and strengthen opposing running muscles.

Thursdays and Sundays are rest days. 

If you feel radiating pain in your shins, R.I.C.E it and switch to XT only for a week. Shin splints will knock you out of the game, so don't push it. Just train your legs and heart differently. When you do get back in the game, cut back the weekly mileage. Too much too soon, bad shoes, and hard running surfaces can all be a part of this. Take it seriously, when I didn't, I was out of running for 8 weeks....and I couldn't jump, walk down stairs, or get out of bed without feeling like me legs were broken (because they pretty much were). Painful.

This plan is for an athletic person who likes a challenge. Originally I got a beginner plan and over the years it has gotten more and more challenging. If you can run two miles without stopping and want to make sure you will cross that line confidently, this is your plan. Alternatively, one could cap the Saturday runs at 10 mi and be just fine. I like them at 12 so I can be SURE I can run 13 :)

Be safe, run at a steady pace, and get sweaty people!

4 Things We Learned From Our First DIY

This past holiday weekend, we updated our china hutch from this:

to this:

We had so much fun and I am really enjoying the fruits of our labor. This is our first furniture piece that I have really really loved and been able to make MY style.

How it all went down:
I knew I wanted to do my hutch for a while, so I was excited when the stars aligned and there was finally time! I had previously talked to my Mom (you can see all her amazing craftiness at her blog) who gave me a few tips, and after some google searches, I stumbled across Live Love DIY's blog "How To Paint Laminate Furniture". If you are tempted to paint SOMETHING check out that resource.

1) We took apart all of the hinges and drawers

2) Used Kilz Original primer on everything ($6) 

3) Then we used an acrylic paint from walmart ($8)
4) We did a second coat of the acrylic paint, I mixed up a little blue paint for the back.

5) Let it all dry, put it back together, and we were DONE!

But it wasn't exactly seamless. Here is what we learned.

1) It took me 30 minutes to pick out what "white" paint I wanted. I knew I wanted it to look warm, so I was thinking "ivory". I picked out a shade called "White with Everything". It was actually the darkest "white" shade they had. I AM SO GLAD I DID. Anything less cream-colored would have just looked stark white. As far as the white shades go, choose one darker than you think. It will still look white, it will just look warmer. For anyone who cares, we chose a flat paint to mimic the chalk-paint style that is fashionable these days. 

2) One thing they don't teach you in your first 20 years of life, is that primer is THICK. It also dries fairly quickly. That means any globs or unevenness you see needs to be taken care of pretty quickly. If you are going for smooth finish, put on smooth primer. For the most part, ours turned out very smooth and we weren't super aware of that, but there are some spots that could have benefited from smoother application.

3) Here is where I got stupid. We live in Pullman, Washington. On a nice January day, it may get in to the 40s or 50s, but by evening it is back in the 20s. Do you know that paint doesn't dry sub-40ish degrees? It seems obvious, but we didn't think of that. After waiting hours for the last coat to dry (unlike the others which only took a little bit), I turned to google and found that I needed to rescue that furniture ASAP or I would end up with an icy mess. So, at about 11pm, I made my husband lovingly asked my husband to help me bring all of the doors, drawers, and the big piece itself into our make-shift art studio (my living room). We put down an old sheet and towel and got everything situated, and touched up any little mistakes. It wasn't a huge deal for us, but just remember to check the drying temperature of your paint, otherwise you may end up with an icy/frosty mess!

4) "Do you ever swear in your head sometimes?" Derek asked me this after we had been frustrated for hours trying to get the doors to close properly after putting back on the hinges. I quickly responded "YES." So we are probably going to H-E-double-hockey-sticks for sure. But really, those door hinges are a nightmare. Everything finally worked out after messing with them for a day or two. Out of everything, I think this is the most important thing we learned: Instead of getting excited and removing every hinge you see EVER, tape over them (or I suppose you could just paint them too!). It really wouldn't have been too hard to just paint them while they were attached, so taping is a possibility. My dad also suggested that at the very least, you mark where the hinges were before you take them off. Ours were adjustable, so even though there is only one hole drilled in the wood, the piece can move up and down AHHH. It ended up being that I was screwing the screws in too tightly, and it was slightly warping the hinge. I loosened up the bottom a bit and PRESTO- it was good to go.

We are already getting excited for our next DIY. I wonder what it will be! In the mean time, I am enjoying seeing my vintage style starting to appear in our little place. Things are coming together!