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Heartbeat of the home

2/22/2015

If you're anything like us, your pet is the heartbeat of your home. This is our puppy Cooper, and here are some ways that we have given him a place in our home.

Eating Area. Don't be afraid to make this as unique as the rest of your home. One of the best things I did in our new house was buy Cooper a rug ($10, Target). This provides an opportunity to tie the eating area in with the rest of your home while protecting the beautiful hardwood floors from all the splashing that can take place at the water bowl.

I keep Cooper's dog food in a bin I found at IKEA.. This makes it so easy to refill his bowl when his food gets low. I got it in white, but I was very tempted to get the teal, so pretty!

Toy Box. Cooper has more toys that you might expect. I wanted to find a spot that was accessible to him while being out of the way. The bottom shelf of a book shelf is perfect! Stick the toys in a low profile basket and you're good to go!

Dog Bed. We made this bed for Cooper using a vintage suitcase we found at a yard sale; he loves it! It fits standard sized pillows, creating a perfect opportunity to reuse worn out pillows, AND you can easily wash the pillow case, as needed.

Dog Bed directions (via Hgtv)

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My favorite pallet

2/21/2015

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You should have seen the way that my Dad looked at me when Dan and I came home from our honeymoon with a pallet. It was similar to the look that Dan gave me when I asked him to pull over to get it.

For our honeymoon, Dan and I went to Chincoteague Island. It was absolutely beautiful! The coolest part was that we were accidentally there for the pony swim. If you have never heard of this event, definitely check it out! We will be going back with our kids in the future!

One day we were driving through town and I noticed a pallet in a back alley leaning against some trash cans. The natural gray color, the wide plank wood, all the bangs and bruises... it was beautiful! I fell in love. It didn't take much to get Dan to pull over, but he did take some convincing to put it in the car with us (bugs? mold? mildew? ...it's probably fine).

Fast forward to my Dad's face, "You brought home a pallet...?" YES! Luckily he allowed it to live in his garage until Dan and I moved out (Thanks, Dad!). The pallet's next home was in our apartment. If you are doing apartment living you know how careful you have to be with the walls; a pallet is a great solution! Simply balance the pallet on top of a dresser, leaning against the wall. Then you are able to decorate however you want, nailing frames, etc. into the PALLET and not the wall!

We have now moved the pallet three times and I have had to defend my pallet each time (Dad, Dad again, and a friend who helped us move). When we moved into current home we were so thankful to have so many people help us move, but with so many hands there was almost disaster... when our friend saw the pallet in our moving truck, they thought it must have been trash! "Why is there a pallet? I guess we'll need to throw that out..." Nooooooooooo! I began to explain the pallet and how we use it, but only got a confused look. "I think I'll have to see it before I get it."

I think I have now converted the "pallet haters" in my immediate vicinity (yes, even Dad!). There are so many cool things you can do with pallets: build furniture, shelves, decor... I chose to leave mine whole and intact because it seemed like a work of art on it's own.

Here are some ways I helped our pallet reach it's potential:
In order to use the pallet to display beautiful things, I needed something to fill the gap between the front and the back frame. Dan and I were walking through IKEA one day and I decided to take a gamble on these candle trays. They fit like a glove and solved my pallet problem. I love that they are just the right width to sink into the gap, without falling through.

[link to Candle tray]

I included a mixture of old and new and played with colors and patterns. I love how crisp the white looks against the weathered wood of the pallet. I tried to flow white throughout as a grounding color. If you find a frame that you love, but hate the color, USE SPRAY PAINT. I found both of my white frames at yard sales and bought them for their shape and design.

Mason jars fit perfectly in the gap of the pallet, and were ideal to display small collections. In our mason jars we have shells from our honeymoon, and buttons and "keys to a successful marriage" from our wedding. I love mason jars because they provide beautiful storage for tiny things, those small and special pieces you find but then think "what will I ever do with this?" Answer: use a mason jar!

Our pallet is one of my favorite pieces in our home. Not only is it beautiful, it's the perfect canvas to showcase who we are. On our pallet you can see that Dan loves Dr. Pepper, I accidentally collect bird decor, we went to JMU, and we have the cutest puppy in the world. You can learn a lot about someone by how they decorate their pallet!

Do you have a pallet? How does it define YOU?

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We are reclaimed.

2/17/2015

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"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

"I like to make things." I've never really known how to explain what it is I love to do. I like finding stuff that other people want to throw away and turn it into something desirable. I like bringing new life and purpose to old, worn-out things. I love to wander through thrift shops, stop at random yard sales, and go to the sketchiest of antique stores (Dan likes to joke that "we'll need to get tetanus shots when we leave here..."). I have a slight (huge) obsession with HGTV, and I would love to rescue a fixer upper someday. I have a constant desire to make old things new, to turn unwanted things into something desirable.

Not only have I struggled to explain my hobby, I've wrestled to understand how I can use it to honor Him. How does "trash to treasure" share His love? Only recently did it dawn on me: just like I take broken, worn-out, discarded things and recreate them into something new, useful, and beautiful, He takes us, despite our flaws and failings, and gives us new life, new purpose, and a new identity in Him. He reclaims us.

Every piece we renew has a story, just like each of us. I want to share those stories, and my stories. I want to inspire others to see the potential around them, and to recycle, renew, or reclaim what might otherwise be tossed out. And I want to remind myself, and others, that He has taken us --the old, abandoned, forgotten things-- and made us a new creation.

He promises a fresh start, we just need to take it.

We are Reclaimed.

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Heartbeat of the home

My favorite pallet

We are reclaimed.

renew.recycle.reclaim.repurpose.

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