Silobrating with the Best!

Like every other HGTV-loving American, I love Fixer Upper.  Truth be told, my husband and I started thinking differently about house hunting when we started watching Chip and JoJo. While we knew our skill set was a bit different than the Gaines dynamic duo... it made us approach houses differently and through a different set of lenses. Now, our house is not a "fixer-upper", however I like to think of parts of house being a blast from the past. The 90's are still alive and well in many areas of our sweet little home. 

This brings us to Waco, TX....My best friend just happens to live in Dallas, Texas. In the fall, we were planning a little visit at the end of October and it just so happened that the Silobration would be happening in Waco the same weekend we would be visiting The Lone Star State in October! 

This, my friends, was a no brainer. We packed up the car and made the trek down to Waco. We arrived incredibly early (we couldn't help ourselves), so we had a bite to eat at Twisted Root Burger Co.  We made sure to leave room for the food trucks later, of course. 

We're the four best friends anyone could ever have........ 

 We browsed the Magnolia Market with hundreds of other gawking fans and snagged a few keepsakes to take home. I couldn't leave without a t-shirt (I am my father's daughter!), candle, and one of Jimmy Don's metal signs. 

We listened to Johnnyswim sing, Chip and Joanna share their story (it's possible I may have cried...), and snacked on pizza from food trucks. 

It was an amazing trip and even better because it was spent with people I love the most!

Next on the list? I'm bound and determined to stay in that cute little B&B or I'll settle for Joanna flying to Missouri and being my best friend. 

Tying the Knot: Love is Sweet

Mike Cassimatis Photography

Mike Cassimatis Photography

At the end of our reception, guests were invited to take home a jar of honey. Now, this was not just your ordinary jar of honey. No... No... No! This was honey made in California, Missouri by my husband's parents. Let me repeat that for you: These little jars of Moniteau Honey came straight from California, Missouri and my in-laws house. 

It really doesn't get much sweeter than that. :)

Mike Cassimatis Photography

Filling these jars was a breeze thanks to my father-in-law's genius idea to use ketchup bottles filled with honey for easy filling. Plus, we had a cute flower girl/assistant helping to tighten the lids and fill boxes. :)

Behind the Scenes

Mike Cassimatis Photography

My friend Maggie  (you may remember her from this post, too!) was kind enough to make labels for the honey jars saying, Love is Sweet. Thanks For Making our Day Complete and thanking guests for being part of our special day. I called on my good friend Abby to decorate our chalkboards. Check out Abby's blog and learn how to fake calligraphy like the pro's!

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A year ago this month we became husband and wife! Read more about our favorite day in June here.

Curb Appeal

When we bought our house last March, we inherited a pretty ridiculous jungle of overgrown plants lava rocks, and weeds. We gave ourselves the summer to you know... get married... and then we started on the front yard in the fall. 

Up until this point, I had never paid any attention to landscaping. I knew the basics...

"Oh, those are pretty flowers!"

and

"Wow, they should cut their grass."

Those two statements could sum up my knowledge on the subject matter of landscaping. 

The first order of business was to rip out the existing plants. Once spring rolled around, we started to research more about plants and landscaping. Boy, oh boy. My head kind of exploded. My Pinterest board is a great example of how my brain was bouncing around in the subject of gardening. 

We decided to plant a row of Hostas along the house and use Boxwoods under our front windows. I must point out... This decision came after many conversations with other people. 

When we had the old plants ripped out, we were fortunate to find lava rocks hiding beneath (sigh).  In addition to the lava rocks, Mother Nature and Planet Earth left many rocks for us to find as well. However, we made lemonade out of lemons and used the rocks to help us line a path to our backyard. 

We also felt pretty tough after all that diggin'. 

Our trusty 'ol Menards bucket made several trips to the woods with rocks filled to the brim.  (P.S. I did not carry the rocks, my strong husband took care of the part for me!)

The final piece to our landscaping masterpiece (I can call it that, right?) was mulch.  My husband and I were definitely not agreeing on the right number of bags of mulch. This was our conversation:

"I want to buy ten bags of mulch." - Scott
"WHAT! No way." - Me
"Okay... six." -Scott
"Five." - Me
...... Later at the store, I got distracted looking at plants and we rolled out of Home Depot with eight bags. Very sneaky, Scott. Very sneaky.

However, I should have listened because we need more mulch. :)

Moral of the story: Buy all the mulch. You'll need a ton. Also, admit to your husband when you're very wrong on calculating the amount of mulch needed. 

Before... During... After

Viola! What should I plant next....

Read more about our house projects here. 

Tying the Knot - The Ultimate Lip Sync Battle

It's a bit cliche to say, "time flies when you're having fun...". However - it's so true! Time has been flying, we've been having fun..... and we have almost been married a year! I'm picking up where I left off back in July (gulp) and sharing about Tying the Knot with my super awesome husband. 

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Like every other human on the planet, I'm a BIG fan of Lip Sync Battle on Jimmy Fallon (and the show on Spike)! I was hooked the moment I watched Emma Stone belt out Blues Traveler and All I Do is Win. 

My husband (of almost a YEAR.... I must point out!) and I had the most brilliant idea one night during wedding planning. 

Let's challenge our bridal party to the most epic Lip Sync Battle... of all time. 

So we did! 

We sent out a Dub Smash (a favorite app in the Robertson household) and threw down the gauntlet. 

Our amazing videographers - an incredibly talented husband and wife duo at Cork Creative -  captured the entire battle on film. Truthfully, I've cried every time I have watched this clip. 

Lip Sync Battle from Cork Creative on Vimeo.

Tara and Caleb poured their heart and soul to our wedding film and we are forever grateful for having them be a part of our wedding day. (Are you getting married? You should contact them right now.)

Arkansas? CHECK!

Before I was a homeowner, I had the great pleasure of renting a duplex from an amazing couple. They are both living the dream of retirement, but you would never know because their day planner is quite full! 

Among the countless hobbies they enjoy as a couple, they also have traveled the entire country together. Throughout their marriage, they have visited (almost) ALL 50 states together. I find this feat rather remarkable and I challenged my husband to do the same with me. 

Don't get me wrong... I could go for another week in the Dominican Republic, but I'm ready and willing to check out good 'ol U.S. of A's beauty as well. 

For Valentine's Day, we checked off one of our neighboring states and officially visited The Natural State. 

May not seem like most to some.... but boy-oh-boy, I enjoyed every minute with my Valentine and two best friends!

More to come on our Eureka Springs trip in a future post. 

Happy Thursday!

Just the Two of Us

Since there are only two of us capable of playing board and card games (sorry Chip and Bruce.. you're not helpful here) around the house, I made it my personal mission to find games for two people. Let me tell you... This is not an easy feat!

Just the two of us.

Now I'm here to spread my wisdom to fellow couples in the same boat. 

Full disclosure, I'm still a little bitter about an intense game of Skip-Bo from Wednesday night that did not end in my favor... However, I'll march forward and rework my strategy while I'm home on a snow day. 

Here are a couple of my favorite games to play with your main-squeeze when it's just the two of you. (Technically... you could play these with anyone, but you get my point)

Ticket to Ride

Once upon a time, I play this cross country train adventure game with two of my friends before Scott moved to the lake. Since then, I've been eye-balling it at Target waiting to take the leap because it was so fun. We invested in the game over Christmas break and have been travelin' across the U.S.A. ever since!

Now, I'm wishing (after seeing the way cheaper price on Amazon...) I would have utilized my Prime account to make the purchase. Ah! You live and learn. 

A game full of strategy and sneaky decision making can really bring out the competitive side in your opponent. I speak from experience. 

Just remember... it's only a game. It's only a game...

Skip-BO

Confession: I'm addicted to Skip-Bo. It's kind of like Uno on steroids. The best part? You can play with two people. Sometimes it may take a couple of hours (good 'ol fashioned quality time if you ask me!), but we like to queue up our favorite show on Netflix and play 'til the hogs come home. 

Those are my faves! I'm always looking to add our collection for date night. What 2-player game suggestions do you have? Share with me!

Sure.. I Enjoy Football

I can't exactly classify myself as a "die-hard" football fan. Let's put it this way, I enjoy going to games for the jumbo soft pretzels and seeing my friends - not necessarily in that order. I have fond memories of attending Chiefs games with my family, Mizzou games with my friends in college and now my husband, but I'm not the type to remember the score... who we played... those awesome plays... Nope. Not me. 

Luckily, my husband loves me through it. 

However, when I found out a certain Fantasy Football draft was going to be held at our house, I decided to:

a.) find other plans for the night

when that didn't work....

b.) invite myself

c.) class up the join

d.) decorate, cook, and decorate some more

After some research (you think I'm kidding), I matched NFL teams to my dishes. 

We enjoyed Philadelphia Eagles & Cheese Sandwiches

(Recipe from Taste of Home)

Buffalo Bills Chex Mix 

(Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats)

How about some Seattle Seahawks Summer Sausage?

No party is complete without dessert....

Kansas City Chiefs ScotCHaroos (this was a stretch, but delicious!)

(Recipe from Pillsbury)

My work here is done. 

P.S. Who won the Super Bowl again? 

I'm kidding.. I'm kidding. 

Kind of...

Tying the Knot - To Top it Off

During the wedding planning process, Etsy and I became quite close. 

Photo Credit: MNC Photography

One of the items on my "to find" list was a custom cake topper for our wedding cake. I spotted the shop Better Off Wed and I knew I had to have her make a cake topper for us. 

Photo credit: MNC Photography

I wasn't planning on using gold tones in our wedding reception until this beauty arrived in the mail, It's sparkly gold color inspired me to include more gold tones in the reception decor. 

Photo credit: MNC Photography

Perfect. Just perfect!

Tying the Knot - Early Morning "Donut" Call

What's better than finding a bag of fresh donut holes waiting for you the morning after a wedding reception? Not much, folks. Not much!

For each guest that stayed at the Hotel Bothwell for the evening, they were treated to my absolute-favorite guilty pleasure: donut holes.

The donut holes arrived from heaven and were waiting outside each and every door at the hotel. 

Oh, wait. I mean they came straight from the Sedalia favorite, Papa Jakes Donut Shop. 

Let me tell you a little bit about Papa Jakes. 

If you arrive at Papa Jakes later than 9:00 A.M., you are out of luck. No donut holes for you! They sell out QUICK - especially on the weekends. 

 Every slumber party I've hosted since I was a little girl included donuts from Papa Jakes. My dad would wake up at the crack of dawn and get to Papa Jakes so we could have donuts when we rolled out of bed at 10. 

Hopping off the bus when I was in 4th and 5th grade, I was taunted by the smell of the donut shop because my elementary school was right next door. 

My girlfriends and I would meet at Papa Jakes in high school to have breakfast together. 

My (fellow-donut-entusiast) nephew Beckett and I enjoy trips to Papa Jakes together. 

It's just "the place to go". 

Your life will be complete once you've had Papa Jakes. 

Seriously, your presence meant a "HOLE" lot!

Now.. Go Treat Yo'Self!

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More details coming soon.

Catch up on my other wedding posts here. 

Have a great weekend!

Tying the Knot - The Rehearsal

June 19, 2015

Perhaps it's the teacher in me, but I assigned everyone an activity at our rehearsal. Oops. 

You can the girl out of the classroom... (for the summer)

Each guest was invited to complete a Mad Lib about "The Happy Couple" which happened to be Scott and I.  The Mad Libs asked guests where they traveled from, how long they had known us, and to leave us with some advice. 

Much of the marital and relationship advice included to be kind, laugh, respect one another, tell jokes, maintaining personal hygiene (very important!), and always remember why we fell in love to begin with. 

I purchased the Mad Libs for our rehearsal through Groopdealz earlier this spring, but there are many options available on Etsy. Click here to see more. The set we purchased can be found here. 

The best part was reading  the responses once we were home and settled after our honeymoon. I have to give credit to our friends and  family - they are very creative with their adjectives!

For dinner, I was excited to include a few personal and family-centered details.  For the main course, guests were invited to build their own burger. On two chalkboards, we encouaged guests to build the classic California favorite, "Big Mike" and the Sedalia, Missouri classic, "Guber Burger". 

 Why the "Bike Mike" you ask? Ask anyone in central Missouri about Burgher Haus and they'll be able to tell you about the great family-owned restaurant in California, Missouri.  Scott's family has owned and operated the Burgher Haus since 1977.  One of the many gems on the menu is the "Big Mike".  I love visiting Burgher Haus with Scott because (a). everyone refers to him as Scottie (b). we get hugs from family members (c). the food is always amazing and (d). Jane's bread pudding (which happened to make an appearance at our wedding, too <-- details coming!)

Why the "Guber Burger"? Oh, I'm glad you asked. Whenever anyone asks me where I'm from, I always proudly state, "I'm from Sedalia, Missouri - home of the Missouri State Fair and the Guber Burger." Then, I get to rattle off all of these really fascinating facts about my hometown and leave people completely and utterly amazed. 

We were surrounded by so many loving family and friends the entire night - and it was amazing. Just the tip of the iceberg for the entire weekend. Still counting our blessings (almost) a month later!

Writing about all of our wedding details is making me a little emotional - in a good way of course!

Catch up on our details here! 

Tying the Knot - All the Little Details

It happened!

We said, "I do!" 

Seriously, it was the best day ever. 

Now, we get to spend our forever and ever together and that sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. 

 My next few blog posts will be dedicated to sharing the little details from the wedding. All of the little details came together because of incredibly talented people in our lives. 

Guests who stayed the night at the  Hotel Bothwell were treated to a welcome bag upon check-in. Each bag was stuffed with treats for their stay in Sedalia and a welcome card detailing the events for the weekend. 

Thanks to my very talented friend, Maggie, and Emily from Fox and Gypsy for turning my jumbled ideas via email into a welcome card masterpiece. As you can see below, the welcome card included the ceremony details, reception timeline, a little background on the Mr. and myself, and some activities to pass the time. 

Isn't it incredible? Lets all band together and encourage Maggie and Emily to start an Etsy shop to share their talents with the world. 

Paint > Wallpaper

I'm participating in a Starter Stories series by Compass. We all know I've got plenty of stories to share about this home-buying business! Compass is a real estate company that focuses on making renting, buying, and selling a home (in the New York and D.C. area) as easy as pie.

The big question: What did our house need after a good 'ol fashioned wallpaper removal? A fresh coat of paint. See what I a mean? We needed to liven up the place!

While we spent entirely too much of our lives taking down wallpaper, we knew (from the start) we would leave the interior painting to the experts. Now, even though you leave it to the experts... they still expect you to make all the decisions. These decisions are not made for the weak or indecisive. It takes a person with brute strength and quick judgement.  That's why I have Scott. However, I volunteered to go to the paint store and pick out samples. 

This, my friends, was a very complicated day in my life. Let's start from the beginning:

There I was just minding my own business at the paint store. I casually walked in expecting to pick up a yellow here, blue there, toss in a gray for good measure, and then skip off on my merry way. 

As I'm walking around the store, I briefly stopped and checked out the books of wallpaper (because I hear it's back in style...) and then laughed as I threw the book down on the ground and reminded myself, "NEVER AGAIN."

 

^ Also reminded me of one of my favorite SNL Digital Shorts. 

With my casual attitude in tow, I strolled over to the paint chips and stared in amazement at the rainbow before my eyes. I started to sweat a little bit thinking of the paint possibilities. I pulled a few chips of colors I thought I wanted. I requested a few paint samples and sprinted to my car in the pouring rain. Fact: it was actually pouring down rain that day, I felt like it was reflective of my mood after leaving the paint store for the first time.

I took the jugs of paint back to the house and painted a few blocks on the wall. I took a step back and thought, "Ew. What was I thinking?" I asked Scott what he thought and he didn't say much... but his expression said it all. 

It was back to the paint store I went. 

This time, I did some research. We went with a few suggested colors from our contractor and I turned to Pinterest. Anyone who was following me on Pinterest could tell what my focus was that afternoon. Paint colors, Fixer Upper, and more paint. 

I was growing fond of the color "Sea Salt" (possibly influenced by JoAnna) and became so anxious to throw it on the wall. I rushed back to Sherwin Williams and bought samples of Dover White (for our trim), Front Porch (for our upstairs walls), Sea Salt (master bedroom), and Quietude (for our spare room). By this point, I felt pretty confident in my color selection. I even boasted to the Assistant Manager of the store that I had found a great article online informing me that Sea Salt was the new "chameleon" paint color. She looked at my blankly and said, "All colors are chameleon honey." Then she flipped on a switch and cast light on the paint chips. It was like a million chameleons right before my eyes. I didn't say much after that.

Finally, we made decisions and crossed our fingers the colors would look as great as they did in our heads (and on the little tiny parts of the walls we painted). 

Despite all of the back-and-forth with paint colors, it's been quite the treat to pop in the house each evening and watch the house change and become our home. 

Advice From a Wannabe-Professional Wallpaper Removal Expert

Before we get into my very passionate post about wallpaper and my plea to rid it from my vocabulary... I must update you on a few things.

We got engaged!

I said YES on October 18, 2014!

We bought a house!

Closing Day! March 4, 2015

 

 Seriously. We are the happiest two little lovebirds this side of the Mississippi!

Which brings me to wallpaper.

When we bought our house last month, we knew it would need some TLC after sitting on the market for a few years. Walking in the front door was like a blast from the past with wallpaper covering the kitchen, bathroom, and master bedroom. I chuckled when I flipped on the light to the bathroom and saw pheasant-wrapped wallpaper. I giggled some more when I noticed the border lining the master bedroom had gentleman playing cricket.

Cute, huh?

 

Now, because I feel like a professional-wallpaper-removal expert I think it's only fair to share some tips we have learned along the way. This is no way means I want you to ask me to remove the wallpaper in your house. I'm (again) removing the word "wallpaper" from my vocabulary once this little project is finished.

Tip #1: Convince friends to help. Especially when friends bring popcorn and 90's Pandora stations to the table. Seriously. Nothin' better than munching on some popcorn, belting out your favorite Selena ballad, and chatting it up with great friends... oh, and.... pulling wallpaper down.

Friends in high and low places.

Tip #2: Borrow, invest, or scrounge up some tools. Thanks to some great friends, we were able to borrow a scorer and blades to help peel. We also used a big 'ol bucket of water and sponges to soak the wall after scoring. I also need a manicure after this whole process because my fingers are taking a beating. 

 

I spy with  my little eye.... a bucket! a scraper! a scorer! a finished wall!

Tip #3: Take dance breaks. Kick the volume up to 11 when "Shake it Off" or "Uptown Funk" come on the radio and get your groove on. Trust me, it helps ease the pain. 

 

Tip #4: Don't be offended when your dog looks at you with shameful eyes because of the mess you've made. Just remind him that he's not the one climbing on that ladder and he'll be benefiting from this mess as well.

Tip #5: Take before and after pics! It's kind of a no-brainer, but it's really neat to see where you started and the progression of the project. Helps to justify those pats on the back I've been giving myself and Scott.

Before.. Cricket anyone?

After!

Tip #6: Channel your inner Ric Flair and really celebrate those "big ones". You know what I'm talking about. When the strips your pulling off the wall aren't the size of a curly fry... instead they are the size of North America (maybe I'm exaggerating??). 

 

Tip #7 (this is the mushy one): Find someone really handsome and patient to complete the project with. Tearing down wallpaper in multiple rooms has been a complete team effort.Plus, we are ripping out the wallpaper in our home! What could be more special than that? Sure, it totally stinks while you're doing it... but the end result will be fantastic. 

#OldtoNewDuckhead

Enjoy every minute.
Don't call me for help... please.

Sincerely,
Wannabe-Professional Wallpaper Removal Expert