A Letter to Facebook

Dear Facebook,
 I have a confession to make... I have recently been thinking about leaving you. Perhaps not permanently... we could keep our status as "aquaintances", but the lure of something new is always hard to resist and, well... I've signed up for Google+.

My new friend is interesting, and no relationships are without flaws but I am having a hard time navigating and what buttons not to push.

Perhaps I should put my new friend on the backburner for a while... at least until I can get hold of
Google tech support.

With Love,
Me.


Click HERE to "like" me on Facebook and get a lovely little surprise (actually, just a note from me saying "thanks!". Hey, I think its lovely.)

Click HERE to follow me on google+.

Manic Mondays Music

I know that summer is almost over and the kiddos will be heading back to school soon, but I think we should all enjoy a little summer jam while we still can!

Personally, I really like Will Smiths early stuff (you know, before he became an actor in anything but Fresh Prince of Bel Aire).

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!!

~~Love GG~~

Manic Mondays Music (Tuesday edition)

I know I'm running a day late due to the holidays, so were doing Manic Tuesdays Music today :D

In the spirit of the results of the Casey Anthony trial (not guilty) here in my hometown of Orlando, I thought this song was appropriate...

Via

Gotta love a little Bel Biv Devoe. Seriously, check out those awesome flat tops!

I hope you all have a lovely short week!

~~Love~~

~~GG~~

Tutorial: Decoupage a Lamp shade (and put old books to use!)

Have an old lamp that needs to be spiced up? Have some old books that have gotten to the point of being unreadable (if you're anything like me, you have several :/ )?

Than today is your lucky day! I had been gifted a lamp that, at first glance, was frankly hideous. It was a very shiny gold plate, oddly shaped and falling apart, but I saw the promise of a really neat, different reading lamp for my still-to-be-made reading corner in our bedroom.

Frankly, I am too darn cheap and picky to just go buy a new lamp shade. I almost never find one that I like and works with our "decor" (or lack thereof). So I decided with this little lamp shade to bust out my Mod Podge and go crazy.

I had visualized it early on as being covered by pages from a book, but seriously couldn't bring myself to tear apart a book that I had or to waste paper by printing out aged-looking text.

My saving grace came in the form of a much loved, much read book that I was re-re-re-re-re-re (get the point?) reading. The covers had fallen off. I was starting to lose pages. The spine was bent and broken and it looked like it'd been through a hurricane. When my wonderful fiance saw me desperately trying to read it, he stated that it may be time to replace it. After deflecting my "what are you NUTS?" look, he said that it wouldn't be worth giving to goodwill, they'd probably just trash it anyway.

Than a light bulb went off in the dark recesses of my brain!

I would use my much loved book as decoupage for my awesome new (to me) lamp!! And heres how I did it!



Please excuse all of the crap on my little table

Start with an old lampshade. As you can see, this one was on its last legs (well, not literally as lamp shades don't have legs, but you get the idea). I wiped it down with a damp-ish rag and took the metal center part out as it was falling out anyway (hot glue to the rescue! I re-attached it later) 



Honestly, it broke my heart to do this to a book. For the greater crafty good...

Next, take an old book and tear out some random pages. This book has a bit of bloodshed so I

made sure to glance over what I was sticking on there beforehand.

Now for the tools. I used glossy Mod Podge and a cheap paintbrush from Home Depot.

Liberally apply your Mod Podge and slap on a couple of pages. I worked section by section because Mod Podge tends to dry very quickly. I wanted mine to look a little random so I turned the pages in different directions. This is all personal preference. You are more than welcome to line them up very nice and neat if you'd like.

After I'd stuck all my pages on the way I wanted, I trimmed the excess of the top and bottom and gave them one more coat with the Mod Podge. Than I hot-glued on some fabric on the

top and bottom edges just to make it look a little more uniform and neat.

The green fabric was actually an old pair of corduroy pants that didn't fit me anymore. Hows that for upcycling!

And here is the finished product! The lamp my honey fixed and then spray painted an off-white/almost tan color that matches perfectly with our bedroom.

I love the little scrolled looking thingy on the top...

The fabric on the top of the lampshade came out a little wonky, but I really didnt feel like taking the whole thing apart (again) to fix it. Besides it gives it character.

I hope you all enjoy Canada day for those up north and the Fourth of July for those in America. Everyone else, come back monday for Manic Mondays Music and have a great weekend!



~~Love~~

~~GG~~

Manic Mondays Music

Unfortunately, I have seen several relationships (of friends and family members) fall apart in the last couple of weeks, so I thought i'd dedicate todays Manic Mondays Music to all the newly single people out there!

Via

Heres hoping you have a wonderful and slightly weird week!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~

Manic Mondays Music!

Monday morning has found me with a bit of bad news. Sassy Smolak has decided to close down her little blog (which was my inspiration for Manic Mondays music. With her permission of course). I really enjoyed reading her blog and will miss her fun projects.

But on to the music...

I have to admit that when Katy Perry came out with her first single (that I had heard) "I kissed a girl" I was impressed. I really liked her edgy sound. Pretty much everything since then has been a disappointment. Im all about bubble gum pop, but I think that shes putting herself in a genre that she may not be able to get out of.

Her newest song "E.T" reminds me of "I kissed a girl" and frankly... I LOVE IT!!
 Plus shes totally adorable lol!

Via


Isnt she just Fab?

I hope you all have a wonderful crafty-ful week!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~

Yarn Wrapped Spring Wreath

I finally got around to hanging up my Spring wreath (you know, now that its almost summer)! Its such a lovely pop of color against our dark purple door.





Spring has sprung!



I used  pastel yellow with a varigated green/blue/tan yarn to wrap the wreath. The little wooden flowers I got from the dollar section from Target!

I am really happy with how it turned out, and have gotten some compliments on it already :D such an awesome feeling!!

Working on some new things, trying to keep my head on straight!

Have a wonderful week everyone!!

<3 GG



Manic Mondays Music

Because we all managed to escape the rapture, I think this is a very appropriate song for todays Manic Mondays Music!

I've been a big Ace of Base fan since they came out in the early 90s, so I found this song ironic and fitting :D

Heres hoping you all have a wonderful week!!

<3 GG

Happy Birthday Edward!

A few weeks ago my little man turned 7! Its hard to believe its been that long. He has changed so much and is becoming such a wonderful young man, and I am more and more proud of him every day.

I thought I'd throw some pics from his birthday and of him through the years up to celebrate his day :D

The morning of his birthday with the little robot he and Mike put together (a kit he got for his birthday)

at his party, getting ready to cut the cake. weirdo.

On "bring your daughters and sons to work day" playing the cookie game

Mr GQ



Mommy Snuggles. This is when I was pregnant with Zach.

I meant to post this a little earlier in the month (since his birthday was on th 5th) but things have been a bit crazy!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!!

<3 GG

Manic Mondays Music- Janet Jackson

http://
Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had an awesome weekend!

Sorry I've been a bit absent in the past week. Between birthdays, celebrations, and blogger not cooperating I haven't been able to post a thing!

To make up for it, I thought I'd post one of my FAVORITE Janet Jackson songs/videos. I just love the funky style and sassy dance moves of her video for "If"...



Via

Isnt that just fab?!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~

Manic Mondays Music- America! F*ck yeah!

Since everyone is feeling in a patriotic spirit today due to the announcement by the white house that Osama Bin Laden is dead, I thought I'd do a more patriotic manic mondays music.

This is from a really dumb movie called "Team America" that was made entirely with puppets. If the F-word offends you, seriously, skip this weeks video...

To those I've offended, Im sorry. To those I've made laugh, you're welcome.

Seriously though, this is a historic day for America, although it doesnt really change much. Thankfully, a horrible man is dead and cant hurt any more innocent people, and we've gotten our closure from the tragedy that was 9/11, but will that stop the war in Iraq and have all of our troops come home? Probably not.

This isnt to start a political debate, just saying that everything is not all rainbows and puppies now that Bin Laden is gone.

I think they should have just sent Chuck Norris in and it would've been done in 24 hours.

Hope you have a wonderful week!!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~

Tutorial: Magnetic Makeup Board

 I found this awesome little pic/tutorial on pinterest for a magnetic board for makeup. Needless to say I was smitten and had to make my own!

All of my makeup was living in a little makeup bag and was constantly being shoved around under our bathroom cabinets.
After digging around a little, I found an old frame that I didn't want to throw out but hadn't found a use for yet. After a coat of white semigloss it was ready for the next step. (You'll have to pardon the lack of "in the process" pictures. I was so excited I totally forgot to take them!)

We picked up a piece of thin sheet metal from our local Home Depot and Mike measured and cut it to size for me (we don't have any special metal cutting tools, I think he just used some tin snips).

Once the metal was cut to size, I liberally applied some mod podge to it and covered it in some heavy paper i'd gotten a while back at the art supply store (this was apparently the project for making use of stuff I had lying around). I used gloss mod podge for this because I wanted it to be a little shiney (btw, mod podge is my new favorite thing), and after it dried I coated it all in a clear top coat (the tutorial mentioned that mod podge can make the surface a little sticky, and it did. The top coat gave it a smoother feel and weighed the paper down a bit so there weren't any bubbles.).

I put the metal in the frame and put the backing back on, just like normal.

Than I hot glued some round magnets to the backs of my make up, and tossed on some small magnetic boxes id picked up at ikea, and was done. The whole project took about 3 hours and cost about $30 (the most expensive thing was the sheet metal at around $20).



Fab little birdie paper

The finished product! And my lovely purple walls :D

From the side. Note the lovely little boxes from Ikea. I think I may mod podge those too lol

I am super happy about being able to reuse things that I wasnt sure what to do with but didnt have the heart to throw away, make something fun to hang on the wall in our newly painted bathroom, and find a functional place for my makeup!

Hope you were able to make it over the hump this week!!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~

Manic Mondays Music- Toni Braxton

Hello again! Its that time of week again, so here is todays Manic Mondays Music. 

One of the radio stations here in Orlando does something called the "ooh no they didnt" song of the day. This is where they play old school hip hop and rap songs that people havent thought about it forever. About a week ago they played this song by Toni Braxton, and I had to crank my radio up. 



Via

Not only is she a super sexy lady with an awesome voice, but she and her sisters have a new TV show out called "Braxton Family Values" (check out her offical website here to get all the info)

Hope you all have a wonderful week and Happy Monday!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~

Happy Easter!!

Just a quick note to wish you a Happy Easter!

Whether you believe in a magical bunny who brings candy filled eggs...

Via

Or that Jesus rose on the third day and ascended into heaven....

Via

Or if you're just in it for the chocolate zombie bunnies....

Via

I hope you have a wonderful, beautiful Easter!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~

Spring has sprung!

a lovely flower I found on my walk

I decided to take a little walk on my lunch break today (Im testing out this new system for lunch that gives me more free time. Its called "brown bagging it" lol.). I noticed how beautiful all of the flowers were and the little birdies and buggies were out and about.

Its crazy to think that its already spring! Here in the FL spring and summer tend to run together with the main difference being in the spring its still a little chilly in the mornings and it doesnt rain every afternoon.

We had a nice weekend and spent most of the day saturday painting the master bathroom (pictures to come!) and puttering around with the kiddos, then went to Old Town on Sunday and wandered around with the family.

Its funny how much time you find you have when the house is clean, homework is done, and you havent made any plans.

I am working on taking some pictures of some recent projects (including the bathroom :D) and will be posting them soon! Dont forget to follow me on Facebook to get hints on upcoming projects!!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~

Manic Modays Music

Here we are again folks! Another Monday (ew) and another edition of Manic Mondays Music.

I have a bit of a funny story for this song.

I'd never really paid that much attention to Kings of Leon until one day this song came on the radio while we were in the car. The kids were quiet (which was odd) and I actually started to listen to the words. When the chorus came on, I looked at Mike with wide-eyed shock and asked "Did they say what I think they said?!".

So after laughing hysterically for a minute, he said yes, they did and proceeded to tell me about how the video was so scandalous because of the hairy man rolling around on a bed.

Of course I looked it up on Youtube as soon as I got home.

I had to agree with him, the video was pretty steamy :D So here is Kings of Leon and the video for "Sex is on Fire"



Via

See? Pretty steamy right? Hope this started your week of right!!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~



Manic Monday's Music

I've decided to add a new little feature to my lovely little blog. I am a huge music fan (I always have my ipod with me) and thought i'd share some of my favorite songs/songs that have been stuck in my head with all of my readers!

Also, check out the feature over at Sassy Smolak called "Tune Tuesdays". Emily has great taste in music, and she so graciously let me borrow her format for my new monday thread (Thanks Emily!!!)

So to start this party off right, a beautiful lady and wonderful singer, Adele. I've really been in love with her music since I heard her single "Chasing Pavement" a few years back, and her newest single "Rolling in the Deep" is no different.



Via



Isnt she FAB?!

Hope you enjoyed this very first "Manic Mondays Music" and check back in next monday for some more awesome songs!!

~~Love~~
~~GG~~

Back to the basics and Grandma goodness!

I have decided to take this blog back to the basics a bit. I realized that I am trying too hard to make this blog "perfect" and just like all of the other really successful blogs out there instead of what i originally intended for it to be: a journal for myself.
So, on that note, I am going to be bringing things back to the basics. While my day to day routines may not be incredibly interesting, I think it'll be fun just to write and talk and post pictures up of my family and home without having to have a really set structure to them.

Last weekend and week has been a "grandma-ful" time. Saturday (March 26th) we celebrated Mikes grandmas 78th birthday with dinner at an awesome mexican restaurant called Azteca D'Oro. The food is awesome, HUGE portions, and we all left fat and happy. (I'll be posting pics as soon as I get copies. I didnt have a camera and my phone doesnt take good pics inside).

Then, on sunday, we went to a birthday party for My grandma at her church. It was wonderful to have all of the family and friends around to celebrate her 80th birthday!

We had cousins driving up from south Florida, and aunts and uncles fly down from Tennessee. There was a lot of talking, laughing, sharing stories, sneaking treats to the munchkins, and just generally having a great time.

So, on that vein, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos of my wonderful grandma. Shes the one who taught me to sew and craft and is pretty much the glue that keeps our family together. I dont know what i'd do without her!



Grandma with her parents. She says she was about 16.

The pic above is probably my favorite picture of my grandma. I love how cute and sassy she looks. Shes still got that spark and energy to this day!

Crochet- African Flower Hexegon

 I have been super duper busy lately, running around with the family, cleaning and organizing my house (yay!) and yes, doing some crafting.

Now that I have a little more structure in my days (thanks to my routines, babysteps and of course, the FLYlady) I have more time to actually do the things I want to do. I'll have to snap a couple of pics of some of the things I've made in the past week or so, but the little beauty here to the left is something I am super excited about.

I was looking for something to do with all of the left over bits of yarn that I have taking up my yarn "bin" (I put this in quotations because its actually an old laundry basket). I just cant justify getting more yarn if I haven't used up what I have, I'm just weird like that.

So I googled "crochet hexagons" because I'm not particularly fond of granny squares. Now before I start getting nasty emails from crochet chicks touting the joys of granny squares, let me just say that I am just not fond of the way they look when I do them. I may be doing it wrong, using the wrong gauge hook, etc, but I just don't like them.

After looking at a few hex's that were... well... a bit boring, I stumbled on this pattern called the "African Flower Hexagon" and absolutely fell in love. It was on a blog called Heidi Bears and the tutorial was super easy to understand, included pics (which is a HUGE help for me!) and bilingual (if you don't get what I'm talking about, go take a look at it :D ). Of course, I snatched up a hook and got to work. The little beauty above is made from bright pink, variegated blue and purple, and plain purple yarns. You cant really see the plain purple in this pic, but its on the edge just before the pink.

I did the above hex in about 15 minutes because I had to keep stopping to look at the pattern and instructions.


I had also made a few more and omitted the last round to make them a little less "hexagon" and a little more "flower". I think (as with many things I make) I'm going to make them into hair clips :D














I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend!


~~Love~~
~~GG~~


P.S.- This month is National Crochet Month! Post a comment with what you're crocheting this month!

Happy Birthday Chuck Norris!

I know most of you have heard of Chuck Norris. If you haven't you've probably been living under a rock for the past 20 years. He is pretty much awesome personified. Well, the man himself is turning 71 today, so in honor of his birthday, I've decided to post my top 16 favorite Chuck Norris Facts (why 16 you ask? because Chuck Norris is too awesome to be contained in only 15):

1. Chuck Norris doesn’t wash his clothes, he disembowels them.
2. Chuck Norris is ten feet tall, weighs two-tons, breathes fire, could eat a hammer and take a shotgun blast standing.
3. Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse-kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.
4. Chuck Norris has two speeds: Walk and Kill.
5. When Chuck Norris falls in water, Chuck Norris doesn't get wet. Water gets Chuck Norris. 
6. Chuck Norris grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.
7. There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard. There is only another fist.
8. The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.
9. If paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beats paper, what beats all 3 at the same time? Answer: Chuck Norris.
10. Helen Keller’s favorite color is Chuck Norris 
11. Chuck Norris invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink.
12. Chuck norris does not sleep. he waits
13. Chuck Norris once visited the Virgin Islands. They are now The Islands.
14. Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
15. The quickest way to a man's heart is with Chuck Norris's fist.
16. On his birthday, Chuck Norris randomly selects one lucky child to be thrown into the sun

Happy Birthday Chuck!