Tree Fort & Family Awesomeness.

...this is what happens when a girl who has a crazy dreamer mind marries a boy who has mad carpenter skills & the patience of a saint.

So it all started with my amazing parents, Grammy & Peepa,
(disclaimer: Grammy is responsible for passing down the visionary gene to previously mentioned crazy girl!) 
wanted to get the boys a tree house for the backyard this year as a christmas present.  And after realizing they would have to take out a 2nd mortgage against their home to buy one, they mentioned the idea of my oh so talented hubby building it off of our ideas... this is where the normal human would be washed in reason and say, "Wow, a lot of work. How about a new sweater instead"...right??!?!?

NO WAY JOSE!! Not the Medley women. We dare to make every idea in our head a reality even at the expense of everyone's sanity.  And because my Dad's 33+ years of marital wisdom to my mother & my husband's blind excitement for a reason to use his drills & chop saw, plus he loves me.... Everyone was on board... YAHOO... now what??!?!?

We started by tapping into another one of our great resources... Grandpa Koop, my mom's *super star* 86 year old dad! He drew up some plans and itemized out a supply list after he filtered through our verbalized version of our crazy vision.  Then with enthusiasm and the willingness only a loving husband could have for his wife, Scot & Grandpa Koop went to work...

...did I mention how amazing my hubby is??!?!?

Just like all of our projects, since they are just thoughts in our minds, we had to make a few changes along the way... this is the part where Scot's patience shines through the brightest.  And with some help from great friends & a hard working Peepa, the crazy mid-process modifications were handled.

This is where our "Can Do" Grammy & Peepa suited up in their work clothes and got dirty. We decided to use pea gravel for drainage covered by weed blocking fabric & topped off with rubber bark under the structure, which turned out more amazing than we expected... love when that happens.

 

The above picture is proof of my husband's love for me. He knows the way to this girl's heart. Ummmmm, industrial brackets for the corners....YES PLEASE!! 

Scot also built a really safe & eye pleasing staircase, that even our smallest cute boy can use.

and when all is said and the hard work is done, we ended up with this awesomeness... 

they added their own decorations:

fire place, TV (Mason added a cheetah show, shocker!) table & chairs!

So the end of the story goes like this....

Grammy & Peepa's Christmas gift was a HUGE success.

Grandpa Koop has still got it.

My Hubby rocks.

My kids are elated.

This mommy can't help but smile when one of her crazy visions is standing in reality in front of her & just for a second the world feels right!

Thank you God, for making each one of us so differently talented. And allowing us through your power to be humble enough to join forces and make something so awesomely fun... 

seriously, I LOVE MY FAMILY!!

Doily Love.

Well here goes nothing... 

My first Pinterest '...that just happend!' blog post attempt after my resolution 

(see previous post)

** Jan. 2013 Part 1 of 2 **

. . . . . . . . . . .

doilies, lace, felt garland, pom-pom ribbon, baker's twine...

these are just a few of my current "crafty" obsessions & Pinterest does a fine job growing my love for them. It also provides me with the illusion that I need them in my possession! So in order to honor my 2013 less selfish commitment, we are working at enjoying one of them at a time...hopefully!

I saw this pin on Pinterest a long time ago and instantly was drawn to it's simple & quiet girlie-ness.

Vintage Junky Blog - by Michelle Hughes 

Under the Sycamore - by Ashley Ann

Though my life consists of everything boy, I feel that the excessive testosterone roaming around my home causes me to ignore anything feminine leading me to a snake infested, camo filled, monster truck ruled home decor.  This boy domination drowns me to the point of an unexplainable need for anything and everything girlie, floral, pink, ruffles, & more and more throw pillows!! And once I finally balance my true desired style with the practicality of my life, I'm left more confused than before. 

Here is some of my decor reasoning:

-I guess this will work

-well if this breaks I won't miss it

-less is less expensive

-day dreaming/envisioning costs time not money

-someday I want to (fill the blank)

-splurge on quality on big things, then never use or touch said big/expensive things because big/expensive things might break & they are supposed to last until I die, so don't even look at them!

So with all that mind mush exposed...

My new decor reasoning will hopefully be:

-I'm willing to wait for this

-I'm willing to sacrifice for this

-this is the perfect blend of my family's style

-this is practical, useful, or reasonable

-double check that this isn't a pattern of continual replacement of selfish discontentment

-my husband doesn't hate this

-my husband really likes this

-my kids like this

-I really, really, really like this!

Since I had planned on attempting this idea for a while, the collecting random doilies process was over a 4 month time span (doesn't need to take this long, just was the perfect timing to mull over this idea & my commitment to it!) I got them from my mom, friends, MOPS garage sale, & Sacramento's Antique Fair. I originally planned on bleaching them all to give them a clean cohesive look. But after seeing them all together & enjoying their personal tones, from crisp white to tea stained beige, I decided to embrace their unique eclectic-ness. 

My Process: (see above links for other tutorials too!)

TIP #1: Start where or with the dimensions of the final location of runner!

1. Lay out larger doilies first staggering them slightly 

2. Fill in by over lapping with medium sized ones

TIP #2: To prevent runner from getting too wide, don't add doilies to the side of very large ones!

3. Fill in empty spaces & add random wavy-ness with smallest doilies

4. Need: Needle, cream thread, scissors. 

5. Thread needle and loop through both doilies twice and tie triple knot.

6. Cut thread close to knot and it will blend in unnoticed

7. Continue tying entire runner (took me about a very chopped up 3 hours)

TIP# 3: Either set aside enough time to finish project at one time or store it in a place where it can be left and undisturbed! (I attempted to move it mid process a couple times and just ended up being frustrated because even though I took picture to remember the placements I seemed to fuss with it for extra time getting back to where I liked it.)

8. Enjoy it's unique perfect cuteness!!!

And here is the final product:

So, I'm thinking my first attempt at all this "Erin Craziness" was a success!

Happy New Year...

& here is to many more fun, realistic, cute, practical, projects to come.