nooks and crannies

...for the creativity of birds.  to me, this is a really unlikely spot for a nest, but some bird must have seen things very differently.  our landlord offered to spray it down before we moved in, but backtracked when she saw the look of horror on my face.  i've never actually seen a bird in this little nook and cranny, but i've seen some feathers.  i'm happy that our rafters are pulling double duty as cozy nests.

side note for you readers:  i was standing on a chair to get this photo when i noticed a hummingbird taking a drink at the feeder just outside the photo frame.  the hummingbird noticed me at the same time, and scared the bananas out of me by flying waaaaaaay too close to my head.  i'm lucky not to have face planted off the chair. 

the things i do for my blog. 

i'm blushing

...for well loved cosmetics.  blush and i have a love hate relationship, thanks to some clown cheek incidents when i was younger.  and by when i was younger, i mean last year.  i was skeptical of this blush that came in my birchbox last summer, and it lived in the depths of my makeup bag for many moons.  it's called staniac, and it's a blush/ lip tint combo that i fell in love with once i actually tried it.  imho, it's better than the nars orgasm blush that everyone and her mother raves about.  even though i only received the sample size, i made it last for as long as i could. sadly, i'm to a point where i can't quite eek out that last little bit from the bottom. 

and i can't in good conscience order the full size until i use up my two other blushes that i stopped using when i found this one.  #firstworldproblems

lilly of the garden

...for our landlords.  after our last prettysurehewasstonedallthetime landlord cheated us out of our security deposit refund, i was very nervous about signing the lease on our house.  i'm pleased to say i've had nothing but positive experiences with our current lady, including her great taste in gardening.  little by little, i've discovered fun plant and flower surprises in our backyard.  husband found this callalily hiding the other day and pointed it out.  these are some of my favorite flowers, and i even tried to use them in my wedding bouquets {tried being the operative word here... these guys are expensive}.  i associate these flowers with calm and peace, and they are my little moment of calm in the backyard.

little moment of calm sprinkled throughout many more little moments of ridiculousness, that is.  such is life.

uf(hbf)o's

...for happy hour.  we received this hummingbird feeder from my uncle as a christmas gift last year and finally put it up last weekend.  to be fair, four months is pretty quick on the using a gift time ladder for me.  i've got giftcards older than my fifth graders.  not being a nature enjoying girl, i wasn't sure if any birds would even see it in our backyard, much less want to drink.

i'm happy to say i was so, so wrong.

the first few days, i'd watch in awe as one bird at a time would fly up and enjoy.  sometimes, two or three hummingbirds hang out drinking together.  it makes my heart happy.

although, if we're being honest, the mixture is sugar syrup.  you could cover my arm in it, and i'd be all about it.  #birdjealousy

man meets meat

...for new weekend traditions.  as a kid, i suffered from sunday night anxiety.  unfortunately, this has only gotten worse as an adult.  taking advantage of the recent spate of gorgeous weather {which i'm sure will turn to rain now that i've blogged it}, we've been enjoying beers and bratwursts as an end of weekend happy moment the past few weeks.  husband loves his grill, and i enjoy standing inside far away from any flareups which might leave one eyebrowless.  win win.

optical illusion squirrels

...for the power of imagination.  this past weekend at target, i saw a random squirrel in the parking lot making a beeline for this tree.  {squirrels and bees and target, oh my}.  he really seemed to be enjoying himself up there.  it looked like he was snuggling against the branch...although he might have been scratching an itch.  dunno.  i took out my camera and tried to get close without scaring him off, but he disappeared before i could get my zoom on. 

so since we're all friends here, just look at the pretty picture above and imagine a squirrel enjoying a sunny saturday afternoon.  and perhaps an acorn or two.  pretend he's one of those rare camoflauging squirrels.

ok, this post is officially ridiculous.  have a good day. 

paint sample art

...that home depot's paint guys don't bat an eye at sample hoarders like me {the same could be said for costco samples, but that's another post}.  still on the quest to decorate our empty rental walls, i found these two fun pins that inspired me.  originally, i tried to use stamp pads for this project.

don't do that.

to be fair, had i been using an actual dedicated rubber stamp for each color of ink instead of my fingers, i'm sure you could totally do that and it would turn out well.

ahem.

diy abstract wall art

materials:

canvas size of your choice {i used 8" x 10" because i had some left over from a michael's impulse bulk canvas pack purchase, but i think this would have been even cuter a little larger}

construction or scrapbook paper, color of your choice

spray adhesive, glue or double stick tape

assorted paint samples {free at any hardware store}

2" circular punch {mine's from joanns}

instructions:

cover your canvas with your construction paper, using whatever adhesive you like.  i used double stick tape because i didn't want the glue to wrinkle.  i'm sure modge podge would work here, too.

punch out your paint samples until you have enough to play around with on your canvas.

create your design.  i moved these little guys around quite a bit until i was happy.  you could go abstract like i did, but i also created a triangle ombre pattern that i really liked.

turn your dots over and apply adhesive, then attach to your canvas.

were i to do this one again, i think i'd use an actual picture frame instead of a canvas.  after hanging it on my wall, i wish it had a defined border.  however, not leaving the house to buy a frame meant that this project could be completed with jammies and dirty hair.  and that's a win in my book.

if you try it, comment/link!