training, schooling and insta`tuesday

hello, hello and happy tuesday. our hectic summer is winding down and slowly transitioning into fall. here are a few updates on our lives...the boy received orders for six weeks of training with his unit {last minute as always}. luckily the station is only a couple hours away instead of across the country, so he'll be able to sneak home every now and then. for me, well student teaching has been well in gear for the past few weeks and my classes begin this week. on the beautiful bright side, by the end of this school year i will finally have, in hand, my credentials to teach moderate`severe special education as an inclusion specialist as well as several masters classes under my belt. let the studying begin.

<3  <3  <3

for those of you who were interested in my picture on wood from my last week's insta'tuesday post, i have written a tutorial for you c: find it HERE.

<3  <3  <3

here's my linkup for insta`tuesday and a glimpse into my week. 

chopping my pasta salad while getting my criminal minds fix | making my heart and nose oh so happy | my pink wine opener i was gifted on my twenty`first saw its last cork :c

{my evenings with the boy gone}

a pinterest inspiration | a morning fish bowl makeover

eating {pretend} sushi with high.ho.cherry.o buckets and glow sticks with my favorite God daughter peyton | lynnee waiting for best friend peyton to return with another brush to pet her with c:

yes and the boy had the weekend off, love having him home | the nights are cooling off and we've been spending them outside. oh and on this night i thought i taught miss peyton what a crescent moon was...turns out she now argues every night with her dad there's a crescent moon, oops.

join the link`up love over at Taingamala 

DIY picture on wood

this is a fun and easy way to display pictures. not to mention a unique and inexpensive gift. last chirstmas we were on a tight budget {saving for our down payment and all} luckily it was at that time i was introduced to pinterest <3  THIS tutorial saved me mula while still gifting something pretty special. last week i finally got a chance {and remembered} to make one for myself, a gift for me c: 

FIRST thing you need is a block of wood. mine was left over from my christmas stash and is 8in X 10in. i bought my lumber from home depot and one of the associates cut 8in X 10in pieces for me. SECOND a printed out picture on regular paper. i set my printer options to 8in X 10in so it would fit my block 'o wood perfectly. you can print color, sephia or black and white...i've done each one and they've all turned out fine. personally i like the black and white's or sephia, to give it a more antique look on the wood but that's me c: THIRD medium gel mat, bought it from michael's with my 40% off coupon for about $7.00 and it's lasted me over a dozen wood pictures. FOURTH some handy dandy mod podge.

 choose which side of wood you want the print to show up and sand it down.
then apply your medium gel. 

place your picture print side down and smooth it with your fingers so there are no bubbles. let it set over night.

dampen the picture with a wet rag and rub away the paper. after you think you've gotten everything, let it dry for a few minutes and check again. sometimes when the paper is wet it blends in to wood, so it appears that everything's off but it's not. that's why i let it dry so i can re`examine where i need to complete my final rub's. 

once all the paper is off, apply your mod podge to seal your picture and let it dry. 

taadaaa! in a few minutes you will have a finished product like this c:

insta`tuesday

insta`tuesday round two {for me at least}. this week's instagram collection is a little less jam`packed when compared to my previous post. nonetheless still pictures that capture the prettiness in life and things that make me smile.

 putting memories on wood and in our room c: 

 somebody else in the house shares my passion for ikea...and it's not the husband c;

ribbon and fabric scraps organized. makes for a pretty display.

our new sheets from my ikea trip. in the middle of my attempt to make the bed, i left the room for no more than twenty seconds and came back to lynnee testing out the sheets. always helping.

hope you've enjoyed the little things that make my heart happy. thanks for the linkup!

my family vacation

this has been quite the summer, making memories left and right. from purchasing our first home to road trips galore with family and friends. we also had a total of seven weddings this summer, five of them out of town, i was a bridesmaid in three and two weddings husband was a groomsmen {make sense?}. i kidded myself to think i would have the time to write on each and every event that occurred this summer. 

but this trip was extra special. my parents rented the cabin we used to visit every summer in my childhood. the first two days was just my dad, mom, sister and me. the first time in years that the four of us vacationed or were even together in one place just the four of us. i felt like a little kid again, goofing off with my sister and helping my parents prepare dinner. it truly felt like i was back time and it was perfect in its own way...than that boy of mine came...and the trip remained as perfect as could be. it was such a blessing for the two of us to spend so much real, quality time with my family. four full days of togetherness is unheard of for our family with the conflicting schedules and living on opposite sides of california. beautiful and perfect, just the five of us. alright enough with the chatting, here's the evidence of our little family gathering. 

absolutely breathtaking lake tahoe.

yes we are definitely the family that wears headlamps for evening walks. 

hiking just the four of us, the old collins clan. 

 the stretch that we spent our afternoons at. 

 watching the boy paddle board from my kayak. 

 pardon the water splotches, my water case got a bit wet. 

 sharing a famous chamber's punch. the only reason he posed was because my mom suggested for us to take the  picture...hehe can't say no to the mother.in.law...i'm going to keep this in mind for future uses c;

pose two that mom asked him to take...i could get use to this photo taking compliance. 

i will leave you with this...pretty incredible what our God designs, yes?

summer. instagram. linkup.

alright, lots of firsts for this post. 

ONE. first time posting in over a month TWO. first time linking up with Taingamala THREE. first time using photoshop...hint the collage'ness and playing around with watermarks.

since i've been absent from blog'life and missed the past few link up's...i only thought it was fair i included the past month or so of our summer through instagram {and i became a little obsessed with making collages once i finally figured it out!} so here we go...enjoy c:

decorations for husband's bday | american flag in our hometown | the best traveler ever | new blinds for our bedroom | a birdie hang out 

husband bought me a hook to hang my wreath i made last summer  | mmmhhhmmm i love this bar. toby keith just opened down the highway from us | front yard fireworks | boys taking their time with the finale setup | some mason jar love 

traveling as a little family to stacey's wedding | <3 being a bridesmaid | back home being productive and getting a pedicure while editing husband's resume | spray paint and rubber bands 

aspiring photographer | with my bestest at natalie's rehearsal dinner | wedding makeup outside | bouquets in a sink | pretty dresses | dj husband whoop whoop!

back at home, lynnee helping with my to do list | tanning and priming some of my favorite things | mantel still not finished...but cozy

seattle for jeremy's wedding, sipping on the best espresso ever | pike's place with my love | and the space needle of course

back home to see my roses still surviving | outdoor breakfast with the hubs | lynnee assisting with our dresser to entertainment center transformation

love last minute hosting | oops, i guess that mantel really wanted to make another appearance c; | lynnee refusing to let us work | lynnee not letting me finish my paint job | prettiness | happy three year anniversary, we got a new hose! | mom in town and taught me the family bleu cheese dressing recipe | it's official, we have a pomegranate tree c:

lake tahoe with my fam | mosaics with mom and sis | my favorite sister

 mosaic light switches done and up, husband helped with the one on the right | my dresser revamp is complete!

my happy place, on the lake with husband's fam | finally reading bloom <3

all the hot weather made for some pretty skies | came home from work and spotted my hose hanging thing up...thanks husband c:

you made it though! thanks for stopping by and letting me share some summer memories c:

thank you Taingamala!