tutorial: adventure map wall art

i pinned this pin eleven months ago. doesn't it seem like that's how pinterest always works? you pin something with high hopes of recreating it yourself and then it sits. and sits. and sits - without even a second glance from you. well, this weekend, i changed that. i feel like the mr. and i have had quite the opportunity for travel in the last year and a half. of course, what do you expect when you've literally moved around the entire country? i've been wanting a way to document our travels and i feel like this project was the perfect way to do it.

before i get started, i must give credit where credit is deserved. i received most of my inspiration for this project from carmen at life blessons. her and her blog are both adorable and it would definitely be worth your time to stop by and give her a holler. i did tweak my project a little bit and here is how:

first, here are the supplies you will need:

-these templates:  template 1, template 2, template 3, template 4, template 5, template 6
-tape
-scissors
-roll of corkboard {pretty cheap at michael's with a coupon}
-an 18x24 inch frame {also, cheap at michael's}
-your choice in paint color {i chose blue to simulate the ocean. clever, i know}
-paint brush
-modge podge {or some other kind of adhesive}
-your choice in card stock color
-straight pins.

download and print all 6 templates of the good ol' us of a and tape them together. cut them out and pin the resulting image of america to your corkboard. {it wasn't until after i was done with the project that i realized the templates aren't an exact replica of the united states. there were places that had one too many bumps and juts, but it gets the point across just the same.} i found that it was easier to just trace around the template than to try to keep it attached to the corkboard while i cut it out.

so, after it's traced, remove the template and cut it out.

tadah! we are already well on our way. next, take your frame and tape the edges like so:

i just went ahead and painted the actual glass, but if i could go back, i'd probably put card board or something in the frame and paint that instead. paint on glass seems to chip pretty easy, but if you just can't help it, it won't ruin the project.

now that you've got your usa corkboard and your painted frame, all that's left really is the assembling {aka the easy part}. i just modge podged the corkboard to the frame. it kept wanting to peel up, so i eventually had to put a bunch of cups on it to keep it down.

when i showed it to the mr., he was appalled that i didn't have alaska or hawaii on it. after all, we did recently take a vacation to hawaii, so i couldn't just forget about it! the templates i used can be found  here and here.

lookin' good, we're almost there! i liked how carmen had the banners on her map, but since most of the places we've visited are in the west, i didn't want to have to poke the banners to mark where we've been. so i made a different kind of banner and placed it at the top. i also loved the fonts that she used, but i couldn't find them anywhere. so, i got as close as i could. since i'm nice, i'll just go ahead and save you the trouble and give you the fonts: our adventures together. and the good news is that they're all free! hooray!

finally, the last thing to do is to print off the places you've been and put them on the board! we decided that we would only put up places that we've either lived or have actually taken a vacation to.

one day, i hope to have this whole board nearly covered. i also hope to have a europe one next to it. ;) go ahead and try this simple project yourself! i'm sure you'll fall in love with it just as much as i have. feel free to send me the link to it because i'd love to see how it turned out! next travel project: these shadow boxes.

happy crafting my friends!

-the mrs.

one month.

an entire month. can you believe we've already been in our house for that long? and what did we do to celebrate? same thing we do for every momentus occasions {also the same thing we did when we moved into this place}:

 {6.15.12}

we get mormon-drunk on sparkling cider.

{7.15.12}

and boy is it delicious. happy one-month-moving-in-versary to us!

-the mrs

top five friday.

maybe you noticed, maybe you didn't, but i didn't do a top five last week. things were too crazy and my parents don't have the internet at their house {crazy, i know}, so i just decided to bag it. but that means that i get to give you my top five favorite things from the past two weeks. be excited.

#1 - the denver aquarium. when i picked my little sister up from the airport {which was so fun to have her here by the way}, we made a jaunt to downtown denver and went to the aquarium. with tickets being 22 bucks a piece, i was expecting something fantastic. i'll be honest, it fell short of my expectations, but we still had fun.

 i'm a pirahna, they're in the amazon. {name that movie!}

if you guessed 'finding nemo' then you guessed right! and here's a lovely 'finding nemo' tank to celebrate.

i kind of have a feeling that we accidentally skipped half of the stuff that we were supposed to see, but whatever i guess. we still made the best of it!

#2 - the fourth of july. guys. i can't believe how much i fell in love with this holiday this year. we were doing stuff all day for it! we went to a pancake breakfast that our church put on:

 {don't judge the crazy hair. stupid cheyenne wind.}

we had an awesome barbecue with friends:

 {look at that get-up! it was just as delish as it looks.}

and we watched fireworks on a baseball field on base. it doesn't get more american than that!

it really was a freaking blast. every last bit of it. if christmas wasn't my all-time favorite holiday, this one would be for sure!

#3 - tie dying.

i think i've only tie dyed a shirt once and it turned out to look like poop. literally. all of the colors blended together and there was nothing but an ugly brown color left. not appealing at all. i was afraid of that happening this time, but i got lucky. you may now call me a tie-dying genius.

not too shabby, if i say so myself!

#4 - summer. even though i am a heat-hater and our house doesn't have air conditioning {making it absolutely unbearable some days}, i have loved being able to go outside and sit in the shade for hours on end and not even think twice about it. i am not looking forward to the snowy days this winter, so i am soaking up the warmth every chance i get! as i was outside with copper yesterday, this little guy {or i guess girl?} came to say hello:

ladybugs just scream summer to me! is there anything in particular that makes you feel like summer is definitely here?

#5 - a friends reunion. the bestie and i spent all day saturday, putting suff together for our friend's bridal shower. {more to come on that later!}

i can't even tell you how good it was to see everyone at that shower. i have had the same friends since i was about ten years old. that's when i moved to utah and these lovely girls took me under their wing:

 {l to r: kaitlyn, me, shandi, feleicia, amie, lacey}

and this isn't even all of them! some of them are still on lds missions and one of them wasn't able to make it. it has literally been almost 2 years since i have seen some of them. i don't know what i would do without these girls in my life. they have seriously helped shape who i am today. i'm so grateful to have grown up with such great examples around me!

hope you're having a wonderful friday! i'm getting started on a craft that i can't wait to show you all. wish me luck!

-the mrs.

i would love to hear about your 5 favorite things from this week! grab my button and link up below, so i can read all about it!!

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the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

ok, maybe the title of this post was exaggerated a little bit. my day yesterday wasn't all bad. just mostly. before i get into it, i have to back up a bit. i went to utah last week. one of my best friends came home from an lds mission and i wanted to visit her and i was also helping to throw a bridal shower for another close friend. so there was a lot going on. if you remember, my little sister also came to visit and was planning to make the trek back to utah with me. so, as we were getting things ready a couple days before, zachary noticed a bulge in the back tire of our car. we have two cars - an '06 honda accord named theo, and a '96 honda civic named stella. theo was the one with the bulge. because of the the fourth of july being a holiday and all, we found that we couldn't get new tires until after i needed to leave. so, naturally we knew that i would just have to take stella. no problem right? wrong. so very wrong.

we made it to park city, ut, about 40 miles from our destination, when i looked down and saw the check engine light was on. i got off the next exit and saw that the battery and oil light had flipped on as well. i immediately pulled over, just as stella started to smoke and died completely. awesome. here i am with nobody but my little sister and my dog and i haven't a clue what to do. oh, and did i mention it was raining? yeah, that was a fun walk to the gas station. to make a long story short, i found someone to tow us and we got the car to a nearby mechanic. it wasn't going to be ready for a day or two, so luckily, my awesome brother-in-law was kind enough to pick us up. it was a pain not having a car for the five days i was there, but whatever. i got over it.

alright, now fast forward to yesterday. the majority of it really was a good day. i was able to sleep in and hang out with my family for a few extra hours, copper slept almost the entire time in the car, and i was able to go to lunch with my sister-in-law. always a plus. i picked up my car and 700 dollars later, copper and i were on our way. i realized my phone had died and i didn't have a car charger, so i stopped in evanston, wy to pick one up. there was no way i was going to get stuck in the middle of wyoming with a dead phone. i was in wal-mart probably three minutes before the power went out. i hurried and grabbed my stuff, checked out, and when i went outside, i was seriously questioning whether or not there was a tornado out there. the wind and rain seemed to have come out of nowhere and it was making quite the uproar. that didn't make driving very easy. i braved the storm and when we were almost three hours from cheyenne, i noticed the needle on the temperature gauge was getting uncomfortably close to the red. i called the mr. and he told me to turn on the heater full blast. fun fact about me - i hate being hot. i would seriously rather freeze my butt off than be an ounce over-warm. that definitely didn't help my mood. the needle went down a little bit, but about an hour later, it was back up in the red. nothing was helping. i would pull over and let it cool down for a bit, but the moment i got back to driving, the needle would be back up again. it was really starting to stress me out. after this going on for an hour, i just started to bawl. i was afraid that the car would die again and i would be stranded all by myself, in the middle of nowhere. i prayed harder than i've ever prayed before that i could just make it home safely. by this time it was past midnight and i was exhausted. i had finally made it to laramie, about 45 minutes away and i pulled over for a good half an hour. i was most worried about the canyon between laramie and cheyenne that has a pretty steep hill. stella struggled the most going up hills. i prayed and prayed and prayed, that everything would be okay and that i wouldn't have to worry anymore. i got back on the road and my eyes were pretty much glued to the temperature gauge. so far, it was stuck right between the hot and cold - just where it should be. lo and behold, after all the ups and downs, i made it to cheyenne. and the needle didn't move once. it was reaffirmed to me that God really does answer prayers and He is mindful of me no matter how insignificant my problems may be. would i have survived being stuck alone on the side of the road? yes. but i am grateful for the power that prayer can have in making my life a little more bearable. i'm so glad i survived yesterday and if i could have one wish come true, it'd be to never experience anything like it again.

on a happier note, look at my adorable dog. i think he's the reason that the term 'puppy eyes' came about.

that's all.

-the mrs

top five friday.

i have to be completely honest - this week was a little difficult for me to come up with five things that were so great. i really haven't done much at all. ever since we picked up copper on sunday, i think i've left the house five times. and two of those times were with him. if i'm not outside waiting for him to pee, i'm inside, unable to move because he decided he has to take a nap on my lap. case in point:

this was taken five minutes ago. this dog has some serious separation issues. hopefully they'll even out with time. anyway, bear with me as i share my favorite things from this week, no matter how small or trivial they may seem.

#1 - peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

i don't remember when i fell in love with these things, but something about them brings me some serious satisfaction. we had a ginormous thunderstorm this week and i soon found out that pb and banana sandwiches are a big comfort food for me. i could probably eat them every day and not get bored.

#2 - girl's night. the mr. lucked out in getting so many girls in his class in california. or i guess i should say that i lucked out in him getting so many girls in his class. there are five of them and one of the guys from his class is married too. so, all seven of us had a girl's night this last week and can i just say that it was so wonderful to get some serious girl talk in? i love every one of those girls. they have seriously become like family to us. i don't know what we would do without them!

#3 - i got a little stalkerish this week. like big time. please don't judge. it was for a good cause! i know i've talked about our first dog, jetta, about a billion times on this blog and i'm sure you are all sick of it. but, i can't even tell you how many times i've wondered in the past year how she is doing, whether or not she is being taken care of, etc. well, the guy we sold her to was an insurance salesman. and like all salesmen, i guess he felt that it was his duty to give us his business card. i think we tossed it that night, but i will never forget his name. me, being my curious self, looked him up on facebook this week. i just wanted to know if he still had jetta and what she looked like. well, folks, this is what i got:

what a beast! seriously, talk about huge! she looks fabulous though. there were a few other pictures that made it look like she was really being taken care of and is happy. i can't even tell you how much good that does for my heart!

#4 - jo totes. never heard of them? they're only the cutest, most stylish {and roomiest!} camera bags in the world. i need one. i've entered four giveaways for one in the last three days. cross your fingers for me! here are my two favs. they're to die for!

 #5 - my little sister called me this week and told me that she wants to come see me...tomorrow! i'm so excited!! i've been trying to plan out fun things for us to do all week. there's nothing like a spontaneous visit from your family. not only will it be fun to hang out with her, but i won't have to drive to utah by myself next week either. hooray for driving buddies!

thanks for stopping by friends. hope you have a great friday!

-the mrs.

what your your top 5 favorite things from this week? grab this button and link up below, so we can all read about it!!

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awards, facts, and nominees.

something happened here at the {mr.} and the {mrs.} that has never happened before. i was given an award! i am truly humbled and grateful to simone for nominating me. i love reading other people's blogs and to get to know them through their words. her blog is one of my favs, so be sure to check it out!

there are a few obligations that come attached with this award. seven of them actually:

1 - thank the blogger who nominated you.
2 - include a link to their site.
3 - include the award image in your post.
4 - give 7 random facts about yourself.
5 - nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.
6 - when nominating, include a link to their site.
7 - let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

so to start off with 7 random facts about myself, let's see:

#1 - i use men's razors to shave my legs and pits. {no, not my husband's. sicko.} seriously girls, if you want nice, clean cut, smooth legs, do yourself a favor and buy a men's razor. i used to cut myself all the time  with my venus razor. especially around my knees. i've been using a men's razor for about a year now and haven't cut myself once. go ahead and try it. you can thank me later.

#2 - i hate pork. and i don't have a reason as to why. i know it's all in my head, but it's just dis-gusting to me. i can still remember the day i stopped eating it. it was the summer between my junior and senior year in high school and we were having pulled pork sandwiches for dinner at girl's camp. i turned to my best friend and told her there was no way i could eat it and i thought i was going to be sick. i haven't touched it since. okay, that was a lie. i think it's rude to go to someone's house for dinner and refuse to eat what is in front of you, so i guess i'll say that i haven't touched it since by choice.

#3 - i'm obssessed with animals. mostly baby ones. i've even got the pictures to prove it!

these were all taken over the last month or so. the last one is definitely my favorite. ;) thank heavens for animals!

#4 - i was on a spelling team in elementary school. i was forced to pick between that or being on the math team. it was actually a really tough choice for me. {just call me a nerd} i put hours into practicing spelling words like acetylsalicylate and gubernatorial, which as a second grader were pretty difficult. i ended up winning second place in the district spelling bee when i was in 5th grade. i got out on the word 'zephyr'. i'd never heard the word in my life and i quickly {and sadly} learned that it is not spelled 'zeffeur'. that's okay though because the girl i lost to was an 8th grader and while i got the word zephyr, she got the word 'institute'. can you say "totally not fair!!"?

#5 - my girl celebrity crush is jennifer aniston. are there any other jen fans here? not only is she smokin' hot {no homo}, but she is super funny and can act really well. she is hands down, my favorite 'friends' character and if you haven't seen the movie 'just go with it', you've got to! she does a fantastic job.

#6 - if i had it my way, i would be able to wear flip flops/sandals 365 days a year and my feet would never once get wet. that would solve two problems. 1 - my feet wouldn't get hot from wearing normal shoes and start to sweat and be nasty. {gross, i know} 2 - my feet wouldn't be wet - which is one of my biggest pet peeves. maybe i'll just have to wear waterproof socks with my sandals from now on. because we all know how attractive socks and sandals are.

#7 - i love spontaneity. one of my favorite memories from when the mr. and i were dating is when we randomly grabbed some taco bell, took it to the local airport and watched the stars. i know it doesn't sound like much, but that night, all by ourselves with nothing but some cheap fast food and the crickets to keep us company, will forever be a cherished memory. there's nothing like flying by the seat of your pants and seeing where it will take you!

now, i would like to nominate and hear from these people. check them out yourself. they are some fantastic bloggers!

kaitlyn @ bits and pieces of [flair]

elyse @ home sweet holmes

arika @ a is for arika

jena @ jena kaye

meg @ big red clifford

whitney @ the zufelt's

kara @ freckles and rouge

kelsie @ my beautiful life

alexa @ he and i

katie @ a place to spit it all out

kiana @ life o'kiana

amy @ the reeves

april @ i thought i loved you then

amanda @ it's a powell life

sam @ reddy or knot

-the mrs

is that normal?

it's time to link up with allyce for another "is it normal?" post! there are some fantastic question's today, so here we go!

#1 -  is it normal to lie about your age?

no. it might seem normal, but come on people. really? it's not that big of deal. and i know you might think, "oh, you're so young. you have no reason to lie about your age, so your opinion doesn't count." well, try being the youngest person everywhere you go, all the freaking time. i've never been tempted to lie and say that i'm younger, but i have been tempted to say that i'm older. i feel like when i tell people my real age, my credidation goes down the drain. but have i ever actually lied about it? no. because that would be ridiculous.

#2 -  is it normal to have mistaken someone for the opposite sex?

...yeah...my husband and i love playing the game, 'chick or dude?', where we will see a person and try our best to determine whether they are a boy or a girl. sometimes, it's actually really difficult. i don't think you can help mistaking them for the opposite sex sometimes. it's their fault if you do, not yours.

#3 -  is it normal to go #2 in a public restroom?

when you gotta go, you gotta go. so, yes. it's normal. but does that mean i like doing it? &$!# no! let's just say that i think there should be a mandated law that all public places have music playing in the restrooms.

#4 -  is it normal to sit right next to a stranger at the movie theater?

no, no, no, no, no! i've never been one to have a personal space bubble, but i sure as heck don't want to be rubbing elbows/fighting for the arm rest with someone i don't even know! even when the theater is packed and i have to sit next to a stranger, i usually make the mr. sit next to them. it's just weird and uncomfortable to me.

#5 -  is it normal to lie about your weight?

i would have to say yes. i don't mind telling people my weight. i'll tell you right now that i weigh 155 whopping pounds. yep, that just happened. am i proud of that weight? not completely. but, i've gone my whole life being ashamed of that number and being self conscious that i'm bigger than all of my friends and i'm at the point right now where i work out 3-5 times a week, i watch my calorie intake, and i try not to be a lazy piece of lard. so, if that is the number that i get in result, then whatever. the scale does not define me. i say that it's normal though, because like i said, i haven't always been okay with my weight and have lied about it numerous times. and that's okay. sometimes being ashamed of something is what fuels the fire to fix it.

#6 -  is it normal to sing and dance in the car?

oooohhhh yeeeeeaaaah. i'd goes as far as to say that it's even healthy.

#7 -  is it normal to take self-pictures in public?

if you mean self-pictures of you and your husband since you are too poor to hire a photographer that will follow you around everywhere you go {wouldn't that be nice?}, then yes. it's normal. we don't mind asking someone to take it for us, but i think we have bad luck - almost every time a stranger takes it, it doesn't turn out! irritating. but if it's just you, please save yourself the embarrassment. you just look like a narcissist.

#8 -  is it normal for women to have a gun license? 

most defintely! i don't have one yet, but i hope to eventually. i know i would feel a lot safer going out on my own if i had a gun in my purse!

#9 -  is it normal to post pictures online of yourself in a bikini?

my view on this is kind of along the same lines as the taking pictures of yourself in public thing - it just looks narcissistic. to me it says, "hey, i think i have a really great body. do you wanna check it out too?" and let's be real - anyone that looks at you and likes it, probably has a mile-high stack of porn in their basement too. sick.

#10 -  is it normal to like the smell of gasoline?

sadly, yes. i say sadly because all of us that do like it have probably fried numerous amounts of brain cells. and that's sad. but i think i know more people that like the smell of it that people that don't, so i consider it to be very normal.

go ahead and link up with us here!

-the mrs.

big news.

the mr. and i have been discussing some things lately - serious things. and now i think it's time to share those things with you.

we've made a few visits in the last month or so and decided to go through with it all. after trying and failing, we never thought we'd experience the joy of having a little one in our home - one to take camping and fishing and to be our best friend. after looking forward to and wanting it for our entire marriage and things not going how we planned, we were pretty disappointed. but now, all of that has changed. oh, and i guess i should probably mention that the adoption center we visited was for animals...

yep, we are giving things another go and just adopted a brand new puppy. friends, meet copper:

you can't have a hound dog and not name him copper right? {cue the fox and the hound}

i just can't get enough of this little guy. he has seriously got to be the sweetest puppy i have ever seen. he's a big time cuddler and is actually pretty obedient for being only 9 weeks old. he's only had a couple accidents in the house and is already starting to let us know when he needs to go out. it's made me realize that we weren't wimps about jetta after all. she was just a bad egg. copper is the dog that we have envisioned owning since we started talking about even having a dog. i can't wait to watch him grow up and truly become our best friend.

-the mrs.