Sea Legs: July 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

My best friend is engaged!!

My best friend is engaged!! I'm a few weeks late blogging about my excitement.. but let's face it, I'm still just as excited as I was the day before she actually got engaged (Yep, sorry Ry, we knew it was coming).. :)

I sat on PINS AND NEEDLES all day Monday, July 9th waiting for THE phone call. I heard my phone ring around 8PM that night and literally sprinted to answer. Two of the most excited, emotional people were on the other end of the phone, 1,200 miles away from me, celebrating the happiest day of their lives. It was seriously magical. I couldn't understand a darn thing Amanda was saying but it didn't even matter. I could just FEEL the happiness, and I jumped around the house/cried for most of the rest of the evening. I bounced up and down screaming "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!" and Rob had to remind me that hey, he and I are ALREADY married.

Yeah, but MY BEST FRIEND IS ENGAGED!

To celebrate this momentous event I put together a little engagement gift for her. If I was closer to home I would have hand delivered it, but instead I enlisted the help of UPS two-day delivery.

I embossed each gift tag with a little butterfly (my signature!) and wrote a note on each as well. Everything included has a special meaning to us (Pringles and all) and I hoped it would make her feel like I was home helping her celebrate this big news. Plus, is there ANYTHING better than receiving mail?? Everyone loves getting mail, and I know my twin is no exception ;)

Amanda,
I'll be beside you every step of the way... even if I AM 1,200 miles away.I love you so much and I cannot WAIT to stand next to you on your big day. XO

Monday, July 9, 2012

DIY Coffee Bar!

If you know me or my husband personally you know that coffee is a big, HUGE part of our lives. It's actually a little ridiculous when I think about it, but we have definitely evolved into coffee snobs. We grind our own coffee every morning, have perfected the BEST homemade iced coffee and we've even been known to cold-brew in order to get the perfect flavor. We judge a city by it's coffee and if we end up stationed in Pearl Harbor you can bet your britches (yes, I just said that) that we'll be BATHING in Kona. Ok, not really, but you get the picture.

Since coffee is such a big part of our day we've developed quite a little collection of coffee accessories. Our tiny apartment here in Charleston came equipped with a tiny kitchen counter and our coffee essentials have consumed most of the space. I've been dying to set up some sort of coffee-bar in our kitchen for the last year and I have been hunting for a very specific shelf I saw online a million years ago because I knew it would be the perfect addition to my coffee haven.

WELL, the stars aligned and my coffee bar finally came together!It turns out that my friend Jackie knew were to get the shelf I've been hunting for and she has one of her own in her kitchen! GAH! I ordered that puppy as soon as I could get to my computer and I even found a 40% off coupon for it. Ohhhh how I love a sweet deal.

Rob and I hunted around at furniture consignment shops around Charleston the day after I ordered the shelf and after a looking at few different stores we found the perfect little buffet to use for the bar. It's antique and made of light wood. We scored it for an amazing deal and then sweat our butts off as we tried to cram in in the back seat of our teeny-tiny car in the 100 degree heat. We sanded, primed and then painted it a gorgeous color --Behr Ucalyptus Leaf blue. I used my coffee bar project as an excuse to do some damage at target where I got some coordinating linens, a yellow bowl and fun platter to keep my creamer & sugar on. Pictures below!