Wrapped Monogram Wreath

I pinned this jute wrapped monogram wreath on Pinterest a few months ago and decided that my new apartment would be the perfect excuse to make one.

I made mine without looking to see if I had pinned a tutorial or not because it looked so simple (and it is certainly simple enough to do but does require some patience).  In fact, the image I pinned links to an etsy listing by Embellished Living.  I did a little Googling, though, and found out that Chelsea over at two twenty one has a tutorial you can follow if you wish, which reproduces the inspiration wreath almost exactly.

Here's what I came up with:

Little Cabin in the Woods

Are you ready for your first look at Mountain Man's cabin?

This month, he's been working on clearing the massive amount of underbrush and weeds that have grown up along the driveway and around the actual house.  He wants to get all that cleared out to make it easier to haul supplies and whatnot back and forth.

I wanted to chronicle this myself, but thankfully unfortunately, Mountain Man started this project without me.  The kind of work this will require is not my favorite or even something I know much about, but I've committed myself to helping him with this.  He's been anxious to get started, but hopefully I'll be there to take some photos myself next time and you'll get to see the inside too.

So without further ado, some before and after shots Mountain Man took of the grounds with his cell phone and emailed to me.

Thrift Store Coffee Table

I've mentioned before that I'm going to start my first year of teaching in a few short weeks.  Obviously, I'm very excited, but sometimes I think I'm more excited about living in my very own apartment BY MYSELF for the first time.

About a week ago, I signed a lease for an apartment in Tuscaloosa, and although I have much of what I will need to furnish it, there are some things I'm lacking.  While I was visiting my family in Florida this past week, I had a lot of time to kill, so I went shopping!  

The biggest items I needed (ok, mostly just wanted) are things to fill out my living room, like a TV stand, a coffee table, end tables, and lamps.  I found a TV stand on sale at Kmart and some lamps at Big Lots.  I couldn't find any pictures of the styles I bought online, but I'll be sure to post some once I get settled in Tuscaloosa.  That just left the coffee tables and end tables.

Red Velvet Cupcakes in a Jar

This week, I'm visiting my family in Florida.

Yesterday was my uncle Joey's birthday, and Wednesday is my brother's birthday.  Uncle Joey actually lives in Virginia, but he just came back from a posting in Bahrain with the Navy and is visiting his parents (my grandparents) here in Okaloosa County.  In honor of both their birthdays, we had a big family dinner out at their house tonight.  My brother, who is (or will be ) 17, opted for a cookie cake, but Uncle Joey's favorite cake is red velvet.

I had pinned this several months ago, which was crafted by the lovely Rubyellen of cakies, and all credit goes to her.  Having never gotten around to actually sending them to him while he was stationed overseas, I decided tonight was the perfect opportunity to test them out.

Here we go!

Welcome!

Welcome to Wild Woman, Mountain Man!

I'm Wild Woman, although most people know me as Jenny, and my boyfriend is Mountain Man, but I usually call him Riley.  We're just a couple of young, Southern folks carving out a place for ourselves in a little ol' state called Alabama.

Me and Mountain Man in the Sipsey Wilderness, August 2010