Saturday, January 21, 2012

Ready or not...

... I started a blog!!  Yep, here it is thanks to Tracy who patiently talked me through the initial stages of deciding on a template, background, etc.  She was also gracious enough to be enthusiastic about my blog title, Team Eckhardt!  Seeing as how I value positive affirmation, I am grateful to her for that positive encouragement. Thanks, Tracy!

So why start a blog? On New Year's Eve Michael and I had a few friends over to play some games and celebrate the new year together.  As we were casually reminiscing about 2011 and exploring resolution ideas for 2012, I somehow found myself resolving that 2012 would be the year that I start a blog. ( I am somewhat proud of the fact that it is up and running before the end of the year-- when I am usually  scrambling to accomplish any resolutions I had made). 

Yet, beyond getting a blog started I've been at a loss of what to 'blog' about.  While brainstorming I have decided that this blog will act as somewhat of an accountability for me.  You see, I have a tendency to be inspired by anything and everything from DIY projects, to decorating, and even recipes!  Yet, oftentimes, the inspirations never materialize.  I either forget about it or get busy with everyday life. So... I made a list!  It's pretty general and not timeline specific, but it is a start.  I hope this list acts as a reminder of my inspirations.  I am sure it will probably grow and evolve, but as I said, it is a start.

Decorate the bathroom... Michael and I have been renting this house for a year and a half.  I have struggled to find inspiration for our small pink & white tiled bathroom!  However, I've finally decided (about 3 months ago) to try a 'shabby chic' style to jazz up the bathroom a little bit.  This project has started to materialize, but hopefully this will be a nice push to finish the job and show the results!

Try new recipes... I think this has actually materialized quite often in our house, many thanks to Pinterest.  The Hubster, though skeptical when I was first introduced to Pinterest, has recently voiced his appreciation to this site.  If I recall correctly he said something along the lines of, "Ya know, Pinterest really has made our lives better" (as I was preparing a recipe that I had recently 'pinned' on my 'Yum Yum Yum!' board).  I just smiled.  But yes, I would like to continue to prepare new recipes and blog about it... prepare yourself-- this may get messy!

Make gifts as much as possible...  I enjoy crafting and creating special gifts for the ones I love.  Sometimes life gets hectic and it sometimes seems easier to just buy something, but hopefully with this on my list I will be motivated to think creatively and blog about the process.

Make DIY projects from Pinterest...  Has anyone else gone onto Pinterest, been absolutely 'pin-crazy' with an overload of great do-it-yourself projects only to not do any of them?  You are not alone!! I thought it would be interesting to keep track of DIY projects I have pinned and then share my version of that project.  We shall see if this works!

Finally make a T-shirt quilt... OK people.  Do you realize how long I have wanted to make a T-shirt quilt?  Since HIGH SCHOOL!!!  I am not going to tell you how long it has been since then, but I am FINALLY going to do it! My mom gifted me with a sewing machine about 3 years ago.  I used it maybe once and didn't finish a project at all.  It has been boxed away since I have been married (2 and a half years!!)  However, I got it out and threaded the needle about two weeks ago (it had been so long that I had to watch a youtube 'how-to' video though!)  Anyway, here's my idea... I was in cross country & track throughout high school and college.  I've really wanted to have something that reminds me of that awesome season of my life!  If you've been in sports you know that you get so more T-shirts than you are able to wear. Well, that has been my experience for HS & for college.  I figured I would dedicate one side of the quilt to my high school sports-related T-shirts, and then the other side to my college sports-related T-shirts with their respective colors.  What do you think!?  I actually talked to my family tonight and they are going to bring my old T's to me sometime next month when they come to visit!  Get excited!!

Help Lindsay with her 'room makeover'... Lindsay is a great friend of mine who is currently expecting her second child (a son!) by this summer.  She is hoping to combine his room with his older sister, Olivia's.  I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to ideas to help her out and we are planning to meet to get these projects underway.  I am really looking forward to this!  Thought it would not hurt to blog about the process!

Decorate our bedroom on a budget... I think with anything on this list, doing it on a budget is a given!  I really am not sure what or when I will do this, but I have been wanting to do something for some time.  There really isn't a theme muchless space in our bedroom to do a lot with.  We also have 2 of Michael's 3 bikes in our bedroom as well.  I put this on the list to get it out there that I would love to change things up a bit!  Any ideas or suggestions on utilizing & decorating small spaces?


Make Alphabet stitches on stretch canvas.... & start an Etsy shop...  I should probably talk about these together, but thought realistically I would need to make something before I could start a shop!  But this has been an idea of mine for some time!  The idea of stitches stretched on canvas frames came from my friend Laura.  Hopefully at some point I can show you her amazing work!!  I decided to try some of it and love it! (I will show these examples in a later post).  I have been loving alphabet decor and art so I thought it would be interesting and fun to try and make these to try and sell on Etsy.  We will see what comes of this!

Read books for fun!!...  I love this!  With some disclosure, I am in the final stages of my masters in community counseling (hoping to someday be a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC).  You can imagine, and are correct, that this keeps me really busy.  One thing that I have found to be difficult in previous semesters was to continue to read stuff that is not related to clinical counseling work.  Hopefully by putting this on the list it will be a little boost to continue to read on my own and perhaps share my thoughts about these books on here.

Wow, quite a list, huh?  I am glad that my New Year's resolution was not to complete this list!! As I said earlier, this list is not timeline specific and this blog may evolve into something entirely different, but it is a start...

Other than this list I am sure I will post a little bit from the life of Team Eckhardt!!  Reflections of the heart, our faith, or even just really random stories!  It's all apart of the adventure for us.  Stay tuned for more!

Rebekah