The Blog is Back!

Wow, it has been over a year and a half since we have last blogged!

Just a few days ago, Jess & I were talking about blogging and remembering how fun it was to work on this site together. We both agree that it isn't about the followers or if anyone else reads our blogs, we enjoy writing them, making projects together, sharing our photos & having this as a memory to look back on. We are excited to get this up & running again!

So much has happened in the months that have gone by, we couldn't possibly begin to share it all. But there did happen to be one significant event that took place that has thoroughly taken over our lives, the birth of my beautiful daughter, Londyn Kate Gauthier.

She may be the single reason this blog took a backseat. She has completely captivated us...she is our world! And by us I mean the whole family. Auntie Jess being a big part of that! 

We have also started a small business making headbands & bows for little girls. This keeps us busy for sure! Check out our shop on Etsy, Instagram & Facebook! www.etsy.com/shop/londybugboutique  

I will be posting my pregnancy/birth story next. I want to be able to look back at the details in the years to come. I remember being pregnant & reading hundreds of birth stories! I was so curious in everyone's experience. If you're not interested, just skip to the next post... I won't be offended whatsoever! :)

We hope you are as excited as us to follow our day to day journeys through this blog. Bringing you stories & photos, recipes & home decor, our styles & fashion. Subscribe if you want to be updated when we post new blogs. Looking forward to the fun ahead!

Love ~ Lyss

Jessica's Hallway Makeover

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week! I was sick in bed for most of it (ugh), but thankfully on the mend now.

With the new year here, I am ready for a fresh start! I have been organizing and throwing things out like crazy. Even completing projects I started but never finished.

One of those was my upstairs hallway.

(before)

When our Grandma passed away I received this beautiful oak hallway table that had belonged to her. It has beautiful detail and great meaning so I wanted to make it special and display it in my home.

I got my husband to paint it white to match our overall style.

It turned out gorgeous and I'm so happy with it! I will treasure it always.

The next step was working with this big blank wall.

I knew I wanted stripes so my hubby got out the paint (again).
Have I mentioned he is amazing and an awesome painter?! Ha! Love you, Dan!

Painting in the PJ's (only way to do it!)

And here is what it looked like the next day!

Ta Da! I love the way it turned out!

Next Step will be putting a gallery wall together.  Here are some of the pieces I will be using.

What have you all been working on? Any fun house projects? Let us know in the comments below!

Love ~ Jess

The Holidays

Happy New Year Everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season! We spent ours surrounded by family and friends, the very best way.

On December 2nd in the afternoon, our Grandma went to be with Jesus. She was so special to all of us! She loved her family so much & we felt the same way about her. Words cannot express how much we miss her, but we are thankful she is not suffering any more.

With that being said, this Holiday season was a little different. We had been excited to post a Christmas blog with a lot of great pictures, but that wasn't the way things went this year. It was more of a day with family and we wouldn't have it any other way.

We did take a few cell phone photos, so here's a look into our homes...

Jessie's Home

     

     

 

                                       

Lyssa's Home

      

                  

We truly hope all of our friends had a great Holiday & a HAPPY New Year!

I think one of our 'resolutions' for 2014 should be to keep this blog updated, Ha! What do you think? 

Heath Bar Cake

Here is the recipe for the Heath Bar Cake I made on Thanksgiving!

You Need:

1 box Devil's Food Cake mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 jar caramel

1 container Cool Whip

4 Heath Bars

Directions:

Bake the Devil's Food Cake according to the package directions. Once the cake is done, allow to cool for 10-15 min. 

Poke holes all over the cake with a wooden spoon handle, fork- etc.

Once the cake has been sufficiently stabbed (lol) - slowly pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk over the cake. Then slowly pour about 3/4 of the jar of caramel over the top as well.

Pop the cake in the fridge overnight to let it all melt. You should REALLY make this cake the day before- the longer it soaks the better! 

Pull the cake out and cover it with the Cool Whip.  Break up the Heath bars and top your cake. 

That's it! Easy and delicious...enjoy!

Easy Fall Pumpkin Planter DIY Project Under $8!

Fun

EASY

Under $8

 

Fall Pumpkin Planter

 

Only 3 steps! Anyone can do it!

 

 

 Supplies:

Plant

 Pumpkin

Knife

Garbage Bag

Cardboard

(or something to keep under the pumpkin)

1. Cut the top off the pumpkin

 

 

 

2. Empty the guts (Slimy, gross guts! Eww)

 

 

 

 

 

3. Insert Plant

 

 

 

So easy, so fast, and makes a cute addition for your Front Porch!

You can also easily add to this look...

A decal monogram for the front of the pumpkin, or a burlap bow to give it that finishing touch are just a few fun ideas.

 

Hope your enjoying this season and the beauty that it brings!

 

Fall is Here!

Fall is here to stay, there's no doubt about it! 

And we couldn't be happier!

Pumpkins, Bonfires, Autumn Leaves, Boots,  S'mores, Sweaters, Lattes, Thanksgiving, Caramel Apples, 

and the list goes on and on...

Needless to say, we love Fall!  And decorating our homes is a great way to bring that cozy Fall feeling inside. Here's a peak into what we have been up to lately...

Jess's Home

Lyssa's Home

I love how you can see our individual style in both of our homes. 

Coming up on 'Two Sisters, Two Homes'

DIY Fall Pumpkin Planter for under $8

Leave a comment below & let us know what your favorite thing about Fall is!

DIY Desk Makeover

First off, thanks to everyone for the great response on our blog debut! Feels good to know our friends & family are looking forward to reading.

Last post we mentioned doing House Tours, but unfortunately that wont be happening this week...

Sunday morning, the 18th, we received the call that our Grandma was in the hospital. She needed to have her appendix removed. Small surgery normally, but at 79 years old with several health issues, it didn't turn out to be so small. 8 days later she is just being moved out of ICU.
We absolutely ADORE our Grandma so much! She is the matriarch of the Luke Family, so this has been a rough week for us all. As of today she seems to be doing much better, but please continue to keep her in your prayers.

So needless to say we haven't had the time to put together our House Tour post. Hopefully we can get our schedules back on track and pull it together soon!

In the meantime here is a post from Alyssa's home:

The upstairs hallway of our home is all an open space to the downstairs below.

(Yes, it desperately needs color!)

When we first moved in I put this white console table there, just to fill the space. I eventually put a lamp and some décor there and left it.
I was so undecided with what colors I wanted to go with upstairs that I didn't do anything with it for quite awhile.

One day Jess sent me this picture from Pinterest

She knew I was looking for inspiration for my guest room and I fell in love with everything about it! The textures, the colors...just my style!
Once I decided on this look & color scheme I knew I could get started on the rest of the upstairs.
I have this thing...I like to match. Not always & not everything, but mostly. Does that make sense? Ha..
If my guest room is going to be shades of coral, tan & white, than my bathroom must be as well! And of course the hallway should go somewhat along those lines, right? Well, yes, for me it must!
I'm around 75% complete done with the bathroom, and 5% done with the bedroom. I'm taking my time, what can I say? But I started this little project in the hallway and am excited to show the progress.

I found this solid genuine hard maple desk & chair on craigslist, snagged it for $80 and stuffed it in the back of Mark's little car.

 Solid would be the right word to describe it. This thing is heavy!

Step 1. Remove all drawers & hardware

Step 2. Use a paint that is mixed with primer so you don't have to do separate coats

Step 3. Paint away. Use smooth even strokes. Don't saturate your brush with paint, a little goes a long way.




Step 4. Use a paint + primer spray paint to paint your chair. Super easy! Two coats looks best.

After one coat of paint + primer! That's all it took!

I love the way it turned out! Super easy project, literally one coat of paint for the desk & two coats of spray paint for the chair. 

Next I will be making a seat cushion for the chair. Thinking a shabby floral pattern.

Also there is a cut out on the wall behind this desk, and I am wanting to do stencil pattern in this coral. I think it will give the hallway the pop of color I am looking for! 

Love this wall stencil from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs

If anyone has experience with wall stenciling on textured walls, be sure to offer some advice, it doesn't look too easy!

Hope you're enjoying the blog, more posts to come!