Pink Isn't Just a Color...It's an Attitude

During the car show I met this amazing woman named Bobbi Sevigney who just happens to be the pink tool lady. She sells pink tools called Tomboy Tools. It's absolutely amazing. I was skeptical at first, because it seems that when you find pink tools they are more built for looks than to actually be used. But these, these tools are made to be used. I have told everyone about them! She has all sorts of kits, for all sorts of projects. You can get a set for painting, gardening, basic stuff around the house, and even a kit to keep in your car. I personally want the kit that includes the pink tool belt and pink safety glasses. I'm going to add the pink hard hat so I am always ready to be on a job site at work. She is always having specials on these kits as well. $50 off when you spend $90, a build your own kit this month, and some amazing deals coming up for Christmas. The best part about it, is if you host a tool party, she can host a skills class while your friends are there. It's always nice to have a couple of pointers for little DIY projects, or just how to save some money by doing things around the house on your own. I am a firm believer that every woman should have her own tool kit. You always know everything is in good condition and know where to find it. Tomboy Tools allows you to do that, while having tools that are made for women. They aren't just cute, they are made for a woman's hand. I can personally say, after working in a construction based distributor, that there is nothing more empowering than being a woman who can handle herself on a job site, in the field, and in the office. The fact that you can do it with a pink tool kit is even better. Learning simple things like DIY projects has gotten me respect, not only in the office, but with the guys who work in the field as well. And let's be honest for a moment, these tools are adorable!! Definitely check Bobbi out on facebook or at Tomboy Tools.

The Garden Kit - Comes with a 2 gallon bucket with handle, transplanter, cultivator, garden snips, rubber grip gloves, and knee pads. $47...great gift for Christmas.

The basics kit - Magnetic hammer, multi-bit ratchet screwdriver, 16' measuring tape, and slip joint pliers. $40. There isn't a college student out there who doesn't need this!!

The Pink Diamond - Pink tool box, magnetic hammer, multi-bit rachet screwdriver, 25' measuring tape, utility knife, mini hacksaw, level, needle nose pliers, slip joint pliers, mini pry bar, rubber grip gloves, safety glasses, picture hanging set, pink suede tool belt, knee pads, carpenters pencil, and a sanding block. **Look in November for a special on this kit!!!**

Auto Kit - Canvas carrying bag, jumper cables, extendable screwdriver, LED flashlight, digital tire gauge and rubber grip gloves. $79. Again, think college students and new drivers...excellent for Christmas!

This is what I am DYING for!! Would love this on job sites! It's OSHA certified...only $24!!

The hammer has a magnet on the top that will hold your nail. You throw the hammer down, the nail sticks into whatever you are working on, and no pinched fingers or chipped fingernails. Who doesn't love that? Only $12!!!!

As you can see, I am officially a walking ad for Tomboy Tools...hint hint to my mother for Christmas! I'm the handy woman around our house, and would love these for my collection! 

Cars for Kids

This past weekend Grace Fellowship Church had their annual Car Show at their Snellville campus. I feel privileged to know Rus Mazza who orchestrates this show every year. The Men of Grace come together to raise money for our KidzLife program. Of course, it's not that tough to get the Men of Grace excited about muscle cars. I have volunteered for the past two years, and am amazed by the turn out each year. Being it's second year, we weren't sure how big it would actually be. There ended up being right north of 100 cars, and a handful of motorcycles as well. Mom, Dad, and I worked the registration tent with a wonderful woman named Linda. Her husband was in charge of the live auction. Someone donated a 1958 Volkswagon Beetle Vert (that's convertible for all of you non-VW folks out there!). We had close to 20 vendors selling their arts and crafts, tools, and different car related products from insurance to motor oil. The church also decided to have their Fall Festival the same day. There were tons of kids running around in their Halloween costumes all day, which made for a fun day all around. I know Rus, and the other men and women who volunteered their time, put a lot of thought into this weekend. You could tell. From sponsors, to food, to vendors, volunteers, tshirts, and more, all was handled perfectly. This is one of my favorite weekends in the fall. My dad and I have a 1969 Camaro SS that is our little project car. I love that car. We have done a lot to it since he got it, and we have made a lot of memories in the garage around this car. So glad we can share our love of cars with the kids at church, and the community surrounding Grace. 

Of course I had to put in a picture with my massive trophy! It's taller than my car!

Dad and I!

This is the bug that was donated to the church. It was auctioned off at the end of the day and sold for $19K. Very exciting for KidzLife!

The front of the church. In preparation for the show, the church displayed a new car on the front lawn every Sunday. It's so amazing to go to a church that is so supportive of it's members.

She's too cool for school!

Thank goodness for Kurt Farhy. He has been babysitting the vert ever since it belonged to the church. He was getting the radio cranked to entice all of the bidders at the auction.

The amazing Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield! They made sure all requests were prayed for and were there for anyone who needed them.

Mr Rus Mazza and Dad!

Cheryl Mazza was one of the amazing vendors who showed up on Saturday. She has the most amazing gifts, and I can't wait to get her online. She's nervous to start selling online, but I see Etsy in her future. Look for her on future posts. 

The adorable Halloween bucket she made me. Can't wait to put it out at the house this week.

The Barkers running registration. 

One of my favorite VW's at the show. So vintage! 

The color that Fords should be.

My absolute favorite car at the show...besides mine of course.

The car show was an absolute success. We raised close to $25,000 for KidzLife. So the next generation might know!

The Biggest Little-Day of Her Life

This weekend I was able to be a part of Dennis and Rachel's Wedding Festivities. They were married at the Braselton Stover House, in Braselton, GA. It was absolutely gorgeous. The perfect setting for a Southern Wedding. The weather was great, the flowers were gorgeous, and everyone could not have been happier for them. One of the coolest parts of the wedding ceremony was the song that Rachel walked down the aisle to. Everyone who knows her knows she was born to sing. Unbeknownst to anyone at the wedding, she sang and recorded her processional song. When the song started playing Dennis could not keep it together any longer. It was amazing, and there wasn't a dry eye out there. Rachel also included all of their family members that are no longer with us in the ceremony by lighting a memorial candle. The photographer took a ton of great pictures, which I will have to include later, but here are a few of my favorites.

The bridal party got their hair done at Karma Salon in Buford. If you are looking for a place for your bridesmaids, or just a new place to get your hair done, this Salon is definitely worth checking out. The girls are amazing, and the salon is so calming. They have it set up so you can get mani/pedi, airbrush tanning, or just a whole new style. They were great to us. We had mimosas and sat around laughing with each other all morning. 

Loved Rachel's hair piece. It wouldn't be Rachel without bling! It went perfectly with her dress!

Had to add the ceremonial veil placement. You aren't truly a bride until this has been added. This was also Rachel's something borrowed. She borrowed it from a family member. 

Like I said, not Rachel without bling! These shoes are bangin!!! The pop of color matched all of the wedding decor, but it also looked amazing under her dress. Most everything else at the wedding was pretty formal, these gave her dress the relaxation it needed.

Beautiful bridesmaids bouquets. All of the flowers for the wedding were done by a cousin. I love the pops of purple from the hydrangea and roses.

The deep purple was amazing in Rachel's bouquet. 

This was Rachel's something old. It was a pin that her uncle gave her grandmother, who has since passed. Hiding it under her dress was the easiest way of having her grandmother with her while she walked down the aisle.

Gorgeous dress! She found it at Formally Yours off of Highway 29 in Lilburn. I also got my dress there so I'm probably biased, but love this shop. Just decided what size you need and don't listen to their suggestions. They suggested Rachel get a size 2, and she had to have a zero taken in. They said I needed 3 extra inches of length added to the bottom of my bridesmaids dress, and there were 4 inches removed when it was hemmed. The other girls all had similar experiences. But, they have a great selection for a great price!

Centerpieces used in the reception area. It is hard to tell in this picture, but there was dark purple pops of fabric on all of the tables, and dark purple ties on the chairs. That, with the light colors of purple in the centerpieces, was an amazing combination.

Candi, Rachel's mother, threw an amazing wedding. They were obviously surrounded by loving family and friends. We should all be so luck as to have relationships like these in our lives.

Moving Day

Jay and I finally moved into our new house! YAY! I really thought this day would never come. If you have ever moved before, you know it can be a painful process. We are used to having to move in August when we go back to school, in the scorching heat. We were so lucky to have amazing weather in the 60's and 70's. All was going well until we moved the fridge and the stove in. Apparently the woman who lived in the house before us decided to put hardwood on top of laminate and tile on top of that, and tiling straight into the cabinets. This, of course, added 2" of height to the floors in the kitchen. When we moved the old stove out, we found out it was sitting in a whole that our new stove wouldn't fit into. Apparently, they tiled up to the stove as well. Ok, we will keep the new one in storage until we re-do the kitchen. No big deal. It was out of my parent's old house, and we weren't out any cash because of it. The fridge was an even bigger mess. Most refrigerators are standard height. We didn't think about measuring the space's height, because they are standard. Well, when there was a laminate floor in there, it was a standard height. On top of that, the fridge was too wide for the interior doors, and only one of the doors would come off. After a little redneck creativity, and a little touch-up paint, we had it in the kitchen! Even with all of the crazy appliances we had a pretty easy move. Everything is unpacked in the kitchen, we have a new king bed (thanks to Beth and Gary!!) in our master bedroom, and a list of projects I want to start around the house! Life is good!

Haley was so excited to go for a car ride to the new house! She was so nervous all morning when we were packing the UHaul. She wouldn't leave the side of the truck, keeping and eye to make sure she was coming with us!

I thought this was hysterical. Mom was one step up on the step ladder and could barely reach the light, Jay didn't even have to get on his tip toes!

Finally relaxing and watching the Auburn game! War Damn! Haley was exhausted after all of that heavy lifting! She had to carry two whole toys inside the house!

Stay tuned for more projects! I'm in the process of ripping out the vanity in our bathroom...should be fun!

House Mania

You may or may not have read that Jay and I finally closed on our house!!! YAY!! We closed on Sept 9th, and couldn't wait to get started on all of our DIY projects. We need to put new carpet in upstairs, so we thought it would be beneficial to paint the bedrooms up there before we put new carpet down. No drop cloth needed! The vanity in our master bathroom is 2 feet tall, and Jay is way too tall to brush his teeth at that vanity. We found a place online that you can buy refurbished vanities, so that is on the to-do list as well. We thought it would be wise to do all of this stuff before we move furniture into the house. So, those projects are starting this weekend! But, I had to share pictures from closing, and my new toy for the house.

They finally handed over the key at the attorney's office. Jay, of course, decided since he's the man of the house he should take responsibility of the key! Ok...I'll give you that one!

Standing outside with the key to our home!

For those of you that don't know, Jay is a graphic designer for a tool company! That career comes in extremely handy when you are a DIY fanatic! Jay bought me a brand new Hitachi cordless drill, with a light so you can see what you are drilling in all of those dark corners! For those of you that know Jay, you know this has no relevance to him whatsoever, but I couldn't be more excited. Before you know it, this boy will be DIY.

I love my new B.A. drill!

Stay tuned for all of our projects that we will be starting over the next couple of months. I'll make sure I add plenty of before and after pictures!

To Die For Sweets!

Going to Bethany's Bachelorette Bash definitely made me want to bake something phenomenal. I knew Anna was doing a cake, but I figured something else small and sweet would be fun. I decided to make Peanut Butter Cheesecake Squares and Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries. Here are the recipes, and they turned out amazing.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake (from Kraft Recipes)

15 oreos crushed

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 (8ox) package cream cheese

1/4 c peanut butter

1/3 c sugar

1 egg

Chocolate chips, melted

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix cookie crumbs and butter. Next, press firmly into 8" square pan.

Beat cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar until mixed. Add egg. Beat until well blended. Spoon over crust and bake for 18-20 minutes.

For added taste, melt chocolate chips and drizzle after cheesecake has cooled.

**For easier removal out of 8" brownie pan, line with foil first. After cheesecake has cooled, it will pop right out of pan for easy cutting.

20 strawberries

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 c powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed

Core strawberries. It is easiest to core these with a paring knife. Just watch your fingers in case knife pops out of bottom of strawberry.

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. It is easiest to fill strawberries if you pipe it into them. Once they are filled, dip them into the crushed graham crackers to give them that cheesecake feel.

Both of these recipes were surprisingly easy, and were a hit!

Pottery Party

As mentioned on a previous post, we took Bethany to a pottery place and painted plates for her. Anna came up with the idea to have everyone paint a different holiday. That way, Bethany could set them up on her counter for each holiday. That way, they should get used quite a bit more than if she is just entertaining. Anna made a pumpkin/harvest plate that she could use all fall, Tori made a 4th of July plate, Emily Ann made a birthday plate that she can set out everytime Bethany, Wynn, or one of their kids (wink) has a birthday, Bethany made a Christmas plate, and I made a Valentine's Day plate. They turned out so cute, and I think she will really love these over the years. We all signed the back of them so she will always remember who they came from.

My sister also did this for my bachelorette party, and I absolutely loved it. Just like at Bethany's, we took several bottles of wine, food, and had a corner to ourselves for the afternoon. The difference between ours, was I picked a couple different colors and all of the girls made different plates in the same color scheme. Most of the plates have our initials on them, and I can't wait to bust them out for football season. My mom had Paige bring home some paint and extra plates so she, my grandma, and aunts can make a couple as well. We are going to try to do that during Thanksgiving this year. I will end up with a set of 12, which is perfect for entertaining.