Staying Home Sawyer

Real Life Living on a Real Life Budget

DIY, Holidays!, Home Decor

St. Patrick’s Day Printables

Free St. Patrick's Day Printables Eat Drink and Be IrishYup, I did it. I jumped right on the same train that everyone else is aboard. I didn’t want to be left behind. All my fellow DIY/craft bloggers do printables for holidays, and I didn’t want to be the only one left out of the club. Especially since it’s the cool kids club.

I was always trying to get invited into the cool kids club, so while I waited, I had to live vicariously through my best friend/Homecoming Queen/girl all the cool guys wanted to date.  In seventh grade (btw…she is going to roll her eyes reading this), my first ever boyfriend bought me roses for my birthday. I was finally coming out of the dorky, uni-brow/buck teeth stage, and finding my own in the “cool kids wear oversized Nike shirts and basketball shorts” stage. Clearly he thought I was adorable. We hadn’t even shared my our first kiss yet.

And we never would. St. Patricks Day free printables, LuckyRemember the much simpler world of three way calling? Yeah…I’m trying to forget it too. It forever ruined my life. Or just the end of seventh grade. Needless to say, my first ever boyfriend made a startling confession to my beautiful, yet-to-be Homecoming Queen of a BFF that he wanted to date her, not me. Looking back on the photos, I am not surprised. I definitely had a little of my own to grow into. And eyebrows that needed plucking (seriously mom, you couldn’t have given a girl a heads up?).

The good news is that he was just one guy in a short list of bad boyfriends that would disappoint me. If I hadn’t gone through all of those times, I might not appreciate my husband as much as I do.

And I really do. Especially when he does all the laundry. Feeling LuckySo please join my new “cool kids” club, so I don’t feel that uncool. I promise I pluck my eyebrows now, and I grew into my teeth a little. And for the record: my beautiful, Homecoming Queen of a BFF is still my BHQBFF, and always will be. She’s definitely invited to the club.

If, for some odd reason, you’re actually interested in the prints, you can print them here.

Eat Drink and Be Irish

Lucky

Feeling Lucky (by ShortStop Designs)

(Megan from ShortStop Designs is amazing and she is definitely invited into my new club!)

Uncategorized

What’s for Dinner?

Inside Out Stuffed Peppers Recipe Easy DinnerInevitably, my husband will ask me this question every night that he’s home for dinner. Somehow he thinks that while I am busy working away at a real job all day long (you know, one that provides us with a paycheck), that I have time to come up with a full dinner plan. Until this blog starts giving me a little TLC reciprocation, I must punch the time card, and he’s stuck with last minute dinners.

Which is why I am all about being easy. I mean…easy cooking.  I like to get home and throw some things in a pan and end up with something delicious. Does that sound easy to you? I didn’t think so. Short of what my husband says, everything I make is NOT delicious.  At least he’s a smart man to lie. He would starve otherwise.

Before you go any further, you must accept that I eat all of those horrible products that you may think I’m crazy for eating. GMOs, pre-packaged foods, and please do not even get me started on Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I love it. Yellow dye #6 has nothing on that creamy fake-cheese taste.Recipe Card Inside Out Stuffed Peppers Easy DinnerThis recipe is super easy, and tastes great. And if you’re feeling really adventurous, make the Spanish rice from scratch. And then invite me over for dinner so I can compare the two.

Tell me, what are you having for dinner? (I’m channeling my husband)

DIY, Holidays!, Lifestyle

Leave a Little Luck

Leave a Little Luck Lucky RocksI started this project really light-hearted, which is really how I start all my projects. I mean, when you’re a few glasses of wine deep into your favorite TV show (Fixer Upper), there’s really nothing you can be other than light-hearted (or a little inspired…I mean come on – Joanna is amazing).

I put together my whole project based on my Pay It Forward post. St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, and I wanted to spread the “luck” of the season. So I spray painted all my beach rocks gold, and turned glitter into a little “luck.” If only I could turn water into wine. Can I get an Amen?

Then I was reminded how much we actually need luck in our lives.Leave a little Luck RocksMy husband works nights, so I texted him a photo of my completed project (I love his enthusiasm, even if it’s a little over exaggerated). He responded with a question: Could he have one for his locker at work?

I don’t get personal too often, but something you may not know about me is that my husband is a police officer.  Luck is something we always want on our side,  so you can imagine I’d give him a million rocks if I could. Luck could change our lives in an instant.

This past year has been a tough one for police officers. We have dealt with many things we thought we may never have to deal with. But life goes on. You deal with what you are handed and you move on. We have faith that things will get better. We have faith that this will pass. We have faith in God, faith in life. Faith in humanity.

So I’m giving it back. We need luck as much as the next person, but I want everyone else to have a little too.

From today forward, I will be leaving these little rocks of luck around my city. Hopefully they’ll bring someone else a little luck. Spread a Little Luck Lucky Rocks

DIY

Mirror Mirror, on the wall…

DIY Handheld Mirror IdeaWho’s the prettiest of them all? Can I check my complexion before you decide? How’s my makeup looking? Is there anything in my teeth? I’d also like to make sure that my hairdo is on point. Ugh…I can’t see the back of my head.  I might need another mirror to get that view. Do you have a handheld mirror for me to use?

I figured you didn’t. So I made one for you. I couldn’t just give you a plain little mirror either, so I had to glam it up. It only took me a few hours, no biggie. Now you have this handy dandy handheld mirror to help you take care of that bed head in the back. Seriously though, you need to handle that. DIY Handheld Mirror IdeaMy mirror on the wall was actually a mirror on a vanity. And it wasn’t really my mirror at all. My brother-in-law refinished/redesigned an old desk into a vanity for his girlfriend for their anniversary this week. While I’m trying to talk him into doing a guest post (seriously…he is the funniest human I know), I also made a little something for his girlfriend. I wanted to make something to go with the vanity, so I came up with this mirror idea.DIY Handheld Mirror IdeaI’ve been trying to convince my husband that I need to keep the three boxes of beads I’ve had for years (since high school) (I’m 30). For some reason, he says because they’ve been in storage for two years I don’t need them. This is compared to a windbreaker I found in our storage unit that he had from college. A WINDBREAKER. If he ever wears it again it will be too soon.

I put my beads to good use (so he can’t make me get rid of them), and used hot glue to collage them all over a simple handheld mirror. Hopefully my future sister in law gets good use out of it. No bed head allowed in this family.