June Goals

I want to do a better job of setting little, achievable goals and then accomplish them! I have decided that the month of June will be a perfect time to start implementing this into my life.

For this month I want to focus of five things:

1.) I want to make a habit of doing some type of exercise or physical activity 6 days a week. This is something I kind of already do, but often times I get lazy and let a few days during the week slide. I think this will be a great way for me to keep my spirits up and feel satisfied with myself.

2.) I want to take time to listen to one interesting podcast a week. This is something I enjoy doing when I go on road trips, so why not try to learn more, more often? I am always doing housework, so the next time I am making dinner, washing dishes, doing laundry I will multi-task and listen while I work.

3.) I want to read one book a month! I love to read, but often times chose to do something else instead of read, just because it's easier or because I don't have a good book checked out.

4.) I want to blog at least once a week. This is so easy to do if I just set aside 30 minutes of my week. I truly enjoy looking back on my life when I read my blog posts, so making this a weekly habit will be so rewarding in the long run.

5.) I want to spend 20 minutes or so a day catching up with a friend. I have found it is much easier to pick up the phone a call a friend when it's only been a few days since you last spoke, than if it has been a few weeks. I want to keep up with friends and let them know I am there, so this is something easy I can do to make sure they know that.



There you have it! Five easy goals! Let's get started!

DIY chair makeover

There are three rules you need to abide by when doing a do-it-yourself  project…

The first rule is that you need to have all the necessary tools, secondly you need to have enough time, and the thirdly you need to have enough motivation to get the job done! Too many times before I have learned this the hard way, but on this particular DIY project I managed to get it right!

Remodeling the chair was inexpensive and only took a few hours! Here is what you'll need:

-Sandpaper
-A paintbrush
-Tinted wood stain of your color choice

I would recommend letting each coat dry before applying a new one. I would also suggest taking A lot of time to properly send your chair. This should help the wood stain absorbed to its fullest.


Good luck and happy DIY-ing!

Living Room Makeover

Anybody who knows Andy and I pretty well knows that we LOVE doing projects together. Whether it's mowing a lawn, selling a bike, fixing a broken dishwasher, remodeling a bathroom, you name it we have fun doing it because we are working on it together.

One cool thing about the remodeling of our living room was that it is one of the first times we were working on a project that was actually for US and for OUR HOUSE! 

We have wanted to redo the living room floor ever since we laid eyes on it. It was something that not only we wanted to do, but really needed to do. We were never able to use the front door to our house without tracking in mud and leaves. Now that we have wood floors we can wear our shoes in the house, walk through the front door and we never have to jump on our guests to take their shoes off before entering anymore!

Project Facts:

Total Days: 3 (we got lazy....after all it was Spring break/honeymoon)

Total Cost: $350 + $15 for Pappa Johns (it is tradition to order a PJ pizza when we do a project)

Tasks: Andy did the floors and I did the painting and snack-making.

Before.

Before.

Adding wall paint.

What was under the carpet.

Just getting started. 

Andy, doing all the hard stuff. 

1/4 of the way through!

Almost done.

Final Product!!!

Bridal Shower, February 1, 2014

I have some very sweet aunts who went out of their to host a beautiful bridal shower for me. These are times that I will always look back on and smile. -- Feeling very loved!! Details: Silo on 1604, mimosas, salmon entree, Italian cream cake and a lot of fun gifts! My favorite gift of the day was my mustard yellow apron from Sur La Table.

Bridal Shower Numero Uno

I don't want to forget anything so I better hurry and write it all down.....

I had my first bridal shower this past saturday at Allie's house! It was so perfect and so much fun! Allie took care of every single little detail. We arrived and were promptly served a mimosa and then we mingled until everybody showed up. After that Brooxie prayed for the food and for Andy and I's future. Then we ate this amazing egg casserole that Allie had prepared. There was also a huge bowl of fruit salad, little smoked sausages and sock-it-to-me cake. We played two games. A toilet paper dress competition and a clothespin game, where if you say "marry or marriage" you had to give your clothespin away to the person who caught you.

Then to the really fun part when I got to open some gifts. I loved everything my friends bought me. Something about getting gifts makes me feel so loved. It's a wonderful feeling knowing that this person went out of their way to buy me something that they think would look great on me. Ahhh! It was great.


Here are a few photos from the morning.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

This Christmas was unlike any other. For starters it was at my aunt and uncles house who live on the North side of town. Normally we do Christmas eve dinner at my grandma's house who lives in Alamo Heights. This was a much appreciated change because it meant I was able to split my time between my family and the Rafie's much more easily since we were on the same side of town. Another great thing that made this Christmas special was having all 16 cousins together at once. We haven't had that happen in years! Christmas day was exciting because we had two additions, Ercelia and Ashley, to our morning tradition of opening gifts and eating breakfast. It was refreshing to be around a ten-year-old who still believes in Santa. After breakfast with my family Andy picked me up and we went to his family's apartment to open gifts. It was a big change from last year's Christmas morning when we were in a huge home opening gifts. It was amazing to see how unfazed his family was despite the cramped situation. It was a great reminder to be content in all circumstances because we are so blessed and some family have much greater things to worry about.

What a year to be thankful for. So much has happened in this year, and I want to take a minute to sum up the highlights!

I celebrated my one year anniversary at my first official job!

I bought my very own brand new mountain bike!

I fractured my zygoma.... bone in my face.

I got engaged!

I went to the ER for the first time in my life.

I highlighted my hair for the very first time!

Andy and I got our first home!

I road tripped to Colorado with Andy and Kennedy!

Andy and I camped at Enchanted Rock with Kathryn and Phil!

I started a blog and have kept up with it for the most part!

Andy and I were featured on Style Me Pretty!

Andy and I celebrated our three year anniversary!

We loaded two trailers full of furniture and moved out of State!

 My BFF moved back to Texas!

The list of highlights could go on and on... I am grateful for so much. My family and my fiancee. My dog and my new huge backyard that kennedy can play in. My amazing group of old and new friends. I think 2013 was good, but 2014 has so much in store for me. I cannot wait to see what this new year will bring!

XoXo- 

Ilianna 

A Bridal Shower for a Lovely Lady!

Brooxie Jones is getting married!!! In just a few, short days she will become a Rafie!! I have had the honor of getting to know Brooxie and she has surprised me with her kindness, outlook on life and wisdom. Not only will we be sister-in-laws, we will be best great friends that love, support, uplift and care for one another. I cannot wait for what is in store for our friendship, but I am even more excited for what is in store for she and Seth!