Conner and Mandy Volpe's Blog

Red, White, and Birthday

mandyvolpe — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:49:11 +0000

On Sunday we had a bunch of friends and family over to celebrate Conner’s 25^th birthday a few days early. Everything was a red and blue theme because we were supposed to watch the Braves game during the party.

We created a beverage station with various types of beer and glass coke bottles. I simply grabbed some $1.00 buckets from the Dollar store and spray painted them navy. After they dried I then just painted a circle chalkboard label to write what type of beverage would be in the container.I didn’t realize it a head of time, but during set-up I realized it looked like I was setting up a party for July 4^th or Memorial Day. God Bless America. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Elephant Themed Baby Shower

mandyvolpe — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:22:35 +0000

This weekend we had our first get together in the new house! Yahoo. I co-hosted a baby shower for one of my dear friends. I love party planning so here are a few pictures from the set-up of the party. Also a quick glimpse of the dining room table Conner built. More details on that to come. But first, the elephant in the room. We also put together a little diaper duty station. We wanted to leave the parents-to-be with some encouraging words during the fun job of diaper changes.

The party was a lot of fun and a mini tester to see how many people could comfortably fit into our home. We are so excited to entertain some more in this house!

Trash to Treasure Lantern Light Fixture

mandyvolpe — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:24:48 +0000

Are we having fun yet??

Last week I was at a Thrift store and saw this gold light fixture. I saw the price- $15, and immediately thought that with some spray paint it could be the perfect copy cat of this light:

I quickly texted a picture to Conner to ask his permission because 1) I know nothing about hanging a light fixture 2) $15.00 for something that may or may not work was a little crazy to me. What can I say, I am frugal.

Conner replied that it was a chance worth taking and to pop that tag. As I was checking out, I realized I had a coupon for 50%. Hooray for an $8.00 light fixture. Off to my local hardware store to find some black spray paint.

After the supplies were ready, we popped the glass out of the frame (only after I got frustrated from ramming glass shards into my pretty little fingers). Once I had just the frame, I taped off the light part and then made a painting booth in the basement (it was raining). The booth consisted of an open window, a trash bag, some tape, and a plastic table cloth. Make it work.

I am so excited for the finished product. This light turned out perfectly and Conner was able to hook it right up to where the builder-grade light formally sat.

I say for $15 total this gold fixture turned black lantern was a win. Hooray for trash to treasure.

101 in 1001: April 2013 Update

mandyvolpe — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:14:27 +0000

April 2013 goes down as a big month in our Family History books. Here is the update of the 101 in 1001 project:

99. Conner and I bought our first house and started working on home improvement projects.

10. We Invited people over to (4/6)

12. Have a girl’s night once every other month (10/16)

32. Clean tarnished jewelry

52. Volunteer 101 hours (83/101)

59. Pay 10 strangers compliments (7/10)

Home Project: weekend update

mandyvolpe — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:10:33 +0000

Weekend updates have changed a lot. While we still are finding time to explore and have date nights, the less glamorous side of our weekends are filled with paint in our hair and tools in our hands. This weekend we tackled a smaller project. A small but mighty upgrade to our house. Hooray for a new faucet that I don’t hit every glass on while doing dishes. Here is a glimpse at the before and after shots of the sink. Forgive the dirty dishes. Just keeping it real for you guys.

If you like then you shoulda put a stripe on it: New Home Projects

mandyvolpe — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:01:48 +0000

I started this post a few weeks ago, but in the midst of unpacking and getting used to our new neighborhood, I never pressed submit.

I think your house becomes a little bit more your home once you put up pictures. I can speak with credibility here since I have been a home owner for all of 14 days. Ha. The last two weeks have been fun as we get settled into our new home and figure out where everything gets placed and what pictures to hang where. Hanging the TVs on the wall was not stressful (to me anyways). Hanging up the picture from our wedding…stressful. Who wants to put holes in freshly painted walls?? Ahh so much pressure to hang the pictures! Well last night we made progress and started small by hanging the pictures in my office. Hooray for stuff on the walls!

We also completed our first “home” project.

We turned the mudroom in to a useable space. The bench was installed to match our kitchen cabinets. Beyond that, we painted the white and teal stripes and I made the cover for the seat cushion. I am so proud of the way it turned out and couldn’t have done it without my partner in crime.

Moving on Up: To the Fox Den

mandyvolpe — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:12:28 +0000

What a whirlwind the last 5 days have been! We moved out of the hood and into our new house. Hooray! The move went great, mostly because of our pre-planning and the awesome moving company we hired. Thanks Jason Taylor Moving Company for your heavy lifting. I have heard horror stories of people hiring help for their moves. Everything from never getting the stuff they so carefully packed and loaded into the moving truck, movers holding all the stuff hostage and using it for their own gain until the return it, or even worse, showing up with all broken stuff. What a disaster. Luckily that was far from the truth of what our moving experience was like. The company was so nice, everyone from the guy who scheduled the move to the actual men doing the hard work. I am so thankful for how nice, friendly, and overall helpful these guys were! I highly recommend them if you are in the Metro Atlanta area.

Enough with my PSA (I just can’t help it when I receive great service, especially from local companies!). We are slowly getting settled in and making progress on the mounds of boxes.

The last five days have been filled with service providers coming out to set up our house for 21^st Century technologies. We are still without internet/cable due to new construction subdivision issues, but we are making due with Conner’s wireless hotspot. Here is a picture from us streaming our church sermon on Sunday.

Here is a tiny glimpse into the current situation of the unpacking. I focused hard on my office and Conner helped with getting the bedroom set-up so at least when we sleep we don’t have to see any boxes!

We are so excited for the new adventures that will come with this house. Cheers to exploring! Follow me on Instagram to get the behind the scenes look of our unpacking. Now the fun begins to actually get to decorate and make this house our home.

Take a picture with your camera phone

mandyvolpe — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:47:15 +0000

I love how we carry little camera’s around in our pockets everywhere we go. It makes it easier to catch every day moments in order to remember. I was reminded just a month ago, when a dear friend passed away, of how truly valuable photos can be for capturing memorable moments. Photos capture living moments and help jog the memory of fun things that have happened. A little insta-update for you. A few of my favorite photos and memories over the past few weeks.

101 in 1001: March 2013 Update

mandyvolpe — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:32:58 +0000

The week that we move into house is finally here (well a week late anyways…kind of like the spring weather here in Georgia). March was filled with a little R&R, some wedding activities, and travel for work. Below is a quick recap, as well as some links to the full story, of the progress made on my 101 in 1001 goals.

16. Make birthday cards and greeting cards to have on-hand and send

52. Volunteer 101 hours (72/101)

26. Take a completely impulsive, spur of the moment road trip with husband- Day trip to Hilton Head, SC

12. Have a girl’s night once every other month (9/16)

13. Have a double-date with friends once every other month (7/16)

48. Go for one week without watching television- This month was crazy in terms of traveling or being away from home. Therefore, I made an effort to avoid the TV when I knew I was in social situations and just embraced the here and now. Not as hard as I thought it would be thanks to the benefit of being around people and the handy dandy DVR. Oh technology.

51. Do five random acts of kindness. (5/5)

94. Attend a professional conference/seminar a year (3/3). I had such a great time in Canada a few weeks ago. Not only did I have some great conversations, which always leaves me fired up for work projects, but I was also honored with the Outstanding New Events Professional award. So special that my colleagues thought enough of me to nominate me and then for the committee to choose me as the winner. I am so thankful. Here I am, clearly overexcited, when they called my name. Happy April, Fools

Getting Crafty Up In Here

mandyvolpe — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:00:54 +0000

My idea of a good time is heading to the local craft store, finding new paper, and creating crafty things. A few weekends ago I hit up the local Archiver’s store for their card making workshop. I loved that they let us use washi tape for the cards. This card was super simple to make, took 3 pieces of paper, 3 strips of tape, one stamp, and some ink. Oh, and did I mention they let us put some bling on it? Hello Beyonce. I really like the way it turned out. What crafts have you been working on recently?