60 Day Get Your Thin on Challenge Un-Veil

So . . . Sad day, but we got NO submissions for our Get Your Thin On Challenge. . .BUT I got results that I am VERY excited about!!!!Over the 60 day challenge I did Jillians 30 day shred and LOVED it. . .it kicked my butt and I still haven't gotten to level 3 of the work outs yet! I waited until I got comfortable doing level 1 until I went on to level 2 and I am not feeling "comfortable" while doing level 2 yet. I still feel like I'm gonna puke at the end. I DO push myself and I do make every movement count, and its what has made the difference for me!  I measured my body before the challenge & again after and I also weighed myself. My weight has fluctuated the entire time within 5 lbs and I don't really count it as a loss, my inches are what I count as my success! So here we go! Arms: Before: 11" After: 10.5" Thighs: Before: 21.5" After: 20.75" Calves: Before: 14.5" After: 14" Waist: Before: 33" After: 28.75" Hips: Before: 38" After: 36" TOTAL Inches Lost: 8 inches!!!! I call that a personal success! Do I still want to lose a few more inches, YES! My thighs and my hips still have inches to lose as well as my stomach, but I am on my way to being the size I want to be! In the last 6 months I have gone down 4 pant sizes and I am ECSTATIC! I can do hard things and I can push myself, and for me its not about the # on the scale or the size of my jeans or t-shirt, its about how I FEEL and how comfortable I am. Working out is a lifestyle and though I am not cut and defined like I'd like to be, I am getting to where I want to be and I am not giving up things in my life that I don't want to give up! I still have dessert, I still eat fried chicken when I want to, I just do it in moderation and I can enjoy something yummy without eating a full helping, portion size is HUGE for me! Find what works for YOU and make yourself happy! So I promised pictures. . .and I have them. . .& this is HARD for me. . honestly who wants to put pics out of themselves looking anything but model like?! So remember I have had 2 nearly 10 lb babies and my stretch marks have ripped my tummy to shreds. . .

Get your thin on challenge-send us your results

So our 'getting my thin on' challenge is over. We now need everyone who participated to send us your before & after pics as well as your measurements! If you lost a lot of lbs be sure to include before & after weight, if you mostly toned then measurements is all we need! Email us @ thebramgals@gmail.com! Remember EVERYONE who participated gets something special and the 2 best results get something extra special!!! So even if you only 'sort of' did the challenge, we want to know so you can get some bram goodies!!!! You have until the end of this week!!!! 

Successful Pinterest DIY: wood repair

I didn't pin this idea from Pinterest, I just saw it awhile back and remembered it. Now I can't find it again, but here it is! If you have damaged or scratched wood mix 3/4 cup canola oil with 1/4 cup vinegar and wipe it over the scratches. Do not wipe it off, & for deep scratches let it sit for 5 minutes before becoming discouraged that it didn't work. (That one is coming from personal experience.) 

When my 5 year old was a baby he chewed his crib up...after spending $400 on a beautiful crib I was so bumbed. I had just come to terms with it and let it go when I had Oliver. I decided this morning to just try this trick to see...

It worked!!!! It looks like new! I spent 5 years sad about a ruined bed that is no longer ugly!!! The smaller dings vanished immediately, however these larger deeper ones took a few minutes to fully disappear!!! But they are now darkened and no longer noticeable!!! 

Love it when a Pinterest trick works!!!

Produce

Do you wash your produce?! If not, you really should! Its so easy! As soon as you get home from the grocery store fill your sink with cold water and dump in some vinegar, 1/4-1/2 cupish-I promise it won't change the taste of your fruit! I let mine sit while I put away the rest of the groceries. 

Then when everything else is put away I fish them all out....honestly this picture doesn't begin to show how gross and dirty the water is! 

So this not only will clean your produce BUT it will also help it last longer! My produce lasts 1-2 weeks longer when it's washed and soaked in this solution! 

Prepping produce before putting it away: I do these things because I find that we don't waste any produce when all we have to do us grab it and put it in our mouthes!

I take all my grapes off the vines & soak them, & cut my pineapples, strawberries and melons; then when they are done, they go straight to a bowl and into the fridge so they are ready to just eat, no work necessary! 

This process ads 1/2 an hour to my putting away groceries BUT my produce gets eaten before it goes bad because its easy and my kids have a GOOD easy snack rather then junk food! AND it doesn't take up as much room when it's all cut up and stacked in rubber-maids! 

Celebrate

This year I turn 29....my last year in my 20's & I'm celebrating for the next 2 weeks! I normally don't do much for my birthdays and I usually don't mention them, but this year, this year is different....and since next year will be 30...well I might make it a big deal too... Cause really, Why Not?! Also, On my actual birthday my hubs is doing a 1/2 Iron Man (who does that?!) so I'm not celebrating on the day of so I need to make up for it right?! (P.S. I totally took over his 29th birthday this year by getting my appendix out the day before, so I'm thinking I might let him have my birthday completely and celebrate a little more for him after his big race-and that way I don't have to feel guilty at all for celebrating my birthday for 14 days before... I can justify anything)

I actually kicked off the celebrations with a trip to Charming Charlie's with my bestie Jill last week, and found this beauty. 

I'm in love!!! I may have also found a clearance pearl necklace...I'm in love with pearls!! And who can say onto clearance??!! Plus I had a gift card to use from Christmas, so double score!!! 

I got to have a girls night Friday night and do dinner & dessert with a girlfriend I do g see nearly enough & I also got me 2 new maxi's on Very Jane deal a few weeks ago, one in coral and one in mint, and got to sport one at church yesterday!!! 

Woot Woot! P.S. I have had the denim jacket since sophomore year in high school! They say everything comes back in style right?! 

So here's to the next 2 weeks of celebrating!! Anything y'all think I MUST do?! I'm all for adding to my plans!!

DIY Gel Stain Tutorial

Have you ever wanted to try Gel Stain?! I have and I finally took the plunge!!! Here is a step by step how to on how to make your wood look like new!!! So I LOVE espresso colored wood and HATE yellow oak...that's just me. So when I found a bunk bed and 2 dressers for my boys on Craigslist for a steal that were ugly yellow oak and were stained and ugly, I hoped the gel stain would be an easy fix...and I was! So here we go! 

What you'll need: general finishes poly acrylic & java gel stain. You MUST get general finishes brand. I got mine on Amazon for the following prices

You will also need 6-10 men athletic socks. These can (and in my opinion should-save $) be old used ones. Just make sure they are clean. 

You will also need disposable gloves. I got cheap yellow kitchen gloves. But you will need as many pairs of gloves as you use single socks. So 6-10 pairs of gloves.

I buffed the wood with sanding block and just got all spots where the wood was uneven. I didn't sand the stains on the wood at all, just where the wood had something on it and needed flattened and smoothed. I then used cheese cloth to wipe off ALL dust. 

Here we go! 

This is before....,

I put a glove on each hand and a sock over the hand I'd apply with. Then dip in the stain and wipe on. 

Make sure not to leave gobs and to go the direction of the grain. 

Side note: this wood had the latexy coating and went on fine, on the inside of the drawers and the back of the dressers was raw wood and it soaked up the stain much faster and only needed 2 coats rather then 4. 

Here is after coat 1

Don't be discouraged if its streaky or not perfect after coats 1 & 2. It looks amazing after coat 3!! Let the gel stain dry 24 hours between coats. Do not cheat on this. I did do a 4th coat on the tops of the dressers, the faces of the drawers and the outsides of the bed posts just to get it really dark. Here is after coat 4 and before sealing it with poly acrylic. 

After the coats of gel stain let dry 72 hours. Do NOT cheat on this step either. I can NOT stress this enough. Let it DRY!!! Then using a sock apply light coats of the poly. Do NOT let it be globby. Leaving any white residue will leave a hardened white chunk on your wood. So be careful when working with any detail in the wood. Mine had no detail but I have worked with detail and poly before and you can ruin a project by not doing light layers of poly and leaving any globs. Do 2-3 coats letting each coat dry 24 hours between coats. You will end up with a BEAUTIFUL product that looks brand new!!!   

I don't have pictures of the beds yet as I am doing another tutorial in the future and you will see the beds then. But they all look this amazing!!! You can use this technique in cabinets, it furniture or anything with wood grain!!! Have fun! Enjoy! And comment with questions! We'd love to see your finished work as well!!!

Lyndie Lou Turns 1!!

I honestly started planning Lynden's Birthday when she was about 4-5 months old. I decided on an Ice Cream Cone theme and started pinning away!! I would find little things here and there and buy them or save ideas to come back to later.  Once she was about 9 months I really started getting ready. I started making her banners and decorations. At one point Dan asked me, "You do know her Birthday isn't for 3 more months right? That is a truth in your brain?" YES! That is why I needed to get going!! So I did..  Then a couple days before the party he informed me that I would be having a budget for future parties.. He thought I didn't need one.. Apparently I do.. whoops!!  In the end it all came together PERFECTLY!! My mom & her friend came early to help out and my best friend came to help make goodies!!  We did a cake smash shoot a couple days before her party and she LOVED it!! It took her minute to realize what she was supposed to do with it and then she dug right in!! There was no stopping her!!  Please note: I took these photos, I am not by any means professional I just wanted some fun pictures.

Lynden's Party! Her Invites where ADORABLE!! I got them from Frosting & Ink and everyone LOVED them!! Here's the Cute envelope they came in. & I am super lame and don't have a picture of the actual invite but you can find it here. She fills in all of the info for you and you just get them printed. She also did all of the labels for the party as well (water bottle wraps, napkin wraps, food tents, etc.)! I HIGHLY recommend her for any of your party printing needs!! 

 Ice Cream Rice Crispies. I just cut them out with a cutter and painted the top with white candy melts and drizzled chocolate on the top for hot fudge added sprinkles and a sixlet for a cherry. 

 The cake pops were actually really easy to make. I have a cake pop maker so I just made a bunch of cake balls and then dipped the tops of the cone in candy melt then stuck in the cake ball and dipped that and then drizzled the top in chocolate and sprinkles and a sixlet for the cherry. 

 I made all of the treats except the French Macaroons & her Birthday Cake I got from Sweet & Saucy Shop. They did my wedding cake and cupcakes when I got married. They are AMAZING!!! 

 I got sugar cookies made by Raechal's Custom Cookies and put them in little bags for favors. They were SOOOOO cute and super yummy!! She is in Rancho Santa Margarita.  

 She had a little melt down after she had eaten WAY too much cake and I tried taking a hard piece of fondant banner out of her mouth. She didn't take her hand off of the cake during her entire melt down. I sure love that girl!!

 She absolutely loved opening her gifts!! 

This first year has been the absolute best!! I am still completely amazed by this beautiful girl everyday!!  If you want any tutorials for anything let me know and I will post them!!