As promised:

Jack, Dachshund, 11 years old, doing what he loves most... sleeping.

Stella, Golden Retriever, 3 years old, doing what she loves most...keeping Jack awake.

He is the instigator ("you should find out what is on the inside of that feather pillow").

She is the executor ("I hope its feathers, let me find out, though").

She is in the only spot on the couch that she is allowed, while he is in the warmest possible spot provided.

I teamed up with 3 girlfriends to join Habitat for Humanity's Women's Build. This event brought women from all over San Diego together to build 4 homes for low income families. From laying the foundation to putting the final coat on the second bedroom walls, we worked a full day to get these houses built! My team alone raised over $1,200 to donate towards the cause.

Feeding America is a nationwide network of food banks and the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Every few months, I would chorale a crew of friends to sort donated non-perishable food, separate items into food categories, check expiration dates, discard damaged product and check for recalled items.

STOP HUNGER NOW has a mission is to end hunger by providing food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable and creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources. Joined by the girl who introduced me to this great cause, Kimberly and I assisted in setting up equipment and packaging stations. We filled bins with raw ingredients, scooped those ingredients into meal bags, weighed and sealed the bags, boxed and stacked them on pallets, and then loaded the pallets and equipment onto a truck.  By the end of a 3 hour shift, we had packaged over 10,000 meals!

This was one of the first furniture pieces I ever tackled. It is an Ikea purchase that I customized to match our existing counter space. I started by sanding down the entire piece and and staining it a darker color. Then, I removed the counter piece and replaced it with a wider piece of ply wood that I sanded down and painted white. With a few coats of sealant on top, it was ready for use! 

After failing to find a high-end duvet with a low-end price, I decided to design and construct my own! I started with a simple sketch of how to piece it together followed by picking out my own fabric. I learned how to do a proper french stitch to ensure it would survive in the wash and put buttons at the bottom for easy removal. I was even able to design both sides of this duvet so that when I felt like changing it up, all I had to do was flip it over!

I found this broken armoire at an antique store with a clearance sign on it. My original plan was to sand it completely and paint it white but once it was sanded down, I loved the raw distressed feel! I taped off the outside and spray painted the inside a textured off-white. With some new hardware and some TLC to the broken shelves, we had a custom bar!