The Future of This Blog

As you may or may not have noticed, I have not posted anything new to this blog in ages. Like a lot of bloggers do, I struggled to find my place in the blogging world while still being relevant to readers...over time, blogging became more of a chore than the creative outlet that I originally designed it to be. 
Despite my lack of posts, I have never stopped reading my favorite blogs--I have remained in contact with a few of you and occasionally post comments on your blogs. I just could not find the motivation to write..that is, until now. 
Over the next few days/weeks, you will notice some changes to this blog. I want this blog to become a true reflection of who I have become. I don't know how often I will post, or what my niche will be, but I want to write again...I NEED to write again. 
I can't wait to catch up with every single one of you and I promise I will start commenting & posting more often!
Now, please help a sista out and give me any and all tips you have on re-branding a blog?! 
Also, what site does everyone use to follow their favorite blogs now? I used to just use Blogger, but I know changes have been made that only allow me to follow a certain amount of blogs--there has to be a better option!

Until Next Time, The Intelligent Blonde
(I couldn't resist using that tagline one more time, but it will be the last!)

DIY Wine Crate Coffee Table

It was love at first sight when I saw the wine crate coffee table on pinterest. The only problem was very few of the pins went into great detail on how to actually make the table yourself. My husband is pretty handy, though, so I showed him a picture and he set out to make it. 

We hunted for the crates at Lowes and Hobby Lobby, with no avail. As a last resort, we went into Michael's (on Black Friday) and it just so happened that they not only had the crates, but that we could get 40% off our entire purchase!  

Most of the pins I saw on pinterest only used 4 crates, but I wanted my coffee table to be a bit bigger than that, so we stood in the store and arranged the crates to see what we liked best. We decided that the 6 crate design would go best with our L-shaped couch. 
The crates are normally $13.99, so on that day we were able to get all 6 of them for around $50 (to say I was super excited, was an understatement). Michael's usually runs 40% off a single item coupons every other week, so you could technically purchase all of your crates for the same price, you would just have to do multiple transactions/different days.  
We let the crates collect dust in our garage for a few weeks until we finally decided to buckle down and start the process. My husband measured it all out and planned how he would construct the base. We ended up purchasing a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood ($30), 1x3 fascia board for the trim (2 pieces @ $5 a piece), and 4 swivel casters ($6 a piece) from Lowe's. We borrowed a hand sander, circular saw, and finishing nail gun from my brother and got to work. 
We originally purchased Minwax stain, but it went on like a tinted clear coat and I was not about to do 5+ coats, so we promptly returned that stain. This time, we took a small piece of the trim board with us to Lowe's so we could sample different brands/shades to find the best option. We settled on Rust-Oleum American Walnut colored stain ($8.50) and I'm happy to say that I only had to do one coat of the stain (it goes on super thick like paint, then you quickly wipe it off with a rag). One quart was more than enough for the entire project. 

We let them dry overnight then sealed them with Minwax Wipe-On Poly ($12).  Note: you might want to let the stain sit a little while longer than we did because the Wipe-On Poly did remove some of the color (which worked out in our favor because then it was a closer match to our tv stand). 

I would totally recommend buying a few bags of the rags (seen in the above photo). They are like $3 a bag at Lowe's and we used approximately 2.5 bags. If you want to save a few bucks, a cut-up t-shirt will work just as well--I wasn't able to convince my husband to sacrifice a shirt (or two) for the cause, so this was my only option. 

The back of the can says to let the sealant dry for 24 hours before light use, so we patiently waited the allotted time before nailing it all together. 

We then made an inset box for the middle of the table using leftover material (four sides and a top piece), and stained it to match. You would think this step would have been easy, but it was actually the biggest pain of the entire process! You could technically build the box into the unit itself, but we wanted the ability to remove it in the future (you never know when you will need a good hiding spot). In order to make this removable, we drilled two small holes into the top of the box--just large enough to use two small allen wrenches to pick it up.  

Altogether, this coffee table project cost us about $175. A little pricey if you're looking for a "cheap" DIY project, but if you are looking for a quality coffee table it's very affordable! It took us roughly 3 days to make (including the dry time). 

Update: We found the perfect baskets to fit inside the crates at Target for about $13 a piece: 

If you like this DIY Project, be sure to pin it!

30 Day Shred Results & Review

In preparation for my upcoming wedding, I decided to do the 30 Day Shred.  I have heard lots about Jillian Michaels and this program, but have never done one of her workouts before... Let me tell ya, it was rough! Luckily, they did create the program to have examples of the advanced moves and modified moves.  I tried to always do the advanced moves, but used the modified moves when I just couldn't physically do it (like jump lunges--I'm definitely not coordinated enough for that).  Overall, I really enjoyed felt that the workout was effective.  Starting weight: 132.2 Thighs: 20 inches Arms: 10.5 inches  Bust: 32 inches Waist: 28 inches Hips: 31 inches Before pictures on Left/After pictures on Right

Ending weight: 130.4 (-1.8 pounds) Thighs: 20.5 inches (+ .5 inches) Arms: 10.5 inches (no change) Bust: 32 inches (no change) Waist: 26 inches (-2 inches) Hips: 39 inches (-2 inches) Total weight loss: 1.8 pounds Total inches lost: 3.5 I may not have amazing results like some people, and I definitely didn't lost "up to 20 pounds in 30 days" like the DVD case said; however, I can see a huge change in my muscle definition and, at the end of the day, your weight is just a number--it's how you feel about yourself that matters.  I feel pretty dang proud of myself right now and I feel fit and ready for my wedding!  (which, by the way, is on Friday!! eek) I will definitely do the workout again--but probably not for a consecutive 30 days.  I think it would be very effective to do each level once a week (3 days a week) and maybe cardio 2 days a week at the gym.