DIY: Valentine's Day Gift

I always opt for (at least partially) handmade gifts. One, because they're cheaper. Two, because it's so much more fun that way! For Valentine's Day, I made Corey a little gift package with a few surprises in it. I started by taking an envelope and stamped some circles with acrylic paint. Then, I printed off this free card and added some washi tape to the edges. I decided to make a coupon booklet, like the ones you make when you're a little kid. I'm still totally into the idea of coupon books, haha! Some paint samples that were left over from another project got cut into strips and folded for confetti.

What are you doing for Valentine's Day? I honestly have no idea what we're going to do! I'm not huge on these kinda holidays, but I do have fun making cute little things like this. As I've gotten older, I take any reason to celebrate because why not? It feels nice to get fancy and I'd do it way more often if I could! Hope y'all have a lovely holiday! <3

DIY: Heart String Garland w/ Paint Samples

Since Valentine's Day is only a week away, I thought I'd share a cute and simple DIY tutorial on making a cheap heart garland! The cost to me was absolutely free, because I already had the paint samples and scrapbook paper. :) I'm pissed though, 'cause I took these pictures of the setup afterward and really enjoyed them, but Blogger is doing that stupid thing where the pictures show up really low-res and look awful! So we'll just have to deal with that... 

1// Gather your supplies. I used some leftover paint samples and scrapbook paper.

2// Make a stencil and trace it onto your paper.

3// Cut out your shapes and line them up to sew.

4// Sew them up!

Such a simple project that took about 20 minutes, and it was adorable! I plan on making a bigger one for when we have a housewarming party sometime in the near future! :)

We've got a lot, don't ever forget that.

Have people been spamming your Facebook all month with different things they are thankful for every day? It has actually confirmed my decision to never (try) to participate in an Instagram photo challenge where you have to post something different every day. It's annoying. So I've piled all of this into one sappy post today, because I'm not cold hearted and there's a lot I'm happy to be alive for.

First, I'd like to start with my family. I've been one hell of a daughter over the past 23 years, and my parents have always stood by me and supported me. They may have pushed me to get jobs that I don't like and always end up quitting, but they have always wanted me to just be happy with what I'm doing. My mom drove me to thrift stores when I was thirteen and wore all black and sported liberty spikes. Props if you even know what those are! She must have been mortified, but it didn't show. I've always felt totally comfortable just being whoever I felt like being, and I'm so damn thankful for that.

I can't put into words how much my husband means to me. He's seen me at my rock bottom, and tried everything he could to bring me back up, even when I cried over other boyfriends and couldn't see that he loved me. Sometimes you forget to always be there for someone when that person is always there. Marriage is a constant work in progress. It storms but the calm afterward is when you really learn about each other and what it means to commit to "for better or worse".

I'm thankful that I'm able to grow this baby like I am. I've never been the maternal or nurturing type, and I sure as hell feel uncomfortable around kids still. A couple of weeks ago, my sister looked at me and said, "Don't worry. It's always different with your own." I will never forget that, because it is. I already feel it. When I'm falling asleep at night, I look forward to the crazy awesome years to come. I'm not scared about the kind of parents we will be or if our kid will misbehave or make mistakes like we both did. I just hope they grow to realize how beautiful life can be if you just keep going.

I don't regret anything I've done in my life. I've spent many nights insanely depressed and unsure of myself and if this world is even worth living in. I've done bad things like cheat and steal and get too close to certain drugs. I spent too many years battling with my image of myself. But I've learned from these things, and I've spent so much time through all of it just getting closer to myself. I know exactly who I am, down to the core. I'm not scared of life anymore. I'm more ambitious and excited than I've ever been.

Life is a crazy, beautiful thing and I'm thankful that I'm still here today to realize that.

Outfit: Red, 100, & Blue!

Guess what? Today is my 100th blog post! I'm really excited about it. You see, I have a problem with starting things and not finishing them. Or starting a bunch of things at once and leaving them behind one by one. When I started this blog, I had no idea what I was doing. (I still don't) My posts were random and I'd go weeks without updating. I wasn't even sure what I wanted to post. (I'm still not really sure)

The thing that drew me into the world of blogging was the community behind it and all the inspiration I found. I've never really had a style and seeing a bunch of lovely ladies who knew what they were doing and did it well inspired me. I wanted to explore a different side of myself.

At first, thinking of what I was going to post next was daunting and stressful. At the same time, it felt pointless because I had about 3 followers for the first two months, and one of them was a family member. Wah. I did what every "big" blogger says to do and just kept writing! I love that it's become a creative outlet.

(Whoops... sorry for the blur)

While some people like to make their posts on the spot, I like to have things planned out. It's also beneficial for me, because it forces me to do things like have a craft night or go to an event I wouldn't normally go to. For my birthday last year, I went to an event at a local museum that I wouldn't have gone to otherwise. I was still too shy to bring my big camera in and settled for cell phone pictures, but I had so much fun! I'm going to go again in 2014 and this time I won't be scared to bring my camera. That's an awesome feeling.

Enough about my 100th post... it's Independence Day! Fun fact: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (two signers of the Declaration, who both eventually became president) both died on July 4th. Crazy! And here's a quote from John Adams, to his wife the day the Declaration was approved: "It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever more." Now that sounds like a damn good party.

outfit details
bandana: thrifted
dress: American Eagle
shoes: Vans

Valentine's Day.

I'm a little late on posting the V-Day ventures, but so it goes. Corey and I went to one of my favorite restaurants ever, The Melting Pot, where we ordered the four-course meal of cheese fondue, salad, entree, and a dessert fondue. We got there an hour before our reservation in hopes of getting seated early. It didn't happen, but I got to enjoy a big ole glass of wine which is always nice! It also gave me time to experiment using my camera on manual... Which became quite a task in the dark atmosphere.

This photo looks really awful, but there was a wine room with vases full of flowers, if you chose to purchase them for your table. I really need practice!

For our dessert fondue, we chose the Flaming Turtle which is a combo of milk chocolate, caramel, and candied pecans. It was even flambeed at our table!

By the time we were finished eating, I had taken the belt off my dress and it hurt to laugh. I'm pretty sure his pants were unbuttoned, and I don't blame him because I was dying to take my tights off on the ride home! The price we pay for such a good meal, I guess?

He also got me this Morrissey print from Parlor Tattoo Prints on Etsy!
I absolutely love it!

I think this year was the first time I've had a proper Valentine's Day. The holiday itself isn't really important to me, but I like any excuse to get dressed up, eat a nice dinner, and show my love for someone!I hope you all had an equally awesome day as well! <3

Life Lately: Mountain trip.

I mentioned before that Corey and I planned a trip with some of our friends to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for New Years. It started snowing on our way in, which was awesome! After we got settled in and ate dinner, we climbed in the hot tub. I've always wanted to be in a hot tub while it's snowing!

 

 

 The next day, we ate breakfast and had morning mimosas (and poinsettias), drove down to Gatlinburg and walked around the town. We ended up buying a bunch of stuff form a local artist, then somehow ate lunch at the only restaurant in town that doesn't serve alcohol!

 

(I'm totally in love with that candid picture of us!)

On the eve of NYE, we discovered that chocolate syrup and peppermint schnapps go perfectly together. I didn't get a picture of the action, which probably is not very classy looking anway, but it's safe to say that none of us were truly ready for our actual night out the next day!

 

On our last morning there, the boys went shopping and us girls stayed home and went on a walk. Sounds backwards, right?! We got them to stop by the store and get supplies for shish kabobs. Then we rushed into our taxi van to get downtown! Idiotic craziness ensued.

 

I took almost 500 pictures, but I think these about sum it up. I did realize it's hard to take a picture with my friends without making silly faces. Seriously, probably half of the pictures I took are of at least one of us making a dumb face! Overall, it was a great time. I'm really looking forward to 2013. There's so much happening this year for me, and I'm really excited! :)

Happy 2013!

Oh my, I've really neglected my blog recently and I feel super guilty about it. The week before Christmas, I worked nonstop on finishing the embroidery for the Outback Bowl in Tampa Bay. (Which the Gamecocks won!!) I did over 1200 shirts for the team and all the faculty, and you could see everyone on the sidelines wearing them. It was such a neat thing to see! I'm sure my boyfriend tired of hearing me all like, "OMG, I did that! I sewed and touched and bagged and boxed all of those shirts!"

I worked up until Christmas Eve, and then my boyfriend and I went to see the Christmas lights. They light up the whole park with crazy things, and you pay to drive through. We were both pretty bored and disappointed, especially after sitting in traffic for over two hours to get inside. I really tried to get into the holiday spirit but honestly, I'm just not that kind of person! Hey, at least I tried?!

Christmas was really nice and relaxing. Corey surprised me with a Nikon D5100. I was so shocked, I think I barely said a word besides thank you! He totally fooled me, even the day before I opened it I was complaining about how dumb my old camera was. I'm so freaking excited to finally get my Etsy shop running! Yay!

On the 29th, some friends and I headed to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee where we rented a cabin in the mountains for New Years. I have about 400 pictures from the weekend, so my next couple posts might make up for the last of visual excitement in this one. I have a lot planned for 2013. A LOT. I'm so excited. And I'm excited that I have this place to share it all, and hope it continues to grow. :) I'm off to get a new tattoo, and I'll be back to regular blog posting tomorrow. Hope you all had a great holiday, Christmas, New Year's, and all that good stuff!

Here's a photo a friend took of me looking real haggard whilst appreciating mountain views.

Maw-Maw and Pa-Paw.

For a Halloween party, I got Corey to dress up as an old person with me. I was surprised at how little convincing it took, but the night of the party it seemed like the more beer he drank, the more work it took to convince him. So I made a special hat that he couldn't deny! :)

I have no idea why my granny face was a no-tooth smile and half closed eyes. I guess I felt old while making that face, but in pictures it looks pretty silly.

Some costumes included a flapper, sheriff, day of the dead skeleton, (lazy!) bunny, pink lady from Greece, Mexican, surgeon, redneck, and of course Pa-Paw.

I've been friends with the two girls in the pictures above for a very long time. It's really an awesome thing to make it through hell and back, from elementary school to college, and still be able to call yourselves friends. The other day I was sorting through a lot of old junk and I had kept two notes, one from each of them, that meant a lot to me. We all ended up hanging out later that night and it was funny to let them read what they wrote so many years ago!

Here's the full elder attire:

As you can probably tell by my constant "granny face", I stayed in character most of the night. Everyone looved our outfits and everywhere we went people/strangers were saying, "Grandma, take a picture with me!" These pictures make me laugh so hard, Corey just looks so funny and creepy as a grandpa!

My hours got cut today at work, which isn't really a good thing but I am excited to focus a little more on building and launching! There are a lot of things to be excited about, sometimes the hard part is actually remembering how lucky I am. I'm so grateful for everything in my life. But it's a little too soon for sappy Thanksgiving related posts, so we'll save that for some other day!

  

Wardrobe Wednesday: Cat&Fish

 

source: Itz Fitz on Etsy

Happy Halloween!! My favorite holiday of the year and I have completely failed my inner holiday spirit. Maybe it's because I've just begun to see the leaves change, but I feel like autumn here just got skipped and it goes from 90 degrees to 70, and all of a sudden it's supposed to be 30 DEGREES tonight. TOO SOON! I dressed up only once (more on that tomorrow), I haven't eaten anything pumpkin related unless you count some homemade coffee spice, I never even carved a pumpkin, and I never got around to making the Halloween themed dog collars my mom and I got all the materials for. Fail. The only thing I did do was buy a pumpkin candle. Always next year, right?

One thing I am not failing at is posting regularly on my blog! It's Wednesday, which means I pose awkwardly for pictures and end up deleting them all. It's a process, I'll get better. I don't know if you've ever been to or heard of the store/boutique Francesca's, but I have always admired it. A lot of the time when I work up the courage to ask a female where she got her (insert clothing item) from, the answer is Francesca's. When I first saw them in the mall, I immediately went inside and lost track of time and subsequently forgot how broke I was. All I could think was I WANT ALL OF THIS. The front of the store is filled with adorable things that you probably do not need.

It was the clothes, however, that my heart really fell for. A couple of summers ago, I had the pleasure of visiting some family in Oklahoma. We always take a day or three to go shopping around the malls. And there it was, right in the middle of some wacky clothing shops. Luckily, my grandmother offered to buy me a dress of my choosing so I went straight here. I saw this dress with little tiny kitties on it, with little tiny fish bowls and polka dots, and knew it had to be mine. Okay, I'll shut up. Here's some photos of me actually wearing the thing.

 

Outfit details:

Dress: Francesca's

Belt: thrifted

Tights: Target

Shoes: Shi by Journey's

(you might be seeing a lot of them)

It's perfectly light for the miserably humid summers, but with some tights and a coat it's great for winter, too! I sort of have a problem with wearing way too much muted color. If I put no thought into it, I would end up wearing black skinny jeans, black combat boots, a solid colored shirt, and a black leather jacket every day of winter. Those brown flats I'm wearing were the result of me realizing I had not ONE piece of brown clothing. I went on a mission to get lighter and brighter colored clothes, which could have gone better but I think brown shoes were a good start. (It's a process.)

What are your plans for the actual night of Halloween? Do you get trick-or-treaters? I wish I did! Laying in bed, resting my sore abs, and watching scary movies sounds just fine to me.