Valentines Day...love it or hate it?

I've never been huge with Valentine's Day. I neither love it nor hate it. I understand the draw for either side; however, I don't get the overly crazy V-day people. You know, the girls who get soooo into it that they expect major romance on that day (and are disappointed and angry when they don't get it). I'm good with a basic acknowledgement-a "hey, I love you on this most puketrid of love days" kinda card. And a lil gift (under 5.00 is good, thank you).

I celebrate and embrace V-day just as much as I hate V-day I suppose. Why all the commercialism? Why the need to overprice flowers? Why so much candy that makes my ass fatter? UGH.

In honor of V-day I made cupcakes for work (hello fat ass, yes, I'm comfortable with you, yes, you will always be in my life). I also made anti-V-day cupcakes for those who don't like to participate in V-Day (but still want a fat ass). And I saw a tutorial for a cute heart headband so I had to make that too. Basically, I went all out for Valentines day (weird).

First, the headband. I found this on the DIYshow-off but it actually came from this blog, Rae Gun Ramblings.

This was an easy and inexpensive craft. I paid about 3.00 for everything. I would have paid less if I'd used a coupon at Michaels. :(

Assemble together:
-headband (already had it)
-felt fabric piece in your color choice (.30 from Michaels)
-sequins of your choice (2.99 for package)
-glue gun (not shown)
-needle/thread (not shown)
-chocolate cupcake should you need a snack in the middle of crafting as I did.

Start by making a heart cut out of the fabric. I tried different sizes to see what worked best on my noggin.

Then, after finding the best choice, I haphazardly sewed the heart to my headband. The worse you do the better you'll make me feel about getting a C in Home Ec in school *sob*.

Then I carefully hot glued on a bajillion tiny sequins till my hands hurt and I got carpel tunnel (just kidding). It wasn't difficult just time consuming. I did it while watching tv (and eating chocolate hostess cakes) so it wasn't bad.Using tweezers helped.

 And here it is all finished:

 Perfect for V-day.

Next I started on the cupcakes. I just used boxed cake mix and frosting (uhhhh....C in Home Ec, remember?)
Since these were for Valentines I made them chocolate, but since they were also for Anti-Valentines I made the chocolate Devil's Food. :D

After letting them cool I frosted and decorated.
Some had pink sprinkles with a purple gummy heart:

And the other's had black sprinkles with pierced hearts by swords:

Perfect for those who don't celebrate V-day.

Hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day whether you celebrate or not!

Thuh The-uh-tuh...

Do you even understand the title of this post? No? Okay, well, I guess it doesn't translate well in writing but that was my best impression of a snooty person saying, "The theatre". And when we're talking this snooty I've gotta write it up as theatre, not theater.

I luuuv the the-uh-tuh dahhhling (can you hear the snooty now?). Musicals are such a decadent pleasure to me (breaking into song and dance to express yourself? Yes please.) So, for a Christmas present, the in-laws were totally awesome and gave my husband and I tickets to see Billy Elliot. SQUEEEALLL! I was so excited. I'm a music nerd, I love musicals, and I love dressing up- nothing is better than this idea. It's like a forced dressy date with the hubs. Have I mentioned I :::heart::: dressing up (especially since, as you've just recently learned, my clothing on a daily basis hardly varies)?

Of course, my daaahhhling husband is nice enough to play along with my special dressy date night. This ain't your standard dinner and a movie night, no siree (is that how it's spelled?Sir-ree?Sirree?Surrey? ::Cue the music:::"...When I take you out in the Surrey with the Friiiiiiinge-On Top!" This is how much of a music geek I am... and an Oklahoma geek...okay, I'm just a geek all around. confession: I was in the musical Oklahoma.)  But I digress. 

Back to the special dressy date night. When I was talking to some women at work about what I was gonna wear (you know, girl stuff) I was asked by some officers (working in a predominantly male environment) what are you doing? And when I responded, "I'm going to the theatre". Their response was, "Huh? The theater? Like, the movies?" This made me giggle. 

I wanted to dress up but I most certainly did not want to spend any money. I decided to plan a look around my favorite heels:

Unfortunately, due to how painful they are to wear the very intricate and glam bead/sequins detailing on them I hardly ever wear them anywhere. 


I paired them with a little black dress (LBD) so nothing would compete with their awesomeness and steal the show (besides the actual show-Billy Elliot). Add in some gold glam earrings that a co-worker was nice enough to loan me and bam! I was ready for the red carpet without spending any money:

I even did smoky sultry eye makeup with nude lips which turned out exactly how I wanted.

and the pretty earrings:

It was a fun night. I wasn't overly impressed with Billy Elliot but that didn't deter my ability to love every minute of the night just for the fact that we were out at the theatre and all dressed to the nines. 


Afterwards, DH and I were feeling snacky so we stopped into Walgreens about midnight. I snapped a shot in the candy aisle for posterity's sake (though we ate dinner at fancy shmancy restaurant we're not too proud to get dessert at Walgreens):

It was a wonderful night out on the town!
 

FASHION...HIT OR MISS

Lately I've been obsessed with fashion. I think it's cuz I've slowly been losing weight (20lbs so far-yea me!!! But I have 15 or so to go). I'm loving that I feel better, thinner, and it makes me want to dress/look cute(r). Because of this, I've been perusing fashion blogs/chat boards a lot lately and so I stumbled across this blog- Kendieveryday. I love her style and she has cute and quirky posts each day.

I wanted to participate in her 30 for 30 challenge (take 30 items in your closet to mix/match for 30 days of outfits) but here's the problem-I wear a uniform to work. Every.Single.Day. This makes it extremely difficult to do that 30 for 30 challenge and let me tell you, it's horrible for a girl's self-esteem. I tell my husband that putting that uniform on makes my cuteness level drop at least 10 points.

Don't get me wrong. Some days it's awesome to not have to think about what you'll wear. You just dress and go. But other days (most days), I want to wear the things in my closet! Not a tan button-up shirt, black pants, black socks, black belt, black shoes. Ugh. The joke at work is that we look like Busch Gardens workers. I should be leading a safari yelling cheesy jokes into a megaphone for tourists as I point out a giraffe on their right. Soooo not attractive. Anyhow.

Back to the 30 for 30 challenge. How exactly can I do this? I'm not sure, I'm still trying to work that one out. But, for now, I figured I'd show you my weekend wear (well, 1 day at least). I bought this dress because I loved the colors and the bohemian feel to it. Perfect with my boots:

Not the best pic but  you get the idea. I should really think about cleaning my bathroom mirror sometime. The pics might look better. And I know all you peeps out there with 3 feet of snow are totally jealous I can rock a short sleeve dress cuz  I live in FL and it's approx 70 degrees here! (So there are some perks of living in Florida, who knew?)

Anyhow...I promise to try and squeeze some posts in that are decorating related (in fact I'll have one soon-a mini-makeover on my bedroom). But right now I'm really into clothes so I'm gonna have my fair share of outfit posts.

In fact, one thing I'm gonna try and do is show some copycat fashion-I totally adore some of Kendi's outfits and I will be trying to shop in my own closet to replicate some of them. I'm sort of stalking her right now cuz I'm just amazed at how she puts outfits together so beautifully, stylishly and easily .(I promise this is healthy imitation-is-the-sincerest-form-of-flattery stalking not the Every-Breath-You-Take-Police-rendition type of stalking).

Stay tuned!

Life is not about perfect...crafting with my daughter

Courtesy of Infarrantly Creative

I decided that this craft project was so adorable (and inexpensive) that I just had to replicate it. I saw it on the DIYshowoff but it comes from this blog, infarrantlycreative.net.

This was a lesson for me in patience and how to let things go. I have a tendency to be anal retentive, demanding perfection and can get easily frustrated when I don't get this (I'm working on it). Here's where the lesson comes in- I had my daughter work on this craft with me. In the end I could have spent more money and had it turn out TONS nicer but it was just crafting with my daughter. It wasn't perfect, and, if I'd wanted perfect, I shouldn't have asked an 11 year old to help paint itty-bitty stencils on a board.

By the end of the project I was biting my tongue pretty hard and trying not to be too irritated that, well, it wasn't the "prettiest" advent calendar out there.However, it was something that my daughter and I worked on together and that's really what it's all about- making memories and spending quality time together. With all it's imperfection it was perfect.

Here are the modifications I made to make this craft a 3.00 project with my dear daughter (DD).

First, I purchased 1 can red spray paint, 1 foam poster board, and 1 package of stencils from the dollar store(3.00 total here). Though I don't count them toward the craft total I did also have to purchase Hershey's kisses, something I would have done anyway.

Then, I gathered my supplies:

I used an old picture frame given to me by my mother-in-law which I loved but hadn't had any use for yet.

I took the picture and glass out leaving just the frame and cut the foam board to fit:

 Then I spray painted the board red:

 And after much debate with DD about how we should arrange the kisses/wording we stenciled on our words/calendar numbers.

It took awhile to paint them in and really, stickers would have been quicker, neater, and nicer looking. But we were going for inexpensive here. So, we had a few hiccups along the way. So, what?

After all the stenciling was done I just hot glued the chocolate kisses directly above each number.

You can see in the above pic where there were a few mess ups but all in all, (breathe, just breathe) I got through them without yelling at DD (even though she did feel pretty bad about messing it up). Still, it was fun to work on it with her and really, in the grand scheme who cares if it isn't perfect? It's a moopoint. To quote Joey, from friends, "Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion. It just doesn't matter. It's moo." (this is what I think of everytime I hear or say the phrase "moot point").

So, this was my lesson in letting it go. I think I did pretty good but could have done better I'm sure. I'll get there eventually.

Strike on the List-Closet Cleaned

So, my new year's resolu- my to do list- has 1 more thing crossed off. The cleaning of the master closet.
I tell you, at first, it was a daunting task. But, in the end, it was really kinda fun pulling out all sorts of things from the back of my closet that I didn't even remember I had! First, here's the before:

Scary. Just too much stuff. Time to purge.And purging feels good (okay, not the kind where you have, like, a medical problem but you know what I mean peeps).

I ended up with a fashion show (okay, some of it not so fashionable) trying on all the dresses and clothes that I wasn't sure about and just didn't know if I loved enough to keep.This certainly slowed my progress down a bit but it made it more fun. Like, who knew I had 4 black dresses? And what use do I have for 4 of them anyway? Do I really go to that many funerals? I must think I do because I kept every.single.one.of them.

 Kept this one cuz I liked the back. (and forgive the fact that I just tried these on over my jeans/boots. I didn't have time to be prettying up the look. I just wanted to see how they fit and if I loved 'em or not.).

 And this is one of my favorite dresses so I certainly couldn't part with it:

This one I kept because I wore it to my grandpa's funeral so, I just couldn't get rid of it.

Not too flattering but I think it would look better with tights (not socks) and my hair fixed, etc. etc.
The last black dress I didn't take a pic of cuz it was a basic sheath and I was on a roll and didn't wanna stop.

But some other gems:

Might've worked but the bust was all too loose. It was outta here!

This one wasn't so bad. I kept it because I wore it to my wedding rehearsal. I just couldn't get rid of it.

Other things won't get tossed cuz they're special occassion things like this sequined red top. I know its a bad pic but it's really very pretty IRL.

Okay, enough dress up...I'm sure you wanna see the after pics so here they are:

I know my side doesn't look that cleaned out but I promise it is! the top shelf just has all our boardgames none of which got cut. And look at all that extra space on DH side?

It looks sooo much cleaner, bigger and lovelier in our closet now. Look how much stuff was taken out of just this one small closet-

 Three trashbags full of clothing. It's crazy. (We Americans really do have too much stuff). More may be leaving since I put a small "maybe" pile aside with the stipulation that if it's not worn at least 1-2 times within the next 3 months it was also gone.
Again, the before:

After:

 Before:

After:

New Rain Boots...finally

Since last year I have been on the lookout for new rainboots. I started out looking at these:

By Chinese Laundry.

Soon, I upgraded to thinking about Hunter boots:

But if you know anything about me you already know I was hurting looking at the price of Hunter boots. $125.00. This may not be a lot to most fashionistas but, to me, it was beyond anything I would want to spend on clothing/shoes.

So, I waited, and waited, and pined for them, and waited. And finally, when I was ready to bite the bullet and just buy them, I went to Nordstrom and tried them on.And...I was less than impressed. For sure, they were made well and, as rain boots went, were top of the line. But really, I wasn't overly impressed when I wore them. They were heavy for one and two, they weren't 125.00 worth of awesome for me.

So, back to the drawing board I went.

After much scouring of the internet, buying other boots and then returning them I settled on a pair of rainboots that fit each criteria. 1) Inexpensive 2) Red 3) fairly fashionable 4) lightweight 5) Inexpensive.

And here was my first rainy day to wear them:

Of course, they aren't Hunters and I wish they were a little redder (they look orange in these pics but that's just my poor quality photo). Overall, this cheap girl is pleased with her rain boots (DSW, Dirty Laundry).
I got a larger size than was necessary but I love that cuz I can slip them on very easily and they are uuber comfortable.
I can't wait for it to rain some more so that I can wear them!

TO DO: 2011

Resolutions are depressing. I always feel like if I don't keep them then I've somehow failed.
Even though I do have some resolutions, I mostly don't do them cuz...really...who actually believes I'll keep 'em? Not me. Don't answer that.

But lists- I can do lists. Lists are attainable. Jot stuff down then scratch it off. Lists are fun for anal retentive people like me. I make lists for everything from groceries (normal) to packing for trips (normal) to what exactly I would buy if I won the lottery and how it would all break down in my needs/wants and just exactly how much of a "lottery" I'd have to win in order to be considered financially solvent (not exactly normal). Also, I love crossing things out. It makes me feel accomplished at peace not lazy. Like, "hey- look at all those crossed out things? AWESOME!"


Now, because I am a totally lazy person, I'm gonna make my list short. Then, when I get done I can be proud that I've accomplished something instead of lying on my hiney all year long doin' nu''in'.

So, the list goes like this:

1.) Clean out my closet (this is more like a spring cleaning thing). I was in my master closet and realized I have waaaaay to many clothes now. So, I should downsize some things and clean it out.Plus, just reorganize what I have.

2.) Organize my bills/junk mail.
Done.
It was a big pile. and now it's nothing. YEA! (See how awesome it looks to have something already crossed off the list? Le sigh.)

 3.) Refinish the 2 dressers that I have but haven't done anything with. Actually, I have tried to sand the bottom 2 drawers of this dresser. And then I left it alone for a year.

The dresser above just needs to be painted. One afternoon is all it will take. I'll get there.

4.) I would love to add this to the list- tear out our carpet on the stairs and try to refinish them like Thrifty Decor Chick did here:

Gorg. But a bit of a stretch for me unless I am loco.

5.) Sell the 5 items (2 desks, 1 coffee table, 1 dresser, 1 tv armoire) that I no longer use on Craigslist.

6.) Finish losing 15lbs. I scratched this off, not because I attained the goal, but because it seemed more resolution-y (is that a word?) than list-y (and is that a word?).

7.) Paint the loft upstairs and reorganize it for more functionality.

 It doesn't look nearly this nice right now and well, I'll take a before pic to show you exactly what it looks like when I get to that point.

8.) Take down the Christmas tree and decor inside. (I wish I could scratch this off right now, but nope, too lazy, haven't gotten there yet.)

9.) Replace our shower window.

Of course, this has been cleaned up but no glass has been put in as of yet. I nearly choked on the 1K price right before Christmas and it didn't hinder taking showers so it never got done. It has to be on the list now.



So that's it. Cleaning and reorganizing will be my motto for the coming year. Can I do it? Heck yeah! I have all year after all, with only 10 9 items on the list. Let's see...that breaks down to about 1 task every month. Even my lazy bum should be able to do it, right? (Let's cross our fingers.)