Unexpected house guest...

Right as we are heading out of town! I went in the pantry to grab laundry bright and early this morning and was greeted by none other than a tiny little mouse.

I have guniea pigs so rodents don't totally freak me out but having one loose and jumping like a crazed thing amongst my canned goods made me scream.

Vince came to the rescue and ran to the store. He was cute, but he's evicted as of 7:30AM.

Still better than ants.

Reverb 11: Catching up #14-17

14. Marvel
What have you done well over the past year—the little stuff and the big stuff? How do you celebrate the positives?

As I have said in my earlier Reverb posts 2011 was a year of honing in on my skills and talents and growing. I feel as though I am an "adult" now, though I have been for some time, but I think something about being done with school (at least for now, Doctoral plans in the future most likely) and having a full-time job, an apartment off campus, bills, a new car; these things make me feel like a real-life grown up. 

I have been challenged this year in my own thinking and reigning in my own desires when these things just can't be right now. This is something I'm not used to; something I still struggle with. I had become accustomed to working hard and reaping the benefits, but I've learned (in the hardest and ugliest ways) that some things are just truly out of my control. There is a beauty in waiting. This growing is what I have done well, because through the growth I am happy and happiness is what we strive for. 

As far as celebrating the big positives: graduating, signing a lease on an apartment, buying a car, etc. We tried to celebrate as things came a long with special dinners and outings, but mostly just appreciating that these things were possible this year.

15. Fear
The easiest way to overcome fear is to confront it. Rather than brainstorming reasons to avoid your “fear,” shift your attention to the reasons for confronting your fear. What fear would you like to overcome in 2012?

One of my largest fears is the unknown. Uncertainty rattles me to my bones. I even get nervous about opening gifts from others as the lack of knowing if I will like it makes me worry that I will disappoint them in my reaction. Silly? True. I can go with the flow like the best of them but there are just some things that not having all the information on get under my skin and make a home in my brain until I either figure them out or over think it to the point that I drive myself (and all of my friends no doubt) nuts. 

I have tried to use progressive muscle relaxation when I'm feeling tense about things. I also try to busy myself with other things to do. I think I need to channel my relaxed outlook from most aspects of my life and realize that the unknown can be a positive thing. Maybe I'll get there in 2012. Maybe. 

16. Transitions
Over the past year have you experienced any major/minor life transitions? How has your life changed?

Student to Graduate

Dating to live-together-partner

Employed to Unemployed then to Employed again

Non-active blogger to Semi-Regular blogger

I'm sure there are more but these stand out the most.

17. Bliss
What are three things that make you feel the most blissed out? What can you do in 2012 to invite more of that into your life?

Coffee Dates with friends. Time at home with Vince, growing in our relationship. Writing, whether on this blog orrrrr maybe just maybe I will start on this book idea I have in my head. Yup, I'm putting it out there. I want to write a book. Surprised Mom? I always said I wanted to be an author, hasn't gone away I guess :)

Reverb 11: Catching up #10-13.

10. Soul Food
How do you nourish your soul? What activities are essential nutrients for your soul’s well-being?

Reading-- Even if that just means perusing the Internet and my favorite blogs, spending time increasing my knowledge base is refreshing. That being said, I would like to do more reading of actual books in 2012.

Family Time-- Being home with Vince, spending time with his family, being with my created family of friends, and making the trek to Iowa to be with my family of origin are all the times that make everything else worth it. It's family that know you and who can be honest with you in ways that those who aren't on that level cannot. And sometimes, sometimes I just need someone to set me straight when I'm having difficulty getting there by myself.

Watching My Shows-- I watch tv. I have a lot of shows that I love, a LOT of shows. And I sometimes feel silly about it or that I'm wasting time but you know what? I love them. I love the characters. I love watching the stories develop. I catch myself mimicking the emotions being displayed on the screen: they laugh, I laugh (everyone does this right?); but if they are frowning, so am I; and if they are crying I usually am too. I can feel the joy of the characters, the sadness, and sometimes the characters feel real. And I don't feel guilty for watching hours of tv, because these shows lead to conversations with people, and sometimes they challenge your thinking. 

Quiet time--- Lately this has happened when I am driving back from dropping off a client. I have spent a lot of time reflecting, challenging myself in my head (sometimes aloud to myself too). I've reflected a lot more on where I am and where I'm going and I think that it's really made me "grow up" more by doing so. I also enjoy quiet time as a couple when Vince and I can just be, just snuggle up and relax together. Especially great on weekend mornings with fresh muffins.

Creating-- I have loved finding ideas around the blogoshpere and pinterest and bringing the to life. I've challenged myself in learning the basics of sewing and other new skills and doing so while listening to some tunes just realigns everything. 

11. Anticipation
What is the one thing that you are most looking forward to in 2012?

One thing? Just ONE. I'm going to pick growing as our little family of two. I was just telling Vince the other day how much I feel like he and I have grown since we met in April of 2010. It truly hasn't been that long but we have come into our own individually and as a couple and it's been beautiful. I am anticipating that 2012 will be just as fruitful for us.

12. Mistakes
It’s easy to focus on our mistakes—to reflect with 20/20 hindsight and berate ourselves for what went wrong. Bring your awareness to a mistake you’ve made over the past year. Unveil one positive lesson from that mistake. How can you actively use this lesson moving forward?

It's hard to pinpoint a specific mistake, or maybe I just don't want to be that honest on here. I have learned much in the 2011. I have tested my own patience, learned that I can be jealous as a monster, I have challenged myself mentally and not as much physically. All of these things I have reflected on and hopefully grown from. That's what being 25/26 is about and I'm happy to say that I feel more me now than ever before. So I choose not to claim a mistake and instead choose lessons. 

13. Love
What are the things (or people or animals) in this world that you love the most.

I cherish my family and friends, Vince, my guinea piggies (Baxter and Bruno). I have more joy and love in my heart than I have ever realized before and I think that's because I also have learned to love myself for who and I am and where I am right now which makes loving and appreciating others a whole lot easier and more enjoyable. 

I also love books, tangible, paper, and especially used beautiful books. I love my blogs and pinterest. I love cooking and crafting. I love my new car that is an incredible improvement from my last. I love my job which has brought me some amazing, funny, and challenging clients that continue to make me grow as a professional. 

I love my life and I am more than in love with the fact that I can wholeheartedly say that.

Home is Where the Heart is

Update: I just linked this project up to "Tute"-inTueday over on Oops I Craft My Pants! Stop over there and have a looksie at all of Ericka's awesomeness as well as the other projects that get linked up today!

Once again I have been inspired by Pinterest. Having been enamoured by images like this

and this

I knew that I wanted a little something on my walls to remind me of my roots. I decided to go ahead and go for the more complex version (string art!) as I wanted to try something new and I remembered a cross project I did in bible school ages ago that still hangs at my parents house and that additional memory prompted this project.
So I got started:

1) I purchased a wooden plaque from Michaels and some white acrylic paint and put just one quick coat on as it covered pretty nicely. I also wanted to have the brush marks in the paint so I made sure to paint in just a left to right motion.

2) Vince so kindly printed out an image of the Great State of Iowa for me weeks ago, I simply taped it down to the painted plaque and started putting in my nails (from a frame hanging kit at Dollar Tree, 109 nails for $1 baby!) I tried to equally space them about a half inch apart from one another but this was by no means precise.

3) Close up of the nails. I didn't follow the border exactly except the wonderful straight lines on the northern and southern borders of the state. East and west were wiggly and curvy and I just did the best that I could to make it still look like Iowa.

4) I also added a little "heart" shape near where Oskaloosa is on the map. Again, not precise. Eyeballing at best. I then started stringing my yarn back and forth between the heart nails and the border nails. I tried to keep things as even as possible but really I just randomly covered the space.

5) Close to finished, I still filled in a lot of the little gaps that you see here.

In case you are interested this is the thread that I used :)

Vince made a suggestion of adding some color to the heart to make it stand out more. I thought that was great idea so I just wound some dark red thread around the nails on the heart.

What do you think? Someday when I actually put up my gallery wall this will be one of the pieces on it! And in case you try this out for yourself, try to make sure all of your nails are the same length, this makes it easy when you are hammering your little fingers off trying to get them all the same length once in the plaque.

Giving

Giving. Not tangible, store bought gifts but gifts that come from your heart and send with them an emotional investment in the form of pride in a job well done. At least that's what I hope. Reading Carolyn's (of A Beautiful Ripple Effect) post on giving made me realize how often the emotional response of giving of our own talents to others is a sense of being draining or worse being taken advantage of. I know exactly the feeling, I'm not trying to say that I don't, but why exactly is it that this is the feeling we get when we give of ourselves to others.
Why do we feel as though our time and talents must mean as much to every other person as they do to us? And why do e so often forget about the time and talents of others that we don't acknowledge?
It is so easy to be introspective and to assess how we feel of giving which of course can feel depleting at times; it would be much easier to not put the effort into giving but to savor it all for ourselves, but how would that feel inside? I am quite certain it would feel just as emptying.
When looking back on 2011 and truth be told 2010 as well I realize how often I have selfishly worried over the amount of giving I was doing compared to my peers, especially at work, I measured others' gifts in time rather than in talent. Instead of looking for ways to best utilize the gifts on our team we divided work up and all had individual expectations of what others should give and worrying that we may be taken advantage of in the process.
I've spent time lately evaluating where my true talents lie and in my new job I've seen a lot more of my gifts being used for the positive. I am competitive but it is coming out in striving to provide the best care I can for my clients rather than trying to be the best employee. I am resourceful and that has been demonstrated well in adapting to a new job within a new field doing things I never would have considered doing professionally. I am creative which I have been lucky enough to be able to explore new hobbies in home decorating, sewing, and cooking. And I enjoy giving of my time to others by helping them whether that means I'm making them a meal, cleaning their bathroom, or being the listening ear that they need for an hour.
These are my gifts, among others. And while I continue to explore these gifts and give of them to others I also want to remember to be grateful that I am able to give and catch myself when I am feeling depleted and look for a way to use my talents in another way or maybe seek out the gifts of someone else who can help me refocus.

Limits and Super Powers

2011 saw me testing my personal limits as I worked to finish my Masters degree which meant completing a 600 hour internship on top of mg normal school and hall director responsibilities. I truly am not certain how everything got done, but I do know that I felt stretched thin, that I didn't feel as though I could do the highest quality work on any of these areas, and that I got terrible hives over and over for months (luckily on my legs so I didnt look crazy!)
On the positive side I did learn that I can push myself hard to accomplish a lot more than I thought and also that setting limits for your own sanity is VERY important. I learned to say no to things knowing fully that in the previous 2 years I would have jumped at the opportunity. True some people probably thought I should have stepped up for more and at times I felt guilty, by if I had added that o e other thing to my plate it would have broken.
Now on to being limitless, having a super power! I have often been asked this question in interviews or team builders and I always struggle. I don't know that its a lack of imagination or not watching enough cartoons or movies but I just can never been too creative.
If I'm searching hard for my desired powers I would have to say being invisible. Not so I can shy away and hide but so that I could spy on people. Be the fly on the wall. What can I say, I am and always have been nosey. I hate not being privy to information. It's tortuous. I have an insatiable need to know what's going on. So maybe I would like invisibility and the ability to walk through walls so I can hear and see whatever I want.
PS I have been busy on a couple of projects, so are gifts so details won't be up til after the holidays. Buuuttt I have my pics all finished for one so maybe tomorrow morning I can get it up!

Inspiration: Restoration Hardware

I've apparently been living under a rock. A great big amazingly beautiful rock called Restoration Hardware. 

I have seen this store in my one or two strolls around Somerset mall, but only yesterday did I actually stop in. I was instantly in love with the plush bath robes and linens that were everywhere for the holiday loot. The price tags are of course astronomical (at least on my budget, kudos if you think they aren't) however the inspiration of the store design as well as the products is worth the periodic stroll to drool to.

This scrabble board is one item I found myself swooning over, and at only $279 a set, I think I will have one really soon :). Not only is the craftsmanship of this set gorgeous, it is extra large with a whopping 26 1/2" square games pace.

Pretty amazing right? I know any Feist family members that may stumble upon my blog can understand the coveting of this board! Nana needs one right?

Adding Ease

I know there is a strict "no rules" clause attached to Reverb11, but I am behind and I also will continue to go in order because that's just how I am :) I will also most likely continue to be behind but I'm just going to have to deal with it as this post is about ease after all.

Thinking about those things that make life feel relaxed and calm I also had to think of those things that do the opposite. 

Here's a short list:
1. Money, more specifically managing it well.
2. Unknowns
3. Over-projecting

These three also happen to be things that I have focused on rationalizing in my brain over the last few months. The more I learn to plan and discipline myself towards my goals I have learned makes me less stressed out and more at ease with where I am in my life.

I also love to treat myself occassionally when I'm feeling especially tense and a nice pedicure (preferably at a school to save $$$) or a coffee date with a friend do the soul good.

I loved that someone else's ease induced was adding yoga to theory routine and this is something I would like to start practicing again. I spent.a semester going once or twice a week..actually I doubt it was the whole semester...but it sure does have an amazing ability to add some calm and order to your life.

Any suggestions for was to avoid my mini-list or ways to add ease?

Why reading the label before laundering is important....

Yesterday I created a creative to-do list on my phone of projects I wanted to work on while I had a Tuesday off work. This morning I got to work on my most exciting project: embroidery. I had purchased the materials late last week to start the project to use the gorgeous embroidery hoops my mom snagged from some of the remaining items from my late great-grandmother's estate. I found gorgeous off-white fabric in the remnant bin at JoAnn's and some even more beautiful embroidery thread with a gift card from my boss at Michael's.

This morning I used my iron transfer pen to trace my word onto tissue paper so that I could then transfer it to said fabric and begin trying my hand at embroidery.

Turns out my beautiful remnant...was not iron safe.

The fabric is obviously ruined...well at least that portion of it. And my stencil that I hovered over for 30 minutes to trace it ever so carefully is ruined too.

Not to mention I now need to clean the sticky mess off of my iron....

Guess I just have to put this one in the FAIL category and try again with melt-proof fabric.

So on to the next project on my list. Here's a preview.

No clue right? More information soon :)

P.S. There was no label for me to read on my fabric, but I should have tested a small area before ruining the big piece. 

Reading...Books

Continuing on with my Reverb11 blogging the next post is:

"Reading: What has been your favorite book (or books if you can't pick just one) that you've read this year?"

Have I mentioned that I was in grad school for most of 2011? Actually that's no longer true though it still feels true. I was really only in grad school until the end of April, so only 5 months, less than half of the year. So why have I not gotten back into the swing of reading? True I have read a couple of books and I even blogged about about Hannah's Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived. If you haven't read that post and if you haven't picked up the book, I recommend it.

I reviewed that book in June. JUNE. Only 2 months after graduating. I only got my job 5 weeks ago. What did I read in between then? Blogs. Beautifully written, inspiring blogs.

I would love to pick up a book though, have it on my bedside table to read before bed. It has to be better for my sleep cycle to not have my droid in my face as I do now most nights. I best pick one of the many off of my shelves, or maybe I'll go pick up a copy of The Hunger Games. They hype has been incredible around the series, and let's be honest, kiddie lit is a whole lotta fun.

Reverb 11

A few days ago I read about Reverb 11 on A Beautiful Ripple Effect and since I've been stalled out on projects and blogging since starting my new job, however I do spend a lot of time reading blogs while I have downtime at work AND I have lots of time to think about posts as much of my days revolve around driving clients to and from places. Also I downloaded the blogger application on my phone so I can update it while waiting for clients and complete the drafts when I got home.

I also have been reflecting lately on the past year and future goals since turning the big 26 on 11/26. Reverb 11 felt like the perfect opportunity to get into better blogging habits as well as to reflect on last year and project for the next year.

So I'm starting, 4 days late, but I'm starting today. Here are the prompts I have to catch up on:

1. One Word 
Encapsulate the year 2011 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2012 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

Flux. 2011 saw me completing my Master's degree, moving into an off campus apartment with my boyfriend (which was also the first time in nearly 6 years that I've shared my living space with someone else), being unemployed, becoming employed full-time, and finally after a month of work settling into a "normal" routine. Every definition of the word flux  seems to fit one part of my life or another over the past year. "To flow," "Obsolete or purge," "Continuous change," "Passage." All of these resonate with me as stages of my life in 2011. 

In 2012 I'm hoping Stability and Security will be my two words. I have never felt more secure with myself and where I am heading in life than in 2011 and I know that, allow there is likely to be much, much more flux in my life in 2012, I will also continue to grow in my own stability and security. 

2. Writing
What piece of writing are you most proud of from 2011? How does this piece differ from your other pieces?

In 2011 I did a lot of writing, most of it school and internship related. Although I am pretty proud of my 50+ page treatment plans I worked on in my internship, I'm most proud that I'm finding my voice on my blog. I have enjoyed sharing with others the projects I have been working on in our home and I am pushing myself to explore my writing talents more as I am no longer writing academically and miss challenging my mind through writing. I even have a (somewhat secret) desire to write a novel...I could use encouragement to get started on that one! 

3. Year in Review

As you reflect back on the happenings of 2011, what were your high points and what were your low points? What do you notice as you look back on the year as a whole?

High points in 2011 are:

• finishing my tenure as Hall Director of West Vandenberg Hall
• completing my internship and then graduating with my Masters
• landing my first post-school job
• moving in with Vince and starting our lives in our home together

Low points of 2011 are:

• Being unemployed for the majority of 6 months post-grad
• Getting excited about job opportunities only to have them fall through
• Other ugly points that I'd rather not recall at the moment, luckily there are only really a couple of these

Overall I am pleased with how 2011 went. Even in the toughest times when my bank account teetered closer to the $0.00 mark than I'd ever like to admit to another adult I still was able to see the lessons that life was teaching me. I have reconsidered so many of my habits and life choices regarding money and have a much healthier view towards my finances and my relationship has grown tremendously as we have learned to talk about financial decisions that can be difficult in any relationship, let alone when one person is the sole provider. Although I need to continue to grow here, I am no looking to make smart, long-term decisions with finances rather than quick-fix solutions. 

4. Beauty
How have your standards of beauty shifted in the past year?

I would love to say I'm at the top of my game in regards to health and beauty, however, the last year has not been kind to my previous year's diligence to my figure. I have felt as though I am more comfortable in my skin as it is currently and know that I am beautiful right now, I just need to move towards healthy behaviors in order to improve my body's functions rather than to improve my looks. 

I have also considered beauty in my home environment in all new ways. Rather than loving everything that Ikea makes I am coming more into my own in decorating styles and am enjoying figuring out how to incorporate more of my eclectic tastes into something of beauty. I have enjoyed creating beautiful things to display in our home and look forward to growing more in my skills with DIY projects over the next year.

There is a 5th prompt out there, however, I'm off to bed so I will add that one tomorrow and be back on track!! 

Life lately.

Today marks two full weeks at my new job. Yes I'm working on a Saturday. 12 hours on a Saturday actually, but considering that work today has consisted of taking 3 clients to a Coney Island for breakfast and now sitting in a waiting room it hasn't and won't be too hard of a day. I have found that I really love the job so far so no complaints!

Today is also my loves 24th birthday. I have a pretty big surpise lined up for him and we are going to celebrate with friends out on the town tonight!

And in two short weeks we will be celebrating my 26th birthday...mom does that make you feel old?

Anyway, just wanted to do a quick update. Hopefully next week I will have a more exciting post as I have a couple of projects I want to work on!

Fall Pinterest Challenge: Doily Lampshade

One of my favorite home improvement/general awesomeness blogs, Young House Love who is also an avid Pinterestista (can I make that up??) posted a challenge. And if you know me, you know may also know that I am all about competition. Even though my opponent is really just myself and whether or not I would get around to posting on my blog :) Here are the projects that the other ladies hosting the project completed for the challenge: Sherry's, Katie's, Ana's, Erin's. You can also check out the YHL (Sherry's) post that has links to HUNDREDS of other Pinterest Challenge projects that other readers have posted.

Anyway, I took on the challenge, at the very last moment if you did not notice (hey, I did start a new job YESTERDAY!) but alas, here is my take on this beautiful doily lampshade project I saw months ago and to be honest started in probably June.

I started by collecting doilies. Then I used tea and coffee to dye them thanks to Vince's extremely talented sister-in-law, Michelle, who gave me some great tips on getting the right color.

The process is pretty easy, and can be corrected easily by rinsing or adding more coffee/tea to the mixture. Basically choose a container, I used our stainless steel kitchen sink, then placed tea bags into the empty container. Boil enough water to cover the items you are staining and pour it over the tea bags kind of rotating between them. You'll decide how many bags to use based on how dark you want your items to be post-dye-bath. I also added some leftover coffee I had brewed that morning. Next you put the items, doilies or otherwise, into the bath and let it set for a while...not sure how long I left them I just walked away and came back later. I drained the bath, and wrung out the doilies and set them outside to dry.

Then, after months of sitting in my "to-be-crafted-someday...maybe" pile, I finally got motivated to complete the lamp shade for two reasons: 1) I was sick of looking out the naked bulb in my dining room/office 2) I got a job offer and knew my craft time would be lessened soon.

The first step was moving the hanging light over slightly so that Vince no longer had to duck to go past it and so that it was more over the table that is now used as a desk and craft space. This was easily done using a plastic staple, I even did it all by myself. I just eyeballed it and used some of my excellent lucky balancing skills to hammer it into place and ta-da! Here is it:

Next I got to work on the actual lamp shade:

1) Find something to hang your balloon from. I used I punching balloon from the dollar tree because I'm cheap and you can get 3/$1 there. I used some string to hang it from a screw on our light fixture in the bathroom so that any spilled wallpaper paste would be easy to wash up.
2) Mix up (or don't if you bought pre-mixed) wall paper glue. This part reminded me of the paste in pre-school. Smelled like it and had the same texture..sweet memories.
3) For each doily that I added I just stuck it into the glue, squeezed it around, then pulled my hands down it taking off the excess.
4) Start adding them around your balloon. I left a little bit of space at the top but not too much as I knew that I would be pulling a couple apart and sewing it up later on.

5) You're probably going to need some help during this part as your hands will be covered in wall paper glue and every time you try to add a doily your balloon will try to run away. Just have help. Even if that help has to stand in your shower. You won't regret it, but Vince may regret taking this self portrait.
6) Make sure you overlap a little bit or else this whole project won't work! :)
7) Once you have finished applying all of the doilies, you just have to wait. 4 days..my glue dried slooooww, and then I wanted to make sure it was good and dry.
8) Finally it was time to pop the balloon. This was disappointing and entertaining as there was no bang as the latex stuck to the glue and I had to peel it off by hand.

9) I went ahead and pulled apart some of the overlapping doilies at the top so my hand and arm could reach inside to pull the balloon off the shade. As I went the sides of the lampshade lost there shape but only temporarily as I could push them back out without permanent damage.
10) Since my light was now higher I couldn't sew up my raw edges as I had planned but found a couple of gold buttons that fit through the holes of the top doilies and sewed them on to secure it to the light fixture. I should also note that I left the glass shade on the existing light fixture to serve as the top of the shade and give it something to hold on to.
11) The doily shad in place and button-secured. I do need to work on this, it's kind of not round but for now it works.

Here's our new dining room/office light in all it's shining glory:

Gorgeous right? I love that it dims the light and adds such a unique look to the space. It's a little messy of a project, and it takes time to collect the supplies but for roughly 10 bucks it's a fun and pretty project to take on!

Pinterest Project: Yarn Covered Alphabet Soup

I've seen all kinds of creative letters on pinterest since joining the site a couple of months ago. Also a couple of months ago I found two white wooden letters at Michaels on clearance for a buck. An "H" and a "T" I wanted to find a "V" but no luck. That's what happens with clearance aisles.

Well the letters have sat there, waiting for me to make them beautiful. And finally I decided to go the yarn-wrapped route. I used yarn I already had at home that I also thought would look nice in my dining/office space. And it ended up looking like this.

Wrapping an "H" in yarn is hard work folks. My friend Rachel informed me it was challenging, and although it didn't take me the 8 hours it took her, I did watch a good portion of the Green Zone, a war flick that was quite enticing in both plot and man eye candy.

Anyway it wasn't perfect and I knew I wanted it to look a little fancier than that so I thought about the 40 flowers I made in this post and remembered the grey fabric I had leftover from my yellow and grey cork board project as well as a scrap of coral V's mom gave us when we got our sewing machine. These grey and coral flowers would be perfect!

So I stitched some up. I crafted this new beauty by folding a strip on the grey fabric in half and sewing then cinching it into the prettiest little flower. It's my new fabric flower love! With pretty little finished edges, doesn't it look gorgeous?

I made a five other assorted flowers and for this little grey pretty and it's twin made in coral I stitched a little hex nut into the center of the flowers as I liked that look better than the colored buttons I had in my craft bin.  Then stitched them onto the "H" for the perfect little item for my shelf.

Sitting pretty on top of a couple of books! 

Now what to do with the "T"? V wants it covered with comic book images, perhaps I'll appease him and modge podge something up, after all it is for his namesake not mine!

Don't Forget About Breast Cancer Awareness

We are halfway through October which boggles my brain to no end. But what boggles my mind even more is that this year's Breast Cancer Awareness celebration seems to have come and gone already. A trip to the grocery store at the beginning of the month was an overwhelming reminder with pink flowers and packaging around every corner. 

Then the move Five came out to a small fanfare. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out, it is directed by several of Hollywood's famous women and is a very good portrayal of the effects of breast cancer on women and their families. 

Then Giuliana Rancic was extremely brave and announced her diagnosis live on the Today Show. 

Maybe it's because I've been a little secluded as of late but I just haven't seen as much about it this year. I find this disappointing because this disease touches so many of us and early detection is so important to recovery. 

My most vivid memory of breast cancer stems from when I was much younger, a teenager, living at home and learning that my mom's best friend, Julie, had been diagnosed. She seemed so young, so vibrant, and I wondered how it was possible for her to be sick. I will never forget the image of her smiling through what must have been the very difficult task of shaving her hair after her treatments left it falling out on its own. We all gathered on our back patio and her husband and my mom did the honors. And through it all she smiled. She fought and was triumphant and when on to grow her family with 3 more beautiful children in addition to the two she already had.

In honor of Julie, or those friends and family members of yours that have been touched by breast cancer, do a self-exam, get a mammogram, take care of yourself and remind those women around you to do so as well. Not just in October, but all year long.

DIY Honeymoon Scrapbook

Here's a quick project that I made for my friend Keli who is getting married on Saturday!! I wanted to make her something because that's how I roll lately. I stumbled upon the envelope album on Pinterest and thought it would be a good idea to make a quick place to journal some of their honeymoon memories as they go (or on a the plane ride home!) as well as stash away some of the paper memories as they go. So here's what I came up with!

I glued the envelope flaps to the back of the next envelope to make chain.

On each card I "calligraphied" the date of the honeymoon and then wrote "Mr:/Mrs:" so they can each journal short thoughts about that day.

On the back of each card I left space to journal what they did, ate, and saw that day.

This is the back of the package all tied up in ribbon with the couple and their destination as well as the dates again.

I used a jewelry clasp to add a little more fanciness to the project to hook the project instead of a bow. I also stamped on the Mr. and Mrs. You can see here how the flaps were glued to the other envelope. If you used the same color envelopes this is less noticeable. :)

I'd like to make myself one of these next. I think I'll do 12 envelopes and use it for keeping memories of the year. Or maybe I'll come up with another idea for how to use it! 

DIY Wedding Rehearsal Bouquet

My best friend from college is getting married this weekend!! As her Maid of Honor I have many important duties, many of which I haven't been able to fulfill as I would have liked as she lives in Iowa and I live in Michigan which makes regular meetings and helping with centerpieces and going to dress fittings difficult. One task that I have been able to do well (in my very humble opinion) is make her rehearsal bouquet. I searched and searched the internet for ideas for making this bouquet and having it not look like something made when I was 9 years old. No offense to other MOH's out there participating in this tradition, I understand the true form of the tradition states that the bouquet is made during the bridal shower, not after, thus greatly limiting the amount of time being spent putting the bouquet together. And time, lots of time, is needed to make this bouquet.

Being a huge Pinterest addict I've seen headbands and belts and hairclips made with flowers created from ribbon and many yards of ribbon were exactly what I had to work with. Ribbon and a couple of curly boys and some poly-ribbon. I wanted the main focus to be flowers from the Bed Bath & Beyond purple ribbon and the curly bows to be accents. Here's what I came up with!

Not too shabby huh? Here's some detail pictures for you: 

I found tutorials the following tutorials: Martha Stewart, Burda Style, and Wedding Bee. Truth be told as I progressed in each of these methods I figured out my own way to make the flowers and I encourage you to play with them as well as figuring out how to hold on to all the ribbon before sewing together is sometimes better down in your own words.

After making 40-some flowers I started with the rose flowers based on the Burda Style template that had extra ribbon on below the flower to start sewing the loose flowers together. I just pieced them together to my liking and after about 15 realized it was an odd shape--oops! I did my best to pull and push flowers and sew them in place, alternating the style of flowers. Here's a close up of the bouquet being sewn together:

Then after I got about half-way through with my loose flowers I concocted a handle out of a couple of dead ink pens and wrapped them in none other than painters tape. I wish I would have reinforced the tape with hot glue, but hindsight is always 20/20. I wrapped the loose ribbons around this base and pinned them in with quilting pins and kept sewing on my flowers.

At this point I realized my stem was too short...so I added on another stem, this time the handle from an old foam paint brush. Again I used tape but should have hot glued it to make it more sturdy. I had saved one purple ribbon from making flowers so that I could wrap the stem and I did so, hot gluing it in place until I had formed my desired handle.

Next I had to add in the curly ribbons and the poly-ribbon. I glued on the two curly ribbon bunches right at the base of the ribbon flowers and allowed them to kind of cascade down. I then took the loose poly-ribbons and wound them around the base and hot glued them down to and I was finished!

This took me a good 8 hrs to do in one sitting, so I'd highly encourage you to have a couple of flower sewers as that was the longest part of the process. But it was nice to watch a couple of movies and talk to my little sister who just moved to L.A. while working on it. I'm also proud that it looks a little classier than the norm--just Keli's style! Here's one more shot of my finished project!

Life is Busy.

This weekend was fun-filled and truth be told long. Friday V's PS3 took it's finally breath which was quite disappointing for him but we're coming through the grief pretty well. Saturday we ventured to his parent's house to see his sister off to her homecoming dance and get some family time in with V's brother and sister-in-law that are moving to Alaska on the 15th. Dinner and a comedy show (Frank Caliendo) with a good friend of mine from grad school and her husband followed by trying to stay awake to watch the Tiger's game completed the day. Today we celebrated V's sister's 17th birthday so it was a day full of food and family and was great.

But dang I'm glad to be home with just us and our guinea pigs...who are both male and seem to be trying to mate one another..sad day that I can't explain it won't be too fruitful for them but also a little funny. Never seen this before out of them so I'm not sure what's up with that.

It doesn't quite feel like Sunday night and I'm not really ready for this next week. Monday to Thursday will be pretty typical except that I'll be prepping to go to Iowa for my college roommate's wedding which I'm Maid of Honor in. And I have quite the to-do list to accomplish still before then. Hopefully we'll see my parents while we're in that neck of the woods. 

I'm also hoping I'll have a couple of calls about potential jobs/interviews this week. I'm working on a few different avenues right now and I just reallllllyyy want to be working again soon. This unemployed business is boring. The Kardashians and Law & Order crews have been great but I need some real stimulation and I need it quick! 

Anyways, that's all for my really un-exciting post. I am working on developing some new goals for blogging and perhaps have a couple of projects that I'll be working on to post soon! Night!

Spice Girls: Taco Seasoning

As I've grown much more confident in my culinary abilities I've been much more daring and into taking risks in the kitchen. Ask V, they don't always turn out as I envision, but I can't think of anything we couldn't consume, just recipes that need a little lot of tweaking.

After deciding at lunch time that we wanted tacos for dinner and knowing fully that I used our last pre-made seasoning packet when we had tacos on...Monday....I thought to myself that it couldn't really be that difficult to make my own. Besides, I reasoned, I bet I have most of the spices already.

After a quick search of "taco seasoning" on my handy-dandy Pinterest I found many great options like this (which also has a plethora of other recipes I now want to try) and this and ultimately to eventually to Smell's Like Home's recipe which I whipped up in the amount of time that it takes to measure out 9 teaspoon/teaspoon and a half quantities.

The result was delicious taco seasoning with extra for a few more batches when we get the craving again, which knowing us will be soon. But if not, SLH says it will keep in it's air tight container for 6 months. Yay! I recommend trying this out as it is sooo easy (insert ingredients, cover container, shake) and delicious. Plus there's the health benefits of no MSG and reduced salt but tons of flavor.

Who doesn't love homemade goodness?

Frame and Mirror Revamp for Entry Way

My love of Pinterest and home improvement blogs finally resulted in a pretty fabulous project for the apartment. I'm in love with my beauties and luckily V likes them too! I thought I'd share my DIY process with you as well so here goes! 

Here they are before being restored to all their glory! The white framed mirror we bought for $4 at a garage sale and the oval frame we bought for $3 at Salvation Army.

The frame originally contained this beauty and the most jagged-edged glass covering I've ever seen. The glass was later broken in half on accident--good thing I already had other plans in mind!

So the first thing I did was pull out the primer and gave both frames a good covering. The oval frame obviously needed more attention due to it's dark color. Next I pulled out the BRIGHT yellow spray paint and coated them each 3 times to fully cover. 

My thoughts? "CRAP! I've ruined them, this is WAY to bright for my entry way!" But at the same time I absolutely loved the color as it's my fave! So I moved forward and did this:

I wanted the oval frame to be a cork board, so I transformed two square shaped tiles of cork into this lovely round shape. In all actuality V did most of the work of this step of cutting, he's much handier with the XACTO knife! Next I hot glued them in place to the backing aka the original artwork from the frame!

Next I covered it with charcoal gray remnant fabric I got a JoAnn's for a whopping two bucks and hot glued that in place as well. I *should* have ironed it better before doing this process but I was anxious and my counseling background says move forward not dwell in the past so moving on!

Popped the covered cork board into the frame and I was in love with the results can't you tell? (I look a bit crazed...woops!) Well the mirror was done and another trip to Salvation Army resulted in a smaller oval mirror that was another $3 that I didn't take pictures of the painting process but this is the result!

Tada! I love it! These are in my entry way  so it works well to provide a place for event reminders and other odds and ends. The mirrors also add to the depth of the room since it's a rather small space and right off of our living room. 

So what do you think? Either way I love them! 

bbrrr it's cold in here, there must be...FALL is HERE~

Ok, so I do confess to still loving Bring it On. I mean, who didn't love it way back when? 


but really, it's cold, like didn't even get to 60 today. But I do love it. I am welcoming sweaters and warm socks, pumpkin spice lattes and HOT chocolate. Yummm. 


Our next couple of weeks are going to be action packed! V's brother is getting married next weekend and we are excited also because his Aunt and Uncle from Alaska are coming to town and I will finally get to meet them. When they come back from their honeymoon they are moving with said aunt and uncle to Alaska! How exciting is that for them? 


Shortly thereafter my dear friend Keli is getting married in Iowa and I'll be making the trek and be there as her Maid of Honor for her big day! 


So much love and happiness all whirled up in one of my favoritest seasons. 


I've been working on projects and baking my belly's heart's fill. I am just finishing up our entry way message center this afternoon and will post pictures of the frame revamps soon.


Now, to drink my hot chocolate..:)

Too dark, too white, too critical.

I just watched a preview to a documentary titled "Dark Girls" over on MightGirl's blog. Wow. I knew there was some of this going on from working with a young girl from Africa who desperately wanted lighter skin. But I think that this goes deeper. It affects all of us.

Think about it:

Beautiful white women spend hours a month laying in beds beaming harmful rays into their skin.

Beautiful black women are feeling looked down on by their own mothers and friends because of their skin. Beyonce is accused of lightening her skin in magazine ads. And maybe she is because there is so much pressure on skin tone.

Skin tone. Melanin. We have zero control over how our skin naturally looks.

I'm a pale girl, I joke that I glow in the dark. I burn easily and don't get dark skin, my "tan" is red-toned. But why does this come up so frequently in conversation? Why do I worry that I'm going to look so pale next to the other bridesmaids in October?

I'm pretty sure Keli did not think to herself..."Heather might throw off the beauty of my wedding photos with her pale legs and shoulders." But I did. I did. But I also refuse to tan and risky irritated, dry, peeling skin for a little darker look to my skin.

But what happens when people don't make this self-resolution? How do we teach or youth that they are beautiful the way that they were made? How do we heal the hurts of the women who grew up thinking they can't be confident with themselves because others told them not to, and even more, how do we keep them from passing these insecurities on to their own daughters and sons?

Watch the video. Watch the documentary. Pass it along. Spread the message that "you are beautiful, exactly how you are."

Wish List

1. Large-ish skeleton key, preferably a legit one.
2. Long dresser that will be easy to re-fabulize it. I want to do it either gray or white.
3. Cool prints for my gallery wall. Ideas?
4. A maid service ( a girl can dream, right?)
5. Something for the wall about my couch.
6. Ikea lack shelves and organizing basket's for V's costume projects and other craft items.

too much to ask for? and for real a full-time job. I'm ready for it. bring it on world.

Book Review: Hannah's Gift: Lessons From a Life Fully Lived

On a recent trip to the quaint (read: disappointingly small and a bit shabby in appearance yet cozy) Farmington Public Library I picked up three books. I tend to randomly select books, yes sometimes based upon their cover art. While perusing the shelves I came upon a small book with bright red writing on the spine. I was in the psychology section, I typically check it for any reads that can broaden my education, and did not really expect to find a "for the heck of it" read there, alas, Hannah's Gift: Lessons From a Life Fully Lived came into my hands.

The book's cover had a pair of little girl's red mary janes on the cover and the flap which I briefly perused stated that it was a mother's story of her 3-year old's diagnosis and life (and later death) with cancer. Something drew me to it and I checked the book out.

I finally picked the book up yesterday afternoon and I was sucked in. Maria Housden's voice is impeccably clear and her heartfelt stories of a beautiful little girl were so poignant I could not put the book down. Each page drew me deeper into the story and I felt as though I understood the family's innermost workings with each line. There were tears, frustration, disappointment, but at the end the triumph is what was most captivating.

Lately I have found myself drawn to anything and everything grief related. No doubt this is due in part to not working, and also not having many grief-related experiences of my own I am feeling that I need to have a better understanding and the best I can do for now is read about others' experiences. I'm also finding that I am being drawn in to literature that explores spirituality which this book does incorporate but not limit to Christianity.

Overall, Ms. Housden did an excellent job with this book and of course because I Google'd it I found out that she has a second book that, although it's not a sequel, seems to take place where Hannah's Gift left off. I recommend any one who thinks they may encounter someone dealing with grief and loss (that's you, everyone will unfortunately occur to us all) pick up this book. It's a quick read (did I mention I read it all in practically one sitting) and you won't regret it.

Happy Reading!

Connections

I've recently begun commuting 45 minutes (at the minimum) three days a week to my internship. Now, I'm from a small town where there really isn't an interstate available for a commute, and if there was I feel most days it would function better than it does here in the Detroit Metro. I also believed this is probably just a fallacy I created in my mind to make myself believe that Iowans are friendly than Michiganders. That is until Friday when I had an experience that made me smile.

I was driving along having a wonderful conversation with a friend (who was still in her bed making me extremely envious of her and my former life as grad student who had a lazy morning to spare) minding my own business. All of a sudden I hear honking coming from the right of me and instantly thought, "what is the problem?" However since I was having an enjoyable conversation road rage didn't kick in that morning and I got to be pleasantly surprised by another driver on the road. I looked over at the man in his black truck who was smiling and giving me a thumbs up and emphatically mouthing "I-O-W-A" over and over again.

My car still has Hawkeye state plates you see, and this man was very pleased by this. He too had Iowa plates on his car and he wanted me to know it.

He was honking and waving to make a connection with another Iowan. This really made me smile and I shared it with my friend on the phone and later with my boyfriend.

It wasn't until my drive home where I was alone with my thoughts, reflecting on the happenings at my internship, that I thought again about my simple connection with the man from Iowa that morning. This is what life is about. Connecting. Living. Breathing. Making things matter.

In today's world we hear a ton about "NETWORKING." We network online, in person, with phone calls, business cards, and endless emails. But my fear is that this networking is truly creating false connections. Relationships based on personal gain and politics, not human compassion and care.

I'd like to spend more time making connections. Taking the time to reach out, and start with a similarity.

The man in the truck and I will probably never meet, never do business together. But, I'll remember him because he made me remember what it's like to be from a small town and smile when you cross paths with someone on the sidewalk. To acknowledge the other human life in front of you instead of try to ignore them because you don't know them.

Spend some time connecting today, even if it's with those you already have relationships with. I know mine can become deeper. Can't yours too?