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Friday, January 29, 2010

show us your life - fashion tips.

okay, so i don't have a ton of fashion tips.  

but last night i had supper with my super stylish college roommate and she was wearing these:



umm...hello fashionista!

so cute.  and, the best part about all her outfits is that she's super stylish but she's a bargin shopper too.  awesome combo.

except i'm always super jealous because she'll spend less money and look waaaay better than my plain long sleeve shirt, jeans and a scarf.


and because i was sure you'd all be curious, i lifted the edge of her jeans to see how high the boots were.  and yes, they were ankle boots.  i've not been able to make the jump yet but of course miss fashion made the jump and pulled it off oh so well.

but, in the process of lifting the jeans, she revealed another ummm "fashion secret??"...







when you run out of dress socks, go for the long tube socks.


oh, and make sure you wear them crooked.  see the gray heel of the sock popping up on the side??


she was way excited that i took a picture of that too.


and now, my fashion tip:

 spruce up the plain jane stuff!


i gave her the birthday present i made her last night.


[and yes, i tried it on...but just for the sake of the blog.  promise y'all.  except then i was really tempted to keep it]



i bought a white tank at target and added some fun flowers.


and, just for fun, i threw some on the bottom of the shirt too.












[sorry, crappy picture - i was using my point and shoot]


i think she was pretty excited about it :)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

recycle.

okay, so i spent the night at my parent's house two nights ago because worker man was out of town. the next morning i got ready to go to work and poured myself a cup of coffee to go. 

my parent's recycle these and i always use one so i don't have something to return to them.



well, when i got on the elevator at work i noticed that the cup had the monopoly game on it.  so i looked and saw that my dad hadn't pulled off the pieces to play.

so, of course, i got super excited and thought that maybe i would win something.

i pulled the first one off and it was north carolina avenue.

then, i pulled off the second.



and i won!

a free breakfast item!!


but then, as i looked closer, i realized that the coupon had expired.


on november 17th.




2008.


yes, i was drinking out of a vintage coffee cup. 

i wonder how much i could get for it at the antique store.


Wednesday, January 27, 2010

kitchen.






are you looking for a little kitchen makeover without having a huge remodel on your hands?

well, i have just the idea for you!




when worker man and i were painting the kitchen before we got married, we took all the doors off the cabinets and repainted everything.  well, while the doors were off, we started to like the idea of what it looked like without the doors.


sooo, we decided to leave the doors off the cabinets that held our dishes and paint the back of the cabinets the same color as the walls.



it really would be such an easy project for the weekend!





and it definitely works for us since all of our dishes stay organized.



we have loved it.



so, my suggestion?  live on the edge!  take the doors off a few of your cabinets and go wild!  you won't regret it, promise!


head on over to Kristen's blog, We Are THAT Family, for more WFMW tips!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

perspective.

I read this post by Megan last Tuesday and it pretty much took words right out of my mouth.  


[Well, except for the part about sleeping with the lights on for years.] 


I am guilty of putting too much emphasis on earthly things. This was especially true when we first got married.  Being jealous of houses that were bigger than ours, cars that were nicer, couples that could take nicer vacations.  So many things that really weren't/aren't important.  It was easy to get caught up in all the things we don't have.  It still is.  


But, I realized that Satan was just trying to get a foothold.  Anywhere he could.  And I started to fight those thoughts.  Focusing on the amazing life we have.  The blessings we have.  The fact that I am here, on this Earth for one thing.  And one thing alone.  


To serve my Creator.


With my entire being.  Every year, every day, every second.


So with that, my perspective began to shift.  Does this mean that all of the sudden I stopped struggling with comparing our life, our relationship, and our possessions to others?  No.  But slowly that constant comparison has subsided.  There are still times that I wish for earthly things or become jealous of what other people might have.  But I have learned to quickly dismiss any of those thoughts. 




So, after reading Megan's post and realizing how true that was/is for me,  I happened to open the devotional, Jesus: Day by Day, by Beth Moore.  And Day 43 was the next day I was supposed to read.


Here's what it said:


"He turned and told Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me because you're not thinking about God's concerns, but man's.'"  
                                           --Matthew 16:23
All Satan needs to have momentary victory over a disciple is for us to have in mind the things of men.  Satan doesn't have to get us thinking blatantly satanic thoughts to have victory over us.  All he needs is to get us looking at life from man's perspective rather than God's.  But if we surrender our minds to the things of God, we are safe!  We don't have to constantly look out for our own best interests, because He's constantly looking out for them.
What Peter didn't understand is that what may have seemed best in the short run would have been disastrous in the long run.  Had Jesus saved His disciples the anxiety of His betrayal, trials, and death, He wouldn't have saved them at all.
On this earth, I don't know that we will ever perpetually have in mind the thing of God rather than the things of man.  But if we don't make the deliberate choice to have in mind the things of God when faced with our biggest challenges, most of us will probably default back to our natural instinct -- the things of man.
"As heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
                                                        --Isaiah 55:9


How incredible?  That this would be what I would read right when all this was fresh on my mind.  Crazy.


Well, it's definitely something that I've thought about many times since.  And my prayer is that I will make the deliberate choice to have in mind the things of God so I don't default back to my natural instinct, the things of man.


Hopefully it offered your some perspective today.




Happy Tuesday!

Monday, January 25, 2010

weekend.

this weekend i got to spend time with these two beautiful girls.








it was fabulous.

Friday, January 22, 2010

shop.

this week the show us your life theme on kelly's blog is -  where do you shop?

a few of my favorites include:
  • target
  • loft
  • tj maxx
  • forever 21
  • homegoods
but i thought i'd let you in on a little secret.

one of my favorite places?

goodwill.


why, you ask?

well, i'll show you.


it's because you can buy things like these:







and these:







and turn them into things like these:








and these:








and, it allows you to make things like this.



so, needless to say....it is also one of my favorite stores!


happy friday y'all!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

scraps.

Okay, so now you probably have a lot of scraps left over if you made these scarves that I showed last week.  So now, an idea for those scraps!




headbands!!








so you can use a single band.




or, a double band:



lesson learned:  be sure you don't braid too tightly or it will started to bend [as you can see on my front band].






All you have to do is braid your scraps together and sew the ends.  Then, take a piece of elastic band about 6" long and sew it to both ends.  If this doesn't make sense, check out this tutorial.  


Happy almost Friday!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

last one - promise.

I promise that this is the last scarf that I've made recently!


I made this using this tutorial.


It was super easy and inexpensive!













I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Show Us Your Life - Work Out and Diets

Do any of you get sick of diets?


Feel like you're not very successful?


Like you loose motivation after a week and a half?




Well, I'm sticking with the theory that it's a lifestyle change.  I know people get frustrated with hearing that theory, but it.is.the.truth.  


There's no way that you are going to stay on a diet for three years.  But, if you start to shift your lifestyle, it's doable.  You're not going to be the yo-yo dieter that you've been for years.  


Some tips that I have to offer:
  1. Figure out healthy meals you can eat  - you know that you're not going to be okay with eating a salad every single day for lunch.  But, what about a list of foods that are healthy?  A salad with a veggie burger, lentils [kinda like a vegetarian, southwestern chili but with tons of protein - great from Costco], or leftovers from supper that include some veggies and possibly grilled chicken or any type of lean meat.  Pretty much anything that is healthy that you think you could rotate for lunch.  And then substitute.  Maybe use ground turkey for spaghetti sauce instead of hamburger.  Your family won't even notice the change!
  2. Keep Snacks Around - So that sounds crazy, right?  But by changing your lifestyle you are not going to stop having snack attacks in the afternoon or after supper.  So, instead of denying yourself the snacks - just make sure they are healthy snacks.  Fruit, yogurt and granola, a 100 calorie pack [not every day but an occasional treat], a Skinny Cow icecream bar [for the little something sweet after supper - just as good as icecream sandwiches but not as bad for you and they come in cute little decorative circles-always a plus].
  3. Look at other things than just calories and fat grams - I am a huge advocate for healthier eating.  Less processed foods.  Less chemicals being put into your body.  So, when you're eating healthy make sure that it's not just eating fewer calories or more "fat free" items.  They may be fat free but there are probably enough preservatives in these foods to stay good for the next 15 years.  Make sure that you are eating healthy fats and avoiding over processed foods.
  4. Have a Pig Day - this is the day where you can eat whatever you want.  And by whatever, I mean a dozen doughnuts, a large pizza to yourself and a bag of potato chips if that's what you want for the day.  The theory behind this?  First, it's a good motivator.  By Thursday at lunch you realize that you're sick of this healthy eating thing.  But, rather than giving up - you know you can make it to Saturday so you stick it out for another day and a half.  Secondly, over time you'll find that you don't "pig out" as much.  You start to realize how much worse you feel when you eat crap.  You feel sluggish and like your jeans don't fit as well.  You realize that it's actually much better eating healthy.  Does this mean that you'll do away with your Pig Day all together?  No way!  It just means that instead of shoving your face for the full 24 hour period, you may only pig out for one meal.  Or, you may have a little something fattening during a meal but balance it with healthier sides.  And lastly, it provides balance.  By the end of your Pig Day you'll be ready to start eating healthy again - this will last until about halfway through the week and then you'll be looking forward to Pig Day again!
  5. Watch it when you get off track! - All because you pull through Biscuitville in the morning to get a biscuit and sweet tea instead of eating your english muffin with peanut butter at work [speaking from experience?  yes.  don't judge], does not mean that you have ruined your day.  I repeat, this does not mean you have ruined your day!  That's one of the biggest mistakes.  Jump back on board for lunch.  Skip your afternoon snack and make sure your supper is healthy.  Then you have not completely ruined your day.  Or worse, your week.  Do not wait until the following Monday because you blew your breakfast on Tuesday morning.  You can still get back on track - by lunch!
  6. Understand you are human - If you "have" to eat that Reese's Peanut Butter Tree leftover from your Christmas stocking [again, speaking from experience] - eat it!  and enjoy!  But then, like I said earlier, get back on track.  It all has to do with moderation.  If this is going to be a lifestyle change [which in my book, it must] then you have to understand that you're going to be tempted and cave on some things.  And that's okay.  You just have to resist the majority of the time and only cave occasionally.  Just make sure that when you cave, you enjoy it :)
  7. Find a time to exercise that works for you - Again, LIFESTYLE.  You have to find something that you're going to be willing to continue.  If you are a night owl, you probably shouldn't expect to wake up at 4 A.M. to work out.  You want something that is doable.  But, you are responsible for making it doable.  Get to work 30 minutes earlier and walk with a couple of coworkers outside or around in the building.  Stay 30 minutes late.  Now do I suggest only walking? No.  But you have to start somewhere.  And then, as you filter other things in, you at least have the basic walking.  So on the days you can't also go lift weights or go for a run, at least you've walked for the day.  Or go for a two mile walk/run right after work.  Then, if you have more time you can do something else but at least you got that in.
Aggghh, I could probably talk forever on this subject!  It gets me so excited. 


I know that life happens.  But, I just want to encourage all of you.  It is imperative that when life happens you still make time for this.  Do not let exercising and eating well be the thing to go when you get busy.  If you do this, it will only make you feel worse.


I could talk forever as well about the benefits of it - but just to give you a tip of the iceburg - you sleep better and you have more energy when you're awake.  Either one of those [and especially the two together] should give you the motivation to give this a shot for a month and experience for yourself.  


You won't turn back.


Promise!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

second scarf.

Okay, scarf number two for the week.


I had seen quite a few of the ruffly scarves lately and when I came across this tutorial, I decided I had to make one.









It was super easy.  


They mentioned the use of a stretch needle and, if I were you, I would definitely use one.  I didn't use one [because I haven't been anywhere that sells them lately] but I think it would be a lot easier because a stretch needle is supposed to stretch the fabric to go through instead of putting holes in it.  And believe me - jersey knit is kinda difficult.  At least for a beginner.


So, there's scarf two!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

wfmw - quick craft clutter control.





So do you have a space that really is just cluttered?
Not really a whole lot that you can do about it?


Well, I do.


My sewing area is just a mess.  I try to keep it organized but it's hard.  Plus, I don't have a craft space, so I have to leave all of my stuff set up in the guest room.


Well, here's how it has looked for quite awhile.



When my mom and grandma came to stay for a night not long ago, I really didn't want this space to look so cluttered.  But, I didn't have any place to store all the stuff under that table.  Plus I didn't have time to make anything or reorganize the mess into cute baskets.  Not to mention, no matter how organized it looks under the table, everything is under an ugly, rubbermaid table.  Useful? Yes.  Cute?  No.


So, I had some extra fabric laying around and decided that it might work...














Ahhh, so much better.






So, moral to the story, using some extra fabric to cover a table works for me!


It's cute, quick and practically free!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

lots of words and finally a project.

So I'm sitting in the airport [waaaay too early for my flight since Worker Man had to drop me off] and can I just tell you, I love airports.  I love all the craziness of checking in.  And walking to my gate watching all the people and browsing through the ridiculously overpriced stores.  I love picking out a new book or magazine [yes, even though they are insanely more expensive than at the Borders right down the street].  And then sitting and listening to the people beside me and across from me and behind me.  Talking about the most random stuff.


Yes, I'm stalkerish.


Lesson to you, be careful what you talk about in the airport.  I'm sure there are more stalkerish/people watchin'/listening people other than just myself.  


Well, maybe not...but I'm okay with that.


So anyways, I'm in the airport about to leave for a conference and figured I might as well utilize this time to entertain y'all with an absolutely random and boring post. [okay, so maybe entertaining is the wrong word.  but you get my point.]




Okay, so now, after a ridiculous preface, I'll tell you what I'm really talking about today:

For some reason I have been all about making scarves lately.

 So, this week I plan to show you the scarves that I've made!  I made these over the weekend for two of my friends at work.  One had a birthday yesterday and the other had a birthday over the holidays.  Since I broke my sewing machine, I haven't been able to make them.  That is, until this weekend, when FMIL let me borrow hers.  I followed this tutorial (via One Pretty Thing).




So, I made this for one of the gals.






I'm thinking I was kinda excited about this one.
What do you think?


And clearly I am so done with me having to model it.

Sadly, I don't have a random girl that hangs around to take pictures when I need them for my blog.  If only Worker Man would volunteer.  But let me tell you, that would fly over like a lead balloon.  I can barely get him to take the pictures of me in all the contraptions I come up with.  Much less model them while I take pictures of him and post them on the internet.


Here's an upclose.

And then, because I liked the first one so much...



I decided to make a second one.









Here's an upclose of the ends.

I was so excited and I think they liked them pretty good!


[note:  no scarves were harmed in the making of the post.  but i can't promise that the green one wasn't worn to church this past sunday before i gave it as a gift on monday.]

Monday, January 11, 2010

do it for others.

[updated to add:  this project does not require a sewing machine.  just $2 to buy two blankets at the Dollar Tree and a pair of scissors - that's it.  you just cut the ends in 2" strips and tie them together - there's a tutorial for it on Kristen's blog.]


I have a little proposition for you.

Kristen, at We are THAT Family, has done DIY posts with awesome decorating ideas for quite a while now.  Well, at the beginning of the year she decided to revamp her DIY theme a little.  Instead of doing my DIY projects she is going to have a Do It for Others Series.  Every month she is going to post a project and she encourages other bloggers to join her.




For her first project, she is asking that everyone make lap blankets for hospice.  Check out her post about it to learn more information.

Here's the blanket I made. 






It's all packed up and is shipping out this morning.




Will you join me??

Friday, January 8, 2010

show us your life - resolutions.

I've decided that I'm going to try to play along on Kelly's Show Us Your Life Tour every week.

This week we are supposed to talk about our New Years Resolutions.

This year my resolutions are all stemming from a word.  One word.  I saw that Shawni from Life has come up with a word each year that is her "motto".  Well, I have decided that I need a word for this year. 

I thought about this sometime in December but didn't know what my word should be.  I toyed with a few of them but none of them fit just right.

Then, all of the sudden, while describing my first few days of January to a friend at work....it hit me.  I used the word to describe how I was feeling.  And I knew, that was the word.




My word??

 Balance.




So often I do everything all or nothing.  

This is never good because I end up feeling like a failure in so many other areas because I'm only focused on one thing.  For example:

I'll be all about excercising. But that's all I'll be about.

And then all about doing my devotions.  But then feel guilty if I don't spend the right amount of time or if I miss a day.


But I want to make my friends the priority.  And I'll drop everything else just to make it to all the events.

And of course I want to be all about my husband.  Which is a good thing to some degree.  But not when I can't balance it with everything else.



So, this year my motto is balance.

I want to spend time with my Creator.  Because I want to.  Not because I have to check it off my list but because I can't stand not to spend time in His word and in prayer and in meditation.


I want to spend time with my husband.  Being a more supportive wife.  Falling more in love with him daily.  Praying consistently for him. 


I want to spend time being a better friend.  Even in the small things.  The e-mails.  The handwritten notes.  The coffee dates.  And the girl talk over Mexican food.


I want to spend more time being a better daughter, sister, daugther-in-law, sister-in-law, niece, granddaughter, cousin.  Being involved in the lives of my family.  Taking interest in their interests.  Staying in touch.

I want to serve.  The people in our church.  The Young Professionals ministry.  The people in our area that are in need.  The people across the world that are in need.  Taking part in events where I can share the love of Christ. 


I want to become a better photographer.  Photograph more events.  Learn more about photography.  Get better at the editing process.


I want to create.  I love making anything.  Sewing, painting, decorating.  I want to do more of that.  I want to teach myself new things.  Like upholstery and more difficult sewing.



Now does this mean that I can do it all, all the time?

No.


And I realize that. 


But it's not about doing everything all the time.  It's all about finding the balance in my life that makes me enjoy each one of these things individually.  Not breeze through spending time doing a devotion so I can make time to get to a coffee date.  Or give up all the time with my husband so that I can spend all the time with our families.  


I know I will have to make a huge effort to keep this happening.  As January starts I always feel refreshed and excited to start the year.  But then come mid-February the 'vision' starts to grow dull.  I lose focus and get into the rut of day in and day out.  Hopefully having a word will bring me back to the feeling I feel today. 



Balanced.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

review.

While looking back at the past year of my blog, I've realized a few things:


  1. The quality of my pictures were terrible before I bought a new camera.
  2. I wrote a lot more regularly in the beginning of last year.
  3. I wrote about a whole lot a nothin'.
  4. My stories were a lot funnier the first half of the year - then I suddenly lost the ability to compose a decently humorous post so I gave up and just posted pictures and recaps of major events.
  5. I need to get back to regularly posting.
  6. I need to get back to being funny - [yeah, I'm not getting my hopes up for that either]
So lets just overview 2009 real quick like. mmkay?


January:
  • I had an adventurous trip to Belk.  I still can't go there and see those little buggies without thinking about this adventure.
  • I decided to break out my sewing machine.  Such a good decision - I've had so much fun working on that thing over the past year. [Let's not talk about the fact that it's broken right now - it kinda depresses me].
  • I wrote my first Works for Me Wednesday post.  Hopefully I'll get back on that this year - it's really fun and all the other posts are so helpful!
  • I wrote 23 posts!
February:
  • I had another banana run in.  Dude, seriously - too much banana drama.
  • I started my career as a hair stylist. [okay, maybe only in my kitchen, and maybe my husband is the only one who will let me come close to his hair, but let me pretend, okay?]
  • My brother got a lesson about Mother Teresa.
  • I came had an encounter with my worst nightmare - and kinda became a lover.  Let's not forget that FMIL tried to convince me two other times.
  • Worker Man hauled off the Christmas tree.  Yes, February.  And I'm not going to lie, this one might even be later than that!  I still have my Christmas decorations up at my house.  I've decided that I want to enjoy them for a little while longer.  Don't judge.
March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:
September:


October:


November:

December:

  •  Completed a baby blanket just for her!
  • Read one proverb each day in December.  Really recommend this - there's so much packed into that book!
  • Found out that the Sports Flashback is, in fact, a big deal.  Speaking of which, we went out to eat last night and someone mentioned to Worker Man that they saw him in the paper!
  • Made cinnamon honey butter.  Again, I totally recommend this.  Easiest, cutest hostess/teacher/neighbor gift in the world!
  • Really tried to be a good hostess!  I know, sorry with all the recommendations. But this really made them feel special that I picked out things just for them!
  • Joined Nester's Tour of Homes to show you my Christmas decorations.  Yes, it still looks just like that.  Today.  January 7th.
  • Learned about the freezer with multiple uses.  Also, learned what could be used to get a smile out of my dad for family pictures. And lastly, created another one of FMIL's favorite posts.  You can tell that from her comment.
  • Went on a Christmas tree adventure for the weekend with Barbie and Ken.


This year was incredible. 

I'm feeling so refreshed for 2010 and really looking forward to what the year brings!

Thanks for following me down memory lane!