Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Birds of Change

My Birdies
I participated in the lovely Regina's Birds of Change Exchange and I have to show off all the beautiful birds that came to live with me. Aren't they AWESOME!!! I made the red and white one in the middle. Sweet Dawn also sent me a little birdie with a darling Valentine's card - she made the little turquoise one with the yellow beak.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

A New Skirt and a GIVEAWAY!!! Finally:)

New Skirt

I got a wild hair this morning and decided I HAD to have a new skirt for church today...so with an hour to go before I had to be AT church, I whipped up this little denim, a-line number. It is straight - I'm just standing crooked:) I used fabric that my step-mom had sent me and some vintage rust colored thread to add some denim styling to it. I love how it turned out. And I'm rocking my new thrift scored boots - Aerosoles for $4.00 and a shirt my mom gave me. This is my "thrift" style defined:)

And finally for my 500th post giveaway!!!!! I don't have pictures yet cause I'm still putting the boxes together but I am giving away 4 boxes FULL of goodies featuring the things I LOVE!!!!

Box #1 - will be filled with paper and paper crafting goodness
Box #2 - will be filled with fabric and sewing goodness
Box #3 - will be filling with scrapbooking goodness
Box #4 - will be filled with vintage goodness

Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for these goodies and I will select the winners on March 1st. Post a link to my little giveaway on your blog and I'll enter you three times in the drawing:)

Thursday, February 19, 2009

500th

I cannot post my 500th post giveaway today because I have died and gone to CUTENESS heaven.....

THIS just absolutely pushed me over the edge. If you don't have this website in your favorites stop everything you are doing NOW and save it to your favorites. I promise you will not be sorry you did. It's been known to cause both me and Hubby to oh and ah and ogle and baby talk to my computer screen.

So check back over the weekend when I really WILL post the awesome giveaway I'm planning:) And happy 500th post to me:)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

I Heart You!!!!

Some VDay Love

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Hubby actually has the day off so we are currently lounging around in our pajamas. I made a bunch of cute little valentine's atcs this week and I made a few extra....if you would like one please leave a comment and the first four will get one:)

PS My next post will be my 500th post!!! Holy moley!!!! I think I'll have a giveaway in order to celebrate.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!

I have died and gone to Hello Kitty heaven.....my favorite cosmetics and Hello Kitty....together....Holy cripes!!!!!!!

Go here NOW

PS Guess where I'll be at lunch tomorrow??? If you guessed MAC you're right:):):)

PPS Cause if I don't get this lipglass, like NOW I will die!!!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Cure for the Ho Hums??

Well I don't know if it's EXACTLY the cure....but it has sure brightened my week:) Spending my lunch hour at Sephora is totally the way to go.

Free samples, a couple items I needed and a little splurge....


It's amazing how good new makeup can make you feel:)

Saturday, February 07, 2009

The Animals....

now outnumber the humans in our household:)

introducing Oreo the Gerbil. She is a darling little angel baby gerbil. Miss S bought Oreo and her cage with her birthday and Christmas money - she really wanted a pet for her room:) She's a little cutie pie.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Who Do You Love?

Today's prompt for the LOAD challenge was to create a layout about someone you love. I've been wanting to do a page like this for a while - about loving myself. Not in a conceited way, but in a true, honest way, to remind me that I am worth it on those days when life and my obligations just totally suck.

If you click on the picture you'll get a larger view where you can hopefully read the journaling.

LOAD #4 - Feb 4

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

LOAD #3 - Chad

Did I tell you I'm participating in Scrap Happy's Layout A Day again this year?? 28 layouts in 28 days. I'm going strong....but then again we are only on day three:) This is the layout I created for today.

LOAD #3 - Feb 3

The journaling reads:

I have three brothers – Ian, Shay and Chad. Chad is the youngest of us six kids and I am the oldest. Ten years separates us. He was just 8 when I left home to start life on my own. He’s the baby of the bunch, the clown, the one who got away with murder when we were younger. I think we look so much alike – the same nose, chubby cheeks and beautiful smiles. We have become close as adults….much closer than we were as children – but then again ten years is a big difference. I was graduating from high school while he was still playing with legos and watching He-Man and Thunder Cats. We’ve discovered our interests are much the same and we enjoy each other’s company and sense of humor. He keeps me real, always makes me laugh, and makes me feel young whenever we are together.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Ideas for Simplfying Your Life



Organize an All-in-One Planner

Avoid the stress and wasted time of forgetting things until the last minute by keeping everything in one place. Buy a weekly calendar and start by marking down all of the most important things—birthdays, holidays, and big church events you know of. When the kids start school each year, look at their schedules and write down semester and term deadlines, main school events, and sports schedules. Then record events as they come up so that you don’t have to waste time every day trying to remember what you need to do. Whenever bills come, mark their due dates a few days in advance to make sure it gets paid on time.

(Moki recently had a GREAT post on her planner - I love love love it and have started one of my own but it's not nearly as cool as hers - yet! :))

Conquer Clutter

Every night before going to bed, take fifteen minutes as a family to walk through the house together and put everything away. All family members should help and pay special attention to collecting their belongings to take back to their rooms. With everyone pitching in, it will only take a few minutes to have the house tidy every night, as opposed to the alternative of spending the entire morning sorting and carrying the clutter alone.

Start a Gift Box

Whenever you go shopping, keep your eyes open for good deals on things that would make nice Christmas, wedding, or birthday gifts. Keep a gift box in your house. When a special occasion comes along, and is accidentally forgotten until the last minute, you won’t need to squeeze in time to frantically speed to the store and search for a gift!

Workout to Your Favorite TV Show

This could be the most entertaining multi-tasking you’ll do all day. Instead of sitting down to watch your favorite show, create a workout routine that lasts about the same amount of time as the TV program. This way you won’t have to schedule time later to get your exercise, and it will put the term couch-potato to shame.

(I have our portable DVD player hooked up on my treadmill - I watch NCIS, Nip/Tuck and will soon be starting the Sex and the City series - I don't let myself watch these shows at all other than on the treadmill which gives me some motivation to get on there:))

Utilize Recipe Chain Letters

You’ve probably seen at least ten of these pass through your e-mail inbox in the past year, and they deserve more credit than they’ve received. Sometimes it can be time consuming to search through recipe books looking for meals that your family might enjoy that are also easy and fast to make. Type up an easy recipe that’s popular with your family, and send it out to all of your friends with a note asking them to send their favorites back to you. This way, you can quickly and easily collect recipes that are easy and family-friendly!

Minimize Garbage Trips

While preparing a meal, keep a big bowl near you on the counter. Put all of your chopping, cutting, and peeling excess into it. At the end of your preparation, you’ve saved yourself countless small trips to the garbage and several minutes worth of time.

(My sister and I both do this (we put all the trash and waste in the sink) and I LOVE IT! Both our husbands HATE that we do this)

Take Care of Yourself

Are you eating balanced meals throughout the day? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you feel healthy? Fatigue and drowsiness are two of the main contributors to wasted time. When we are tired, we take twice as long to accomplish tasks—that is, if we have the energy to attempt them! Take the time to make sure you are healthy. Regular exercise, while helping your body by making it stronger and fitter, also contributes to better and more regular sleep.

Also, consider eating at least five small, balanced meals every two to three hours throughout the day. The key here is five small meals. This will keep up your metabolism, and give you the energy that you need to accomplish everything you need to—without wasting time on fatigue.

Teach Your Kids How to Deep Clean

Make one of the weekly chores for each child a “deep clean” item, such as cleaning the toilet or mopping the floor. Then, make a chore belt for each child, a small handyman’s belt outfitted with rags, spray cleaners, and anything else they might need. Check up on their deep cleaning and let them know what they need to do again and what they did well. It may be time consuming initially, but in the long run, you will save time, and your children will gain a sense of responsibility.

Say No Once in a While

You can’t do everything that everyone asks you to do. If a neighbor invites your family to her daughter’s dance recital, and you don’t want to go, just say no. You aren’t expected to do everything that everyone asks of you. You need to be realistic with your own time. Help others whenever you can, but cut out the unnecessary time commitments to friends and neighbors. You can be polite and friendly, and say “no, thank you” at the same time.

Excerpted from a great article I found HERE

Saturday, January 31, 2009

My Word for 2009

Happy Saturday!!!! The last day of January. My month of new beginnings, changes, and sad remembrances. I'm always happy to greet January, and much happier to say good bye to it. I want this year to be my year to reduce spending, save more, organize my home, reduce the clutter and in general SIMPLIFY. I've made no resolutions this year...just a goal of SIMPLIFY to continually be in my heart and in my mind. I'll periodically let you know how I'm doing.

Teresa and I are going to try and reduce our stashes together this year....I'd love for you to join us.

I made these bird ornaments for the lovely Regina's Bird of Change exchange. Aren't they lovely?? I used scrap fabric from Moki, felt that I already had and vintage seam binding for the hangers. Speaking of Moki -check out her ULTRA fabulous new blog - Cardigan Cake. Oh my goodness....it is so right up my alley:) We ran into each other today at Goodwill - what a fun time that was! Other than the kiddos getting a little bored by our shopping:)

So anyway back to my birds.....I just love them so much! I can't wait to see which birdies get sent back to me:)


Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Amigurumi Love


I am so obsessed with these little guys!!! I seriously want to drop everything I'm doing and just sit and crochet little animals. I won't stop until I have a whole little zoo worth of them. I've collected a few books and I think I'm going to make the little mommy and baby owl in the top right corner first:)

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Changes

Before...


And after....

What do you think??? I was completely ready to go from ho-hum to hip. I also did a little something else last weekend with my best friend, Tammy. We got our noses pierced:) I have the cutest tiniest little stud on the left side of my nose. If you click on either of these pictures you can see it:)

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Inspiration

I've totally been in a rut lately....you can probably tell by my lack of posting. So much I want to do + so little time to do it in + too much stress at work = a whole lot of nothing getting done.

So I've resorted to what I normally do when I get stressed out....a little bit of shopping. I had some VERY fruitful stops at thrift stores this week (I'll share pics of those a little later)...and I have these three books on their way to me:




Today I have a trip to the salon for a hair cut, eyebrow wax and highlights scheduled ....then hopefully a stop at the shoe store to get a pair of these:


My current slippers are trashed and I thought these would make a great replacement for them.

I hope by this evening I will be refreshed and renewed and ready to tackle some projects and get my creative juices flowing again!!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Movie Magic

I saw this on my sweet friend, Jo's, blog and I thought it would be really fun...

How many of these movies have you seen?

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At Worlds End
( ) Boondock Saints
(x)Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(x)Airplane
(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Anchorman
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x)50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(x)Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x)American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
( ) Signs
(x) The Grinch
(x)Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(x) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
(x) Robots
(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x ) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
(x)KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
(x)Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG
(x ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
(x) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
(x)Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x)Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x)The Mask
(x)Son Of The Mask
(x) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sevin
(x)Ocean's Eleven
( ) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(x)Christine
(x) ET
(x)Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
( ) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x)The Terminator 2
(x)The Terminator 3
(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
( ) X-3
(x)Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Spider-Man 3
(x) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
(x) Krippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x)The 40-year-old Virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x)Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x)Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(x)Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
( ) Basketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
(x) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x)Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x)Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x)Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x)Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x)Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
(x) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
(x)The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
( )Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal

119!!! Wow that's a lot.....and many more are on my "movies to watch" list.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Endangered Species

The elusive, rarely seen in nature, Clean Desk made an appearance today. Long considered extinct, Clean Desk is hoping to make a come back due to the diligent efforts of local conservationists.

I know it still looks pretty messy but this is the cleanest by desk has been in years!! I had to document it so I could actually remember what a clean desk looks like:)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Card Love

One of the perks of my law office is that I get to take home all the Christmas cards that we receive every year - I turn most of them into gift tags for next year's packages. This one though I might just keep forever....isn't it cool!!! It's from an architecture firm in town and I just love it. It's hand silk screened and from www.greatarrow.com. OH I just thought of how great this would look in a little frame as a Christmas decoration.


I also got into the card making mood this last week and whipped up these cute little cards to add to my Valentine's day collection of cards - this was inspired by the first theme of the week from Jess and Monique's new blog. Check it out - it's sure to be lots of fun!! We can all use a little inspiration and I'm definitely all for getting the "funk out"!!!

Monday, January 12, 2009

What's In My Bag?

Seriously, too much. I was tired of wading through the 7 lip balms, 2 lip glosses, sunglasses, misc doodads, 4 nail files, 53 tissues, two spools of thread, a spool of ribbon, mini tape measure, 5 pens, two sharpies, planner, wallet, checkbook, trash, old gum, three business card cases, expired coupons, to do lists, notebook, office keys, credit cards, business cards, punch cards, car keys, Miss S's toys from our last visit to Chuck E Cheese, a book, and all the other 300 items that were weighing down my purse. I actually weighed it and it weighed about 11 pounds. That's a lot of crap to be carrying around. It was making my shoulder and my back hurt - for real.

So tonight I took more baby steps - out with my gigantic purse, or "suitcase" as my baby brother called it, and in with my old stand by. My favorite bag ever - my green Eddie Bauer messenger bag. My tried and true standard. The true love I always return to....

And I added that darling daisy charm just for grins.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sacred Sunday

We had the best lesson in Relief Society today - it was Ward Conference so one of the member's of the Stake Relief Society Presidency spoke....it was awesome! The message that I came away with was managing our priorities and dealing with the demands of life. Essentially there are only TWO priorities in life....understanding and developing your relationship with God and Jesus Christ, and understanding and developing your relationship with your family. All else falls into place once you realize these principles and put these two priorities first in your life. I was so uplifted and inspired by this message. We also sang this song as our closing hymn. We sing it quite a lot in church, but the words are awesome and I wanted to share it with you.

As Sisters in Zion

As sisters in Zion, we’ll all work together;
The blessings of God on our labors we’ll seek.
We’ll build up his kingdom with earnest endeavor;
We’ll comfort the weary and strengthen the weak.

The errand of angels is given to women;
And this is a gift that, as sisters, we claim:
To do whatsoever is gentle and human,
To cheer and to bless in humanity’s name.

How vast is our purpose, how broad is our mission,
If we but fulfill it in spirit and deed.
Oh, naught but the Spirit’s divinest tuition
Can give us the wisdom to truly succeed.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Baby Steps

I'm taking little tiny baby steps to organizing and cleaning my home. The clutter is making me bonkers and SO stressed out....

These are the little baby steps I took today:

BEFORE:


AND AFTER:

Not TOO huge of an improvement but it's a start. It sucks to have my sewing area in our bedroom (yep - that's my side of the bed there on the left).