Spring Finds

With warmer weather getting closer each day, my mind has totally shifted away from winter everything.  I have been getting the bug to shop, but I'm trying to make sure that I really zero in on things that I love and not just impulse by for the sake of changing seasons.

In addition to sprucing up my wardrobe and makeup bag, I also have many projects planned for around the house this year as well.  I'm looking forward to injecting our home with more personality and charm and really making it feel like our space.

Here are some things I'm currently obsessing over:

Cedar Street Maise - Kate Spade

Stila Eyes Are The Window 'Soul' Palette - Sephora

XO Greeting Cards - Rifle Paper Co.

Personalized Scroll Pillow - Joss & Main

Apothecary Jars - Pottery Barn

Gold Foil Desk Calendar - Paper Source

Ibilin Heels - Aldo

Gold Canvas Print - Joss & Main

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush 'Luminous Flush' - Sephora

Learning How To Fold My Clothes

I was recently introduced to this book by Marie Kondo and I've got to say...she definitely made me realize that my life could use some decluttering and organizing.  I don't know what it is, but I get attached to my clothing.  I remember where I got everything, where I wore it, what kind of outfit I turned it into...and for this reason, I have kept a lot of things that needed to go.  A lot.

So I did a mini purge. (This is not what she teaches in the book but it's all I had time for at this point!)  This was a nice way to dip my toes into letting go of some really old things that I loved, but never wear anymore.  It felt really nice to do this, especially before Spring gets here. I wanted to really look at what I own and see what truly "sparks joy" for me like Marie teaches in the book.

So after the mini-purge, I realized my drawers could use a makeover in the folding department because they were still unorganized and cluttered.  I admit that I am the clothes-in-the-drawer-smasher where I pull things out, look at them, throw them back in and throw my weight into the drawer to get it to close because I'm running low on time and patience.

Marie has a whole system for decluttering and organizing your life but the one thing I felt like I needed immediately was a new way to organize my drawers.  Her method was perfect, and exactly what I was looking for.  I can now see all of my clothes at a glance, without frantically grabbing and stuffing.  I would have taken pictures of my stuff, but I was so excited to get started on my drawers I didn't take any before pictures, so, you're going to see my husband's drawers get a makeover ;)  When he saw how my drawers turned out, he asked me to do this to his!  (Little did he know I was going to do his next anyhow in my fit of a folding spree.)

I went from this:

to this in a matter of a forty-five minutes:

Now I didn't just do one drawer of his, I did his entire dresser in that time period.  By looking up Marie's KonMari method of folding on YouTube, I was able to teach myself how to do it and so I figured I would snap some pictures while I was folding.  Here's a step by step of how it's done.  (oh, and let's just pretend everything was ironed beforehand, mmkay?  Hey, this is real life people and my sister stole my iron!)

First, spread out the shirt face down on the floor.

Fold in the right side and then fold the sleeve back toward the outside...

Then repeat on the left side, so that you have a long skinny rectangle.

Once it looks like this, fold from the bottom to the top...

...so that it looks like this:

Then fold once more from bottom to top.

If you've done it correctly, the shirt should be upside down.  Next just flip it and stick it in the drawer with the rounded edge facing upward!  This makes it really easy to see which shirt it is because the design is in plain view, and easy to grab with the rounded edge facing up in the drawer.

Ta-da!  So easy.  I couldn't believe how nice everything looked when we were done, and I can't believe that my drawers actually stay nice when I take something out.  TRY THIS.  I promise, you will want to hug your dresser after.  Let me know how it turns out!

Xo

Copying the Internet

I was poking around on YouTube last week and I watched this video that taught me how to de-pot MAC eyeshadows from the individual containers.  Since I had five of them laying around, I figured I would get all the supplies and give it a go this week.

Believe it or not, this was super easy!  I was worried, because whenever I try to copy a hack it usually turns into a big fat failure.  This one involved melting plastic.  (Can we say fire hazard?)  Luckily, I was really pleased that it was actually easy to do, but it required a very watchful eye!

The things you need:

Flat iron (I used my 2" Chi)
Strip of magnets
Small, flat knife
Scissors
Quarter
MAC eyeshadows to de-pot

Before I started with the eyeshadows, I traced the quarter onto the magnet sheet and cut out circles that fit perfectly onto the back of the MAC eyeshadow pans.  After that, by using the small knife I popped the top part of the plastic container out which houses the shadow pan.  I then placed that whole piece onto the heated up flat iron and watched it closely while the plastic melted ever so slightly away from the edges.  After about 20-30 seconds,  I took the pan off and used the knife to remove the whole pan.

After I let it sit on the knife to cool a bit (it gets hot!) I put the magnet onto the back of the pan and let it sit again.  Using the same technique I did with the inside pan, I took the outer shell of the MAC eyeshadow and put the label side down onto the flat iron.  After about 15 seconds, I took it off, used the knife to remove the label and slapped it right onto the magnet.  DONEZO.

It really was easy to do and I actually had quite a bit of fun with it.  My 15 color palette is almost full!  Only 4 more colors to choose!

Here are my colors in the columns from top to bottom:

Naked Lunch

Satin Taupe

Charcoal Brown

Rice Paper

Era

Brun

Woodwinked

All That Glitters

Nylon

Cranberry

Fig 2

Let me know if you attempt this and how it goes for you!

Xo

Um, where did October go?

Here we are, the last week of October already.  I really have no idea how that's possible and I continue to be dumbfounded about how quickly this whole year has gone.  I thought that October was going to be a pretty low key month, but it quickly filled up with birthdays, projects and Halloween parties.

Our weekend started out with a nice relaxing Friday night with Hubs and I taking it easy, ordering pizza for dinner and enjoying downtime after a hectic workweek.  The dogs appreciate this downtime as well, considering they get to hang out on the couch with us :)

(I really don't know how Miss Lulu was comfortable with this, but homegirl was passed out.)

Saturday turned into a much busier day then anticipated, but in a good way.  After breakfast, Joey had to do some lawn work so and I got a call from my Mom asking if I wanted to go to the mall.  I never turn down an invitation to the mall, obviously.  It was a really nice time!  We spent way too much money at the Clinique counter, per usual, and I put a good dent in my Christmas shopping.  I got all of our niece and nephew's gifts halfway done, and I got some great deals on stuff.  It feels good to get going on all of that so we're not scrambling in the next few weeks (WEEKS?!) before the huge shopping rush.

Later that evening we got all dressed up in our costumes and went to my best friends' annual Halloween party.  It was different this year because their newborn son, Vinny joined us this year in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume!  Babies in costumes are just the cutest ever.

Sunday turned into a busy day as well.  My sister Ashley spent the night after the party and we made a big pancake spread for breakfast.  Then we all headed to church and Joey and I went and got me the new iPhone 6!  I am liking it so far and I'm excited to dig in more and find out the new cool things it can do.

Then we had a nice little lunch date at Panera and afterwards went to Helzberg to turn in our wedding rings to get them checked and redipped.  I feel so naked without my ring!  I keep having mini heart attacks when I realize there is nothing on my finger.  I'm going to need to put one of my costume ones on temporarily so I don't keep having spaz attacks the next week.

I hope you all had a relaxing weekend!  Anything interesting happen?  Let me know below! 

50 Facts About Me

source

Lately I have been wondering about what makes me, me!  Sometimes I feel like I have so many different likes and interests, I feel like I'm 12 people in one.  That can be a wonderful thing, because I don't get bored easily but sometimes I feel scattered, too...like I'm not sure where to pour all of my energy and focus.

I figured that since I do have so many things that make me who I am, I should put them down in one space.  I might even surprise myself!  Here we go, in rapid-fire random style:

1. I love to crochet.

2. I love roller coasters.

3. I'm not a huge fan of bananas, but I'll eat them.

4. I don't like candles, but I love Scentsy.

5. I love love love to travel.  I have so many destinations on my bucket list!

6. I like vegetables more than fruit.

7. I am a huge Lucille Ball fan.

8. I am a huge Robin Williams fan, and always have been. *sadface*

9. I like to do lots of impersonations of characters, people and dialects.
10. I am not a cat person, but I always want other people's cats.

11. Me + heels = true love.

12. I like to paint.

13. I used to like to scrapbook, but that takes so.much.time.

14. My birthstone is Emerald.

15. The numbers 5 and 15 are my lucky numbers.

16. I'm a homebody.  I love having nights with nothing to do.

17. My dream job was to become an actress.

18. I hate doing the dishes.

19. My favorite color is purple.

20. I have zero patience with figuring out computers/tech gear.  Good thing my hubs does that for a living!

21. I am scared of spiders.  Keep those jerks away from me.

22. My style icon is Victoria Beckham.  I would LOVE to meet her one day! (I would probably faint).

23. I have always, always struggled with acne. Ughhhhhhhhhh.

24. My three favorite YouTubers right now are Tanya Burr, Zoella and Claire Marshall.

25. I am a Taurus.

26. I love going to church.

27. House of Cards is my current television/Netflix obsession.  Is it February yet?!

28. My feet are always cold.

29. I get really crabby if I don't get enough sleep or if I'm really hungry.

30. I hate anything cherry flavored or scented.

31. Cheese sticks are my jam.  The deep fried ones, obviously.

32. I love chocolate.

33. And brunch.

34. And nachos.

35. I am a grammar/spelling cop.  (Deal with it.)

36. The beach is my favorite place to be.

37. I once auditioned for an Oscar Mayer commercial.

38. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

39. Art fairs are one of my favorite things to go to.

40. I make an awesome homemade spaghetti sauce.

41. I married my hubby on September 18, 2009.

42. I am colorblind.

43. I hate wet bath towels on the floor.

44. I like to sleep in but I never do.

45. I am a coffee addict.

46. Kate Hudson is one of my favorite actresses.

47. My guilty obsession is the Kardashian sisters.

48. I love Elvis Presley.

49. I love decorating for holidays.

50. I wish I had a chef.

So there you have it!  I thought I would get stumped after about fifteen of these but it wasn't too bad!  Now I tag my sisters, Brooke and Ashley to do the same!

the torture of packing.

Packing for a vacation is one of those things that I abhor, mostly because I have so many incidentals that have to be packed at the last minute.  A lot of my makeup routine has liquids that have to be checked under the plane, which I can't put away until I have my face on for traveling, thankyouverymuch.

Happy 4th of July!

I'm so thankful for all the men and women who give their lives in service and dedication for our country.  What a wonderful nation we live in!

I am excited to do nothing but lounge today with the exception of going to check out our property and the progress on the new house, and maybe do a little bit of shopping with my sister to pick out some maxi skirts for Florida in a few weeks.

This is how I'm looking today in all of my comfy-clothes glory:

home decor on a dime.

Since we are building a new house, we are trying to keep money pretty tight.  But at the same time, I'm trying to look at and compile ideas for decorating our new house.  But Target.  Ohhh, Target.  Gets me and my wallet every time.

I had basically gone for conditioner and birthday cards and tried to keep myself away from everything else because I can never seem to get out of there for under $30.  As I was looking at the birthday cards, they have this row of those really beautiful Papyrus cards.  You know, the ones that cost like $7-10 PER CARD.  (Do people really buy those for birthdays/special occasions? I sure don't.  That stuff is expensive, yo!) 

They're beautiful cards with sparkles and glitter and sometimes they're just minimal and simplistic and I adore them all.  I just admire and look and wistfully wish that I could bring myself to spend that much on a card and then I put them back.