Cute Cutoffs

As I start to ponder what items to pack for my upcoming trip, I just keep imagining myself on the beach, walking through shops, wearing an awesome pair of cutoff shorts.  I haven't ever had a pair of my own.   I always see girls with the most amazing cutoffs but never have found a pair of jeans that would look that awesome cutoff.  I have scoured the racks of Goodwill and other thrift shops.  I recently peeked into my boyfriends old jeans for a candidate.  Mostly turned up some major 9 inch inseams and realized mens jeans are NOT for my body type - instant 90's mom jeans on a female.  Where do these cute cutoffs come from!?  Does anyone out there have any tips for me? 

Via 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5

Man-lentine's Day

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What was once my million dollar idea, appears to be something quite a few ladies have also thought of.  What do you get a man who has everything?  What do you give your man that is so very Valentine's day?  A Man-lentine or a man-quet!!  

Finding something that is very 'valentiney' for the 14th is hard to do when you are shopping for a typical American male.  Most of our guys are simple creatures, couldn't want for much, and most definitely wouldn't be into getting a stuffed bear.  A few years ago I was thinking about what to do for K and I thought about getting a bunch of the things that he loves and turning it into a little bouquet of goodies.  Things like lottery tickets, little soda bottles, his favorite candies, gum, snacks, gift cards for movies or taco bell, cigars...your know MANLY stuff.  I know it is cheesy and kitschy, but I think that is kind of the essence of Valentine's day.  Everything sold in stores and the idea around the whole day is derived from an idea that you just can't take too seriously.

I never did complete my project but as you can see above, a lot of other ladies have.  I think it could turn out totally cute and what guy wouldn't want a personalized bouquet just for him?  Totally perfect!

Instead of making a bouquet of things that are mini that year, I went in totally the opposite direction, and got him HUGE things he loves.  Which is also pretty fun to give, he LOVED it.

I gave him a HUGE Rice Krispies Treat + a Coors Light mini keg + made a candy bar Valentine's card.  It was super cute, lovey, but still manly enough he could accept getting it ;)

7-11 of all places carries these

Coors Light Mini Keg

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*Not the actual card I made but VERY similar

Wreath Craft

My sister strikes again!  This is the amazing wreath she made me for Christmas.  Made with re purposed fabric, shells, crystals, pearls, pins, 1 antique key, and lots of love.  Laura warned me that if the wreath ever becomes a part of a murder investigation she will get hauled in on DNA evidence alone.  I guess the handmade rosettes took a few chunks out of her along the way, and she ended up with some wounds, but it turned out so amazing.  As I have mentioned in the past, as a mother to 2 little ones she doesn't have a ton of time to be crafty.  I feel the love when she does stuff like this for me. 

I really love the whimsy of this wreath.  It has a very cottage and shabby look about it.  I have not figured out where to put this yet, but it will likely become a fixture in the Master bedroom.

Thank you again Laura, for the wreath, and all the other ways you are amazing.

DIY SPA DAY

Lavender Foam Bath $3.29

Orgins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask - $15

Pacifica Tibetan Mountain Temple Soy Candle - $6

This week, as I pretend to work and kill time staring at my computer monitor, I can find nothing to occupy myself but daydreaming.  I cannot focus on my job, and have been so checked out these past few weeks. I find myself looking up excursion for my upcoming cruise, looking at places close by to take a weekend trip to, and really anything that can take my mind away from the reality of my desk job. I think I am trying to send myself a message... 'you need a break'. 

 Today I found my thoughts drifting to a spa day full of services and relaxation.  But with the Christmas season fully upon me, not time nor wallet will allow such a thing.  So, I settled for the next best thing...at home DIY Spa time.  I got my flannel pj's ready and set aside.  Sliced up a cucumber for my tired eyes, drew up a hot bath, and used a lavender foaming mineral bath (that smelled amazing!).  I lit a candle, turned off the lights, and put on Pandora Radio to the Spa Suite channel.  Using the Orgins charcoal mask, I slathered on a layer over my face, put my hair up, put the cucumber over my eyes, and sunk myself into the hot bath.  Total and complete bliss.  It is amazing what 15 minutes of pure relaxation can do.  I also heated up my bottle of lotion by putting it in the hot water, and once I got out, slathering on warm lotion felt amazing. 

Every time I have these little nights to myself, I think, why don't I do this more often!?  Everyone needs to have some time to drift and just be one with themselves.  I need to restock my DIY spa treats, and am going to be getting more of the mineral bath (shown above) at Whole Foods to have on hand.  Below is my list of wants for nights like these.

Dr. Hauschka Aromatherapy Bath Kit - $15.96

(I just ordered this...I couldn't resist)

Pure Fiji Mini Sampler - $33

Pure Fiji is used at Qua spa and the products are amazing.  The moisturizer is so emollient and they all have an amazing scent.  Love this stuff.

Aveda Balancing Ritual - $42.50

Everything in this set is delicious

It's a Wrap.

Monogram Wrapping

'l' for Lucas

Stamped craft paper, fabric ribbon, cardboard die cut letter, & Christmas Seal

For my Lukey Dukey <3

Craft paper, Bright green bows and ribbon, green die cut letters, Christmas seal

'A' for Amelia

Christmas Polka Dot paper, Ribbons, Bows, Die cut letter

'MiMi' as Amelia calls herself

Craft paper, Christmas Tape (it reads: Have yourself a very Merry Christmas), Bow, bright green die cut letters

Easy wrapping ideas from other sites:

Super Cute die cuts

Newspaper and Ribbon Curls

Simple Button & Twine

I had to buckle down and get some wrapping done tonight.  In preparation, I lit some candles, made some hot tea, and neatly laid out all of my supplies.  When all was said and done, I wrapped for almost 2 hours.  The good part is that I am done with my sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, aunts, mother, father, and grandmothers.  The bad part, I still have a ways to go.  I still need to wrap K's family, my girlfriends,  co-workers, and K's gifts to finish up. 

 I started tonight's wrapping with a thunder, I was super into it!  On all the gifts, the edges were all perfect, every detail got taped down, ribbons were set, etc.  After about one hour, I really started to lose steam.  This was the part where you are just slapping labels on, using huge pieces of tape, cutting really rough pieces of paper, losing the pen 15 times, and your back is aching from sitting on the floor slumped over gift after gift...I KNOW you know what I am talking about.  Why does it always end up like this!?  I guess the remedy would be to start super early and just wrap one or two presents at a time.  Or to have an entire room dedicated to gift wrapping like Candi Spelling and go at it all year round. 

I ended up putting half of my family's presents in gift bags, which luckily I have a lot on hand, and I don't feel one bit bad about it!  I know that gift bags aren't nearly as fun as tearing into paper to reveal your present, but they can still be really cute and don't hurt your back as much!  I am also going to use the excuse that all of their presents were odd shapes, which also calls for a gift bag ;)

Here are my tips for Christmas wrapping & preparation:

* Find die cut letters at craft stores and places like TJ Maxx & Tuesday Morning to use on packages instead of labels. You can put initials or spell out the name

* Buy craft paper and decorate it to fit any present - you can use stamps, ribbons, stickers, etc.  It is like a blank gift canvas.  I got mine at the dollar store.

* Purchase ornate, glittery, vintage looking stickers to put on packages

* Try to buy all your paper, ribbons, bows, etc in the same color families so that you can mix and match your supplies - wrap gifts in a theme

* Go to after Christmas sales (read: Target) and pick up wrapping and gift bags at 75% off.  Store them for next year - you will be SO glad you did.  This is why I have so many gift bags

* Look for decorative tapes and ribbons at Michael's.  Also, don't be afraid to use fabric ribbon on your gifts.  Just tape it down like regular ribbon - totally cute.

* Buy small ornaments to use as decoration to hang on gifts (hopefully when my back stops hurting and I wrap more gifts I can show you how I do this :)

Good luck with your wrapping this year!!

And here is a visual journey of what NOT to do...

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Juicy Couture - Re Dux

Bangle Bracelet - Upper Left

Heart Hoops - Lower Right

 Left Earring

Right Earring

This is my once was Juicy Couture, but is now my own creation, jewelry.  The bangle bracelet is pretty simple.  Originally it came with a cute 3D heart charm on it.  Which I have obviously lost, so I replaced it with 2 Juicy Couture key charms.  I love to layer it with other bangles and get TONS of compliments on it.  So many so, that I decided to put it on the blog!

The earrings are a little bit more interesting.  I once had the most amazing Juicy Couture hoop earrings that had 5 little charms hanging on each one.  I loved them!  Pan over to one drunken evening about 7 years ago where I had the brilliant idea to hang my head out of my friends car window, while going down the freeway at 60+ MPH and most undoubtedly shouting 'WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO'.   In the midst of it all, one earring flew off, and was never to be seen again.  I was left with one hoop with 5 charms on it, and thus became the Juicy Couture Re Dux Earrings. 

I already had this pair of thin gold heart shaped earrings from Forever 21.  In a fleeting moment, I decided to put the Juicy charms on them, and also decided to add other little charms that I had on hand.  Mostly the other charms come from old necklaces that have broken, or from beads/baubles from broken accessories.  Over the years I have lost and gained quite a few charms.  I probably have about 20 charms in the rotation.  My most favorite have to be the moonstone, the Eiffel Tower, and the keys.  I just add and take away charms to suit my mood.  They are my oldest, and most prized earrings. They may not look like much in the photos but they are big, unique, and sparkly.   There are so many people who ask me where I got them I couldn't even count them.  They get a lot of attention, and today, they get some blog love too! 

From here on out, should any of your jewelry come into disrepair or you even find a little charm in your travels, save them and put them on a pair of hoops.  Charm earrings - they are the new charm bracelet!  :)  What I love most about this, NO ONE will have a pair alike. 

I am also going to start looking for thin bangle bracelets to start making my own bangles with charms.  I will keep you posted!! 

SCOODIE!

This is what a big sister does for you when she loves you.  She knits you a scoodie.  What is a scoodie you ask?  It is a large hood with a scarf attached, and in this case an infinity scarf.  You wear it with jackets or sweaters that don't have a hood of their own.  Isn't it amazing!?  This scoodie has been coming to fruition for a while.  My big sis, who has 2 tiny little ones, took the time to knit this for me, which I am sure took a long time, and in this case it is invaluable to me.  This was her first ever scoodie and she found the pattern online. 

I asked that she make the hood extra large, not only to fit my large head, but also my large mound of hair, with room to spare.  The scarf is an infinity and wraps around three times.  It is simply amazing.  I love it.  K said my sister should try to sell them because they are so awesome but big sis said she would have to open a sweatshop because the dang thing took so many man hours she would have to charge hundreds if she did it on her own. :)

So here is my long awaited scoodie.  And...here is a photo of me wearing my scoodie.  My first real photo of me on the blog! One would think that for the first blog post of my actual face that I would have put a little more effort into it.  But that is not how I roll. Instead I opted to model the scoodie with a face of makeup remnants that had been worn off by a crappy day at work, 2 day unwashed hair, and you can't really see it but I am wearing my pajamas.  Purple floral pajama pants and an old vintage tee that reads ' I got crabs at John's Pass festival '87'.  Oh - and I still have my scoodie on as I type.  It looks glorious!   So, I am sorry that I didn't blow you away with a photo oozing glamour and style, but I am going on 4 hours sleep and my excitement to share my scoodie greatly overpowers my desires to look perfect for these pictures.

If you don't have a big sister to make you a scoodie...don't fret.  Here are some scoodies you can buy online.

Mustard Scoodie - $30 Etsy

Merlot Scoodie - $50 Etsy

Lightweight Scoodie - $35 Etsy

Man Scoodie?  $30 - Etsy

Power Animal Scoodie?  $78 Etsy

As you can see there is a scoodie for everyone!  I'm dying just looking at this last one.  Is this guy such a hipster that he really would wear this or such a good sport that he agreed to model it?!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Here is my first attempt at making a wreath.

I used my trusty glue gun, a $5 wreath from Michael's, two packs of small ornaments, a sprig of sugared berries, and an old 'Happy Holidays' ornament from last year. 

Do a trial run and place the decorations around the wreath. This way you get an idea of where you want to put things, prior to gluing.  Try to space things out evenly and don't repeat exact patterns/colors.  Make each little cluster is a little different.  Use hot glue to set the decorations once you have it perfect.

Oh, and don't get hot glue on your finger and touch your eyebrow.  Just a word to the wise.

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