Rawr!! Update

A couple months ago I showed you a top I made a few years ago and one of the few cheetah/leopard print items in my closet. See that post here. Well, fast forward to the present and I now own more than enough animal print options! Check it out!

Belt- Forever 21

Cardigan- H&M

Button down- Jcrew

Sleeveless button down- Old Navy

Tank- self made

Scarf- Express

Heels- Calvin Klein

Flats- Jessica Simpson

Sandals- Target

I think I have the basics covered! But I could use some accessories, right? 

Drop waist

I have been wanting to make a drop waist dress for awhile and even though I really didn't think it would flatter me, I still had plenty of ideas and figured I would just make it for practice or even sell it. My first thought process was to make one similar to this one from The Loft. I decided it would be nice to make it in blue, grey, and black (color blocked) for fall.

Then I got another idea, and thought I would add a peter pan collar in white with a white skirt. Similar to this....

This is a rough picture because I put it together on Polyvore and it's really a necklace, dress and skirt. I decided that it looks too much like a maids costume. I went to the fabric store in search of inspiration and found leather (pleather) which I thought was an even better idea! 

This is an even worse picture, because it's all pinned together and doesn't reflect the true garment, but I wanted to visualize it and it turned out the leather looked cheap. 

Last Thursday we had an event to go to that required cocktail attire and Dan informed me of it 2 days before. I didn't want to buy anything new. Even with a closet full of dresses I had nothing to wear, so I finished the dress with just the one material and threw on a necklace and fun shoes. Of course we didn't take any pictures that night. 

This is the final dress. Not too difficult. Would be cuter in a color, such as this one from Topshop. Next time! 

Beauty Favorites

I am not a beauty expert, in fact I only have a few products that I use and swear by. I have never been into makeup or hair products. I always skip over those sections in magazines. Maybe I am just not good at it or maybe I am just simply not interested. I'd much rather spend my money on clothes or shoes! 

I generally buy what my friends or sister use and tell me works well when it comes to makeup or hair products. However, I have found a few items myself that I can't say enough about!

Lipgloss- Jemma Kidd for Target. I found this gloss last year and I can't get enough of it! I have never found lip gloss before that isn't sticky or gunky, doesn't stain your lips a funky color and is relatively inexpensive. $16. I'm telling you, this stuff is awesome! I like Undress and Poser. 

Face wash and moisturizer- I have been using this same product since high school. (10 years)

I feel like that's a long time to be devoted to something! It's called Velocity from Mary Kay. It's incredibly light weight, which is why I like it. For the last couple of years Dan has been using the face wash too. Prior to that, he used harsh Proactive. Both products last a long time, as you just need a tiny amount of both. If you would like to try some hit up my friend Aimee and she'll hook ya up! 

Last but not least hair... I have forever longed for curly hair. I had my fair share of 80's perms and even a perm for waves just a few years ago, which didn't take. I have naturally stick straight hair. I'm talking, no need for a straightener type hair. I could scrunch with product all day and night and never have waves until, I met this curling iron last year.  Prior to this, I used rollers and every size curling iron imaginable, tried hairspray and still after an hour my curls fell flat and straight. 

I bought this clampless curling iron or wand last year from Ulta and I will never turn back! It's awesome! Since there is no clamp, you have to hold the curling iron and twist your hair around it holding on to the end of the strand of hair. Beware you will burn yourself several times until you get the hang of it. I think the heat is what keeps my hair curled. It stays curled all day and even to the next day if I decide not to wash it. I can't say enough about it! It's perfect for waves or curls! They are now sold at Target as well! It's the Remington brand. 

So there ya have it, I have 3 favorite beauty brands! 

Kitchen Cushions

The kitchen in our house needs help. It was previously painted avocado colored green with backsplash, curtains and bench cushions fiesta (ish) themed. My first order of business was to paint the walls and bench. The walls are now blue and bench is white. I'm ignoring the multi-colored backsplash for the time being.

I went back and forth about how to make cushions for the benches. The foam is rather expensive and I thought of every which way to do it cheaper. I ended up just buying the foam when my ideas didn't pan out.

My mom came up one weekend to help me sew the covers. I don't think I could have done it without her. Honestly she did most of the work. Thanks Mom!

My mom working away in my sweat shop. 

We made cording to make the cushions more polished looking. The covers also have zippers so I can take them off and wash them if necessary. 

I am very happy with the way they turned out! And am looking forward to making a few pillows to throw in that corner. 

 Did I mention we have cork floors? We are looking into painting them until we can replace. 

Anyone know anything about painting cork floors? 

Next up: cornice board on the window, chair for the table, and a pendant light. Floor and backsplash will have to wait. But I can't wait to show before and after pictures! 

Healthy Start

I have been trying to eat a little healthier and cut out some sugar in my diet starting with breakfast. I saw this idea online and have tweaked it a bit. It's pretty easy to make on a Sunday and then you have something ready every morning throughout the week. I am on my second week of making these and I have to say they do keep you full! This week I added a few extra ingredients to make it spicy. There are plenty of options, but keep in mind the purpose is to eat healthy, so adding meat and cheese adds calories.

Egg White Muffins
Makes 12 muffins (2 eggs each)
Ingredients:
1 carton of egg whites or 24 egg whites.
Options:
Baby spinach
chopped onion
chopped red pepper
chopped jalapeno
chopped ham or canadian bacon
chopped mushrooms
Sriracha sauce
shredded cheese

Directions: 
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Choose ingredients you prefer to use and maybe mix it up, so you have something different every day. chop if necessary.
-Spray pan
-Add chopped ingredients to each cup
-Add about 1/3 cup liquid egg whites or 2 egg whites per cup (depends on the amount of veggies and meat already in cup)
-Bake for 30 minutes.
-Immediately remove and let cool on a rack. Once cool, place 2 in a ziplock bag with no air to keep them all week in the fridge. In the morning, remove from bag and heat in microwave for 1 minute and Enjoy!!


Update Jan. 2017- I have been making these for over 4 years and still love them. My toddler now eats them for breakfast as well. I use full eggs for his. I would highly recommend using a silicone muffin pan. This is the one I use from Amazon. I still spray it really well, but it cleans so much easier using the silicone pan. I do not recommend freezing the muffins. Refrigerate and eat throughout the week. The more vegetables you use the soggier the muffin will be. I layer mine with spinach first, meat, small amount of peppers, egg whites and then sprinkle of cheese.

Closet Cleanup

Update:
Well, it's not ideal and it's not exactly how I wanted it, but our closets are finally organized. A few weeks ago I posted about my stresses trying to figure out where everything needed to go in our tiny closets.

We each have our own closet, I bought a new dresser and as of now everything is organized. We'll see how long this lasts. Probably only until I get our winter boots and sweaters out and can't figure out where to put them!

Our next house WILL have a walk in closet!

DIY Fall Wreath

I've been anticipating the fall and decorating my front porch!  Sometimes I can't believe things like that come out of my mouth. What a grown up I am, here getting excited to decorate my porch. Ha! Well, anyway I guess it's the little things that excite me!

I looked all over the internet on Pinterest to come up with ideas and wanted something simple and not too fake floral or cheap looking. So this is what I came up with. Once I get my mums and pumpkins sorted out I'll post pictures of the whole porch. Be sure to follow me on twitter to keep up with pictures I don't always post on the blog!


According to other blogs this wreath was going to take me a really long time and the circles would be a complete B to cut out.  BUT it didn't take much time at all! I made the whole thing in less than a Colts game! I started making it this past Sunday during the game, got tired, took a quick nap and then finished it!

Here's how to make your own! 

DIY Felt Wreath
Supplies:
-At least a yard and half of felt 60" wide.
-Sharp scissors
-Something around 3" in diameter to trace circles (I used a Ball jar lid)
-Marker or pen to mark circles
- dress makers straight pins
-Styrofoam wreath form (I used a 12")
-Wreath hanger or nail in door.

 Styrofoam forms at JoAnn Fabrics. Can be found at most craft and hobby stores. 

-I started tracing circles in a row and then folded the fabric over and cut. This way I could cut 2 circles without having to trace both. The felt is pretty thick, so I don't think you can cut more than 2 at a time. Also, don't worry about being perfect it won't matter once they are on wreath.

-Cut a good amount of circles before you start the wreath. Unfortunately, I did not count how many I used.

-Fold circle in half and then in half again. Push pin through the bottom and pin to the styrofoam form. This begins to hurt your fingers after awhile and I suggest using a thimble.

At first I was pinning them very close together, but you can kind of spread them out a bit. Be sure to go different ways with the folded circle. Also there isn't a need to pin to the back of wreath since it will need to lay flat on your door.

I bought some burlap to tie my and hang from the door, but there a plenty of different ways to add to the wreath. It was so easy I am thinking about making a red one for Christmas!