FABULOUS for FREE SHIPPING

Use the code FABULOUS to receive Free Shipping in the Etsy Shop this week!  New items will be arriving mid week so don't miss out!

A Home for the Birds

Happy Monday!!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.  Mine was relaxing yet very productive which was great!  

I was able to get a couple things checked off my "gift" check list as well as make some new jewelry items for the Etsy shop...coming soon :)

Today is the LAST DAY to enter the GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA!  It has been so fun to host this giveaway for you all and I wish I could give each and everyone of you this awesome prize package. I want every single item in this package!

Enter here!!
The giveaway will close tonight at 11:59pm and the winner will be announced tomorrow.

Today is the last day of our fiscal year at work which translate into BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Therefore, I'm sharing a fun little project Casey and I both worked on this past month.

It is so much fun working together on things like this...he is the builder and I am the decorator.

Casey built this bird house from scratch adding some awesome details such as real shingles on the roof and a very intricate fence around the house.

Then I took over...it was my job to decorate it into a beautiful home for the birds!

I set up outside on a beautiful Saturday and got to work with my bucket of paints.

It is up along side of our front door.  Everyone and everything deserves a nice pretty home, and now the birds have one they can enjoy!

Fabulous Friday Finds - DIY Bracelets

I have been CRAZY busy at work this week and I am just drained!  But I don't want to leave you all hanging...here is a 10 in 1 fabulous friday find for you all...

compliments of LIL BLUE BOO

via

Check out these great tutorials on how to make some awesome bracelets!  

I will definitely be making me some of this sometime soon!  

So easy yet so stylish!

ENJOY and have a FABulous weekend!

Also don't forget...3 days left to enter the awesome, amazing, extravagant giveaway to win some rad prizes!

It's Time to Make a List

When I get overwhelmed with things to do I make a list.  

When I go to the grocery store I make a list.

When I need a lot of craft supplies I make a list.

When I go out of town and I want to make sure I pack EVERYTHING I could possibly need I make a list.

Needless to say I make A LOT of LISTS!  

I love list making.  It makes me feel calm about the situation ahead and very organized for what is to come.  

The next couple of months are going to be NUTS for me both in personal and work life so it's that time...

I need a LIST!

I like to split my lists up - 1 for work and 1 for personal.

I like to make several lists UNDER a bigger list.  For example, I need to make a lot of projects for upcoming events so I will make mini lists of items I need for the projects under each event.

Here are my MAY lists

MY WORK LIST:

1. Meet End of April Deadline for International Project

2. DS User Conference May 20th-22nd (planning for 200 people)

a. Welcome Packet

b. Goodie Bags

c. Events Scheduled - Gala and Reception

d. Rooms/Travel Booked

e. Budget Up-To-Date

f. Awards Organized and Printed

g. Packages Shipped

3. Complete Contract Guideline Manual by end of May

MY PERSONAL LIST:

1. Best Friend Graduating Law School In May

a. Make Gifts - Get Supplies

b. Order Card - Row House 14 supplying - THANK YOU!

c. Pack for trip - attend graduation weekend

2. Make Mother's Day gifts

a. Determine what gifts to make and get supplies

b. Plan a fun day

3. Make Baby Gifts for Cousins Shower 

a. Get supplies for gift

b. Ship items out to Virginia to arrive by May 18th

4. Pack for the Customer Conference - gone May 18th - May 23rd

5. Pack for Branson trip with Casey - Fun TRIP!!

6. Make Wedding Items for Friends Wedding

a. Make MR. and MRS. signs for back of chair

b. Make INTRODUCING MR. and MRS. sign for front of wedding party table

c. Make LOVE IS SWEET sign for sweet desert table

d. complete in time to bring to bachelorette party first weekend in JUNE

AHH SO MUCH GOING ON!! 

All I can say is thank goodness for my list making skills.   I def. need to put this on my resume ha!  It gets a little crazy and I'm super OCD about it, but it works for me.

If you don't make lists right now, I HIGHLY recommend it!  It's a life saver!

PS notice how I didn't even make a BLOG list...that would be 10 pages long :)  But don't worry I won't forget about you all in the mean time...I promise to do my best to keep up!

Make sure to add this to your list of things to do...

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA (4 days left)

to win a great prize package including items from:

The Shine Project

Much Love Illy

Christina M. Boutique

Framed Frosting

Covered In Grace

ENTER HERE

New Weekly Fashion Segment - Simply Chic

WELCOME TO THE FIRST POST OF THE NEW SEGMENT CALLED 

SIMPLY CHIC

I REALLY want to start doing more fashion posts and I haven't been doing a fabulous job keeping up with this goal.

Since I have been slacking on my fashion goal, I am starting this new segment to motivate and MAKE myself do it!

YAY!

 Now that I have my snazzy new camera with automatic settings and a tripod I can work on taking my own fashion pictures.  

For these photos, I took advantage of having my sister around a couple weekends ago and had her take some snap shots of me for my new blog design.

dress//tjmaxx  jean jacket//Gap Outlet  

headband, feather earrings, agate ring// made by ME

My mom has a great little courtyard behind her house with a cute white fence around it which made a perfect backdrop for these pictures.

the lovely girls in my family

I ended up getting some good shots for my blog and as you can see on the top left hand side of my blog, I used one for my bio picture.  

Good job sissy!

If you haven't entered the GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA yet, don't worry, there is still 4 days left to do it!

I'm Addicted...to Coffee

Don't Forget to Enter the Giveaway Extravaganza:

For my birthday my dad gave me a wonderful gift...a new coffee maker!  It was not just an ordinary coffee maker - it was a grinder as well...SO COOL!  It was also programmable so I could wake up to a fresh pot of coffee before work...delightful!  I was in heaven - a grinder, a automatic programmer, sounds too good to be true...

and in fact, it was!

A couple things were not soo good:

1. I noticed that in order to pour the coffee out, I had to open the lid ALL the way which would cause it to spill out the sides.

2. When the coffee was programmed in the morning, it would be luke warm by the time I woke up and poured myself a cup.  The burner plate didn't stay on...stupid.

Needless to say, it had its flaws so it had to be returned.  My dad worked so hard and picked out what seemed to be a dream come true for any coffee lover...

Now I am on the hunt for a NEW coffee maker and I am up in the air about what to get.  

Here are my request:

1. Programmable

2. Keeps coffee HOT!  

3. Thermal Coffee pot (would be NICE) to help keep coffee warm

4. Easy to pour spout

5. Bean Grinder as well as regular coffee grinds accessible would be amazing!

What to get??

Cuisinart CHW-12 Coffee Maker, 12 Cup Programmable with Hot Water System

Keurig B70 Gourmet Single-Cup Home Coffee Maker 

Cuisinart DCC-2750 Coffee Maker, 10 Cup Thermal Extreme Brew

Anyone have any suggestions??

DIY Couch Pillows

Happy Monday everyone!  

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  

If you missed my announcement on Saturday, it was my first year blogiversary!! I still can't believe it has been a year, but it has been a fabulous journey!  

In honor of my 1 year, I am running a EXTRAORDINARY giveaway where 1 VERY VERY lucky winner will win:

T-Shirt, Necklace, 10 Pass it Forward Cards: The Shine Project

Mint Vanilla Poppy Headband & Red Picnic Bow: Much Love Illy

Cream Emily Bracelet: Christina M. Boutique

Free Large Ad Space: Framed Frosting

1 Year Ad Space & Set of 2 Wish Bracelets: Covered in Grace

Click here to enter:

This weekend Casey and I went back to his home town to hang out with family and so he could hunt Turkey.  Unfortunately, he didn't get one but we still had a great time.  Yesterday we were EXHAUSTED...all we wanted to do was come home and lay down and sleep!  We avoid laying upstairs because we do not have comfortable pillows.  The pillows that came with the couch are OVER stuffed which makes them hard and stiff.

Last night I got to work creating some new comfortable pillows to solve this problem.  I had extra fabric left over from the ottoman I recovered, but only for 2 new pillows.  I will need to more to make 2 for the other couch.

Here is the pattern of the fabric - I LOVE IT!

I took the remaining fabric and measured 4 squares, two for each pillow, 20" X 20".  If you can, measure it on a FOLD so you have 1 long piece for each pillow as opposed to two separate pieces.  Then the length would be 40" and the width 20".

 Match up your pieces for two pillows with right sides together.

Sew the three edges together, leaving a 5-10" gap along one edge.

Once both have been sewn, flip right side out using the hole you left in one of the edges.

Now it's time to stuff.  I LOVE this Silk Soft Poly-Fil.  I have used it before on other pillows and it is SO soft.

Stuff the pillows so that they are full, but don't over due it.  I like to do a "lay down test" and hold the opening shut so I can get a true feel for fullness.

Now that the pillows are stuffed, fold over the open edges and pin together.  Sew along the outside edge to close up the hole.  Make sure to use a thread color that matches your fabric so it goes unnoticeable.

Now the pillows are complete!! 

Easy as pie!

BEFORE PILLOWS

AFTER: Toby was a big fan!

 Matches the ottoman and ties the room together just perfectly

Toby LOVED the new pillows!  He was the first to test them out...they got the seal of approval!

 

1 Year Blogiversary GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA

Hello my beautiful readers!
 Today is my 1 year blog anniversary and I can't believe it!

I have had a fabulous journey so far.  It has been great to see my blog grow and friendships develop with so many of you fabulous fellow bloggers.  I have enjoyed every minute of it and can't wait to see what this next year holds.

With that being said, my blog wouldn't be where it is today without the love and support from you all.  I truly appreciate every comment, every time a post is read, every time you share my blog with others...every little thing counts!

I owe it all to you!!

ARE YOU ALL READY FOR THIS...

A MAJOR GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

blog // facebook

shop // blog // twitter // facebook

shop // pinterest // twitter // facebook 

bloglovin' // newsletter // twitter // facebook

 blog // bloglovin' // twitter // facebook

Winner takes it all!

the giveaway will end April 30th 11:59 pm CST
good luck!