::glitter & duct tape::

kicking ass and taking names

2012-02-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I started the C25K by doing #1 of week 1.... it went like this:

5 minute brisk walk warm-up

20 minutes alternating 1.5 minute walk and 1 minute jog

Today I ran with a partner who has been doing it a lot longer than me. We did #3 of week 6 and HOLY COW I am in pain! I kept up though! Twice I stopped jogging and walked for about 15 seconds, but other than that I actually jogged for 22 minutes! Wow!

5 minute brisk walk

22 minute jog

Then I went home and soaked in the tub because I'm hurting really really bad! I'm going to run in the morning... something easier though. Maybe Week 3? I feel like I'm way past weeks 1 and 2 but I'm not ready to stick with week 6. Then I'm going to take a break until Friday or Saturday when I run with my partner again.

Here's the whole plan:

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

Make sure you check out the C25K website and like them on facebook!

I'm also trying to not weigh myself. I tend to get in the bad habit of weighing myself multiple times a day every day. Not good...

squeeze them until they pop... and everything else I did tonight

2012-02-06T21:41:00.000-08:00

Today I started C25K... which is Couch to 5K. I did Workout #1 of Week 1 on the treadmill plan. Basically I ran and walked for 25 minutes. It's one of those training plans that keeps your heart rate in check. Really good for weight loss, btw.

After running I did this workout that I adapted from one I saw on Pinterest.

50 Jumping Jacks

25 Crunches

10 Tricep Dips

15 Squats

10 Lunges

50 Jumping Jacks

25 Crunches

10 Tricep Dips

10 Lunges

20 Standing Calf Raises

5 Push-Ups

Ouch. I'm hurting.

Then I went to a free women's self-defense class. So.Much.Fun! But I can tell I'm going to be bruised! My wrists are so sore. The instructor was kind of funny. We talked about defending ourselves by kicking for the groin (hello, obvious) and he said it's better to grab and twist "until they pop." LOL. It's a free class every Monday in February. I'll definitely be going back next week.

weigh-in

2012-02-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

Yikes! I've gained 6 pounds in the 3 months since our wedding. No good. :( I'm at 150 today. This does not make me a happy girl.

Goals for 2012

2012-01-28T12:55:00.000-08:00

I've really been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish this year. Last year I really set my mind to a few things and they turned out great. I want this year to be just as great!

Business:

Re-brand! I barely put any thought into my business name/colors and I don't feel like it suits me or my company. I want something that expresses my personality.
Book at least 15 weddings for 2012.
Branch out! I'd love to do as many birthday parties, showers, etc. as I do weddings.
Do more e-consulting.

Personal:

Go on a honeymoon! We didn't get to do this after the wedding for a lot of reasons and I really want us to take a trip this year. So far our only vacations have been to see my family in SC. I want to do something fun and memorable.
Finish losing my extra weight! I got a good start and got down to 144 for the wedding. Now I'm at 148. I'm not so much worried about numbers, but I'd like to get to the point where I feel comfortable in my own body. There are 11 months left in the year and that's got to be enough time to get this done!
Eat more organic foods and less fast food. I've been working hard on this. We've pretty much eliminated McDonalds completely (minus one Big Mac slip up when I had a bad day last week) and I haven't had much else either. I hate the idea of eating chemicals and heavily processed foods. I also want to eat intentionally... like plan my meals so I'm getting all of the vitamins I need and not just because it's time to eat.
Finish my sewing projects. I have boxes of fabric I bought for specific projects and then never finished or never started them. I want to finish these and then purge the scraps because I really don't sew all that much anymore.

Finances

Plan! I created a budget spreadsheet when Bryan and I moved in together, but neither of us uses it. I would really like to track our spending better. I want to know what we're spending money on so I know where to cut and save.
Keep saving! I got a generous bonus when Plantation sold and so far we haven't touched it. It's about two-thirds what I would like it to be for when we make a down-payment on a house.
Pay off debts! We have been really good about this. We bought a mattress set when we got the apartment and it had 1 year with no interest. I think we're only halfway into that and there is left than $100 owed on it. Go us! We also purchased our living room set. It has 4 years of no interest and we have been steadily paying it off as well. Paying more than the minimum payment is key! Right now the focus is on our options for student loans. We've been talking about consolidating them and yesterday I spoke with a bank rep about it. My next step is to contact the company I have my loans through to find out if I'm even allowed to consolidate. (Apparently most student loans can't be unless they were originally financed through a bank.... bummer!)
Pay off my car! I know this qualifies as a debt, but it's a little different. My dad actually financed it and I make the payments. I would love to pay it off, sell it, and buy my own car. I've been lusting after the Nissan Murano for years and I'd love to commit to it!

The last thing is buying a house. I think that belongs in all three categories. I don't know yet if it's a realistic goal for 2012, but definitely it needs to happen in 2013. There are a lot of big and little things that need to fall into place before we can accomplish this goal. Most of them are out of our hands.

I'd like to create a bulletin board for Bryan and I that has both our goals on it. We have a great spot in our kitchen and it would be a daily reminder to take the small steps to get things done.

Any advice from other married couples on accomplishing goals together?

pin it, do it, blog it - mircowave brownie

2012-01-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

Tonight I saw this yummy chocolate brownie that was quick and easy.

Source: blogs.babble.com via Kayleigh on Pinterest

Mine took 60 seconds and probably could have gone a little bit longer. I wouldn't say that I loved this, but I'm not a huge chocolate person. Ice cream would have been great! I poured some cold soy milk over it and it was yummy. This took longer to microwave than it did to make!

bridal portraits

2012-01-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

When it comes to wedding photography, this was the area I was most excited about and it's ended up being the biggest headache. I'm really unhappy with our photographer. Yes, she took a lot of really beautiful portraits of us.... but where's the rest? There are a lot of really important things missing. I wore my mother's garter and there is not one picture of it anywhere. There are no pictures of us at our sweetheart table. There are no pictures of our guest book table which was my FAVORITE part of the decor. Aside from things that weren't photographed, I'm really upset with her lack of attention to detail. My hair is sticking up in the front in the romantic pictures we took before the wedding. She couldn't have said something?!?!?! Bryan left his keys, phone, and wallet in his pockets during pictures. It's the FIRST thing I noticed about him in pictures. She couldn't have said something!?!?!? I ordered these forks for when we cut the cake that said "bride" and "groom" that are so cute. The picture she took of them is terrible! They are upside down and there is a dirty serving spoon on the plate with them. Maybe I expect more because I work with excellent vendors in a major city, but the best thing I can say about her work is SLOPPY. She also took FOREVER getting them edited.

I FINALLY got my bridal portraits the other day. She apparently forgot about them. I even paid an extra $100 to get them on a CD and she just never sent me anything. I texted her to find out what happened and instead of an "omg I'll mail them this afternoon" I got "I'll mail them tomorrow or Monday." MONDAY. It's been months since the wedding and you need another four days to mail me a disc? Come on!

Anyway, I'm not super happy with most of them because of really unflattering arm positioning, but here are some that I like.

puppy love

2012-01-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

Jack got the most adorable hair cut on Christmas eve.

We had his body shaved down but his face like a Schnauzer.

So darn cute.

I will never, ever bring him back to that Pet Co though. He was there for TEN AND A HALF HOURS!!!! I find that ridiculous. And he stunk when we got him back. I just had to bathe him as soon as we got home. It smelled like he had been in a nasty, dirty crate.

He does shake a little now like he's cold... which makes me feel bad. I even bought a sweater the first day but I hate them so much I can't bring myself to put it on him again.

Bryan loves him too. (Look how horribly lumpy my couch already looks!!!! Also ridiculous...)

We got him neutered and micro-chipped last Friday, so he's (really) officially ours now. We took him to the Houston Humane Society because it's cheaper and WOW are the employees there incompetent! I guess the girl couldn't figure out that the cap was upside down (hello, common sense) so she just set it on there and put liquid, un-capped medicine in a baggie. Dumb. It wasn't until I got home and took it out of the baggie that I realize that it "not going on tight" actually mean "not on at all because it's upside down." Wow.

The stitches seem to have healed up fine and he's stopped licking at them.

Now he just needs to learn some tricks!

new year and lots of changes

2012-01-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2012!

2011 was an exciting year for me. I got married and I took my business full time. There was a lot of growing up this year. Counting my own wedding, I did 8 weddings this year. My goal was 5 so this was a HUGE accomplishment for me!

I have a lot of goals for 2012. I'm thinking about making a bulletin board and actually putting my goals up on it. Something about seeing them makes me work harder. There are quite a few on my Day Zero list that I want to mark off this year.

Bryan should be starting a new job soon, one way or the other. He has an interview with a police department in two weeks, he's waiting on a promotion at his current job that would mean him moving stores, and he was unofficially offered a job that we're just waiting on paperwork for in the next 30-45 day. It's really up in the air!

I've posted some of our wedding pictures. You can find them here or here.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

holiday cards are here!

2011-12-22T20:13:00.000-08:00

Finally. Walmart lost them and I barely had time to get them to everyone by Christmas. Next year I'll start on these much earlier. I made the decision to do holiday cards instead of "Christmas" cards because I have several friends that don't celebrate Christmas. I like to be all inclusive. :)

pin it, do it, blog it - ruffled tree skirt

2011-12-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

This was a fun one! I bought a ton of linen fabric a couple of years ago when Walmart was closing out the fabric department. We used some of it for the wedding but I had a bunch left. (And still do!)

Saw this tree skirt on Pinterest and loved it!

Source: mycrazylife-lauren.blogspot.com via Kayleigh on Pinterest

It was really pretty easy.

Done! Or so I thought until my husband got home and asked how I was going to get it around the tree base since we had already put the tree in AND decorated it. Lifting it out was not a option because I did NOT want that kind of mess.

So then I cut it and added ribbons to tie it back together. It worked out well. I would have been happier with better ribbon, but this was what I had on hand.

"play with me!"

"Umm hello, focus on me!"

Merry Christmas!

(This was also the night I found Jack, so he was being really needy and tried to be in every picture! What a ham.)

21 Days Until Christmas

2011-12-04T23:07:00.000-08:00

Bryan had today off and we pretty much spent the day dealing with the rescued dog. We drove around the nearby neighborhoods looking for fliers. There weren't any. Why isn't anyone looking for this precious dog?! There were no fliers at our apartment complex. We checked at Petco again.

Looks like he's going to be our pet!

We picked up some shampoo and a few treats. He HATED taking a bath! He's still full of clumps and twigs, so it's no wonder.

I think we're going to name him Jack.

22 Days Until Christmas

2011-12-03T15:39:00.001-08:00

What an interesting night I had last night! Remember a week or so ago when I was talking about wanting a pet? Well, guess what literally jumped into my arms last night when I was getting something out of my car:

He had no collar, so I carried him around our apartment complex a few times throughout the evening to see if anyone was looking for him. This morning I got up and took him to a vet to get scanned for a microchip. No chip either. SO irresponsible!! :( I really hate when people don't chip their pets. It's only like $25 to have it done and any vet/shelter in the country can pull it up on a national database. PLEASE GO GET YOUR PETS CHIPPED!!!!

I took him to Petco and got a collar, leash, dog food, and two toys. I also checked their board where you can post missing/found pets. (And the one at Petsmart too.) Also stopped by the front office at my apartment complex and reported him found. No fliers anywhere at my apartment for him either. Where are his owners?!?! Why aren't they trying to find him?!?!

Poor baby's hair was so matted! He had big clumps but also had sticks wound up in the hair that I actually had to cut out!

Last night he was kind of driving me crazy... but today I'm really warming up to him. And he has calmed down a lot.

I'm starting to get a little attached... but I'm not sure how my hubby feels yet. I guess we'll talk about it tonight!

23 Days Until Christmas

2011-12-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

It's my last day at the office! It's been a pretty crummy week. Everyone keeps dumping their last minute stuff on my desk. All week I've been looking forward to a meeting I ~~have~~ had scheduled on Sunday with a potential client. But I got an email from her this morning saying she found someone else and wanted to cancel the appointment. I wish she had at least waited until after our meeting to make a decision!! :( It's so disappointing when stuff like that happens.

I'm way behind on my current weddings because of my wedding and my job situation, so this weekend I'm going to be working hard core. I also have plans of making a tree skirt from a tutorial I saw on Pinterest.

VIA Pinterest

I have a ton of linen material I still need use. Back when Wal-Mart was getting rid of the fabric departments I bought two full bolts for way cheap. We used some of it for the ribbon wands for the wedding, but there's still a good bit left.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

24 Days Until Christmas

2011-12-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

My family always gets a tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. Bryan's family goes closer to the middle of December. Apparently the Christmas trees die fast here? Oh well. We went the Sunday after Thanksgiving to get ours. Our apartment is really small and our furniture takes up too much space as it is, so we looked for a small tree.

There was a baby one at HEB (the local grocery store here) but I thought it was a little too small. We ended up going with one from the 5'-6' section at Lowes. It's a perfect fit!

At first we were going to leave the little end table (which is actually and old TV stand!) in the corner and put the tree on it.

I decided it was too tall that way so we ended up putting it back down on the floor. Plus, we wouldn't have been able to really put presents around it up on the stand.

This was our first attempt at making a "holiday memory." And when I say our of course I mean my. Are all husbands as apathetic about stuff like this as mine? I told him that Sunday would be "Christmas Palooza Day" filled with Christmas music, present shopping, decorating a tree, and wrapping presents. Did.not.happen. Oh well. *Reality* At least we got some shopping done and picked up a tree.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

post-wedding junk

2011-11-27T20:45:00.000-08:00

Even after the wedding is over it seems like I'm still working on it. I'm putting together a memory box of certain wedding items, and one of those items is my bouquet. I know some brides have their bouquets preserved, but I just wanted to dry mine.

I wasn't really sure how to go about drying it. It's pretty heavy and you can't set it on any side without crushing it.

My husband is awesome, though, and did this for me in the laundry room:

I've got puppy love

2011-11-26T15:19:00.000-08:00

For the last week I have suddenly been crazy over the idea of getting a pet. Cat or dog, doesn't matter. I just want a baby to love, I think.

Bryan is finally warming up to the idea of a cat and it seems to be the most practical option, but I can't figure out where we would put a litter box. Our bathroom is too small and there isn't a spot. We have a laundry room that's got a little room, but it would be under foot when I wash clothes. Everywhere else is carpeted and just isn't a place that I would want a poop box. :) I thought about leaving the window to the patio open and putting it out there, but when the weather warms back up we wouldn't be able to do that.

If we got a dog I would want to rescue an adult mutt. Bryan wants a purebred puppy. (And HELLO did y'all know an English Bulldog pup costs around $1K?!?!) I feel like if you get a puppy you should get two so they can play with each other when they're hyper. I had a puppy before without a big backyard and the poor baby couldn't get her energy out.

For now... nothing.

Life as Newlyweds :: the first two weeks of marriage

2011-11-19T06:37:00.000-08:00

wedding pictures

First of all, if you would like to see any pictures from our wedding you can visit this facebook page and view the "Kayleigh and Bryan" album. You can also see a video snippet here.

being a married couple

Married life has actually been... great. I was really prepared for it to be not great because I've been reading all of these books about the "reality" of being newlyweds, but it's been great. We moved in together about two months before the wedding so we have already worked out all of those kinks... you know, arguing over laundry and dishes and vacuuming. Well, we didn't really even argue about that stuff very much. Now that the stress from the wedding (because it was a LOT of stress on me!) is gone things seem to be very calm and happy around our little house.

(see posts about our apartment here)

downsides

One big SUCK that has happened since the wedding is me basically getting laid off. I went back to work the Wednesday after the wedding and around 11am was told that I wouldn't have a job. (Thanks Plantation!) On the one hand, I'm excited to concentrate on my business. On the other hand, I'm not sure how we're going to pay our bills. Hmmm. Now I'm just counting down the days until I'm out of here. Feeling unappreciated (and expendable!!) definitely changes your attitude about your job...

upsides

Opening wedding gifts has been great! Since our wedding was pretty much a destination wedding for everyone including us, most people gave us $$ and gift cards. We were able to pay off debt, and buy what we actually needed. THANKS! Now I'm buried beneath a pile of thank you cards.... at least it's not as bad as the wedding invitations.

I also figured out a trick at Bed, Bath, and Beyond that scored us an extra $50 gift card. Bryan has a lot of the Calphalon pans already, so we just registered for the rest of the set. We were really excited when we saw on our registry that $300 of that brand would get us a $50 gift card. I was so excited and kept a tally of how much was coming in.... and then I read the fine print. It has to be $300 in ONE SINGLE purchase. Lame BBB!!! So we saved a good amount of our Calphalon gifts in their packages, returned them, and then went back and re-purchased what we had returned plus the remaining Calphalon items on our registry. We got what we needed, hit the $300 mark, and got that $50 gift card. Go Team Minin!

weirdness

It feels really weird to say "my husband" to people. I giggle a little every time I do it. Nothing in our lives really feels different except that the wording has changed. Well, that and seeing Bryan with a wedding band on. It really throws me. (My ring won't fit with a band so I decided to just stick with the single engagement ring. It looks best that way, but my hand doesn't look any different than it did before.) When I update my facebook status now I want to be cute and say "my hubby" but then I feel like I'm being obnoxious. lol.

moving forward
Now we're just trying to figure things out and make plans. We don't quite have the finances down pat as a couple since we're both so used to managing money separately. That's our current struggle. I'm throwing myself into my business and our apartment, while Bryan is working towards a promotion or a possible job change. No babies for a while! :) We're both trying really hard to get into healthier life habits. I've been working on it since February or so (post coming on that soon.... from 174 to 144, whoo!) and Bryan is getting back into. We've been cooking at home instead of eating out, and we're both working out at the gym again. We've actually worked out together twice since the wedding which is a big step for me! I like to exercise in private where the people I love can't see my fat jiggle.... lol.

Cheers!

-Mrs. Minin :)

adventures in apartment decorating

2011-11-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

After posting those pictures of the apartment I thought HOW BLAND it looks. Need curtains ASAP! I added one little thing. I think it helped a tad.

I need something behind that shorter picture frame. Something taller than that frame but shorter than the vase... Or should I swap the frames and then put something behind the shorter one? Or the "M" should be in the middle of the two frame... but then the flowers would overlap it a little.... IDK. Thoughts?

some pictures of our home sweet home... finally

2011-11-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our living room...

Like our crappy Walmart bookshelf?

We bought it because it's so aesthetically pleasing. :)

my Halloween obsession

2011-10-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

Had I only known you could do this in time for our apartment complex Halloween porch decorations contest....

Enjoy that! :)

sheer awesomeness.

2011-09-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some things that I'm finding very awesome right now.

If you don't have one, get one. Seriously. This is not like Twitter or something you can live without. My computer has a backup drive just for all of the images that I've clipped from the internet over the last year. THE LAST YEAR. Now I can clip ("pin") everything to my Pinterest account AND share it with others. Sheer awesomeness.

JoliPrint

Have a million and one articles/diy tutorials/blog posts/etc. bookmarked? With JoliPrint you install a little button on your tool bar (just like with Pinterest) and you can turn ANYTHING online into a PDF. No work whatsoever. You just click the tool, wait a sec for a new window to pop up, and then click download file. (The other options are save as Google doc, share on FB, share on Twitter, email, and copy link.) It even gets rid of the extra junk that shows up when you just print straight from a website like ads and stuff. GREAT for when I'm printing recipes. I don't know how I lived without it.

Living Social and Groupon

I've been in the habit of NOT going out and doing fun things in Houston like I used to do in Columbia. LAME. These not only help me get deals but also get me out in the city. I hear about events (like the Hot Sauce Fest weekend before last) that I otherwise wouldn't know about.

FREEBIE!

2011-09-21T09:46:00.001-07:00

I'm hosting a give-away over on my wedding blog, so be sure to head over and check it out!

sheets = curtains?

2011-09-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

We have a really big light problem in our apartment. Well, it's a problem for Bryan; I love all the natural light. There are two windows in our living room, the patio door has a full-length window, and there's another window beside the door. Then there are three windows in the bedroom. All the light from the living area floods into the bedroom because of this weird space.... idk I guess it's supposed to look cool but I find it weird and inconvenient. Inconvenient because Bryan works nights and I have to tip-toe around in the dark in the morning.

This is kind of the look I'm thinking for the living room windows. I like long drapes that pool a bit on the floor.

I've looked online enough to know that the pooling-length drapes run 108" inches long and are EXPENSIVE - or at least out of my budget anyway. I can sew, so making my own is no problem.

Then, when I was looking for an example picture I liked up to a a bunch of blog posts where ladies had used sheets to make their curtains. Great idea! It's a nice patterned fabric for less than you would pay for nice fabric. Most of the ladies had used King size sheets. I did some looking around and found these at Walmart that I like:

Of course today as I'm writing this and looking them back up.... I see that they've been clearance and now you can't buy the King set online anymore. Maybe I'll get lucky at the store.

All you have to do is cut the flat sheet into two pieces and then nicely sew up that cut side to match the hem on the rest of the sides. Use curtain clip rings (which is what I bought when I bought my curtain rod) to avoid any more sewing. Just clip it on and hang it! Then you have the pillow cases and the fitted sheet to use as extra fabric for whatever else... throw pillows, other smaller windows, etc.

rants and raves

2011-09-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

I've been trying really hard lately to get back into current events, and BOY is there a lot going on! Just want to note a few rants and a few raves on what I've been reading about....

Rave:

Congrats to the USA for finally getting rid of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy!! I couldn't be prouder. This is SUCH a HUGE step in a positive direction for our country. In a world that is so completely torn apart by a fear of differences -- because, really, that's what it all boils down to -- there's not much that's more important than establishing equality in our own country.

Rant:

I am DEEPLY disappointed in you, Representative Michelle Bachman. Calling the HPV Vaccine "dangerous" is going to have a hugely dangerous affect on the amount of girls and women that go out and get the vaccine. Maybe instead of thinking about your SELF and your campaign, you could think about all of the women out there who are dying, have died, or are being treated for cervical cancer. I understand that you prefer to stick your head in the sand and pretend like teens aren't having sex so that you can maintain the support of your right-wing constituency (and we know how well that worked out for Sarah Palin and her daughter Bristol), but COME ON. As a woman you should be ashamed of yourself.

Rave:

I was reading a post on Just a Girl about the Healing Field in Rockford, Michigan, and it not only warmed my heart but also brought tears to my eyes. They had 3,200 flags for those lost during 9/11. Each flag had a tag with a name on it and details about who that person was, what they did, and who they left behind. THAT is exactly the kind of town I want to raise babies in. That's not just a town, that's a COMMUNITY in the truest sense of the word. You can find more information about their Healing Field here.

the last three weeks of my life

2011-09-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

It feels like it's been the last three MONTHS of my life because I started over so many times. I'm finally finished with wedding invitations. GOOD RIDDANCE! I never want to print, assemble, or address an invitation for anything again IN.MY.LIFE.

adventures in furniture shopping

2011-09-12T12:31:00.001-07:00

We moved! Yay! Y'all have already read about that here and here probably. Unfortunately, our wonderful abode doesn't come fully furnished like my prior residences did. (Live-in nanny and roommate situations.) That means any furniture I "own" is all the way in SC and staying there because I refuse to drive across the country with heavy furniture in tow. Bryan moved straight from his parents' house, so he also owns nothing.

Thus, this is what our living room currently looks like: (Actually, it's currently a LOT worse than this because I unloaded a wedding project this weekend and it's covering the entire living room floor!!)

Straight from a spread in Better Homes and Gardens, right??

Kind of embarrassing.

Clearly we need furniture.

We actually did a good deal of furniture shopping a few weekends before we moved into the apartment. There was a set we liked (and on clearance!) at Gallery Furniture, but we hadn't bought a bed or anything yet and we wanted to get the essentials before we started buying anything else.

While we love those camping chairs (last night Bryan said he was really going to miss those built-in cup holders, lol...), they aren't very comfortable and we're tired of sitting on the floor. So this last week I've been looking around again and finding out the deals. We decided that rather than wipe out our savings (which we're hoping to put towards a real home sooner rather than later), it would be in our best interest to get a financing plan that delays payment as long as possible.

Rooms to Go and Ashley Furniture were the first options. They both have great financing options. Unfortunately, they have couches that don't really fit my criteria. I want a light beige sofa, preferably one that is slip-covered like that gorgeous ones at Pottery Barn.

We looked everywhere.

Then we stopped looking and kind of gave up. Everything that was a good color seemed to be too "scratchy" for Bryan or too expensive or I didn't like it.

The bed was an issue that had to be tackled, however. Neither of us was very keen on the idea of sleeping on the floor. We looked at several places and ended up getting one that was clearanced at a Mattress Firm Super Center. We got a $2500 mattress for around $1K INCLUDING the box springs AND the frame AND delivery, financed with 0% interest over one year so we can make monthly payments. Awesome. We were able to have it delivered the night we moved in. (We moved in at 6pm on a Friday... I think they delivered it around 8pm.) It is SO comfortable and we love it! We're really happy with our decision.

Notes on mattress shopping....

Wear clothes that are comfortable when flopping on a bed in public! One time I wore a tank with a strapless bra and I kept feeling it shifting around. Not cool.
Shop clearance! It's just the stuff that someone bought and returned right away. They clean it and it's as good as new, they just can't sell it that way. Ours looks brand new like no one ever touched it.
Pay attention to prices. We got a King size bed which means we needed two box springs. The sales guy quickly rambled off how much it was to get matching ones or mismatched ones - just a few dollars difference. I whipped out my phone and calculated that it was actually a $60 difference. Matching box springs make no difference to me since they are covered anyway, so we opted to save $60 bucks. Turns out, we actually GOT matching ones anyway. Take that Mattress Firm.
Pay attention to the sales people. The first Mattress Firm we went in was NOT the one we purchased our bed at. The sales people there were outside smoking and when straight inside when we pulled up, and DIDN'T WASH THEIR HANDS OR USE SANITIZER. Gross.

On Thursday I went (back) to Star Furniture and went through everything again. Then I pulled fabric swatches and looked at all of the options. Then I found out they don't do the financing we had read about online unless you spend more than $5K. Well, that just wasn't going to happen. Disappointing... and also a waste of time.

On Friday I remembered that we had found a set we liked at the Room Store but weren't ready to commit to because it was the first store we had stopped in. We went back that night and still really liked it. It wasn't the canvas material I like, and it's not slip-covered, but it was the right color and we both liked it. THEN we couldn't agree on what to buy. Just the couch? The couch and the chair? The couch, chair, love-seat, and the ottoman? These are a lot of expensive and important decisions. Typically, Bryan tends to make impulse purchases in situations like that. Knowing that, I was on standby with a Plan B option so he wouldn't jump in and buy the couch before I knew what was happening.

Plan B was Ikea. When I changed my mailing address with USPS they sent a bunch of coupons, and one was a $50 off a purchase of $250 or more at Ikea. Well, Ikea has couches. Slip-covered couches. In light beige. In a canvas material. Whoo hoo! So we grabbed the coupon and went to Ikea. Bryan actually liked the couch! ...And then he spotted a different couch that he liked more. It was deeper and longer, but not as cute.

the couch I wanted

(scroll back up to see the PB couch that looks very similar)

the couch he wanted

The couch was $399 with the most basic slip-cover. $349 with my $50 coupon. The one we bought was $499 with the most basic slip-cover and $449 with my $50 coupon. Save $100 or get a bigger couch? (Go with the cuter couch, or the more practical one?)

Well, at this point beggars can't be choosers and I was prepared to beg for furniture. My inner Martha just couldn't live like that anymore. MUST.DECORATE.NOW. So, I said "okay, baby, I love it!" and we went to the register with the bigger couch. We used the coupon but tax put us almost back at $500. Then we had to wait in line AGAIN to set up delivery. We waited in line FOREVER. We fill out the paperwork and find that delivery won't JUST be the $59 because we live on the third floor. Yuck. Then someone wheels a couch out for pick-up -- IN PIECES. Ummm WTF the couch has to be put together?? And that's not included in delivery?? NO THANK YOU! That was enough for Bryan to change his mind. We got out of that line and got into the returns line.
Hello and goodbye Ikea couch.

The next morning we went BACK to the Room Store and ended up buying the set we looked at after they made us a better offer. Here's our new living room furniture!

We got the couch, the loveseat, the chair (that you can barely see), and the ottoman which is not pictured. I don't love the pillows, but a quick trip to the fabric store and I can remedy that. Everything is being delivered on Thursday and we are SOOOO excited!!

Goodbye camping chairs! :)

the shower that wasn't

2011-09-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was home in South Carolina for my bridal shower and bachelorette party hosted by my bridesmaids.

We had decided to do it over the holiday weekend to make travel easier for those of us coming from Texas (I thought it would be me and three others), and also so we could squeeze in both events without being rushed. Big.Mistake.

1st Mistake: I was counting on someone to make the trip from Texas with me, and in hindsight I should have just booked a flight. I ended up driving the whole thing myself, which is no fun. I left a day early and drove to my parents (about 14 hrs), spent most of a day with my mama, then drove the remaining 2.5 hrs to Columbia. Broke it up the same way coming back. It's just too far to go straight from Columbia to Houston.

2nd Mistake: Choosing a holiday weekend, and choosing it without consulting the football schedule. We planned the wedding around the football schedule, so who knows why we didn't think about it for this. It ended up being the first game weekend for Clemson AND Carolina. Between football tickets and vacation, just about everyone was busy.

We ended up cancelling the shower and moving the bachelorette party to Friday night. We had SO MUCH FUN and in the end I'm glad everything happened the way it did. Saturday morning, instead of rushing around to get ready for a shower will stupid games, we chowed down at Lizard's Thicket (amazing hangover food) and spent the rest of the day in our PJs just catching up. (And of course we watched the Carolina game that night.) Even though I was upset at first, I would not change a thing about that trip.

And now for some pictures.... :)

I had actually done a cute hair bump but thankyouSChumidity my hair

was completely flat by the time we made it to Wild Wings.

Now all I see in every picture is FOREHEAD. lol

Good Southern girls are brought up knowing that

wings are an appropriate food choice for almost

any celebratory occasion.

Always end a good night of drinking with Waffle House.

That coffee is the perfect cure to a wicked hangover.

Wondering about the veil? I had brought some wedding stuff home with me and that was some leftover scrap that made it into my car. I knew the girls were wearing black and I thought it would be cute to make a little birdcage veil -- HARDER THAN IT LOOKS. As you can see it pretty much stuck straight out and looked ridiculous in every picture. Parker said it looked like I was in mourning, and thus the "wedding" veil turned into the veil to "mourn the death of my single status" which was kind of funny.

One last thing.... word of warning about those beads! My neck (and the white t-shirt I slept in!) were STAINED hot pink from the bead necklaces! Good thing the color blended right into my dress. If it had been a light colored dress it would have been ruined for sure!!

better than flowers. and jewelry. ...no really.

2011-08-31T13:46:00.001-07:00

Bryan and I just moved in together on Friday, but we've been talking about it for months. In those months, I have turned into a crazy person. Seriously. It's not my fault though. Well, partially not my fault. I have a very Type A personality.... meaning, I like things my way and my way only. Because I like things my way, I started noticing things Bryan does that are NOT the way I do it. And those things have been making me act crazy.

Here's an example:
I manage to sleep diagonal in the bed while tossing and turning, and yet my blankets don't budge. All I do in the morning is pull back the little area of covers and adjust my pillow. Bryan is in bed for 3 minutes and it looks like someone dropped a heap of sheets and blankets on the bed straight from the dryer.

So we moved in on Friday evening and he worked most of the weekend while I was home unpacking. On Monday, I had to go to work. :( When I came home I found THERE HAD BEEN A MIRACLE!! BRYAN HAD MADE THE BED!!! And a few other things, but that one thing there made me ECSTATIC! Silly? Well, yeah. But it's the small things in life....

Here's to hoping we continue to adjust peacefully to cohabitation! :)

We're Nearlyweds!

2011-08-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

Nope, I didn't mean newlyweds. We've still got a little more than two months to go before that happens. We moved in together today and I can just feel things changing. The wedding is around the corner and we're talking about "our" finances and we're buying furniture.... and we're Nearlyweds! Was there a moment, before your wedding, when you felt that things were different? Or was it something that just happened so gradually that you didn't notice it until after the wedding?

The wedding countdown is at 71 days and I could not be more excited. Even though there is somuchtodo, I'm actually not feeling that crazy anymore. Maybe moving in and "starting" our life together has put a reality check on things?

My first dress fitting since I picked it up is tomorrow!! I've been dieting like a mad woman, so here's to hoping it zips all the way up this time!! :)

(Sorry if you also read my wedding blog and caught this one twice! I did double duty for this one...)

101 words :: word #2

2011-04-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

I did word #1 (kitsch) a LONG while back.... but I really need to get back on this. It's part of my 101 things in 1001 days.

Today's word is:
persnickety [per-snik-i-tee] -adj.
overparticular; fussy; snobbish, or having the aloof attitude of a snob; requiring painstaking care

paying homage to Shabby Blogs

2011-03-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Love my blog background? Well get one for your own self! I get them free from Shabby Blogs and Cutest Blog on the Block.

Saw this Blinkie on Shabby Blogs this morning.... too funnny....

They have some cute buttons too. I hadn't looked through them in a while.

They also have a blog which I popped over to this morning.... and found that one of my OTHER favorite blogs is teaming up with them! Hooray! Free Pretty Things For You does vintage clip art that is always FREE.

Anyway, just thought I'd share the fabulousity.

"life is what happens when you're busy making plans."

2011-03-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

It's been too long since I've blogged! I've been insanely busy and it seems like by the time I sit down to write about something it's already changed.

Here's what's going on in my little piece of the universe.....

We set a date! And we're sticking with it this time. November 5, 2011, I will become the Mrs! Wedding plans are well in the works.

I've been busy with my wedding coordinating. SO EXCITED. (Btw if you are looking for that blog.... it has the same url I'm just trying to detach it from my personal blog. Visit http://lovelyevents.co to find the link to the wedding blog. And thanks for reading!) I did a wedding in January, two weddings in March, and I have two coming up in April. I have not posted about those weddings yet, but you can find pictures on my website (the above link) or my facebook fan page.

It ended up that Bryan needs to take one summer class, so he won't be able to walk in the graduation ceremony until August. So, our main reason for moving the wedding is now moot, but we're still happy we did it. The thought of being less than two months out from our wedding right now is frightening! Also, Bryan changed his major to Business with a minor in Accounting instead of a major in Accounting.

With that being said, he has a lot to think about these days when it comes to work and graduation. There are job possibilities for him if he stays on with Aramark, but he's really thinking hard about going into the police academy or fire academy. (HELLO I've only been saying he should do that since we met but noooooobody ever listens to me!☺) I really think he would LOVE being a police officer. His experience with Target really gave him a taste for it. (Have I talked about that before? Maybe not. He was one of those undercover people who catch shoplifters. Much more exciting than it sounds.) More about the fire thing below....

Bryan is now a volunteer firefighter. (Hellooooo studly uniform!) It's new to him so of course it's really exciting right now and he thinks he loves it, but I really think he'll get tired of it and wish he had gone the police route instead. We'll see what happens. He can always work as a cop and continue as a volunteer firefighter, but you can't be a volunteer cop.

I moved.... again. I never posted about the first move. It was tragic. Some back story.... I moved out of the doctor's house (where I was a live-in nanny) and stayed in the play room at a friend's house. They are awesome for letting me do that! Well, the room was a loft = no door, so I only stayed about a month. I moved in to a townhouse (with a roommate who was already renting the place) and stayed about 2 months. Which was about two months too long. I knew the day I moved in that I should have turned around and left... and yet, there I was for two more months. Here's an example: Yes, that looks like blood to me too. And it was on the kitchen floor for a solid 5 weeks. It was still there when I moved out along with several sets of paw prints that were not made from mud... if you catch my drift. I realize that at some point I probably let my house get disgusting (sorry Tracy!) but we're grown ups now and funk like that is not okay. GROSS. (Here's a super funny video that my old roommate Joni sent me when I told her about this. HILARIOUS.) Anyway, so now I've moved again and so far so good. Plus, the house is spotless. And it smells nice. And they don't turn the air up to 82 degrees. Amen.

Work is still good. I love my workplace, but the actual tasks they have me doing are sooooo boring! Lame. And they are way underpaying me. Oh well.

We got a new car! And by we, I mean Bryan. But since we're getting married I consider it "ours." LOL. It's AMAZING on gas, and it has room to grow in the future when we decide to have a baby. I point this out only because Bryan wanted a TWO SEATER SPORTS CAR. I mean, the plan is to have lots of kids so idk how he thought that was going to happen.... lol. This is the Nissan Juke and it's actually designed to look a lot like the sportscar he initially wanted. It was a great compromise and I'm so proud of him for making a good decision like that.

I guess that's pretty much it for now. I'm not sure where I want to take this blog.... I'd like to do more crafting but I honestly just don't have the time right now.

-Kayleigh

the 1st day of Christmas

2010-12-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

Anyone ever wondered why the song is "The Twelve Day of Christmas" when there are really 25? This was the first thing that popped into my head this morning when I sat down to write.

The Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days beginning Christmas Day (25 December). This period is also known as Christmastide. The Twelfth Day of Christmas is 5 January,^[1] with the celebrations of Christmas traditionally ending on Twelfth Night and is followed by theFeast of the Epiphany on 6 January. In some traditions the first day of Epiphany and the twelfth day of Christmas overlap.

Thank you Google and Wikipedia, lol. So in case you didn't know and some kid asks you.... because they ALWAYS ask the stuff you don't know.... now you know.

This was one of our (me and my two brothers) FAVORITE Christmas songs when I was a kid. We didn't really think of it as a holiday song though. Any time we made Mama sing us to sleep it was always this one and Silent Night (my favorite.) To this day, if I'm babysitting or something and a kid asks me to sing these are the only songs I can remember...

Merry Christmas!

(And Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Holidays, too!)

2010-11-29T19:08:00.000-08:00

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!

I START ON THE 13TH!!

dreaming of a yummy Thanksgiving

2010-11-22T07:19:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I decided to spice up our family Thanksgiving menu and started planning my own. We still make the same stuff we've been making for the last 20-something years, but now there are some extras. Here's what's on my list this year.....

Deep Fried Turkey... in addition to the regular one that I never eat

My dad's friend gave us one the year before last, and we made our own last year and will again this year. Don't forget to inject these with spices for that extra YUMMMM factor!

Pioneer Woman's Nantucket Cranberry Pie

She just posted this one this morning and OH MY it looks delicious. My Daddy eats that gross canned stuff while me and Mama eat them raw out of the bag.... this looks like a much tastier option.

Cornbread Dressing

We tried this last year from a recipe that Mama got from somewhere.... and it was an epic FAIL. This recipe is from Recipe Zaar (although now I see they changed their name??) and it's "Emaw's Cornbread Dressing." I feel like this is gonna be a good one. Do y'all eat dressing or stuffing? We have always made stuffing, but I remember the school always making DELICIOUS dressing and last year I asked Mama to make that too.

And of course my breakfast casserole. I don't have any pictures of it, but this is what it looks like minus the decorative parsley sprig:

We're still discussing the rest... I'll have to get back to y'all. Any good ones y'all'd like to share??

{happiness}

2010-11-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

moving on up

2010-11-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

I have been really down lately, but it seems that things are starting to look up!

Thanks to my FABULOUS friend Katie, I interviewed this week for a great job and should know by the end of the week whether or not it's mine o' mine. Fingers crossed!

My weight loss count is up to 7 pounds!! Hooray!

I'm making my journey home for Thanksgiving festivities on Thursday. Could not be more excited about that! PLUS, my baby brother will have his graduation from boot camp and will celebrate the holiday as a US Marine. We are so proud of him!!!

I've really slowed down on the wedding plans for right now. We've got a lot of things hammered out, but I'm having a hard time getting excited about planning again and I think it's because our date isn't set in stone yet. (We have to wait for the football schedule to come out in January.)

Today I'm going to pack some boxes (just in case I get this job!!) and maybe look at some apartments.

{get moving} finally exercising!

2010-11-02T11:08:00.001-07:00

Anyone who knows me or has been following me for a while knows that I am really struggling with my weight. The struggle is getting motivated to lose said weight. I even participated in a blog weight-loss competition and that wasn't enough to at least humiliate me into getting into shape. I have plenty of motivators. Our wedding should be a HUGE (pun intended) motivator for me to get into shape. And yet.... my weight keeps on going up and I keep doing nothing about it. Then last week or so something just changed for me. I don't know why. I'm not quite sure when. I've been back on my weight watchers account for around two weeks. I'm not very good at tracking, but this last week I've been way better. And I've been working out a LOT -- and enjoying it for a change! Down 4 pounds so far!!

101 words :: word #1

2010-10-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

As part of my 101 in 1001 I want to learn 101 new words and make them part of my vocabulary. I've always been one of those people who write down words I don't know when I'm reading and look them up, so this should be easy.

My first 1 of 101 is a word I've seen a lot around the internet on craft and wedding sites. I know the meaning, but I wasn't sure how it sounds.... maybe you were wondering how it's pronounced too?

kitsch [kich] -noun
something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste

here's what it really means:

To me it means eclectic... in a tacky yet charming sort of way. Get it? As an adjective it's "kitschy." As in: She has very kitschy taste.

::love::

{tutorial} Cake Balls

2010-10-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

This was one messy project! It probably would have been less messy if I didn't let the kiddos help out, but it was just too fun for them to miss out on. I was going to do Cake Pops, not Balls, but I realized that I forgot to get a piece of styrofoam to put them in to dry. (The Pops can't dry on a cookie sheet like the Balls because they would have flat tops and not look pretty. Also, the Balls didn't come out so pretty anyway...)

I based my actions off of Recipe Rhapsody's tutorial, and I believe she used Bakerella. I looked at Bakerella too, but I liked the other tutorial better. It explained things a little better and didn't assume that I knew what I was doing.

FIRST I made cake. As far as I can tell, any type of cake will do. That may be a lie, so don't take my word for it.

SECOND I let the cake cool a bit, and then I tore it into chunks in a large bowl. Then you basically put both hands in the bowl and destroy. You can the cake as ground up as possible before the next step.

THIRD It's time to get REALLY messy. I added a whole little tub of chocolate frosting to the bowl. (Please note: on RR's tutorial she doesn't use the whole thing of icing, but her cake box was 14oz and mine was 18oz so I went ahead and used all of it.)

FOURTH Roll the mixture in cake balls and place them on a cookie sheet or something that will fit into your fridge. They need to cool for at least an hour to firm them up.

FIFTH Melt your chocolate but be careful not to burn it. I melted mine in a saucepan on low heat. Add vegetable oil (only this!) to thin the chocolate or else it will look lumpy when it dries.

see how lumpy the chocolate looks? these were my first tries and the chocolate was way to thick!! you'll also notice that the two on the far right don't look quite round... that's because I didn't turn them in the spoon so that the "bottom" landed on the bottom. (when they chill in the fridge they acquire a flat bottom.)

SIXTH Use a spoon to coat your cake balls with chocolate and then place them back on the wax paper. Decorate before the chocolate dries!!

the girls loved this part! they just went crazy with those sprinkles...

SEVENTH Let cool, and voile! A very delicious treat... just make sure you have a glass of milk handy because these babies are RICH!

My thoughts on the process....

...don't thin your chocolate too much. I did this at the end and it was REALLY obvious because you could see the cake texture through the chocolate.

see how lumpy it looks?

...these were DELICIOUS! I will definitely make these again.

...great project for the kids! Other than melting the chocolate and keeping it melted, this was a totally kid-friendly project.

...cheap to make! I spent $2 on cake mix, $1.50 on icing, and I used chocolate and sprinkles that we already had in the pantry.

::love::

changes...

2010-10-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Lovelies,

A while back I had a personal blog called "Carolina Girl in a Texas World" but I deleted because I wasn't really keeping up with it. The only thing I miss is having an outlet for my book reviews and my occasion thoughts. SO I have decided to add some things to this blog.

1 - I have added a "101 in 1001" tab. This is the *second* time I have started this list. Maybe this time I'll actually keep up with it. (And remember my password for the site!) One of my "things" is to post each time I complete a task, so I will be doing that on this blog.

2- I added a "Book Club" tab. This isn't so much a club as a place for me to review books. BUT I'm hoping that one day I'll have enough friends and readers on here that it will feel like a book club. So please, by all means, comment on my reviews and let me know what your thoughts on the books are! I'm going to write one for each of my 101 books that are part of my list, as well as for books that I have read recently and are fresh in my mind. I'm always looking for book suggestions!!

3- There is now a tutorials tab. I'm still decided on whether to link only my tutorials, or to also link tutorials that I like. I'll get back to y'all on that one.

Thanks for reading!

2010-09-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

All of my friends here in Houston are having babies or preggers, and I'm submersed in the world maternity and baby. In order to keep my baby clock from ticking too loudly, I make neat things for my friends. Here's my newest for a pregnant girlfriend who is just starting to get a belly....

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

2010-09-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

Diva's birthday was Friday... here's the final product and it was A HIT!!

Not my best paint job, but that glitter paint was really thick and kind of hard to work with. I love the shimmer effect it gave, but I'd rather find another brand than use it again.

Webkinz Village

2010-09-18T10:31:00.000-07:00

Are y'all familiar with Webkinz? If you're around kids everyday like I am then you probably just groaned. If not, these are Webkinz:

There are also Signature Webkinz that are bigger, Zum Buddies, Kinz Clips, and probably more that I don't know of. They are the modern Beanie Baby, and each one comes with a code that creates an online personality for each and every one. You can even buy clothes for them like the Build-a-Bears. When I moved here a little over a year ago the girls (Hippie and Diva) had 92 and 69, respectively. Yes, they keep count. In the last year they have gotten them for birthdays, Christmas, good report cards, Easter, and just because. I don't know what the count is up to, but the pile looks like this:

oh.my.god.

There are a few extras in here like the Pillow Pals and maybe a regular stuffed animal or two, but you get the picture!

Hippie and Diva LOVE their Webkinz. Each one has a name, and for the most part they remember ALL of their names. Some of them are more special than others, but then they get a new one and it becomes the new sleeping buddy.

The girls are very creative, which I love about them and try to let them run with it as much as possible, so they have constructed many homes for their Webkinz since I've been here with them. Here are some of my favorites....

This is the home of Freddie and Fredalina VonMeowkat. We got this neat little house at Hobby Lobby on the isle with the unfinished wood crafts. They have a little section on that isle that is boxes and stuff made from some kind of cardboard, from the looks. I can't really remember, but I want to say it was around $10 and we got it when all that stuff was 50% off. WELL worth it. Diva has been playing with this for around 6 months! And, obviously, she enjoyed decorating the house as well. We used craft paint.

The girls got REALLY into this show Endurance for a while. It is a kid version of Survivor and there are 6 (?) seasons that were filmed a while back - I think the last season is like 4 years old. One of the channels they watch - Noggin, maybe? - started playing them in order on week nights and all their little friends watched too. The girls built this Endurance play center complete with an obstacle course for their Webkinz. If you're wondering, a cat named Chip was the winner. ;) This was just a cardboard box. I always save boxes for them - I don't know what it is in your childhood that makes boxes so darn entertaining, but I swear they get more fun out of them than their iPods, DSi's, Wii, etc.

Thankfully the girls' mom hasn't given in to the Webkinz clothes. We REALLY don't need anything else I have to find a home for! But every now and then I make something with my fabric scraps for the girls:

You can find the tutorial I did HERE.

Have a lovely day y'all!

a work in progress

2010-09-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

here's what I'm working on for Diva's birthday....

Here's a sneak peak at how it's coming along....

(it's actually bright lime green... not sure why it looks this light color...)

last year's Christmas presents

2010-09-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a birthday present for Diva and it occured to me that I never posted pictures of the board I made Hippy for Christmas....

I used basic craft paint on a large bulletin board. Then I used a glue gun to adhere ribbon to the border. (I searched through clip art online to find a pig that I liked, and then I freehanded it while looking at the picture. I supposed there's a way to trace the image on the board but that just took too much time for me.

I wrapped pink pipe cleaner around a clear plastic push pin to make "pig tails" push pins for the bulletin board.

These are wooden letters that can be found at any craft store. I coated them in lime green craft paint and loaded them up with lime green glitter while the paint was still wet. The thicker the paint, the better. I used my glue gun to adhere the ribbon to the back of the letters so they can be hung. This was a very messy project!!

I'm neglectful

2010-08-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

sorry I haven't posted in a very long time! I promised that fun things are coming soon!!

long time no see

2010-06-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

hello lovelies! it's been a while...

I made one of my flower girl cards this evening...

FINAL PRODUCT:

and this is how it went:

I sketched out how I wanted the envelope to look (based on one from Cards & Pockets.) I wanted it to be 5x7, so I needed each flap to be 2.5" to cover the 5".

I used my paper slicer which is my BEST FRIEND. I started with green paper, but you'll notice below I changed my mind and went with pink.

you can see the measurements on the cutting board that the paper is now 10x7

I don't have anything fancy that helps me make nice clean folds. :( I just folded both sides into the middle at the same time, used the measurements as a guideline, and hoped for the best! it turned out just fine.

I made my belly band an inch wide. Luckily the square pattern on the paper was already in inches so I had some help. :) I can't remember if I trimmed it shorter at the end or if I kept it the full 12" long... just eyeball it.

I was just testing it out. MAKE SURE you don't cut the length until everything that is going IN your card is already in there, because it will get thicker with stuff in it and you don't want the band to not fit!

I started with white paper and cut it just shy of 5x7.

My doodling did NOT turn out cute like I had hoped. I think it looks sloppy. AND I wanted a reason to use my cricut BECAUSE....

...look how neat and tidy the cut out letter look! MUCH better than my handwritten stuff.

round 1

round 2

I posted both on my facebook and the knot to get opinions, but the opinion that really mattered (mine) was negative. I didn't really like either.

I decided instead to cut letters from the paper I used for the belly band. I also moved the bulk of the flowers to the side panels. I know the color looks HORRIBLE in this picture because of the lighting in my room. The other ones were taken when it was light outside and my blinds were open.

Here you can see how the belly band will close. I used blue to seal it and then a little sticky square to adhere the seal.

All sealed up!

back view of the belly band

What do y'all think? And should I make one for the baby?

<3 Kayleigh

"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" proverb

2010-03-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

I cannot express how much I HATE HATE HATE to see people throw away things that are perfectly good and HELLO could go to the goodwill. since I moved to the suburbs I have seen SO MUCH perfectly good furniture, toys, bikes, and everything else set out on the curb. It INFURIATES me. Get off your lazy behind and drive ONE BLOCK past our neighborhood to the brand spankin' new goodwill donation center. you don't even have to break a sweat unloading it. you just back your car up into the reserved spot and they will send someone out to get it for you. and, you can even write it off on your taxes. or be lazy and contribute to the pollution of our Earth. your choice.

now that I'm off my soapbox, look at what I found in the neighbors trash when I got back from picking up the girls from school:

at first the girls were weary when I carried this from across the street. when I told them I would sand it and paint it they immediately jumped on board and wanted to know if they could paint it.

Hippie was so excited about it, she couldn't wait for the new paint and wanted to do her homework in it.

Cost of new reading chair: $zero

“I wanted so badly to study ballet, but it was really all about wearing the tutu.” -Elle McPherson

2010-03-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

This might be my favorite project so far.... :)

I started with 6"wide tulle on a 25yard roll

I used two different shades of pink. I eyeballed it to see how long I wanted the strips. They get folded in half when you put them on the elastic so keep that in mind when you are cutting them.

I used 12in of elastic for a 0-3m tutu.

Start looping the tulle onto the elastic band! Be creative! Make sure that the elastic doesn't show through anywhere!

And here's the finished product!

I'm now selling these tutus! Send me an email @ kayleighe@gmail.com if you're interested

flea-market finds

2010-03-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

I went home to SC this weekend and we went to the flea market. I LOVE flea markets. When I lived in SC I went every single Sunday with a girlfriend of mine. Flea markets, yard sales, thrift stores... love them all!

Check out this dress form I bought for $12:

it doesn't have any brand markings on it anywhere, but from seaching online I think it's the Singer brand that sells for $129 (!!!!) brand new. the only thing I don't have is the stand to attach it to if I want to make a dress/skirt/pants.

I usually pay close to $3 for a spool of thread... found some that were 5 for a dollar! So for less than I pay for 1 spool, I bought 10! the color selection they had wasn't too bad, either...

Totally unrelated to crafting, but I also scored this little firetruck for my *soon-to-be* nephew for .25cents!

I'm (slowly) gathering materials for a project idea for my wedding that I got from Weddings and Cookies, a blog that I LOVE to follow. She made these gorgeous cake stands for her DIY wedding using thrifted plates and candle holders, glue, and spray-paint. I found two candlestick holders for .50cents each (is there a symbol on the keyboard for "cents" that I'm not aware of?!) at a thrift store in my hometown while I was there for a visit.

mini-tutu

2010-03-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

I don't know if your kids are obsessed with Webkinz like all the kids around here, but this is great for them or any other stuffed animal or baby doll!

I had a leftover tulle ruffle that wasn't quite long enough for a pair of bloomers I was working on, but here are instructions for starting from scratch.

1) you need tulle. you can buy it in the fabric section OR some stores (I buy mine at Hobby Lobby when it's 50% off!) carry it on small rolls like ribbon. for this tutorial I used a big piece from the fabric section

2) cut a strip of the tulle as wide as you want the tutu to be long (if you cut it two inches wide, then it will be 2 inches long including the part attached to the rick rack ribbon)

3) feed it through the sewing machine with VERY loose tension. my machine ruffles it when without me doing anything as long as I have it set on 5.0. (if you don't really know how to use your machine just bunch the tulle as you feed it through and it will make it look ruffled. this is just faster.)

4) if your machine doesn't ruffle the tulle automatically on loose tension, then make sure you leave the thread tails long on each end. pick an end and pull at one of the pieces of thread. if nothing happens try the other one. pulling the thread will make the tulle gather. spread the gathered fabric with your fingers to make it even until you have the ruffle at the length you want.

5) sew the rick-rack onto the tulle ruffle

6) make sure you leave enough of the ribbon at each end to make the button and button hole. I used a feature on my machine to make a button hole on one end of the ribbon. on the other end I sewed a button on by hand.

7) then I had a tutu!

happiness

2010-03-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

"The Earth laughs in flowers." Ralph Waldo Emerson

2010-03-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

If you've been following my diy wedding blog then you know that I'm planning to make my flowers rather than use actual flowers. This was my first attempt... many more mediums to come.... using various polyester fabrics.

first I cut the fabric into circles... well, sort of. these were hardly circles at all. some of them were really just squares with rounded edges. it doesn't matter AT ALL if they are nice. I recommend doing small, medium, and large ones like I did.

then light a candle. please don't try to do this by holding a match/lighter/candle in one hand and the fabric in the other. I tried. and I burned myself. and ruined my fabric. use a candle in something stable and then use both hands to turn the fabric in the flame. much easier that way.

my first few. you can see some black spots... that's where the fabric caught flame. blow it out quickly. don't touch it. the fabric will be HOT HOT HOT melted plastic on your skin. just let it dry, cut it off, and re-burn that spot.

make plenty!! I used two different fabrics and a wide range of sizes.

then play with the "petals" for a while. layer them. fold them. see what you like. then use a needle and thread to piece them together. there's really no wrong way.

they came out pretty, I think :)

I'm thinking about using these for flowers at my wedding. they can be used for lots of things! be creative! stitch them to a shirt, glue a pin on the back and pin it to a jacket or bag, attach to a hair accessory... you get the picture.

I want it! I want it! I want it!

2010-03-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

this might be the coolest craft table that I've ever seen....

nice pretty wood table, comes in three finishes

so you flip the panels and they are DRY ERASE BOARDS but that's not it

under the panels is STORAGE

AND

there is more storage in the benches!!

pretty awesome, yeah?

find it, and more, at ducduc

"Neckties satisfy modern man's desire to dress in art." -Harry Anderson, magician/actor

2010-03-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

I've been seeing these cute tshirts on little boys on the wedding sites I've been looking through.

first I cut out my tie pieces. I drew these on a piece of white paper using a ruler to make sure it was symmetrical. I did one that was one solid piece too and it was just as cute, I just like the top part to go in a different direction.

I traced the same shapes onto double sided iron-on adhesive. then I ironed the adhesive onto the back of the fabric, took off the liner, and ironed the whole thing onto the tee.

using the gingham was a poor choice. you can see how badly it frayed around the edges. because of the adhesive it was hard to trim the frayed pieces off.

the just embroider around the edges with the sewing machine and....

voilà! a little wrinkled but you get the picture. this was the first one I made. I am now selling them at my shop on tees and onsies.

I'd rate this craft as EASY. in the future I'll stick with cotton fabrics that don't fray!!

"Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!" Dr. Seuss

2010-03-01T07:02:00.000-08:00

things I want to try in 2010... in no particular order:

braided headband

recycled roses wreath

suit coat clutch

swaddle blanket

ruffle bib

(omg!!!!! so freakin cute!)

pottery barn kids style changing pad

reusable shopping bags

baby car seat cover

burlap wreath

canvas layers holiday wreath

recycled napkin rings