a dress... to a top

I mentioned in my previous post how I was sick all weekend and I haven't really gotten better, but even though I have had a cold I have still been getting ready everyday as if I were going out in public. So this is me on a Monday, sick and trying to look half decent.

The good thing about staying home sick on Monday was that I had the opportunity to finish my 2nd Pinterest Challenge. (my 1st was a DIY Doily Dreamcatcher that you can see here). For this challenge I wanted to change the back of one of my tops to look like this, but when it came down to it, I didn't have a shirt that I was willing to refashion.  So I remembered I had this dress that I haven't worn in like 2 years and decided it would be perfect because I could use the bottom of the dress as the ties.

I'm pretty happy with the end result and really want to try it again with more of a flowy fabric.

linking up with the pleated poppy

Random

1. Last Friday I went to work feeling a little sick, sniffling and sneezing... and was sent home at noon. Definitely not complaining about starting my weekend a little early even if I wasn't 100%. Babe was also a little sick but seemed much better than me on Saturday morning.

2. Babe and I spent so much time together this weekend because my husband was busy digging a 5 foot hole in our front yard. Joys of being a homeowner: replacing a portion of water line because of root blockage. He had some family help, and I'm so thankful it saved us a few hundred dollars.

3. I'm usually not too excited about losing an hour of sleep for daylight savings BUT I actually get to enjoy some daylight after work once I get home. Yay for daylight.

4. Have you heard "sweater weather"? I have had this song on repeat everyday for like 3 weeks now. I seriously love everything about it, his voice, the words, the melody. I think it's such a fun, sexy, love song... at least that's my opinion.

linking up with lowercase letters

coffee date

Today for coffee date we are sharing our 5 favorite beauty products. I love beauty products but I'm going to be super honest... Monday through Friday, it sure looks like I don't own any. I'm not a morning person, I pretty much throw on clothes, put my hair in a bun or braid and my make-up goes on in the 3 minutes right before I walk into the office. These are my go-to, must-haves Monday through Friday.

1. L'oreal True Match super blend able powder in natural buff N3 ... brief description from them Micro-fine powder provides versatile coverage: you can blot shine, blend for a natural finish, or build for more coverage. True Match™ Powder’s formula contains a hint of pearl pigments that enhance your skin’s tone.
me I have been using this powder since it came out. I love the light, almost sheer coverage.

2. Sonia Kashuk beautifying blush in Lily ... brief description from them This powder blush will give you a natural, luminous flush and radiant appearance.
me this is such a pretty shade of pink with the tiniest hint of shimmer.

3. Fresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment with SPF 15 ... brief description from them nourishes and protects the lips while delivering a hint of sheer rosy color to enhance the lips' natural tone.
me LOVE this! SPF 15, sheer rosy color and it smells nice too.

4. Benefit They're Real mascara ... me I have to tell you my favorite mascara is actually Benefit Bad Gal Lash BUT I have gotten at least 3 mascara's in the past 9 months through birchbox and I got this one last month for my birthday. So I haven't bought a new Bad Gal Lash in a while. I don't know that I love it more than the Bad Gal Lash yet but I do love the dome shaped tip that gets closer to the roots of the lashes.

5. Boscia green tea blotting linens ... me These are the BEST blotting sheets I have ever used. They are a little pricey but definitely worth it. And since I'm such a lazy butt and never re-touch my make-up (except for my lips) these are perfect for taking away the day shine.

I almost always throw on a taupe/ light brown eye shadow also but I don't have a "favorite" go to brand or color, any shade of taupe/ light brown is fine.

 

What are some your everyday beauty favorites?

d.i.y. masquerade party decor

I thought it would be fun to share a few simple DIYs I did for my Masquerade themed party last month. I love planning parties, my favorite part (and usually the most stressful) is all the stuff that happens "before" the party.
The pictures are pretty self explanatory but of course I included a step-by-step for each.

Ribbon Backdrop (this is my favorite)
Supplies: a wooden dowel (mine was 45" long), Ribbon (I had 4 colors, 12 meters of each color), Gold curling ribbon and scotch tape.

1. I calculated how long I should make each strand of ribbon in order to get the most out of the ribbon spool, making lengths of 24" and 30". 

2. start in the center of your dowel with the longer strips of ribbon, taping the ribbon to the dowel (I tried glue first but I am super impatient and it wasn't drying fast enough for me). Work your way outwards alternating colors and sizes as you see fit.

3. make random knots, on random strips of ribbon. Drape a few random pieces of curling ribbon over the dowel and your finished!

I just hung it with a piece of ribbon, at both ends, to my curtain rod. I had so much fun taking pictures in front of my Ribbon backdrop (you can see a couple here)

Flag Signs
Supplies: cardstock, hole punch, pattern edged scissors, glue and glitter.

1. cut your cardstock into 6 equal rectangular pieces. Punch hole's at 2 of your corner's and trim the opposite bottom with your scissors.

3. use your glue to create a letter and sprinkle generously with glitter. let dry. repeat until you have a word.

4. string all letters through your curling ribbon and hang.

A Simple Centerpiece and Mask Invitation's

Supplies (for 1 centerpiece. I made 4): a drinking glass, 3 bead necklaces, black cardstock, metallic sharpie's, small scrape feathers, a peacock feather, glue, sparkle embellishment, floral foam and a chopstick (I used a chopstick because it was more sturdy and my scrape feather had little bells on it that made it heavy)

 

1. paint your chopstick a metallic gold color. set aside to dry.

2. I googled free mask template and found this to be perfect for what I wanted. I printed it on regular paper and was able to get 4 traced on my black cardstock.

3. I took all 3 metallic sharpies and just started drawing random designs, starting with the outline of the eyes. I'm not super creative but I think I did a pretty good job. (you can also use glitter glue as another option)

4. use your sparkle embellishment for 1 (or both) corner's of the mask. and glue your small feathers to the back of one of the corners.

5. glue your chopstick to the back on the same side with the feather.

6. cut a small square of floral foam and strategically (yes, that's how I did it) place the peacock feather and mask (on stick) into the foam.

7. place the foam into your glass, and drop in the bead necklaces.

For my invitation's, I basically did steps 2 through 4 and printed all the details on a plain piece of paper that I glued to the back of the mask.

I LOVE doing things like this for parties! Super simple details make such a huge difference.

 

animal print

I don't think I have ever worn this dress to work before. I have only worn it during the summer with sandals. I have to admit that I'm a little scared to wear animal print, I literally own 3 item's that have animal print... this dress, a top that you can see here and a scarf. But when I saw this dress I fell in love with the flowy top part and it had to be mine.

 

Of course I can't take a picture without Babe wanting to take a picture too,

and how can I resist that cuteness?!

 

Linking up with the pleated poppy and kiwi womens style

Random

1.This is how I remove my nail polish, and this was a conversation between Babe and I.
me: argh... I'm a monster
babe: who showed you that
me: um... Pinterest
babe: she told you to buy that
me: Pinterest isn't a person. it's a website. like on the computer.
babe: oh... wow!

2. I grew up in the desert and have to say... I don't miss it... ever. But there really are the most amazing sunsets out in the middle of nowhere. I remember growing up, one of my favorite things to do was lay in front of our sliding door watching all the colors in the sky and then counting all the stars afterwards.

3.Last night we had a movie night complete with popcorn, red vines and pepsi (for me... one of my weakness's). I was so excited to watch one of my favorite movies with Babe.. Labyrinth! He actually watched the whole thing and there were moments when he was so into what was happening that we didn't know if he was scared or really enjoying it. I was 6 when that movie came out and only realized last night that, to an almost 4 year old, there might be parts that seem scary.

4. I am dreading the fact that today is Monday.

linking up with lowercase letters

the night i met my husband

Two weeks ago on our coffee date I mentioned how I met my husband the night I went on my first and only blind date. So here is the beginning of us.

the night I met my husband

Sometime in the summer of 2001, I was set up on a blind date with my Brother's friend/ co-worker. We decided to meet at my parents house since my brother would be there to "introduce" us for the first time. When he showed up, he joked that he was worried I would look like my brother with long hair. We went to City Walk which was a little awkward because it was an hour long drive and I wasn't sure what to say. I had been in a previous 2 year relationship and was really new to "dating" considering I had never really "dated" in high school (that's a whole other story). The day was ok. We had lunch, a few drinks and headed back on another hour long drive back home. He wanted to take me to a movie but I had plans to hang out with my cousin's and some of their friend's, so I told him I would see what we had planned for the night and if there were no real plans I would call him so we could meet for a movie.

After my date, I drove to my cousin's house where they were with some friends, playing ping pong. They wanted to know all about my blind date and joked about how the guy gave me a rose and thought that was so old fashioned and that guys should give girl's a bag of chips instead. Because whether the date goes good or bad, at least you can enjoy the bag of chips afterwards, but the rose will just die. What can I say... we were young!

I was having fun with my  cousin's and friends and decided I would stay with them for the night. Plus there was a cute boy there that I hadn't seen before. He was adorable, 2 years younger than me and kind of shy... ok REALLY shy... but he laughed when he accidentally hit me with a ping pong...

Yup, that was my future husband

(no, we were NOT this cozy the night we met)

 

Ok, so only that last tiny paragraph was about "us" but that's really how that night went.

I look forward to sharing more of our story in the future.

linking up with Rags to Stitches