the home brew project

One of the projects my hubby and I have been working on (he brews, I design): 

Today's post is a little different than the usual, but I am super excited about my husband's beer! He has been working so hard on his brewing and it is really good! We are doing a test run on all of our friends and family this coming week so I decided to design some labels for each one. What do you think? I wish I could host a tasting for you but for now, you will have to judge the book by its cover. 

Right now, it is just a fun hobby for my hubby and I to join forces on but who knows what it will turn into!

Farmer's Friday

I am officially on vacation at my in-love's house in San Diego! So postings might be scarce for the next week. Off to the Farmer's Market to get some crepes :) Enjoy your Friday!

Inspirational: Liz

This week's inspiration comes from one of my favorite bloggers, Liz of 26 and Counting. 

Here is what she wore:

And here is what I put together, inspired by Liz:

So I am doing this new thing for however long I feel like it (it is my blog after all). Each week, I am going to create an outfit inspired by another blogger, like you see above. It will not only be a challenge for me to tackle, but it will also show you guys where I get some of my outfit ideas and introduce you to some great, new blogs :)
This week, I am featuring an outfit from Liz of 26 and Counting. You will love her "Corporate Chic" style. If you need some great outfit ideas appropriate for a work environment, Liz is your gal!

good ol' navy

Old Navy is having some amazing sales right now during the holidays. This is what I picked up a few days ago when I was supposed to be out shopping for other people: 

1. Yellow floral printed tank- online $18.00, in-store $12.50 

2. White/navy cropped cardigan- online $22.00, in-store $15.00

3. Sparkle toe ballet flats- online $12.99, in-store $5.99

If you are up for braving the crowds, some of these deals are worth it in my opinion. Good luck!

jackie mae's day off

 

I am SO loving having a few days to myself to do whatever I want!! Yesterday, I treated myself to a hair cut (nothing special, just a little trim; this pic was taken before the cut), a little shopping (my new shirt and sweater will be introduced to the blog soon), a morning full of peppermint mocha coffee and the Kathi Lee & Hoda show on Today, and I finished it off with a dance party in my room to the Mamma Mia soundtrack (no laughing.....its cheesy but I love it). 

Today, I haven't quite decided but I am thinking about getting my nails done. I never do it but I have a gift card that has been sitting in  my drawer for about a year now so I think its time. My friend just got her nails done with the new gel polish and it lasted over a week without even chipping once! Has anyone tried it yet? I'm thinking about getting sparkly nails....its the only time of year that we can pull it off so why not?

I know my plans are not as exciting as what Bueller did with his day off but so what? Not everyone can have their own parade...

to shop or not to shop?

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all survived the huddled masses shopping the weekend before Christmas......I didn't dare set foot in a mall this year after being run over by a stroller last year...DO NOT get in between an exhausted mother and Starbucks! 

We are totally into the whole shopping online thing this year. I sat in my pj's, coffee cup in hand, purchased & shipped gifts for 3 of our brothers in about 10 minutes....nothing can beat the convenience of that. Though I do find it easier to shop online for men rather than women so I did end up going to the store to buy for my mom. I wore my steel-toed boots so no strollers could slow me down this year! 

perks of the job

I am officially on winter vacation....aka no work for TWO WEEKS! This is just one of the perks of working at a school. Others include: 

1) free lunch almost every day (if you like mac & cheese and chicken fingers) 

2) being showered with random Christmas gifts from students, parents and co-workers (yes I did receive a fruit loop necklace)

3) unlimited hugs from cute kids (germs included)

4) free birth control (24 two-year olds in one room=hell on earth)

Needless to say, I love my job but I am very happy to be having a nice long break to relax, spend time with family and catch up on some of my favorite shows......Modern Family marathon, here I come :)

inspirational

Kendi of Kendi Everyday: I have this same skirt and will probably recreate this outfit soon.

Liz of 26 and Counting: I always love everything Liz wears--it is perfect for work!

Linley of Dwelling & Telling: I love her cute and casual style--I find myself inspired by Linley's outfits on the weekends when I am out of the work world for a few days.

Jane of See Jane: love how she layers a few different shirts on top of each other; such a great winter look.

These are just a few of the MANY blogs that inspire me daily. I am working on a few look-a-like posts that will feature another blogger's outfit that I make my own. Stay tuned :)

grey skies

I apologize now for the crappy photo quality you have witnessed above. Husband and I have had a crazy week and have not had time to take outfit photos outside like normal. Plus we had some pretty bad weather yesterday when I wore this outfit so even if we had time to pop outside for a photo session, it would have turned out just as bad or worse--mascara streaks down my face, dark spots on my clothes that could be mistaken for sweat....trust me, you are better off seeing these. 

And to put the icing on the cake, I woke up about 45 minutes late this morning, showered (barely), and ran out the door with sopping-wet hair. Of course, on a normal LA day, the sun would have acted as a natural blow dryer, but like I mentioned, it was raining so my hair stayed wet....sopping wet. So as not to drip my hair juice all over the employee paychecks at work, I threw it up into this messy bun fastened with a rubber band I found in my desk drawer. 

Someone please remind me why I started this blog again?

advent calendar DIY

This was another one of my DIY projects that I stole from Pinterest-- it is an advent calendar made from a muffin pan, card stock, and magnets. You can put a treat inside each muffin cup that is held in by the card stock circles with magnets. Cute, right?

Here is how to do one yourself:

Supplies:

-mini muffin pan with 24 cups--I found this one at Walmart for $7.98

-colored card stock cut into 24 circles, 2" in diameter

-patterned and solid color scrapbook paper

-48 mini magnets (they come in a pack of 50 at Michaels)

-hot glue gun

-glue stick

-6 " piece of Christmas ribbon

-long piece of Christmas ribbon to hang pan with

-drill to make a hole in the pan

How To:

1. Cut 24 2" circles out of the different colored card stock. I bought this great circle cutter by Martha Stewart from Michaels that works great! But if you want to save the money, you can trace the circles and cut them by hand. 

2. Cut 24 1.75" circles out of the different colored/patterned scrapbook paper. Glue (with a glue stick) one 1.75" circle to each 2" card stock circle. 

3. Cut out of scrapbook paper the numbers 1 through 24. Glue (with a glue stick) each letter to one circle. If you want to cheat like I did, you can print off the letters from your computer and cut them out that way. 

4.. Using the hot glue gun, glue 2 small magnets to the back of each card stock circle, one at the top of the circle, one at the bottom of the circle. Set aside.

5. With an electric drill, drill a small hole in the top of the muffin pan. Take your long piece of Christmas ribbon and put it through the hole in order to hang the pan on the wall.

6. Take your 6" piece of ribbon and tie it in a bow. Using the hot glue gun, glue the bow onto the muffin pan right below the drill hole.

7. Pick your favorite holiday treat that will fit inside the muffin cups (I picked Hershey Kisses) and put one inside each muffin cup. Stick one circle on each of the muffin cups to hold the treat in (put the numbers in sequence 1-24).

And there you have it--a fun Christmas project that serves a great purpose! Have fun creating :)

tight love

Had our staff Christmas party today at work--we had a crazy Christmas sweater contest and everything. I went to 3 different thrift stores last night looking for the perfect sweater to wear today and they had nothing! Just normal sweaters. Since when did the Salvation Army become so posh?? So I ended up pinning a bunch of green tinsel to my sweater and wearing reindeer antlers to impress my co-workers. It's the thought that counts, right?
But last night's shopping trip wasn't a total waste. I strolled over to Marshall's "just to look" and found a great pair of brown tights which I really needed--I know I live in Cali but it still gets somewhat cold so that I can't bear my legs for a few months....of course no one would want me to either since I don't shave in the winter--I need the warmth people! No, I'm mostly kidding....
But seriously, I bow down to whoever was smart enough to invent tights. Definitely a wardrobe essential for the winter no matter where you live. 

decorating for the holidays

Just a few of the Christmas decorations that I made and promised you photos of:

1. We put up Christmas lights around our living room windows and I hung 3 big pine cones with ribbon from our curtain rod. Very classic. 

2. These are yarn letters that I made out of cardboard and yarn. I got this idea from one of my favorite blogs Jen Loves Kev. See Jen's DIY yarn letters step by step here.

3.  Instead of getting a Christmas tree this year (we are tight on $$ and we won't even be at our apartment the week surrounding Christmas), I decided to find another way to display some of my favorite Christmas ornaments. I cut 10 pieces of ribbon and tied them to the curtain rod above our kitchen window. Then I tied my 10 favorite ornaments to the ends of the ribbon. Looks pretty cute right? 

4. This is a cinnamon jar that I made out of a pint size mason jar, a strip of Christmas ribbon, and cinnamon sticks. I used a hot glue gun to glue the ribbon around the lid of the jar and then I poked holes in the top with scissors so that the cinnamon scent can permeate the room. Then I broke about 7 cinnamon sticks in half to fit in the jar and screwed the lid back on. I love coming home to an apartment smelling of cinnamon during the holidays!

5. My friend and I went to Color Me Mine a few weeks back and did some painting--this cute snowman is my creation. Turned out pretty good considering I haven't painted since I was doing it with my fingers. And did you know you can bring wine with you to drink while painting at this place? We're definitely going back for this reason :)

Has anyone else done any decorating for the holidays yet? I would love to hear what you did!