turban headbands a-plenty

Just a little heads up- my turban style handmade headbands will be featured on VeryJane tomorrow for almost 50% off.  A limited quantity will be available in 5 colors (black, grey, mustard, coral, and cobalt) and are super soft and comfy.  The deal will go live in just a few hours!  I'm so excited but oh so nervous.

And... I have some crazy pretty friends-turned-models, don't I?  Lucky me!

NYC in 40 hours & a giveaway

Whoo, the past few days have been a whirlwind. My mom-in-law and sis-in-law took a quick-but-full trip to NYC for the weekend to celebrate Leah's golden birthday (which is today). I had never left Evyn for more than a few hours, so leaving her for the weekend (in Ryan and my father-in-law's capable hands) was a little unsettling for me, but I just tried to relax and have fun. Which we SO did.

We caught our 6am flight on Saturday, sleepy but excited.

We explored 5th ave after finally getting checked into our hotel.  Our original hotel was closed due to the damage of hurricane Sandy, yet Expedia failed to notify us.  Those Vera Bradley bags get pre-tty heavy after awhile.

The one shop my mom urged me to visit was Tinsel Trading Company, which was full of vintage goodies and treasures.

I had been on the hunt for the perfect gold-tipped flats for awhile and had no luck.  I especially wanted them for the concert we were attending Saturday night (pretty flats + tons of walking = win).  So, I bought these Target flats, taped them off, and spraypainted them gold (and sealed them with a satin clear coat).  I couldn't be more happy with them.  The one chipped a bit, probably as a result of all of our walking, but I'm thinking it's fixable.

We were excited to dress up a little for the concert... and yes, BANGS!  Still not sure about them, but we'll see.

We saw Tyrone Wells (a favorite of Leah's) on Saturday night.  The show was incredible, and the venue was amazing.  We had a blast.

Sunday morning, Leah and I slept until ELEVEN.  I'm pretty sure I haven't done that in 4 years.  We fueled up on lots of Starbucks all weekend.  There was a strange/awesome exhibit of these alpaca-like beasts in the lobby of Grand Central Station, so naturally we took a picture of ourselves chilling in front of them.

My friend Dezirae told me that I must visit Purl Soho, and she was right.  It was an adorable wonderland of all things sew-y.  I bought some fat quarters just because.

And, oh this girl.  My MIL and I were making fun of how Leah was walking in the airport with her big bag in front of her and her purse behind.  Never a dull moment with those two.  We had the time of our lives.

*****

Here's a little happy for your Tuesday - I'm reviewing and giving away TWO PRINTS from French Press Mornings over at She {hearts} It today.  Sweet Jenny is offering a discount code, too.  I wish I could win!

so much happy in a cardboard box: my stitch fix!

I had been wanting to try Stitch Fix for a long time now.  Between being pregnant and now postpartum, I've been nervous to try it.  I was afraid to get new clothes since I'm not where I want to be weight wise, but then I've ended up having absolutely nothing to wear that fits me right!  So I sucked it up and decided to get clothes that fit my body NOW.  Humbling.

So I filled out my style profile, received my invitation, and ordered my first Fix.  I checked the front stoop no less than 20 times on the day I thought it would arrive.  Turns out, the next day would bring that box with the pretty mint logo on the top.

 

I've heard from a few friends who have ordered Fixes that it takes a bit of time (as you order subsequent Fixes and provide feedback) for the stylists to get a feel for your style and preferences.  That was SO not the case in my first Fix!  I loved EVERY.THING.  Which is a wonderful thing... but also a bad thing because the price point of these pieces is not exactly cheap.  BUT I don't want to get "cheap" things and I want what I buy to last.

Oh, and phone selfies in my bathroom wasn't my first choice for documentation, but it was the easiest and quickest method.  My apologies.  You're welcome for attempting to crop the toilet out.

First up was this Collective Concepts Marci Dot Stripe Tabsleeve Blouse. 

I loved the pattern, sleeves, and unique neckline.  But, the fit was kind of awful on me- Ryan's best observation was that I looked like a nurse.  Scrubs apparently aren't my best look.  I know that shorter shirts are more "in" now, but that style is definitely not flattering on me.  I loved the shirt and I wanted to love this shirt on ME- but I had to nix it in the end.

Next was this Tcec Bernadette Striped Cardigan.

This cardigan is so soft and adorable.  The sleeves are a little longer, which is always a plus for me.  It didn't take long for me to fall in love with this cardigan.  And mint + stripes = total keep!

Next, this Kensie Paulina Stripe Belted Dress.

I loved this dress.  Loved the fit, the way it hid my baby "fluff," the unique sleeves, and the stripes, of course.  However, the price was pretty steep ($98!) and I felt like this was something I could find at Forever 21 for MUCH less.  Pass.

Next up, this Natural Life Corinna Striped Dolman Top.

So this is love... Everything.  Every bit of this shirt is dreamy.  Major keep.

Last was this Pretty Persuasions Star Print Scarf.

I love scarves.  I loved the texture and color of this scarf.  But, stars aren't really my thing and I do have a ton of scarves, so I passed on this one.


Overall, I was so pleasantly surprised about how great of an experience this Fix was.  I truly did love every piece.  The fit wasn't so great for the blouse, the dress was a little too expensive, and I wasn't so much a fan of the stars on the scarf.  Style wise, my stylist was pretty spot-on.

I'd love to order a Fix again, and I might wait a few months to see if I drop a few more sizes.  I'd hate to get a bunch of new clothes that I soon wouldn't be able to fit into.  I'm sure I'll be itching for cute spring tops in a month or so.  It was so fun to receive and try on the clothing, and I love the uniqueness of the pieces.

Want to try Stitch Fix?  Sign up here!  Happy Fixing!

tuesday brain dump

Brain dump time! Apparently my new blogging motto is "all or nothing" because I'm either silent for a month or word-vomit typing. Here we go.

- Blogging. I love it, need to do it, am obsessed with reading blogs, and still use nursing sessions to devour my google reader list, saving my favorite blogs for last. I SO WANT TO BLOG every day or even every other... or heck once a week. Obviously it's not been something that's possible for the past few months (I don't think I really need to explain WHY) and I keep talking about how I want to do it and whine about it when I don't. So I AM going to do it more. For me and to continue to preserve this little space. Oh and I am just giddy over my little blog makeover... Molly is the bomb. If you're looking for a sweet soul to make your blog the prettiest, look no further.

- Giveaway. Coming so soon! I have the goods gathered, now just need to photograph them. Look for my "Winter Essentials" giveaway by the end of this week!

- A-dubs. My girl Ashley is coming to visit me on Thursday! I am SO EXCITED! I haven't seen her since the summertime when I was 26 weeks pregnant with Evyn, and when I see her in a few days she will be 30 weeks pregnant with her baby boy. Crafting and chatting and coffee... hurry up and get here, Ash!

- Projects. SO MANY IN MY MIND. I want to do all of them. Mostly house stuff and some half-done, started, or I have gathered supplies for but haven't started. I am crawling out of the post-baby funk (which was not that bad this time around but has left me desperate to take some time and create things... ALONE) and am so inspired to do ALL THE PROJECTS. But then I get overwhelmed with all I want to do and then am left paralyzed. And then the guilt of the presence of unfinished/unstarted baby books and picture-taking-slacking wells up... baby steps. Care for my babies first, but take baby steps in the direction of not losing myself in the craziness of this season.

- An effort to look human. Just a few little attempts to look a little more decent in the day-to-day. I'm a little late jumping on this bandwagon, but wow, is dry shampoo awesome. I just bought the cheap Suave kind, and I love it. The smell is amazing and it makes my hair feel so fresh. I'm also really into light grey nail polish lately and finally got my hands on some. (OPI french quarter for your thoughts)

A fresh cut and color and pretty sweater doesn't hurt either. 

- DF/GF. I went dairy-free when Brynlee was about 4 months old and when Mac was about the same age. I exclusively nursed them, and both were showing signs of intolerance. So now that Evyn is almost 4 months old, I figured I had better just go ahead and cut myself off from dairy as a precaution. Now I confess, I also want to start shedding this baby weight (everyone told me it would be the hardest with #3 and BOY ARE THEY RIGHT) and I lost so much when I went off of dairy with the others so I'm hoping this helps. I also have dropped gluten because I read it can help with your skin amongst other things. SO, since Friday I haven't had a bit of dairy or gluten and feel fab. I don't even feel deprived when I have a lunch that looks like this:

The black things in the middle are chia seeds, and I'm not sure why I waited so long to incorporate them into my life. The benefits are awesome! I just add a tablespoon here and there in foods that I can easily put them in (smoothies, peanut butter, salads).

- Running. Remember when I ran a half marathon? Well, after that I took a YEAR off of running. Sadness. I've been wanting to get out there again, but the combo of kids & weather & no treadmill has, um, delayed my efforts. Then, Raechel threw out an idea to put together a team to keep each other accountable in the running department. Yes! I was able to get out a few times since then (weekends and 60 degree January days are my friends) but the high today is 12 degrees so I think I'll spend the rest of the day snuggled in with my babies. At least I have the will, right? I'm hoping this push to run will help with the whole losing the baby weight endeavor, too.

Brain dump over. Have a happy Tuesday, friends.

I {heart} jamberry nails

I am in LOVE!  

GO WIN SOME over at She {hearts} It! Today's the last day to enter!

I {heart} ArtWark handmade jewelry

Check out my review of ArtWark handmade jewelry over at She {hearts} It. I am so in love with this sweet "Mother's Love" necklace and Sarah is offering an awesome discount until Mother's Day as well. Check it out!

Also, the H2Z wrap bracelet giveaway ends tomorrow - go enter!

Happy Thursday!

I {heart} H2Z wrap bracelets

I'm featuring these gorgeous H2Z wrap bracelets over at She {hearts} It today. Hop on over and enter to win one of these pretties! H2Z is also offering a free shipping code. Go! 

52 in 1: WEEK 38 - ruffles & Wards

Sneaking this post in in the final moments of the week, since we've been a tad busy this weekend... oh just spending a glorious few days with the visiting Wards AKA our new friends for life.  Ashley and I had high hopes and dreams to craft and sew all weekend.  Ha.  Ha.  We "settled" on making ruffled shirts for the girls and ruffled headbands for us.  Then, we decided the shirts were going to take more than 5 minutes so we decided to at least make the headbands.  What could go wrong?  A quick project resulting in pretty new accessories couldn't be messed up.  Right?  Ha.

We made some tea and team Ashley went to work.

Annnnd, while doing literally the first stitch for the ruffle on my machine, the sewing machine decided to quit.  Still don't know what's wrong with it, but we decided to press on and hand stitch the ruffles.  More time consuming, but not super hard.

My ruffles.  Not how I really envisioned, but hey.

Pretties!

The aftermath.

We had a fun, fun weekend with this family and can't wait for more time together.  A complete recap is in the works... but for now, some pics from today's children's museum trip. 

 Sweet family.

We know how to get to Sesame Street.

Love this girl.  Sad for them to leave tomorrow.  Happy that they were looking at houses for sale in the area while I drooled napped on the couch this afternoon.

new lovelies at the PCB!

Just added a TON of lovely new items to my Etsy shop! 

My favorites:

Feel free to use the coupon code LOVE2012 for 20% off your entire order until Valentine's Day!!!

xoxo

taking chances

This week, we've had to take our chances on a few things.

Gluing back together my favorite cake stand after it busted in the move: success! Oh such sadness was in my heart when it was pulled out of the box broken. Luckily I got it at The Christmas Tree Shop and surely paid no more than a few bucks for it.

Ripping the carpet off the stairs to reveal pretty, clean hardwood: major success! Except pulling out the carpet staples was a major pain in the you-know-what. And don't even get me started on those ballerina legs and how my baby looks 7 years old.

Bright red lipstick: would-be success, if I ever finally got the nerve to actually wear it out of the house instead of rashly grabbing a tissue and wiping it off at the last second.

"Green" smoothies: success according to Mac and me, Brynlee's still on the fence (if you can't tell from the look on her face).

Colored jeans: success (in my opinion!) especially since I got them at Old Navy for 6 bucks.  The experience was a little ego-shattering, since I had to go up TWO sizes to get these to fit right... I guess they don't call them "super skinny" jeans for nothing.  Too bad their name doesn't rub off on me.  They are a bit short too, so I'm thinking flats are in the cards to pair with these jeans, which means I won't be able to wear them until spring.  Or later.  Yay, Rochester winter!  Oh, and I decided I must have cobalt blue too.  Who AM I?!

And finally, I guess this last "chance" we took is participating in a family dance while we were out to lunch this past weekend.

Success! :)

what I wore wednesday: post 1/2 marathon edition

I'm excited to link up with The Letter 4 today for their (and my) first What I Wore Wednesday!  

(PS- these girls are for real. And big time. Like they were on The Martha Stewart Show a few weeks ago, and just went to NY to tape another segment. I'm trying to contain my jealousy.)

I didn't get any, ANY pictures from the marathon weekend except for on my phone. Sadness. So my fun post-marathon outfit was only captured with my phone while blowdrying my hair in the hotel (to send to my SILs to make sure they approved). Forgive the horrible quality!  The colors are all distorted!  I will try harder next time!

dress & belt - boutique in Wellsville, NY

tights - Target

boots - Old Navy

Ahh, I have such sorrow looking at this awful picture! I was so delirious after the race, I just was not thinking straight, let alone together enough to do a photo shoot :)

And for funsies (I think Keight is rubbing off on me), a shot of some of the girls after dinner... we were all practically sleeping sitting up:

Amanda - Ashley W - me - Jenn - Keight - Kerry - Raechel - Chelsea

Happy Wednesday!

52 in 1: WEEK 26 - feather earrings -- Anthro knockoff

Ohhh I am so excited to share these earrings!  I've been wanting/wanting to make feather earrings for quite awhile now.  I was browsing through the accessories on Anthropologie's site and found these:

LOVE THEM!  The $38 price tag wasn't totally horrific, but I immediately thought about how I could SO make a knockoff version for cheaper!  I ended up spending about $21 on materials at Michaels, but that was without anything being on sale and saving only $2 with a coupon.  Boo on them for only accepting one coupon per customer, per day.  One reason why I love Joann's... they take as many coupons as you can get, as long as the coupons are all different (having different codes or whatever).  Anyway, I did spend $21, BUT I now have enough supplies to make like 20 pairs of these earrings (I'd have to get more beads, though) so I think it's a pretty good deal. :)


Materials:
- pretty feathers (I would have got bigger/stronger ones than the ones I got, live and learn)
- 4mm beads
- 6mm beads (or whatever size tickles your fancy)
- jump rings (notice my neverending supply in my pill-box storage)
- earrings (ear wires)
- closures
- thin chain
- a few headpins
- jewelry tools

1. Choose 2 feathers that are closest in appearance.  I even trimmed one of mine to mimic the shape of the other one.  Don't stress about the feathers having to look identical, I think the minor differences highlight the beauty of the handmade.

2. Pick out 2 identical closures (my pack was an assortment of sizes).  Place the closure on the base of the feather and pinch the closure closed (ha) with flat-nosed pliers.

3. Pick out 3-4 of the smaller beads (however many you like, actually).  Bend the end of the headpin into a circle with round-nosed pliers.  String the beads on the wire.  Cut the headpin wire down and finish off the end with another circle using the round-nosed pliers.

4. Measure and cut the chain to whatever length you like.  As you can see, I cut my chain to about 1.5" and 1".

5. With a small jump ring, attach the round headpin circle to the closure holding the feather.  With another small jump ring, attach the earring to the other rounded end of the headpin.  Sounds kinda complicated, but you're just connecting the pieces here.  No biggie.

6. String one of the larger beads on a headpin.  Trim the headpin down and make a loop with the remaining wire with round nosed pliers.  Before closing off the loop, thread the wire through the end link of one of the pieces of chain.  Close off the loop.

7. Attach a jump ring to the other end of the chain.  Repeat step 6 for the other piece of chain, and then attach the chains to the closure with another jump ring.

Then, repeat steps 2-7 to make another earring.

That's it!

Can't forget a silly mirror picture.  Ahh, well.  Wouldn't these earrings make lovely Christmas presents?

Please let me know if you try these... I'd love to see!

Happy Friday!