2011

There's something so refreshing about a new year.

I am not one to make elaborate resolutions but do appreciate the time to reflect and re-evaluate....

This past year has been somethin' =) Sometimes that is the best way to sum things up and it's a common one to hear in the south - SO - I'll just leave it at that.

This year has been SOMETHIN'.

There are so many things that I want to accomplish and begin to accomplish in the next 365 days....

I want to know more of who I am and who the Lord has meant me to be. I think my vision of that has gotten fuzzy in places and I am looking forward to learning more of how to tune out other voices and opinions and focusing on the Voice that started it all.

We are throwing ourselves into really pursuing the musical talents that just ooze from my precious husband and I look forward to that....and I believe in it so much that I am more than willing to charge in that direction.

I want to make stuff =) and take more pictures. I thought about doing that 365 day photo challenge but , let's be honest....that would NEVER happen =) We're lucky if I manage to put on shoes that match everyday.

I'll leave it there for now...

with two quick asides=)

First, if you sew or maybe want to - you HAVE to have this book. I received it as a gift and am OBSESSED. I'll post pictures when I actually complete a project.

Second, has anyone seen that new show "Bridely Plasty"?? I am beyond shocked. If you have no idea what I am talking about, google it and join me in the "HOLYCOWWHEREISOURWORLDHEADED?!?!" moment.

The Amish Tory Burch

So -

I have embraced my new crafty self....I bought a sewing machine and am attempting to not sew myself to things but rather become the next Tory Burch. I actually even signed up for sewing lessons because I am apparently also wanting to become Amish....

The next Amish Tory Burch....huh.... that's a Wikipedia page waiting to be written people.

I have also discovered Shopstyle.com.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I am addicted!!! If you haven't you MUST check it out - when you have lots of time to blow putting together imaginary outfits =)

Being Crafty

I think it has been well established that I have a tendency for flitting from one idea to another with an occasional lack of follow through....


Take for example my short lived career as a Penny Whistle player...


Go back with me to somewhere around 2004. I was recently married and had just found this CD as a recent addition to my CD collection:
I LOVED it immediately and played it on repeat all. the. time. (I also have a tendency for being a tad obsessive. That's another blog post entirely.) I also quickly decided, like all sane people, that I just had to learn to play that Penny Whistle that is so prominent in the recording. Now, why I didn't become obsessed with moving to Ireland or building a castle like the one of the front cover I will never know. But - alas - I chose to play the Penny Whistle.

Now is a great time to point out that the extent of musical career starts and ends with a rousing performance on the recorder in 3rd grade. Watch out Yanni....Here I come.

My sweet husband, who is a RIDICULOUSLY talented musician, took it upon himself to teach me to play. (Did I mention that we were newly married?) He bought me a shiny little whistle on a trip to the mountains and naively bravely undertook teaching me.

I was the proud owner of a "Teach Yourself The Penny Whistle" book and CD within 2 weeks and, six years later, I couldn't put my hands on the Penny Whistle is a face to face meeting with Rachel Zoe depended on it.

Hope you enjoyed that little story =) I drug you with me down memory lane to say this:

I always want to be crafty and creative. I want to play music, knit things, paint things, and just generally be like Martha Stewart meets Janis Joplin meets Laura Ingalls Wilder. (Wow - that's quite a trinity of women! I'd love to be at THAT kitchen table! Laura could have widdled it out of a tree, Martha couls set it with natural gourds and Janis....well, I'm not sure how helpdful she would be but MAN how mush fun!) I want to be able to take things in my house and turn them into brand new things. I spend LOTS of time looking at blogs of creative powerhouses and am determined to spend more time making cool stuff and less time reading about other people making cool stuff.

So - buckle up people. Your about to see some major creativity flow on this red carpet!!

PS - I just reread this blog pre-publish and am pretty sure it makes no sense at all. I refuse to delete it and start over though. I will follow through with it's publication....aaaaaaaaand PUBLISH.

Fall & Boots

I LOOOOOOOOOVE Fall. It is my all time favorite season even though I reside currently in a place that, really, doesn't have seasons. We sorta go from summer to winter and then maybe back to summer a few times before non crazy-hot weather settles in. Leaves here don't really even change color the way that God intended. They just give up, turn brown, and fall off the tree....guess you could say they are rebellious.

Anywho....

I am SO ready to be able to walk from my door to my car without breaking a sweat and am super ready to transition to fall clothes. One can only put together so many outfits with the same tank tops and shorts....I'm out of combos people!!! Noted by my last post, I heart boots in a major way and wish that it would be appropriate to go ahead and sport them.

My desperation to FINALLY be able to wear boots has brought weak moments that almost made me buy into the fashion trend I've seen of girls wearing them already with their summer dresses and shorts. I then remember that I didn't want to die an early death from heatstroke and I also don't want to recreate this stunner:

I love me some Julia but this is NOT the character I'd choose to steal fashion advice from.

Wannabe Flower Child

Sometimes I would swear to you that I was born in the wrong decade!! Let today forever keep in prosperity one such reason:


I absolutely have to own a pair of these:

FRINGE BOOTS!!!

And by "own them", I mean sleep/eat/breathe/bathe in them! In the words of RZ, " I die!"

I found out these on ebay and really love them!! The laces are FAB - U - LOUS! I haven't bid on them yet but just may have to....

Apparently my mom still has a pair from her teenage years but that would never happen.... She'd happily give them to my but, unfortunately, I'd have to cut off my toes to get my big 'ol ginormous feet into her teeny tiny boots. Nothing would thrill me more though than to be able to say that I was wearing VINTAGE fringe boots!!

I think I just got chills....

"Hello there. Oh - are you staring at my boots? Where did I get them? Oh (look shyly away) they're vintage."

* sigh * ok...well I'm off to fully embrace my "60's-ism"....maybe I'll hug a tree or burn my bra.

Things I Love....

My brain works in spurts and bulletpoints. I don't know what I would do if it actually began to think in coherent waves and complete sentences. As I tried to think of something remotely interesting to blog about, my mind went right into making a bullet list of thing that I am currently obsessed with =) Buckly up people - Heeeeere she goes......

1) Pretzel M&M's - If you have not encountered the wonder that is Pretzel M & M's, you should consider yourself to be massively deprived.

Or very lucky - I'm not sure I'll have any jeans to fit into by the time fall decides to show up.

2) The Rachel Zoe Project - I'll give you a second to judge me....k....done? great. I totally LOVE this show. I love just about every random phrase that flies out of her mouth and I love the level of drama!! I want to be her friend!! Everytime an episode ends I feel an overwhelming desire to rush to my closet and put on heels and fur. (As a side note, I don't actually own fur and Rachel is very careful to always wear fakes...I felt compelled to point that out in our defense)

3) Sally Hansen "Commander in Chic" Nail Polish

I totally fell in love with this greyish, purplish color several months ago. The time frame of my discovery is important for one reason: I saw that it was listed as an "it" color for fall in my last In Style. Since then, I have felt compelled to point out to everyone that likes it that I have been wearing since waaaay before In Style FINALLY caught up =)

I think that if you have made it to the end of this post you deserve a total standing ovation =) I'll stop while I am ahead and may still have one reader left....I'm off to put on sky high heals and hunt down some M&M's =)

I Heart Faces - Photojournalism

I LOVE the style of photography that I Heart Faces (www.iheartfaces.com) is focusing on this week!! I love that it can be casual and easy - I prefer casual and easy as a general pace of life over anything contrived =) I think that a good photo - the one that you look at over and over and over - is the one that happens, the one that takes place before you and, if you're lucky, you just happen to have been watching the world go by in that moment from behind your camera.

Obviously, a maternity shoot is slightly planned =) My favorite thing about this photo is that there was something really special and not planned about thise moment....I love that there is a secret conversation going on between these two. I imagine that it revolves around the precious little person that is about to enter their world...but - I'll never know =)