I can't stop guys...

It's becoming a problem...

Halloween Printables

I know it's been...a while since I last posted onto this blog.  I'll explain:

I got a job that didn't allow down time on the computer.  I was efficient and my time was used and I had plenty to do - it was wonderful.

Then my husband got a job offer in another state and we decided that we should take it.  So here we are in Colorado and instead of getting a job out here...

I'm gonna just work on this baby in my belly.  (Due Dec)

So I have down time again...lots and lots and lots of it.


And I've decided it's time for me to incorporate Halloween into my yearly decorating because I'll actually have trick or treaters this year.  When going from a condo (parents, I don't blame ya, I wouldn't let my kids trick or treat condo complexes either no matter where they were), to a house - you have that option available to you.

After searching through pinterest ideas on what to do and how to proceed I've learned a few things:

1.  Seriously - what is WRONG with some people?!  How is this a Halloween decoration?! Why do you want to do that to people you love and share a home with?!! (This - I kid you not - is a mannequin)

I truly hope this is of a Haunted House that people pay to experience and not in someone's home just sitting there...waiting to give you a heart attack.

2.  There are a lot of creative people who have gorgeous, extremely cool Halloween decor, that I cannot a) afford and b) replicate.

3. That there are all different "Types" of Halloween decor.  You can go sadistic like my first example, and it goes down a small notch from there to your typical cute crafty non-threatening Halloween.  There's also victorian Halloween, Zombie Halloween, Dracula, etc - you can go nuts.

I've decided to play it safe.  Why?  Because of the countless times I've scared myself in the past.  I don't need to create silhouettes to make myself jump at night when I'm half asleep - I do that spectacularly all by myself. 

I have a sister-in-law that just counts down the minutes for the time to put up Halloween Decor.  This is her time of year where she truly shines.  Halloween is her bread and butter and her house always is amazing - from a whole wall that looks like a thousand bats flew through and got stuck to her wall, where she has hand painted Halloween-scapes on her windows - she really makes you feel like an underachiever.  

So I'm not going to even try to replicate or try to play in her league.  Instead I'm going to be doing little stuff like putting out all of my usual pumpkins, etc - but I'm adding black spray painted twigs to put in black vases (that I already have - score) and switch out a few pictures for Halloween printables!

After scouring Pinterest some more, I saw some amazing printables that I love.  Then I thought - "I can totally make those."  So I did.  I used PicMonkey - which anyone can use and anyone can replicate these but I decided these are the ones I'm using.  In one area I'm going more Victorian - Black and White with maybe ravens and black twigs.  I'm going to utilize my large chalkboard and make it very old-fashioned Halloween - not creepy, but old fashioned.

So on my little table in my kitchen I'll be using these:

Then in other areas I can put these up in cute cheap frames as well:

When you know you can get cheap frames at Hobby Lobby any time, I decided to make these as 5x7's and then if needs be I can mat one of them in a larger frame making it a little more dramatic if I feel like it.

These took me all morning, not gonna lie.  I'm still sitting here in my stretched out pajamas (cause I'm not gonna buy maternity pajamas!) needing a shower...but I can send these to be printed at Walgreens or wherever and pick up some super cheap frames and go NUTS....

When the time comes of course - it's still a little early.

Luckily now I have time to post what I'm doing...cause I'm all pregnant and unemployed.

Nothing's stopping you from saving these images, I just ask that you don't be that girl....you know who you are "Look what I totally made myself" - dude you can, on PicMonkey - don't be a sad person and lie about it.  I'm not asking you to give me credit - just say "I got em' online."  

Yes, I'm pinning them myself onto my pages - because that way I put them out into the Pinterest Universe for all to decide if they wanna or not.

If you want these in their original sized glory just contact me, cause I have a feeling these might not work as is if you try to print them large.

And yes, I totally plan on making Autumn/ Fall ones to switch out when I so choose as well so keep an eye open for those too cause I'm not kidding - they're fun to make.

Countdown?

So...I'm leaving on vacation in 13 days. 2 days in Disneyland, and a week in South Lake Tahoe. And I'm NOT bringing my DSLR...which feels foreign to me.
I've also been working out doing 30 day squat and ab challenges along with calorie counting using the My Fitness Pal app. Any changes? Only those visible to me.
We've been putting cash aside since January in a mason jar labeled "The Tahoe Jar" which will make things easier on the bank account.
I still need to buy a tankini top, two pairs of pants, a couple shirts. Yes, need. I noticed all of my tee shirts are ones I bought at least 2 years ago. A couple had the tiny holes that are created from the top of your jeans. (I know you know what I'm talking about.) I also need good shoes that will sustain my feet for two full, open-close, both Disneyland and California Adventure...that don't look like they serve an orthopedic function.
Oh yes, also I need to finish two weeks worth of work before I leave. Most of which I won't be able to start until the 3rd.

People can totally lose 5 pounds in 13 days, right? Mainly in their mid-section... It can be done, tell me it can be done!!!

Anyway the real reason behind my rant is I need a cute non-depressing tankini top that is not black, white or yellow. It needs to ship immediately and be at my house before June 5th. I looked at Bev Swimwear and almost pressed purchase before I saw that they take 3-4 weeks.

The kicker? It needs to be under $50. So anyone with any ideas please comment, message me jessajill@gmail.com, leave a comment on my instagram - @jessajill. Seriously... I need help.

Apparently I'm late to the party - Divergent Series

I was told to read a book months ago by my Mom.  She's an avid reader (like 6 books a week) but I just didn't find the time until about a week ago.  

She told me that since I liked the Hunger Games, I should like this movie.  (Who didn't like the hunger games?!) But when you compare a book to one of those BIG books then I'm always a little wary.  "Oh you'll love this book, it's like Twilight, except..."  Alright, look - it'll never be like Twilight.  It'll never be just like Harry Potter and it'll never be just like the Hunger Games, ok?  So don't compare them - they're not the same as any other books and they're near and dear to my heart for very different reasons.

But the "Divergent Series" by Veronica Roth...is different.

Again we have a dystopian futuristic society thing going on, but its different enough than the Hunger Games that you keep reading.  And then you find that they're pretty well written, that you find yourself pulling for the characters and then you find that all of your spare time is spent with your nook because DUDE you can't put it down now - it just got crazy again!!!

The second book is harder to put down than the first, in that more is starting to happen, relationships are deepening, you're finding out more, there is more action.

I finished the book tonight and I just kept thinking, "I hope they make it into a movie, because I would totally see it."  And when I googled when they're releasing the third book I found out - they're making a movie!

They're still casting but the big names attached are Aaron Eckert and Kate Winslet.  For the main characters, Tris and Four (nicknames...it's not a silly book -  I promise!):

Shailene Woodley will be playing the main character: Tris (Beatrice)

Theo James will be playing another big character: Four (Tobias)

I guess it's still uncertain who Aaron Eckert and Kate Winslet will be playing right now, but it should tell you that if big names are attaching themselves to the movie - the books are worth reading.

So I'm telling you, as a person who is wary of all book reviews - if you liked Hunger Games, you'll probably enjoy these books.  Let me be clear: these are not JUST LIKE Hunger Games, these are similar in that it's a broken society in the future, and the main character is a fighter, but that's where the similarities end.

So if you haven't already read them (which I'm sure most of you have) you need to.

I'm already impatient for October when the third book will be released.

Hey - she crafted! Spring Yarn Wreath

I don't know what it was, but I actually decided to do something crafty.  It's the first time in about six months that I've felt the urge to do anything creative.  It must have been the weather.  I decided to make a very springy wreath so I went to Pinterest and found a few tutorials, went to Hobby Lobby and got to work:

What I bought:

Felt in colors of my choosing

Yarn in colors of my choosing

A styrofoam wreath in a size of my choosing

And some ribbon that would match it all.

I already had the glue gun and glue sticks - note: you'll need a lot of glue sticks.

As you can see - I went for the 4-for-a-dollar felt - it's much cheaper this way, especially if you're just making a few felt flowers.  

The nice thing about yarn wreaths is that they're pretty simple.  The idea is to secure a piece of yarn to the back and just start wrapping, over, and over, and over again.  I did two colors but doing just one would be just as simple as well.

Another thing to note: if you're a perfectionist, this may not be the craft for you.  When you're working with a circular surface, there's no way the yarn will lay flat all the way around...it's just not going to happen.

Once you're all wrapped up, it's time to start on the flowers:

Now, I used your run of the mill twisted felt flower that you can find no less than 1200 tutorials on, so I won't bore you with mine, other than to tell you that I did the scallop cut kind as you can see above.

I made some of all sizes and used my green to cut out simple leaf shapes.  I could have gone into more detail on the leaves, I'm sure, but at this point I didn't care.  Also you've got to stop the madness somewhere, folks.

After that I attached the ribbon and decided to hang it in my window:

And done!

This is the easiest of all the crafts I've decided to take on, but not the shortest, the yarn wrapping is a little mind numbing, so maybe pop in a movie and get comfortable - but after that you'll have a fun little wreath - easy to put just about anywhere!

Mean Girls...they're the worst.

Well hello again.

It's been...a while.  I've decided to try not to take this blogging thing so seriously.  There comes a time in every girl's life when she's got to set her priorities...and well...I can either blog about getting fit for the next vacation in June or I can strap in, shut up, and do it.

Also - when said girl often bites off more than she can chew by noticing she can make custom signs to go along with posts and mess around with those for an hour, blog for an hour an then make more custom fun signs for multiple hours...her night is shot.

So I'm stepping back and blogging when I feel I must blog.

Don't worry, there are more to come.  If you follow me on Instagram you know I have at least one pantry door project to finish and share with you.

But today I want to blog about a topic completely unrelated to crafts, home decor, fashion, or beauty. 

I wanna talk about:

I've been thinking about this problem for a couple months now.  You see, my 11 year old niece recently had a run in with them and I've been trying to come up with what you say to a hurt little girl that will actually help.

I've got nothing.

My first reaction was that of my husband's when I told him that his niece was in tears because of mean girls.  Which was to curse those little b****es!

My next reaction was to make a special road trip so I could personally throw an elementary school sized smack down on those little hussies.  

But then cooler heads prevailed and when you've had your fair share with mean girls, you know this will only make the problem worse.  Also...you don't want to be that Aunt who is asked not to "help."  "Aunt Jessa said they'll all end up working a stipper pole anyway..."  I don't think her Mom would appreciate that sentiment. 

First off I need to tell you, my niece...is adorable.  And I'm not just being biased.  She's just cute, she's a pretty girl who is extremely smart for her age.  She excels in basketball, she has a sweet, gentle personality and is an old soul.  If you met her, after ten minutes even you would say, "Who would talk smack on this girl?!"  

But if you know mean girls, like I know mean girls, it doesn't matter.  Sometimes if you have your stuff together that could even make you target.  Because in my experience mean girls are a product of one ore more of the following:

1.  A rough home life.  

2.  Low self esteem.

3.  The product of mean girls who grew up to be mean women, who in turn, raise mean girls.

I could tell my niece, "You know, they're probably just saying those things because they feel bad about themselves and they need to bring people down to their level in order to feel better about their situation."  And I could be right on the money.  But that doesn't make an 11 year old feel better.  It doesn't help her situation.  It doesn't make it stop.  Insight doesn't resolve this particular problem.  

I could tell her "Sometimes you have to learn which friends are your true friends and which friends you need to distance yourself from.  You still need to be civil and respectful of them, but you probably shouldn't hang out with them anymore."  That doesn't help an 11 year old either...especially if the mean girls in question are the "Queen Bees."  In a small classroom of 20-30 students, assuming half of them are girls, you don't have a lot of options when it comes to true friends.  Often people choose the path of least resistance...which in this case is usually just to follow the Queen Bee, because she is mean to those who don't.  So where are your real friends then?

I could tell her of my experiences with the mean girls I went to school with, let her know that it gets better after high school and that those mean girls usually just peak in high school anyway.  Then go on to be divorced twice by the age of 23 or work at the local strip club.

But that's not helpful because sometimes mean girls continue on and become mean women.  They rule their lives and control their surroundings by their ability to threaten and talk down to others.  These women are usually the ones who breed more mean girls.  And the kicker is sometimes these women go on to lead successful lives.  Which is the epitome of unfair...but then again...that's life.  

There's nothing!  And I just keep thinking about these girls...how do you stop this behavior?  You can make every effort not to raise one, to set examples, to turn the other proverbial cheek.  But you can't really protect from the example of other people and their choices on parenting, and other people's home lives, because you never really know what struggles other people are going through, do you?  

The best I've got is to give her a hug, tell her I'm sorry and that she shouldn't believe a word those girls say, because it isn't true.  She's a wonderful person and sometimes people say mean things...and she should do her best to forget it and try to be the bigger person, no matter how hard it may be.

Which, to an 11 year old, might make her feel better for a moment but she still has to deal with these girls daily.  And will for the next 7 years.  And yes, it is character-building and a rite of passage to deal with a-holes of all shapes and sizes, that's just the human condition.  But to what extent? 

I have no solutions here.  I have no answers.  I'm not saying I'm perfect and didn't learn my own lesson on talking behind your friends' back at a young age.  Cause I did.  

I'm just saying I wish I had something I could tell my 11 year old niece that will make it all better.  And I know there's nothing...and it sucks.

I'll end the tangent there, but I'd be happy to hear anyone else's solutions because it's awful to see people you love in tears.

New Year...no real resolutions

Well...aside from flossing more.  Everybody needs to floss more.  But other than that I'm not really tying myself to any "New Year Resolutions."

Why?  Because the goals I have are the same ones I've always had - lose more weight and everything is always a goal, regardless of the date.  I'm always trying to be kinder to people and remember that we all have our mind-numbing stupid moments from time to time.  I'm always trying not to yell at moron drivers from the confines of my car.  I'm constantly trying to keep my place a cleaner, more welcoming space.  (Doing pretty good on that one, I've kept my place clean since December 27th.  That would be more impressive if I had kids, I know, but I'm pretty proud.)

Either way I'm not doing resolutions.  I'm just sitting here waiting for my favorite shows to come off of winter break.  What is that, by the way?  Winter break?  Seriously?  All of the episodes are previously shot anyway, so what's the big deal?  I need more New Girl & Once Upon a Time!!  That's it, really.  I don't have any other shows that I'm angry about.  I'll catch up on Grey's Anatomy more but that show is constantly killing people off so I stopped trying to care about the characters.  Who's next?  McDreamy?  No, I'm not going to play their games anymore.

But I will tell you what my next project is:

Finishing my mirror.  Because it's been put on the back burner for about 6 months now.  It needs to get finished.  I might have to wait a little longer because the only place I can spray paint is out on my terrace...and the high has been a balmy 17 degrees lately.  But I will get it done!!  I am also going to get beautiful large throws for my bedroom.  I got the idea from Z Gallerie - there were these beautiful 24" patterned pillows that would compliment my bedding and add dimension to my bed, but at $70 each, I laughed and walked out angry.  Guys...I'm just...so cheap.  I wouldn't, ever, even if I had that kind of cash.  Why?  Because in my heart, deep, deep, down, I know I can find a better deal.  I can feel it.

Like this:

20" Pillow Covers

The Pillow People

Found on Etsy.  Price for two: $36.00

Now while this seems kind of steep for a girl like me, I've actually done the foot work and I can tell you - this is as good as it gets.  All I've got to do is find the pillows, which I believe can be done for a fair price at Ikea.  I think I would go with the geometric pattern - mostly because I need to shake things up.

Then if I stop over at Rugs USA, I can find rugs for 65% off right now...yes, that is correct - SIXTY FIVE PERCENT OFF.

This off center chevron master piece originally starts between $223 - $1144 but it's SIXTY FIVE PERCENT OFF.  So this bad boy would start at $144.00.  Which for a good, cute rug like this - is amazing.  It's not in the budget right now, but...isn't it pretty?

And then there's these I just bought:

Two 18x18" Pillow Covers from 

The Pillow Fight

Two pillow covers for $30.00

Not bad.  And with the pillow inserts at $5.99 a piece at Sears.com - that might be the way to go.

Over the Christmas holiday I was introduced to a really fun Wii game, called Just Dance.  I had heard a little bit about it but I was mostly aware of the Xbox Kinect versions, and what Wii game could be fun dancing to if you have to hold the remote?  Well...it turns out Just Dance is a BLAST!  After we got back into town, I first rented it from Redbox to make sure it was something I would actually use regularly or if it was fun, just that once.

I played for 3 hours.

So I purchased Just Dance 4 with some Christmas money:

I've had it for about about 4 days and I've scored 5 stars on most of the songs.  The exercise/ aerobics side is a blast too.  And the kicker is - I'm sore!  It's awesome!

So today I used the rest of my gift cards and bought this:

Which was $21.00 instead of the normal $40.00.  Then using the remainder of my gift cards it cost me a whopping $1.82.  Am I bragging?  You bet I am.  I should have this next week.  And the fun part?  My husband plays this version too, because it has old school hits from the early nineties.  But you didn't hear that from me.  (I may have video.)

Welp, that's all that's new with me.  The hubs and I are tentatively planning an anniversary trip to Jackson Hole soon, because the trip just wasn't do-able around the actual Anniversary last month.  (4 years and no blood drawn purposefully yet!)  So hopefully that will happen within the next couple of months.  Staring down a full work week after all of those days off will be murder.  Pure murder.  

I'm off to play a Wii game guys...how pathetic is that?  Here's to a sore hiney tomorrow!