Wish List 2012

Well, not really a wish list, but more like things I'm LOVING right now that are available to buy.  I have my non-monetary wish list going like "magically lose 10 pounds" and "magically cure cancer" and "magically have $20,000 show up in my bank account," but these things are actually available for purchase.

We'll start off with fun vinyl:

Kitchen Aid Vinyl Decals available for purchase at The House of Smiths for only $12.00.  My mixer is gray so I believe I would love the teal scallops.  Why does little stuff like this make me happy?  I don't know - it just does.  Of course The House of Smith's is chuck-full of cute vinyl lettering for all sorts of projects.  It's vinyl heaven over there.

These Pajama Pants from Aerie.  They're about $25.00 and they're on my list for my husband.  They're adorable, that's why.  I'm more of an "old yoga pants and old t-shirt" kind of girl for pajamas, but these - I love.

Ralph Lauren Big Pony 2

I have been out of perfume for about 2 years.  Why?  Because the two perfumes I loved have been discontinued.  Both are available on Ebay, but of course at escalated prices and because I can't justify it, I'll just have to deal with it, won't I?  But this smells wonderful.

This beautiful dresser from ZGallerie.  It's $999.00.  I didn't say this was a realistic wish list!  Our bedroom dresser is falling apart.  It's from Ikea.  I think that should explain the falling apart.  My husband had it for about a year before we got married.  The drawers are broken, the edges are scuffed from moving it twice - it's seen it's last days.  My husband and I disagree on furniture.  I like the black and white, and he wants rich mahogany colors.  We'll see when it's finally that time to replace.  But this is GORGEOUS!

iPad Mini

Yes I realize you just said, "Duh," that is unless you already have one.  Why the mini?  Less cumbersome.  Really,  I'd rather just win one, but the likelihood of that happening is pretty low.  But I can always dream, right?  At my husband's job, he wins a few of them a year through different venues but he can't keep them, he has to send them to corporate.  Not cool.

Nike Free 4.0 Running Shoes

Mine are just about done and it's that time to replace them.  As much as I love receiving presents like stuff for the house, things to cook and clean with and work out stuff as gifts, I really need them.  And I currently have Free's now and I like them so we'll keep the style going.

Fossil Wallet

My current wallet was $12.00 from Target. The one before it was $20.00 and I had it for about 3 years - and when you know the kind of beating it takes from all the accessories in my purse, you know that's a long time for a wallet.  This of course, is another unrealistic want, but I think it's cute.

The Colette Bed from Crate & Barrel

With a price tag that makes me say, "Hah!  You're joking, right?" clearly, this is an unrealistic want...but isn't it so pretty?!  And look - it's not an Ikea bed which sits so close to the floor, you might as well just set the box spring on the ground and do without the bed frame.  (My husband bought it while we were just dating.  If I had said, "I'm not a fan" at the time, I would have sounded like a psycho adding myself to his life like that.  We were engaged about a month later and I still sleep in a dude bed.)

Well that's all for right this minute.

In an unrelated note:  This is the view from my back door

And it's still coming...

While this is not fun to drive in, it's finally looking like Christmas around here!

Christmas Decor 2012

Yep, I blogged!

First off, I'll just go ahead and tell ya, these past couple months it's been my last priority.  My Mom has been diagnosed with cancer.  I really don't want to share personal stuff like this on a silly little blog like this but when you know that my father had a brain aneurysm 6 and a half years ago and now lives in a nursing home with no real memory of the last 30 years except that he recognizes and loves most of his family - the fact that my healthy parent has cancer just really put a damper on things.  Blogging really doesn't seem that important.  And whenever I get on the computer I end up googling "Non Hodgkins Lymphoma" and I scare myself.  The good/ scary news is that my Mom could potentially live over 20 years with this disease, but is it unfair that I wanted more?  She's only 55.  So now you know, it's not laziness (alright, maybe a little), I just avoid the computer all together.

Well, with that aside - let's talk about lighter things!  Like the Christmas season is here!  Which means decorating my tree!

It went up on Black Friday.  I enjoy Black Friday, not just because of the crazy shopping/ crazy people, but it's the day I get to turn on Christmas music, watch a Christmas movie while I crack out all of my Christmas decor!  Hooray!

My sparkly, glittery tree topper!  The tree has a lot of glitter this year.  Glittery curly twigs, glittery ornaments, glittery snowflakes, glittery gold icicles, and glittery ribbon.  It's just a whole lot of awesome.

It's jam packed, but there is a small part of me that wonders what else I could fit on there.  Luckily my husband reels me in.

The mantle hasn't changed much from last year aside from the ornaments in my fun glass vase. I normally would have added at least 2 more crafts to this but I just haven't found the time this year.

Overall this is the same too except I purchased some extra glittery ornaments for my chandelier.  I like the look better and it left me with more ornaments for decor like the bowl and vase.

That's about it with my little house, it's not much but it makes the place a lot more warm and inviting.

Coming next: my wish list!

I'm Grateful for...

Pumpkin Pie.

With an obscene amount of whipped cream on top.

And Turkey naps.

But not Black Friday - you crazies can have it all to yourselves.

Tomorrow means Christmas Decorating!  Woo hoooo!

A favorite of mine

Today I am wearing this to church.

It's a favorite of mine, especially the skirt.  It's so slinky!  And since my church building's A/C works a little too well, I rely on it's right amount of warmth.  I usually bundle a little more than what the weather calls for because of the chilly church.  You know, cause it would be weird if I was that member who always came with a blanket...

Welp, that's all for now.

What was your favorite outfit this week?

Happy Halloween!

I hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween!

Picture Anxiety

I have been a little M.I.A. lately, but in my defense, I have had a LOT going on.  And honestly after a long day staring at a computer, the last thing I want to do when I get home is...to get on the computer.

But I do have pictures coming up - November 10th, and while my mind is just reeling thinking how I need to lose 10 pounds so I don't have chubby-face in my nice, professional, will-be-up-on-mantles-for-years pictures, I still need to decide...what to wear?  Among many other things.  Well not decide on...stress about.  Did I mention my face broke out worse than a 15 year old boy?  Just saying.

I've visited Polyvore - which is a favorite of mine.  It's like paper dolls for adults.  I've come up with two options:

Option One:

Option One by jessajill featuring revlon cosmetics

I know - that's a lot of black.  But I have a different idea in mind of how this will look on...and the operative word here is "Slimming."

This outfit is a little over $1000.  Of course - I can't afford that.  The good news is that I already have a coat like that which is important.  It's already getting chilly and the leaves were in full force the last couple of weeks, so that means they'll be all but dead by the time we take pictures.  The chill has set in early which means it probably will have snowed by November 10th.  We are planning on taking pictures by a local lake, but I'm starting to lean toward an orchard depending on how it will look by then.

So here's my plan:

I purchased these...today:

Fergalicious Farfetch

Famous Footwear

$45.00

The reason they are out of stock...is because I took the last pair.  They only had one size left...and it was mine...and they were on sale for $45.00...it was FATE!  I snatched them up and they're on the way.  I also have Fergalicious brand boots in brown as well.  I like the way Fergie does shoes.

For the plain-ish sweater, instead of expensive J.Crew I found this:

Scripps Pier Sweater

Hollister

$29.50

I realize...this is a bit...plain.  I know.  However when you see the scarf I'm TOTALLY buying - you'll understand why this top is understated.  It looks like a guy's sweater, right?  But it's not.  I'll have a white cami underneath.  I am also thinking about maybe...finding a white top instead?  Now that I put it down - definitely white.  For sure.

Lobster Point Sweater

Hollister

$19.75

Maybe this...it might be a little too off-white though.  I'll keep looking.  Maybe I could just do a long sleeve white tee?  Or another whiter sweater?

So Cal Prep Orange County Sweater

Hollister

$44.50

This is whiter and with a long sleeve white tee underneath it would be warm enough and create texture?  But would the scarf clash with the texture?  I'm really liking the scarf. Ah!  I don't know!

For the scarf:

Black Chevron Zig Zag Scarf

Etsy - Scarves Infinity

$19.50

Yeah...now you're starting to get it, aren't you?  Crazy adorable, right?  And for when I switch things up a little bit, I have a white bubble necklace that can take it's place in a hot second.  Done and done.  This is happening.

Black Skinny Jeans

American Eagle

$49.50

You know when you're losing weight and you think, "I don't want to buy new jeans right now because I'm losing weight and if I buy them now...blah blah blah?"  That's where I'm at right now.  With ANY luck I will buy the size 4's and hope and pray I don't muffin out of the 4's I have now.  Please, oh please, I pray I don't muffin!

The accessories:

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss - Primrose

Target

$6.16

I also purchased this with pictures in mind.  Why?  Because I will need color in my face and while this color may not be "in" right now - this is the color I've always had put on me when someone else was deciding my make up.  I lean more toward nudes with a gold hue whenever I pick anything for my lips, but this Mom-color is what makes my face pop for reasons I will never understand.  I remember in high school, at cheer competition, we all had to put on the same lipstick so we all looked uniform (hygenic, right?), and it was this color.  While the rest of the 40+ girls complained that they hated this Mom-color (Bonne Bell Vanilla Swirl was what everyone wore back then), people started turning to me and saying, "Oh, that actually looks really good on you, Jessa."  Thanks?

Anyway:

Like I said I am leaning more toward option one for the slimming reasons, but just for kicks let's add another option:

Option Two by jessajill featuring essie nail polish

Now this is a lot more casual, I already have the top, the scarf, the boots, the jacket, and the necklace, the nail polish and the lip gloss, really the only thing I would have to purchase are the jeans...which scare me most of all.  It seems whenever I try on colorful jeans I always try them on in about eight sizes bigger than what I'm used to, and I still don't fit in them.  Which is depressing, even though truthfully it's the jeans, not me...right?  RIGHT?!

Also...it will be really chilly...like thicker jacket cold.  And while I have sacrificed for pictures before, and while I love my jean jacket, or what are they now?  Chambray Jacket. (silly people, I grew up in the nineties when these were in before...again after the early fifties.)  While I like this option because of the colors, I'm leaning toward the above option.  Which I know will be the less popular, but I can see this in my head better than option two.

Now for my husband, here's the easy part...I don't have to worry.  The man dresses well on his own.  True story - he's a straight man who knows how to dress, they exist.  All I have to tell him is colors - please wear white, gray, or black.  And he'll look great.  It's nice knowing I don't have to worry about that.


So yeah, I think I have a general idea of where I'm going.  Just know, I'll be here...stressing about my face and last -minute weight loss.

Today...

Today is my niece's 1st Birthday!

A year ago she was this big:

And that little cutie is now this cutie:

She is such a doll!

Pumpkin Silhouette

I realize pumpkin silhouettes are hardly a novel concept.  In fact I had a different idea about it in mind up until I got to the craft store to pick up what was in my head.

It turns out that Hobby Lobby doesn't read my mind so the cute, faded tans & blues with a white pumpkin silhouette were trashed.  But I saw the houndstooth paper and thought - why not?

So I made sure I had the following:

1.  Plaque/ Frame of your choice

2.  Paper of choice

3. Mod Podge

4.  Foam paintbrush for mod podge

5. Foam Pumpkin

6.  Good knife to cut said pumpkin

7.  Paint/ Spray Paint in color of choice

8.  Glue for Pumpkin - that holds!

To Begin:

Spray Paint your Plaque/ Frame the color of your choice.  If you bought paint - I would just give a couple coats to the outside edges since they're the only ones that will be seen.

 Step 2:

Once your paint has dried, you will want to cut your paper of choice so it fits nicely in your plaque/ frame and mod podge/ glue it onto your plaque or place it in your frame.  Like so:

When using Mod Podge, I've always noticed that it bubbles like mad.  So I stuck a book on there while I waited for it to dry:

Step 3:

Once the glue/ mod podge is dry, give a nice coat of mod podge to the top as well.  Unfortunately you can't stick a book on to avoid bubbling.

Step 4:

While you're waiting on your Mod Podge to dry, cut your foam pumpkin as evenly as possible.  I used a serrated knife and hoped that it wouldn't just break off into weird angles.  Luckily this little pumpkin was pretty dense and cut fine, with a little elbow grease.

Step 5:

Once your Mod Podge has dried completely, it's time to glue your pumpkin on.  I have no idea how anyone else gets their pumpkin on, but I know foam stuff never wants to cooperate so I used super glue.  Warning: don't glue your finger to itself.  It makes crafting kind of hard.  Yes - that is from experience.

Stick the pumpkin where you would like it on your frame/ plaque and then while it dries, weigh it down with something.  I used my book again.  In case you're wondering that's "I am Number Four" by Pittacus Lore.

After your pumpkin is good and dry, remember, it's still foam - don't pick this up by the pumpkin - foam sticks to nothing and no one and you'll be lucky it has some stickiness because you used the strongest glue you could find!

That's it!  Simple enough.  I am in the process of looking for a picture hanging...thingy to nail into the back so I can display it from a wall somewhere, but for now - it's sitting on my shelf:

I like the color and I like how it can be both Halloween and Fall related.  I think it's going by my front door.

Linking up:

See "I like to Party" tab up top

Best of Lately: Fall/ Halloween

You guys...it's cooling down!!!

Last weekend I was in Denver - where it just felt like Fall was rolling in.  The temperatures were lower - we're talking in the 70's.  I know that doesn't sound very low - but compared to the 90's it's been here in Utah - it was a very welcome change.

While I was there we did some shopping at the nearest outlet malls where I got a great deal on this jacket:

Levi Denim Jacket

Except I spent WAY less than that because it was Outlet pricing and there was a sale on denim jackets.  I stole this for $48.  And truthfully, I mean this chick no offense, I totally wear it better.  (Is it just me or does this chica need to find better fitting clothes?  Or maybe eat more hamburgers.  I'll go with the latter.)

I also bought this sweater from Abercrombie & Fitch:

Blythe Sweater

It's on clearance already - so I snagged it.  What is clearance for Abercrombie, is usually about where I feel comfortable paying full price for something.  I don't think I've ever bought anything full price there.  It's an "I'm kinda cheap and sticking to my principals" sort of thing.

Now I just need the weather to drop about 40 degrees and I get to wear them!

We can kind of feel the cold weather coming thought.  Even though it'll be in the 80's this weekend - it's something you just know - cold weather is rolling in.  (See, already 10 degrees cooler!)  And before you know it, it'll be time to go see the changing leaves in the canyon and do the Alpine Loop.  (Scenic drive here in Utah - if you're all about Scenic Drives and you haven't been - I highly suggest it.  Also - bring a camera.)

It might be WAY too early, but I'm already cracking out the fall scents this week.  My warmers have this scent in them:

Autumn Sunset

For those of you who are up to date on their Scentsy Products - this isn't discontinued - look for it again on September 15th.  (My SIL is my consultant - she kind of loves me since I can't stop myself when it comes to the catalogues.  I currently have 6 bars on order, but I'm waiting until the 15th to put it through.)

Also super cute from Scentsy:

Pumpkin Warmer

Guys...I want it BAD.  And it's all...on sale this month.

But aside form the fall shopping and smells and drives, I have been inspired to do some fall crafts.  I've gone through my blog roll - a feat, I can assure you because that list is LONG.  And I've found some unbelievably cute crafts that gave me some ideas.

We'll start off with Eighteen 25:

SUPER cute Skull Art & Tutorial.  Lolly Jane guest posted, however I can't seem to find this post on Lolly Jane yet.  So I'll link to both pages.  

I don't decorate for Halloween...yet.  I know I will when I have kids old enough to appreciate the fun.  Right now I just decorate for fall.  But this gave me an idea - so stay tuned.

I LOVE how adorable these turned out.  You should see the girl skull up close - it has cute feathery eyelashes and everything.  And I LOVE the stache and bow tie on the boy skull.  Super cute!!

Craftoholics Anonymous posted this cute tutorial on a fun Witch's Hat that would be adorable on any shelf or mantle.

The best part - it seems relatively simple and the outcome its super cute.

Crafts Unleashed posted these cute Baker's Twine Pumpkins.  These are definitely more my speed with my current Fall themes.  And from what I've seen - Bakers Twine is everywhere.  You just have to google search and you can find some reasonably priced.

Bat Frame from A Pumpkin & A Princess

This is super cute.  Also a good idea if you have a little boy who is obsessed with Batman.  Halloween Decor for a month and for the 11 remaining months it goes back in Jr's bedroom.  I love it.

You can totally steal this Halloween Printable over at Craft-O-Maniac.

It's free!  And she has all sorts of themes as well.

And this cute Houndstooth Pumpkin wreath was made by Jen over at Tatertots and Jello.  I wonder if that woman has ever had a craft fail.

This makes me want to go make a wreath - pretty bad.

Well that's all for right now.  There are still about 30 different things I'd like to do to my house including pretty fall pillows and pretty fall wreaths and accents but I have to cool it because, believe it or not, I do not poop money.

Hopefully you're having a fantastic weekend.