The List

Things I really, really, really, really, really want right now:

Epiphane Bags:

The "Lola" is so pretty I can barely stand it.

Right?!

Yeah - the website's here.

I can't do it, but oh, I wanna.

This top from Bohme.

The new Toms Flats.

I can't justify that for flats but I LOVE the toe.

This cute linen blazer from La Posh Style.

I'm loving this.

The Coral Messenger bag over at The Pleated Poppy.

It's sold out, that's ok, I can only admire from afar.

The Allora Colorblock collection.  I'm a fan of the blue and green.

A big fan.

This Maxi skirt on clearance over at Victoria's Secret.  It's a favorite.

The adorable little polka dot clutch on clearance over at Fossil.  In the worst way.

I love this watch too.  It is not on clearance.

That's the list of things I'm using my willpower against right now.

What's your list?

Hopping on the Bandwagon

Yep.

You're welcome.

Yes, I am 27 years old.  No, I don't care if this is for teenagers.

Crunch Time

I'm down to the wire.  Less than a month until vacation and I'm not ready to go near a swimsuit, let alone try one on.

Now, with only a month I realize I am pressed for time, but I've been told it IS possible, but it won't be easy.

(Nothing ever is.)

I've pinned, read, procrastinated, and decided to fit in working out when working out can be fit in, even if it's ten minutes here, 15 minutes there, an hour after work and a half hour in the morning.

I WILL NOT CAVE TO JIGGLES!

Links I've read:

30 Day Abs Challenge

6 Moves to Thinner Thighs

Fast Track to a Flat Belly

The Best Ab Exercises of All Time

Get More out of Weekend Workouts

Well, wish me luck.  I HAVE to get rid of this - HAVE TO!

Little Changes: Chevron Tray

I crafted!  Well...I repurposed!  And it was marvelous!  I feel this crafting urge might be coming back!

We originally bought this tray to be placed on the ottoman because honestly - that's where we eat 90% of our meals.  It's true.  And we needed a hard surface to place drinks but over time, we noticed that we used it less and less and for the last year or so it's just been in the pantry collecting dust.

I was doing some spring cleaning that involved cleaning out said pantry and it hit me that if I just painted the bottom it could really pop and liven the dark furniture up a little more.  I got excited and after I was done spring cleaning I sat down with my blue and green paint and tried to decide what I should do with it...

While I realize chevron is slowly phasing itself out and the trendier option would have been a lattice pattern of some sort, I knew that I could do the chevron pattern and trusted myself with it more.  Also, I didn't have to buy a stencil.

So I got out the painter's tape and taped off the entire circle.  I decided to put the blue on first and while I painted it on I realized that if I only left it at one coat, it had a bit of a beachy, reclaimed feel.  So after one coat I took the tape off and while it was a cute look, I decided to add green to it as well.

That I did by hand.  Yes, the professional would have waited for it to dry and retaped, but I have never claimed to be that patient, so I free handed the green.  It wasn't hard at all.  I wanted to leave a little bit of space between the blue and green to define a line.

Once the painting was done, I left it overnight to dry.  The next morning I came back with some light sandpaper and sanded it in a few places.  Then I grabbed a couple of my favorite tattered books and a little vase and ended up with this beauty:

And honestly I really like the feel of it, it's bright and bold and the ottoman really needed it!  I LOVE the end result and even my husband thinks it makes the room feel a little more "finished."  It may have been his way of telling me to dial it back on the little crafty additions, but I didn't hear it that way.

I wish I could take a better picture of how it pops in the room, but I took these pictures last week and well, I've been home sick and don't feel like cleaning chicken soup off the ottoman for a photo shoot about a tray.

So there it is - I'm now re-using my tray...even if drinks are no longer allowed anywhere near it.

I'll be linking this up!

Pinnings and such

I am home sick today.  Why am I blogging instead of getting rest?  Well 1.  I can't nap, I just can't.  Once I'm up, I'm up, once I'm sleeping, I'm sleeping...for the next 5-6 hours at least.  I just can't nap to save my life.  2.  If I watch any more daytime TV I'll cry myself to sleep.  3.  On weekdays, I have to be doing something productive.  I would be cleaning something except I get dizzy when I stand for more than 3 minutes.  So here I lounge.  Uncomfortably.

So have a look at my favorite pins as of late:

This is genius.  I want to do this in my bedroom.  Bad.

From here.

I actually implemented this into my spring cleaning recently and it picked up dust like a magnet!  I used downy, but I don't think it matters.  Amazing!

From here.

Yes it is so pretty.  And no, I can't afford it.  But I will stare.

From here.

I totally had a nightmare about zombies last night because they mentioned this crazy cracked out guy on the news again.  Thanks bath salts, now we're considering zombies as an actual threat again.  (Really?  Where is your sense of logic, brain?!)

From here.

Can I just tell you how much I love this chair?  This would be PERFECT in my living room.  I can't begin to tell you how amazing this would be.  But since this one was pulled off of HGTV's website, we can all assume that it's on the holy-shiz end of the spending spectrum.

From here.

Its not even close to Halloween, but when I saw these it was like holy awesome.  So I had to include them for no other reason than their awesomeness.  I must become this creative person's friend.

From here.

A secret room like this just blows my mind with it's possibilities.  If I ever become fortunate enough to have a secret room, it will be my craft area complete with a TV and a chocolate fountain.  No, the fountain doesn't make sense, but it's my secret room and I'll do what I want with it.

From here.

I'm intrigued by this idea.  I've already purchased an antiquing agent from hobby lobby for the last step in my mirror project. (which is still collecting dust, in case you were wondering.)  But if this does a good job I might have to reconsider that.  I love pinterest and all the helpful ideas.

From here.

I love this idea.  I have been dying to get up the canyon one weekend for a campfire, foil dinners and s'mores.  And it hasn't happened for weeks!  I might have to make this for myself - you know, to hold myself over.

From here.

Welp, that's all for today.  I hope the rest of you are able to fill your time better and spend less than 3 hours on Pinterest today.  Good luck to you!

Summer 2012 Edition

Here it is:

I'll be officially swearing off computers for a week in July.  July 21-28 to be exact.

I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a few guest posts to please the eye around here.

And I'm going with a theme...so you know, wait for it:

SUMMER.

What about summer, you ask?

Anything you want.  Well, let me get a little specific: what you love about summer, favorite things to do with your loved ones during summer, your favorite summer trends, fun summer treats/ meals, summer outfits you adore, summery projects you want to share.

You get the gist.

Let me know if you'd be interested - I'd love to have you!

Email me at:

jessajill@gmail.com

A hair thing.

Working internet!  I am once again connected to the world!

And with it comes a couple of posts - are you excited?  Yeah, I don't blame you.


But it's exciting for me!  Hooray - working technology!



Alright so onto the real deal here:


I was able to pull this mess of in-between length hair up and I didn't hate it!  It's fabulous that I am starting to have options when it comes to hair styles now - so once lazy Saturday I decided to pull my hair up because I had time and I was excited.

And I came up with this:

It's up!  And let me tell you how HARD it is to take a picture of the back of your head - in a mirror, with a DSLR camera.  I wouldn't suggest it - I gave up a few times.

So that would be why I don't have any actual "tutorial" pictures because - well, I could barely get the finished result let alone the steps in between.  So you'll have to use your imagination.  But honestly this hair do when up a lot easier than I imagined it would - no seriously - trust me.

First I went through and flat iron curled my hair.  Yes, this is something that takes a bit to get the hang of, but once you have it down, you can curl your whole head in about twelve minutes.

Once your head is curled, run fingers through your hair to separate the curls and take a comb and back-comb (or "rat" depending on what part of the country you're from...or era.) the back crown area of your head.  It doesn't need to be perfect, but a little volume doesn't hurt.

Then take your hair and sweep it into a messy side-pony.  It should end up right under the ear.  Once you've secured it with a hair-elastic you'll need a few bobby pins.

It doesn't have to be perfect and neat, but start taking looses strands and twist them, curl them and pin them forming a loose and twisty knot in the back.  Once you've secured the strands you want and have sufficiently covered up the elastic you used, you can take some hair spray to the knot and pat down some fly-aways.  (I always have a ton.)

The last step is to take a few random strands and make sure they're curled.  You can either leave these pieces out to begin with or do what I did, which is to wait to see which strands would stand out once the pony was up and leave them out.  I did have to re-curl them to get the right curl.  Then I loosely fastened them back again with a bobby pin - this is how you achieve the wispy curly look.

You can tell by my terminology I have a lot of expertise in the field of hair and hair styling.

Once you have everything in place, take your favorite hairspray and give your head a good once over and you're done!  Ta-da!  An up do that doesn't take very long at all.

I've since done this up do a few times and it's not once of those good-hair day, coincidence hair styles - it's gone up just as easy ever since.

There you have it.  I'll attempt to link this where it feels appropriate.


Featured Here:

Disconnected.

I'm still waiting for my internet to work. Its frustrating beyond imagination.

And of course while my internet is down I have two posts waiting. One is a hair tutotial, and the other is a craft.

I know, I was quite surprised myself.  So in the mean time enjoy this small picture of what's to come.

Technical difficulties.

I did my hair up last night!

I realize that registers as a negative six on the excitement scale, but when you're growing your hair out...its an occasion to mark.

Last night I had time to mess with it and I was pleased with the outcome so much that I was all "I'm totally posting this. I might even link this bad boy."

So I grabbed my camera and went through the PAIN of taking pictures of the back of my head with a dslr camera.  Then I went to post and...my internet is down.

And I'm not sure when it will be back up. So in the mean time enjoy a couple pics taken with my phone.  I'll get the rest up eventually.