Me Time: Nail Files Link Up

I finally was able to sit down, relax, and have some me time tonight! I decide to link up with Fabulous But Evil to show off my nails. Head on over to her blog to check out some cool new colors and to show off your own!

I decided to do both my finger and toes tonight. I finally took of my candy cane pedicure from Christmas and I decided to paint them a spring color. I figured it was okay to dream of Spring, since I'm constantly in boots and no one will see them but me!

Sinful Colors: Rise & Shine

Paris: with no name sticker =(

Please look past my horribly small nails, aka my nubs. They may be small but I try to keep them polished because they look a little better that way. I'm really liking this color, but it looks darker in person. What do you think??

PS- Look what dessert I'm making for dinner I'm attending Sunday night with some girl friends!! I'm super excited about this. 

The Slutty Brownies

1 Box of cookie mix, 

1 Box of brownie mix, 

2 Eggs,

1 Pack of oreos (double stuffed ones are even better if you can find them)

Some oil 

& your favorite ice-cream (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking tray 9x9 with grease proof paper. Follow the instructions on the cookie mix box & stir furiously until you have gooey cookie dough, I usually add a little extra water and oil to what they suggest, it just keeps it moist as you'll be baking it for longer than suggested. An extra teaspoon of each is just right. Squidge (technical term) the cookie dough into a lined baking tray, until it covers the bottom. Cover this layer with your Oreos. Don't use the broken ones, eat them as you go. This recipe is too glorious to use substandard Oreos. Mix up your brownie batter and pour over Oreo layer. Bake for 30 mins, turn off oven keep in for another 5 mins, and remove them and leave to cool. When it's still a little bit warm, use the paper to lift your creation out of the tray and rest it on a chopping board. Use a large, sharp knife to cut it into manageable chunks, sections, slabs... depending on how many calories you think you can handle in one sitting. Drop onto a plate and scoop on your ice cream.

Recipe taken from The Londener

Wow! How delicious do these look? I should probably skip both breakfast and lunch, so I can save enough calories for this dessert! This would crave anyone's sweet tooth for sure!

Time Fly's

24 hours are not enough. How are you suppose to get ready, cook, clean, work out, read, pray, sleep, as well as get all the other random things on the to-do list done in 24 hours? I could not even imagine adding to that list caring completely for another life. There are not enough hours in a day to get everything done.

I read somewhere that "time is at once the most valuable and most perishable of all our possessions", so use it wisely. 

I guess this would be when planning and prioritizing needs to come in to play. Luckily, I'm extremely organized and I love making lists, but it's time for me to search for a new planner. What do all you ladies use? I have heard good things about Lily Pultizer planners ($15-$25) as well as Erin Condren planners ($50). I just don't know if I can justify spending $50 on a planner that I will use for 6 months. Maybe these planners will meet all my needs that I won't have a want to change them out as often. 

What planner do you use and how do you deal with not enough hours in a day? I just don't know if I'm ready yet to give up an extra hour or two of sleep in order to get a few more things done. This girl needs her beauty sleep! Being a grouch is not a good look on me. =)

My Dream House: According to Pinterest

How amazing is Pinterest? The perfect place to plan for the house I don't own, the kids I don't have, but I am able to use it for recipes, crafts, clothing, gifts, ect! The past few nights I have cooked new meals, both from Pinterest and they are officially hubby approved - crescent pepperoni pizza rollups & white chicken enchiladas. I enjoy finding new recipes that CT will eat so we can change things up a bit. 

Anyways, my favorite thing to do on Pinterest is to pin for my dream home. My latest findings on Pinterest are - (<-- btw, you should follow all my boards =))

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• Picture 1 - If sleeping in this bed wouldn't make you feel like a queen, I don't know what would. How amazing and grand! 
• Picture 2 - I love the floor to ceiling fireplace w/ stone & think of how fun it would be to decorate all of those mantels! CT would love the balcony over looking the living room. He already told me if we ever build he said it was a must.
• Picture 3 - I usually don't really like gold, but these days the color scheme is growing on me. I love how the entire wall is tiled and it sparkles. 
• Picture 4 - This kitchen has plenty of space for everyone, plenty of counter tops, and with it being white it looks so clean. The pops of blue is the perfect color for the accent walls.
• Picture 5 - Since the outside of your house is the first thing everyone sees, I think it should be beyond amazing. How fun is this design in the yard? CT would love it because it would be less to mow (ha) but with the pink tree, it's to die for!
  
  
   
  
  
  I am linking up with the vintage apple to showcase some great Pinterest finds. How often do you pin for your dream home? First off I don't even own a house and I have such expensive taste and no budget for anything! Maybe I should start playing the lottery.

What I Wore

Please look past the horrible picture. I don't have a good full size mirror so the bathroom is the best place, but with that you get everything that comes along with the bathroom: hairspray, makeup brushes, towels, ect. 

The best thing about my new job is being able to dress nice every day!

My go-to colors are always black, white, and gray but I do occasionally throw in a color. This is something I need to get better about, incorporating color. 

• Top - Forever 21 
• Leggings - Body Central
  (aren't they amazing!! -- I've been in love with the print Damask since I incorporated it into my wedding decor. Add to the To-Do list- write about wedding!)
• Shoes - Macys 

I have been guilty of always wearing sweats and athletic apparel but my new motto for 2012 is- "I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny." - Coco Chanel 

Do you dress good enough for destiny? I sure haven't but I'm starting to work on it! 

PS- I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy for what I wore Wednesday!

Target Tuesday

Today I am linking up with Fabulous but evil to share some of my favorite target wants! Feel free to link up with her also. 

I am like any other girl who loves shoes! Everyone who knows me, knows I have quite the collection and that I take very good care of them! You should know though that I didn't start growing my collection until my feet had already stopped growing -- which to me justifies it =).  

I have learned that shoes can make or break an outfit and that's why they are my favorite accessory. Take a look into my closet. I have every color of boot (besides tan) and almost every color of tennis shoes! Being an ex-full time athlete these were what I wore daily! 

Don't mind my messy closet, there just isn't enough room for all my shoes! They are double stacked on top of each other and look horrible. Now with the flip flops - I should probably go through them and just trash some that are old and the ones I never wear. Ill just put that on the 'to do' list! Maybe I can put it off till it gets closer to Spring.

If you don't shop at target for shoes, you should! Very stylish, affordable, and a wide variety of shoes. Here are some target beauties that I would love to add to my closet. 

 Women's Merona® Kasia Tall Genuine Leather Boots - Cognac $49.99

Women's Xhilaration® Sandee Bow Flats - Black $16.98

Women's Xhilaration® Kainda Slouchy Heeled Boots - Grey $34.99

Womens Mossimo Supply Co. Odell Ballet Flats - Cheetah $12.99

Women's Mossimo® Versie Pumps - Taupe $29.99

How amazing are all these finds? 

• Shoe 1 - classic tan boot WITHOUT a heel so it would be work appropriate. I could wear them for 8 hours straight. 
• Shoe 2 - I need a simple black flat that could go with anything. The bow is an added touch.
• Shoe 3 - I have these boots in brown and LOVE them! They are so comfortable and I need a pair of gray heeled boots. 
• Shoe 4 - Some cheetah flats. How do you pass up $12.99 shoes?
• Shoe 5 - Some nude heels. So pretty and simple. They would go with any outfit.
  

Which pair is your favorite? Do you shop at target for shoes? I get so many compliments on my target finds, and people are always surprised when I told them where I found them! 

Happy Sunday

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I have been catching up on housework, especially laundry (my least favorite) and spending as much quality time with the hubby as I can. If you read my post about my men, you could have guessed that the quality time was spent in front of the TV watching the football playoffs and Kobe, but I will take what I can get!

Most people this weekend probably have a 3 day weekend due to Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, but tomorrow while everyone is at home I will be starting my first day of work! I am beyond excited. Hopefully, I think I'm going to like it so much that it won't really be 'working' but more like having fun. Because I will be working at a cute little boutique, it was the perfect excuse to give to the hubby to go out and buy some new clothes! I was able to hit the sale racks today and come away with 4 shirts, a pair of damask leggings, some bangles, and 3 pairs of earrings for only $48! I didn't really 'need' anything, so I told myself that I could only look at things on sale. I would have to say I was a pretty good bargain shopper! I will be snapping some photos of the new outfits for a later post! 

Anyone else watch the Miss America pageant last night? I was able to sneak away from watching football and catch the whole show. Of course being from Kansas I was cheering for her, but when she didn't make the semi finals Miss Oklahoma was girl I figured would go all the way. Unfortunately, she made is all the way through to the final five but ended up getting runner up. Who was your favorite?

 <-- Miss Kansas






       Miss Oklahoma -->

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I have officially been blogging for a week and a day! Even if I was the only one reading this, it would still be fun for me. This is just a place for me to share my thoughts, my life, and a few crafts and organizational projects here and there. Hopefully I will be able to find some time to write this week as well as start on the Valentines Day decor projects, but since I won't be home all day anymore it's going to be a little more difficult. Wish me luck! I don't know how working women and mom's do it. Blogging takes more time than you would think. 

PS- Has everyone printed off their weekly meal plan and planned out their meals for the week? This has become a part of my Sunday ritual and I'm off to do that now! 

PSS- Thanks to A New Veiw 365, I have a super cool 'bloggin in Kansas' picture!

Life Lately: According To My Phone

I am linking up with On The Front Porch Looking In for Phone Photo Fun -- I just wanted to show a little bit about what's going on in my life according to my phone.

 

On our way to church, we snapped a quick photo! Check out the amazing Steve Madden glasses I picked up on sale from Dillard's for a whole $6! This is my first pair of 'big' glasses and they have quickly gone to my go to pair.

Thank you to the intelligent high schoolers who came up wit the idea of spiked gummy bears (Read here about the problems happening in Texas schools with these secret treats!)

I made these for a holiday party and they turned out the be a huge hit! They are extremely simple to make but they do take some time. I bought two big packages of gummy bears, but looking back I should have only bought one and split it in half. Two packages ended up being way to many. I infused one bag with malibu rum and the other with white wine. Just put the gummy bears in a bowl and cover completely with your alcohol of choice. I know people who have used vodka, tequila, ever clear, and I have heard great things about Cake flavored vodka. Let them sit in the fridge for 2-3 days, stirring a few times a day and you have a fun snack that would be a hit at any party.

This is my new coat I got for Christmas purchased from the Buckle. I love the diamond button detail and the fact that it has brown, gray, and black in it so it goes with anything.

A dinner I thought was snap shot worthy? Ha! I'm very big into eating what ever you want as long as your portions are appropriate. Pictured: hamburger patty dressed with ketchup, mustard, and banana peppers, garlic mashed potatoes, cucumbers splashed with balsamic vinegar, and a salad with cheese and roasted almonds.

My type of outfit- something that can be worn casually or dressed up with some heels and jewelry. Sequined sweatshirt, black jeggings, and black boots. This is what I wore to my Starbucks date with the owner of the boutique I will start working at.  

An amazing devotional that I came across the other day in Devotions for the Women on the Go. It was talking about EGR= Extra Grace Required for those hard to love people in our lives. Make it a priority to love them by faith.

What's going on in your life lately? Go back and take a look at the pictures on your phone. It's funny to look back and see what you thought at one time was important enough to take a picture of.  

Meet My Men

I have two main men in my life that completely fill my heart with some much love and joy. With as much love I have for the both of them, I can't even imagine how much love I will have for a child someday! 

Meet my husband -

photo courtesy of

• Christian - but for blog purposes we will call him CT
• Age 25
• He is my college sweetheart - met the very first week I was at college (2007) and have been together ever since 
• He played football & I played volleyball
• High school PE teacher 
• High school Baseball coach, college football coach (head receivers coach at Friends University)
• KU Jayhawks, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angles Lakers, & St. Louis Cardinals fan
• Sports fanatic - And when I say fanatic that's an understatement. We have ESPN on constantly in our home and we attend either his high school or our alma mater sporting events weekly. It's extreme! BUT he is not a 'gamer' so I would take this over him playing call of duty any day. 

(this would be him as a 'superfan' - top photo was the guys dressing as women & the bottom was white trash night)

God definitely worked his magic and matched us up perfectly! We are each others best friends, we have so much fun together, and we compliment each other very well! I am beyond blessed! 

Meet My Son (Fur baby)-

• Bentley
• Age 4 
• 7 lb Maltese
• He is beyond spoiled 
• He enjoys walks, spinning in circles when he gets excited, and playing fetch with him self (He has a cat ball that he tosses around the whole house)
• He is way smarter than I give him credit for - When my alarm on my phone goes off, he knows its time to come up to where I am and get rubbed. When my phone ringer goes off and someone calls, he thinks its time to go downstairs and let someone in the door.  He hates when I put all his toys away in his basket. He will immediately go and get them all back out.

He brings so much joy to each of my days! Everywhere I go, he goes! Right now we are cuddling on the couch as I type this up. =) 

Someday I hope to add more men to my life, but until then I will spoil these two with all my attention!

Opportunities

All along I have been saying that 2012 is going to be a great year, and so far it has been. Besides starting to conquer all my new year resolutions (here), I was recently offered a job opportunity that I think will end up being great. 

Ultimately, my dream would be to pop out babies and be a stay at home wife and mother! Cleaning, cooking, cuddling, coaching - definitely something I know I will be great at and God willing I will be able to do all those things someday. 

In the meantime, I have been looking for the perfect opportunity. Something that allows me to have responsibility, be creative, help people, and where I would wake up each morning and enjoy doing it. Thankfully, a dear friend of mine told me about an opportunity that fit all the criteria I was looking for. 

Starting Monday, I will be joining the Pink Saloon team, an amazing, local, high end fashion boutique. I will start by styling women while learning the ends and outs of the store, and the plan is to eventually manage the store! Feel free to 'like' them on facebook and if you are ever in Wichita stop by the store. They have some amazing items-- for example these dresses. 

Definitely not what I thought I would be doing once I graduated college, but that's the beauty of things. God has a whole different set of plans, and laughs when we try and make our own. I'm going to work on living in the moment and being thankful for the opportunities God lays in front of me. 

So in addition to the crafting and organizing, this blog may now have some fashion involved in it! I'm excited to experiment and try different stuff with my fashion. Like I said before, I think 2012 is going to be an amazing year. Full of opportunity, full of changes, and full of becoming a better me!   

Is there anything looking back now that was not exactly in your 'plans', but after seeing where it has led you, you know it was all a part of Gods master plan? Isn't it amazing?!

Product Review: Jewelry Organizer

I'm a girl, just like any other. I have more jewelry than I even know what to do with. It's crazy looking at how your style changes throughout the years. I went from having a bunch of plastic, colorful, chunky jewelry to jewelry with multiple chains and layers, mostly in black and gray.

A problem I have always had with my jewelry was how to store it properly and how to show it all off so I knew what pieces I had. I had the same dilemma with trying to decide how to store my nail polish, and in both situation of course I turned to pinterest for some inspiration. 

My jewelry storage use to look exactly like this. This look to me screams college (probably because that's where I used this at!)

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I eventually got rid of the ugly cork board and push pins and moved all my jewelry to a jewelry box. The jewelry box though caused a whole different sort of problems. It was cosmetically appealing unlike the cork board, but I wasn't able to visually see all of my pieces and my necklaces didn't have their own place. In order to keep them from getting tangled, I ended up having to lay them out on top of my dresser.

When I realized the jewelry box wasn't solving all the problems like I had hoped, I turned to other 'pinners' to see if they had any other possible solutions. I saw a lot of vintage solutions but vintage isn't really my style. After clicking on various links though I came across the Roxsee Jewelry Holder by Untangle My Chains.

This organizer seemed like the perfect solution for all my problems. It is light weight, stylish, and has a place for earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces. When I realized it was only $29.99 I knew I had to get one. 

Within a week of ordering it was at my door and in the cutest packaging. I immediately filled it with all my jewelry and I couldn't be any more pleased. 

It's hanging on the front of my dresser at the moment, but when the time comes and I have an amazing dressing room or walk in closet, there is a hanger on top to put in on a bar!

Right now, Untangled My Chains are doing a special for buy one get one half off. These jewelry organizers would make great gifts and right now would be the perfect time to get one. Plus, they give free shipping on all orders. Who doesn't love that?!

How do you organize all your jewelry? What have you found that works best for you?

Crafting: A Nail Polish Holder

I envy women who have long, strong, amazing fingernails that are always freshly painted.  In my opinion, biting your nails is such an ugly habit, and it is something that brings unneeded attention to my already not so pretty hands! That is where one of my new year resolutions came from.

Resolution #6- completely stop biting my nails.

So far, this resolution has been the most difficult to keep. I actually started this resolution back in November and was going strong up until New Years Eve. I have heard many different assumptions, but the most common seems to be that it takes 4-6 weeks to break a bad habit. I have tried applying 'stop the bite, kick the habit', but it tastes absolutely horrible (which it is suppose to). Until I applied stop the bite, I didn't realize how much I ate with my hands or how often my hands came to my mouth. Even putting vaseline on my lips, I would taste it. I realized this issue was only going to go away if I had a lot of will power.

Throughout this whole process of trying to stop biting, I realized I had less a tendency to bite my nails if they were painted. This was really the only thing that worked for me. Before you knew it, I started to accumulate quite the collection of nail polishes, because I was changing the color of my nails almost every other day or as soon as there was the littlest chip in the polish. 

Proof:

I now had all this nail polish and didn't know the correct way to store it or how to show it off. While on pinterest one afternoon I found this really cool nail polish holder made out of an old spice rack. 

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I loved the simplicity of this look and how easily all the colors were organized and shown off. I knew this would be the solution to how I was going to house and store my nail polish. 

The next step was to head to goodwill's in the area to see if I could find an old spice rack. Fortunately, after some digging, I found this beauty at my very first stop. 

 

Wow! What potential this bad boy had! I knew that I didn't have a specific spot that I wanted to hang it on the wall, so my plan was to remove the door, remove the hooks on the bottom, cut off the legs so it could sit up, and paint it. 

I'm not a fan of using lots of color, especially since we are just renting and I know when we eventually do move everything will probably change. For this reason, I usually stick with neutrals, black, and white when decorating. I ended up removing the door, unscrewing the hooks, using a hand saw to remove the legs, and then I painted it. I used a black gloss on the wood, and on the metal bars I used a silver sparkle. Who doesn't love a little sparkle! 

Tada! I love the finished product, and I'm so glad I decided to go with the glitter. In the store I was really debating it, but I love the way it turned out. It adds something a little extra.

Now this bad boy is currently housed in my bathroom.

I walk by it a few times a day and I'm so proud of what I accomplished. It is such a great feeling when you are able to re purpose something old into something you can benefit from. And look, another re purposed item got in the picture. The white candle we used in our wedding, got spruced up with a little double sided tape and glitter. Thanks again pinterest!  

Today starts day 1 of my challenge, and I have 6 brutal weeks of resisting to try and break this habit! My goal is to take hair skin & nail pills to help my nails grow, apply sally hanson: hard as nails to make them strong, and apply paint to keep them covered. Wish me luck!  

Ps- I'm linking up with Positively Splendid! 

Crafting: A Meal Plan

I don't know how some women do it. Take care of kids, make sure the house is clean, or work all day and then immediately come home and cook a healthy, hefty meal. I look up to women who can do all those things, plus more. 

As part of my new years resolution I wanted to become a better cook by cooking more frequently. Hannah, a friend and fellow blogger, just recently started meal planning for her family. What a great idea it is to make this a Sunday night ritual, so you can plan out dinner for the week and know exactly what you need to pick up during your weekly grocery shopping trip. 

I thought this idea would be a perfect for me to try, and hopefully it would help get me organized to make it easier to achieve my resolution. I searched the web for a weekly meal planner, but I ended up make my own version. 

 Free Printable

So far our week is looking like this:

Monday-        Sphaghetti, garlic mashed pototoes, and grilled asparagus

Tuesday-       Help yourself night 

                   (Being a wife of a coach and to someone who has an extreme
                   love for all sports, we attend almost every Wichita Southeast
                   sporting event, so this night we will be watching Basketball.)

Wednesday-  Sausage breakfast pizza

Thursday-     Grilled chicken, salad, & turnips 

Friday-         Leftovers
                  (Basketball night)

Saturday-     Meatloaf, corn bread, green beans, salad

Sunday-       Family night

                  (Every Sunday we usually get together with family after church
                  for a late lunch/early dinner, where we go out to eat or someone
                  hosts dinner)

Usually, I make a dessert at the beginning of the week that lasts the husband and I awhile, but since we are trying to eat more healthy, sweets are a no go these days. In return, we have added another vegetable to almost each of our meals.  

What are your go to meals throughout the week? Feel free to leave me a comment with a recipe or two! I get stuck in a rut of cooking the same things, so I'm always in need of some fresh new ideas.

   

The Beginning

The beginning of the new year is always an exciting time for most people. With everyone just coming down from the excitement of the holidays, most are attempting to tackle their new years resolutions. Usually I don't make any resolutions because I'm not okay at failing and I don't have any major things I want to change. 2012 was different, and I have quite a hefty list.

• Grow in my relationship with Jesus Christ
• Volunteer more
• Become a better cook by cooking more frequently
• Work out atleast 3 times a week
• Run atleast 3 5ks
• Completely stop biting my nails
• Start a blog

2011 was an exciting year for me: I graduated from college, I married my best friend, and I became a coaches wife. Most of my resolutions this year are to help me become a better Christian, wife, and a more healthier me.

So far my resolutions are going great. 

To strengthen my relationship with Jesus Christ, I have been doing two different daily devotionals, Experiencing God Day by Day and Devotions for Women on the Go. These help me get my mind focused and centered on Jesus, and give me something different to pray about each day. Each reading only takes a few minutes, and it is truly a refreshing way to start your day off. Whether your walk with Jesus has just begun, or you have been a life long Christian, it's something I recommend everyone should do.

For volunteering more, I plan to start at my church in the nursery or kids world. Eventually, I want to become a part of the Wichita Junior League, an volunteer organization committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Registration closes in April, and whether I get involved this year or next, this is my ultimate goal. 

In 2012, I also hope to become more healthy and fit. Being an athlete my entire life, it was quite an adjustment no longer participating daily in sports and having to actually put effort into staying fit. In 2011 I ran my first 5k, and for all who know me, I extremely dislike running, so I would say this was a huge accomplishment. I plan to keep running, lifting weights, practicing hot yoga (which is the best full body workout I have ever had), and drinking more water. 

At the moment, I am currently unemployed and looking for a job, so I feel obligated to make delicious meals for the hubby when he comes home. Fortunately, I enjoy doing it and I am having fun experimenting with different things. I have an extremely picky husband though, so it makes finding new recipes a little difficult, but I'm glad he will try almost everything I make. 

I think the most difficult resolution to keep is going to be trying to stop biting my nails. It is an awful habit that I'm not proud of, so hopefully by the end of this year I will have long, strong nails! 

Lastly, I am an avid blog reader, so I thought it would be fun to start my own. It may not be the most entertaining or interesting blog, but it will be a place for me write about what's going on in my life, how my real life fairytale is turning out, and a place for me to show my passion for crafting & organizing.