oh so nifty: January 2012

2012 New Year blogging party!

Hello everyone, and happy last day of January! Can you believe it?! I can't really. This month flew by!

I have a really fun post today! A few weeks ago I signed up for the new year blogging party.

It's a fun new year's gift exchange for us bloggers put on by Alycia, Casey, and Danielle. Basically they matched us up and we took it from there. I was paired up with the lovely Melanie from Keeping up with the Cantelmo's.

Isn't she cute! She is a blogging mom of 3 adorable little peanuts, and she just announced last week that it will be 4 soon! Congrats girl!
So, I got her gift in the mail tonight and get to show it to you all!

First off, she wrapped it in damask tissue paper! {love}

Then I actually opened the gift, and boy did she spoil me!

A cozy scarf, bracelet and a cute necklace! So fun!

I wanted to get some fun photos of me wearing them, my tripod is M.I.A., so beware these pictures are not awesome. lol.

This was my attempt to get everything in the picture... it almost worked! lol!

Thanks Melanie for the fabulous gift! You guys should check out her blog and see what I got her!

Also check out the rest of the exchanges here:

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the month!

Friday, kinda

Hey everybody! Boy has it been a long week! We have been remodeling at work which means I am super busy. We gutted our kitchen showroom a few weeks ago and have been putting it all back together ever since. This week we realized that after MUCH pre-planning and extreme organization we were behind schedule. The contractors were behind, and we were down a person all week, which means longer hours and more work for the rest of us.

I'm exhausted!

This week has been nothing but work and recover from work, which means I did nothing exciting, and have no fun instagram pictures this week. Sad, I know. I get to work tomorrow{yay for overtime!}, and then {hopefully} do nothing on Sunday!

As tired as I may be, it is pretty cool seeing a completely empty space turn into an awesome and really well organized kitchen in mere days! It makes me want to tear into my kitchen and re-do it all! Like this maybe:

Source: houzz.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Can someone just plop that into my house right now? Kay, thanks!

planning a bridal shower {pinterest style}

I am the matron of honor for my cousin's wedding! Yay! I am really excited for all the things that go along with that... the bridal shower, bachelorette party, making sure she has all her wedding necessities. I am realizing now that it is getting really close, and I need to get on it!!! Luckily I have a bazillion ideas from pinterest to help me out. I now just have to figure out which ones to use, and what direction I really want to go with it. I knew from the get go that a tea party theme would be perfect, so I think I just need to stick with it and get going! Here are some of my favorite pinterest ideas... so far:

Source: bakerella.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: hwtm.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: thesweetestoccasion.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: jennycookies.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: debutanteseason.tumblr.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: hostessblog.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: joyofbaking.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: girlyme.tumblr.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: beauandarrowevents.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: juliausher.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Chelsea if you are reading this STOP now! Love you!

Everyone else... keep reading. =)

I am sooo making something like this for her. How much cuter will the opening present pictures be with that?!

Source: tickledpinkwithrosesandpearls.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

So, that's where I'm at still have tons to figure out. This is the first bridal shower I've thrown, so I'm wining it! Anyone have some good ideas or pointers? I don't know if I should have the typical shower games or try something new... any advice would be appreciated!

I'm linking up with:

blogity-blog

Source: google.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Tonight the hubby is gone and I am avoiding housework, so I am playing around with the blog. I love being able to mindlessly move things around, change fonts and colors, and play around on picnik for a few hours. Speaking of which did you all hear they are shutting picnik down?! I'm pretty bummed about this. I did check out the Google creative kit, and it's pretty similar, but it's not the same. {sad face} Well, I'm back to avoiding real life and dirty dishes!

Insta-Friday

Hey everyone!

I don't know about you, but I've been waiting for Friday since Monday morning!

I've been sick all week and just trying to get through the work week. I only made it til Tuesday at lunch, but then made myself go to work yesterday and today. And since you probably don't want to see pictures of my pile'o'tissues or my view from the couch all week, I leave you with pictures from the weekend before I was hating life!

My cousin came over last weekend and we had dinner, watched a movie and did some wedding planning {all over wine, of course}

I managed to get the hubby to stop working long enough to relax and have a beer with me. mmmm... Lagunitas.

It all went down hill after that! LOL. This weekend I am doing nothing! Well, maybe not nothing, but as close to it as I can!

linking up with

What the...

While leaving the grocery store the other day I noticed that the new modern looking building that was being built was getting signage put up. I had been wondering what it was going to be, they tore down an old building just to build it. So I come around the corner and what do I see... a McDonald's sign. I know I am in the minority of people that hate fast food joints, but there is a McDonald's already in the same parking lot!!!! Now I don't know if they are planning on shutting the other one down or not, but this makes TWO McDonald's, a Jimboy's, a KFC and a Round Table all in the tiny shopping center of my grocery store.

Am I alone in thinking this is crazy?

I have to pre-order a box of produce and split my shopping at three stores to get good local organic food, but if I want to eat garbage I have 20 options within 5 minutes of my house?!! Something is wrong here.

Thanks for listening to my rant!

11 things

I was tagged by Brittany over at Daily Bruski

The Rules

one. You must post the rules & and link up who tagged you.

two. Post eleven fun facts about yourself.

three. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

four. Tag eleven people and link them on your post

five. Let them know you've tagged them!

11 facts about myself

1. I have always lived in California {and have loved every minute of it}

2. I wish I were able to 'dress up' more

3. I sing loudly in the car... all the time!

4. I hate to get out of bed in the morning

5. I love brusslesprouts!

6. My toenails are ALWAYS painted

7. I procrastinate way too much

8. I am a thrifty gal in all ways

9. I love the process of making things

10. I truly think my husband is the greatest ever

11. My favorite flower is a daisy

Here are Brittany's questions and my answers:

Q: If you could move somewhere else, would you? Where?

A: Honestly if I didn't have to worry about work, I'd move to Hawaii in a heartbeat!

Q: What inspired you to start blogging?

A: I started blogging to create a space where all of my passions meet up. I enjoy too many things and they tend to get lost in the madness.

Q: What is your favorite flavor ice cream?

A: Coconut Bliss Mint Galactica! It's dairy free and delicious!

Q: Where is your favorite place to shop?

A: Thrift stores! Duh!

Q: What TV show can you not get enough of?

A: How I Met Your Mother! It's legen...wait for it...DARY!

Q: Music, TV, or radio?

A: Music! It can change your mood so fast, I love it!

Q: If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?

A: Maybe a mermaid... how fun would that be!?!

Q: What is your dream vacation?

A: Laying on a beach, in the sun, with a drink and my hubby.

Q: Do you enjoy watching sporting events?

A: Not really, maybe if I were AT the game.

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?

A: loud eaters! It's disgusting!

Q: What advise would you give your younger self?

A: Just to be yourself and make the best of all situations.

Tag - You're it

1- Ruthie @ the cronicles of Ruthie Hart

2- Alyx @ Every Day is a New Adventure

3- Melissa @ Pineapple Lilly

4- Hollie @ Hollie takes notes

5- Taryn @ Edge

6- Amanda @ For Love of a Cupcake

7- Holly @ eight six eleven

8- Stephanie @ My Creative Brightside

9- Jena @ {I'm}perfectly human

10- Amira @ Shades of Gray

11- Madison and Lauren @ Awkward Girls

My questions for you

one. What's your go to movie?

two. Wine or beer?

three. What's your favorite color?

four. Where is your ideal vacation spot?

five. What TV show can you not get enough of?

six. What's your favorite time of year?

seven. Whats the best book you've read recently?

eight. You have $1000 to spend right this second, what do you do?

nine. How do you feel about men with beards?

ten. What is the strangest animal you have ever come in contact with?

eleven. What do you get out of blogging?

Insta-Friday and we have a winner!

It is Friday once again, which means iphone photos! Plus we have a winner for the cozy giveaway! So, let's start with pictures and end with the good stuff!

My awesome hat mid-way.

Me and my cousin riding a golden bear!

My fat cat being snuggley!

and my finished hat one more time!

Now for the good stuff! =) We have a winner!!!

AMANDA!!! You are the lucky winner of a super cute set of Krissy's cozies! Now you get to pick out your fun colors! I'll e-mail you with more info.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Krissy's Crafts for making such cute stuff! I hope to do more fun giveaways soon!

Have a great weekend everyone and happy Friday the 13th!

linking up with

Last chance...

Last chance to enter in the giveaway for a set of super cute coffee cozies! I will choose a winner tomorrow, so go get your entry in!{here}

yeah, I made that... nbd

I am so excited right now! I just FINISHED my first actual crochet project!

I know, I know, I'm a nerd, but I'm still excited! It looks pretty good, not all wonky like my previous attempts at crocheting! See:

I got the pattern from this great yourube video:

Now I want to do more! I think I may be in need of a new scarf!

fabric love!

Did you notice the new header?! I found that fabric the other day and knew instantly that a photo shoot would be in it's near future! Isn't it great!? Hand dyed in India, and I got it at the thrift store for a dollar! Brand new! Who would toss that?! I'm glad they did though, because I LOVE it! Once I got it home I realized it was in fact a curtain panel too! That saved me some serious time! Wow, there sure are a lot of exclamations in here!!! lol!

Well, I'm off for some girls night fun. Have a great Saturday!

Insta-Friday!

Helloooooo Friday! It's been a looong work week here, which doesn't make for much excitement. I do, however, have a few pictures to share with you all this lovely Friday!

Me and the hubby out for a drive.

My super yummy steel cut oats with maple syrup and pecans!

I busted out the hats! {finally}

Our very cool new chair made by our friend! I'm still looking for the right spot for it.

One of my favorites! All vegetarian and mostly vegan. Plus you get to hangout with a bunch of chickens while you wait for your food! See this post for a picture of one of the chickens!

I'm spending this weekend with my cousin and doing some girly stuff, I'm sure pictures will follow. What is everyone else up to this weekend?

linking up with:

Welcome 2012 + a cozy giveaway!{closed}

Welcome 2012!!!

I hope everyone had a great New Years! Mine was really low key and I loved it!

I have a feeling this is going to be a great year, and I am really looking forward to what it has in store for me.

Now on to the good stuff!

I thought I'd get this year started off awesome, and offer all of you a great giveaway!

Krissy from Krissy's Crafts is offering up a set of her super cute coffee cozies!

One for you...

and one for your favorite coffee buddy...

Aren't they cute?! I adore them and think they are just perfect for this time of year! I swear, all I want to be doing lately is drinking coffee, or tea... a girls gotta sleep sometime!

Anyways, aside from her awesome cozies, I love how she got started making these for sale. So, I asked her for a quick little back story to share with you.

My name is Krissy, I’m in my mid-twenties, and live in Lansing, MI. I grew up in a very artistic family. I was always creating or working on some type of craft project with my mother or grandmother. I decided to follow this creativeness and pursue a career in Interior Design. Even though I was very talented and successful in school, it was difficult to find a job in the economy. Therefore, I decided to open a shop on Etsy as a new creative outlet. I decided to knit and crochet because I love to watch a new product take shape that once started out as a piece of string and the possibilities are endless on what you can create.

Growing up in Michigan has inspired me to create warm and cozy things for those long, cold, winter months. I have created ear warmers, fingerless gloves, and just this year; coffee cup cozies. I like to enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate in the evenings, but the cup would always be to warm to hold on to and the cocoa would always get cold to fast. The cup cozies were the perfect solution.

I love the idea of creating handmade items. I think it’s a much more thoughtful and significant gift. I also like to hand address every package I send out. Even though it’s more time consuming, I think there is something special about getting a hand addressed package; it lets the customer know that a real person took the time to create this item just for them.