What I Wore # 3

This week was pretty laid back. Didn't get a chance to take very many good photos. Bear with me. Next week will be better.

Wednesday

Shirt- Walmart

Story had a really cute outfit too.

Dress- Gap

Boots- Thrifted

She didn't really want her picture taken. That means she wouldn't look at the camera. We were going to the grocery store. Cute no matter what though :)

Thursday

Shirt- Mossimo

Skirt- Vanity

Tights- No Boundaries

Boots- Target

Scarf- Walmart

Thursday was both Jordan and I's day off. We had decided to take Story to the pumpkin patch to pick out her carving pumpkin. After I got dressed I realized this outfit was a bad idea for pumpkin picking. 

Vest- Route 66

Jeans- Forever 21

You can't tell as well as I would have liked, but I tried something new with my make up. The lipstick is a pretty shade but I don't think I like the shine.

Earrings- Gift

These earrings are a favorite pair. My mother in law gave them to me for Christmas a few years ago. They go with a set :)

Friday

Tank- Miley Cyrus for Walmart

Cardigan- Thrifted

Infinity Scarf- Walmart

This is actually an after work outfit. I decided Friday night that I wasn't tired and should get a few things done around the house. I threw this on and was surprised how cute it looked. I end up wearing this scarf a lot. It fits nicely up around my neck.

I wore my hair curly for work and didn't get a picture of it... :( Looked good. But it still looked good pulled back.


I had plans to take more pictures. I had a few cute outfits this week. Problem is that I don't get dressed up until dark and it's hard to take my own picture. If I'm going to do this, and do it right, I need to get a better mirror. Hopefully next week I will have some better outfits, and photos :)

Linked ::  No Model Lady    The Pleated Poppy

New House Tour

Just a little post to let you all know that I updated the House Tour tab! I've added before and afters to every room of the house. Let me know what you think!! :)

Living Room To-Do

Now that the gallery wall is pretty much in a completed stage I have been thinking more about the living room overall. I know I mentioned working on the family command center, but it's not really ready for that.

We spend 80% of our time in the living room. We have a 5 room house. Living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. That's it. We do have a screened in porch but it's really loud out there, so it's not a welcoming place to sit and relax, and it's really hot in this state. Back to the living room. It's the one place where we all get to hang out. Story's room is her playroom so she spends time in there as well. But Jordan and I just have the living room. His office is also in there. If we ever have company it's the only place for them to be at as well. Long speech to sum up : I need to fix up the living room.

Creating a To-Do list is a great way to keep on track. I know if I let my mind wander I come up with a ton of ideas, most of which I wouldn't be able to complete. So I've created a list that pretty much covers all of the basics to the room. We are in a rental, so there won't be any major overhaul going on here. Just a change in decor.

Let me give you a refresher of the room.

This is the view from the doorway that leads into the kitchen, and the rest of the house. This is also the view from my desk. The door shown is our "front door" which leads onto the screened in porch.

The area behind the chair is Jordan's office. I didn't take any pictures because it's his private area. And it was messy.

This is the view from the couch. The the far left is the front door. To the far right is the doorway leading into the kitchen.

We have a pretty tiny room.


Here is the list of all the To-Do items.

* Hang curtain rods on 2 remaining windows
* Purchase 2 more panels for small window
* Hang panels for all windows
* Fill rest of frames
* Pick out frames for the rest of the gallery wall
* Hang new frames
* Stuff new pillows already purchased
* Pick out and buy 3 new pillows
* Find navy blue throw blanket
* Fix space behind couch
* Paint lamp shade in a chevron print
* Hang panels in JP area?


Not a huge list. But writing it all out will give me a better sense of what to try and accomplish.

What I Wore #2

Back with week 2!

We didn't really do a whole lot this week. Pretty boring. I worked a 5 shift week, not too much, and the rest of the time we spent at home.

Wednesday

Shirt- The Limited

Pants- Old Navy

This is a pretty typical week day work outfit. We wear color if we want. I don't tend to because you never know what could end up on your shirt. But on days when I don't think it will be really busy I'll throw on a color.

I really like this shirt. It's long and baggy but still has nice details and is fitted where I like it to be. The arms are slightly too tight for a work shirt.

Earrings- gift

Nose Ring- Staircase Tattoo 

The earrings were given to me by my step-mom. You can't see the details very well but they are two toned and have Chinese symbols on them. Don't mind my bare face. Some days I just don't feel like putting my make-up.

Thursday

Shirt- Old Navy

Jeans- Forever 21

Thursday was a night off for me. We spent it relaxing and having a nice family meal. I had to run to the grocery in the middle.

Earrings- Local Flea Market

Necklace- Estate sale

Bracelet- Kohls

I don't wear gold very often. I feel like silver compliments my skin tone better. Must have felt sunnier this week or something.

This shirt is one of my favorites. It has become a wear once a week staple in my wardrobe. I purchased it on our honeymoon last year in Florida. I really like the high neck and the stripes. Navy blue is a good color for me.

It's a little baggy but when I feel like dressing it up a bit it looks really nice with a wide belt or fitted blazer.

Boots- Target

I LOVE these boots. I would wear them everyday. They are so comfortable! I really wish I had a pair in black. I wear black, a lot. But since they are brown it's forcing me to embrace color. I got them on clearance at Target last year. They are not holding up very well, but what can you expect from kids shoes.

Yes, I wear kids shoes. You probably don't know this, but I am 4'11 and wear a kids size 2. That's an adult 4 and since those are sooooo rare I will sometimes find a pair of 5's that will fit. For the most part I am forced to wear kids shoes. Story and I are 6 sizes apart. She is 3, I am an adult. 

Also, I am an idiot and forgot to take a picture of my face. I actually had on make-up Thursday. Red lipstick and all. Maybe next time I will get a picture.

Friday

Shirt- Kmart

Friday for work I decided to let my hair do it's natural thing. with a little help from some Suave Mousse. 

Monday

Shirt- Target

Jeans- Vanity

Socks- OP

We had an interview at a local day care. This will be Story's first time in day care. Pretty exciting stuff. 

This is by far my favorite shirt. I wear it every other day. No joke. I have it on in almost every picture of me on this blog. These jeans are pretty great too. They are a little big in the waist now. 

I really like my socks too :)

Close up on the shirt. Heaven on Earth here. GLORY SHIRT.

Typical make up for me. Eyeliner, mascara, little powder to cover up the circles under my eyes. 

Basics for last week. Nothing too creative. This week we hope to visit a local pumpkin patch. And I'm going to start adding Story's cute outfits. Things to look forward to!!!


Linked to :: The Pleated Poppy

It's Done, And We're In LOVE

That's right. We finished it.

THE GALLERY WALL!!!!

Drum Roll please.............

Ta-Da!!! Isn't she a beaut? We are very proud of this wall.

It took us what seems like forever to get this far. After having the layout finished for so long ( here, here, here ) There are still several frames that need to be filled. I also need to rearrange some of the prints. You can't really see the ones at the very top that well. They will probably become filler prints. And there are a ton of wedding pictures. I will space those out better on the other part of the wall.

Yeah, we're going all the way across

We want to fill the entire wall. It's going to take a lot of time, and a lot of saving, but we can do it. I really like how the wall has turned out so far.

Close up here. Besides the empty frame we have a ripped out page from a book of poetry, a wedding shot, family photo from almost 2 years ago, Starry Starry Night, part of those adorable baby feet, and 2 awesome little things hanging from the wall. The shell "P" we picked up on our honeymoon in Orlando Florida. The Chinese symbol was a wedding present from Jordan's cousin's family.

Overall I think it looks really awesome :) Any suggestions of what we should frame?


Linked to ::  Addicts Not So Anonymous   Savvy Southern Style  Weekend Warrior Link Party  Life Made Lovely

What I Wore # 1

I'm going to try something different here. I have made this blog mostly about our house and the struggle of fixing it up. I want to expand a bit :)

For the most part I spend my days in either sweats or work clothes. That is because I spend the day at home and nights at work. Sometimes it will be switched, but either way I have no motivation to dress nice. This is my attempt.

What I Wore:

Sunday

Sweater- Womyn

Tank- No Boundaries, Walmart

Scarf- Gift

Jeans- Banana Republic

Shoes- Mossimo, Target

Bracelet- Children Of The World

Monday

Shirt, Jeans- Old Navy

Also, I am terrible at taking self portraits. And we only have one full length mirror. The one in the bathroom is a joke.

Yeah....

Shoes- Bakers Online

I hope to get better at this. My goal is to become more creative, in every way. I want my house to look good, but I want to look good too.  And maybe I can talk JP into taking pictures for me :)

Linked up to ::  The Pleated Poppy    No Model Lady

The Evolution Of Hair?

This post is a little different than all the others. But I wanted to point out that a little over a year ago I made a drastic decision that has affected this entire year, and possibly the rest of my life.

Not really. And it's not really that big of a deal. This time last year I cut my hair.

Senior Picture 2006

This is me. This is the me from the past 10 years. That's right. For almost an entire decade I looked like this. My color might change a bit here and there but for the most part this was it.  I started growing my hair out when I was in 7th grade. I just let it go. It became my staple. I never thought about cutting it. After I had Story I considered chopping it all off. You know, getting one of those new mom do's. But I talked myself out of it.

When Jordan and I got engaged I knew I wanted to keep my hair long for the wedding. After that I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.

In October of 2010 I took the plunge.

And was severely punished for it. This is the look I wanted.

I even gave the lady this picture. Not sure what happened there.....

Back home I went, nearly in tears that I had destroyed my hair. On the bright side, I was able to donate 16 inches to locks of Love. 

I knew I had to fix the color. I also knew I was not going to spend an outrageous amount of money getting it professionally done.

Insert the cheapest boxed color at Walmart.  And this is how it stayed. For almost the entire year. Of course it grew, and grew.

And I got bored with it. And it was a hot summer. And I must have lost my mind.

Because I cut it all off and colored it black :) I completely regret the color and now have to go through a very long process of getting it back to my "natural" color.

But it's growing again. And I'm okay with it.


You could say I'm not the same person. And I'm okay with that too :)

Getting Ready For Fall

Fall is probably my favorite season. I love the cool weather and all of the changing colors.

I decided to spruce up or front porch a bit by adding a few fall touches. The porch is pretty small and we didn't want to spend too much.

I saw this pin and wanted to do something similar. It just so happened that we had 3 steps and 3 house numbers. You can also see our pot of herbs and that great plant that JP gave to me a while ago. (here)

I know my numbers are a little wonky. Especially that last 2. Haha. The very top pumpkin is one that Story painted. She wanted me to remind you that it is not finished :)

In keeping with the original pin we have our moss covered "P" that Rachel made for us. I love having it on our door. It makes walking in the house smell so awesome.

I don't really want to do anything else out here. Well, expect add the carved pumpkins.

We also have a screened in porch and a small walkway that goes in front of our side of the house. We hardly ever use it because the front porch is closer to our cars. And we have to keep the porch locked so that the kitty doesn't get out. So, what I'm trying to say is, we have that area but I probably won't do anything with it :)

Here is our bit of seasonal fun. Even though it's 75 degrees here :)



Linking up to: Thrifty Decor Chick: Fall Outdoor Party

Small Bedroom Change

I have had these frames for about 3 months now. In the first 2 days that I got them they were almost ready to be hung up. All I had to do was print out ONE more picture. It took me 3 months to do that!

Wow.....

I guess it was worth the wait? No big reveal here. Just a small project that took way too long to complete.

They are placed on my side of the bedroom. I still need something else to fill in the upper left side.

A shot of the length of the room. Everything is crammed against every wall we have. And we still don't have enough space. Real tiny apartment.

I really wish you could see the prints better. The very top one is of Story when she was 3 days old. The second is of Story and I on Mother's day 2011. The third is Jordan and Story playing piano at his Grandma's house back in September 2009. And the last is of Jordan and I last year. They are all done in Sepia to flow with the color scheme of the room. 

Happy that they are finally done. Makes the room feel a little more complete.

Hows about a before and after. Just for giggles.

Before

After

Okay, now I'm done.

Small Kitchen Improvement

After we installed the new shelves I knew I wanted to start working on the kitchen again. The gallery wall had me side tracked but it is finished, except for hanging. So, I guess it's not really finished, just done for now. But the kitchen. I have REALLY not liked the kitchen since the first time I saw the house. I knew then that it would always be a pain. I was totally right.

The kitchen has gone through a few changed in the year that we have lived here. (has it really only been a year?!?!)

Here is what we started with.

This wall is what I'm posting about.

My original plan was to put our too small dinette table there. We kept it like this for about 8 months. It was rarely used and a waste of space.

When we re-arranged the living room we decided to move the dinette into a weird unused space. We used it once in the 2 months or so that it was there. It ended up just being covered in junk. I had plans for the space in the kitchen though.

After a trip to Ikea with the family back in May we were gifted with this beautiful cart. It is the perfect size. Because we only have 2 counter tops it gives us much needed work space.

Yeah, that's it. And the cabinets are gross. Insulation keeps falling out into the drawers. Yuck.... It was nice to be able to stop using them.

We got caught up in hanging up our shelves so the kitchen progress was slowed. Once they were hung though I've wanted to tackle the rest of the problem areas.

So that's what I did today. I took everything out and put it all back in places that would make sense. The bottom cabinets hold big items that we hardly ever use. The upper cabinets have our basic dinner sets and other kitchen gadgets. But the cart was not being used to it's upmost potential.

These are all items we use almost every day. They are now all visible and within reach. Without having to brave the bottom cabinet.

Here is our pretty much finished wall. There are still a few more tweaks I would like to make, decor wise. But for the most part this space is functional and attractive. I really like how it has turned out.

Now I only have one more spot to fix in the kitchen. The family command center..... :)



Linked up to :: The Creative Spark    Beyond The Picket Fence