my grown-up birthday wish list...

My birthday totally snuck up on me this year.  My mom called last week asking me for my birthday list... and I had nothing.  Seriously, nothing.  I guess that's what happens when you turn 32.  I actually forgot how old I was turning the other day... totally forgot.  All the "mile-marker" birthdays (16... 21... 30...) have all since long passed and I have now entered the age range where you just completely forget how old you are.

But have no fear.  I was able to think about it for a while, and have successfully put together my birthday wish list... two days before my actual birthday:)

1) this anthro vase

2) new bloch flats

3) baskets for my expedite shelves

4) cream soda

5) this book

6) new running shoes

7) any of these stamps

8) aveda hydrating lotion

9) these earrings

10) pretty much anything from here

happy easter!

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"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said! Come and see the place where he lay."

     -Matthew 28:6

top 10 :: easter ideas

With Easter right around the corner, I thought it would be fun to do a little top ten post showcasing some favorite Easter ideas.  I think half of my list is egg-related... but who doesn't love a good egg project?  There are a few other fun ideas that made the cut as well.  As always, thanks to Pinterest for tons of fabulous inspiration.  Who knows... maybe I'll actually try a project of my own in the coming days?  Here are some of my favorites...

 1) gold leaf eggs

by she knows

2) egg decorating party

by design sponge

3) simple modern eggs 

by see jane blog

 4) moss spring banner

by a diamond in the stuff

5) easter table setting 

by our vintage home love

6) spring floral wreath

by un fiore di crila

7) moss bowl 

by migonis home

8) tie dye eggs

by housing a forest

9) spring flower arrangement

by mod vintage life

10) stamped eggs

by love grows wild

Now... if only the weather would cooperate and it would stop snowing and sleeting here... that would be great.  What about you?  Have you tried any new Easter/Spring projects lately?  Will you be dying eggs this year?  Dong anything special with them?  I'd love to hear...

Linking up with...
Michelle at The Vintage Apple
Angie at Many Little Blessings

shopping halt

A few weeks ago I made a crazy, ridiculous, super irrational decision to halt all clothes shopping for 40 whole flippin' days.

This commitment to give up something that seems so desperately impossible to live with out... is also known as Lent.  Or the Lenten Season.  Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and continues through Good Friday... it is the 40 day period leading up to Easter that many Christians use as a time to reflect on the meaning of Christ.  Last year was my first year to truly participate, and I gave up soda... specifically Dr. Pepper (hard!).

Welp... this year I gave up clothes shopping.  That's right... you heard me.  I.gave.up.shopping.  Clothes, shoes, and accessories... none of it.  For forty days.

So far, I've made it 21 days.  I realize that to some of you this whole "no-shopping" thing is super easy for you and you're probably thinking, "big whop... you haven't bought anything for 21 days... congratu-freakin-lations."  But trust me, it's a big deal people.

Don't get me wrong... I don't go spending loads of money on fancy clothes all the time... but I am a major sucker for "happy purchases."  I am a mastermind when it comes to bargain shopping... and while sometimes I consider this a gift... sometimes it's a simple excuse to buy something I don't need.  $5 earrings?  Sure, why not...  $20 designer top?  Perfect for work...  $30 handbag?  Love the color...

You get the picture.

So, when I decided to give up clothes shopping for Lent this year, I knew it would be a challenge... but isn't that the point?  It's supposed to be a sacrifice.  It's supposed to be hard.  The whole point of giving something up for Lent is to feel the void that it leaves.  Not that shopping is the end-all-be-all, but trust me... I'll notice.  I will be in Target and have to walk out empty-handed... I will longingly admire that new purse... I will desperately want to use that Banana Republic coupon...  And it will be in those very trivial moments of shopping detox that I will be reminded of the much, much greater sacrifice that Jesus made for me.

Did you give anything up for Lent this year??  If so, how are you doing?

----------
O God, you are my God; 
earnestly I seek you; 
my soul thirsts for you; 
my flesh faints for you, 
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, 
beholding your power and glory.  
Because your steadfast love is better than life, 
my lips will praise you.
  -Psalm 63:1-3

project organization :: all those holiday cards

I had big plans this weekend to complete yet another project... my Christmas card montage.  For both 2011 and 2012... Yeah.  I'm a little behind.  I even took all of the 2012 holiday cards off the display wall finally (insert sad face here)...

I even went out and purchased a new 3.5" square punch (my other one is totally MIA).  Then... I sat down... got all of my cards out...  ready to punch away... and I was able to punch one.meesley.card.  Yep.  You heard right... one card... one teeny, tiny square.... then my square punch broke.  Straight up stopped working.  I'm hoping to return it soon and still knock this project out in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, I thought I'd re-post my thoughts on the Christmas card montage from a few years ago...

I wish I could take credit for this... but I can't. This is another genius idea from Ali Edwards. 

Ali basically takes all of the Christmas cards and photos she receives for the year and creates a simple photo montage with all of them. I love it. I have always been one of those people that keeps cards (Christmas, birthday, thank yous, valentines... you name it, I keep it), but really they just sit in a box somewhere stored away. I am in love with this idea. At first, I was a little tentative about cutting and cropping my family and friends with a square paper punch... but I must say, it was kind of liberating. Nice to let my Type A personality live on the wild side a little. I just put the photo or card in my square punch, found my favorite part, and punched away. Here's the basic process...

I ordered this awesome square punch, the Marvy Uchida. I totally copied Ali again here, and purchased the same square punch she recommended on her blog. This punch was the perfect size, and for the most part allowed me to crop everyone inside the square. There were a few families who apparently don't like to stand very close to one another during Christmas photos... and for them, I'm sad to say I had to either separate them into two squares, or cut off some ears...

After punching out all the cards, I had to decide on some type of layout. I tried not to be too OCD about this, and really just tried to mix up the colors. You'll notice that I tried to select a good mix of both pictures and good old fashioned Christmas cards. I like the variation of it all.

Then I just used my favorite adhesive to paste the squares on some red 8x11 paper. I knew I would be using 8x11 sheets, so I let that determine how many squares would go on each page. I changed my layout ever-so-slightly (I guess the OCD did get the best of me) and called it finished. I ended up with 4 pages with 12 squares each.

A few years ago, I put these in the back of my December Daily book... but seeing how I'm super behind on those too... I'm just aiming to getting my cards on paper.  What about you?  How do you organize your holiday cards?

handmade valentine's day

Like I said last week, I'm a big fan of Valentine's day... but I'm also a big fan of handmade.  Combine the two and I'm a super happy camper.  You know what they say... it's from the heart:)

I usually send my nieces a little something for Valentine's day... this typically means a card and some stickers or something like that.  This year I scoured the house to see what I already had on hand.  I found some plain red cards and decided to just stamp a pretty heart on top and emboss it... similar to how I did last year's Christmas gift tags.

Then I used some of my trusty old shipping tags and a few paper scraps to add a little detail to the inside of the card.  It's not much, but I love the little vintage looking valentine paper.  I used a white gel pen to scribble a little note inside and then off they went!

I also wanted to do a little something for the girls in my community group.  I found these adorable little journals at Target the other day... and they were just $3.99 for a pack of 3 journals.

Then I bought these fun bracelets at Urban Outfitters about 2 weeks ago and thought they would be perfect.  Again... always trying to be thrifty... the bracelets were on sale for $5 for a set of 2... not too shabby.  And they are ridiculously cute... some have little hearts on them, and others have little wishbones.  Adorable.

I tied the bracelets to the journals with some fun ribbon and a little bit of raffia and called it a day.  I added a little love note to each gift and included a verse from Jeremiah 31:3... "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."  Very appropriate for Valentine's Day, don't you think?? :)

That was pretty much the extent of my handmade Valentine's Day.  I gave the journals to my community group girls last night and I think they were a success.  Thoughtful, yet inexpensive.  I bought Lance a Valentine's Day gift yesterday too... just a little something, but I think he will like it:)  What about you?  Do you get crafty for Valentine's Day this year?

all you need is love.

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I'm a huge fan of Valentine's Day.  I mean, who doesn't love flowers, chocolate and hearts?!?  And whoever said Valentine's Day is only for the mushy-gushy... was way, way wrong.  Don't misunderstand me, Lance and I totally celebrate Valentine's Day... but I also love sending sweet notes to my girlfriends and family too.

Here are a few of my favorite lovey-dovey ideas that were floating around in Pinterest-land...  

{1} carnation cones

How sweet (and affordable) would this be for your girlfriends??

{2} brad pitt love notes

Any love note with those 3 names on it is an A+ in my book.

{3} rasmopolitans

Ummm... yes, please.

 {4} red nails

Nothing quite says love like red nails... well, besides coffee in a heart cup...

 {5} pretty wall heart

This would be the perfect transition for my Christmas card wall... that is now becoming slightly awkward as we move further into February.

{6} dainty heart ring

Love, love, love this.

 {7} happy heart blouse

I mean, who doesn't love a shirt with hearts all over it?!?

 {8} long-distance love notes

How perfect would these be for all your friends across the miles!?!

 {9} yogurt covered strawberries

Mmmmm... must.try.this.soon.

{10} watercolor hearts

I'm absolutely crazy about this simple watercolor print!

What about you?  What are your thoughts on the happy-heart-holiday?  Planning anything special with your loved one?  What about for all of the other special people in your life?  Would love to hear...

Linking up with...
Michelle at The Vintage Apple
Angie at Many Little Blessings

a very habersham christmas...

Last week I posted about our very Houston Christmas with my family... and right after that, we hopped in the car and headed straight to Georgia for a very Habersham Christmas with Lance's family.  Only problem is... from my pictures it looks like the only people in Lance's family are me and my adorable twin nieces... oops.  Guess that's what happens when your nieces are 4 years old and too-cute-for-words...  We had a blast in Georgia and were as busy as you can be with two 4 year olds and a husband with a stomach virus (or food poisoning... the jury's still out).  Regardless, here is what we did on our very Habersham Christmas...

...we started our roadtrip with a very important lunch stop...

...we opened Christmas presents immediately after we walked in the door...

 ...we got all tech-ie with Uncle Lance and our new Leap Pads...

 ...we made jewelry...

...we took some self-portraits...

...we (as in Lance) got a nasty stomach bug (or food poisoning)...

 ...we played with some vintage Barbie dolls...

...and all their vintage Barbie clothes... 

(I want that striped dress with the red flowers for myself:) 

...we did our nails... 

...we did our nails... with lots and lots of stickers...

...we had a tea party...

 ...we did breakfast at Stoney's (a Habersham staple)...

I swear there were other adults there... but none as cute as my nieces;)  So there you have it... a very Habersham Christmas.