i'm just happy today!

i really am just so happy today! and i was so happy yesterday, and these cramps aren't even ruining my mood which says a lot for how jubilant i must be feeling! why am i so happy i could jump and squeal and forgive someone cutting me off in traffic? because...

because of this great new dress! it's an urban outfitters dress that i got for $9. so i'm happy about having the dress AND i'm happy that my bargain hunting and cheapskate ways continue to pay off!

i'm also happy because today i'm wearing a skirt that i made. MADE, people! i'm not a huge fan of sewing (which sometimes shows in my sidewinder-type stitches), and i'm sadly one of those people who measures once, cuts twice - opposite of the saying - BUT, i'm going to be wearing a smile knowing that my skirt wasn't bought in any store, but made with my own two hands!

and the biggest thing i'm so happy about is a pretty amazing collaboration between the sweet toni of lost cabin vintage and i. she masterminded something pretty incredible, and i want to spill the beans SO bad, but i know i have to wait! trust me though, this is something pretty great, and i can't wait to share!

one last thing, ashley is giving away one of her necklaces here on my blog, so be sure to enter to win it for yourself, or for someone else!

a giveaway from the shine project!

i'm very excited for this giveaway, and hope you enjoy it! i recently learned about the shine project through a few other blogs, and i was so honored when ashley contacted me about hosting a giveaway for one of her beautiful necklaces; not only are they pretty, but they're for a good cause! i'll let ashley tell you more...

Heyyy new friends! I'm Ashley, and I blog over at The Shine Project. I created The Shine Project at the beginning of this year to motivate others to go after their goals, and spread their light to others. I believe that service is the best way to feel happiness and love in our lives, and I created SHINE necklaces to help remind us of our daily purpose. Money from each necklace sold goes into a scholarship fund to help inner city high school students go to college. You can read more about that here and here. The Shine Project is in the process of becoming a Non-Profit organization so that thousands more students can have a positive future.

I believe that no act of kindness is too small or insignificant to perform. I believe that it's when we feel the most inadequate that we're able to grow and rise above ourselves. I believe in miracles. Not because they happen out of nowhere, but because hard work brings blessings that would otherwise not come. I believe in reaching goals. Pushing yourself when you feel like you've reached your outermost limits is how you obtain what you want. I believe in learning who you are through serving other people. You can see your potential and abilities when you're using them to lift and teach others. I believe that nothing is impossible.

Today, one of you will win a SHINE necklace. ALL of you will receive 10% off of your total order! Go here to see more shine necklaces and order information. There are even options to personalize your necklace with dates and initials...and are affordable holiday gifts! In your email order, write Dino10 for your code.

Here's how to enter (Leave a comment for each):
1. Leave a comment with who you'd give shine necklaces to.

For extra entries:
Follow The Shine Project blog
Like The Shine Project on Facebook

the trouble with watering plants.

i've always liked to think of myself as having a green thumb, and that may have come from my parents' love of landscaping and manicuring their lawns, or maybe it started a little later when i worked part time at a greenhouse during high school. either way, i love plants, and i love the added color they can bring to a room. i have plants in most every room of my house, and one day each week they can expect a good, healthy drink of water... unless flojo helps. the trouble with watering plants is that, to a parrot, all time is play time.

when she first sees that i have the pitcher of water she'll squeak and talk and walk down my arm to check it out. then she'll stand on the rim of the pitcher, stick her head inside, and squeak and talk some more, looking out occasionally at me (whether it's to tell me about the water, or to see if it's okay to go in, i don't know). after she's thoroughly discussed the water and pitcher with me, she'll go ahead and start flapping her wings in the water, fanning her tail feathers, and making a wet mess. once she's played in the water that i've been trying to pour on the plants and the pitcher is empty, she'll hang down in the pitcher and talk a little to be sure there isn't any water left. and then instead of watering plants, i start working on cleaning up her bath puddle.

watering plants probably isn't quite as much work to someone who doesn't live with a bird, but to a curious parrot, everything is an adventure!

a flowerchild DIY

to me, the time of year doesn't matter - i always love seeing and wearing flowers! i think one of the easiest ways to incorporate something fun into your look without it being too big or bold (and that could be the wallflower, no pun intended, in me speaking) is to do it in the form of a hair accessory. i've been wanting a pretty, romantic flower headband that wasn't too costume-y, but since i couldn't find quite what i wanted, i figured i'd just try making it myself! a little warning (which isn't a bad thing if you're a picker like me) - your fingers will be covered in glue!

i really had my heart set on those pretty little paper roses that come in different colors in a little bundle of maybe ten or so, but unfortunately, it seems they're not as easy to find as they used to be (when i was younger, i spent most of the money i had on either candy or craft supplies, and although i never remember actually using those paper roses for anything, for some reason i sure did buy a lot of them). so i settled for these little calla lilies with paper leaves, which i still think work just fine.

for this project you will need: a headband (i chose one that would blend well with the color of my hair so as not to take any attention away from the flowers), some flowers with stems, some sort of glue, and some wire clippers.

STEP 1: first start by clipping the flowers and leaves from the bundle. i decided to leave about one inch/25cm of stem attached so that i could wrap it around the headband.

STEP 2: put a line of glue (enough for several flowers and leaves) on a section of the headband. wrap the stems around the headband, over the glue, and press the flowers down against the headband so they're on a spot of glue.

STEP 3: continue adding lines of glue and wrapping the flowers and stems around the headband. once you feel you've added enough flowers, wrap the stem of the last flower back toward the others, that way you've got a nice neat end with no stems poking out. then start picking the glue from your fingers.

and there you go, now you've got yourself a dainty little headband! i did learn one thing while i was making this, though, and that is: be sure your camera is on the correct white balance setting before taking the pictures, that way the colors aren't all over the place!

also, this has absolutely nothing to do with the headband, but i feel the need to share nonetheless. have you ever watched the show COPS? well, if not, you're missing out on some first rate rednecks, prostitutes, and hybrids of the two. anyway, my brother, derek, and i used to watch COPS some afternoons for a good laugh, and there was one particular episode where this older man was explaining to the officer why he threw a rock at someone's car. just a brief description of the older man: he was wearing a button-up shirt that was only buttoned up to about his sternum, his necklaces were showing, his hair was slicked back elvis-style, and he pulled a black plastic comb from his back pocket to fix his hair while he was on camera. he said to the cop, "i threw a rock beh-cawz (because) he gave me the fangur (finger)." now, i can never say or think finger without doing it the redneck way (fangur), and above where i said about picking glue from your fingers, i was really thinking, "...picking the glue from your fangurs."

baby steps and outtakes: an outfit post

first things first: baby steps. i know i've told you before that i'm so hesitant to try new things clothing-wise, that by the time i start to entertain the idea, the trend is a decade old. having said that, print mixing is nothing new, but it's a BIG step for me! i don't believe there's a science to print mixing, but i've had a hard time figuring out some sort of do-able equation; that's why i started small - baby steps with stripes and leopard.

outtakes: my husband is a menace to my pictures. sometimes he's a good and helpful photographer who gives me pictures i can actually use, and other times he gives me pictures that make me think 1. i should have just used the timer, and 2. threats of physical violence must be made in the future to ensure i don't have a repeat of these...

rather than being a human tripod, which is ultimately what i'm looking for, chris, my skinny husband, decided to play strong man with no shirt and practiced his body builder moves while he was taking my picture, thus guaranteeing awkward, trying-not-to-laugh faces, and blur, blur, blur.

sunglasses: tumbleweeds, scarf: it's old so i don't remember, necklace: dinosaur toes, jacket: proenza schouler for target, blouse: thrifted, jeans: target, shoes: here.

about my outfit: i was so happy when i found that blouse because i have a love affair with grey, and because i love loose blouses that don't button down the front. the jacket is my favorite and i pretty much wear it everyday when the weather gets cooler. i never keep up with the designers that do lines for target, and i was so upset that i'd missed all of the pretty proenza schouler pieces... or, kind of. i was lucky enough to find this jacket sort of crammed away (and i still wonder if someone hadn't tried to hide it) and hidden between other things with a clearance price of $8.98. WHAT?! naturally i had to have it. onto the bottom half. i don't wear jeans that often, thanks to my inherited round butt and thick thighs genes, but every now and then i just don't feel like wearing a dress. so, now that you've seen jeans, it may be a while before i wear them again! and my shoes! WOOOOO! i got a pair of leopard print ballet flats about 5 years ago, and sadly, i've wore them so much that they have holes around the soles and take in water on rainy days like a sinking ship. i knew it was time to say my final goodbyes to my favorite shoes, but i couldn't bring myself to do it until i found leopard replacements; being that i have such small feet, it's always a challenge finding shoes. luckily, i found a pair that i LOVE, and i didn't have to beg, borrow or steal to afford them!