tulle and tutus

with my niece's birthday being just a short week-ish away - and her party being this weekend - i have been kicking it in overdrive with my auntie duties and godmother roles.  seeing as i physically can't be there for all of the preparation and craziness that is the creation of a first birthday party, i figured i'd hold up my end of the deal and get to town on a little diy: the ladybug tutu.

this can be done for less than $10!
okay, pick your jaw up off the floor, i'm being serious here.
it was a one stop shop for me at walmart picking up:

 red tulle for 98 cents a yard. (i chose to get three yards to be on the safe side)

elastic for around $4 (i chose to get a thicker width seeing as it is for a little one)

black polka dot ribbon by the roll (only $2-$3)

Velcro (i had this previously but you can buy a big pack for about $6ish)

a cinch, no?

and the rest is just as easy as the shopping.  

make sure to measure your little.  my niece was about 14-15 inches around so i stuck with 16 inches, just to be safe.  

the elastic doesn't tend to pull as much once you've knotted the tulle around it. 

fold the tulle in half and cut straight down. the width and length is to your own preference.

(i.e.: the spikier the tutu, the shorter the tulle.)

loop the tulle around the elastic and pull it to a knot.  i double knot just for the extra security and it looks nicer once the strips are all bunched up.

keep on knotting until you are all the way around and leave just enough room to tie to 12 inch ribbons on each side to tie together over the velcro to close.

this makes a nice bow and it covers the velcro nicely.

the end result will look as so - or probably a little better, seeing as a little one will be wearing it.

now go and make yourself an adorable little tutu.

who says that you have to have a little to make one for.

big girls can dress up too.

insta-life

life lately according to my instagram photos...

  

  

  

  

little bouncy green guy hanging on my desk.

insta-outfit: fall colors with a touch of leopard.

too soon?

insta-outfit: first sweater-wear of the season.

insta-outfit: old navy, j.crew, and a tough more leopard.

little bear ready for her first day of the cabin.

rest in peach, gingerbread cake.

making caves for my bears, math lesson 101.

life is still making a fool out of me right now. some day soon i think i will finally get the hang of it. 

until then,

p.s. for all you mommas, soon-to-be mommas, aunties, or lovely ladies who like to shop for those little sweethearts in your life, check out my sister's etsy shop, Nuggets of Love, over here. she just opened it up and i'm sure you will just die over her sweet headbands and clips. so proud of you sissy!

i believe in...

souce.

i believe in dreams.

i believe in rainy days as an excuse to spend the whole day curled up on the couch.

i believe in family.

i believe in giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, just that one time.

i believe in pumpkin spice everything.

i believe in our Lord, Jesus Christ and all he has planned for me.

i believe in coffee.

i believe in magic.

i believe in having friends that you can always turn to, no matter what time of day or night, no matter what the circumstance - no questions asked.

i believe in doing everything you can for love.

i believe in sweet words just for the sake of them. (and i believe in warm fuzzies that fill your stomach when you receive them).

and i also believe in arguments.

i believe in a down right, red splotchy face, swollen eyed, cry.

i believe in a glass of wine, or two.

i believe in never being old enough to not act like a kid.

i believe in santa claus.

i believe in always doing everything with 120% of my heart.

i believe in a good book.

i believe in "keep calm and.." cards.

i believe in having that one song that you freak out like you just met someone famous because it is finally on the radio. and then belting it out like it's nobodies business.

i believe in spending too much time to get ready only to wear the outfit you put on in the first time.

i believe in wearing sweatpants every night when i get home from work.

i believe in children teaching adults more than we teach them, and the change they make without even realizing it.

i believe in prayer. 

i believe in taking too many pictures and never getting around to loading them.

i believe in listening to christmas music starting before thanksgiving and way after the stores have put all their decorations away. the most wonderful time of the year isn't only 25 days long.

i believe in allowing your past to change you, or else it would never bring you to the place you are today.

i know what you're thinking

girlfriend has got some serious issues.
first never posting. now posting twice in one day.
i know, even i'm creeping myself out.

but since it is rainy. and icky. and the best place to be right now is in my sweatpants, curled up with a blanket, and that second double fudge brownie staring me down, i figured, "hey self, lets do this!" and the rest, my friends, is history.

1. When you're feeling down, what do you do to pick yourself up?
this is quite a tough question which usually depends on the situation.  the top three would have to be: listen to music, blog, or eat a nice big bowl of ice cream accompanied by a sappy chick flick.  although, shopping tends to fit itself in there somewhere....the list may just go on forever....

2. If you had to live in a different time period which would you prefer?
i've got to say the 20's. i'm thinking gone with the wind. when life was simpler and men still kissed women like this.

 

3. What is the most creative Halloween costume you've ever worn?
i've had my fair share of interesting halloween costumes. convict? you got it. snow white? been there, done it. pink lady? you're the one that i want. but by far, my hand made white swan costume wins in my book, hands down.

4. Five weird things about you we wouldn't know without being told?
1) i am terrified of squirrels. terrified as in i won't leave my house if there is one standing outside my front door.
2) i have a birthmark on my scalp that makes the hair white that comes from it. pretty nifty and cruella-deville-esque.
3) i like eating chips on peanut butter sandwiches.
4) i love watching harry potter, star wars, and lord of the rings almost as much as i love watching chick flicks.
5) i hate odd numbers. and thursdays. i'm almost positive that i have a slight case of OCD.

5. What would you tell your 16-year-old self?

always keep dreaming, even if they do not turn out exactly the way that you originally have planned.

friends aren't always forever, and neither are boyfriends, but there are a select few that you can always count on, hold them close.

stop worrying what everyone else thinks.
mom and dad are always right. always.

iSpy

iSpy with my little eye, the typical tuesday instagram post.

with some little lovelies that give you a glimpse (just barely) of my life as of late.

 

 

 

 

  

hot pants, so wha?

planning, planning, planning, oh yeah and eating dinner.

finally - pumpkin spice latte numero uno of the season. (and a wonderful breakfast and catch up with my roomie)

royal blue pants and citrus colored cardigans.

open fields, wine, and friends.

my favorite way to spend a sunday afternoon, with my favorite man.

 

i do believe this about sums it up as of late. my life is consumed by my job - as it should be for every first year teacher. and might i add, i am loving every second of it. so of course some hot pants are in order to make it through the day. (can't forget about keeping it stylin')

and this past weekend consisted of a whole lot of seeing long lost friends who i've seriously missed for months now. every girl deserves to have late breakfasts with their favorite coffee and roommate and early fall evenings in a beautiful atmosphere.

and a man like mine. boy does he ever knock my socks off. (no pun intended if you take in to account the picture). sunday's with him...every girl should be able to have sunday's like i do with him.

 



belated birthdays and letters

 

dear big sissy, happy belated birthday. because i stink. and this post should have been done yesterday. and because you've reached 100 FOLLOWERS! and because i love you. and miss you. and you're the best friend a girl could ask for. and i'd be lost without you.

 

dear summer, i say we count our losses and wave that white flag.  i broke out sweatpants last weekend, the pumpkin spice latte is making its grand re-entrance, and quite frankly, you're working on my last nerve. i need me some chunky sweaters, knit scarves, and riding books...stat!

dear boyfriend, thank you. thank you a million times over. this smile on my face today is dedicated to you.

 

dear blog, i promise even though i tell you every week that i am going to try and pay more attention to you, i really mean it this time. girlfriend is going to get her act together starting this week.

 

dear phillip phillips, i appreciate your song more then words and describe. seriously. i may or may not play it every day. or get wayyyy to excited when you come on in the car. or miss my mom's phone calls because that is her ringtone. that being said - t. swift, your song is my jam. boyfriend can attest to that.

 

dear schoolwork calling my name, i'm not listening (at least for now).

 

dear double chocolate brownie, you are calling my name. and i'm listening. roger that, over and out.

 

i love link-ups and you should too! so join in on the fun at life, etc.

to be good

source: pinterest - linked to here

 

 

the first time reading this, it brought tears to my eyes.  i'm not someone who likes to admit when it is time to give up, i don't give up. there are times you need to.  times when the person who you are is suffering.  and it has yet to come full circle the impact made on your life until the weight has all finally been lifted off of your chest.  when you can start to breath again.  when you can start to be yourself again.  when, perfection is no longer the level you must reach, you can simply, be.

 

belief that good can be, and almost always is, good enough. is a beautiful thing.

 

iSpy with my little eye

life lately, according to my instagrammed photos.
(on a day that is other than tuesday, breaking yet another promise or routine.
and giving my type-a personality a run for it's money).

 

 

 

 

 

 



the best way to wake up in the morning.

and one of the best ways to fall asleep.

pictures from 2010 make me miss my best friend.

and wreaths made out of layers of crayons make me miss other best friends even more.

my first grade team reppin' football attire.

the life of a teacher (and this is an understatement).

 

 

i've been slacking.

oh have i ever been slacking. and procrastinating. and spending countless hours behind my little desk in my first grade classroom. i don't hate it. but i do hate neglecting my blog.

but sometimes curling up in bed and falling asleep takes precedence. like every night.

and boyfriends, and friends, and myself do on weekends.

i'll figure out it, i promise. because life is all about balance.

even if i'm hanging on by a thread with just a few fingers while juggling multiple oranges.

i'll get the hang of it.

we will never forget

September 11th, 2001.

 

 

i'm always inspired by the word of other bloggers. it is why i love to blog, and why i love to write.

bre from oh, pish posh, wrote one of the most beautiful posts concerning the events that occurred eleven years ago today.

and about how we always need our Lord, in every hour.

 



a little how to

it's old news that i'm a pinning maniac. so when i had to come up with some fresh and innovative ideas to not only save money but to spiff up my classroom for my twenty-four six year olds, i turned to old reliable: pinterest.

rainbow-esque colored clothes pins!

 

now, there was a wonderful tutorial that i found and of course managed to botch up the directions and take probably twice as long. but here is what i found out worked best:

 

1. start off with generic clothes pins. i bought a bag of fifty at walmart for dirt cheap and bought a second bag just for good measure (i was making 25 at the time and two for each student. plus, always leave wiggle room for mistakes.)

 

i tried both the egg dyeing food coloring and the generic shur fine brand - the generic brand takes the gold medal. last, grab some old containers that you might not mind getting discolored.

 

 

2. bring just barely two cups of water (this measurement varies depending on how dark you want the color, less is definitely more) and 1/2 cup vinegar, and the food coloring of your choice, to a boil.

 

*food coloring drops vary. i put the drops in until i had a nice vibrant color. experiment and always start out with less. in the case of the orange and the green, do more of the lighter color (i.e. more yellow than red, more yellow than blue).

 

3.  put the amount of clothes pins you want this color in your containers.  i was making a set of two for five kids, so ten clothes pins in each container.

 

 

4.  pour the boiling mixture over the clothespins.  let this sit until the water begins to cool or until the clothes pins are the color that you prefer. CLOTHES PINS WILL DRY LIGHTER THAN WHAT THEY APPEAR AFTER REMOVING FROM THE DYE.

 

5. lay out paper towels and place clothes pins there to dry.  it took mine about a day to fully dry and i made sure that i switched them to the other side about half way through.

 

*the vinegar will oxidize the metal clip part. no worries, this just gives them that "vintage" look.  if you don't want this look you can pick up clothes dye packets to give it a nice, shiny metal finish. this diy gives a great explanation of the clothes dye packets:  raising oranges blog

 

now go and make yourself some pretty colored clothes pins!

happy saturday!



a drop in the bucket

seeing as the summer is now over (labor day has come and gone and school has begun), i believe it is time to take a gander at that summer bucket list and see what sort of damage i made.

1. read 10 books.
the last song/ safe haven/ the yada yada prayer group book 1/ water for elephants/ the hunger games/ catching fire/ mockingjay/ winter garden/ michael phelps. no limits: the will to succeed/ yada yada prayer group book 2 (the last is "in progress", i'm counting it as #10)

3. take a spontaneous day trip - location to be determined.
#1 - to rehobeth beach (while on vacation down the shore)

#2 - weekend get away to raystown lake - thank you boyfriend and his family.

4. go on a wine tasting.

brewery tour and wine tasting tour? with roomie? check this one of my list big time.

5. go see a broadway show! (on broadway or a touring production)

mamma mia! 

7. finally see the hunger games. now that i have finished the trilogy i'm ready to view the first installment via big screen (or small screen). even better yet, do this with my sister and have a good old fashioned girls night with her.

squeaked this one in, just in the nick of time! and i managed to do so with the big sister. bonus points for that!

8. all those diy projects i pin and am inspired by - do one!

expect a post about this in days (or weeks) to come! i surprised myself and did at least two, so double check right there.

you wanted pictures? me too. but someone sorta stinks at photographing things...

now if you are keeping count, or clicked on that link up there, you will know that i managed to check off all but two things on my summer bucket list. and even though the last month was a hodge-podge of throwing together my classroom and getting ready for school, i still managed to squeak in the final things i wanted to do! who knows, maybe next summer i'll be able to knock them all out of the park.  but as for now, i've got myself a "someday" list that boyfriend and i are working on...maybe someday i'll share.

iSpy with my little eye

life lately (and labor day weekend) according to my instagram photos.

 
 
 
 

yummy leftovers from boyfriend's momma.

bright and sunny reupholstered chair.

"it's what teacher's do, carrying things in boxes."
spending my evening crawling after my niece = priceless.

congratulatory ice cream cake from DQ.

like grandpa like grandaughter.

best breakfast buddy in town.
#quote #inspiration #truth.