Sweety Jeans

Happy Birthday to Me!

2012-02-17T17:15:00.002-05:00

I thought I'd say "hullo" and mention that this is Sweety Jeans' official one-year birthday!

I won't pretend as if my blog has been a drama-filled roller coaster. It hasn't - since it started in 2011 the biggest change has been its name! I'm looking forward to another year, though, full of no high school and lots of college, and I'm glad you're all here along with me.

Thanks, ya'll!

it's not you; it really is me.

2012-01-10T11:27:00.002-05:00

I'd love to say I hate to break the news about this, but that'd be a lie. College classes (seven hours a week - nothing too taxing), work, high school, college applications, band, church - basically all things real life - are hollering my name, and therefore I won't be posting for a while. It's exciting!

See, colleges like people who do things. DO things. Things that matter, like starting nonprofits and saving puppies and playing soccer like a beast. I'd like to do those things, too. Surprisingly enough, I dedicate a lot of time to this blog, and though I really appreciate all my followers and the nice comments you leave, this blog as a whole gives nothing back to you or me or the community at large.

So I'm taking an extended break from blogging! I'm going to be rethinking this whole thing and seeing if I continue with it at all, but until then...

Good morning!

2012-01-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

Well, nothing happened in the past few days, besides school, work, and (seemingly) endless showings of our house (it's for sale). There are two this weekend, which makes for five in less than two weeks.

Neato.

So here's a lame filler post showing you exactly what I'd look like if I could crawl inside Pinterest and live there the rest of my life:

What I'd Wear:

and I would play around with my hair...

... which would look like this.

And I'd live happily after after with someone who might just look like this:

After having a day like this:

And of course believing in this:

{all via}

So anyway... back to reality!

Have a great Friday.

"Oh, and just in case I don't see you... good afternoon, good evening, and good night!"

Quick Kitchen Tip

2012-01-03T15:41:00.000-05:00

A Waist-ed Outfit

2012-01-03T08:03:00.000-05:00

I had some fun with belts today. Why do I come up with cool stuff on days where I go absolutely nowhere?

The first version of my outfit...

With cute bow belt courtesy of Granny's hand-me-downs.

And then I discovered a big hole in my nice flowy sweater, and had to take it off and put on this shirt:

Which I almost liked better! I think denim and orange look snazzy.

Oh, and the hair. I've been considering shaving my head, but decided instead to go with a waterfall braid.

That's about as waterfall-y as I can get with this length of hair. I'm obsessed with these tutorials right now - her hair is a little longer than mine, but I can still do most of the styles. Be on the lookout for less boring hair on this scalp of mine in coming weeks!

And also... fret not, dear ones. The "gratuitous self-portrait in mirror" deal is not going to make a regular appearance on my blog. If you want to submit these to SelfPopArt, be my guest; otherwise rest assured that these were and are a rare occurrence, reserved only for those desperate moments when no one with non-shaky hands is around to take one's picture.

before Pinterest, there was...

2012-01-01T23:41:00.000-05:00

The queen of disorganization is about to speak out on getting organized. To be perfectly honest, I love being organized, with little cubbies and rubbermaids and drawer organizers and binders. The problem for me is maintaining my organized-ness - my perfect systems fall into disarray so quickly! (I think the latter wins the award for most times the word 'organize' is used in a paragraph)
Two years ago, I had no sense of style. I dressed in whatever was on top of the pile of clothes on my closet floor; the criteria for a decent outfit being:
1) shirt (cartoon characters and message tees abound)
2) pants (velour? I think yes.)
3) socks (neon preferred)

Then I saw a picture in a Soft Surroundings catalog that caught my eye. A lovely woman in a plaid shirt, with jeans and over-the-knee suede boots... I fell in love with the outfit and tacked it on my corkboard.

the picture that started it all!

There it remained for half a year, until I decided to create a "style binder", its original purpose to have all my ripped-out magazine pages in one place. My binder has now evolved into a catch-all for everything style-oriented: makeup looks to try, perfume samples I adore (and certainly can't afford), my favorite colors, and - most of all - pages upon pages of outfit inspirations, torn from print ads, catalogs, and InStyle.

I noticed a several trends in my style: chestnut-y leather, warm colors, lace, flowy, chiffon dresses, khaki, chunky knits, espadrilles... really, anything with a strong texture and easy, broken-in feel. (Of late I can't seem to pick between the "hipster-square glasses-scarf-and-oxfords" look and this one.) This binder has helped me define what I love and save money by not buying a piece that'll just take up space in my closet!
Do you have any system at all to what you wear? Do you plan your outfits for the week? (if so, I stand in awe.) I encourage you to start a binder, or at least a pinboard (on Pinterest or in real life) of looks you absolutely love - I guarantee, once you've collected pictures for a while, you'll see a few common threads recurring! (no pun intended)

insomniac.

2012-01-01T03:18:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

Two Days Till the End

2011-12-29T23:00:00.000-05:00

... not to sound dramatic or anything, right?
This week held the last family gathering of the year! We got together with Dad's side at my grandpa's house, ate food, made a gingerbread house, talked politics, and played music until the cows came home ~~(oh wait, that was the boys)~~. My cousins and uncle were up from downstate, and our newest little cousin was there in all his Gerber-baby cuteness.

Liam watching Grandpa play carrom, an indispensable game if you care at all about traditions.

Liv and I assembled a gingerbread house; I did not eat myself sick this time! *cheers*

It's like pulling teeth to get a picture of these three! Someone always has to crack a joke or jab their finger into someone's spine right as I take the photo. Next time I'm grabbing a couple of these before I attempt a group shot:

{link}

Should do the trick.

Never in my life have I seen longer eyelashes.

I refuse to be late this time!

2011-12-26T14:56:00.000-05:00

How was your Christmas? I was concerned ours wouldn't have that "Christmas feeling" this year. I blamed it on the lack of snow and how gol-darn busy we were leading up to the holidays. Feeling low, I read this article, realized it was "feelings, nothing more than feelings", bucked up, and had a wonderful time!
As you can probably imagine, with eight people giving gifts and extended family all over the place the tree was overflowing. Along with our other traditions, another one is Mom walking into the room and declaring "one present per person next year!"

We kids all curl up around the Christmas tree and all watch "The Nativity Story" (which is the best Christmas movie of all time... the music is incredible!). Dad reads from Genesis and Luke 1, and then we all go to sleep. (ha! yeah right!)

A while ago I found this picture on Pinterest (see, I find cool things. you should follow me), and my sweet little (yet big) brother made one! This is the original:

This is mine from the side (I'll get a better picture of it soon!):

He did such a fabulous job! I like mine better than the original. :)

My other little brother enjoys buying prank gifts for all of us. For example:

He's a keeper!

Ella received this adorable hat and scarf...

...and gave me a lovely necklace of which I will presently post a picture.

And Molly joined in on the festivities, as any decent kitten should, and was sorry to see the delightful wrapping paper, presents, and Christmas tree be put away.

God Bless You All, and...

2011-12-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

when friends come to call!

2011-12-23T23:33:00.000-05:00

Technically we went calling on a coffee shop, not on one another's houses, but anyway. My siblings were going to see "The Adventures of Tintin" across town, so I thought "hey, why not get coffee while they're at the theater?" and called up one my best amigas, Holly!

So we did.

We curled right up in these here two leather chairs.

Her 20-ounce-with-four-shots-of-espresso-macchiato-latte dwarfed my peewee hot chocolate... those veteran coffee drinkers! Holly then treated us to a delicious slice of caramel apple cheesecake, and like the shameless blogger I am I had to take a picture of it.

The cheesecake was so perfect, I believe it could only be topped by something like this:

Mmm. Delectable.

Moving on, Hols and I headed up to the thrift store to find the perfect "ugly-yet-cute-enough-to-wear-again" Christmas sweater, and I think she scored big time:

Another neat thing we spied was this necklace, which is totally overdone but still the coolest thing I've ever seen. I considered buying it but knew I'd just hang the piece up on my wall as artwork instead of an accessory! What do you think? Like it?

Since we'd killed about an hour, we ambled around downtown, then sat down again in front of the coffee shop (called Jolly's, which I thought was appropriate since I'm with Holly and it's Christmas... get it?)

Then we took pictures in an alley (in case you ever visit my town, you're required to take pictures in an alley. we have very photogenic alleys.).

We look like a bumblebee. And that's all!

Happy Christmas Eve, dear ones. I hope you're off enjoying the holiday instead of reading my blog. Get off your computer and get outside! Take a walk! Make it a memorable holiday - after all, the world may end next year before Christmas has a chance to come again!

Tough Question Thursday #2

2011-12-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

Why do guys do this?

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What passes through their minds when they pull their pants on in the morning -

or rather, don't?

{link}

"A hippo?"

Yes, a hippo. Hippos' legs look to be about 1/3 the length of their bodies, whereas a human man's legs are the same length as their torsos, if not longer. When a man (or boy) wears his pants below his butt, his legs appear to be about two and half feet long (see Justin). The proportions are similar to that of the common hippo. Hence the appearance of hippopotamus amphibius.

Disclaimer: I have nothing against Justin Bieber. In fact, I was in the middle of watching his "Mistletoe" music video when I was distracted by his...um ... pants.

Want more scientific proof?

{link}

There. Skeletons. Skeletons are scientific, right?

{link}

If you want more incentive to pull up your pants, visit this girl.

Opinions, anyone? Do you wear drooping drawers? If so, I'd love to know why. Answers I find online just say "it's a cultural thing", and I knew that already.

Since most of my readers are girls, I'd love to hear what you have to say about it, too. Do you like saggy pants? Please, dear, tell me why, because I'm trying to think positively here.

Then vote in the poll at the top left of the page! Pretty please!

I have a problem.

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Prepare for the shock. Brace yourself. Gird your loins.

Don't judge me.

I'll admit, I have an addiction problem. When I see a deal on mascara or eye shadow I scoop it up! Can I help myself? Probably. Do I want to? Nope. And what's even better is if my mom or sisters buy, say, lipstick and it turns out to be the wrong shade, it just gets passed on to whoever wants it! That's is how I acquired most of my "collection", honestly- hand me down makeup. I don't have tons of cash invested.

I decided to make a drawer organizer, since my dresser/vanity is an antique and it's difficult to find organizers that fit just so. I did it quite scientifically, measuring all my makeup products and then sorting them by which ones I use most often... you could probably just eye it!

Saw up some old boards to fit your dimensions... then set them where they go.

Then, your handy dad will come in with an air nailer and do all the hard work for you.

Perfect!

I sorted and threw out all the makeup I didn't/don't use, so it all fits in the drawer perfectly- with only a tiny bit of room to expand. Maybe that'll keep me away from Sally's for a month or two.

Oh, before you go, would you please vote in the little poll up there and to the left? I honestly want to know whether you would or not. Thanks bunches! A giveaway's coming soon...

now that's what I call a mug shot.

2011-12-20T08:30:00.000-05:00

Birthdays, eight times over

2011-12-16T16:58:00.001-05:00

Birthdays are a big deal here. What with having eight people under one roof, you'd think hardly a month would go by without a birthday! When I was about 11 my mom and dad implemented a new rule - full-out birthday parties were to be planned for the fifth, tenth, 13th, 16th, and 18th birthdays. Hosting six different birthday bashes a year, every year is a little much! We kids all like this way of celebrating. It makes birthday parties feel a lot more special, and we still do the whole "sing-happy-birthday-and-eat-cake-and-ice-cream-and-open-presents" thing, just with our family.
Since this is Anders' tenth birthday, he's going to have a party. However, it's going to be in the summertime because he's sick of inviting all his little guy friends over just to play in the snow! I would do exactly the same thing if I were him.

What are some of your birthday traditions?

oh, christmas tree.

2011-12-12T20:08:00.001-05:00

a night to remember

2011-12-10T14:39:00.001-05:00

Last night was our Christmas Formal/Cookie Exchange! We've put on the party seven years in a row; it just gets better and better every year, thanks to the wonderful people attending and my mom's great planning. My sister explains what it's all about on her blog, here.

My dearest friend, Willow, whom I never see anymore,
was there with her family - so good to be with her again!

The lovely ladies of the Exchange!

Ella, Amy, Holly, and I; Amy did have a formal on but changed into
her pirate costume for her incredible performance of THIS SONG (in
that arrangement)

The bloggin' cousins! Me, Alivia, Phylicia, and Ella.

Phylicia (in the red dress) and I both got our dresses at Goodwill - hers for $2.50 and mine for $2!! Ella got her brown dress from the bridal salon where I work.

Do you have a yearly get-together with family, friends, or both? I'd love to hear about it!

fun & fancy-free

2011-12-09T17:00:00.003-05:00

I am just now realizing how late I really am in posting these pictures. This was almost a week ago!

Amy and I at the Holiday Open House downtown
photo by Alivia

photo by Alivia

And now a photo OF Alivia, since 'tis not fair for my lovely cousin to go un-faced :

This is another must-do of the Christmas season! The Holiday Open House is always one of the most fun nights of the year. All the little stores are open with free treats and drinks for all, and the streets are closed to all traffic - unless you're on foot, of course! There's a huge pine tree in the park, where Santa makes an appearance to toss the "magic dust" and light up the tree. What seems like the entire population of my wee town turned out this year, thanks to the balmy weather. No snow, and about 40 degrees - Michigan, what are you thinking?!

I really didn't mean to turn these posts into a tell-all on my family's Christmas traditions, it just turned out that way!

Journeying and Tea

2011-12-09T00:02:00.000-05:00

My sister's friend Becky came up from Florida (that's her on the right below) to visit and see the snow up here. Unfortunately for her, this was our first December (in my memory anyway) that we didn't even have a hint of the fluffy stuff! I guess she'll just have to come visit again...

We drove up to see an indispensable Christmas tradition of ours. A little church puts on what's called the "Journey to Bethlehem", which is basically a walk-through story of the Nativity, complete with actors, donkeys, and a ride on a horse-pulled wagon! We've been going to it since we were babies, and it's one of our favorite events of the holiday season.

Riding the wagon to "Bethlehem" with Amy and Anthony

King Herod's court

Since Becky and Amy were staying the night, we decided to do hair masks to make our hair all nice and shiny.

A few "Four Weddings" episodes later, we rinsed our hair out and were left with soft, shiny locks!

The next day we said goodbyes at church, and Phy & Becky headed downstate and Amy went home with her family. What a fun weekend!

On another note, Ella and I were asked to head up and perform the music for a Christmas tea at our church; it was definitely a lesson in communication and planning, but the evening went well! About 120 ladies attended; my other sister, Phylicia, was the speaker for the night and did a wonderful job, speaking on the subject of "Keeping Joy in the Holiday Season".

Today I go to work, then tomorrow is our big holiday party, and the day after that I retake the ACT, and the day after that I have to get up at 5 a.m. to sing at church! I can't wait for this week to be over, but at the same time I don't want it to go away.

Better late than... even later

2011-11-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

The best Thanksgiving in... forever.

Grandma did a fabulous job roasting the turkey - it was delicious! The only problem? The meat was so tender, it wouldn't stay on the bones!

How to sum up such a day? Food, football, family, and laughter. No, it's not an "F", but it's true.

Like toads, but tastier!

2011-11-25T22:21:00.000-05:00

Don't they? Don't they look like adorable, warty toads?

Well, now that we've gotten off to an appetizing start, the recipe!

1 c. softened butter

1.5 c. white sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

2 c. white flour

2/3 c. baking cocoa

3/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 12 oz. package white chocolate chips (or white chocolate chunks! those would be yum!)

Cream butter & sugar; add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, soda and salt in a separate bowl; gradually add to creamed mix. Stir in chips.

Back at 350º on ungreased baking sheets for 10-12 minutes.

Note: Boys love these cookies. Making the latter may mean beating the former off with a stick in order to allow the cookies to cool before being devoured.

No tough questions.

2011-11-17T08:57:00.001-05:00

So you're probably thinking "Autumn's such an undedicated blogger! She didn't keep up with the one scheduled posting day of the week!" (or, more likely, you're not thinking anything at all about me at all) Well, I was busy yesterday. What with regular school, registering for classes at college here in town, running errands, working all afternoon and then watching a riveting documentary on salt, I just didn't get around to posting.
Tomorrow I work at the bridal shop, then head to my friend's house to watch The Princess Bride! Going to be fun.
Sorry this is such a lame post, dear one. Just wanted to let you know I was alive.

the missing symphony

2011-11-14T21:48:00.001-05:00

Tonight began and ended as a fun evening, though it didn't go as planned! A free orchestra was advertised for tonight at our local auditorium, so we decided to make it a family night. When we got to the hall, though... a sign on the door greeted us with:

"The concert advertised for tonight has been relocated to Ann Arbor [several hours away]. We apologize for any inconvenience."

No inconvenience at all! We have Big Boy malts to comfort our art-starved selves.

We had planned on watching the orchestra with our dear friend, but since it was cancelled we parted ways . Great minds think alike, though, and we ran into each other at the restaurant! We all came to the conclusion that this fun night was possibly better than the orchestra - simply because it wasn't planned at all!

two days of yum.

2011-11-12T19:58:00.001-05:00

Romaine + shredded chicken + shredded colby-jack + raisins + dry roasted peanuts + EVOO = raving for rabbit food

Flour tortillas + cottage cheese + whole kernel corn + diced tomatoes + romaine + cheese = just plain yum.

Equal parts Nutella and Skippy Natural peanut butter + freshly chopped peanuts + banana = heaven

Once in a Lifetime

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

Tough Question Thursday #1

2011-11-10T12:10:00.000-05:00

Introducing... Tough Question Thursday!

I love hearing other peoples' thoughts and opinions on current events and issues. (My sisters may disagree but I really do like to.) So, I thought I'd start by asking a question that's been on my mind for some time, and see what you all think. I love differing opinions, so if you disagree with what I think about the topic, don't be afraid to comment and say so!

The question on my mind?

If I had the opportunity to have 10,000 followers of my blog overnight, would I take it?

At first I thought "Well of course I would!" and then I began thinking about the reality: those 10,000 followers wouldn't know me. Sure, I would "get more comments" and have a real presence in the blogging world, but I wouldn't be able to really know all of my followers. Right now, with 9 followers (4 of them being family or almost-family members!), I know all of you. I read your blogs. When you don't post for a month, I notice. When you un-follow (de-follow?), I notice. With thousands of people following my blog, it would be impossible to do that anymore. So no, I don't think I would want 10,000 followers.

This all may sound like sour grapes to you, saying "I don't even WANT all those followers!" just because it's never going to happen. I know I don't commit to the blogging world as much as most of you do. I barely post more than once a week, hardly ever link up to blogging activities, and I don't self-promote through comments. For serious fashion bloggers (or anyone who knows their vision for their blog) I think any of those methods are a great way for people to find and follow their blogs. For me, a casual blogger who doesn't even consistently blog about fashion and really doesn't have anything special to say, I'd rather have a close-knit "family" of followers than a massive network of distant acquaintances.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments form!

how can you read this? there aren't any pictures!

2011-11-05T20:14:00.002-04:00

It doesn't get any better. Spending the weekend at my grandma's house with my sisters, filling up with enough sweets to throw me off my clean eating for weeks, channel surfing and then finding this gem of a movie just starting:

Yes. Be jealous.

whatever happened to outfit posts?

2011-11-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

I've noticed, as of late, that I haven't been posting outfit pictures much, if at all. Part of me says it's just because I'm too busy, but I know my heart's not really in it right now. I mean, if I can find the time to post about a day trip along the lake, I should be able to do the same for fashion posts, shouldn't I?

At any rate, here are a few outfit photos that haven't been posted yet.

Yesterday's outfit:

Thursday (n):

2011-11-03T21:26:00.001-04:00

a day in which Autumn may or may not have:

Driven through a "Road Closed" sign
Stalked a lady, following her in my car all the way around the block as she strolled with her children because I loved her outfit
Felt like a beast because I wore navy blue pants and bronze & black flats to work:

I love little bows.

patrick dempsey in pencil

2011-11-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

Allow me a little family promotion, please! My sister has been working for some time on a fabulous portrait from InStyle magazine of none other than the lovely Patrick Dempsey, and she finished it a few days ago! I was so impressed I just had to show you:

I lied. It's not finished, she just informed me. She still has to pencil in his shirt and, of course, sign it.

Can you believe this isn't a photo? His beard is amazing. And the awesome thing about my sister? She hasn't had any art lessons. Not a one. That's raw talent there, my friends! *okay, done bragging*

Follow her blog at Hello from Ella to see the finished product!

the most important meal of the day.

2011-11-02T16:03:00.000-04:00

Two farm-fresh eggs (straight from the hen's you-know-what), Chobani, and the best cup of coffee on the planet. This was a wonderful morning, despite the downpour.

It was 7 o'clock in the morning. 'Tis quite dark at 7 o'clock in the morning in November in Michigan.
Hence the blurry picture. I apologize.

Would you like to know how to make the best cup of coffee in the world?

Rest your heart, young one, for you are about to be enlightened!

Start with a one-of-a-kind, handmade pottery mug with Annie's Special Mix coffee.

Add about a teaspoon of the best creamer on the face of the planet.

A dollop of this... (about 1/2 t.)

A smidge (again, about 1/2 t.) of sugar

And last but not least a teensy weensy bit of this.

Enjoy!

(if you would like to know the carefully-guarded, told-only-to-the-closest-friends recipe for Annie's Special Mix coffee, tell me and I will so oblige. It's worth the time it takes to comment, believe me.)

oh say! did you see?

2011-10-25T09:12:00.000-04:00

The Northern Lights were amazing last night! I hope you all were able to get outside and see them. Though we didn't get a picture, this is almost exactly how they looked from our farm:

[credit]

I don't know how photographers can capture the colors like that! Simply gorgeous.

If you want to read a bunch of scientific jargon about why the Lights were better last night than they have been for seven years, click here!

These are the moments when I love country living.

And I take this occasion to say HOORAH! for my 50th post!

sunny sunday

2011-10-24T11:33:00.000-04:00

What may have been the nicest Sunday of the year has drawn to a close. I spent the afternoon like this:

And then drove up M-119 with my two older sisters through what's called the "Tunnel of Trees" to Good Hart, Cross Village, and back again.

Ella unveiled her hidden talent - deer calls! - when we sighted these
lovely girls in a meadow by the road.

a life in hair

2011-10-21T17:37:00.002-04:00

I have been highlighting and dyeing my hair since I was 12 years old. While never going outside the "natural realm" of hair colors (always in the blonde/brunette/red tones), there have been some rough times in the hair department...

A CHRONOLOGY OF AUTIE'S HAIR:

1994 - Born: a cheerful child, ne'er a frown! (ha.)

1996-2006 - Haircuts

Fall 2006 - As a birthday present, I get a spiral perm. I love it.

Summer 2007 - Perm refuses go away, and my mom resorts to cutting my hair to about four inches long to eradicate the ringlets. Mom convinces me "subtle highlights" would look great, but I insist on "bold and chunky". Hint: never go for hair colors described "bold and chunky".

My hair has grown out about three inches here, as
you can see by the state of the highlights.

Fall 2008 - Sick of being blonde, I dye my hair back to its original color. I also get thick, eyebrow-length bangs.

Summer 2009 - Mom pays for professional foils as an early birthday present. The foils turn out great, so I return to the lady for a haircut. She literally chops a single, un-blended layer all around my head so I have a shelf of hair ending at my ear lobes. Worst haircut ever.

Winter 2009 - I dye my hair back to "brown", which turns out to be dark shade of red.

Spring 2010 - I get bangs. Thinner ones this time.

Summer 2010 - I get several sets of highlights at home through a cap. The result is my top layer of hair is blonde, while the lower sections of hair are still dark brown. Not my ideal look.

Fall 2010 - I am having trouble stomaching the blonde, due to my unnaturally dark eyebrows. When in their natural state, my eyebrows are two full shades darker than the rest of my natural hair. Instead of changing my eyebrows, I decide to dye my hair back to dark. Something goes horribly wrong, and I end up with a head full of reddish-brownish hair that, despite our best efforts, will not go away. Someone hand the Prell.

Sorry about the creepy picture; it captured the hair
color better than any others I had. :)

Winter 2010 - Still suffering the ramifications of the Bad Haircut of 2009. While the hair on the back of my head reaches almost to the middle of my back, the rest of it can barely be pulled into a ponytail. I bite the bullet and ask Mom to cut the back of my hair even with the shorter layers. She takes off a good four inches, so my hair barely reaches my shoulders. It's now all one length with a few layers at the ends.

Spring 2011 - My hair is highlighted [I blogged about it here] through a cap, making my hair a golden-red, dimensional color. I like it a lot, but it still suffers from "cap syndrome" - blonde on top, dark on the bottom.

August 2011 - I take the plunge and go to permanent hair color, lifting all my hair to a level 8. Up until now I've only used Natural Instincts semi-permanent hair color (which washes out in around 28 shampoos). My hair grabs the dye like nobody's business, turning "8 NG" (neutral gold) into a freakishly orange halo that sticks with me through thick and thin (unfortunately).

September 2011 - I try "8 N" (neutral), and end up with the same result as the neutral gold, as neutral brings out the pigment already in your hair. (Why I didn't seek this information out beforehand is beyond me.)

Late September 2011 - I cut my hair off! By far the best decision, hair-wise, of the past few years for me. Though my family (and most of my friends) advise against it, saying it'd be a sacrilege to cut my hair, I convince my mom (a cosmetologist) to wield the scissors and do the ol' chop chop. I had been feeling for a while that I was hiding behind my hair, and this remedied that problem (that's for sure). I might grow it out again in a few years, but I might not.

October 2011 - My dad asks me if I'll dye my hair back to natural, which scares me since I can't remember my natural hair color. A month later, I try another shade of the same hair color - losing patience with this blonde. I've already bought and opened (for a strand test) "8 A" (ash), which has cool, greenish tones to it to take away the red/goldness of the other two blunders. The strand test reveals no change at all in my hair color, but I press on and dye my hair anyway, since I can't return opened bottles of dye. Though my hair looks ashier at first, it quickly fades to the now-familiar orange. I am completely fed up with this atrocity of follicles attached to my scalp, and contemplate shaving my head.

My only concern with dyeing my hair back to natural is that short, dark hair with few highlights has the tendency to look one-dimensional. I found a few pictures on Pinterest and Google that I liked:

[credit]

I want to try balayage highlights. Up until now I've used highlights through a cap and foils, and found a few issues with both. With cap highlights, roots show up so quickly and are difficult to touch up. With foils, the aluminum is more damaging to hair because it acts as a heat conductor, processing the bleach faster. Using balayage, you apply the bleach directly to the hair without a cap or foils, starting midway down the hair shaft (or wherever you like - starting at the roots, though, would pull the "upkeep" card, which is a pain). Also, if you work layer by layer you can have highlights all throughout your hair, and as you can see I've been bothered by that issue in the past when using a cap for highlights.

What I'll probably do, though, is just get my hair back to it's natural color, get my eyebrows back to their natural color, and just STAY THERE for a while. For almost as long as I can remember I've been coloring my hair, so I'm ready to take a break from it (for a while anyway. with this history, do you really think I'm going to stay here for long? :)).

wedding dresses not just for brides anymore

2011-10-19T14:19:00.001-04:00

My beautiful friend Holly came along with my sister and mom to watch the fashion show and wander the Castle's grounds.

My hair for the show was French braided with the ends curled and pinned up. If I do this again next year, I'll definitely have bangs or something since I looked a little (a lot) skinned.

There were so many beautiful dresses featured in the show and at our booth!

It hailed and thunder stormed outside during the fashion show, so the entire courtyard
was soaked - hence the red and blue sheets on the ground to protect the dresses!

I love the color of these dresses. Not sure I'd have them in my wedding (if I have one!) because I'm obsessed with my bridesmaids being able to wear their dresses again, but I think the color is really pretty.

What's your take? Do you think it's worth it, for the "look" of your wedding, for your friends to buy dresses and just wear them once?

(if so, don't worry. I work with people like you all the time. It's my job, and I love you anyway.)

guess what I'm doing?

2011-10-15T22:55:00.002-04:00

No, I'm not getting married. I'm in a fashion show!

The show is in cooperation with a popular local wedding venue (its website). Every year they have a Grand Bridal Expo - the high point is the fashion show, featuring our bridal salon's latest dresses!

We all came to rehearsal this afternoon and practiced for about three hours. We worked on dress changes, double- and triple- model formations, and sequences. Modeling is a lot of fun - this is my first time ever doing anything like this, so as you can probably imagine I'm nervous. I'm wearing four different dresses! Most of the models have doing this since they were little girls, so they've gone through the show many times before.

These are my 4 1/2" inch heels! Dress designers make their dresses standard for a girl about 5'10", and I'm 5'8". Though I had some lower heels, the hems of the dresses were still dragging, so I had four days to find suitable, comfortable, size 10 heels. In Petoskey. Which, if you didn't know, has no shopping malls, no TJ Maxx, no DSW, nothing. However... I found these lovelies at Payless for $30, and ended up paying around $22 for them as they had a BOGO 50% off sale going. They are so absolutely comfortable - the only shoes better are my fuzzy brown slippers!

Thank God for Payless.

The entire show, about 75 dresses and 20-ish models, takes only 35 minutes. There's music playing as you walk, which is nice - lots of Michael Bublé, among other sweet (read: smoochy wedding music) songs.

Tomorrow is the show! I'm really excited. My sister's watching the fashion show and said she'd take pictures, as well as shoot the publicity photographs of all the models after the show is over.

I'll post the pictures (and a long-overdue outfit post) soon!

having the time of your life.

2011-10-10T21:40:00.001-04:00

"Ten years ago we had Steve Jobs, Johnny Cash, and Bob Hope.

Ten years later we have no Jobs, no Cash, and no Hope."

I love that quote. My sister found it on Pinterest [here's the link]. Yes, it's pessimistic, but it's still hilarious.

I turned seventeen yesterday! It didn't really feel birthday-ey, since it fell on a Sunday this year and everyone in my family got to be lazy along with me, instead of me just lazing around while they did their separate things, but it was a great day. The day before, Saturday, we hosted a harvest party for the third year in a row. This was definitely a fun way to say goodbye to summer! We had several games planned, and a whole "mess of food" for the hordes of boys that inevitably show up at our gatherings.

We kicked off the festivities with a donut-eating contest. I (conveniently) was the photographer and therefore could pass on participating in this one. Any big-mouths present? This is the game for you. The record time for finishing an entire donut?

17 seconds!

Laney was excited to do the contest again, but soon lost her enthusiasm once she again realized how big donuts are, and how tiny her 7-year-old mouth is:

We then moved on to a pumpkin-seed-spitting competition. This is my brother trying to convince the rest of the guys that running starts are okay (he was quickly shot down).

The champion spitter?

Tyler, with an astonishing 22 feet!

Now, everyone's heard of a wheelbarrow race. Here's introducing...

Wheelbarrow Racing, 2.0!

This was a riot! Everyone was paired off according to approximate equal size and arm strength. You'd jump in the wheelbarrow, be propelled to one end of the yard by your partner, then jump out, switch places, and take off for the other end at top speed. There were more than a few spills, and one lovely girl nearly was crushed by a runaway wheelbarrow!

The high point of the evening (for the winning team, anyway) was a giant flag football game, complete with cheerleaders, pompoms, and flashing cameras. Okay, the cheerleaders were half-hearted, the pompoms child-sized, and there was only one camera. BUT IT WAS FUN ANYWAY!

Some guys felt the need to bust a few dance moves out on the field.

What next, you say? What more could possibly be added to such a fun day?

Well, my friend, I shall enlighten you.

Food.

Truffle recipe, here.
Pumpkin chocolate chunk cake, here.

I am of the firm belief that desserts should always outnumber main courses.

In this case, seven different desserts > three "real" foods.

That's what I'm talking about.

Spider cupcake holder, Crate & Barrel.

After eating, we all just hung out for hours, doing kid stuff. Being friends. Saying a lot, or nothing at all, just staring into the fire (yes, we had a fire, too.) A great day, and a tradition I want to continue for... ever? As long as possible, anyway.

All these beautiful people. Their hearts are joyful, their smiles radiant. Laughter is all you hear, whether they're competing, playing on a team, or just chatting.

I'm grateful to call them my friends.

eyeballs for supper

2011-10-07T16:16:00.001-04:00

For those of you who are into eating dessert first, have I got a recipe for you! It has everything needed for a delectable treat: Oreos, cream cheese, and, of course, the mandatory "ick" factor. Read on to find out more!

Ingredients:
1 package of Oreos
1 package of cream cheese
1 (12 oz.) bag white chocolate chips
M&M's (or Reese's Pieces or Skittles)
Red writing gel
Wax paper

Crush two rows of Oreos in a food processor to a fine powder. I find it easier to crush them if I separate the black cookies from the creme insides, but crushing them whole would be fine.

Crushed Oreos..

Step 2: Cube the cream cheese, then mash with your hands into the crushed Oreos until completely combined. You can stop here and use this mixture as a substitute for peanut butter for a few days OR continue for the finished product!

Step 3: Pinch off pieces of the mixture and roll them into 1-inch balls. (Mine were a bit smaller; just make them whatever size is most appetizing to you as it doesn't matter for the recipe what size they are.)

Step 4: Place truffles on wax paper and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes. *Note*: I didn't have time to finish the truffles at the time, so I put them in the fridge overnight. The next morning I thought I'd be clever and skip the freezing time - big mistake! Be sure to put the truffles in the freezer, otherwise they'll fall apart at the next step.

Step 5: Right before you take the truffles out of the freezer, melt the white chocolate in the microwave. You'll want to do this in small batches as it hardens quickly.

Step 6: Remove the Oreo balls from the freezer and, working with one at a time, place it on a skewer. Dab a little of the white chocolate onto a plate (you'll need one of those, too) to get the bottom of the truffle covered. Then load up a spoon with about a tablespoon of the white chocolate and swirl it around the Oreo ball. Lift the truffle by the skewer and transfer the truffle to a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Repeat until all the Oreos are coated. *Note*: Only take about five truffles out of the freezer at a time. If you take them all out at once, they will thaw and break apart when you try to frost them. You'll need to warm up more chocolate as you go.

Step 7: With some of the leftover melted chocolate, dab on a small amount to the top of each eye (working as you go) and apply one of the candies to the top. This will act as the pupil of the eye.

Step 8: Once you've applied a candy to all of the eyes, use the red writing gel to make squiggly lines (working from the outside of the eye towards the pupil).

Step 9: That's it! Enjoy your delicious treats! Make sure to keep the truffles refrigerated until serving them, as they contain cream cheese.

I lost patience near the end here and ended up just drizzling white chocolate
on plain Oreo balls. They are, if I do say so, just as delicious.

original recipe credit

corn, swallows, walks and hair.

2011-10-05T22:50:00.000-04:00

I have actually accomplished things this week! Chopping off my hair (six inches!), going to a cooking school, carving pumpkins, planning parties, working, working out, and the ever-present school .

We had our first frost a few days ago. Summer is officially over! We had to harvest
all the corn before it rotted.

An Autumn walk out to "the hill" is a favorite tradition of ours - we try to get everyone together twice a year (usually spring & fall) to hike out. Seems simple, as we all live together, but you can imagine how tedious it is, gathering eight people, bundling them up, and getting them to willingly exert themselves. :-)

Our house is the light grey roof right above the really dark green pine tree.
What?! You can't tell WHICH really dark green pine tree it is?
Well that's your problem, honey. ;-)

Oh, and the hair:

Whaddya think? I'm also probably going to dye it back to my natural hair color because the blonde is so dang high maintenance. My natural hair color is somewhere along these lines:

Oh, last thing - guess what I found at Hobby Lobby and am IN LOVE with?

These awesome mirrored swallow sticky things!

(There must be a better name for them, but I've got nothing.)

They all reflect the light differently, changing colors at every time of day - I love them. So much.

They remind me of people.

Autumn's 17th Autumn

2011-09-26T21:46:00.000-04:00

My birthday draws nigh! *cheers* October 9th's the day, in case you're interested. All major credit cards are accepted, excluding American Express (who uses American Express anyway?).

You know what I wish?

I wish Pinterest didn't require a Facebook account. I don't have Facebook, so I am required to miss out on this glorious pastime that I see my cohorts engaging in. Maybe I'll open a Twitter account just for Pinterest.

I feel like this.

Our county fair! Usually we have a massive group that moves, amoeba-like,
around the midway. This year it was just my brothers, little sis and I.

I love the beach and I love my adopted family members. As well as the original ones...

...like this crazy girl, who got all the way down to college in Florida only to discover
that she wanted to come home (it was more complicated than that! check out her blog to read more about it)

Nashville's skyline! I love this city... and yes, I have been in the city.
Thrice. I'm not judging it by flying by on the freeway.

Well, what can I say? Almost four months have gone by; flown by, I should say! My wonderful people for whom I nanny flew back to Los Angeles for the winter, so I'm only working at the bridal shop now.

School is... school.

It's my senior year this year, and not only am I studying for that, but also the ACT and the SAT, both in December. Thank the good Lord my dear adopted family member is tutoring me in math... eek. English is definitely the strong suit in these here frontal lobes. (wait, don't your frontal lobes process spiritual beliefs and worldviews? can't remember...)

Not only that, but I also have to make up my mind whether or not I'll be going to college elsewhere, or getting my Associate's here at my community college and transferring elsewhere, or just sticking with an Associate's degree... it's all so exciting and overwhelming! At first I was thinking of editing/copyediting, but I'm thinking about business/entrepreneurship now. I still haven't made up my mind, though.

Oh, and I'm in a band! We're pretty much awesome:

Um, yeah. That's me on the right. The three adorable ones put up with my
madness because they need these magic piano-key-massaging carpals of mine. (haha)

I absolutely did not realize how many wonderful friends I have. Grr, I
hate saying I "have" friends. I don't "have" friends; it's a mutual thing!
English needs a word for that.

I've introduced you all to my siblings before, but I must again! I can't help myself. We're all just too...

sheesh. I'm not sure WHAT we are. The sun was bright, okay? We should've worn sunglasses.
Starting at 12 o'clock (me), it goes T-joe, Ella, Ders, Phylicia, and Peanut.

I hope I get an award for longest post of the decade. I hope there IS an award for longest post of the decade. If there is, please give it to me, thou saintly judges of longest-postiness! It's my birthday, and we wants it!

Love,

Autie

PS - I'm not sure how often I'll post. I'm going to shoot for once a week, but who the heck knows... :-)

noah's ark

2011-06-23T21:44:00.002-04:00

This past weekend I went to an open house:

with fun people like:

and I also have an incredibly funny picture to show you. We had all piled into our Yukon, preparing to caravan out the driveway, when this adorably awkward scene met our eyes:

and with that, adieu!

running behind

2011-06-23T12:26:00.001-04:00

I've been fanatically reading The Pioneer Woman for the past week. Yesterday I found a great "ten things" post she'd written a while back, and this part got to me: "...consider your blog a precious bloom that requires daily nurturing. And watering. If you water a plant once every two weeks, it will shrivel." And then she went into cactuses and other topics in her characteristically random manner. (If you want to read the rest of the post [I recommend you do], click here.)
Why this stuck out to me is rather obvious. As far as the blog : garden analogy goes, mine would be a shriveled little cabbage patch, drought-stricken and withered. And that's not the worst of it. O, blog of mine, how you have suffered! I have yet to deal the final blow.
Today signifies the first day of two months of five-day-work-weeks for me. [decipher that, if you can!] I will be working three days at the bridal shop, and nannying the days in between, with Sundays and Wednesdays off. Now, I could either

update Sweety Jeans weekly, giving you picture & word-heavy posts
not update Sweety Jeans indefinitely
or quit blogging until I'm back to my regular work schedule.

Thoughts on the above? I'm leaning toward option 3. Ya see, using the blog : garden analogy again, this would be akin to ripping out my garden, replanning, replanting, and then watering faithfully once I had the time, rather than trying desperately to revive my sad little cabbages with a weekly drenching of water.
I shall continue to think.

at last, the weekend

2011-06-11T19:02:00.000-04:00

Via

I really don't want to be one of those complaining bloggers. I have much for which to be grateful, including the fact that I even have a job. The only reason I'm grumbling is this: with my job, I have to work Saturdays until 3 - which means I don't get a weekend until after that. On a typical day, however, customers find it entertaining to remain in the store for an hour or two after closing time, unfazed by us pulling down the "Closed" sign, vacuuming the back rooms (never vacuum around customers' feet. they don't appreciate it.), and washing all the glass cases and mirrors in the store (that's a lot of glass). Today, I got the first part of the day off, due to taking the ACT with the lovely (and ridiculously cute in a sweatshirt) Lauren. After the test at one p.m. I had to go to work and stayed until 3:45 when the last customers left. Grr! All of my coworkers had graduation open houses to which to go, and there they were, twiddling their thumbs, waiting for my bride to leave as she perused the racks of flower girl dresses.

Well, that's my rant about customers for the month. Saturday night's here! No more work for a day!

Enjoy your weekend!

(or I'll hunt you down and MAKE you.)

yes. i have favorites.

2011-06-09T21:38:00.000-04:00

I know it's wrong; you're not supposed to show favoritism. Everyone should be equal, right?!

Well, I guess I'm disobedient.

I'm not even going to try to tell you which of them are mine and which are from their own family. You'd be confused beyond belief.

Ella, myself, and Phylicia

This is Phy.

And this is Ella.

The one on the left is my brother, Anthony. The one on the right? Believe it or not, he is of no relation other than "adopted brother"! :)

They really didn't all mean to wear blue. It just sorta *happened*. :) And yes, we are the type of families who walk through graveyards and enjoy it. In fact, it's a tradition of ours to go through the one where our grandparents are buried on Memorial Day, and whenever we're on vacation we find the oldest cemetery and explore it. A little weird, but it's so... something. I don't really have a word for it. Puts everything in perspective, I guess, to see all these people with their lives summed up by a dash on a headstone.

sometimes a bleeding heart is nice.

2011-05-29T17:52:00.000-04:00

I found her, just sitting there silently.

Meet Colby.

and his little sis, Triscuit.

where you going, Lassie? Come home!

That's a few of the hundreds of spring pictures I've been taking... there's something about sunlight and springtime that just gets to you. Me, actually, it gets to me. I don't know if it gets to you. :)

And yesterday's outfit, with a couple of items I've been wanting to show you all:

{tank: Old Navy ~ belt: thrifted ~ jeans: Gap, long & lean}

I'm sorry my feet are so yucky. I just really wanted to show you my sandals. {from DSW}

That's not all, folks!

Upcoming are a few pictures from today's walk through a graveyard - a family tradition every Memorial Day weekend for the past century (it seems).

Hope you're having a deliciously wonderful weekend, and have a memorable Memorial Day tomorrow!

"i wonder, she said, if the stars i've been wishing on are really just airplanes."

2011-05-21T08:02:00.001-04:00

trés bien cheesecake!

2011-05-17T19:25:00.000-04:00

... because I don't know the French word for cheesecake. :)

Now, I know this isn't holding with decent blogger tradition, but I'm not going to tell you all the recipe for my prized cheesecake. Ya see, what's the point of being a good cook if you let everyone in on all your secrets? I've got another cheesecake-related recipe up my sleeve, and I'll be sure to share that recipe, but just not this one. Mkay? I will, however, allow you to see the fruits of my labor. (this cheesecake was for my little bro for his 15th birthday. he loved it.)

The only problem I had (which I thought was awful, but no one else noticed) was that when I baked the cake in a water bath to prevent cracking the water seeped INTO the cheesecake. ICKY! So the bottom part of the crust was really squishy. It made for a deliciously moist cake, though - not soggy OR dry and cracked. As I said, my brother loved it. I'm pretty sure this is going to be his birthday present from now on.

Brace yourselves for a few more picture-heavy posts in the next few days, as I have to catch up all the days I missed from my computer being down!

know what this means?

2011-05-16T21:11:00.002-04:00

I can now move all my photos to the external hard drive!

which means...

I can upload my pictures from my camera!

which means...

guess.

Giveaway!

2011-05-11T14:43:00.000-04:00

Am I a liar? I hope not. Cause I kinda am giving something away... information! Hahaha, suckers! :-) I wanted to tell you all about this fabulous service I use (it's free). It's called "Shop It To Me", and if you don't use it for online shopping, THOU ART CRAZED. Because it's pretty much the most worthwhile email ever. How it works is, you pick the days that work best for them to email you, and choose your favorite clothing companies/designers out of their exhaustive list. Then, on your days (say, Tuesday and Thursday), they'll send you an HTML email with all the new sale and clearance items from those designers! They don't give out your email address to any of the companies.
So, if you're interested, please please PLEASE leave a comment below with your email address BECAUSE... for every ten friends I get to sign up, I get a $10 gift card to the clothing store of my choice! So you see, I have ulterior motives. (Though I really do want to spread the word about this fabulous "personal shopper"!)

The Few... The Proud

2011-05-09T18:10:00.000-04:00

Thank you, dear readers, for being so patient. I have been wanting to post for the past week, but my computer's memory is stuffed to the gills so I can't import my pictures from my camera. Tonight I'm going to work on moving my thousands of pictures to CD's to clear up space until I can get an external hard drive. (can you decipher that wonderful example of a run-on sentence? hope so.) But I have worship practice, so it'll be late, and I have school tomorrow... but I'll find the time, I promise! I haven't forgotten you!

I promise this is the only one.

2011-04-30T20:18:00.000-04:00

I got this idea from Nikki over at Adore Style, and figured I'd do it, too! This way, we'll know each other a little better - or at least, you'll know a little more about me! If you decide to do this on your blog, post a comment here sharing the link - I'd love to to get to know you as well!

Age: 16

Bed Size: Twin sized trundle bed... my little sis gets the higher one!

Chore your hate: Dishes, at the present.

Dogs: The bigger the better! I want a Great Dane like this, someday. But I still like cats better.

Essential Start of Your Day: Waking up early in order to have a half hour or so to chill with coffee and a magazine

Favorite Color: Currently, I love orange, army green, and rich toffee... but that's subject to change. :-)

Gold or Silver: Gold. I love how silver looks on other people, though! It's just not right for my skin tone.

Height: sixty-eight and one-half inches! do the math! heehee :)

Instruments I can Play: Piano and seven chords on the guitar

Job Title: Sales? Go-fer? Retail assistant? I have no clue. I work at a bridal shop and sell stuff.

Kids: none yet... or anytime soon.

Live: Michigan

Mom's Name: I call her "Mom-ayz". You know her as "my mom".

Nicknames: Autie. Earth-shatteringly original, eh?

Overnight Hospital Stays: None!

Pet Peeves: When the light turns green and THEY. DON'T. MOVE.

Quote from a Movie: "The plan is - to figure out the plan in the car."

Right or Left-handed: You are witnessing an authentic Southpaw, ladies and gents. (mostly ladies)

Siblings: Two older sisters, two younger brothers, and then a younger sister. Quatre jeune femmes, deux jeune hommes!

Time You Wake Up: 7 AM, every morning. But my heart's still in bed until 9, haha!

Vegetables You Dislike: Are kidney beans vegetables? If so, that's the worst I can come up with. I'm not a picky eater.

Wearing: What I always wear - tee, jeans, and a sweater. Hence the blog title!

X-rays You've Done: Ummm, I broke my leg when I was a baby, so I probably got an x-ray then; I don't remember it, though.

Yummy Food You Make: Chicken in a poppyseed alfredo sauce... my brothers will pretty much do anything for me if I make it for them. :-)

Zoo Animals: The Big Cats and the giraffes - the latter are just so photogenic!

is it thursday?

2011-04-28T13:50:00.000-04:00

This week I've been getting mixed up as to what day it is, more than I ever have before. That's why sites like these come in handy. The only way I know it's Thursday is because I work today, even though I work tomorrow and the next day. But I work today from three to eight, which is interesting because it's prom week! All the guys will be in to pick up their tuxes - over fifty of them! It'll be quite the crazy night; hopefully no customers will feel left out if we can't devote 100% of our attention to them.

Yesterday's outfit:

and an adorable little bunny that insisted on cheering me up, despite the downpour...

...and a cuddly, 14-year-old kitty that is just as spry in her old age as she was in her prime.

I'm off to get ready for work! Pray that I don't mix up any tuxes, or forget to charge someone for a $149 rental, or anything disastrous like that? THANK YE!

easter, coffee, and getting lost

2011-04-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

Finally, I've gotten some time to update - starting with Easter, since I'm so behind on posting! We had some best friends over on Saturday evening for a photo scavenger hunt, then on Sunday we went to my grandma's house after church. That was quite the Sunday morning, for sure - my sister and I do the refreshments for the 300+ people who come to the early service (only about 50 actually want coffee, but they WANT THEIR COFFEE if you know what I mean). Well, we arrived at 8:15 am to start the two big pots (100 cups each), a smaller one (50 cups), and the little one (12 cups). After doing everything right - six scoops of coffee into the percolator, fill up the water, plug in the machine - we unpacked the Little Debbie boxes into four big plastic bowls. Angel food snack cakes, pecan swirls, chocolate crispy cookies, and the like are all dumped in there (they're each wrapped in cellophane, just so you know. we ARE sanitary here in northern MI.) for the peoples' consumption, though the pecan swirls are, without exception, avoided like the Plague. We finished setting up the Brunch Buffet and headed into the auditorium for worship and the sermon (which was very good), though we had to leave 10 minutes before the end of it in order to make sure everything was at rights in the kitchen. Good thing we did! Turns out, one of the 100-cup coffee pots decided it would take its spring break halfway through percolating. The other one, though we put "six scoops" in, turned out to be dispensing colored water, thanks to some lackey's idea of a practical joke - switching the usual 2/3 cup scoop with a 1/2 cup measure, unnoticed by us! So we were panicking, 200 cups short of coffee with the congregation being dismissed in two minutes. Thankfully, my sister's friend ran home and got HER coffee pot (because the little 12-cup one put out a drizzle of coffee at the rate of about 2 cups an hour) and we were able to hold off the swelling tide of people seeking their jolt for the morning.

All that to say, by lunchtime I was pooped. What with keeping a smile pasted on in order to prevent the masses from knowing that something was terribly awry, and rushing back and forth refilling the Little Debbie bowls, and personally filling up fifty cups of coffee from a 12-cup pot, I was ready to relax... and that we did.

We headed to my grandma's house, continuing the tradition of the "disastrous day" by getting lost and having to take a car ferry across a lake/river/inlet thing. That was fun, though. Then we explored an invisible logging town (trespassing, no less), and took pictures at an old foundation. THEN, and only then, did we head to Grandma's for her classic meal - ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits and gravy, and Jello cake. Yum.

I took a little nap (Sunday naps are officially the greatest thing on earth), then we all took a walk down to the river. It was a glorious day, and my little brother and dad entertained themselves by catching crayfish while my older sis and I took pictures of the scenery and each other. It was a most wonderful way to spend Easter. More pictures are below; they're worth a thousand words, so people say. Mayhaps I should've just shown you them instead of giving you the play-by-play of my entire day, but

what's the fun in that?!

favorite fridays

2011-04-15T09:37:00.000-04:00

I LOVE FRIDAYS.

Let me rephrase that: I love Fridays when I don't have to work on them. I love my job, but with my work schedule, I work from 9:30 to 3 on Saturdays, so I don't get to crash on the morning of the weekend. So my "weekend" is on Friday, and then Saturday is like my Monday. Because on Sunday I have to get up at 6:30 in order to get to church on time, I don't get to sleep in then, either. Not that sleeping in one day a week is necessary for survival, but... sleeping in one day a week is necessary for survival!

Here are a few things that make me happy (and would make me happier if I owned any of them!):

Portugal Woven Straw tote, here. Linen Knot Peeptoe pumps, here. Contrast Tank Sundress, here. Empire Waist dress in Persimmon, here. Logan High Heel City sandal, here. Suede Bucket tote, here.

Okay, so I didn't realize I was this mad for Lands' End Canvas until now. Don't they just have the greatest stuff? This collage pretty much sums up the issue I have between color and neutrals - I have the tendency to just layer on the neutrals, making outfits pretty 'blah'. Isn't that yellow bag just the cutest? It keeps distracting me, haha!

Enjoy your Friday - "lookin' forward to the weekennnnnnd!"

a real post!

2011-04-14T12:00:00.002-04:00

Whoever heard of such a thing?!
I'm sorry I haven't posted anything substantial in the last couple of days! My mom, little sister and I were at my grandma's house, cleaning out her garage for a sale she's having this summer. Rewarding work, I tell you! All winter long, Grandma's siblings leave their things for resale in there, and in the spring she sorts it out and prices everything. Well, this year she's not feeling up to the task, so we went over for a night and helped her out. It was so satisfying to get the little place all organized. :-)
My little sister, of course, was thrilled at being able to watch cartoons in the morning as a "treat" because we were at Grandma's. Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes are her favorites!

What I wore:

The view out my window:

Uses for a big zippered bag:

1. Dirty laundry holder

2. Mega-size book bag

3. Little sister container

You know those items you associate with being a little kid, even though you're all grown up? The things that fascinated you so much - back when you were at eye level with them? Well, Grandma has a couple of those kinds of items that she's hung onto over the years:

This lamp. I remember being about five years old and wondering how they got those pretty flowers in there, and how they stayed alive for so long.

... and this picture. It still fascinates me.

That's all folks!

Playing Catch-up

2011-04-11T23:21:00.001-04:00

My new hair! I love it; gone forever is the eternally greasy-looking, muddy reddish color I've been dealing with for the past three months! I'm definitely staying with this look for a long time. Why can't I figure out what looks good on me before experimenting for three years straight?

This picture was taken in the evening sun, so it looks more golden/red than it actually is.

I love Misty's claws in the bottom picture! She was feeling especially affectionate - why always at the most inconvenient times? She shoved her way in front of the camera in order to get closer to me... geez, cat, show some love why don't you? :)

An exchange between my little sister and me just a few minutes ago:

(Laney is chattering, I am typing on my laptop)

Laney: (talk talk talk)" ... have you even heard anything of what I said?"

Me: "... ehh... bits and pieces..."

(Laney glares at me, then takes a deep breath and holds it)

Laney: "There. Just getting back all the breath I wasted."

My family has gotten into the habit of jotting down the funny things that are said at the dinner table and other places, and it's hilarious to look back on all the "wisdom" from seven-year-olds, accidental double entendres, and corny jokes that have transpired over the past months.

What are some of the "little things" in your family that you love? Any traditions you enjoy?

Mad, You Say?

2011-04-10T22:42:00.000-04:00

Guess what I did today!

My mom finally found the time to highlight my hair - gone is the auburn, here is the blonde! It's a wonderful feeling to be back to my natural(ish) state. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the finished product, but I'll post one in the next couple days!

This morning I was jarred out of bed with a massive clap of thunder - so much for sleeping in! It rained bucketfuls outside for an hour, then cleared up while we were in church. My sister made lunch, then it started raining again. I played a few rounds of Insaniquarium, then the rain quit and we watched "The Rookie".

A relaxing way to finish off the week, for sure!

this is when cleaning is fun.

2011-04-07T14:03:00.002-04:00

Last year, my neighbor lady across the street bought a new bike. This was her old one, so she gave it to me.

Gave. it. to. me.

Isn't it the most adorable thing you've ever seen? Well, I'm not keeping it. My friend lives in town, and their family would love to be able to bike around instead of driving, due to gas prices. The bike isn't actually for my friend - it's a present for her mom, for Mother's Day. But shh! It's a surprise!

Wondering why I'm so willing to give it to her and not hogging it for myself? Well, I never used it. I have a mountain bike that I ride when we go *surprise surprise* mountain biking, camping, and most other places, so this baby was just gathering dust.

Literally.

I took it into my head to clean this baby up, and wow! It was so satisfying! There's still a little rust left on the wheel covers, but I figure my friend can clean it off if she wants the bike to be mint condition.

The seat before...

And after!

All freshened up! I hope my friend likes it. She's coming over tonight, along with several other girls. We're doing a craft night- jewelry making, scrapbooking, making photo cards and whatever else we feel like! I'll post pictures if I take any. :-)

Best Buds

2011-04-06T22:22:00.000-04:00

I found a way to use my red skirt! Paired with a white cardigan, grey lacy cami, and black tights I finally bought, I think it looked pretty spiffy. I was surprised to find how comfortable and perfect for work this outfit was - I was completely at ease all day, not cut in half from the tights or itching from the lace.

The promised closeup! My big Pilgrim shoes are in the background, haha

I running out the door, ten minutes late, when I realized I wasn't wearing a necklace - and couldn't get away with not wearing one! Dashing to Mom's room, I found this hammered silver necklace - but she doesn't wear it much, so it was awfully tarnished. I polished it up and wore it, and am now considering making it a fixture of my jewelry shelf!

Driving home from work, I realized there was hardly a speck of snow to be seen.

It brought me joy.

As does the sight of these on our lilac bush:

Dead? Naw.

2011-04-02T11:19:00.001-04:00

Hey there, just a shout-out to say I'm not overly busy, on vacation, or dead. For the past three days I've been down with the stomach flu - I thought I was over it last night, and then threw up again! Pajama pants and band shirts aren't exactly fashion plate material. ;-)
So I'm rocking out to American Idol's top 9 contestants, wrapped in quilts and sipping apple juice. Hope you're feeling better than I am!

Illusions

2011-03-30T15:05:00.000-04:00

Ah, Silk.

2011-03-28T21:15:00.000-04:00

Remember the black silk shirt I told you about? Well, I'm wearing it. And it is wonderful. This morning I got it all fixed up - ironed it (very carefully with an iron that can't have been hotter than 30 degrees, judging by how long it took) and sewed on the missing button. Now it's in perfect wearable condition, and I love the fact that I fixed it myself! The perfect shirt to wear in celebration of finishing off the 30 for 30.

My sister insisted I looked like Mulan in this outfit. I vehemently disagreed.

What I Wore:

Black silk shirt * Red leather belt - Thrifted

Long & Lean Jeans - Gap

Silver scarf - Pier 1

For Sunday's outfit (below), I wore black wide-leg pants with a sleeveless ruffled shirt and jean blazer. I liked the overall look. My hair was the 20-second version of a French twist; my sister was seconds from driving down the driveway and honking the horn every 5, so I wasn't able to make it as neatly as I would've liked.

It was so beautiful - the fourth day in which the sky was a pure, clean blue! Not a cloud to be seen for miles.

My cutesy ~~little~~ big shoes. Size 10 feet? Eeek.

What I Wore [Sunday]:
Jacket * Sleeveless top * Wide-leg black pants - Thrifted
Black patent shoes - Peebles

Can you tell I enjoy thrift shopping?

We just started working through the "Bleak House" series. It's excellent, if a little creepy. I think the filmographers got a little crazy with the "freaky angles" concept, but overall I like it.
Enjoy your week!

She Finished It!

2011-03-26T21:20:00.000-04:00

Alright, I didn't end up doing the outfit picture. My sister did!

She's amazing, isn't she!

I didn't have much room to squeeze in today's outfit; it was just my long-sleeved blue tee + jeans.

What do you think? Worth the wait?

I Bought an Anorak.

2011-03-26T14:35:00.001-04:00

Laugh now; I know, I swore I wouldn't. When I got to J.C. Penney, though, I really liked the look of this jacket on the rack, and when I tried it on it was even better! Plus, who could resist a $100 jacket for $20? On sale for $40, then I had a "$10 off a $25 purchase" coupon, and a $10 gift card. What a fantastic deal! I have been combing online and resale shops for days, and you can't beat that price anywhere.
Walking downtown was such a treat - the sky was so bright, and it looked so close it seemed as if I could touch it! The bay is frozen, but water is mostly covering the ice, so it looks like a giant game of Twister out there. I wish I'd brought my camera!
I'm working on the outfit picture collage thing. I hope it turns out well; either way, I'm going back to regular outfit posts. I like posting a picture every day. :-)
Carpe diem!

Either Pregnant or Menopausal...

2011-03-25T22:10:00.002-04:00

... or just too hot for Michigan? ;-) Tee hee. I'm constantly "running hot", which means while everyone else in the state is bundled up in parkas, snowpants and scarves, I'm tripping about in a tank top and jeans. I suppose it's better than being cold all the time, but you'd be surprised at the looks I get when I'm downtown without a coat in the middle of January. Which brings me to the point of this post - do you know how difficult it is to find a cute spring jacket? NIGH ON IMPOSSIBLE, I tell you! I have looked for two days straight, and all I come up with are these ridiculous anoraks that are all over the runways and, supposedly, "the perfect look for spring fashion". Look folks, what looks awesome on a rail-thin, six-foot-tall model in sky high heels is guaranteed not to look as stunning on the general public, especially considering that three out of ten Americans are obese. Therefore, I turned away from my Piperlime, running instead to the welcoming doors of Cabela's online store. There in the Bargain Cave was the perfect jacket! Excepting the fact that it was only available in a size 3X in Shocking Magenta, the shape was perfect! The first one I bought, a month ago, was way too loose through the middle. I'm all for relaxed styles, but this was like wearing a Snuggie!

Anyway, I'm very close to buying a jacket. Any jacket. Anything to get me out of "wool blend" and into spring!

Have a great weekend - cause "yesterday was Thursday, and tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards..." which means today is...

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY!

(if you're lost, Google "rebecca black". Prepare for bleeding ears.)

As Promised

2011-03-22T21:56:00.002-04:00

The Tuesday Picture Post is here!

*roar of applause*

Shockingly exciting, I know.

I have a grand plan. Though I am not a Photoshop expert in the least (my skills amount to frantic clicking and muttered oaths), I'm going to attempt a very cool thing. Every day this week I'll take a picture from the same angle, and on the last day (Saturday) I'll layer them all over each other so there will be five little ole' "me's" in the same photo! Cool, eh? I wonder if it'll work. I also wonder how I'm going to fit five of me in that picture. =/

I made banana bread yesterday! It's so ridiculously easy, I just had to share it with you (figuratively, of course. You don't actually get any, unless you make it yourself. heehee.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then take bananas (six of 'em), four eggs, 1/2 teaspoon each salt & baking soda, a cup of shortening, and two cups of sugar (you'd probably want to short that a little, but our family likes our bread super sweet.) Mash the bananas. In a mixing bowl, combine the shortening and sugar till it's nice and smooth. Then add the mashed bananas and eggs and mix well. Then add the flour - be careful not to over mix the batter, or the finished loaves will be dense and yucky. Add the baking soda & salt, and you're done!

Pour the batter into two greased loaf pans, then bake them for 50-60 minutes or a knife inserted into the center comes out *almost* clean - the bread is better when it's a little bit mushy.

While it's baking, read your favorite novel or children's book, if you're so inclined.

Final Week: Kick-off!

2011-03-21T22:53:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited for my last week of 30 for 30 blogging! I'm working on revamping the layout and template of this blog... not entirely satisfied with it yet. Something is up with the page width vs. template width? I'll keep working. =)
Today I wore a very basic (read: boring) outfit. White sleeveless beaded top, with brown sweater + jeans. And wooden bracelet + gold earrings. While I haven't worn this exact outfit before, I'm wondering why I can't seem to stray from this same combination (tee + sweater + jeans). Is it me, or my clothes? Am I just that "creatively challenged", or are "classic pieces" missing from my closet? I think it's both. =)
Yesterday was the last day of Gap's Give-Get sale, which included 30% off your entire order. *cheers* Unfortunately, though I spent an hour looking through Gap and its affiliate companies, I ended up emptying my cart and ditching the online shopping idea. These shoes were adorable and the price was fantastic, but there are no returns on final sale items at Piperlime, so I ditched them. Then I cut a dress that was cute, but would probably only be worn twice a summer. I also had the needed black tights, but then decided $15 was too expensive! I was left with an empty cart and a wasted hour.
Sorry, no picture today. I can't find my transfer cord, having spent the last half hour searching for it in vain! I'll post both pictures tomorrow - if I find the cord by then!
Have a great evening; hope you're not experiencing side effects from the deadly "Supermoon aftershocks", haha.

Stars and Clouds

2011-03-20T19:55:00.002-04:00

Last night my brother woke me up at around midnight, our Nikon D3000 in hand. "Hey! Wake up! The moon is HUGE!" So I stumbled out on the porch and blinked my red-rimmed eyes up at the glowing orb, which looked no bigger than it ever has. "Tony! Wha... whydja wake me up to see this?" Just to humor him, I snapped a few blurry shots and scurried back to bed. That little escapade cost me dearly in the morning, though - I wanted to sleep...and sleep... and sleeeeeeep... but our church service begins at 9 a.m., and we live a half-hour away! So at 8 a.m. I pulled my lazy rumpus out of bed and crawled into the shower, everyone else already being in the car, ready to go. With sopping hair and no accessories, I regretted the sleep-in, but what was I to do? Here are the results of the entire episode; yes, yes I know, the outfit isn't made from clothes in my 30-for-30. Oh well. When you're rushing through your sister's closet in a blind panic, it's nigh on impossible to remember rules for a fashion challenge. =)

PS - these were taken after church, so that explains the dry hair. Yes, I understand the ramifications of posting pictures wherein I look a complete lunatic.

Guess what I did yesterday? First off, on Friday night I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. with little sister (La Tornade), who had (and still has) a very bad cough and stuffy nose. She couldn't get to sleep, and would start crying every ten minutes - on the dot. I slept for six hours, then woke up at 7:30 Saturday morning to go to a thrift store which had a 50% off sale and opened at eight. That's right, 50% off everything - and you thought resale store prices couldn't get any lower! I snagged a couple cute items: an orange tunic similar to my cream-colored V-neck, but with short sleeves, a red/orange wallet by Etienne Agner (for 50 cents), a couple of items for La Tornade, and (pictured below) a totally mod, red skirt. I refuse to call it a mini-skirt, but it is pretty short by my standards.

What do you think? A good find for two dollars? I need to post a close-up of the fabric, which is thick, nubby cotton - SO soft and comfortable! I also need to buy some thick black tights - I don't own any, and bare legs just look terrible this time of year.

Alright, time to hand over my laptop to La Tornade - I've gotten her addicted to Polyvore, where she makes her "dream outfits"! Her favorite one is posted below.

Hope your week is full of good surprises! I should start posting a daily fortune cookie - "You will have success in all you do. Lucky numbers... "

Pictures are Lacking

2011-03-19T22:01:00.004-04:00

I am so ashamed! Three weeks accomplished, but only 15 pictures to show for it. You believe me... right?

I think my three favorites were #8, 9, and 15. Which ones do you like best? I can't wait for better weather outside; I'm looking forward to some outside shoots for a change!

Enjoy your Sunday!

And She Wore White

2011-03-18T18:06:00.002-04:00

There's something about wearing white that makes my entire day seem brighter. Here it is, another gloomy day in late winter (early spring?), and I'm bouncing off the walls. I think it's because white makes you look more tan, and being more tan means sunshine, and sunshine means SUMMER! Whatever the logic, here's the outfit:

I hereby announce myself as a proponent of mid-rise jeans! At least for my body type, they seem to be wayyyy more flattering than low-rise styles. Trust me, I understand the misgivings. I'm a teenager, too. But I happen to have a rear end that's about the size of a parenthesis, and low-rise cuts just accentuate the negative. :-P At least with a mid-rise pant I have some semblance of a curve!

So what is opinion regarding jeans? What's your favorite rise?

Rain is a Good Thing

2011-03-17T20:06:00.000-04:00

Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey... okay, that's not where I was going with this post. The reason rain is a good thing? It melts the snow!

To celebrate St. Paddy's day, I wore my green sweater with a yellow tee underneath, and jeans. My sister and I babysat at our church this morning, which was fun - normally not an adjective I would use for babysitting, but it really was enjoyable for both of us. Nothing like working with one of your best friends, and the two-year-olds were surprisingly well behaved! :) My mom is gone overnight to my grandma's house; she (my grandma) is getting her first eye surgery appointment tomorrow and my mom wanted to be with her. My uncle flew from Minnesota to be with my grandma, too! She has good kids. :)

I didn't take a picture of my outfit today because it was too boring. Hopefully the Muses will be more inspiring to my clothing choices tomorrow!

Yum.

2011-03-16T21:29:00.000-04:00

Today I felt like wearing something flowy, bright orange, and beautiful. Unfortunately, there are no items in my closet that live up to those criteria.

BUT

"at the end of the tunnel there's a light", and this one was blinding - my InStyle came today! YES! I zoomed through my schoolwork and began poring over "The COLOR Issue". Perfect for this cheerful, sixty-degree wonder that is today!

I wonder if it counts as cheating in the 30 for 30 if I wear the same shirt, but just wear different pants? Nah. I also am wearing a different camisole with it, so it must be okay.

Guess what I made today?

First, you make a basic, boxed brownie mix - "family size", for a 9 x 13 pan.

Spread it in a greased 9 x 13 pan.

Then, mix one package (I used one and a half, because I had to use it up) cream cheese with 1/3 c. white sugar, one egg, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Whip the cream cheese until it's smooth, then add the other three ingredients and mix until combined and creamy.

Plop the cream cheese mixture on top the unbaked brownie mixture in several different places all over the pan, like the picture. Swirl it around with a butter knife, but not too much - you don't want to combine the two mixes, just swirl them around.

Just perfect - and perfectly delicious!

Place in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes - I think. I'll double check the recipe when I get home; I'm at a friend's house right now as I post this! ;-)
Now, while it's baking, head out to your deck and enjoy the beautiful day!

All finished! Be sure to take the brownies out when the white marble is toasted, but not dark brown. These are delicious, and SO easy to make. They're a hit with anyone who likes chocolate, cream cheese, or both! So I headed out to the deck to chronicle my outfit, and eat my dessert before dinner.

My sister did my hair, and I wish I'd gotten a closer picture. We have this book, and she's really good at braiding, so she decided to try the style on the cover. It turned out really well, but you'll have to take my word for it. :-) Just look at that sky! We can't take that for granted here in Michigan, where it's usually gray skies for four months straight.
Well, I had a deliciously beautiful day. I hope you had the same!

Nick Jonas and Lava Cakes

2011-03-16T11:29:00.002-04:00

Snowboarding! It's my favorite winter pasttime. Between that, school, and watching movies, winter usually passes pretty quickly. Right now I'm watching the "Les Miserables 25th Anniversary" stage performance, which is outstanding. I've never seen the musical before, and I love it! It's much better than "The Phantom of the Opera"... which I didn't enjoy at all. I'd love to see the stage performance of it, though, before making any more judgments - I think the film adaptation was just crappy. And creepy.

OH MY GOSH! Who knew Nick Jonas was in Les Miserables? Verrrrry nice... ;-) Anyway, I wanted to explain why my outfit is so completely lame - sweatpants and a long-sleeved tee? And earlier it was CuddlDuds? Well, I went snowboarding all day yesterday.

Wow. Cosette looks like Bugs Bunny.

ANYWAY. I cannot multitask! This musical is just too good. What I've been trying to say is, I went snowboarding for six hours yesterday with one of my best friends and some others. It was loads of fun. Have you ever gone skiing or snowboarding? The ski resort is practically right next to our house, so it's quite convenient.

Yup. Gotta love the pigtails.
So I was going to try and make Lava Cakes. The batter looked (and tasted) delicious, with the tablespoon of red wine adding just the right amount of flavor - the combination reminded me of raspberry and chocolate. I buttered the custard cups and poured in the batter. Then I oh-so-carefully put them in the 425 degree oven. Now, what happened next was NOT my fault - my mom will attest. I finished up washing the dishes, and in 13 minutes (just like the recipe said) I got the cups out of the oven. There were five beautiful cakes. Not lava cakes.
CAKES.
They had baked all the way through! The first one I opened was dry as a bone. Almost in tears, I ran downstairs to my mom with the crumbly little corpse of a cake in my hands.
She laughed - the oven is 13 years old, so it's getting a little cranky in its sunset years. We're going to have to replace it soon, but until we do I'm going to have to be a lot more watchful of my baked goods!

Mixing in the confectioner's sugar is so pretty!

The cups before they went in the Oven of Doom

Dry little thing! My brother enjoyed it...

...with ice cream, Hershey's syrup, and extra powdered sugar! The other cakes turned out slightly better, with a little bit of unbaked fudge left on the inside. This was such an easy recipe - I'll be making it again, and that time I'll watch the cakes closely!

So Good To Me

2011-03-14T22:15:00.002-04:00

Oh, I love Mondays. I know I'm crazy, but they're just so invigorating! A great start to your week, getting ahead in school, especially on beautiful 50 degree days like these. Sunny mornings are the greatest.

This is the 3rd take on this outfit. I started out with just the white tank and the green sweater, then ditched the green sweater for the brown one, and then added my adorable mauve vest which my mom just finished altering this morning. It was really wide through the middle, so I put it on inside-out and she pinned up the sides, then sewed them up! Now it's a perfect fit; I'll be wearing this baby more over the next two weeks. I don't have the brown sweater on in these pictures, but I'm sure you remember it from previous days:

I wish I'd gotten a close-up of my necklace. It's a copper leaf pendant, on a turquoise and copper chain. My mom bought it at a Coldwater Creek outlet several years ago, and I've worn it a total of... maybe three times. It's just too beautiful to be shoved to the back shelf anymore! It's hard for me to think of ways to incorporate copper into my wardrobe. Do you have any ideas? What's your favorite metal - gold, silver, or copper?

A few little treasures that make me happy, in order of least to greatest:

Antiques, knick knacks, and other curios just make my day. Whether I'm poking around in garage sales, thrift shops, or roadside "free stuff" piles, there's nothing better than finding that elusive hidden treasure.

JLo Glow perfume. I love it, so so much. The variations that have come out are calling my name; I want to try them so badly!

And, finally, my little sis, also known as "La Tornade". She looks peaceful here, but rest assured those little palms can scatter toys faster than lights do cockroaches. She's such a sweetie, though, always caring for her kitten and bunny. She loves reading a TinTin comic book after school is done - just like we older kids did when we were her age! But here I am, waxing sentimental about my lovely. =)

I hope you all had a great start to your week, and don't forget to celebrate

Everything You Think Is Wrong Day!

Sunday Best

2011-03-13T14:24:00.000-04:00

I heard a warm spell was on its way... here's hoping! That big green spot in our backyard serves as a barometer - and I'm acting the optimist, praying for it to be even bigger tomorrow!

We went to church today, and thanks to Daylight Savings Time I had to get up at six. Not fun, since I stayed up until midnight the night before. But we went out to eat after service, and now are all chilling here at home. I liked my outfit today - it was understated, but not too casual. Remember, folks, I go to a church where 50% of the membership wears jeans and a sweatshirt, so I'm looking pretty fancy by their standards:

My sister snapped this photo - sorry about the awkward arms! All 32 and one-half inches of them. =)

Now, I know this looks like I'm wearing a garbage bag. I know. However, it looked a lot better in real life, and I did have jewelry on before this picture was taken, one piece pictured below:

I wanted to show you this great cuff my grandma gave me. It snaps shut, which is great for someone with big hands & wrists like me. Usually I can't find a bangle/cuff that will get over my huge knuckles, so this was awesome! While it has the tendency to snag on loosely-knit clothes, it's a great touch to a simple outfit. You also get so see my exquisitely patriotic Band-aid! Lucky you!

Saturday's Child

2011-03-12T21:27:00.001-05:00

I worked today, and didn't have time to take a picture. I wore my brown & tan striped v-neck with my trouser jeans, and a bright orange scarf with gold hoop earrings. It was simple, but good for the bridal shop where mobility is key. The sweetest girl was in the shop today for the first time; she said she's probably coming back on Monday to purchase her dress! She looked fantastic - in case you're curious, it was this Mary's gown.

After work I headed to my grandparents' house for a "New Mexico party"; my grandma grew up there and hasn't been back in over 50 years. My sister lived out there for a summer, and we decided to play tango music, make spicy food, and watch "The Santa Fe Trail" - an old western with Ronald Reagan and Errol Flynn (does it get any better?). It was definitely not your average way to spend a Saturday night, but I loved it. :)

Tomorrow is church! I'm hoping to get a picture up for ya'll. I'm wearing a skirt, for sure, because I'm sick and tired of the old "jeans and cardigan" look. Trying to think of something original... but this second week has been tough. I'm really nervous about the remaining two weeks!

Make sure to push your clocks forward - don't want to be an hour early for church service, now do we?

Grim Days

2011-03-10T17:26:00.006-05:00

Here it is, Thursday.
Downcast, humdrum, bleak, lonely, boring, cheerless, melancholy, colorless, tedious, and depressing it is out-of-doors, and I've been trying to come up with ways to make Spring arrive sooner. Alas, a mere two days ago, the yard was green, it was 50 degrees, sunny, and I had visions of tulips and lilies. I should have known. In typical Michigan fashion, the temperature plummeted to about 25 degrees, and snow was released in bucketfuls on my lovely green lawn.

I cried.

Look at that blasphemous substance! I was THIS CLOSE (visualize me holding up two fingers very close together) to running out with a hair dryer and forcibly melting the cursed stuff.

And now for the outfits:

This was Wednesday's look. While it's similar to last week's, I made some changes. I ditched the leggings (too bulky) and would have gone with tights like these (in brown), if I owned any. I don't, so I was stuck with bare legs (which were freezing) so I put on some of my mom's knee-high socks. I know. You want a picture. Sorry.

I liked all the different shades of neutrals in one outfit, plus, because practically everything I was wearing was made of luxe cotton, it was super comfy. My hair was kind of boring, but I didn't really feel like doing anything else with it, so I just blew it out and straightened it. What do you think of this look?

Before I move on to today's look, I will explain why there is no Tuesday outfit. You see, while I did wear clothing from my 30 for 30, it was just so uninspired that I didn't take a picture. Trust me, you didn't want to see it. So, here is today's outfit, which I liked a lot:

Yes, those are my big, Gollum-esque feetsies there on the right. I'm not sure why you'd want to see them, but I liked how the sheer black hose went with the skirt. What's your opinion? Should I have gone with more opaque tights?

One of my favorite things to do is use summer shirts in winter. The rebel in me, I guess. For instance, this is a sleeveless tank top - one of my favorite shirts to wear in the summer, and paired with this jean jacket (and others), it does time in the winter as a layering piece.

OH OH OH! And I must show you a great accomplishment:

Yeah. That's a clean bedroom, ladies! My Little Tornado and I toiled for a while last night, and this was the result! I'm quite proud of us. Do you like it?

Have a wonderful evening! I'm super excited, because a few of my best friends are coming over to watch "Phantom of the Opera"... I have never seen it in my life, so I'm really looking forward to it!

Well, I'm off to watch the 250th episode of What Not to Wear. Oh, how I love DVR.

Day 8

2011-03-08T22:42:00.002-05:00

Forgive the awkward pose, face and messy floor; I share a room with my 7-year-old sister and she's quite the tornado. Apart from the peripherals, though, this outfit is one of my favorites. I love the drape of the tunic, combined with the bright white cardigan, with the black belt giving the whole outfit some definition... also, you can't really see the detail in this picture, but the dress has this panel of stitching on the front that is just adorable. When I went outside, later, I wore my black leather, calf-length boots, which added a certain degree of sophistication to the entire look. In my opinion, this is my cutest outfit yet. What do you think?

Ahhh, makeup. Basically, I tried to go as minimalistic as possible because this was a "home day" - meaning, I wasn't going anywhere and didn't want my face all gooey. I really, really like the result. I tried to blend my eyeliner into my upper lash line as much as possible, and used a vanilla shade of eye shadow on my eyelid, under my brow bone, and in the inside corner of my eye. Following that was a darker brown, which, by following "hooded eye makeup rules", was above my crease to create the illusion of more open eyes.

What is it with my face and illusions? The "illusion" of an eye crease, the "illusion" of cheekbones, the "illusion" of a fuller upper lip... AGHH! One of these days I'm posting a picture of myself with no makeup.

Freak ya'll right outta your long johns.

Week One: Wrap Up

2011-03-07T15:03:00.000-05:00

I took pictures almost every day this week! While some of my outfits haven't shown much imagination, I've liked the overall looks. This week, I'll be focusing on showcasing more color and excitement in my outifts. Also, I want to experiment a little with my makeup - without going overboard, how much makeup is too much? I'm not going for Kim Kardashian here, believe me! The problem I've run into is taking the time to put on makeup, but not putting enough on to "highlight my best features", which, according to Carmindy, is makeup's best purpose.

Without further ado, here are last week's outfits!

Outfit 1: I took this picture before I'd done my hair/makeup... pretty gnarly. Overall, I liked the outfit, but it was rather dismal. I like to wear bright-colored clothes in the winter/early spring, because here in Michigan it gets pretty depressing in February and March.

Outfit 2: Experimenting with color here. I didn't actually wear the heels; I just put them on for the picture. While the concept was good (tunic with sweater), it just didn't work, somehow. I liked the combination of the green with cream, though.

Outfit 3: My "Grandma Billy" sweater! This is a handmade sweater, knitted over ten years ago by a wonderful elderly lady who has since passed away. With a belt and jeans, it's really cute - in a "Sherpa Eskimo" kind of way. Very warm, too - I didn't need a coat in the 35+ degree weather!

Outfit 4: I liked everything about this outfit. My brother, bless his heart, hates two articles of clothing - cropped jackets and babydoll tops. While babydolls have been extinct from my closet for the past year, this jacket was subject to ridicule as "it looked like I'd outgrown it". Ha. I think it looked cute. What do you think? My hair left much to be desired; I think I was going for 'boho' but it came out frizzy. Ouch.

Outfit 5: Work! This was a really basic outfit, but it was perfect for my job. At the bridal shop, work attire all about being able to move around without flashing people, and not snagging your shirt on the various items that pose a threat - clothes hangers, hook and eyes, and sequins all do a number on your favorite sweater! I liked the combination of tan and purple, and the belt pulled it all together.

Outfit 6: Skipped church! I had a cute skirt outfit all picked out, but this was the way to go for walking on the waterfront. It was cozy and warm, didn't look frumpy (though you can't tell from the picture). My hair was loosely French braided with the tail tucked under and pinned, which I love.

Well, I hope to keep up better over this next week. Enjoy yourselves in all that you do, and...

Keep Smiling!

Well, I started.

2011-03-06T22:01:00.001-05:00

The 30 for 30 has gone really well this week! Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to put much time into the blogging process, but hopefully next week will be better. Here are my incredibly creative clothing pictures and their "Buy-ology", as Paige Renae puts it:

L to R: Denim jacket, thrifted ~ Grey cropped jacket, J.C. Penney ~ Navy blue tunic, thrifted ~ Cream V-neck tunic, thrifted ~ Grey ruffled sleeveless tank, Gap ~ White beaded-neck tank, J.C. Penney

L to R: Mauve vest, thrifted ~ White shadow stripe tank, Lands' End ~ Yellow scoop-neck tee, thrifted ~ White polo, Walmart ~ Ruffled-front beige tee, thrifted ~ Brown striped 3/4 sleeve tee, Kohl's ~ Black long-sleeve tee, thrifted ~ White oxford, thrifted ~ Gathered light brown turtleneck, Lands' End

L to R: Green sweater, Gap ~ Grey hooded sweater, Aero ~ Grey/pink striped V-neck, Gap ~ Heather brown thin-cable-knit sweater, Gap ~ Brown cowl-neck sweater with brooch, Maurices ~ Cream chunky-knit tunic sweater, Handmade ~ Lee jeans, Kohl's ~ Long and Lean jeans, Gap ~ Brown thick-knit leggings, Meijer ~ Black thin leggings, Kmart

I just discovered I only have 25 items. HUZZAH! HUZZAH! HUZZAH! This means I can pick five more items from my closet to work with! I've already picked out a pair of denim trousers and a navy blue long sleeved tee. What else can I use, I wonder? Oh, wait. Confession time. I've broken a 30 for 30 rule, as stated on Kendi's blog.

I shopped.

I'm so sorry! Lands' End was calling my name, and I couldn't resist the cursed siren! However, I have an excuse. Forty of the fifty dollars I spent were on a quilted spring coat, and the last $10 was split between two little lonely shirts - a shadow stripe tank and a white V-neck with a pocket - both too adorable to be left alone! Do you forgive me? Have I committed an unpardonable sin?

An Exorbitant Amount of Pajamas

2011-02-17T20:50:00.002-05:00

I'm sure everyone has some complaint with their wardrobe, big or small. For me, it's several complaints:

Too many t-shirts.
Too many solid, neutral colors! It would appear I have three t-shirts all in the same dreary shade of khaki. While I understand a "blank slate" is nice, I've taken that concept a little too far.
Too many pajama tops and bottoms! When I've painted in a shirt, ripped it, or otherwise abused it too much for me to wear it in public, it becomes a "sleep shirt", and is jammed with 10-or-so other shirts of the same denomination onto a 12x6-inch shelf in my closet. Literally overflowing with cotton shorts and pajama pants, this shelf definitely needs the most work.
I've been investing in scarves, which can be a good idea IF they are the right scarves. I have around eight scarves, all solid colors but for a red plaid one I have worn once after buying it back in September. While I would like to go out and buy bunches of printed scarves, my budget simply can't stretch any farther. My goal is to use my spiritless, solid-color scarves to their best advantage, but not to rely on them as I have in the past. As the single bright object in an otherwise neutral outfit, my scarves! they've been overworked and under-appreciated.
Shoes. I've worn a size 10 since I was 13 (thank goodness the numbers aren't reversed). I haven't really updated my shoe inventory since then. Two pairs of black Mary Janes and lots of 1-inch heels do not an adequate closet make! I recently bought a pair of brown suede heels, which, though not wearable to work, give me that extra platform I need to reach six feet tall - not my only goal in life, but one of them! =]

So basically, though I'm lacking in classic pieces, I'm going to work with what I have instead of going out and buying what I want. The way I see it, I've survived this far without those items, so why not see what I can come up with? Starting with: taking the 30 for 30 challenge! This Saturday, after work, I'm going to get my selections together to start out the month.

Hasta la vista, baby!