Pinterest Challenge

Obviously we all love Pinterest. It's responsible for so many craft projects and outfit ideas that I've had, but I, like everyone, am guilty of spending lots of time perusing all the pretties on Pinterest and never actually following through with any of them. So, when I saw this challenge on Merrick's blog, I thought it was a great way to boost my creative motivation.

So, here are my choices for the challenge:

{1} I'm getting antsy for Spring to arrive, so brightening up my front door with one of these seems fun.
{2} Baby G and I have been suffering from a serious case of cabin fever. I'm on the lookout for new, fun activities to pass the time inside. This seems like a fun one.
{3} The third-trimester tireds have set in. As they get more intense, it's nice to have some new options for G to have some quiet time while I put my feet up or maybe even take a two minute shower.
{4} Hair accessories seem like a fun option these days.
{5} That outfit? Soooo pretty. 
{6} I've been wanting to make some of these boxes to de-clutter the toy room and get organized before baby 2 comes.

DIY Statement Necklace

My first attempt to ignore my shopaholic tendencies this month was to make myself a new necklace. After all, as a going-on-8-months-pregnant lady, accessories are one of the only items that really make me feel stylish these days. They can jazz up an otherwise boring outfit, or at least give variety to the three shirts I wear over and over again. Here's how it went down:

I didn't have beads in the color I wanted, but I did have a large number of wooden beads, so I decided to paint them all one color using acrylic paint and a glaze to give them a little shine. It took about three coats to get this color:

Then I spent a while laying out the beads in different patterns until I found a design I liked. This won out. I used chain and clasps I happened to have in my bead case to connect the different tiers {mostly making it up as I went...I'm no expert}.

                                       

And here's the final product. I like the springy color {because something needs to distract me from the 10+ inches of snow we're getting this weekend} and the fact that it might distract from my giant belly. I think every girl might need a little boost after finding out she gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks...

Thanks for visiting!

February Goals {& how january stacked up}

I was discussing 2013 resolutions in a recent email conversation with one of my nearest and dearest when she told me that she and her new mister decided to do lots of mini-goals throughout the year, rather than creating a whole list on January 1st. For example, one week they set a goal to read for an hour each day. Hard to accomplish for an entire year, but making it a priority for a week seems doable, right?

Anyway, I really like this idea of setting goals for a smaller time period, especially because priorities will obviously shift as the year progresses and life changes. So, I decided to take a look back at January and decide how I did with my goals, then set some more for February.

Overall, I think I've done pretty well with my accomplishments this month. I'm 60% of the way through my first book of the year {Thanks, Kindle, for giving me a constant update on my progress}. Our house is well on its way to becoming organized before kid 2 enters the scene. But I think my most successful category has been crafting. From home decor to new clothes, I've been a DIY-ing machine lately. That's one habit I hope to continue all throughout the year.

As for February, here's what I've got up my sleeve:

1. No purchasing any new items for myself. I did this in January and it led me to a thrifty little refashion that was fun and economical. I like the challenge of coming up with new items from my closet {or husband's}, so I've decided new items are off limits again this month.

2. Yoga. Way back in December, I was getting really good at exercising consistently. Lately? notsomuch. Gotta get back to doing yoga 3 days a week.

3. Get taxes done. Boring, right? Yep.

4. Try 3 new recipes. Lord knows I'm not the world's best cook. Actually, we don't know that since I never really try. That's something I'd like to rectify, so I'm going to try some new meal options this month.

There we go. I think these are all manageable...maybe even achievable!

3-in-1 Refashion

With the holidays behind us, a new baby coming soon, and a tighter budget this semester, I decided not to spend any money on clothes for myself this month {not to mention any clothes I buy now will be obsolete post-baby bump}. However, I'm also in that stage of pregnancy when I find myself staring at my closet and, after trying on 7 shirts that just make me feel like a balloon, I throw on the one shirt that happens to flatter me that week and hope no one notices it's the third day in a row that I've worn it. Also, I've officially crossed the threshold of the closet and adopted husband's t-shirt collection as my own. 

So, in an attempt to stick to my promise and give myself a little self-esteem boost, I decided to refashion a pair of jeans I haven't worn {or liked} for a long time. Turns out, to get the kind of pants I've been coveting {see here}, there were three steps involved to get myself this "new" sassy pair of pants. 

Thankfully, one of my fave blogs provided me with all the instructions I needed.

Pretty awful right? Granted, they're not zipped because of the belly, but I think we can all agree they do nothing for me in this state.

Step 1 & Step 2: Make them maternity and skinnify them...{See links for the tutorials}

Step 3: Add some polka dots...

Aaand there she is. 28-week belly and all.

They're not perfect, but they make me happy. And they didn't cost me a thing!

Preggo Brain

Here are a few scenarios where I've noticed "pregnancy brain" is less than ideal:

1. While being a super-bossy-pants to your husband who promised to hang shelves for you a week ago, but even though you remember discussing the different design options at length and deciding very firmly you wanted it in a zig-zag pattern, you scold him and tell him to hang them in a step pattern because "that's what we agreed on." Poor, confused, affronted husband...

2. While playing Euchre. You will quickly put your partner and your opponents on edge with your constant, "Wait. What's trump?" and "Oh sh...oot. I didn't mean to play that!" and "Oops. Can I take that back?" and "That's not trump. Or is it?"

3. While calling your kid's doctor and saying something ridiculous like "Hi, my son is a son of the pediatricians and I'd like to make an appointment."

4. While administering a writing workshop with your students and, instead of flawlessly demonstrating your stellar writing skills, you labor for far too long over the spelling of "altogether." <--Is that even a word? The absence of the red squiggles tells me yes.

That's all for tonight. My absent mind can't think of any more.

Home Remedies {and a confession}

My skin is always horribly sensitive in the winter. Who am I kidding? My skin is sensitive year-round. But this winter has been especially bad. Luckily, my future sister-in-law gave me this amazing home remedy for dry, irritated skin that has been a little miracle in a jar. The ingredients: sugar and olive oil. That's it. I'm not sure of the exact recipe, but some I have found on Pinterest suggest filling a jar about 3/4 full of sugar, then pouring olive oil in until it covers the sugar. Easy enough.

I have been using it on my hands once every couple of days and it makes that tight, cracked, winter-skin feeling disappear immediately. But the real miracle it's performing? That would be for my lips...

OK, I have a confession. I'm a recovering addict...of lip balm. You know, that menthol-infused stuff that gives your lips a cool blast before burning them juuust enough to make you want more? It all started when I was a young, naive teenager. By the end of high school I basically never put the stuff away. It would sit on my desk and I would reapply it every five minutes or so. It was bad.

My breaking point came in college when {and this is embarrassing, so please keep the judgment to a minimum} my lips started having some sort of crazy reaction to my habit. They turned red, started flaking, and even when I had the lip balm on, my lips felt dryer than ever. That's when I swore off Blistex and pledged my lip therapy to Vaseline. Always and forever.

So, this brings us to present day. I was recently without my trusty petroleum jelly {yeah, I buy generic}, so I reached for the only thing I had in my purse: lip balm a friend gave me that, although the ingredients are all organic and seemed perfectly harmless, gave the same sensation and gross side effects that my old Blistex did. {Turns out, I need to avoid peppermint oil along with menthol. Live and learn.} I only used it a few times, but my lips have been cracked and flaky ever since.

That is until I started applying the sugar scrub to them every morning and loading up with Vaseline throughout the day. The flakiness is gone and, even in the "feels like" -7 degree weather we're having {ugh}, I'm holding on to some semblance of moisture in my skin. I just really recommend making yourself some of this stuff. Or give it as a gift. But really, keep it for yourself.  

What Just Happened?

Something big is happening this week. There are boxes {oh dear, the boxes} that haven't been opened, moved, or even touched since we moved in 3 1/2 months ago. But a few days ago I launched an insanely-ambitious reorganization of the closets and storage spaces in our home. I was blaming this surge of energy on the fact that I have much more free time this semester, especially now that the holidays are over. However, in a recent conversation with my mother, I got a serious reality check when she said: "Brenna, you're having a baby in three months. It's called nesting."

Ohh yeah...

So phase 1 {of approximately 25} was to organize the bathroom and linen closet. I only took a couple "before" pictures, but trust me when I say the closet looked like we just moved in yesterday and the bathroom was pretty much a blank slate. 

Before. Gross.

After. Less Gross.

After. Beautiful {to me}.

I decided to keep the bathroom decor pretty simple and just give a few splashes of fun, Springy colors. I cleaned some old candle jars out to store my cotton balls and makeup sponges and, after tying some random fabric scraps around them, added to my little girly display on the shelf. {The far right jar has an amazing scrub that I got for Christmas made of just sugar and Olive Oil. Try it, guys.}

We've had this wine rack from Ikea for a long time, but we don't really have a space near the kitchen to hang it, so I decided to use it as a towel holder in the bathroom instead. I like how it complements the painting I made and serves some function.

The candles were part of my Christmas decor, but I like a little sparkle, so they're staying year round.

The best part of this step in my storage revamp is that I finally found a place for things {like board games and DVDs, now sneakily hiding in the linen closet} that were taking up space in other parts of the house. Five less random boxes may not seem like a big deal, but it made a huge difference for the next few phases of the project. More to come...

...Until then, here's why naps are necessary for an almost-two-year-old.

I'm pretty sure this was all because
I made him a waffle for lunch...

Thaaat's better {post-nap and bagel in hand.
I guess I offered the wrong breakfast food}