style files: striped maxi dress

dress: tjmaxx, jacket: zara, shoes: chloe, earrings: bought in germany, lipstick: maybelline fuchsia fever, watch: michael kors

what a busy week we've had. sometimes i feel like i don't even know where the time went. i cleaned out my closet and donated about 3 big bags of clothes to goodwill. there is still more stuff i want to get rid of but for now it's a good start. i organized everything i kept but that's a whole other post on its own...

the weather finally came around again too and we are in for a gorgeous weekend. my brother and sister-in-law are coming over tonight because they won't be able to make it to Logan's birthday party next weekend. yes, next weekend my little baby turns one!!! i doesn't even seem real to me! 

last year at this time i looked like this YIKES!! 

tomorrow i'll be doing the same thing again as well, going to pike days yard sales all day and hoping to score some goodies. 

i'm looking forward to next week with 4 amazing off days for the hubs, a baseball game, my mom coming in from germany and a birthday party on sunday. and now i'm off to ikea.

yes, life is good :)

diy: neon and gold fashion bracelet

yup, another diy today. i am seriously dragging this week with the hubs gone and having to do everything myself. at the end of the day all i want to do is curl up in bed, have some tea and watch tv. you know what that's like, right?

so anyway... while i went through my stash to make the earrings last week, I found some left-over gold chain and neon pink mason line that I had bought for a completely different project (haven't gotten to that one yet).

so I decided to make a bracelet...

you'll need:

larger size gold chain

neon mason line from your local home store (about $2-$3) 

a lobster clasp

some hot glue 

any tool that will help you open the chain links

measure the chain around your wrist take at least three times that length in doubled up mason line (so 6 times the length of your chain). 

loop the string through one end of the chain as you can see in the picture.

slide the loop to one side and start threading it through the chain links from underneath. i eventually added a tiny bit of hot glue to the end of my string so it would stop unravelling. that helped tremendously and also finishes off the string nicely. 

you want to go through each chain link from underneath and then stick your string back down through the loop you created. It's really easy to do just hard to explain ;) 

at the end of the chain I just tied a double knot and left some extra string. you can of course also cut it all off. Attach a lobster clasp to the other side and you are done. this seriously only takes about 15-20 minutes. super easy and super cute :) 

giveaway reminder

just a little reminder that you can still enter the giveaway for this lovely color blocked neon clutch.
it ends on friday at midnight ET. winner will be announced on monday :)

so go click on the giveaway button in the top right corner!!

good luck!

one of those days #3

today was one of those days...


where your toddler awakes at 7.30 on the dot and you are sending prayers that he will change his mind about wanting to get this day started

where those prayers aren't answered and let's be honest, there are more important ones to be answered anyway

where the rain and general grayness of the last few days is starting to get a little bit depressing

where a yummy breakfast makes things a lot better

where nothing really happens all day and you start asking yourself if you should make an effort and go somewhere?

where you decide that a nice warm bath at 1 in the afternoon is just what is needed for the little mister and his mama (including lots of splashing and bewildered stares at that mini watering can from target - what does it do?)

where a naked babe in a clean, white towel is just about the most beautiful thing you've ever laid eyes upon

where for the rest of the day you have to keep smelling that perfectly clean little head every few minutes

where this mama's cooking skills are once again being tested by one very picky eater

where a surprise visit from a certain brother in law who wants to use your internet makes you feel a little less lonely

where you decide that bath time gets moved back to evenings, after dinner, for the very obvious reasons...

where books are being dragged all over the room, cleaned up and pulled out again and again and that little person sitting in your lap wanting to read them makes you want to burst with love

where wet, open mouthed, good night baby kisses say: you may not be getting out as much as you'd like, you may feel like you're cut off from the world but really, you're right where you're supposed to be, taking it all in and not missing a second of it.


yes, today was one of those days.

style files: summer neon greens

dress: on, cardigan: express, shoes: madeleine stuart (tjmaxx), watch: michael kors, ring: bossy sprockets on etsy 

did you all have a nice mother's day weekend? 

mine was rather uneventful since the hubs worked all day sunday and then went on another road trip. i was left with a really sweet card and my present that had already been delivered and much anticipated during the week. 

so i made my own mother's day breakfast and shared it with the boy who, lucky for me, decided i would make a great mom. and man does he love pancakes and do i love him :) 

diy: geometric earrings

i thought i'd share this tutorial on how to make some geometric earrings made from polymer clay. i originally came up with this as a contributer post for love stitched so you may have seen this already over there. the neon trend is still going strong and I've been accessorizing with it like crazy. there are so many cute items I would love to own but don't have the money for. so instead, i went though my stash of jewelry making supplies (i am a bad craft hoarder) and pulled out some earring backs and fimo modeling clay i picked up on clearance a few months ago. with some different craft paints i created these cute little geometric post earrings all during one nap time, hey, this mama's got to be efficient :) 

here is what you'll need:

modeling clay (i used white and painted it but it is even quicker if you just buy your favorite color)

earring backs

a small sharp knife

paint

paint brushes

hot glue gun or other strong glue

the earring backs i already had on hand turned out to be too big for the small shapes i wanted to make so I had to cut them down first (big big pain). make sure you buy the smallest ones you can find. all they need to hold is a tiny dab of glue. 

then just go ahead and form a small ball with the modeling clay, about 1/2" or even less in diameter. use your knife to cut away small chunks of the clay with the knife leaving smooth planes all across the shape. save your scraps to use for the other stud. 

once you're done making the shapes stick them in the oven as per the directions on your package of clay and bake them. mine took 30 minutes at 265F. Once they have cooled you are ready to paint. i used some regular acrylic craft paints and patio paint as well. it will take a few coats of paint to completely cover the shapes. let everything dry really well. i painted the base color first, let it dry and then attached the shapes to the earring backs with some hot glue. it doesn't take very much glue at all so be careful! then I painted parts of my studs with coordinating colors for a cute pop of color. 

once the second color is all dry you are done and ready to wear your new earrings :) 

recipe: cinnamon pull apart bread

today i am sharing this recipe i found via sfb on how to make cinnamon pull apart bread.

it's a super easy recipe that does take a little preparation but has a delicious result. i made some small adjustments to the recipe as i was going along. 

for your dough you will need:

1 cup warm water (i used a little more as i was making the dough because it was too dry) 
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) active-dry yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups unbleached flour 
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

the original version only uses half of the dough recipe but i made the full amount and ended up with 4 small loaf pans.

for the filling you will need: 

3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet cream butter, melted (i started out with this amount but had to add some more) 

vanilla icing:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted (i added more because my icing was too runny) 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

this will slowly form a dough you may or may not have to add more water to. mine was very dry so i added just a bit more. 

place your dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a towel and keep it in a warm place to let it raise for about 1.5 hours. i always put my dough in the oven on the keep warm setting, which is about 170 degrees fahrenheit. 

as i was cutting these i decided, since this is a pizza dough, they would also be great dipped in a little olive oil and italian seasoning, baked and then served with marinara sauce. yummo!

melt the butter and stir together the cinnamon and sugar. dip each piece in the butter (shake off excess) and coat with cinnamon sugar. 

arrange dough pieces in your greased loaf pans and bake at 375 degrees for abour 20-25 minutes. use a toothpick to test if it's done. 

super yummy! perfect for breakfast or as dessert or really any time of the day ;) they are also a great size to give to a friend as a sweet treat. 
Enjoy!

all images copyright the forge
original recipe taken from here