Me, Adulting, 2017.

It's amazing how some of the simplest things can provide so much excitement. These days, I'm losing it over coordinated curtains and clean towels. Don't even get me started on matching furniture. All of the sudden, I actually care about that stuff, and it's weird.

So when Rob's mom bought this for me for Christmas and we saw the box there a few weeks ago, I've been patiently biding my time until we took a vehicle large enough to transport it [with us + dogs + stuff, etc] back to Cincinnati. It came back with us last night. It's here, and I love it ♥

final bedroom furniture touch! 

For any of you who see these things online, I will say to you that YES, it is a good investment.
Oh, and as a note to future me, buy this book:

... & buy it because The Sun is Also a Star made you ugly cry in the best way.

& also, I'll be adding The Bane Chronicles to this hoard later this week, along with pre-ordering Lord of Shadows. I'm tellin' ya... addicted. 

because... Shadowhunters

It seemed far more like a Monday than the Tuesday that it actually was, and I can already tell I am thankful this is a 4-day week. 

Cheers! 

xo | cms

I'm Awesome At Shopping!

.. That's a total lie. I'm about as good at shopping as I am at basketball.

& ice hockey.

& juggling hand grenades.

& cooking any sort of red meat.

You get it.

Shopping ≠ My strong suit.
It's okay.

Anyway, today after work, I embarked on day 1 of my mission to find a "semi formal" dress for the event I'm attending next weekend. I'm not a dressy girl by nature, so that in and of itself was the first hurdle. I figured it wouldn't be hard at all to find a piece to fit the bill.

 

Either I'm insanely picky, or I just... honestly... do not know how to do this.

^ found that online somewhere, made me laugh.. totally applicable.

So to my frustration this evening at dress shopping, and to the actual idea of dressing up in the first place, I say... not now. Just. Not. Now. I'll deal with you tomorrow. For now..

Here are some things that make me happy, that share my affinity for craftiness and avoiding big stores unless absolutely necessary. I'm drafting Christmas present ideas.

1. Jewelry. I have a lot of women [& men, too] in my family who admire and appreciate fun, quirky accessories. I just.. I have this really hard time spending exorbitant amounts of money on things unless there's an appropriate occasion [not saying that Christmas is anything less than that, however]; I simply like to give a lot, to a lot, so frugality is never a bad thing. 


via Tzunuum, Etsy
fun. definitely could add my own spin on it.

adore.

no, not mine... but doable.

... and so forth.

2. Scarves! I went on a huge knitting spree two years ago - remember that? Well, at the time I found a blog that I started obsessing over; it was one of those tutorial blogs that shows you how to knit and all that jazz. I found pictures [since I'm too lazy to go find the ones I took sporadically in 2011] of each of my four favorite stitches I learned and completed. I think.... it's gonna be another knitting year!

bring on the needles & yarn! i just got excited again...


3. Foooooooood. Duh. Food. I'd be here until next Christmas if I tried telling you all my favorite goodies for the holiday season, but I think at the top of that list is something I also learned while in Illinois: Gorilla Bread. It's a curse that I have no need for recipe instruction, but that I can recall it from memory. Pretty sad. Haha. Whatever.. I will be making mini versions of this for.... all ya'll this year. Be ready. Be hungry.


drooling already.

... So maybe my failed attempt at shopping today was a good thing, after all. I just caught my second wind of inspiration to actually do some of this stuff this year.

Gears are turnin'....

xo | cmd

Owl Never Quit Lovin' Youuuuu

A few weeks back, one of Sydni's earrings came up missing. My mission today was to find some replacement studs for her.

In the entire planning phase of that, I neglected one faint but important fact:

I could make the frikkin things at home... myself. Oh well.

I'm not sure if it was the miniature nature of the studs that would ideally fit Sydni's ears, or what it was, but I was bound and determined to get that girl a new pair to replace the one she'd lost.

Not only did I find some basic itty bitties for her little ears, but I came across some owls in the process. I... couldn't... help it. 

adore! owl always adore you ;)

Ya'll know how I get with thrifty finds [excited, point blank]... so just bear with me as I try to maintain my excitement here. Haha.

Dawne asked to keep Syd for the evening, so Rob and I took advantage of the evening and made a break for Se7en in Belleville for some sushi. I absolutely love that place, and since it was his first time, we walked away satisfied after some edamame, a crunch roll, spider roll and cali roll. Sushi.... WIN. (:


dear cali roll... owl always love you, toooooo ;)

So far so good on the week... here's hoping the rest of it is just as good!

xo | cmd

Flowers, Pea Pods & Serenades

It wouldn't be a Monday if it weren't eventful.

1 | FLOWERS! My husband.. has once again outdone himself [even if it did catch me some grief at work, but that's another story]. Thank you, Joe, for the antique roses. They are beautiful. And they smell terrific :).


antiqued roses? it's like having little bengal striped roses. they rock.

2 | Peas in a pod! This is part of the fun of being half of a mama-daughter duo: whenever I make a jewelry piece, I'm expected to make a dwarfed version of the same thing for the mini.

-- Exhibit A: 

peas in a pod necklace + earrings

-- Exhibit B:

mini peas in a pod bracelet, in purple... of course ;)

3 | The Voice. Awesome, as usual.





How much do I love life?
Lots :) I hope you do, too.

xo | cmd

INSPIRED.

I wanted to take a break from the typical recounting of my day to share with the world some of the things and people by which I'm inspired. While I do have a rewarding life, I love to live that little bit of myself vicariously through others, or if nothing else at least draw some inspiration from things, places and people that move me.

Just SOME of the motivations in my head today :)
In no particular order... 

christine ha | master chef

1 | Christine Ha. I don't watch the show Master Chef, but a couple of my co-workers do, and they share with me the day after each episode how this girl is still hanging in there in this reality show competition for amateur chefs. She's adorable, and quite Asian, yes, but she's blind, too. That's right. The girl who can't see is on national television kicking tail and taking names in the kitchen. I have 20/10 vision, according to my doctor, and I am absolutely positive that I can't cook better than this gal. 


rissa. nancy. yun. joann
august. september. october. november

2 | Adorable Prego Friends. You're lying if you don't think that all four of these girls make the cutest pregos ever. These are four of my girlfriends from back in Cincinnati who are all [obviously] pregnant, all due one right after the other. They got together recently and had i2 studios do a shoot; this is just one of the many killer pictures they got back. They look like pretty little autumn skittles. This one confirms that there's a slight chance I will be this cute in the event I'm pregnant again. Now I just have to find 3 other girls to share the pregnancy journey with, hire an awesome photographer, and we're good. Haha. Seriously, I really was moved by this in that it highlights the innate and natural beauty of a mother. There is so much complexity to the process of literally growing a human being from essentially just a few cells; to have that captured as a complete picture should be a moving reminder to every mom out there. :) I love everything about it and am excited for all of them!


see red.

3 | RED. This is one of the blogs I follow: Tewfic El-Sawy. He's the Travel Photographer, and posted this collaboration recently. Read about it >here<. This is from a tribe of people in Northern Malabar. I wouldn't say I follow the ritualistic tradition behind this customary getup, but I am so intrigued by the cultural concept of such elaborate decoration. Plus, I love red, and the monochromatic way he put this together is quite appealing. I stand to learn so much from photographers like him! This reminded me that I need to travel more, photograph more, and make a constant, proactive effort to maintain an appreciation for worldly culture even while I'm living in the good old midwest, USA.


toms | boot wedges!

4 | TOMS BOOT WEDGES. I'm such a prolific lover of TOMS, not just because their classics won me over from the start, but because I am fully-aware of the impact they have as a grassroots operation gone-global. Sure, their gear is a little pricey for what it really is [truth, sorry], but I've read the articles on their advocates going directly into the hearts of undeveloped territories and putting shoes on the feet of kids who otherwise use whatever they can find in the woods or in a trash can to keep their feet protected. Call me a hippie, but TOMS are comfortable and supportive of a good cause. These new wedges are adorable, and I'm thiiiiinking about checking them out. We.. shall.. see. I use TOMS [& coincidentally the store in which I get them, shout out to Peace by Piece in Belleville] as motivation for my future potential endeavors of entrepreneurship, too. It could happen ;).

that's love! mama & daughter
[borrowed from fb, christine... it looks like a magazine ad :p ]

5 | SINGLE PARENTS. I work in a small office, but there are two single moms on our staff. It's a weird emotion having sympathy for but lacking the experience to have empathy for single parents and the strife that comes with the territory. I had a[nother] conversation with Christine today, with whom I've grown fairly close in our time working together, and was so moved by the current challenges she faces being a single parent. Sorry to single you out, Christine, but it was in something of an odd way, compelling to be reminded of the strength and courage it takes to continue on with blinders focused on objectively raising a happy kid. My respect for the single parent has exponentially increased over the last few months. Make no mistake, either, I share an equal admiration for single fathers, because I know the indwelling of maternal instinct may come a little rougher to them, but they hold down the cycle with the best of them. I had the privelege growing up with two parents; many of my friends did not. I am so grateful for the blessings I've had in that arena. I look at the broken world in which we live sometimes and I can't help but think I couldn't do what these parents do. The ones who choose to raise their kids right in spite of circumstance amaze me. My job as a co-parent looks like a cakewalk compared to what you do. It's parents like this that remind me of the human capacity to overcome and succeed, if the will is there.


happened across this online

6 | NOT JUDGING BOOKS BY THEIR COVERS. I just needed that reminder. Sure, there are exceptions to every condition, but loving art and expression as much as I do, I just have to say that while I wouldn't necessary canvas my body out to the extent this guy and many of my great friends have, I absolutely believe that a heart is a heart and that doesn't change. 'Nuff said.

rick & dick hoyt

7 | TEAM HOYT. If you haven't heard of them, seen their pictures, watched their videos, or checked out their journey, quit reading my amateur blog and go look it up. I'll get ya started: It's amazing. If you need some motivation to work out, or quit complaining about your workout.. or really your life in general, this is a good place to start. Yeah, this is a bit of an extreme example of how my circumstance could be different, but there is so much that I stand to admire about this father and his son. If there's been a testament of dedication, sacrifice, endurance, and unconditional love in this century, I'd say these two are strong contenders for a top spot. Notice that the wheels say, It's a Good Life! Talk about motivating.. :) 

8 | BEADS. I've had these for a few weeks now and finished up the last one tonight. These look like simple little charms, but there's much to them. These are for my pastor's wife, Debbie, who has a severe version of asthma, and has to wear a medical plaque on her wrist as a failsafe in the event she would have an episode. The way she's got it figured, if you're gonna wear the thing, wear it in style! < Totally adoptable principle, and clearly it works, since for the longest time I thought it was just a regular - but stylish - interchangeable bracelet of some sort. She had asked me some time ago if I could make some minor repairs to a few of the adorning bands; I finished the last of them tonight and thought I'd share. It's been a little while since I touched jewelry-crafting... I made a mental note that I must start making time for it: I love it and it's relaxing. Thanks for the reminder, Miss Debbie! 


photog credit : dk

9 | THE BIBLE. Duh. I know this should've been at the very top of the list, but I decided to save it for end so it would be the last thing we leave with for today. There are a million ways to dive into how this one book has revolutionized my life; I will keep it simple and succinct by just saying that there are so many paths down which I tried to take my life on my own terms, but by this book and all the wisdom in it, I found that real peace, that real happiness, and that real fulfillment I wanted, but never had. It's the instruction manual for creating and achieving my short and long-term goals, raising my children, coping with trials, and appreciating my blessings. It's a link between myself and the Lord who so willingly sacrificed his everything so that I could have everything, without hesitation or doubt. It is unchanging, unfailing, and hugely underestimated. It's my lifeline; by and through it I am who I am, and growing, still. TRULY.. Inspired.

What's inspired YOU today? :)

xo | cmd

Christine's Creative, Too!



christine's DIY watch



I hope I'm not the only halfway creative person out there who occasionally goes through a lull in craft productivity. I'll find myself lapsing through spurts of weeks on end where I'm essentially pining to get my hands on some beads or yarn and needles, to forge some sort of necklace, earring set, scarf, something. Adversely, I'm known to lay all creative urge to rest for another few weeks in order to pursue some other endeavor.

Todayyyy, Christine waltzed on by with a little diddy on her wrist that prompted my asking of where she'd found it. As it turns out, she made it. High FIVE! Another kindred DIY spirit. I shouldn't really be so surprised, what with Pinterest taking over the world one household at a time, but it was a watch that she'd made, and I realized quickly I've yet to make a watch. I was actually a little shocked at that revelation, but hey, that just gives me another halfway-justifiable reason to make a trip to Goodwill, maybe eeeeven Michael's or Hobby Lobby... << You know it's serious when I volunteer to pay full MSRP on anything, even craft material. Just sayin'.

Anyway, so I'm going to bid adieu for now to the computer and get my brain warmed up for some designing. I'll letcha know how this one pans out.

xo | cmd

Hello, Color!

Hello, Almost Spring!

Sure, it's just barely March here in the midwest, but I have to say I don't think I can remember the last time I saw weather this consistently tolerable so early in the year. There have been a few days of chilly temps and gusting breeze, but for the most part, the weather vibe here seems advanced for where we sit on the calendar. I'm allll for it.

To celebrate the positive impact that all this beautiful weather has had on our family alone, Sydni decided she wanted to doll up [from head to toe] in purple. It's her current favorite color, and a good one at that. She flaunted her purple all morning before she exhausted herself and wound up collapsed on my lap. She's a party animal, really. Hah.

While she [and Joe] were taking their afternoon snoozes, I took the opportunity to play with some color myself. It's been a little while since I had the bead boxes spread out in front of me, ripe for the picking. I dusted off the dress form and took to building around her neck until I completed the first of [hopefully] many pieces that will claim birthday to this spring. :)



newest pinterest addition!



I'm pretty excited, too, that I've finished that, and now this, with 20 minutes to spare before we're scheduled to be back at church for our last night of our Rick Warren 40 Days in the Word study.

I'm also fairly excited that I feel exponentially better than I did at this time last week. Meagan returns to work tomorrow, and the week will surely pick back up at full speed.

40DITW, here we come!

xo | cmd

Jewelry Blitz

I went on a bit of a rampage tonight.

Over the past few weeks, I've re-engulfed myself into Pinterest, and I've gathered a definite amount of pinspiration from doing such. Tonight, I devoted the evening to channeling that inspired thought into the boxes of beads, fixtures, and chain that comprise my collection.

Result?

See for yourself.

bake marbles at 350 degrees for 25 minutes
glue on end caps

add jingle and jangle :)

 

matching earrings



touch of turquoise and copper



pewter trumpet and bits of red

So I got a little carried away. It's cool :) 

You know what else is cool? 

It's FRIDAY!
[hello, weekend!]

xo | cmd

I Haven't Forgotten....

It dawned on me today that in the midst of my newly-fashioned obsession with knitting, I've let my beadwork fall to the wayside. How rude of me. I made a resolution today to fish the bins of un-assigned beads, wire, fastenings, and other random trinkets out from hiding and give them some long-absent attention.



current knitting endeavor

 With Christmas just around the corner, I tend to be a little more bold in color selections and textures, simply because I feel like this is a brilliant time to celebrate boldness and color. Don't ask me how I arrived at that particular correlation, but I felt the distinct need to hone in on the array of ceramics over which I've always debated in adding to pieces. Why? Well, for starters, they're not cheap, and once I've incorporated them into a necklace or other piece, they are then no longer available for anything else. It's a ridiculous battle I'm constantly perpetuating in my own head, which could easily be remedied if I weren't so stinkin' fickle.

Whatev'.


ceramics: o, how i love you.

 Either way, I sorted out some ceramics today that, along the way, became part of a collection instead of a wearable item. I wound up losing focus on beads and leaning back on knitting when I realized that I should be crafting jewelry to match knitting projects, and vice versa. Hello, genius. Wake up.

That being said, I'll be taking Christmas gifts to a whole new level this week. Haha.
I'll keep you posted.

xo | cmd

Runnin' Round Town

… Causin’ trouble!

Not really. I figure that’d probably be maternally irresponsible of me to conjure up mischief with Sydni in the backseat. Or so I’ve heard. :P



cowgirl up!

We headed to church today after Sydni found her cowgirl boots and insisted on sporting them to the morning worship service. The rest of the prime daytime hours today were dedicated to running all over St. Louis and Belleville. Our first mission was to get to a Fifth Third ATM. That doesn’t sound like much of a feat for my Cincinnati/N.Kentucky folks, but here in the Metro East, the Fifth Thirds are all in St. Louis or beyond. So to make deposits, we endure a 30-40 minute drive each way, and get to see all of the newest construction efforts in downtown St. Louis. Woot woot.

We swung by Creve Cour Camera to get an estimate on repairing my poor [still broken] D90. I was pleased to find out that the fixing cost is way below what I’d expected. We walked into

St. Clair Square

on a mission to find a Claire’s or Icing, and found a Piercing Pagoda kiosk right inside the door. Sydni had somehow lost one of her earrings and had been reminding me all morning. We picked up two new pairs for her, and she’s now sporting two miniature September Sapphires. Then it was Michael’s to take a look at some beads for a few birthday presents that need to be made, and finally it was home for Syd’s much-needed nap and my time to take care of some laundry and dishes.

Pretty solid Sunday. Tomorrow will be my first time dropping Sydni off at her on-base daycare; Joe usually does this since he’s obviously headed that way. If my math is right, it’s going to be a long drive to work.

Ciao!

xo | cmd

Labor Day Projects

Happy Labor Day!

I find it particularly ironic that I was off work today, while my husband, who works for the government, was at his desk for a large portion of the day. Interesting.

I'm not complaining at all though; I had the entire day to spend with Sydni, which is a rare occurrence these days. It was a long overdue Mommy-Daughter day, and I soaked up every minute of it.  We ran all kinds of errands to continue tying up all the ends for the wedding, and we even took on a project together. She pooped out on me halfway through it, which was okay, because spray paint and nails really aren't appropriate for toddlers.

Spray paint and nails?

Yup. Let's backtrack to a week or so back when Meagan planted the idea in my head of an idea she'd seen for a jewelry rack. It was perfect timing, since the current setup I have at home is apparently failing, miserably. For a long time, my system seemed flawless - I had one of those brushed chrome shower caddy things on a hook hanging over my closet door, from which I hung everything from necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and even clipped on any accessories that lacked hooks. What I didn't realize was that, because I'm constantly producing new pieces, that sucker got pretty heavy. About a week ago, Sydni flung the closet door shut and the whole operation came crashing down, breaking several pieces and creating a huge mess.


step 1 [top left]: detach ugly picture from neat frame
step 2 [top right]: attach leather thread & nails
step 3 [bottom left]: spray paint and wait....
step 4 [bottom right]: hang!



Long story short: this idea of Meagan's requires an empty picture frame with wire/ribbon/string across the center for hanging things, and some nails along the sides for additional space. I jumped all over that, and used it as a viable excuse to head to Goodwill. I don't ever need an excuse to go there, but it didn't hurt. I found the perfect frame, surely passed by because of the rustic artwork it held, and snagged it up for a whopping $3. My next stop was Hobby Lobby, where I grabbed some last minute bead needs and a can of textured spray paint for $7. I had nails at home, along with a great scrap roll of leather string, so the whole project cost $10 and took about an hour from start to finish.



before & after



I have to admit, it does look much better than the shower caddy, which still hangs in its old spot but is now home to a small variety of cords, cables, and camera accessories. It's still useful, but in moving jewelry over, I realized a few pieces had been hidden in the condensed clutter, so everyone wins with this one.

AND!
While I was waiting for the paint to dry on the frame, I went ahead and wrapped up something that's been on my creative to-do list for just over a week now. Diana had brought me an earring whose match she had somehow lost over time, and didn't want to wear the rest of the ensemble until every piece was in tune. I couldn't find the exact beads, but I did my best with what I had to re-create a similar idea.



original in the center, mine on the sides



Doesn't look too bad, right? :)

So, by the time Joe got home, we had all kinds of things show him. He only laughs, because he's well aware of how nutty I get when it comes to making jewelry or taking on other miscellaneous projects.

This is going to be a short work week, and I am A-OKAY[!!] with that.

Happy Labor Day!

xo | cmd

Bridesmaid Jewelry

In the true spirit of a DIY-er, I've taken it upon myself to create my own wedding invitations [done], rsvp's [done], table cards [done], programs [in progress], and of course bridesmaid jewelry.


jewelry in progress

I'm workin' on it.
Tonight.
It will be finished... I just didn't want to forget to tell the whole audience of [none?] here.

Yeah.

xo | cmd

Base Picnic & Bible Study

Today started off with waffles. A day that starts off with waffles is rarely ever a bad day. Haha.

waffle time!

The boys headed out to meet up with Kyle, Lorne, & Nick to help one of their buddies move his things out of a storage unit. Sydni and I hung back to clean up, which we finished sooner than we thought. That meant some free time for jewelry!

Behold:

handmade fun:
dragonfly pendent for mama
simple purple droplet for sydni

Sydni & I headed to the Sandven’s and the lot of us trekked over to the Scott AFB picnic. We hadn’t been to a base picnic yet, so we weren’t sure what to expect. It was a free event, and the entire base was invited. This thing was huge, more like an outdoor festival with free food, swag, and hot, hot sun. We ate, we walked, and we played. Definitely not a bad day for a picnic. We took Eric over to the lake for some cool-down cornhole before we headed back home to get ready for Bible study.



local radio station promo inflatable | eric & joe trying out a picnic game




bengals cornhole



rick warren

Towerview has a couple’s bible study that takes place every other Friday at the pastor’s house. This was our first session; the topic series tonight was the first of three on Raising Your Kids Without Raising Your Blood Pressure. How appropriate! J Excluding us, the pastor and his wife, there were five other couples in attendance, all with at least one child. We watched a video lesson by Rick Warren on parenting, and had a group discussion following. I was thoroughly impressed with how it went, and with how warm and welcoming this group is. I have a feeling we’re going to fit in and stay here. We’ll see.

We plan on doing a little touring tomorrow! The Gateway Arch, in St. Louis is on our list, along with either the Anheuser-Busch brewery or Grant Farm. We’ll see what we fancy more when we wake up in the morning….

xo | cmd