I actually won something...

I actually won something..and it's awesome! I've entered lots of blog giveaways but have never won anything. Come to think of it, I can't think of any sort of giveaway that I've ever won..til now!

Sarah at Frills for Thrills (super cute blog) had a Shabby Apple necklace giveaway,and it's a necklace that I totally would have picked out myself, such a cool piece!

So thank you Sarah, and Shabby Apple for the new amazing necklace!

Latest Obsession

I am currently OBSESSED with nail art blogs. These people are crazy talented and they all seem to have mastered the "I'm right handed so anything cool I try to paint with my left hand sucks real bad" problem. I think my favorite site I've found so far is Hey, Nice Nails! The stuff they do is nuts, and they just do it for funsies usually.

I'm currently in the middle of moving (again) and most of my art supplies are packed away, so this new hobby came at a perfect time! I can still paint and be creative and not have to bust out all my art stuff. Also I'm hoping that as I get better it'll help me stop biting my nails :/ I figure if I have pretty art on my nails I'll be less likely to want to gnaw it off..eh? Worth a shot!

OPI is my favorite brand because they always come out with awesome lines. Katy Perry has had one, Pirates of the Caribbean, Glee, and now they're coming out with a line for The Muppets! And guess who snagged a bottle early??....meeee :D Rainbow Connection!

It's like a friggin party on my nails! 10x more sparkly and colorful in person too.

I'll share more pictures as I try more stuff out...if it's good :)

Food Blogs

There is a pretty decent sized list of blogs that I follow and make sure to read everyday. Most of them are just fun life and style blogs but I must say, the food blogs that I follow are my absolute favorites. I love photography and food bloggers always seem to take really, really good pictures of their food. Not to mention, their food always sounds delicious and they have definitely inspired me to cook more and try harder recipes.

I just got done reading one that made me get up and make what she had as soon as I had finished reading the post. I decided after that, that I should do a post on these few food blogs that I love, because I think everyone should enjoy their lovely-ness.

First is Joy The Baker.

I looove the photos she takes of her food and her writing style. She's funny, sweet and likes to drink...that's my kinda girl :) She's coming out with a cookbook soon so she really knows what she's doing too. Her recipes can be a bit more challenging at times, but they always turn out amazing.

Next is Emma at Food Coma

She's the gal in charge of the tasty goodies available at the Red Velvet shop, and she started a food blog to show some of the things she makes at home. Her photos are bright and airy, and her recipes are usually pretty easy to follow. A few of her recipes have found their way into my go-to recipe book now too.

Veggie, pesto, goat cheese sandwich. YUM.

Yogurt Pancakes. YUM again.

The recipe box section makes it easy to find what you're looking for or just to get good ideas.

Next up is Sprouted Kitchen, a husband and wife duo.

I honestly just started following because the photographs are so well done, but the more I read the more I liked the food as well. The hubby takes the photos, and the wife is the mastermind behind the vegan and very healthy recipes. I have yet to be brave enough to try any thing from them, because some of the ingredients can be harder to find, but I love checking in to see what they've added.

Last is my favorite photography centered food website. It's called Food Porn Daily, and that's just what it is. Amazing food pictures, one added everyday, and it can be pretty addictive. When I first stumbled upon the site and I kept clicking through the photos for waaaay too long. I like it because anyone can send in a picture of pretty food, but the people who run the site get to be very selective and choose the best of the bunch for that days picture, so you get a great quality photo. They came out with a book as well that has recipes along with the photos, but the website does not. Sometimes that can be frustrating when something sounds especially delicious, but I've usually been able to find something like it by searching the web.

So there ya go. Take a look, drool a little, and then go make some tasty food!

And feel free to leave me links to any good food blogs you know of!

Jewelry Displays (part 2)

This is the second project I did for a jewelry display, and it was the easiest project ever. It was basically done when I bought it! I had seen the idea for this a few years back but I don't have the slightest idea which blog it was..whoops. Anyway it called for a thread spool holder like this one:

Well I have been on the hunt for one ever since and it turns out they're kind of hard to find. Just a few weeks ago, however, I made a stop at Goodwill to look for a small table to prettify and instead of a table I found a thread stand! I almost missed it, hiding in the corner on the floor. It was actually two pieces that ended up just snapping together, and it was already painted gold which goes with the room I put it in. 4 bucks and about 5 minutes is all it took, and it had it's spot on the wall! I love it, and now I just have to find all my bracelets and rings and hang them up...here it is:

It isn't the stand kind which is great because it can be on the wall, not taking up space on my vanity or the bathroom counter. I also like that it fit in this spot because it used up wall that nothing else looked right on.

If you find one with legs they could be taken off easily, and you'd have the same wall hanging display as this one, but I also think it looks great as a stand if you have the room! Alright there it is, hope it's useful!

Jewelry Displays (part 1)

Hello. My name is Aubrey. And I, am a shopaholic.

That's right, clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry...you name it, I have waaay too much of it. That's the problem with living with your parents while working full time/two jobs and only paying for school. The rest of your moolah goes wherever the heck else you want it to..and I reeeally like shopping. So now I'm in a new house with a poor boy who realizes, too late I might add :), that he got not only me but ALL my stuff. I feel bad, I do, but I also really like said stuff. I got rid of a pretty decent amount when I moved in, but it's still pretty bad, and I decided I should come up with interesting ways to store all my stuff. Putting purses and shoes in the closet in my craft room, reorganizing drawers and closets that could be more functional if shown some love, and using normally unused wall space to display jewelry.

The first project I did was a necklace..hanger? holder? I don't know what to call it but I like how it turned out haha.

Step 1: I bought a plain wood shelf from Hobby Lobby, and painted it white.

Step 2: I bought a pack of tea cup hooks.

Step 3: I measured and marked dots on the underside of the shelf where I planned to put the hooks.

Step 4: I hammered starter holes with a small nail in each spot to make it easier to screw in the hooks. Those can be screwed in by hand and then tightened with pliers.

Step 5: Figure out where you want it on the wall and then measure, mark where the screws go and hang it up (of course I like guesstimating so i put it up crooked about 3 times..as long as you never take it off the wall again you'll never know, right? heh heh)

Step 6: Hang all your necklaces up, stand back, and admire your craftiness!

The last picture of it isn't that great, but I really love how it looks. Right now I have random earrings and headbands on it, but eventually I'll put a painting up there. I like it because it uses up the wall space above the toilet in a functional way. I might have hung a picture there normally but now I can use the space to display my jewelry (and it's way better than having them tangled up in jewelry boxes!) and I can still put art up there too. Yay!

Hope this ones useful to other jewelry hoarders out there :)

Room redo: Kids room

Well look at me sucking at being a better blogger haha. That idea lasted about two weeks I think. Oh well, at least I came back...eventually...again :) And I'm way excited to show one of the things I've been up to!

My love's daughter is almost four years old and was in a room that still had baby toys, and care bear decorations EVERYWHERE. Don't get me wrong, I loves me some care bears, just not in the randomly placed wall decal and bedding set form.

I wanted to redo her room and since we don't have her with us all the time I decided to do it when she was away and surprise her! I figured out what I wanted to do with the space and bought all the things I needed, but put it off (surprise, surprise) for about a month. I couldn't decided if I wanted to paint the walls or leave them white, but monday morning I had a

moment of inspiration and left for the paint store before I got distracted! I'm so glad I did because the room only took me a day and a half to complete and I am in love with it! I've been going in to admire it at least 3 (..10) times a day haha. So without further ado, here are the before and after pictures----

BEFORE:

blah.

Her room isn't this messy normally, this was after I decided to paint and I piled all of her stuff in the middle of the room.

Just randomly place care bears on boring white walls.

AFTER:

I've since added polka dot curtains that I made out of the top sheet from her new bedding. I figure kids always kick those to the bottom of the bed anyway so I might as well get better use out of them!

I got rid of any baby toys and put larger toys in the closet so that there isn't a lot of clutter around the room. The doll house and easel get the most use so those stayed out.

So there it is! Hope you like!

We're actually surprising her with it in a few hours, I'm excited! Hopefully she loves it! If not maybe I'll sleep in there! ;)

technological art

This could be considered art right? Maybe nerd art?

I think so. But then again..I'm currently a little obsessed :)

This is the first fancy phone I've ever had,

and now I'm definitely never going back.

I haven't even come close to figuring everything out

but these new phones are amazing.

Nerds you are awesome. Thank you for my new phone.