Knitted Lovlies

Fall and Winter (in Michigan at least) is a time for knitting.  I love just snuggling up under a blanket, watching endless Netflix, and knitting and crocheting the day away.  So since I started working at Joann's I've gotten really good deals on yarn.  I've decided to start making small knitted things and selling them!  Why not?  Here are a few things I've made in the last few months.  I've mostly been making headbands and some simpler scarves.  Let me know if I can make you one!

DIY Beach Jar

 My friend has a beautifully decorated, beach-themed basement and what better to give her for her birthday than a decoration to add to her space.  I found this tutorial on Pinterest and souped it up a bit to make it my own.  Definitely check out that mini tutorial and I will show you what I used as well.

Guatemala

Hello from Panajachel! I am here in Guatemala on a two week vacation spending some time with family :)

It's been so relaxing and I've been so blessed by everyone around me. I've been here a little over a week now and dread the day I have to go. I love the way of life here and wish people in America would adapt to some of the traditions and tranquility of this country. I know we cannot lie in a hammock everyday (as I am now haha) but I wish we could make things more simple and love more and cherish everything. 

Here's just a preview of some of the many pictures I have taken so far:

My adorable cousin Benjamin. 

More Organizing

I organized my bathroom cabinet finally.  I also started to clean out my closet but that's not quite finished so I won't post pictures quite yet.  Also I am horrible at remembering to take "before" so I apologize in advance haha.  These before and after pictures may not look like a lot but I threw away a bunch of stuff and condensed things in a more orderly fashion.  I have my "counter space" back too which is lovely.  So here they are:

Organizing the Pantry

I am not the most organized person I know but I would like to become a little better at it.  Organizing keeps my mind less cluttered and it's way easier to find things (who knew??).  So I set off on the task of organizing my pantry which took a lot more work than I thought it would.  I researched many organizing tips, pictures, and blogs to be sure I had everything I needed to prepare myself.  I bought some bins to store things and fabric to cover boxes to make things all coordinated.  And then I began the actual organizing...



Here's a before shot:

DIY Mint and Polka Dot Nails

My first nail tutorial!  I found one similar to this somewhere else and made my own version.  My mom wanted her nails done for her birthday and I thought this would be fun.

New year

Hello there blogosphere and happy new year. I'm having a hard time choosing a New Years resolution just because whenever I say I will lose weight it never happens and in don't think I necessarily need to this year. So I'm trying to think of a better New Years resolution because I just want to be a better person this year. God has given me this year to live and I want to live it with purpose.

Finally Finished

I have finally finished the blanket I've been working on since February. It started as a wedding gift for my sister and her husband and it turned into a Christmas present. It was literally completed on Christmas Day. I feel quite accomplished and relieved now that it's done. Here it is:

Red Jeans

So I just got a pair of red skinny jeans, which are so fun and fashionable for fall, and I'm trying to decide what to wear with them.  I wore a cute chiffon floral top with them today with pops of red in it that ended up looking really cute.  So here are the jeans and some options of what I want to wear with them:

Fall

Huge scarves, tall boots, and cute jackets.  Now I remember why I live in Michigan.

You get to experience all the seasons (like it or not) and with the seasons come the fashion.  Fall clothes are always anticipated after the long summer of tiny shorts and barely there tank tops.  You get to wear your favorite jeans again and pull out those fluffy sweaters and discover things you forgot you had.  So go wash the musty smell out of your fall things, take inventory of your stock, and get inspired by the lovely weather we're having!

These are just a few of my autumn favorites:

All found on my Pinterest page

My Top 9 Fashion Accessories

I'm loving all the unique and creative things we can wear on our bodies these days that aren't just limited to clothing.  I'm not a big wearer or accessories but I'm in love with a few things that are out there right now.  I think everyone should try at least one of these trending items to spice up their wardrobe a little bit :)

New Job

I don't know if a lot of you knew this so I thought this would be the best way to tell everyone: I am now working at Victoria's Secret!  It's not as glamorous as you might think, I'm only doing shipment processing 6 to 10 am shifts.  But I still had to go out and buy all black clothes and I get all the many perks of working there so that's nice :)  So right now I have 5 weeks of school left, working like crazy at Delia's because of back-to-school season, and working early mornings 3 days a week at VS.  So here's just a little preview of my daily life, one job to another:

Diet ~ Follow up

Great news: I lost 8 pounds overall.  It's a great feeling to have made it through the diet and to have lost weight actually.  I'm also very glad it is finished :) again here's the link to the diet.



I have a few things I want to suggest when doing this diet:

Diet ~ Day 7

I made it!!  Well...almost.  I've been eating really well today, I've only had fish and mushrooms and broccoli so far today.  And I feel like I'm a new person.  My goal after today is just to have healthier eating habits.  I really think I'm able to do that.  I'm still gonna follow up tomorrow with my final results but I'm so glad I made it through and I hope I've inspired some people to go out and do this diet, or make up your own, or just start taking care of your body.

Diet ~ Day 6

I made it through day 6!  Today was a bit rougher than normal because I really just want to get back to eating regularly.  I just want to eat fruit on the vegetable days and I want things like crackers and cheese and cake :)  The bad thing is I'm feeling kind of sick, like bad headaches and slight dizziness.  I want to say it's because of my lack of things I normally eat everyday and this diet is more like a detox and a cleanse than an actual diet.  It will help rejuvenate my body and help me crave less of the "bad" foods.  Tomorrow I'm supposed to do the miracle soup all day but I'm going to do meat and fruits and vegetables.  I'm thinking tomorrow will be the hardest day so I don't expect myself not to give in to some things a little bit.  I'll probably eat some things not on the list but in moderation.  I'm excited to see the full results by Monday!

Diet ~ Day 5

I'm so happy I get to eat meat today.  I don't realize I miss it so much when I don't eat any for 4 days!  Today is kinda harder though because you only have 2 things on your menu: meat and tomatoes.  It's also difficult because it's a Friday and the weekend really interferes with your dieting schedule.  I'm going to bring some food around today and be a very picky customer when I go out to eat with friends today.  But I am down another pound today so results are showing!

Diet ~ Day 4

It's banana day! This is my favorite day even though you have to have a lot of yogurt and bananas to fill you up.  But there were also cookies at work today and I took a bite of one without thinking and got kind of upset.  Hopefully that cookie doesn't throw me too far off because I'm doing well so far!!  I've got all my bananas ready to eat today but I might need to go out and buy some more yogurt.  I'm in love with Greek yogurt and it's filling so I might have to get some of that.

Diet ~ Day 3

Well, combine the first two days and you get day 3.  So far I have eaten a whole bag of steamer broccoli, a half a container of blueberries, a bowl of frozen mangoes and berries, and an whole cucumber.  I might have to get some more veggies for day 6 because I ate just about everything in the house today.  But it's going really well.  I've lost 7 pounds already!  I know this might not be the best way to lose weight but this is what works for me.  See ya tomorrow for my favorite day: banana day!!

Diet ~ Day 2

Vegetable day!  I remember now how I was feeling last time at this stage.  I have a headache and my face and skin just feel really warm.  But I love vegetables so this day is real easy for me. Stir-fried up some zuchinni, squash, and mushrooms for lunch and I'm really looking forward to that baked potato for dinner.

See my red face? But it's totally worth it!

Diet ~ Day 1

I decided to start today!  I'm hoping that it will help to tell people I'm doing this so I can be motivated to keep going.  So today is fruit day.  I'm having grapes, blueberries, lots of watermelon and maybe a few others if I can find some :) It recommended eating lots of melons because those are the lowest calorie fruits so you will lose the most weight that day if you eat them.  You can find the full diet here and I came across this video which really helped when cutting up the huge watermelon today!

p.s. I also went shopping today because I knew I would need some things for the rest of the week.  Overall, the last time I did this diet, I found it was fairly cheap because most of the stuff you already have at home.  I mainly just buy a lot of fruit and vegetables which don't add up to much.