January Obsessions

I can't believe it's been so long since I've done one of these, that must be remedied immediately! This month some of my favorites are:

Pitch perfect. Yes I am months behind but I'm making up for it. I love musicals and 

this one although not your typical musical is great.

My new Ukulele. I've been playing it nonstop and it's so much fun to learn. It's my

 first string instrument and I was a little nervous going from piano to a completely new 

way to playing music but it's so much fun! I only know a few songs but this was 

definitely worth the investment. 

Fruit Smoothies especially pineapple ones have been my favorite recently. I go 

through phases where I love certain types of fruit and this month has been pineapple, 

so yummy. I've been adding all kinds of fruits together and they combine so well. 

Deliciousness

Thrift Shop cover by Pentatonix. I've been on a major youtube singers kick. In case you haven't heard of them, above is pentatonix  they're an awesome all vocal group. There's 

also Sam Tsui, Tyler Ward, Chester See and many more.

Mason Jar to go Cup. Super old post from the lovely Fine + Feathered. With it getting warmer and warmer down here I would love to have this little guys as a tag along 

on my car trips!

What have you been loving this month?

Florida Winter Weather

When you think Florida 45 degree weather probably isn't in your mind, but the last week has been so nice! The weather up north has been much colder than here, but I am very grateful for the "cold" this week. Got to break out some of my favorite sweaters!

Boots + Sweater/Thrifted, Jeans + Purse/ American Eagle, Necklace/ Send Something good via Megan

There's a beautiful downtown area where my parents live and it's so nice to go into privately owned shops. There is definitely a different atmosphere and a uniqueness about any downtown area. And the food, let me tell you, it's delicious. My favorite find of the weekend was these boots! I've been wearing them nonstop the last few days. I hope everyone is staying warm weather (accidental pun but I'm keeping it ) that is in 40 degree weather or 2 degree weather.

Create a Cozy Bedroom

1. List your favorites, style, fabrics, colors, animals, places to visit, hobbies you enjoy. At this point don't even think about decorating, just write what you like down. A few resources can be a Pinterest check to see what you tend to pin the most, or a look in your closet and see which colors, or textures you tend to be drawn to the most.
2. Make your bed as comfy as possible. This is one place that it's important not to skim; now by no means does this have to equal a lot of money, but it does equal more time. I love pillows, so for me having my bed cozy is equal to having more pillows than your average bed. In the saving money department you can mix patterns with solids, add a cover to your existing pillows or even make your own pillow covers to allow your room to reflect more of your personality.

3. Curtains and Rugs. Even if your floor is carpet adding a fluffy or unique rug encourages a cozy atmosphere, and honestly there's nothing better than waking up and stepping on a comfy rug. Adding curtains helps to soften what can be harsh corners of a window, you can even add more than one rod and double layer your curtains or combine multiple styled curtains to one rod.
4. Organize the clutter. I have a bad habit of using my desk chair as a catch all, but if you can organize and know where every item in your room should go it becomes more likely that you will want to keep them in their designated spots. I actually just made a closet shoe organizer and it makes me that much happier to go into my closet!

5. Chang around the items on your wall, and if there are none get something up there. This is a tip for me personally, if your style is minimalist having a collage on your wall may seem overwhelming and that's completely fine. Whatever inspires you and makes you smile when you see it, that's what should be on your wall.
6. Lighting! When I really want to feel cozy in my room I read before bed with my side table lamp on instead of my ceiling fan. I know this may sound odd, but try it sometime. Even changing one light can change the feel of a room. I still use my overhead lighting most of the time, but some times it's nice to have the other options of a side table lamp or lighting candles.

7. Make it you and have fun! The most important tip of all is have your room be a reflection of your personality, because at the end of the day who is going to be living in your room? You. It doesn't matter if you can hang things on you walls or if you have to use sticky tack, as long as you're happy with the final appearance your room can become your own personal oasis!

Arrow Art DIY

For over a year there has been a very awkward empty wall in my bathroom, and I couldn't think of anything I was willing to put there. If I put a picture the frame could get ruined by the heat, or a favorite painting could have water damage from the shower, I kept coming up with excuses until I came back from Christmas break and couldn't look at the emptiness any longer. And here is my solution to many a problem, make it myself!

Needed: Canvas, An old book you don't mind tearing out pages in, modge podge, large and small paintbrushes, and paint

1. Cut out a page from your book and tear it into different size sections. I used all pages from the "A" section of my encyclopedia because I'm drawing an arrow, not that anyone will notice but it's the small details that I love.
2. Modge podge your heart out. I was using a canvas that I had previously painted on so for mine to be covered it took about three pages. I had never used modge podge before, and especially because I made it myself I was a little nervous how it would turn out but it was completely fine. I'm not sure if this is standard modge podge procedure or not but I found that if I put a layer down before and after I placed my paper it adhered much better and didn't bubble.

3. Let your background completely dry and then start painting!
4. A possible extra step if you're like me and don't have a hook on the back is to attach one or find a way to attach your art to the wall. I chose to make a sort of ledge out of two nails and one above to prevent it from falling. I like that it gave a slight mechanical finish to the project.

2013 The First Week

January 1- I woke up to my first etsy sale!! I was so ecstatic; I did my first sale dance and jumped around my living room. Then I had the first sale "what do I do now?" phase, it was rather comical. I also got to spend some time with my dad at the driving range, golf is so much harder than it looks. I am still slightly sore from using the muscles I never use.

January 2/3- This was the first year in a few years that I didn't have the opportunity to go to Passion conference in Atlanta, and needless to say I was pretty bummed about it. After seeing many posts on Facebook about how awesome it was being there I suddenly remembered that they had live streaming! So although I didn't get to be there in person it was so nice to watch online and still be a part of Passion Conference. If you would like to know more about what Passion Conference is or support some of the causes they brought awareness to googling it is always the fastest way.

January 4/5- Found some lovelies thrifting, including this Tiffany box! I picked it up almost hugging it when I first saw it, I may like Tiffany. I also worked out some, I'm not sure if it was the machines I was on or what but my calories burned were sporadic depending on the machine.

January 6/7- I can't believe the first week of 2013 is already over! To finish up the week I did a cute DIY project for my room (which will be coming to the blog tomorrow) and then had to go back to school. Definitely not the most thrilling aspect of my week, but I did get coffee and that always helps.
Hope your first week was splendid! Here we come 2013!