Wednesday, December 23, 2009

time to go

so my dear friends...
today, A and I are off to go here...


where i am sure we will be visiting this a few times...


and i get to see my sister and the rest of my wonderful family...


where we get to celebrate christmas and praise the Lord for sending us His son to die so that we may have a chance to live. {1 john 4:10}.

i pray that y'all have a perfect christmas spending time with your loved ones and relaxing. and i pray the Lord reminds us throughout the next week that it is not about the gifts or food or time spent with loved ones {even though those are all wonderful things} but about praising our Father who loved us enough to give us His son.

merry christmas sweets! i will be taking a little break from blogging {since my sweet little grandparents do not have internet} but i will be back next week full of stories and pictures and gifts to share with all!

until then...
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

{merry} movies

i love christmas time for a lot of reasons. one of those reasons would be all the wonderful christmas movies that i soak up throughout the month of december.

my all-time favorite would be 'elf' but there are many that suite my fancy this time of the year.













and i have never seen this movie {i know i know...it's a classic} but i really want to. maybe this year will be my year.


what are some of your favorite christmas classics?
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old as new

i am a big believer in working with what you have and so it is with that belief that i decided to makeover a little tray in my living room.

one of my roommates bought this little tray at some point during college. nobody took the tray with them so i brought it with me down here to SC with hopes to make it work {oh tim gunn...how i love you. tangent. sorry.}

it started out as a little wooden tray that had been painted a dark magenta (plum?).


it had cute bones but the color didn't go with my new apartment. so i spray painted it with a few coats of gray paint. then i added a little scrapbook paper (white with small tiny blue polka dots) to the bottom and cut a piece of plastic to create a little bit of interest in my new tray.


for a few bucks and some elbow grease i think it turned out pretty cute. and it matches my new apartment much better.

so i encourage you to work with pieces that you have my friends. a little makeover can do wonders and make old pieces feel/look brand new!
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Monday, December 21, 2009

a show


a few weeks ago over thanksgiving break, A's family took us to see Cirque Du Soleil's "Alegria" show. it was fabulous and such eye candy for the 1.5-2 hour performance. i loved the music and the costumes were super fun. it is amazing what people can do. i would never be that flexible/strong to do the things that the performers do.

here is a little picture of A and I at the show.


it was a great show and i definitely recommend it to blogland.
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Sunday, December 20, 2009

sunday musings


hi friends. back for another round of sunday musings...

1. this weekend, A and I went to his dad's house to celebrate christmas. it was wonderful spending time with his family. however, weekends go by way too fast. that's. not. cool.

2. on wednesday, we leave to spend christmas with my family in florida. i cannot wait. i am so excited to see my family and hang out on a beach. (its not warm enough to lay out. boo hiss. but it is still a beach)

3. i apologize for missing lovely friday last week. i still do not have internet at my house and friday was a jam packed day. i actually might take a little lovely friday break. not because i don't love lovely fridays (i do) but the next 2 fridays happen to fall on pretty big holidays (christmas and new years), both of which i will prob not post on. so come the beginning of the year, lovely fridays will be back. pinky swear.

4. i have ONE more christmas present to buy. it's december 20. i leave for vacation in 3 days. i should get on that.

5. i bought leggings awhile ago {these to be exact} and i am officially obsessed. now i just need to increase my legging and boot collections so i can wear them way more often.

6. i would like to see some snow here in SC. on friday, they swore up and down we were going to get some. however, we got freezing rain/sleet instead. the snow was literally about 10 miles north of us. stupid.

7. i really really really miss having a washer and dryer. consider yourself lucky/blessed to have them in your house if you do.

8. i keep telling myself i need to straighten up/deep clean my apartment. that started about 4 weeks ago. it still has yet to be done.

and that completes my musings for now...
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photo found on flickr here

Thursday, December 17, 2009

a christmas craft

well...i can finally share one of my christmas crafts with you. girls christmas was this past weekend {it was beyond fabulous} and the girls all received their gifts. so now it is time to share them with you.

i made teacup candles.


i followed martha stewart's craftiness found {here}. it was super simple.
supplies you need:
*a mixture of fun little vintage teacups
*wicks and sustainers (i found a set of wicks already attached to the sustainers at michaels for about $3-$4.)
*candles (i picked a favorite scent and bought a bunch of votive candles to melt.)
*wooden skewers (i'm cheap so i used pens)
*2 pots
*candle thermometer

1. place one big pot of simmering water on stove. attach smaller pot on top. this will melt the candles but not burn them. remove candle wicks and add candles to small pot. attach candle thermometer to top pot. MS says to keep melting wax at about 175 degrees.



2. melt candles.

3. while candles are melting...place wicks and sustainers into teacups. i attached them to pens to hold wicks upright while i poured the wax into the teacups. (hope that makes sense)


4. pour melted wax into teacups, leaving about 1/2" of space at the top of the candle.

5. let wax sit to harden (about an hour). poke small holes (i used a toothpick) around wick, going in about 1/4". that way, you remove any air bubbles/pockets.

6. pour wax into teacups to fill air bubbles/pockets, leaving about 1/4" of space at the top of the candle.

7. let wax harden (i let them sit out overnight) and they will be all ready and so adorable. here are my finished products...


i hope these directions make sense. between me and martha you should be able to understand. email me any questions you might have on this tutorial.

happy candle-making!
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

tea to-go

look at these precious little tea to-go cups from mallard tea shops in the UK. they were designed by sarah walsh for the company. i mean...i love the starbucks red cups for christmas but these trump those by a lot. so adorable. i just want to go take a trip the United Kingdom just so i can get some tea in one of these cups.
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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

a christmas gift


i found something absolutely perfect for a holiday present (or a birthday gift, a housewarming or wedding present). oh my goodness...i am so excited to make one of these someday. or actually...better yet, i am going to ask my mom for one. my mom and my grandmom are the best cooks in the world. seriously. and i would love to have all of their favorite recipes. i only hope to one day be an amazing cook like the women in my family so it would be a good place to start.

but how perfect is this gift? it is from Tastebook, a site where you can create your own cookbooks. it is a way to make a collection of your favorite recipes. You can customize it with pictures and messages and even design the cover. how fabulous is that? i can only dream to have one someday.

i'll start dropping hints soon...
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Monday, December 14, 2009

winner winner chicken dinner

ok blogland. so sorry to keep you waiting. i know you are anxious to hear who won the fabulous stationery from mellen.

i must say, i told A that he could be a part of the drawing and he was so excited. here are the steps we took to find our first giveaway winner...

1. we put all of your names on little pieces of paper. i folded them all up nice and even and put them into a pretty little bowl.


2. A shook the bowl up nice and good so that the names would all be good and tossed around.


3. A reached his hand in (we were both squealing with excitement. ok....maybe just me) and out came our winner....


4. A was very excited for our winner (or maybe i begged and pleaded for him to act super excited for my first ever giveaway.)


congrats to holly!

i can't wait for you to get your sweet stationery in the mail and i hope to receive a pretty card someday just so i can see mellen in real life.

thanks to all for entering and a big thank you to mary ellen for sponsoring my new sweet carolina's first giveaway. it was a blast.

make sure to go check out mellen's pretty stationery over on her website {here}. i would be so bold to say that anything from her would be a perfect stocking stuffer for your mama, daughter or sister or a sweet little present for a bestie!
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Friday, December 11, 2009

lovely friday

{don't forget to enter my Mellen giveaway {here} by sunday at midnight! also...my friend from UK britney is hosting a mellen giveaway as well {here}. 2 mellen giveaways? heck yes!}

this lovely friday is dedicated to a little tradition that we besties have. since sophmore year (i think?) of high school, we have had "girls christmas". and 4 of us high school friends have stuck with it all throughout college. we are still going strong even though some of us live in different cities (or states). and we added a college bestie too! so 5 of us girlies get together every year for girls christmas. i get to celebrate with these little ladies...



and this weekend...it's here again. i am driving up to lexington tomorrow to celebrate with my best friends. this girls christmas, we all had to make homemade gifts. i will share what i made along with what the girls made soon!

i also get to see lexington and visit with my favorites (some of which are not a part of girls christmas but they are definitely a priority to see!) and i get to see this sweet family and meet this little guy. i am so excited for my lexington weekend!

i will take plenty of pictures to document girls christmas and my lexington weekend. then i will share it with blogland soon.

girls christmas and lexington road trips definitely make my life so much lovelier.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

100th post + {a giveaway}

you read that right. 100 posts today. that seems so surreal. i started this blog as a way for my family and friends to keep up with my move to SC and to collect all of my random thoughts, decorating inspiration and fashion faves in one place. and 100 posts later i have done just that and picked up some sweet blogger friends along the way. so thank you for listening to my babbling for 100 posts. i hope to babble a lot more in the future and i hope you will all join me for more adventures here in SC.

now onto a fun little announcement. with my 100th post comes my very first giveaway! i am so excited i could squeal. but i am sitting in a crowded starbucks. that might be weird.

i don't know if y'all know but i am absolutely obsessed with stationery. (maybe that should be a future "lovely friday"?) so it seemed fitting that i would give one of my favorite things away for my first giveaway. let me introduce mary ellen from mellen designs...

mary ellen is a sweet little ky girl (wooo hooo) that has an adorable stationery line. here is a little blurb from her website...

Mary Ellen is a Kentucky girl who likes to flaunt her southern style and enjoys a good helping of color and whimsy! Her social stationery company, MEllen Designs offers a fresh new signature style of stationery for women. In each whimsical design you’ll find lively colors, a humorous spirit and southern simplicity. Browse her website {here} or keep up with new designs and inspirations through her blog {here}.

mary ellen has graciously offered 2 designs from her wonderful stationery collection. the winner will receive a pack of her "merry christmas" cards


and a pack of her "black and white balcony" cards.


how stunning are these cards? i am so jealous. can i enter into my own giveaway? no? that's inappropriate? well dang it...

so enough babbling...here are the details:

prize: one pack of Mellen "Merry Christmas" cards and one pack of Mellen "Black and White Balcony" cards.
to enter: go visit mary ellen's website {here}. after visiting her site, leave me a comment letting me know your name and email address.
contest closes: sunday, december 13 at midnight EST.
winner: one lucky reader

i will announce the winner on monday december 14th. good luck my sweets!
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Saturday, December 5, 2009

nail it

it is common knowledge by now that i love to have my nails painted. it's pretty rare that i don't have polish on. i just think it adds a little pretty-ness to your hands.

when it gets all cold and wintery outside, i love to paint my nails dark. i know some of you girls didn't jump on the black nail polish trend a few years ago. i did but discovered that instead of black, i like the deep purples and dark navy blues instead. i have 3 favorites that i pretty much rotate from november to march.

OPI Light My Sapphire
OPI Russian Navy
OPI Lincoln Park After Midnight

have you girls tried any dark nail polish? have any favorites?
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pictured above is Russian Navy.

Friday, December 4, 2009

a need

well maybe it's less of a need and more of a want. regardless...i need some bookshelves in my apartment stat.




know where i could find some white bookshelves on the cheap?
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lovely friday

this friday is all about christmas music. i love listening to christmas music throughout the month of december. nothing else will bring out the christmas spirit like this does.

i have lots of favorites that make my christmas season that much lovelier...

the rat pack (who doesn't love a little sinatra?)



jessica simpson (her voice is just beautiful)


and drew holcomb and the neighbors


drew holcomb and his sweet wife ellie are some friends of mine. they create amazing music. ellie has a deep, raspy singing voice that matches perfectly with drew's soulful sound. put the two together and you have perfection. i highly suggest you get this cd.

i hope y'all have been listening to some christmas music this week. can you believe christmas is only 21 days away. that makes me freak out. so much to do. so much to do....
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go check out drew and ellie's website {here}

Thursday, December 3, 2009

thoughts

*this week i have been sick. it started last weekend and i just thought it was my allergies flaring up. now it's like a bad cold/sinus infection. bleh. i hate being sick. {prayers appreciated}

*all i want to do is decorate my first little apartment for christmas and start my crafts. however, as stated above, my sickness just makes me want to lay on a couch and rest all day. = not productive

*last night, while i was laying on my couch and surfing the tv for something to watch, i came across modern family. i don't know if any of y'all watch it but i loved it. it was hysterical. i'll be back for more.

*i have a lot of countdowns going on in my head right now. lots of exciting events coming up this month...all of which i will share with blogland soon.

3 out of my 4 thoughts revolve around being sick. stupid.

that's all i've got for now. back to my couch.
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oh my kate!

kate spade has debuted a clothing line and oh my word...it is adorable. her line is filled with classic and girly pieces. right up my alley. i would like lots of things from kate spade. however, with price tags in the hundreds of dollars, i won't be filling my closet with anything soon. unless they want to send me all of my favorites for free. that would be a great christmas present. pretty please?

feast your eyes my sweets....







i love love love that polka-dot blouse at the top. i mean...in love. and you know my obsession with sparkly heels {remember these?} but seriously...i'll take all of these. what do y'all think?

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