I have a new blog!

My blog has a new home.  I'd love for you to come over and check it out! Thanks. 
(This would explain the lack of consistent blogging over here.  I've never been more excited to blog than I am right now.  The new blog is bright & shiny and begging to be filled with pretty things, recipes, inspirations, vintage things, & crafty handmade goodness.  Over the next couple of days I will be adding buttons, working on filling in my "tabs" pages, and revising little things.  I appreciate all the love & positive support that all of my readers have given me so far.  I started blogging because it was pretty & fun.  I keep blogging because of you!  <---man, that just sounded super cheesy!!! ;)
*a note for all my facebook followers: thanks for following me through facebook.  I've decided this time around though, to get rid of that system.  I want to keep facebook free of constant annoying self-promotion status updates.  I'll still post links to the new blog from time to time, but only to the really good stuff.  If you want to stay connected, you can sign up to follow me through google friend connect (it's in my new sidebar).

ink blots: journal class recap

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I wanted to do a little review of sorts of the last journal class I took, called Ink Blots, by Elaine of Glow in the Dark Soul. The photos above are a few of my favorite pages from the class.  The first one is a pic I took of the winnings I received from the second class giveaway.  The second one is the cover of my journal, which is covered in a freehand chevron design done with paint marker.  I love how it turned out!  And the last page is the inside of the cover.  Probably my favorite page inspired by this class.  I definitely favor the "scrapbook" style pages over the pen & ink ones, although I am learning that my doodles will never be perfected if I don't practice (which is why the next class I take....Janel's 30 day journal challenge, I will be doing only in ink).
Elaine was an awesome teacher, and I was so inspired by all the creative girls in the class.  I can't wait to hear more about her next class!!  It was so much fun.   :)  Plus, she is totally cute (I love her style!) and you should check out her blog cause she's a neat lady.

friday favorites

 * skirts with pockets!! (like this one found here)

 * road trip journals to chronicle your awesome summer travels! (found on this scrapbooking blog)

* homemade pretzels....yes please.  (find this recipe here)

* these adorable dinosaur planters from plaid pigeon

* pyrex.  isn't this aqua collection amazing?! (found via *pyrex*pixie*)

who, what, where, when, and why?

 I know I said I would post a lot more frequently now that I have a computer around, but I've been a busy girl....





.......eating pizza & chocolate, cutting hair, journaling like mad, attempting to fly kites, hiding from tornadoes, watching movies (Pirates. Yeah!), avoiding the cicada infestation (man I love Misery Missouri!!), and pinning pretty things on Pinterest.  I'm sure you understand.

:)

i heart Emma Pillsbury.

Ever since they put Glee on Netflix instant stream, the girls and I have been glued to the screen.  We are total gleeks now......<3 it!  My favorite character is Sue Sylvester Emma.  I love her red hair.  I love her cute OCD.  I love her crush on Will.  And, I love her wardrobe.  I mean, how adorable is this?!.....

If I had lots of expendable income, and a job that allowed me to look cute, I would so rock Emma's style.  There is a whole website dedicated to helping Emma wannabes find her fabulous wardrobe choices.  Think cardigans, sweater clips, "insane" bow blouses, pencil skirts, and round toe heels........ah.

I have exciting news!

 ...eeeeeek!!!  That's right folks.  KC's friend Jordan was kind enough to gift us with not one, but two computers!!  I am beyond grateful, and super duper excited!!!  Having a working computer at home (with a disk reader & printer!) means that.........

• I will be posting a lot more frequently (with pictures!)
• We don't have to type on a touch screen!
• The girls can log on to Study Island & do homework assignments
• I can try out photoshop (hello digital scrapbooking!)
• We can use iTunes again (and update our iPhone software!)
• We can print things
• I can finally watch vimeo posts (not so compatible with mobile phones)
• Internet is so much easier to use, and looks so much brighter & clearer than on our cells
• & so so so so much more!!!!!

.....so needless to say, we are thrilled with our new toys!  Yay!!!!!

and the winner is.......

I am so pleased to announce the winner of my "50 follower giveaway"!  After taking a trip over to good ol random.org, and trying to figure out how people do those screen shots of their winners (how do people do that??), here are the results.....




Congrats Tara, .......I will be emailing you soon to get your address, and will send it off in the mail tomorrow!!  I hope you enjoy your winnings (post a picture on your blog when you receive your package so I can see that it arrived safely.  I'll post a follow up with a link to your post!).  I'm still stuffing an extra enveloppe with scrap papers & ephemera!!  ;)

Go check out her blog girls....she needs followers!

ink blots

 If you take a peek at my sidebar, you will find a link to the new journal class I just signed up for, called ink blots.  It starts tomorrow & I'm sooo excited.  I'm so ready to start journaling again.  It's so therapeutic.  Just the very act of picking up a marker/pencil/pen/paint brush & putting it to paper makes me happy.  I bought washi tape online (for the first time ever! eep!!), ordered a few hand carved stamps (will do a separate supplies post), and got a new moleskine sketchbook.  It's nice to have a place to go to talk to other crafty girls, to get inspired, and have daily prompts.  The first assignment, "Lesson 0: Teacher's Pet", is the one you see above.  We were to journal what we hoped to get out of this class.  I think the best part about taking a class like this, if not meeting/interacting with great girls, is the positivity.  The online creative community has a way of making you feel excited about the littlest things, which is so nice in this negative world we live in.  After a rough day, we can come home & soothe the mind/spirit with colors, and happy imagery.  There are no rules & no one to please but yourself.  The nicest & most supportive group of girls live online (well part time anyway!  ;) .....and I can't wait to get messy & make something pretty with them!

Oh, Nutella.

 ...it all started when I asked Lilly what she wanted for breakfast for her birthday.  "Nutella pancakes?," is what I knew she would say, but then, I didn't get it.  Now I do.  I totally do.  I always assumed that I wouldn't like it.  I've had hazelnut coffee, and thought it was super disgusting, so why would I like a hazelnut spread??  I'll tell you why; because it tastes like frosting.  The kind of chocolate frosting you would expect if Jesus handed you a cupcake.  Oh.  My. God.  Well, needless to say, a jar of it always remains in the cupboard (half empty).  Even KC loves it.  If you haven't tried it yet, you should.  You can justify it as being "good for you", because it has nuts in it.  Right?  Well, the package is pretty if nothing else.  Did I mention that it tastes like chocolate frosting?

dear Spring, i Love you.

Have you guys been LOVING it?!  All that snow this Winter has made such lush and floral trees this Spring.  They are absolutely gorgeous!  And the rain.......such vibrant hues & intoxicating smells.  I just adore taking walks in this lovely season, sprinkles or sunshine.  Get out and enjoy it before it gets too hot! xoxo.

a book review: Hector and the search for Happiness

A book review!  I don't think I've ever done a book review on the ol blog before.  This is exciting!  I just got done reading this book called, Hector and the search for Happiness, by Francois Lelord.  It was a good book.  Did I choose it for the cute cover?  Maybe.  But I liked it.  I didn't love it, but it was still good.
The book is about a psychiatrist named Hector, who becomes unhappy, and traveles around the world in search of happiness.  He interviews friends & strangers about what makes them happy.  The story is cute, and the happiness lessons are good.  What I didn't like about the story is that it was mainly what makes people like Hector happy. 
But all in all, it was a quick, fun read.

reward myself for my accomplishments

One thing I am learning, that is a huge motivator, is rewarding myself.  I have a lot to do.  A LOT to do.  So having something to look forward to is a great way to push myself.  It's usually something small, like Starbucks, or watching my favorite show, or maybe even a new candle or body wash.  It's ok to treat yourself for accomplishing something.  Sometimes I get so overwhelmed when I think about everything that needs to get done, so I don't do anything, feeling so guilty.  You have to tell yourself, "one step at a time, don't compare yourself to others, & you are only human".  So you ran errands all day and you were too exhausted to clean when you came home?  So what.  You spent your entire day off running errands (not to mention making breakfast, lunches, and dinner, feeding the animals too, and being pulled in a million other directions...)!  So relax.  Don't bite off more than you can chew.  Focus on one thing at a time, and give yourself a break.  Break me off a piece of that Kit-Kat bar!    :P
Tell me, what motivates you?  What do you reward yourself with???

be more thrifty

I wanted to include this in my resolutions this year for so many reasons.  First, to save money.  I have become a lot more aware of my spending habbits over the last few years, and I am tired of spending ridiculous amounts of money on things we don't love or use often.  I feel like holidays, for one, have gotten completely out of hand.  These kids (and us) are becoming so spoiled, ending up with mountains of generic stuff that we don't even appreciate.  I can't help but wonder how harmful this will be in the long run for our family.  I'm really begenning to rethink gifts, and want to start making them really unique and thoughtful.  Another reason to become more thrifty is that it is so much fun.  It's always neat to go into a thrift store with an open mind, and see what's available.  Once I got a fantastic olive green velvet vintage couch for $30!  Incredible.  And if you know how to alter clothing, this can be a great way to find vintage fabrics, and borrow pretty details from clothes that aren't quite right.  Also, thrifting is so eco friendly.  Forget all the packaging and polution!  It's a win win win....yay!

50 follower giveaway.......yay!

Here are a few photos of what you will get.......



....I didn't want to photograph the whole package, because I wanted an element of surprise, and also because I'm a last minute gal & I knew I would gather up a lot of little things to stuff into the box before I ship it off.  So sorry that things have been slow moving on here.  It's really difficult to do regular internet activities like blogging without regular access to a real computer.  :(
I'm grateful to be able to borrow computers, and such, but they just aren't the same thing, you know?  My iPhone4 is so amazing, but mobile blogging sucks.  It's like texting, which is weird.  And trying to insert a photo to a blog post is really frusturating.  Plus if I want to go back and edit, it's nearly impossible from a cell phone.  It's nice to use my parent's laptop, but they have their own personal settings that work for them, but are irritating to me.  Little things, like internet explorer instead of firefox (spell check....hello!), and allowing access for importing something from the clipboard.  I'm looking a gifthorse in the mough, I know, but when fun & awesome things like blogging become difficult, I tend to choose something else (like Glee on Netflix).  Definately looking forward to having a computer in the house!
Enough complaining, this is about celebration.  If you like what you see, and wouldn't mind being surprised with a few extras, please leave me a comment with contact info (like an email address), and tell me what your favorite springtime activities are.  I will choose a winner on Sunday May 1st, at 10am central standard time.  That gives you about 2 weeks to enter.

Package includes:
* a cupcake cookbook (used, but fairly new, and in great condition)
* a brand new 14.5 oz. pineapple orchid scented candle (my favorite!) from Bath & Body Works
* a cute package of my personal scrapbook supplies (a little destash, including a woodgrain stamp)
* japanese cherry blossom mini bath products with a cute floral purse size mirror
* candy, stickers, and other random tidbits      ;)

50 followers!

Yay! I have secretly been waiting for this moment for a while now. Pretty things have been rounded up for a coffin confections blog reader giveaway!! I'll have details for you fantastic people soon, with a photo of the goods! Eeeep! It's true that I actually have more than 50 followers, if you count my Facebook and Bloglovin followers, but since my Facebook followers are my friends anyway, and I only have about 5 Bloglovin followers, I decided to just stick with the google friend connect number. It's the one I see on my blogger dashboard, and the one I stalk constantly to see if I get a few new readers. I try to check out each new reader to see if they have a blog so I can return the favor and follow them. My appologies to my newest readers for not being able to check you out right away....it gets a little tricky only having an iPhone for Internet. I will see who you are soon though, I promise!
A huge thank you to each and every one of you who reads my blog! It really means a lot to me that people care about what I have to say. So don't be shy...follow me if you don't already. :)