Craft Fair 2013

Well everyone, today is my craft fair.

My dad and Kyle are being awesome and running my booth for me today!

Here is what I've got going on!

My mock up table at home.

all of the treasures :)

Pretty little hypoallergenic earrings! $5-$7 each.

Vintage button & Jewelry pieces made into fun cocktail rings! Just $5 each!

more rings!

even more rings.. :) 

Pretty little bobby pins, $3 each.

Fun felt flower bobby pins! just $4 each!

Adorable vintage brooches, all less than $10!

Vintage earrings! :)

There are also plenty of onesies and headbands, and some fun glittery dictionary paper ornaments! 

It's not too late!

In addition to these items there are tons of other vendors, silent auctions, live music, face painting, food and more! :) Come support the library and local/small businesses!

Stop by the Perry American Legion

410 Perry Place

Perry, KS 66073

Open until 4 pm today!

Interested in purchasing from me online? Leave me a comment and I will email you!

Thank You for Reading,

Alexandra

Quarantined for Thanksgiving

Basically as soon as I finished my last post (about gratefulness despite a rough November) I put myself to bed with some NyQuil cough because I couldn't stop coughing and thought it would help. 4 hours later I found myself in my parents' living room using my little sister's emergency albuterol supply. I was in pain and desperate to make it stop and simultaneously avoid going to the ER.

I got home, coughed on and off for another two hours and finally fell asleep. I slept in a little and then Kyle took me to the doctor where I was promptly sent to get a chest xray, whooping cough lab test and prescriptions. He also informed me that I wasn't able to go back to work or be near my family until my antibiotic was all gone (5 days later). So, this Thanksgiving is going to be a little weird, and a lot sad. 

Don't get me wrong, I definitely don't want to get anyone sick, and I'm not exactly myself on this prescription cough medicine.... but I really don't want to miss out on my family Thanksgivings. 

I'm also missing my only craft fair of the year, which my dad and Kyle have very sweetly offered to run for me... :) 

So once again, through the struggle that is this November, I am so grateful for those around me, cheesy TV, mashed potatoes and prescription medicine.

Kyle and I have spent the last two days napping, watching Boy Meets World and Gilmore Girls, cuddling with Duchess and rearranging our apartment. 

I am grateful for the time that we have just to spend together, no obligations or worries. No last minute rushing or headaches.

Grateful that we have so many fun little thrifted pieces of furniture and decor to keep us occupied with our (still) new apartment. (seriously, the thrifing has been prime recently! Hoping to post about it soon!)

Grateful for the time to upload 20+ Goodwill and Salvation Army thrifted Christmas albums into my itunes for the holiday season (yes seriously, July is the best time to buy Christmas albums $2 each!! Ranging from early 2000's pop compilations to new Michael Buble Xmas!)

Grateful that we already bought stuff to make pie to take to our family celebrations, so that there is a pumpkin pie baking in the oven as I type this... :) 

Grateful that we are essentially done with our Christmas shopping and already picked up wrapping paper... so that gives us another project to work on in all this spare time. :) 

Grateful that so many parts of my family are taking care of me in their own ways. From Kyle checking on me constantly and being my quarantine companion to my dad offering to run my craft fair booth, my mom giving me emergency albuterol, my grandma calling from Arizona to check in on me, a relative on Kyle's side that I've never even met wishing me well through facebook and my in-laws / parents postponing/rescheduling/rearranging Thanksgiving plans so that we can all be together on "Day 6" - the day my antibiotic is up! You guys are amazing, I love you so much!

So I am wishing you all a wonderful and health-filled Thanksgiving. I hope that you are able to focus on gratitude as much as I've been able to. I guess it's funny that the year that I don't even get to participate in Thanksgiving (on the day at least) is the one where I've been thinking about gratitude the most. :) 

Thanks for Reading & Happy Thanksgiving!

Alexandra

November

A normal November for me is filled with lots of cold air and gray skies while Coldplay's 'Rush of Blood to the Head' is playing in the background. Dreaming of holiday and family time in the coming weeks. Taking more than my fair share of cranberries at every holiday gathering. It's a magical time of year.

This November has been a little different. Our temperatures have been in flux between too warm for a coat and hovering right at freezing, I've had very little Coldplay playing. I'm making lists for the upcoming holidays because we've been so busy I feel like I'm already behind. I am now in the middle of my second cold for the month. I'll tell you, being a substitute teacher (especially at a preschool) is probably not the best job for someone so prone to getting sick as me. 

But, in this time of being sick and busy, I'm finding myself focusing a lot on gratitude. I'm so grateful to have a job that I have to call in sick to. I'm grateful to have a kitten that eventually stops attacking things in the room and cuddles with me while I rest. Grateful that daytime TV consists of hours of Boy Meets World and cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies. Grateful for instant hot chocolate, real fruit pop sickles, chicken soup and cough drops, which are currently my 4 food groups. Grateful for my wonderful husband who keeps me stocked with my aforementioned foodstuffs, nyquil, humidifier, cuddles, slippers, real food, love and countless other things I need and want. :) 

I am also grateful for what it feels like to be well again and knowing that it should be coming soon. Grateful for the upcoming holidays and the pies I get to make to share with my loved ones. Grateful for family traditions both old and new. And those cranberries... 

So apologies for the lack of posts, but at least some semi-seasonal ones will hopefully be on their way before the month is out.

Hope you are all having a lovely November!

Alexandra 

Have you Heard? // The Arctic Monkeys - "Do I Wanna Know?"

How good is this song?!?!

I've liked the Arctic Monkeys for quite a while, and they always manage to amaze me with their versatility. 

Last year we got so lucky seeing them in Tulsa with the Black Keys! Check out the post: here.

What are you listening to? 

Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for Reading!

Alexandra 

A Little 90's Pop For Your Friday Enjoyment...

Let's just say I'm very caffeinated this morning...

But it's FRIDAY! 

And Payday!

So...

You're welcome.. :) 

Anybody else still in love with JT?

Have an AMAZING Friday Everyone!

Alexandra

Garnet & Black

I love when jewel tones come back in the fall...

I especially love this red garnet color!

Black Velvet Blazer: Thrifted Old Navy, Garage Sale, $5 (at most)- old

Sequin Tee: Aerie, $20. Sold Out

Faux Leather Leggings: Target, $25  (buy here)

Flats: Payless, $10 (BOGO!) (buy here)

Black Vintage Clip-ons: Antique Mall, $5

(going to try to put them on posts!)

Outfit Total: $65

I love this outfit for fall and winter. It's SO comfortable (again, leather leggings woot woot!) but it looks really polished. I think you could make it work out for dinner, at work or even a holiday party. For a warmer look it also goes well with my heeled black boots.

I'm linking up with Danielle & Andi for Blazer week! You can linkup here! :)

Anybody else excited to pull out the dark colors and jewel tones again?

Thanks for Reading!

Alexandra

About Time We Had A Date Night....

Kyle surprised me on Friday by suggesting that we go out on a date, despite our only-one-more-week-until-we-get-paid balance in our bank account. But we had groceries and no upcoming occasions... so we went for it!

We got a pizza and cheese sticks at Rudy's using our $9 in loyalty points it ended up being a very budget-friendly date dinner... with tons of leftovers!

After that we drove out to the Legends to see About Time. We thought the movie looked cute and very fun for the pre-holiday season based on the TV spots... but upon reading the movie times realized that it also involved time travel - what? So we were excited to see what it would actually be like. 

The movie itself was not what we had expected, though we liked it quite a bit. It wasn't as comedic as we had thought it would be, but it did have that sort of subtle, quirky British humor in it, which I love. The characters were very cute and kind of awkward, which made them easy to root for. By the middle of the movie you don't feel like you are watching some guy try to date Rachel McAdams.... I knew he had to be a Weasly! :)

The time travel element is a lot more of the plot that I expected, and definitely more than the non-indication in the TV spots... but it was kind of nice. It wasn't one of those stressful, The Butterfly Effect kind of situations.

One thing that I loved was some of McAdams' clothing in the movie. She worked for a book publisher and had such a quirky but feminine style. I find myself wanting to re-watch it just for some new outfit ideas!

Can we just take a minute to appreciate this gorgeous red wedding dress? Be still my heart!

I am super curious as to how the movie got that R-rating... The cussing was pretty mild and there really wasn't any nudity. Only a bit of sex. I guess when the last movie you saw was Don Jon anything seems tame in comparison... (the post on which never got published.. :/ !)

Overall the movie got me to thinking about savoring our days and appreciating the small things in life. We might then find, that what we thought was a bad day, was actually a good one. And I think that is a pretty incredible thing. So well done Richard Curtis, Cast & Crew!

It leads nicely into thinking about gratitude, which I always try to do, but is specifically appropriate considering the season.

Have you seen About Time? What did you think?

How do you keep focused on the good things during your days?

All for now & Thanks for Reading,

Alexandra 

Anybody else want to move to Britain? ;)

Snapshots of Halloween // 2013

Hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween!

I had a fun day at preschool as a black cat. The kids liked it, and it was considerably more comfortable (and less effort!) than my evening costume! (also apparently this costume made me feel the need to take a gazillion selfies... strange, but fun when you have whiskers!) 

Jess and I are absolutely related... because she had the same idea for work! :) She's so cute!

I changed into my evening costume; Cruella DeVille! (been wanting to this costume for several years!) So proud of my DIY skills on this one you guys! Check out my tutorial here!

Kyle finished assembling his Headless Horseman costume... :) Turned out really cool huh?!

We certainly had a spook filled evening with my family, which was just right!

My sisters are so adorable and so much fun! I LOVE these girls :) Oh, and Griz got plenty of love on 'his holiday'! 

'Supermodel Documentary Hour!' (go watch Superstar if you haven't seen it, MKG for life!)

Everyone was getting a kick out of my wig... ;)

We got to spend some time with my Grandma, Sharon before she 'flew' south for the winter as well! We have so many laughs together! 

We purchased this cute little chocolatey haunted house kit from Target and had a blast decorating it! I liked having another activity to add to Halloween! Turned out pretty cute, huh? $9 well spent!

As usual, we had lots of family over, had mom's fantastic chili and chili dogs for dinner and took Olivia trick or treating. We didn't have time to carve pumpkins, make popcorn balls or caramel apples this year... but that's ok. :) Some years you just have less time! We did do a festive new dessert though! Both Olivia and Kalor (Jess's BF) LOVE brownies, so when I saw this spider brownie recipe I knew we had to make them! They turned out really cute and the brownies were SO yummy! Boxed Ghirardelli anyone?

What were you up to this Halloween? 

Any fun new or old traditions that you'd like to share?

Did you pull off a DIY costume too?

Thanks for Reading!

Alexandra 

Teal & Navy: 5 Years Later

Years ago in a Redbook magazine, I saw a fashion spread that featured an outfit that was head to toe navy and teal. Apparently, it made quite the impression on me as I came up with this outfit at least five years later!

But, I think they were on to something. I like this color combo a lot, it's almost monochromatic... but not really. It just works.

Cluster Earrings: J Crew Factory Store, ~$16 on sale - Old

Navy Blouse: TJMaxx, $35 - Old

Teal Skinnies: TJMaxx, $15 -Old

Navy Flats: Payless, $15 (with BOGO!) (buy here)

Outfit Total: $81

There is something so nice about a neutral long sleeved blouse. I say go ahead and invest! This was more than I typically spend on tops, but I could tell it was well made, and it goes with so much!

What is your favorite unexpected color combo?

All for now,

Alexandra

Falling for Fall

You might remember me saying that fall is not my favorite season... but I have to admit, this year I'm falling for fall. :)

Life Starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. -F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is in our neighborhood.. we are so lucky to have such gorgeous trees!

Maybe it's the trees, maybe it's the intention of the bucket list, maybe it's Halloween, or that it's Kyle's favorite season... whatever it is, I'm having such a great season this year.

I'm hoping that this will carry over into all of my upcoming seasons. 

How is your fall going?

All for now,

Alexandra

Sometimes It's Okay to Splurge.... Right?

Hope everyone had a lovely Halloween, pictures of mine coming soon. :)

In the meantime, I thought I'd share another outfit post with all of you!

One day while walking downtown I found this gorgeous cardigan in the window of a local boutique. I walked past it several times before I went in to see how much it cost. 

When I finally went in I tried it on and much to my surprise fit really well (and this is a challenge for me when tops involve buttons!) no gaps or gaping problems. I looked at the tag and took a deep breath... $85. Whew. More than I usually spend on ANY individual item aside from winter boots or coats.

I put it back and resolved that if I still wanted it when I got my paycheck I would go back for it. And I did. 

I've got to say though I'm really pleased. It goes really well with jeans, skirts... anything! 

I especially love it with my printed heart skirt.

Embroidered Cardigan: Nick & Mo, Local Boutique $85 (buy here, for only $75..boo! :( )

Heart Printed Skirt: Francesca's Boutiques, $34 (buy here)

Your basic black sheer tights, $5-10

Navy Flats: Payless, $15 (with BOGO!) (buy here)

Outfit Total: $139

It's not quite pattern mixing, but it definitely has some contrast between the tiny repetitive print and the larger floral embroidery. I think that it really works well together and I LOVE how simple it is!

What is one of your favorite or most worn splurge items?

Thanks for Reading,

Alexandra

Snapshots of Buzz Beach Ball // September 2013

I feel like we've been concert crazy recently!

Some friends asked if we'd like to join them for Buzz Beach Ball this year. We'd never been, but it's usually a huge line up with pretty big names and festival feel. This year Phoenix was headlining, but Alt-j, AWOLnation, MSMR, Daughter, Cage the Elephant, Hanni Al Khatib... etc was there. The show started at 2:30, but we decided to go around 6 after work. We missed a few bands that we would maybe have liked to see but we caught the three headliners. AWOLnation

I knew some of their music, but I am always so confused by their style. They go from screaming and lots of guitar to pop-y dance tunes... It made for a not-so-cohesive show for me. But I'm guessing that big fans were pleased. The lead singer kept saying things like "I had a vision for this next song and everyone was crouching down, and then when the music starts everyone explodes!" A little crazy for me.. :) But I enjoyed the songs that I knew. I don't think I would see them again.

Alt-j

Alt-j was the one band that I wanted to see most, I love their music and they are just SO good! I loved their set! The music was great.. I want to go see them live when they are headlining sometime. A full show from them would be AMAZING!

Phoenix

Phoenix went on at 10:30 and they were really entertaining. They're French, so it was fun to hear him talk. :) The music was great, they played new stuff and some old singles. I like the old stuff better but it was all fun. 

Overall the music was pretty great. I enjoyed it and the venue (Berkley Riverfront Park) very much. I don't however, enjoy the festival atmosphere. So much smoke, so much pot... people popping pills, port-a-potties... not my scene.

We've got a few more shows coming up in December, I'm looking forward to those even more than these last two! :)

Have you ever seen any of these bands? What are your favorite albums or songs?

What's a great concert that you've been to recently?

All for now,

Alexandra