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DIY: Update your Updo

February 12, 2013
DIY
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Add a little jazz to your everyday hairstyles with this fun DIY project. I love the idea of recycling old ties and jewelry into chic hair accessories. If you don’t have a man who wears ties in your life (or one who will not part with his ties as in my case) you could find some really cheap ties at your local charity shop usually for less than $1. Check out this video for a quick tutorial on how to create some trendy hair pieces without breaking the bank.

Would you wear these accessories? I could see myself rocking the bows with a cute dress. I plan to try this out in the future.

Until next post, Brittany

Fast Forward to Spring

January 23, 2013
My Style
6 Comments

We are still having some very warm weather here in my area so I decided to fast forward my outfit for today to Spring. I am a little excited that one of this spring’s fashion trend is STRIPES!  I love stripes. I have been obsessed with them since childhood.  I came across a black and white striped blazer in my closet that I have only worn 1x (it’s so sad I know) so I decided to give it a little TLC today. After pulling out my blazer, I had to figure out what else I could pair it with besides the basic black pants I usually wear it with.

I stood there and  started to think of my favorite colors in Spring, the pinks, blues, yellows, and greens. And then I spotted it- a simple yellow tank in my closet. I just love black and white and yellow together! So now all I had to figure out was what type of bottoms I was going to wear. I didn’t want anything to dressy, nothing “safe” but I am still a little nervous about being too “over the top.” Then I said what the heck as long as I’m not wearing my birthday suit I think I will be ok. So I headed over to my handy dandy color wheel and decided to give it a whirl. And decided to pair the items with a vibrant pair of cobalt blue pants. Here is the look.

technicolor

Outfit Details: Shoes: Fioni Black Pumps- Payless

Pants: Cobalt Blue Skinnys:I have no idea

Shirt: Yellow tank: Macy’s

Striped Blazer- Nordstrom Rack

Bracelet: Kate Spade

Earrings & Necklace: Charming Charlie

 

It’s fun to mix and match pieces that I’ve never worn together. The color wheel has given me a lot of inspiration.  It’s like looking at my closet with a new pair of eyes! Hope you all are having a great Wednesday!

 

Until next post, Brittany

Project Upcycle: Trash to Treasure

January 9, 2013
Blog, DIY
4 Comments

Have you ever wondered what you could do to recycle items that come in pretty packages once they have served their purpose? That’s exactly what I was thinking when I started replacing the wallflowers from Bath and Body Works around my home. I love the shape of the wallflowers and it seemed like such a waste to throw the empty containers away! So I came up with a couple of nifty ways to give the wallflower containers a second life.

wallflowers

empty bulb

materials

broken

 

 

mini flower

 

base

 

tray

 

Here is the final product! Who knew with a little creativity that these wallflowers could transform from trash to TREASURE!

product

 

 

Not into this project? No problem. Turn your wallflower into a rainy day project with your kids or for yourself. Make them into ornaments for next year’s Christmas tree. Decorate them however you like. The possibilities are endless. Here I just painted the bulb, glued ribbon and brads on and decorated the top with beads using the hot glue gun. Here is the end product.

bulb orn

 

 

The possibility for reusing these things are endless. All it takes One blogger I found reuses the wallflower for its intended purpose. It was quite smart how she refilled the bulb with essential oils. I am sure that saves a ton of money as these little scented wonders can be quite pricey! See that blog post here.

 

So what do you think? Is this something you would try? I would love to read your thoughts.

Until next post, Brittany

How to Survive a Long Winter Vacation!

December 1, 2012
Inspiration, Uncategorized
1 Comment
I have always been what I like to characterize as a busy body for as long as I can remember. I cannot stand being bored! I have 5 glorious weeks off from work starting December 5 and so I decided to create a plan to keep from going stir crazy in this time off. Luckily for me, 17 of those days I will get to spend with family and friends back home in SC for the holidays! But the other days will be spent alone as everyone else will be working. So here are the top seven activities I plan to implement  during my vacation.
Survival Kit
  1. Reading my Bible! I have been very consumed in my personal life lately so I have decided that I am going to make sure I dedicate myself to exploring more of God’s Word. I have even created a challenge on Facebook to keep myself motivated. If you are interested in knowing more about this challenge, please feel free to check out the group on FB.
  2. Learning something new! I would love to learn how to play the djembe. The djembe is an African hand drum. I have always loved the way they sound and so I want to learn how to play. You can take a listen at the drum in action here. A museum in my area actually offers classes to learn to play this instrument so I figured that would definitely keep me intrigued and give me the opportunity to meet new people.
  3. Making some jewelry. For those who don’t know I make jewelry sometimes in my spare time. I haven’t made as much as I usually do this year. So I plan to make some before I head home for the holidays. My family usually asks to see my pieces when I return home. I may show you guys some of my previous pieces so you can see my creativity.
  4. Experiment with different makeup looks and nail polishes. I don’t get to wear nail polish to work so I will definitely be keeping my nails manicured during this period. I also only know how to do basic makeup looks so I want to try some new looks inspired by YouTube. I most likely will not be sharing because I am not that confident in my abilities LOL!
  5. Catch up on my shows on TiVo on the lazy couch potato days.
  6. Taking lots of photos of friends, family, different places etc. Just  getting some lots of use out of my husband’s fancy Nikon camera :)
  7. Of course I would be remised if I didn’t include lots of BLOGGING and writing into my list! I have lots of ideas and I will most like have LOTS of time to get them on paper/ in print!

If you have a vacation coming up, what do you plan to do to keep from being bored? I would love to hear about it!

Until next post,

Britt <3

Guide to the $10 Gift Exchange

November 28, 2012
Life, Uncategorized
9 Comments

Hello my lovely readers! As we all know Christmas is quickly approaching. It’s that time of year where we all stress out and try to figure out what to buy our significant others, family, friends, coworkers, etc. Well do not fret! Not to toot my own horn but I consider myself to be a very savvy shopper! So I have decided that I will create a mini series to help you choose some nice gifts for that special someone in your life this Christmas season.

The $10 gift exchange seems to be a common trend during the Christmas season.  I have gone to many Christmas parties where the host would ask everyone to bring a $10 gift to the party in order to play fun gift exchange games like Dirty Santa, Chinese gift exchange or white elephant.  I have also participated in many $10 gift exchanges at work, church, etc. Sometimes the gifts I received were great and other times….well we all know how bad those gifts can sometimes be O_o. So here are a few gift ideas to help you choose a great gift this year without breaking the bank.

A manly gift list for the perfect $10 gift:

  1. a skinny necktie like this red tie very festive for the holiday season or a quirky tie based on the man’s interests like this for the piano lover or this for the edgy male. If you don’t know their particular style a solid tie is always a safe option
  2. iTunes gift card for mp3 downloads or Amazon credits to download an album
  3. restaurant voucher to their favorite establishment
  4. a book or Kindle/ Nook voucher for a book
  5. iPhone case (Amazon has a slew of these under $10 so you could probably buy several for $10) Here are a few options: cassette tape inspired for the music lover , football inspired for the sports lover, gameboy inspired for the video game junkie or for someone you don’t know that well I like these chrome plated cases
  6. tool sets for the handy man like this screwdriver set from Sears
  7. sports themed hats
  8.  a bottle of alcohol is always a winner  according to my husband’s coworkers LOL
  9. wallet 
  10. For the gadget lover, the possibilities are endless. Here are just a few ideas I found very interesting! A 5 in 1 pen found here, a spinning top found here  , iPad protective case found here and if you are willing to spend a few extra bucks my favorite item is this coffee warmer found here!

A $10 gift list fit for a queen:

  • If you are willing to pay a few cents more you could score a designer iPhone case like this.
  • personalized stationery: Vistaprint has several options to allow you to customize stationery, notebooks, photo journals, etc for under $10
  • a perfume gift set like this set from Justin Bieber (currently at Walmart for $10)

  • a pair of earrings or some other costume jewelry
  • restaurant voucher to favorite establishment
  • book or Kindle/ Nook voucher for a book
  • iTunes gift card for mp3 downloads of an album
  • candles from Bath & Body Works. I personally love these especially in cranberry pear bellini fragrance. P.S. I am so happy I just realized that they now make it in the wallflower fragrance!! I will be going by there by this weekend!
  • fancy travel size essentials like hand creams or mascaras or lip balms like this or this. I don’t know about you but I am a sucker for fancy packaging on simple products.
  • makeup palette from a brand like Elf or this gift set from Stila found at Sephora or this Beauty Gems palette from Ulta Beauty
  • nail polish gift set like this OPI set at Sephora
  • coffee warmer aforementioned in manly gift list
  • pashmina or scarf like the ones at Charming Charlie

I could go on and on but I think I have given you all a great start! What great gifts have you found for $10 or less? I would love to hear about them. If you found this post interesting and informative, feel free to like and share with your friends!

Until next post,

Brittany

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