Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts

Saturday, March 4, 2017

If Plant Lady Is The New Cat Lady, I'm Here For It!

Spring is right around the corner, finally! I say this even though yesterday it was a lovely 78 on Thursday and now yesterday and today have brought a chill back into our world. But it's still a good day and that's what you've got to keep telling yourself.

I work in retail and the store I work at has a junior's department with cute and ~quirky~ items for sale. We are having a serious 90's revival and one of the things we have are all these packs of patches. One pack:
The little patch in the upper right is where my post title came from. And I am definitely embracing it! I have a little succulent/cactus garden set up and then yesterday I added a lily whilst at Lowe's looking for a fern. I bought the lily to get somewhat of a start on my "goth garden". If you search on Pinterest you will find so many awesome pictures of black/white/purple/blood red flowers. It's my new goal. I'm glad I've finally dug up the gardening gene from my mom! 

Here's my little garden so far! Enjoy:





Happy (soon) Spring!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Oh Wait, How Did We Get Here?

It's already into 2017 and I am still accidentally writing 2016 on everything. This new year is a time for clean ups and clean slates. I recently tidied up my own office space (again) and its looking much more eclectic and cozy:



I put effort into cleaning it so that I will actually write.

*******RECORD SCRATCH*******

I started writing this damn post on January 19th. It is February 7th and I am finally dragging myself back to it. I had so many aspirations to write blogs/chapters/mini books whilst on vacation during the first month and I honestly did zero of those things. I had great times relaxing and seeing my friends and family and it was an excellent vacation, BUT I keep beating myself up for not writing. I've talked to peers and looked up how to be a better writer and bookmarked the best tips for myself and dang it I'm gonna use them starting now!

*Write everyday for at least an hour. Y'all may not see all of the fruits of that on here but surely some of my writings will be the posts on here.

*Start making "To-Done" lists. I've seen this used by so many people lately and I like that you're low-key congratulating yourself at the end of the day to say, hey I did this! Instead of Oh..I have to do that?! 

*Read more. I spend a lot of my time on the internet and though it is obviously beneficial in certain aspects of my life, I miss just relaxing with a good book and giving my mind some exercise. 

Here's to 2017!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Retail Rants Part Deux!

Ah hello my friends, we are now in the full swing of the holiday season! December has arrived, trees are up, Santa is in the mall, people are yelling at sales associates! TIS THE SEASON Y'ALL.

Ok so I was sort of hoping this series would not continue but as I've been in retail for 12 years now, I should have known better. As I said in my first rant, the easiest thing to do during the holidays or literally anytime is to be KIND, it's the best four letter word you could pick! And it's absolutely free!

At the mall we are now into extended hours, 9am til 10pm on weekdays and 11pm on weekends, and we are a bit short staffed at the moment so everyone is tired and working double what we ought to. That's not trying to say we need any excuses, but we aren't maybe at our best, but still pretty great. The thing is that whether or not we were at 50, 100 or 1000% I'm certain people would still mess with us. I have 3 mini scenarios  for you:

First, shoplifters need to for real get their lives right. We had an incident where 4 stores were getting hit all at once! We had a manager run over from her store to tell us that people were stealing. That's so outrageous and it isn't like we don't pay attention to shady folks, cause we see you, we are everywhere and we have a pretty good eye for faces. To me shoplifting is so pointless and so rude and whenever we catch someone they want to fight us. So we see you swiping something and walking out and when we inquire about it because you set off an alarm, you want to cause a scene? No, just stop all of this.

Second, I have said this so many times I feel like a broken record but I will say it again for the people in the back: CASHIERS AND SALESPEOPLE DO NOT SET THE RULES/PRICES/SALES. We have a whole set of head honchos and big-wig assistants who set up our whole store. They tell us when to put on a sale, what to put on sale, what to sell those things for and how much of a discount, if any, we can give you for a defect. Say you pick up a shirt and it is $15 and it has a small hole in the seam. We have a set amount (%) we can discount you and a follow up rule to make that item now a final sale item, meaning you can not return it. I will explain this to you as I am ringing you up, thus you will be able to make the choice on if you want to take the discount/item before you walk out of the store and spend money. The rules that I tell you are specific to my store and so when you tell me that the other store down the way would do this for you, well cool, you aren't in that store.....so I guess go there because I just laid out the rules for you, here in the store you are currently standing in.

Third, holy crap stop yelling at us and giving us an attitude when you don't exactly get your way. That gets you even less than what you might have gotten to begin with. Didn't any of your mothers tell you that you attract more flies with honey than vinegar?? Because honestly I will go above and beyond for you if you are a nice person. It's that simple and goes along with the kindness vibe.


We are at 2 weeks before Christmas, about to hit super Saturday and then Christmas Eve the following Saturday. I'm sure something wild will happen and I'll fill you in when it does. Until then however....

Keep on, Keepin' on!

M.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Clean Slates



It's not quite the new year yet but I have been thinking about the reset that we are about to have. I bought a dry erase calendar over the summer and it is always very nice at the beginning of every month to wipe it clean and start over:





You see it as a new month, a new chance to get you goals in. To really take charge of you career, your life, your world. Sometimes I write goals out on the side and the are carried over from the previous month, knowing that I didn't get to them. I should get to them, I might still not, but I've definitely made an effort in writing them out.



Here's my November, it looks towards Christmas and has repeat goals of things I would really like to earnestly have come to fruition in 2017. I already gave you a preview of my untitled Great American Novel....I will give you a preview of the children's book too. Whether it will be an excerpt or a character drawing.....only time will tell.

Here's to a new month! Here's to a little clean slate in this crazy world!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Retail Rants

Yes two blogs in one day! They aren't related so they get separate posts. I now give you a new segment on this little corner I have carved out on the internet: RETAIL RANTS. I have been in the mall world for nearly 12 years and whew lawd has it been a time. I have more stories about humans and their disgusting ways than you will ever fathom and all true, even if they sound far-fetched...trust me I wish some were! So for the introduction to this ongoing series I will prepare you and my brethren in sales for the holiday season.

It is almost Halloween and I could not be more excited. However in the retail world this means that the ramp-up to the holiday spending season has begun. Pumpkins share space on shelves with reindeer and pilgrims. Everything is overwhelming, everything is super colorful (but like only in various shades of red, gold, silver, black & green), everything is somehow covered in glitter, it's a lot. I feel bad for Thanksgiving honestly, it's a big friends & family holiday on it's own but it's completely overshadowed by both Halloween and Christmas in the stores. Christmas is already in full force and it is only October 19th....settle down Santa. Like when you think about it Easter has it the best: After Easter has passed the next major decorating holiday is the Fourth of July, which is two to three months away, you don't get gifts and your main concern is where you are going to light off all your fireworks. The long lull of summer gives way afterwards and everyone just chills out until October 1st when, in seasonally appropriate climates, Autumn has arrived and literally I'm pretty sure everyone loses their damn minds. I already know that I will actually be off on Thanksgiving because A) I work for a nice company and B) This is how flipping early we need to start preparing for Black Friday. Now, like yesterday, I'm 85% sure our schedule is mocked up somewhere in the office because this is how important retail has made shopping and the holidays. I love the holidays, don't get me wrong, I really love how cozy the nights are around the bonfire with my friends and how everyone's families get together and come to town, it's wonderful. Working during this time is a shenanigan show of complete unpredictability.  The people I have met/helped over the years have run the gamut from sweet as pie to the actual devil spawn. You never know exactly what you will get, I had my very first customer one Black Friday afternoon yell at me for the pricing that was out of my control. She was SO mad about the fact that we had advertised certain pricing for the early birds and then didn't carry that over to the people strolling in at 3pm....Ma'am I didn't choose this. I've also had an amazing customer that I helped find all their Office Christmas party gifts (he was the CEO) in one swoop.

My main rant for today is a focus of pure human decency. I understand that the holiday season is stressful, I understand that so many people are pressed for time, I understand that money is tight in most cases. I GET IT, I'M WITH YOU. So in turn....very simply....Please don't treat sales people like shit. Honestly. We all have families and friends that we want to be with, that we are also shopping for when we are able and when we are on the clock we are there to help you 100%. I have zero control over any of my companies signs/promotions/pricing/item allotments. I do not make any decisions about what they put out into the world. I just work there. I can help you in only the perimeters of which are set forth by a team of people who work very far from where you and I stand. Please try and remember this when you cop an attitude with a cashier because the price that rang up was the price on the item and not whatever you assumed it might be. Ask us a million questions, that is what I am there for! I can provide so much information, I can get you any size, I can offer opinions on what to wear to the event and if this matches these shoes you have. I love doing that! I will personal shop for you all day. At the end of the day we are all humans just trying to get through this weird and wild world, the easiest thing to do is Just Be Kind.

The rants will continue through this crazy 2K16 holiday jam we are about to dive into...so stay tuned for all the storytimes!

Keep on, Keepin' on,

M.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

It's Fall Y'all!

We're in Florida though so it's still 90 degrees outside around noon...but we have had a bit of a break in the heat in the mornings FINALLY.

I have no clue exactly what I want to be for Halloween. I know, I KNOW. I don't even know. We aren't having a party this year and without a theme or need I guess for an outrageous costume, I am just stumped. I had thought of being a skunk or Edward Scissorhands and I'm not set on either and now I've got about 2 and a half weeks to figure it all out and hope for the best haha.

If anything develops I will be sure to DIY post about it.

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Day One of a New 2 Week Challenge!

Hi friends! So today begins a lifestyle change I have set up for myself. I am always super lazy in the morning and when I have an early work day it is always super hard for me to get out of bed and I usually end up leaving myself about ten minutes to get ready so I'm not late. Today is actually a day off and I finally got out of bed about 20 minutes ago. Last night I felt great and went to sleep around 11, knowing I had set my alarm for 6:30AM. When said alarm went off this morning I hit snooze until 7AM when I finally got up and fed my sweet skunk who was circling the bed waiting for her breakfast. I then thought, oh I'll just lie down and go through my social media....because I mean I AM awake at least. But last night my plan after waking up was to be going for a nice morning walk to the park and getting exercise.....oops. After she finished breakfast my sweet skunk did what she does best and came to bed to snuggle up next to me, I can not resist! So I fell back asleep for an hour and finally here I am blogging and drinking my pumpkin spiced coffee (it's close to fall, y'all) so I guess I'll take that part as a win.

Changing your routine is tough, I have tried a few times to get back into my morning person groove and it only lasts a few days, if I can even get it started properly. Tomorrow I work a full day beginning at 10AM so if  when I get up at 645ish I will for sure have the time to walk and blog......Here's my kick now to myself to go for it and also not beat myself up if I maybe snuggle in til 730....

Keep on, Keepin' on!

M.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Is It Too Early for Halloween? Or Nah?

After all the Summertime celebrations have ended and all thoughts turn towards fall and back to school and Halloween....can I just say I am so ready. Both for the cooler temperatures and mostly decorating my house and figuring out this years costume(s). Last year I made a large head-dress with antlers

 and kind of skimped out on my actual dress. This year there is a kind of plan in our neighborhood for a group costume, I don't know if we are still holding each other to this but if not, and really even if......I think I might finally make my mermaid dreams a reality and show my true form this year. It all came from a post about how shell crowns are the new flower crowns and just...OMG

You can look at all the rest of the beauty on Chelsea Shiels' instagram: @chelseasflowercrowns.

So now I am super inspired to try my hand at making my own, and luckily Florida has many shells to choose from to help in this endeavor. Also my favorite part of Halloween is making parts of my costume, as well as make-uping my face.  I am about to pin all the things and watch all the tutorials.

We are not doing any inside party this year, all will be on the outside/front of the house, I'm sure my man has something planned to make a big impact, and don't worry friends, it'll be documented properly this year!

Can't wait to get started!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.





Friday, July 8, 2016

Summer Blues

July 4th came and went. It was a great time with lots of friendships and smiles. Now we are back to regular neighbor hangs and nothing big really happening until the fall. I will definitely be updating more during September/October as we will be throwing 2 parties. The first is a baby fiesta for my dear sweet neighbors and their upcoming baby girl, and the second is a combined effort block party for Halloween! I am so excited for both and looking forward to making all kinds of decorations and foods :)

Now we come to the hottest time during the summer in Florida. My car always registers in the 100's when I get into it after work from sitting on the black tar parking lot all day. If you're wearing shorts, you've got the thigh/butt burns from a leather seat permanently until about late October.

This is also the time for a bit of a summer blues since there isn't anything going on, it's pretty similar to the winter blues in January after all the holiday season is over. It's the best time I think for a bit of an exercise kick. Get those endorphin's flowing! I believe we are getting a work group together to have a check in so that we'll actually work out, but I do know that I'll pick up on my running this week, I need to get active for my own self health.

Wish me luck, y'all!

Keep on, keepin' on!

M.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

What Is Happening

        This blog isn't a place normally for politics or current events but I can't sit here and stay silent. This world has gone mad. We are ripping each other down daily for opinions that before social media we would have sat and listened to with an open mind. It's a lot easier to be an asshole behind a computer screen than face to face.
     
        Now nowhere is safe. School, church, theme parks, a damn nightclub! Every time I leave my house I feel like I need to be on extra high alert. Scoping out everyone and making sure I have an exit plan. That's insane and that's the world  we have built for ourselves. A girl was killed signing autographs for fans. Numerous human beings were massacred while dancing and drinking and loving life. Another girl was murdered because she broke up with her boyfriend! No one is safe and no one is taking the blame. Pointing fingers in a circle until we implode onto ourselves.

         So now the conversation about gun control comes back up. No, we shouldn't completely do away with guns. Yes, there needs to be a review of the laws. In other countries there are laws requiring classes every year, there are laws requiring a longer wait/processing time. There are so many factors of legislation to look into, none of which abolish guns completely. If you do that then it becomes a very active black market situation and then you are worse than when you began.

         We need less hate in this world. More TOLERANCE. More LOVE. More RESPECT for your fellow human beings. We are all on this planet for such a short time. We need to stop all this negative bullshit and violence and get back as one. Peace is missing, and has been for a very long time.


Keep on, Keepin' on,

M.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

MAY Be I Ought To Make A Schedule Hahahaha

So with my cracked tooth fiasco I ended up needing it pulled out....which was seriously the worst thing to ever happen to me at that moment. I am no fan of dentists in the first place but this was too much. The unfortunate misstep I took in lowering our dental insurance cause me to have this tooth pulled without laughing gas/sedative. Just shots of Novocaine and a yank!! *cue all my cries forever* Moral of the story, actually read your health insurance packets when you get them so that when you to have an unexpected need for it.

Flash forward to the weekend and our friend's(and neighbors) awesome wedding! So much friendship, so much love, such a wonderful time. My man and I made lifelong friends from an epic week of partying and hanging out. We now have more homes in different countries to visit, which is amazing! Travelling is definitely something that has been on the backburner for far too long.

Another flash forward into this, the end of May and it took me all month to finish writing this blog post. So pretty much this title that was originally a pun is now really what I'm going to be doing as soon as I publish this. Woooo organization!!! I've had a full Kale-Bleuberry-Cherry smoothie, I AM READY hahahaha

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.


Friday, April 22, 2016

April Showers Bring.....Projects? Smoothies? Life Adventures?

Oh hi!

So I have at least done a once a month on here :D

But in all seriousness I've been busy, I've been up and down, I've been working all the weekends. It's been a weird time so far this 2016. I've been trying to figure out life and deal with all the things I guess grown up 30 year old ladies get to do. But I'm here! And I'm writing, so great times.

I decided on Monday that I was like "Yea, I'm gonna start getting healthy and eating well rounded meals more and less bad snacks!" So yesterday I bring my lunch to work, kale salad w/ walnuts and cherry tomatoes and a nice onion vinagrette.....and as I take a bite I chomp down on a walnut. On my not-so-great back tooth. And I cracked it :'( This is what I get?! No one ever cracked a tooth on a cheeseburger!!! So now until Monday when I go to the dentist, I can't really chew without it hurting. So now I'm making alll the smoothies. Maybe a health kick on it's own then?? But not at all how I wanted this to go.

I have made 3 smoothies so far and 2 were great and now the one I'm drinking as I type this out is, UM ok, I guess??

The first 2 as follows ( I was inspired by pinterest):

Berry Berry Great :)

Handful of dark pitted cherries
2 Handfuls of blueberries
Handful of strawberries
2 Heaping Tbsp vanilla yogurt
A Good Squeeze of honey
A Pour and a Half of cranberry juice

(Such accurate measurements)
Blend and enjoy. Also I used all frozen fruits so I didn't need ice.

Peanut Butter Yum :)

One to Two bananas (depending on the amount you want to make. I used one and it yielded about half a mason jar full)
3ish Tbsp of peanut butter
A Good Squeeze of honey
A Third of frozen apple juice concentrate

Blend and enjoy. Again no ice due to the frozen juice.

Now the third....I only changed kale from spinach but I got this recipe straight from a pinterest search

Pineapple Avocad-no :/

2 ripe avocados (it does make a full glass)
4 sliced pineapples, chopped
2 heaping handfuls of kale
A Good Squeeze of honey
A Good Pour of pineapple juice
Ice (nothing was frozen)

Blend.....for way longer than you had to on the first two and take a sip, it has an avocado texture, which is expected-but it's too thick. I was hoping as the ice melted it would be ok but I've been test sipping during this whole blog and it's not gotten better. It needs more fruit and juice and less avocado I think. If you do make it: please tell me if you improved on it.

When did this blog get so fancy and full of recipes?! I am a true at home blogger now yes! Expect all the posts on how I DIY'd my entire porch using only dollar store items, spray paint and things from Crate & Barrel that I causally had laying around my house.

But for real though, I'm having a small get together for Fourth of July weekend and I will probably DIY some decorations for that. Plus later in the year I am throwing a baby sprinkle for my dear friend and will definitely update the blog for that adventure.

Stay Tuned!! :D

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.



Wednesday, March 16, 2016

March Madness

I'm not sure how to even state this properly or begin to talk about the insane things happening in our life. But I will say that at the root of it all, we have a wonderful friend family. Everyone who has been there, trust me it has meant more than you know.

I still live in shut down mode and though we had an awesome time with our friends who just visited, my head wasn't 100% in it. At the back of my mind there is always a "what's going to happen next??" "what will slap us in the face this time??" I can't function properly anymore. I have to drink, I have to plant, I have to do half assed crafts and redecorate my space when I should be writing or working or cleaning. I don't feel like a good adult/friend/partner. I feel like a hermit and a sad girl. And it's all stemming from someone who doesn't even live in this damn state. Who has ruined vacations and weekends and parties and doesn't even realize the pain they've caused. Nothing is fair anymore and I'm sick of it.

I sit in my house an squander away the hours of my life instead of being outside and seeing the world and the people that I love. I'm always in here waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hate it, and I'm sorry if you think I've just been being a bad friend, I haven't done it on purpose. I have to self preserve myself alone in here so that eventually when this is all over, I come out head held high and ready to be 100% happy.

Hope that's fucking soon though.

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

When Did It Become February?

So my life has been a bit topsy-turvy as of late. February came in with a bang and a slap and a hell of an attitude. Things are happening that are 1000% out of my control and out of my man's control and only now a week and a half later we have reigned in this crazy. I won't delve into details because for now it's a grey area and I might make a more in depth article/blog when it's properly settled down. Today I just want to say....

To my friends/family:
I'm very thankful for all of you and I appreciate all the kindness and support. I'm sorry that I shut down and I revert back into my little cave of aloneness and I shut everyone out. It happens, it's a defensive trait. I'm reaching out my feelers though and I would like some company very soon :)

To _____:
I miss you and I love you. I'm sad that you are so far away. I'm sad that you can't visit. I'm sad for this whole situation. It's terrible for all parties and I feel that there is some much better solutions than the ones that we are faced with now. I hope you are happy, I guess. I hope you are doing well in school, you are smart as a whip and don't let anyone bring you down. You are a shining little firecracker, don't let anyone burn you out. I hope this finds you somewhere out there, know that you are loved and missed by more than me and whenever you want to come back, we're here with open arms.

That's all for now.

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Choose You Own Adventure

I've been both busy and not busy. Not busy, but busy playing tablet games. Busy having a wonderful time distracting myself from both my blog and the 60 day write club to write and illustrate a picture book for my 2 year old neighbor. But also busy with work. Flipside-busy having great chats with my neighbors and bonfires. I've come to the thinking that maybe there's two forms of busy on the life spectrum. You can choose how busy to be, and with what, I will always want to choose a good busy (so bonfires and drinks and building an empire of books)

Life in general is about choices, some are hard and some are easy but as far as it being a personal matter-it's always the right choice in the end. Hear me out: even when you make a so called wrong choice, you learn/recover from it, so thus it teaches you something, so it can't be that wrong. Obviously there are other situations where a choice is very clearly wrong and I would like to think that anyone reading this would never have to make a life or death choice.

Stay busy in the way you'd like, and make good for you kind of choices.

Keep on, keepin' on,
M.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Thanksgiving is Nearly Here!

The holidays are upon us friends! I am honestly looking forward to both Thanksgiving and Chirstmas this year. More than I have in the past few years and I'll tell you what: It's great :)

I've been in retail for going on 11 years now and as the holiday season has crept up faster and sooner, it zapped alot of the spirit out of me for many years. On top of some person drama during those years, I really gave up on good cheer, just putting on a nice front. This year things have come back to a bit of normalcy and drama has been squashed away, and even my store has gone companywide and given us a day completely off on Thanksgiving. The mall held out until November to put up their Christmas lights. I heard Santa isn't even showing up til after Black Friday!

Also, in moving over here to St. Pete, we have bonded with a wonderful block and now I have a pair of lovely ladies to craft Christmas bobbles and garlands with! We're so happy to get together and just enjoy each other's company. My parents had a neighborhood group when they lived in Chicago and they always talk of it with fond memories. To this day I'm pretty sure they still send each other Christmas cards....30 years later! This is the neighborhood we have found, this is where we'll stay :)

When I do crafting, trust that I shall put a few DIY blogs up!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Life Changes!

Better late than never for an overhaul of sorts. October was a VERY trying month which trickled into November. Now that the bad times are over and the upswing has begun, we have decided to clense out the clutter/fog/mess of our lives and get ourselves healthy and happy and ready to take on the next years with a new found vigor. To start on our journey we have set our alarms to become early birds. What a crazy idea we have. We are super night owls and I know that being a morning person will take some getting used to but I really look forward to not rushing in the morning and getting the most from my day.

This little blog will be getting some action with my early rising! I'll have coffee and writing time which will definitely get my mind going for the day ahead.

Maybe now I'll be able to go get groceries leisurely  if I need before work. Maybe I can start my exercise routine. Maybe I can pack my lunches!

I CAN.

I am really quite excited to start getting up with the sun, giving it a little hello to the day and become more productive and living to the fullest.

See you at sunrise!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

November Thoughts

It has been a pretty tough month over here. As much as from the outside it may seem nice and sunshiny, it's been quite a struggle. We planned way too much for two people for Halloween and the party, went way over our heads and subsequently ended up too stressed and too tired to even enjoy ourselves. On top of blowing money on a party, my man had serious truck problems that threw a sizable wrench in his life. So here we are miserable and still having to try and put on a good face. It's really hard. When your body and mind separate and won't go back together it is the absolute worst thing in the world.

Cut to Halloween, which was actually pretty fun and we ended up going downtown with our friends.

The next day was a meltdown of uncertainty and fear. When you need a huge piece of your business is disabled and things are seeming to fall apart it becomes very damaging to your psyche and thus your body. Your brain can make you more ill than any virus or bacteria, it's insane.

Cut to the next day and things began the upswing of all upswings.

This year has been the hardest of all my years. It's had the lowest of lows and highest of highs and to be perfectly honest it's really worn me out. A lot of change has come about, mostly for good, but still it's been exhausting. I am for once very much looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and also 2016. It's time for a new year clense in this little family unit I have and make our lives richer than before.

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Nearly Halloween!

Hello all! It's been a bit and I'm back to update you on costumes, life and partytimes.

Saturday was our 3rd annual Halloween party, it was a good time. I made my dress up a day before, started with a simple thrifted long black dress:

Then I added a skeleton garland, some pins and some twine:


That night I added shawls for more effect and my head-dress. Make-up was equally simple with just a half sooty face and some random striping:


Here are extra shots of the night (we sadly didn't take as many as I hoped too):



My man and I had a good time but not nearly as good as we both hoped. You are ultimately your worst critic and the idea of topping last year's soiree proved very daunting and frustraiting. Our friends loved it and at the end of the day that's what matters I guess. Next year there won't be a party (I'm 90% positive) and maybe we'll get to enjoy more haunts around town.

I am looking forward to a  chilled out Halloween night on the porch with our neighbors and my bestie. Happy Haunting you guys!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Friday, October 16, 2015

DIY Antlers and Now Floral Necklace Tutorial PART 3 :)

Welcome back! This part of the tutorial is very optional. If you made the antlers and want to be done there, that's totally cool. I'm going for some drama so I added huge flowers!

STEP ELEVEN:

Cover your headband in a ribbon or fabric so the glue can better stick to it.


STEP TWELVE:

Plan out what flowers to use before attatching them. Add embellishments is so desired.



The beige flower had those same middle bits as the blue, but I had to cut them out to get the skull to properly fit.

STEP THIRTEEN:

Attach you flowers! Figure out your pattern and make it your own :)




And done! Also I realized that unfortunately the antlers and the frog piece I made earlier no longer fit together on my head. So now I at least have options during the night to switch out my "crowns". It really works out too since my antlers dried a bit wonky and stopped fitting through our doorways :/
So they are outside antlers now.

True to form I wanted more! I wanted to maybe make a floral crown to wear with my frog piece.....That did not work out. Instead it became a floral statement necklace and honestly that's fine. I was over extending on this costume and I needed to be done with it to move on to other home decorating!

STEP ONE:

Cover your base in tape, I also glued on leaves to cover the tape.


STEP TWO:

Have your baby skunk help you pick out your flowers :)

STEP THREE:

Make your arrangement, glue it on and that's it!



I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Come back for more Halloween themed shenanigans soon!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.