Ornament Swap

 

I signed up for my very first ornament swap! Candidly Clyde hosted the ornament swap, and I was so excited to participate! I had seen lots of snowflakes while checking out ornaments and wrapping paper at Target sooo I decided to attempt my own. I made a few simple circle ornaments with a snowflake on it, but I wanted to try out some lettering as well. It didn’t come out perfect, but I am still proud of it!

I chose the word Joy because it is short and sweet.

What do you think about the snowflake? I am thinking of making some in lots of other colors and possibly listing them in my shop!

I also found this super cute free printable! It is available in different sizes, so I cut out the large one and put it on a kraft paper card. I’m going to use the smaller sizes for gift tags :) I really hope my ornament swap partner, Kayla likes it.

Have you signed up for any gift exchanges this year?

Just to make you smile…

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Is this not one of the cutest things you’ve ever seen?! I’ve been thinking about getting it printed and hanging it on my wall.

I hope you have a wonderful day :)

Difficult People

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Sticking with the theme this month…

All of us have had some difficult people in our lives. Sometimes it’s a sibling, a friend, a boss or even a parent. I’ve come to realize certain truths about people this year and it has been very frustrating. However, I am thankful that I finally did realize those scary truths. It made my decisions much easier. I know who I will and will not give my time to. I know who I will and will not trust. I know who I will make an effort with and who I will not.

I am the type of person that will take a few minutes to remind my friends or family that I love them and miss them and hope they have a great day. I am the type of person that is supportive. I am a person that treats people fairly. I am that person that will never leave you.

I learned how to be this way because of the difficult people in my life.

I never want to be like them.

I know that not many people read or follow my blog, but I do want to take a second to thank those that do. I really do appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read my thoughts. I especially want to thank those that take an extra second to leave a comment. It really does make me smile each and every single time you share something with me :)

What I’m Thankful For

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I haven’t kept up with everyone on the daily thankful posting BUT that doesn’t mean I’m haven’t been thankful for things…

Today I am Thankful For:

-Family: My gma called me today to ask me if she should make broccoli cheese rice or green bean casserole. She said if I wanted both she would make them both. Of course I said both! She will go out of her way for me. She’s one of my favorite people in the entire world. Coming in at a close second would be my Aunt Kat (pretty much my mom) who loves me just as if she were the woman that gave birth to me. My dad (grumpily) went out of his way on his birthday to attend my very first craft show (huge deal). I love my family because they love me so much!

-Friends: I have a few friends that have become family over the years. I know they’ll be there for me no matter what and I will definitely be there for them no matter what. Because of these friends, I have SUPER cute little nieces and a nephew that I am so happy I get to spoil when I get the chance to :) One of my besties and I even have a pact – if we’re not married by the time we’re 40 we are totally gonna marry eachother. Ladies MUST be able to marry eachother in another 20 years!

-It’s Sooo Fluffy: I am so thankful that I have found that I have the ability to create things I love. Something that started out as just a fun little hobby has turned into a small business. I love being able to relax through my sewing. It makes me so happy to see someone smile because of something I created.

-Brody: My baby! He’s the cutest, sweetest, most wonderful dog in the entire world (yes, he’s even better than your dog!). I picked him out when he was a tiny 4 month old puppy. He is lying right next to me 5 years later :) No matter how many human babies I may have in the future, Brody will always be my favorite because he was the first.

-Experiences: I am extremely thankful for the life I have had. Now that I’m older I am grateful that I didn’t have it so easy all the time. Being the oldest sibling by 11 years made me grow up a little quicker and become more independent. Not having my mother in my life for 18 years made me be even more grateful for the people who have been there all along. Having my gma and Aunt Kat as role models shows me the type of mother I want to be when I have children. The REALLY tough stuff like paying bills and working for what I have makes me very grateful for everything I own.

These are things I am grateful for every single day, but I’m choosing today specifically to share them with you. I truly hope that all of you have friends, family and experiences that make you a better person.

What are you thankful for today?

Easy Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

I decided to go on another Pinterest adventure! I really wanted something yummy. I also thought it would be FANTASTIC if it required little to no effort at all. I’ve seen this pin quite a few times, so I decided to try it out. The best part about it is that the recipe only requires two ingredients. However, if you want frosting on top it’ll require three ingredients. I wanted marshmallow :)

Gather your inexpensive ingredients. I chose spice cake mix, but I’ve seen versions that suggest you could use chocolate cake mix. Just open that bag of cake mix and dump it in a bowl ( I bet you won’t spill as much as I did) and open up that can of pumpkin. Have you ever tasted the pumpkin right out of the can? Let me tell you, it is NOT yummy. haha I was really disappointed with that. Anyway, mix ‘em up! The mixture will be SUPER thick, so be prepared for that.

Pop those in the oven for the suggested time on the cake mix box. When they’re close to being done they smell SOOO wonderful! While I had these in the oven I was working on my fluffies for the craft fair. This is such an easy recipe! Once they’re done baking, let them cool down a bit. OR you can go right ahead and spread some tasty marshmallow fluff on them so they’re nice a gooey :)

Do you love this stuff as much as I do? I realized I hadn’t had any in such a long time. I thought it would taste great on top of the pumpkin spice cupcakes. I was RIGHT. :)

I loved them! They got great reviews by some family members too! I highly suggest you take some time one day soon to try these out.

What Pinterest adventure have you been on lately?

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you have a super fun day! I wish I could see all the cute lil kiddos out in their awesome costumes, but I won't be off work until 7pm :( It gets super dark really early right now so I'm sure I'll miss it all. 

I wanted to share this great picture from Pet Fest Old Town Spring a couple weeks ago. My Brody seemed to like it. His buddy Sam had fun too! They're matching costumes were pretty popular! They are actually today's feature on the Daily Fluffy of Pretty Fluffy :) Today I'm in my black scrubs and cat ears along with my coworker and our medical student. I couldn't convince Dr Evans to wear any costume-y stuff haha

Have fun trick-or-treating! What costume are you wearing today?

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure – Houston

This weekend was a good one. Friday was a pretty good day at work for me. I wore a new dress from Charming Charlee and got lots of compliments. I felt pretty :) Some of our favorite drug reps came in so that’s always fun. No patients yelled at me and Dr Evans was in a pretty great mood. My coworker got all the crazy patients and yelling that day haha It was so weird how I was getting all the good ones and almost every patient was freaking out with her. Sometimes we just have those days huh? To add to the awesomeness, Dr Evans let me leave an hour early! I went out to dinner with my Gma then had a movie night with her. We meant to go to sleep at a reasonable hour since we had to be up so early the next morning but that didn’t happen.

Saturday we participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It was our first time so we didn’t know what to expect. I remember seeing a few people walking around covered in pink last year but didn’t know any details. Sadly, this year my coworker’s cousin passed away from breast cancer. It was actually just a few weeks ago. In honor of her, my coworker’s family got a team together to sign up for this year’s race. I was happy to join and invited my family to as well. I was super excited when my registration packet arrived with my awesome shirt.

Pretty right? Saturday morning we were up at 7am and out the door by 7:15 to head downtown. I live a few blocks from downtown Houston, but stayed the night at my Gma’s 40 min away so I could drive her because she’s not a fan of driving in Houston. Our team met up at my apartment and took the rail downtown because none of us are fans of driving and parking downtown haha We were running a little late, so we were very happy when we saw others in pink waiting for the rail too. We weren’t the only ones! Once we made our way to the beginning of the walk we were SOOO confused! There were people EVERYWHERE. Finally we made it to the start of the walk ( we chose to do the non competitive walk) and were relieved. That is until we were jam-packed at a complete stop at the start of the course. It got hot, the speakers were WAY too loud and people were beginning to make me angry just for being there. Awful right? This lasted for what seemed like an hour then we finally got moving. That made our group very happy :) Once we weren’t so packed and could actually walk, it was AWESOME! Everyone was dressed in pink and happy to be there. We had people cheering us on. There were some great costumes and very enthusiastic teams.

 
It was a beautiful day, and when the breeze came along it was nice. I think the people watching was the best part. Most of the time, I didn’t really recognize where we were. I found out about an awesome park that Brody and I will definitely have to go to soon!

This is my Gma and I at the finish! A little hot, a little tired and a lot sweaty BUT we did it :) Definitely going to do this again next year. However, we know a few things to be better prepared for. With the walking to and from plus the actual course I think we walked roughly 6 miles. My family has a history of breast cancer as well as other forms of cancer so I was glad I got to be a part of such a great cause. I did Relay for Life for quite a few years, and I plan to be involved with this event in the future.

Have you ever participated in this type of fundraising event?

My first craft fair!

A few weeks ago, I got an email on Etsy inviting me to join a craft fair. Maison Market is an awesome boutique in Old Town Spring , TX. I was so excited and so nervous at the same time! I’ve never done a craft fair before! Danielle was so nice and helpful so I felt at ease. I got even more excited when I visited the boutique this weekend :) They have amazing products there! It smelled wonderful, looked great and the ladies there were absolutely sweet. They have a courtyard around their boutique that seems like a great little set up for a craft fair. I immediately started researching craft fairs on Pinterest to get ideas. On Sunday I even found some AWESOME wire baskets to display my fluffies in my booth. I really do love the Home Goods store.
I have LOTS of sewing to do to get prepared for November 17th. I’ll be keeping everyone updated on the craft fair and if you’re in the area I really hope you can stop by!


Any advice for a first time craft fair participator?

DIY – Fall Wreath

Fall is here!!!!
I’m a little excited. Just a little. I’d be WAY more excited if it actually felt like fall outside. I’m in Houston, TX and we don’t get much cool weather here. At least not when we’re supposed to! Last week was pretty nice actually. didn’t immediately start sweating the moment I took Brody on his morning walk. It made me happy :) Now, we’re back to high 80s – mid 90s. Either way, I like to get into the Autumn-y spirit.
Do you love Pinterest as much as I do?
If so, you should TOTALLY check out my page by clicking that cute lil button over there on the side to check out all my awesome Pinterest finds! I work in a doctor’s office, so I’m on the phone a lot. I always have the site up on my computer so I can scroll through the awesomeness while I’m on hold with a pharmacy or something. Lately, I’ve been finding AWESOME wreaths such as this one, this one and this one! I finally decided to make my own. Then I got to Hobby Lobby and saw the twig wreaths are only $5! I then decided to make one for myself, my Grandma (Gma) and my Aunt Kathy :)
Here’s how I made them:

Supplies Needed:
Twig Wreath
Assorted Silk Flowers – colors of your choice
Hot Glue Gun
Gluesticks
Scissors
Hook to hang the wreath


Start by placing the largest flower on the wreath wherever you like. Then fill in the outer spaces with smaller flowers. Have fun with it, move them around BEFORE you start to put any hot glue. This way you can decide if you want to cover the entire wreath, only do one side, etc.


Once you have all the flowers placed on the wreath where you want them, get that hot glue gun ready! I decided to make mine like this. I think it looks nice. That class I took in college on flower arranging taught me at least a little! haha When you have your hot glue gun ready, just pick up a flower put PLENTY of hot glue on it and place it back where you liked it. Continue with all flowers. I found it best to start again with the largest flower then work my way out to the fillers, but you can decide what you’re most comfortable with.

Here’s my three wreaths. Mine is the tiny one in the top corner, my Gma’s is the huge one on the bottom right and my Aunt’s is the medium one. As you can see, I decided to change it up with each wreath I made. I gave my aunt double the sunflowers because she loves those. Attach your hook and hang wherever you’d like! My Gma hung hers above her dining room window. My Aunt put hers on her front door.

Mine is hanging on my front door of my apartment :) What do you think? I hope you find the time to decorate for this wonderful season.

What fall DIY project are you working on?

Halloween!

Is Halloween your favorite holiday?

 Mine is definitely Christmas, but Halloween comes in second. I'm slightly annoyed that Halloween isn't always on a Saturday. My favorite part is seeing all the little kids in their costumes. Sooo freakin' cute right?! Well, I work until about 7pm everyday AND I live in a small apartment complex so I'm sure I won't be getting any trick-or-treaters this year :( I also live right behind a church, so I'm guessing they won't be celebrating. I definitely will put Brody's pumpkin t-shirt on pretty much the entire month of October though. haha That's probably the closest thing to a costume he will wear. He doesn't like a lot of puppy clothing. The only thing I've really done to get ready for Halloween is craft some new fluffies for the shop! So far, they've been great sellers in my office! They've just been listed in Etsy so you should definitely check them out!

What have you done to prepare for Halloween? What are you going to dress up as?? Let me know your plans so I can be jealous :)

Bachelorette Party

This weekend I got to drive to Dallas to visit one of my best friends! I had been helping plan her bachelorette party. We had sooo much fun! It was so great to spend time with Jessi and I got to meet a few new people. I basically gave everyone jobs to do: drinks, cake, favors, games, etc. It all turned out great! Here’s some documentation of the fun we had…


 


There’s LOTS of pictures, but I figure you don’t want to see it all haha It was lots of laughing, drinking and silly times. Jessi said she had a good time and everything turned out pretty much how she wanted so I’d say it was a success!

When is the last time you attended a bachelorette party and was it super fun?

Etsy Favorites – Branches

My laptop is alive again!!!! I’m so glad my aunt’s boyfriend is a computer genius. Unfortunately, all my stuff was wiped. BUT thank goodness for Facebook and iTunes huh? There was a very small amount of information on my computer that wasn’t already saved somewhere out in the internet. I’ve got some tutorials and sneak peeks of new fluffies coming to the shop soon…so hopefully you’ll check back to see that awesomeness!
I was checking out more handmade goodness on Etsy yesterday and ended up doing a search on branches. Does anyone else love trees as much as I do?? I think they’re beautiful. I REALLY like the ones with hardly any leaves. Not sure how to explain why, I just think they’re so pretty. I also really like the giant full ones too. I guess the ones in between I don’t really pay much attention to. Sooo I thought I’d show off some of my recently favorited items. These shops are AMAZING.

Jewelry Tree by Heart Not Included

Twig Bobby Pins by Woodland Belle

Tree Pillow Covers by Cozy Blue

Branch Wall Hanging by Wooden Sage

I wish I had the extra money to splurge and buy pretty things for my apartment! My walls are still bare and it is just so sad. What amazing Etsy shops do you recommend I feature on my next Etsy Favorites post?

Austin Weekend

My laptop crashed!!!! It has been killing me not being able to update or follow other blogs as easily. I'm currently at work right now calling in prescriptions, so I have time to type and talk at the same time. haha I thought I'd share my AMAZING weekend with you :) I love visiting Austin, TX. My bestie, Mel (who is also my Wifey - we've decided if we are not married by age 40 we're totally marrying eachother and becoming super awesome roommates) lives there and introduced me to her group of friends a couple years ago. I love them all and get so excited when I get to take mini vacations up to Austin to see everyone :) This weekend was my friend Chuck's birthday!

It just so happens that Chuck's birthday is also my furbaby's birthday! He is now 5 years old! I can't believe it :)

We went downtown Friday night. We got free drinks because my wifey knows super fun peeps!

Don't we look like we had so much fun? We TOTALLY did. I hadn't been able to visit since I went to SXSW in March! Seeing everyone was so great :D Where is your favorite mini vacation place?

Etsy Favorites – Jewelry

I’m sitting here singing along with Alex Clare and surfing Etsy. I decided I should share some of my favorite items with you! Are you in love with Etsy like I am?? A couple of years ago, my friend introduced me to the site and I basically never left it. ha. There are so many super awesome things to discover. I’m amazed at the talent I come across. It really inspired me to be crafty :)
I’ve recently gotten really into accessories. I’m completely obsessed with watches and bracelets. Although, I’m proud of myself for having some great self control I’m sort of sad every single time I deny myself such pretty things. Today, I’ll show off a few things on my wish list of jewelry that I WISH I could own. If anyone wants to surprise me with presents I would TOTALLY love you forever :) On to the awesomeness…

super cute bracelet by Simply You Jewelry

wood bracelets by Threads

stackable rings by Mon Cadeau

owl necklace by Rose and Raven

wing ring by Thirty Six Ten

See anything you like? Are you a fabulous jewelry maker that likes to give out free presents?