DIY: Valentine's Day Candy and Tulips Centerpiece

B and I like to spend Valentine's Day at home with a nice home cooked meal, wine and an old romantic movie. But, it wouldn't quite be Valentine's Day without flowers and the traditional heart shaped candies, right? So, I've combined all of our favorites into a fun centerpiece that's really simple to make.

5 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues

Hello Friends! I have been MIA from my blog lately battling a bad case of the flu.  While I'm so happy to report that I'm feeling much better, father winter has decided to keep many of us down with snow and freezing temps.  It is freezing here in Atlanta, so getting creative is the only way to prevent cabin fever.

Here are few ideas to stir up your creative juices and help you fight those winter blues:

Unleash the Chef within you and try a new recipe. 

I am not the best cook by any means, but I love to play with fun and easy recipes that do not require 200 ingredients to make. Cold days are great for making soups and large pots of anything yummy.  I picked up a Weightwatchers magazine while I was at the grocery store and made Italian wedding soup in only 15 minutes. It was yummy and perfect for a chilly night! You can also go on Pinterest and find easy recipe ideas and create a Foodie Board for  more inspiration. 

Read a Book.

And I mean a real book, not a fashion magazine which is what I usually read.  It's nice to take a break from watching hours of The Bachelor and pick up a book. My daughter suggested this fun novel, "Where'd You Go, Bern-adette".  It is light hearted and fun and easy to follow which keeps your spirits up. I ordered it via Amazon and received it the next day! Check out other Top sellers here.

Get Crafty. Try a DIY.

I love anything DIY. I have kept this spool of burlap ribbon in my drawer because I knew I would use it for something one day. Well, now is the day. I've wrapped it around candles, books and I've made bows with it that I've attached to frames with a glue gun. Get crazy, it's fun. Check out Pinterest for more DIY ideas!

Learn a New Craft.

Being trapped indoors can be the perfect time to learn something new! I've always wanted to learn how to create my own beaded necklaces. So, I went on YouTube and looked up jewelry making and beading videos and just started playing around with some old beads I had in my craft drawer.  I'm thinking I may re-strand an old vintage necklace into something modern and cool. I'll keep you posted how well I do, but so far it has been a lot of fun to design and create my own jewelry! Click here for jewelry supplies and tools need to create your own collection.

Write a friend a letter.  Just because.

I have never been one to hand write and send personal letters via traditional snail mail. It's so easy to text or email anymore that hand written letters have become a lost art.   Texts and emails are erased and gone forever, while your letters remain. I have kept old letters and note cards that I've received over the years from my parents and loved ones. It's sweet to see their hand writing on something that I will always treasure.  

On another note, I became obsessed with vintage typewriters as of late, so I had to include my recent find in these photos along with my pink vintage tea pot. It actually works, so I typed up a letter and mailed it to my Mom in-law, just for fun. Yes, she knows I'm nuts, but she really enjoyed receiving it in the mail!

While my old buddy, Champ, is happy to sleep it off this winter, I hope my ideas will inspire you to try something new!

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

~ Robert Brault ~

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Linking up with these fabulous ladies:
Celebrate Southern with Jess and Susan, Tremendous Tuesday, Creative Mondays, Thursday Favorite Things, Fashion Friday

DIY: Festive NYE Glitter Nails

New Year's eve always sneaks up on me after being so wrapped up in the Christmas festivities. This year, I'm a little more prepared for it because we will be spending it with all of our kids at home. While we have plans for ringing in the new year from the comfort of our couch, we will be stepping out for dinner, which calls for a touch of glitter. My daughter came up with this easy DIY for festive glitter nails. 

All you need is your favorite nail polish color, we used OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around and Essie Set in Stones Luxeffects glitter Top Coat for the tips of your nails.

Wishing you all a very happy new year! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Linking up with these fabulous ladies:
More Pieces of Me, On the Daily Express, Tremendous Tuesday, Celebrate Southern

DIY: Distressed Jeans

There are certain fashion trends that I am sure are never, ever going to die. To me, distressed jeans are up there with leopard print and the LBD.  So, I have embarked on a distressing journey for my latest DIY project by cutting, sanding and pulling threads out of an old pair of jeans, giving them a new lease on life.  It's a great DIY for those that have a little bit of patience and love to work out their aggression.

Wearing: Gap Boyfriend Jeans // Loft Top // Jeffrey Campbell Shoes, similar  // Tory Burch Bag // Vintage Earrings and Bracelet

Steps and Supplies:

What you will need:

• Pair of skinny or boyfriend jeans
• Box cutter
• Scissors
• Sand paper
• Tweezers

How to:

1. Put your jeans on and mark with a pen where your knees are.  You will want to make a mark above and below your knee.

2. Take your jeans and fold them in half so that the seams are in the middle.  Using your scissors, cut your jeans where your marks were, making sure you do not cut the seams.

3. While applying pressure, rub your sandpaper over the cuts to loosen the threads. 

4. Pull out the individual blue vertical threads with your tweezers to reveal the white threads. The first one can be difficult, but once you start, it is super easy!

5. Next, you will want to create some distressed parts, which is where the white weft of the denim shows.  To prevent cutting through to the back of the jeans, slip a folded magazine into the parts you are going to cut.  

6.  Using your box cutter, make several parallel cuts.

7.  Rub your sand paper over the cuts for that worn in look. 

8.  Using your tweezers go back and pull out any loose blue vertical threads to expose the white weft.

9.  Small parallel cuts made with the box cutter and should look like this.

10.  Finally throw your jeans in the washer to make them look more distressed.  The more you wash them the better they will look!

LOVE this look but don't dare to try this DIY? Here are some of the hottest distressed jeans ready to wear:

Linked up with:

Random Wednesday, What I Wore Wednesday, Style Me Wednesday, Throw Back Thursday, Treat Yo'Self

Apple Walnut Spice Smoothie

You know it's fall when you find me in my kitchen trying all sorts of recipes with pumpkins and apples. The scent of apple or pumpkin goodies baking make our home smell so good! I happen to come across this apple smoothie recipe that is so yummy,  I had to share.  It's like having an apple pie without all the sugar. 

What you need to make one serving:

1 Apple

1/4 cup of Walnuts

1 cup of Almond Milk

1 tsp All Spice or Cinnamon 

1/2 cup of Greek plain or vanilla flavored yogurt 

Cut the apple, leaving the skin for nutrition, throw away the core. Mix all ingredients in the blender until smooth.  Enjoy!

+

J.Crew Giveaway

Our J.Crew $100 Gift Card giveaway is still going strong through Monday, September 29th.  Enter now for your chance to WIN! Simply follow the Rafflecopter instructions below.

Good Luck to everyone!

 Linked up with:

Treat Yo'self

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DIY: Homemade Apple Chips

This recipe is perfect for a rainy day because it takes a little bit of time baking in order to make the apples crispy.  But, it is super easy and there is nothing like the warm scent of apples, cinnamon and nutmeg spices baking in your oven to get you into the fall spirit!

What you will need:

3 whole apples, washed

1/4 cup sugar 

2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice
Parchment Paper

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Line a sheet of parchment paper on a large baking sheet. You will need about 3 sheets for 3 batches. 

2. Combine sugar and Apple Pie Spice in a small bowl. Mix well.  

3. Slice apples crosswise into very thin slices (as thin as possible). It's ok if they break.

4. Sprinkle sugar and spice mix lightly on both sides of the apple slices.

5. Bake for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, turning the apples every 30 minutes.
6. Let cool on wire rack. 

You can store the apple chips in an airtight container for up to 1 week.  Enjoy!

Linked up with:
Treat Yo'Self, Weekend Blog Hop, Fab Favorites, Anything Goes Linky

Protein Tropical Smoothie Recipe

One of my favorite protein smoothies is this mango, banana and pineapple smoothie.  It fills me up and gives me tons of energy after a morning workout.

Here is what you will need for 2 people:

1/2 cup frozen mango (or 1 fresh mango cubed)

1 banana

a handful of frozen pineapple

1 cup of  fresh kale

1/2 cup of fresh spinach

1 cup of almond milk

1 cup of Greek plain or vanilla flavored yogurt

Optional: 2 teaspoons of flax seed oil

Mix all ingredients in the blender for  couple of minutes until creamy and smooth.  I prefer to use frozen fruit for making smoothies because it's already cut and keeps fresh longer.  So easy and so good for you!

As a side note, Our Nordstrom Gift Card Giveaway is still going on! I teamed up with the lovely Meagan, from Because of Jackie and a couple of lovely bloggers for a $100 Gift Card give away to Nordstrom! To enter, simply follow the steps in the Rafflecopter widget below. Each entry you complete will give you more chances to win! The giveaway will run until next Monday and is open to international readers via an e-gift card. Be sure to stop by and visit all these gorgeous and talented ladies too!

Best of luck to all of you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for reading!

Linked up with:
I Feel Pretty, What I wore Wednesday, Treat Yo'self Thursday

DIY Pedicure

It's a real treat to go to the salon and have my feet massaged and my nails polished while I catch up on trashy celebrity gossip magazines.  But, to be honest, I don't have the time nor do I like to spend the amount of money to keep it up.  It can be pretty expensive.  So when the folks at Julep asked me to come up with a DIY Summer Pedicure, I was excited to take on the challenge.  Here is my version of an at-home pedi to keep your feet and toes sandal ready this summer.

Step One: Soak Your Feet

Image via Pinterest

This step softens your skin and prepares your feet for exfoliation. You can add Epsom salt or bath salts and a drop of peppermint or lavender essence oil if you have it.  You can also use a tablespoon of olive oil if you don't have essence oil. Remove any traces of your old nail polish and rub olive oil into cuticles.  Soak feet for about 5 to 10 minutes.  

AIN'T GOT NO TIME FOR THAT?  

Skip step one and try step two while taking a hot shower. 

Step Two: Scrub 

Image via Pinterest

Smooth a pumice stone over the scrub, roughing off callouses and rough patches. Rinse. 

Step Three: Groom

Pat your feet dry, trim and file your nails. Add cuticle oil (or olive oil) to the base of your nail and gently push cuticles back with a cuticle stick.  MOISTURIZE. Apply a rich cream on your feet, top and bottom. Don't forget your heels and cuticles.

Step Four: Polish

Clean leftover cream from nails with a cotton pad soaked in polish remover. Apply a base coat, two coats of nail color, and a topcoat. Give nails at least 15 minutes to dry before slipping on open-toed shoes (it can take up to two hours for them to dry fully). To speed things up, apply a quick-dry topcoat or quick-dry drops.

WANT TO GET CREATIVE WITH POLISH?

For my summer pedicure, I added these cute little white daisy's that I hand painted myself with a little help from Julep.  Julep has this new nail design tool called the Julep Plie` Wand that really has my creative juices flowing. Think polka dots, plaid nails, chevron tips...oh, the possibilities are endless.

Pour a drop of each color that you want to use onto a piece of foil paper. You don't want to dip the Plie` Wand directly into the bottle because it would get really messy. I used white and gold for my design, but you can get as creative as your heart desires.  Practice on paper before applying to nails!

Dip the small round tip of the wand into the white polish and tap lightly onto your nails. Gently tap on your nail 5 dots to form a circle, creating a flower. Wipe the wand clean with a tissue and dip it into the gold polish. Dot center of the flower with the gold.

For a final touch, take the brush wand and dip it into the gold polish. Very gently, brush tiny lines around the daisy.

Add a top coat over the entire nail and your oh-so-summer-y pedicure is finished! You. Got. This.

Here are the products that I used:
Olive Oil
Bath Salts or Epsom Salt
Foot Scrub
Pumice Stone
Cuticle Oil
Cuticle Stick
Foot Cream or Moisturizer
Base Coat
Essie Bikini Not So Teeny Blue Polish
White Nail Polish
Quick-dry Top Coat
Julep Plie` Wand (get a FREE Julep nail polish with this purchase)
 Julep Metallic Polish (or buy the gift trio set during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale)

Be sure to check out Julep's website for more info on the Julep Plie` Wand and their blog for video tutorials on creative nail designs!

Linked up with:
Weekend Blog Hop, Fab Favorites, Fashion Item Friday, Treat Yo' Self

Thanks so much for reading!

Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites

If you have a sweet tooth like me, you are always looking for a satisfying snack that will not kill your  calorie count. Thats where these babies come in! One of these little nibbles is sure to satisfy a summer sweet tooth and are so easy to make.

All you need is:

 Ripe Bananas

Peanut Butter

1 Cup of Chocolate Chips 

Step one:

Slice banana and spread peanut butter between two slices.  Freeze for about 30 minutes or until firm.

Step two:

Melt chocolate in the microwave for about 30 seconds, stir and repeat until clump free. 

Step three:

Remove banana slices from the freezer and with a bbq skewer (or long fork) dip the banana slices into the melted chocolate. 

Let the chocolate dipped bananas cool on parchment (or wax) paper.  You can eat them right away or store them in a tightly sealed container in the freezer until the next sweet craving strikes.

I hope you enjoy these little goodies! They've become one of my new faves!

Thanks so much for reading!

Linked up with:
Treat Yo'self, Tres Chic Fashion Thursday, Look What I got, Fashion Item Friday, Weekend Blog Hop
  

DIY: Flip Flop Glam

In Florida, we wear flip flops pretty much all year round.  They are comfy and inexpensive, however  not a very glam look since they are rubber thongs after all. Valentino makes my favorite rubber bow thongs. It shows that flip flops can be very glam with simple embellishments.  I embellished my oh-so-not couture Old Navy flip flops with ribbon and vintage buttons I found at a yard sale. These took me less than 30 minutes to make, and the design possibilities are endless with a plethora of ribbons and buttons at the craft store.

 Here is what you will need to create a similar look: Flip Flops, Old Navy Summer SALE is going on now // Vintage rhinestone buttons or a similar option for a lot less // Ribbon // Floral Wire 

Step one: Create a bow by pinching 4 loops of ribbon, all the same size.

Step two:  Tightly wrap the wire around the center of the ribbon, leaving enough extra wire to add buttons. Trim the ribbon ends at an angle.

Step Three:  Add the buttons by threading it through the same wire that you used to wrap the center of the bow.  Twist until it's tightly secured, leaving enough wire to attach the bow to the shoe.

Attach bows to the flip flops and voila,  insta-glam!

To add a kitschy theme for the summer, I embellished this pair with lady bug buttons from the craft store ($2 for a pkg of 8 buttons). They are sweet and simple and took less than 10 minutes to make.

What you will need:  Flip Flops, on sale at Old Navy // Lady Bug buttons, Hobby Lobby $2 //  Super glue

Thanks so much for reading!

Linked up with:
Style Sessions, Mix it Monday's,  More Pieces of Me: Manic Monday, On The Daily Express: Manic Monday, Trend Spin, Treat Yo'Self