Rain go away!

It has been so rainy and icky these past few days!! It's putting me in a funk! I've been recovering from a cold this week (thanks to husband for sharing) and have not been doing my yoga as consistently. Today after sitting on my butt all morning I forced myself to do yoga! When I feel gross working out is really the last thing I want to do, but getting back into a good routine has magical powers.

The health insurance we have through Mike's company rewards us for exercise so I have been tracking my efforts and I've been working out consistently since March 4th! Basically 2 months! So.. to normal healthy people this is not a big deal - but to me! This is big. I have a great history of working out for 2 weeks and then not doing anything for months. I'm feeling great and seeing results in muscle strength and stamina so hopefully this can continue!

I'm being nicer to myself during this process too - realizing that working out some is a heck of a lot better than none! I started off with a goal of every other day - that way I eased my way into it and didn't get burn out. I find this to be more realistic of what I ultimately want to do anyway. For me, working out every day is just not in the cards. So why push myself to do it for a week and then get disappointment when a schedule or whatever doesn't allow. Realistic goals - such an easy concept, but challenging to put into place!

Before I left, mother in law taught me how to knit! It seems like everyone with awful winters has a "winter project" so I'm planning ahead and learning the art of knitting. This past week I finished my first project!! I used this pattern from Ravelry. I ran out of yarn so mine is a bit shorter, but it looks/ feels/ smells (kidding) like a scarf - so I must have succeeded! Next I'm going to try this pattern. I started this morning and quickly (well 2 hours) realized that I wasn't doing it correctly. After a few youtube videos and some practice I'm getting the hang of it!! Never again will I cast on more than 20 stitches if I don't know what I'm doing!!

Mike worked days Friday - Sunday, is off tomorrow and then switches to nights Tues-Thurs. Poor guy!

Time to shower and maybe paint my nails! Hope you have had a good weekend!

Holiday Monday

Monday again! In case you've missed the last few Manic Mondays, every Monday (well, usually!) I pick 4-5 recent moods/ emotions and explain them!

1) Excited - The desk and matching side table/ file drawer looks great in the apartment! It feels so nice to have some of the papers moved off the kitchen table and more organized on the desk. I still have to make a trip to an office supply store, but we're making improvements here! Big thanks to pops for his patience with installation! Pictures to come soon!

2) Marvelous (I think I just picked this word because it starts with an 'M'.. and so does Monday!) - so nice to have a long weekend, especially this weekend so I can talk to my hubs as much as possible before he travels far, far, away! I will admit that I have not reflected on the reason for the holiday, nor posted my favorite MLK quote on facebook - which seems to be the current way of proving that you're respectful and appreciative of the holiday Monday... Maybe next year.

3) Cat-minded - I've been very productive with my Monday! Started off by taking Fiv to the vet. The vet recommended all sorts of things to try and buy, so I've been all over town checking those items off my list! Time to get this cat healthy!

4) Crafty - OK so I feel like I'm exaggerating by calling this project "crafty", but I guess it is! I created a flower arrangement for my new desk! I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up 3 stems of fake flowers (currently on sale for 50% off) for a grand total of $3.17. You see, I recently acquired a neat glass jar mom had that used to be her mom's and I just knew I had to turn it into a vase! After cutting down the long stems and arranging the extra leaves around the bottom of the vase, I'm the proud owner of a new desk accessory!

I'm especially loving the bright, happy yellow! It will be a fun project to update with the seasons as well!

5) Cable tv lover! Some of you know that I finally got cable! We're a couple weeks into it and it's such a nice distraction on what can be otherwise lonely nights! Some of my new favorite shows are Millionaire Matchmaker, Celebrity Rehab, Beyond Scared Straight, and of course my favorite Food Network shows!

Crafty Christmas Gift

 Dad came to my rescue this Christmas and made me a beautiful necklace rack based on the ideas from this post!

Mom and I saw the knobs* at Anthropologie one day, and I was so impressed! I'm sure you could probably find similar drawer pulls / knobs for less elsewhere, but the selection is great, and it makes it easy if you don't want to trek all over! I love that they picked pulls that are different, but coordinate! Nice work parents! I love it!

Here is another option I put together! I think the flower pulls are playful and fun with a slightly vintage feel! 

And I love the bright colors on these!

*I'm not loving the word knobs... how awkward.

Jewelry organization?

My mom scored a ring organizer for me at a garage sale this past weekend. The original board was ginormous* so I cut it down and put it in a smaller gift box - perfection!

Having my rings all in one place brought up the issue I have with my necklaces. Right now I probably have 5-8 necklaces spread out on my dresser so they don't tangle. This is SO not ideal! I have a hanging organizer like this one, but with longer necklaces, this just doesn't seem to be the best option.

I've seen a few ideas recently in blogs or magazines and couldn't find the original source that gave me this idea, but there are plenty of sites that offer DIY solutions for this very problem!

This means craft project with the pops! I love the idea of using drawer pulls.. not sure how pretty or crafty I will make this as right now I'm really just wanting a functional solution, but as you can see there are many options!!

What are your jewelry organizing tips? Does your method need updating too?

*Side note: Did you know that as of 2007, ginormous is a real Merriam-Webster approved word?

New Dress A Day!

Reallll quick - this blog is listed in my links section under other fun sites, but in case you haven't had a chance to check those out, wanted to draw your attention to this crafty, creative lady!

Inspired by the movie Julie & Julia she decided to do a variation and for the next year to forgo traditional shopping and rely on thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales... "365 days. 365 new outfits. 365 dollars."

I must say, I'm very impressed with her work! She starts with a lot of bold, awful looking pieces and finds a way to make it work! Here are a few before and after shots from her blog!

She is up to day 275 with 90 days and $91 left to go!! What do you think? Could you do this?

Crafty alert!

Happy Friday!!! I'm so excited to report that I've picked up my crochet hook and am working on a new project for the fall/ winter! It has been a good 2-3 years since I crocheted my first scarf, so I was a little worried it would be tricky to pick it back up again! I'm proud to say I've successfully completed two rows of the double crochet stitch! I picked up the free pattern at Michaels and it tells me I can finish this project in 5 hours... YEAH RIGHT! At least it is still blazin' hot outside so even if it takes me 5 weeks it will be done in time for the fall/ cooler weather!!

This is the pattern - it's called "Afternoon Breeze Shawl"

I'm making it with Lion Brand Organic Cotton yarn in "Pistachio" (below) instead of the "Pecan" color in the photograph. You can find the instructions here and helpful tips on how to crochet here.

Enjoy!