End of Month Update!

Since I have had not much time blogging lately (forgive me please), I decided to do a quick update on some recent and future happenings.

30 days of Lists is almost here. :) and I am proud to say that I have been very good about being on top of my preparations for my 30days book before heading to Michigan for an important wedding! Yay for not being a horrible procrastinator. However, I still have yet to buy the dress that I plan on wearing to the wedding...;)

Here are a couple snapshots on what I decided to use for my Lists project:

{ I bought this book at Michaels for $1! Added a bit more to the front cover for fun. }

Oh, and remember in my last post when I said I would share my kitchen spice rack that Scott made for me before Valentine's day? Well, here it is!

{ The night he showed me what he made for me! }

{ The next weekend, we were able to put our spices in most of the bottles. I put little sticky tabs on the bottom to remind me of the names for each! }

Last but not least, our baby Baxley's first birthday was last week! So, for his birthday I made him some pup-cakes from this recipe I found here! The recipe is actually for a dog cake, but because he is a smaller dog I thought cupcake sized bites would be easier on his tummy! I made about 18, and have been giving them to him as snacks since. 

{ "Can I has more, pwease?" }

In two days, I will be driving back to Michigan for Scott's sister's wedding! I just recently purchased a 16MB SD card, so you can expect several photos from the event. ;)

Until then, have yourself a wonderful leap year! 

xx jmeelin

  

My "Love Song" for Scott

Happy Valentine's Day, all! 

This post will be short and sweet. Scott and I have concluded that our gift for each other this year is our dog, Baxley. We don't like to spend much on this overly-hyped holiday, but it is still nice to receive something special on this day from your love. 

Scott surprised me over the weekend and built us a much needed spice rack (which I be posting photos of next time) for our kitchen! I was so shocked, I had no idea that he had been building it in our apartment.  He even pointed out that much of the materials he had used were laying around and I did not notice anything.  Not one bit! 

So for him, I decided to record an 'awkward' video of me playing a song that means a lot to us. Originally by The Cure, here is my rendition of "Love Song" for my babe. 

Much love to you all!

xo jmeelin

Hello, February

Now that February has rolled on in to this year, I can proudly say that I have been trying my best to keep up with my goals for 2012!

As far as learning how to sew, I just recently purchased this book.  After searching through many reviews on the endless beginner books on sewing, this one really caught my eye. It's simple, and to the point. And the projects provided are cute and modern! Next step: bring out my mother's old sewing machine back to my apartment so that I may actually get started! (P.S., thanks Mom for helping out)! 

On another note, I plan on getting some of my spring cleaning done early this month.  A big part of this includes my closet and donating some of my clothes and accessories to Goodwill. Hopefully sometime soon I can make a quick trip to Ikea to get some ideas for better organization. 

{ SNAPSHOTS }

Adventures with my littlest brother, Joey, from last week! 

{ I told him to do a cart wheel. HAHA! }

{ Upcoming events to look forward to in March }

1. 30 days of Lists! - I am sad to admit that I signed up for this last September, but never actually followed through.  So this time around, I will make sure to do so by snapping photos to share on here. :)

2. Dad's 60th Birthday! 

3. My boyfriend's sister's wedding back home in Michigan!

Until my next post, happy February to you all!

xxjmeelin

Happy Finds

Yesterday was a definite win.  Say hello to my lovely new bunch of thrifted treasures (minus a yellow-vintage sweater not pictured) that I was able to find yesterday while out and about! All for the price of only fifty dollars. 

I thought to myself on my way back home about possibly opening up an Etsy store to sell some of these items (and if I were to find more wonderful treasures in the future). We shall see, it's definitely something positively good to think about + look forward to! 

I snapped several more photos so that you can get a better look at some of the goodies I was able to find. 

{ southwestern prints + colors }

{ baxley, giving me the evil eye for keeping him inside }

I think my favorite book out of this bunch would have to be the "Back to Nature" Almanac.   I loved the random facts about plant life, how-to's for gardening, and even DIY crafts.  It's copyright is from the late 70s early 80s, not to old but old enough. ;)

{ china from england + asia }

{ lovely artwork throughout "the heart of a dog" book }

{ this big ben alarm clock is supposedly from 1949, however, I am not sure if this particular one was a reproduction }

{ I'm excited to wear these bad boys on my next photo adventure - most likely next Monday! }

The frame of dried flowers pictured below is a gift-in-process for a very special friend! I am hoping she gets it by Valentine's day. I purchased the frame at the thrift store for less than $0.50 and placed two dried flowers inside from a bouquet that I received while as a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding last summer.  What's funny is the straw-like-string (which I cannot think of the correct term right now) is also from a wedding from last summer. I totally did not realize this until now! 

{ DIY framed flowers }

Welp, that about sums up my wonderful thrifting finds from yesterday. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead! 

xx jmeelin

Making Changes

OY! So I've decided to really get on top of my resolutions for this year. To start them off, I think this blog is a great place for making new changes. I really am planning to get better at posting (along with taking more pictures)...I pinky promise. I think it's been a couple weeks already since I last posted. Man does time really fly as you get older, ha! Along with my new blog update, I've also decided to redo my layout. Scott, my boyfriend, is currently reading more on building websites and using HTML...and until he is able to create a new layout for my blog, I am sticking to this one: a simple and functional template provided by Blogger! 

PICTURES FOR TODAY: I snapped several random photos of some of my favorite necklaces that I own, and a new shirt that I recently purchased (thanks to Nordstrom Rack)!

{ how i wish we got more snow in this area }

Keep in mind, this is only a small portion of the accessories I own.  Being that I worked in an accessory retail store for two years during college, it was hard not to pass off on my 50% employee discount! Oh the joy. ;) 

Let's see, I have a weekend off of work ahead, so let's hope for clear skies and sunshine! Wish you all a lovely rest of your week. 

xx jmeelin

New Year's Resolution

{ Happy New Year! }

New year resolutions have always been difficult for me to stick with.  I guess maybe it's because I have always chosen something along the lines of dieting.  But I have decided that this year's goals for me will be different and will hopefully expand my creative side.

2012 Goals:

1) Learn how to use a sewing machine.

2) Use the sewing machine to up-cycle thrifted clothes!

3) Always try to finish what you started (i.e., reading a book, making + mailing a card). -- I am the queen of unfinished projects.

4) Attempt at least 5 different DIY projects and document.

5) Be organized. Plain and simple (so you would think).

6) Improve this blog of mine. 

7) Take more photos!

8) Continue to cook more healthy meals at home. 

I hope for those of you that read this, continue to have a wonderful year ahead! Happy beginnings! 

xx jmeelin

Afternoon Adventures

Adventuring with my boyfriend, Scott and our pup Baxley always makes for a good afternoon.  Here are some random snapshots from some of our adventure walks taken this past week.  

On another note, vacation starts Tuesday (as soon as I get off from work at 11am)! We will be in Michigan for Christmas; if only we had more than six days to enjoy our time with his wonderful family though. 

Wishing you all (those of you that actually take the time to read this) a lovely holiday! 

xx jmeelin