Before and After: Altered Men's Deer Shirt

I snagged this t-shirt for about 5 cents at a rummage sale to raise money for my friend's summer mission trip. It was a "stuff everything in a bag for a $1 sale". To create this slouchy summer tee I used another shirt as a pattern then cut and sewed this little guy in probably less than 15 minutes. I decided to give the back a little jazz by adding a seem right down the middle. I was very pleased with the way it turned out!

Here are some of the other goodies I snagged at the sale!
Anybody know exactly what that Tupperware thing is on the far right? Those I have asked about it think it's a large clip or bookmark but I think it's gotta be something else.

The Spicery

A couple weeks ago my sweet mother took me to a lovely tea shop in downtown Glendale called The Spicery. This lovely little shop is decorated perfectly and don't even get me started on the food! It was amazing!!! All of the food is homemade, and let me tell you it was delish! I loved watching all of the older women customers chatting about their grandchildren and enjoying fine dining! There was a beautiful bird bath outside our little window and we got to watch a small little bird come and refresh itself. There is truly nothing like going out and having tea with someone you love!It was so nice to just relax and lapse back to a time when things were nicer and life was simpler.

I had their iced tea, quiche of the day and custard stuffed cream puff. My darling mum had a salad plate. all of the food was fabulous. Those rolls were especially wonderful. They were sweet, light and perfect with butter!

The Phone Diaries

Last week my mornings were spent doing the problem solving involved with signing up for a new phone. I loved my old Sprint blackberry so much but it was time to sign up with Verizon. Unfortunately I had to jump through way too many hoops to get my new LG Cosmos touch. Yuck. Oh well. Now I have it and I got this lovely Van Gogh case for it, so this girl is a happy camper.

As I was transferring everything off of my old phone I decided it would be fun to share a montage of pictures I have taken in the last year. Enjoy!

April, May & June 2010

July, August & September 2010

October, November & December 2010

January, February, March , April & May 2011

Winner of The Utmost Jewelry giveaway!

And the Winner of The Utmost Jewelry giveaway is......
.........drum roll please........
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Mary M

Congrats Mary! E-mail me your address at mialovesgod(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'll have your earrings sent to you asap!

Thank you to everyone who entered!
I should be hosting another giveaway real soon so stay tuned!

What to cook and how to cook it

What to Cook and How to Cook it

Today I want to introduce you to the most wonderful and enchanting cookbook I have ever lade eyes on! It's like your own personal cooking coach taking you through every step of the cooking process. The photography in this cook book is what really sold me. There are photographs of everything and for someone who is very visual this revolutionized my idea of cook books.

I made their Stuffed Chicken with Tomatoes and Arugula recipe awhile back and it turned out fabulous. Seriously mouth watering.

Unfortunately I burned my hand pretty bad while cooking this dish. Which leads me to the next subject I want to talk about, lavender oil. Did you know lavender oil is a healing oil and it heals burns like no one's business?! I first discovered this when I was doing my friend's hair for her wedding and burned my finger. The wonderful girl doing her makeup told me to put lavender oil on it and it would be feeling better in no time. She even had her mother bring over some for me. I applied it and stuck a band aid over it. By the afternoon my finger was feeling normal again! This stuff is amazing! Go get some at your local health food store you won't regret it next time you have a burn.

P.S. This is the last day to enter The Utmost Jewelry giveaway, so check it out!

Before and After: Altered Striped Shirt

This is the first of many documented alteration projects. My sister used this shirt as the top for a pirate costume a long time ago. She had it in a giveaway bag and I couldn't stand by and watch it get donated. Since I already have 2 shirts almost identical to this one I decided I would try altering it to make it a bit more fun and summery. So I got out some scissors and cut off the sleeves and neckline to start. I then cuffed the sleeves sewed in the rather wide neckline and proceeded to cut a strip of fabric off of the bottom of the shirt. I measured and sewed that strip of fabric to fit around my waste nice and snug and sewed it back onto the base of the shirt making sure it evenly gathered to make up for the difference in the circumference of the bottom of the shirt. And there you have it. I now have a nice summer basic to add to my wardrobe and it didn't cost me a penny!

Prom Dress follow up

Here are the pictures of my dear friend in the prom dress I altered for her! I couldn't be happier with the way the dress turned out. She didn't end up wearing the vintage velvet heels but man, oh man don't her and her date look smashing?! When I first heard her date was wearing a "powder blue" jacket I was a little unsure but now that I see them together I am really feeling the old school vibe they created!

Prom Dress Flower Belt Project

My friend Melody and I spent 7 hours vintage prom dress shopping a couple weekends ago. We found this little black number at our last stop and snatched it up. It originally had ruffled lace along the neckline so to make it more contemporary I cut off the ruffles, then designed and made this flower belt to add some spice to the dress. This was my little project last weekend and boy was it a fun one. Last night Melody wore this ensemble to prom, paired with vintage, velvet Mary Jane heels, pearls and red lipstick. I can't wait to see pictures! I am sure she looked divine!

Moss Terrarium DIY

This January one of my dear friends and I decided we needed to make terrariums together. I was first inspired to embark on this little project when I saw these lovely terrariums. So we headed to out local thrift and craft stores and picked up some perfect jars and moss. The above terrarium is made of a glass cup and an ashtray. Unexpected I know. My friend's family had this lovely set of fawns and they so generously let me use one for my little terrarium. Such a treasure!

I was so delighted with my creation I decided I needed to share the "terrarium love" and make one for a friend. I purchased the jar below from a Japanese shop called Daiso and I picked up the little fawn and moss at Michael's. I simply glued everything to the bottom of the jar and voila a beautiful deer themed terrarium. This second terrarium was a lot harder to make than the first one because I had to cram my hand in the jar to glue in each piece of moss and the little deer. The one above one however was a piece of cake because I just glued everything on the ashtray base and then placed the glass cup on top. Another tip is to not use a jar with an air tight lid because the moss holds moister causing the glass to get fogged up over the course of a couple of days. I hope you enjoyed this little DIY. If you decide to make a terrarium or already have please share a link in the comments! I would love to see your creations!

Also don't forget to enter my 50 follower giveaway it ends next Saturday!

My 6 Month Shopping Pledge.

The time has come for me to make a pact with myself.
I promise to not buy clothing for the next 6 months.
This my friends is a totally radical thought for me. I enjoy buying clothing so much, really, you have no idea. However I've been realizing I have way too much clothing that I don't even wear and forget is there. So from May through November there will be no clothes purchasing for this girl. Normally I seem to be short on one season or another in my wardrobe. For example I'll have too many shorts and t-shirts not enough sweaters and pants. Well, I am not low in any department right now. I have so much clothing it is crazy!

Last summer I lived out of a suitcase while I worked away from home. I also only bought a handful of clothing over the summer because I knew if I couldn't fit it in my suitcase I couldn't bring it home. This was a good exercise for me. A form of lifestyle I needed to bring back home with me. Sadly that didn't happen and it has taken me 8 months to realize I need to cut WAY back.

I am very excited about this challenge, however, there is a catch to it. I am making a list of things I have been hunting for/need in the next 6 months and if I happen to cross paths with an item on the list that fits the bill to a "T" than there is no way I am going to pass it up (If you know me then you know that I am a very picky person so if something perfectly matches something on my list it is a rarity.) However if something is not on the list or can wait to be bought till November then it'll just have to wait.

I will be posting about my past thrifting adventures in a new feature called Thrift Happy.

This feature will be a way for me to look back and realize I have so many treasures to be thankful for. Also I will be sharing about my clothing alterations and clothes that I sew in the next 6 months. If I feel like I need something to spice up my wardrobe I literally have a couple boxes of clothes and fabric that need altering or can be turned into new garments.

This little project for myself was inspired by The Difference Project created by the sweet Jennifer over at The Blair Affairs. I read about The Difference Project a month ago yet didn't feel compelled to partake. However as time has passed I feel like God had been preparing my heart to make a step like this.
So here I am, creating a 6 month shopping ban for myself.

Vintage 1960's floor length dress

I found this lovely 1960's floor length dress while thrifting with Kierna last month. We walked into this ordinary thrift store heading straight to the vintage rack and there she was. I reached for this dress only noticing the fabric, but once I lifted it off the rack and saw that is was a one shouldered evening gown I was floored. The best part is it was only $1.98 and in amazing condition (no rips or stains.) For serious! I thought maybe it was miss-marked, but nope, I only payed 2 bucks for this beauty. When We got home that afternoon I tried it on. I thought for sure it was going to be too small for me as the waste is quite petite, but after slipping it on and zipping it up, to my amazement and sheer delight it fit me like a glove! Crazy! It's marked as a size 6 but I can see that it has been altered along the seem at the zipper. I am so thankful for this little treasure. Now to find an occasion to wear it!