A Day In The Life Of A Fool

Today marks my second day of unemployment.

Normally, this isn't something I'd be proud of... but I guess if it means I get to spend the next 4 months in Swansea, Wales and subsequent areas, I'll take it.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm a workaholic. I spread my time pretty thin with three jobs and tend to go crazy when I'm not at one of them! So what did I do to keep myself busy today? A little thrifting, a little blog browsing, and a lot of Baja Jack's Burrito Shack. Delicious.

In the midst of blogging, I found a fabulous site called Cheetah is the New Black, which I will now peruse on a regular basis for my fashion, food, and fun fixes. Anyone who says their favorite color is "cheetah" is A.O.K. in my book. Plus, I love discovering new blogs! Gives me hope that one day I will have more followers (not that I don't love all five of you).

 I also gave myself a fabulous and much needed Cheetah Pedi with a couple of toothpicks and three shades of grey polish. Easy, Breezy, Free(zy).

 Of course, I can't forget my trip to the thrift store, where I picked up this darling belt for $2! What can I say... I'm diggin' animal prints right now.

..and no day off is complete without some new sunnies. These are inspired by Tom Ford's Nikitas... which I admire weekly on Keeping up with the Kardashians, but unfortunately can't afford. Hello Kitty actually makes these ;) Special thanks to Mrs. Potts for modeling my new gear.

I'm so excited September is rolling through in a few days... because it means I can use my new somee planner. It's loaded with sarcasm, just the way I like it. 

I wonder if I'll go crazy during this next week of complete freedom?

If you come up with ideas of things to keep me busy, beyond the obvious and ever-daunting task of packing my life in THREE suitcases, please feel free to let me know.

Mad Love.

You Can Get What You Want or You Can Just Get Old.

About a week ago, I had the need to watch "13 Going on 30"... not the WANT. The NEED.

Though, I'll admit, it is one of my favorite chick flicks EVER, it is not one that I watch on a day-to-day basis *cough* Mean Girls *cough*. I had no idea where the extreme desire to watch this movie came from, but when I couldn't sleep Wednesday night, I decided to pop it in.

Like Jenna Rink, I've always pictured myself being "Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving." Single, an incredible loft apartment in New York City, and nothing holding me down except my dream job. Unlike most girls, I have never imagined myself being "Thirty, Dirty, and Changing Diapers". It's not that the thought of making my own family repulses me in any way; I think it would be awesome to be married and have kids... just not any time soon.

Somewhere along the line, though, I started spreading concrete on my Converse and cleaning out the guest room for my arch nemesis, Miss Practical. I had shoved the Jenna Dream house in the back of the closet and started looking for things that would get the "Good Housekeeping Stamp of Approval" instead of my own.

Then I watched "13 Going on 30"... and as stupid as this probably sounds... it reminded me of why I've always wanted to be thirty. You don't have to answer to anyone but yourself, you decide your own fate, and you can fill your closet with as many shoes as you want without anyone bitching at you. Also, if you find love at thirty, it's awesome; you know what you want, you know who YOU are, and you can actually afford the Jenna Dream House. AND if you're lucky, you'll still spend more than half of your life with the one you love. What's the rush, twenty-somethings?

I think it was a really good time for me to watch that movie. I mean obviously, I don't plan on transporting to thirty via magic dust from my closet anytime soon, but it was definitely a great reminder of why I need to live up my twenties and start doing things for ME.

Starting with moving to Wales in 2 weeks. EEK.

Mad Love.

This Modern Love is a Taco Truck

My new obsession, you ask? LONNY.

Ok, you didn't ask... but you've got to check it out.

I stumbled across Lonny Mag on my favorite blog the other day, and I was instantly smitten.

I absolutely love the inspiration Lonny provides to it's readers. I can just see myself re-creating some of these spaces in my future home!

How gorgeous is this desk set up? I'm such a sucker for Orange... so obviously, I have a crush on this space. It's classy, modern, and a little funky to boot. 

Since my tiny budget will only afford a kitchen of miniscule size... this was an incredible inspiration for me. Chalkboard walls, chandelier, and a giant fork? Yes. Yes. Yes. 

I'm not so much crazy about this space... but is it just me or does that painting totally look like Jude Law as Watson? I think that would be a hilarious painting to have in a formal space. Your guests would appreciate the humor =)

This is a dream space, for me. I have always been obsessed with spiral staircases... probably ever since Aurora walked to her eminent "sleep" by spindle prick in "Sleeping Beauty". They are just classic. I am loving the lights, which according to my dad look pretty easy to hang! The "all white" with pops of black and pink is very feminine but also livable, which is something that I'm immediately drawn to. 

Love. Love. Love.

This post has been brought to you by the newly brunette Cristen Joy.

Mad Love.

Boy, You're An Alien

I am a Grandma.

Ok, I'm not really someone's grandmother. But hear me out.

I am the type of person who likes to spoil other people. Like any good Grandma, I'm fully aware it's a bad idea to give kids sugar before bed, but do I allow it? Of course. I'm also the one who will take you out for ice cream when you are sad. Or give you lots of hugs, bandaids, and tums when times are tough and bellies are aching.

However, being the Grandma also puts me in positions that sometimes aren't as fun to handle. Like my spectacular German Festival a few weekends ago. Yes, it was fantastic. The food was great, my friends are amazing, and I loved having people over. But cleaning up puke, holding back hair like God made my hand for the sole purpose of being a human ponytail, and wiping the tears of many a drunken girl doesn't fall under the category of "Grandma's Favorite Things".

Luckily, I have been blessed with the most amazing co-workers and friends... who definitely make Grandma's life a little happier some days.

Last night, I was thrown a fabulous Surprise Party! Honestly, I had no idea what was going on, and how my chatty patty friends kept it a secret... I will never know.

The party was "Outer Space" themed. Because, y'all know I love a good theme party. It was complete with Cosmic Brownies, Star Crunch, and Roswell Alien Amber Ale (big shout out to Caty Beans for that one).

My friends even set some ground rules and made sure I didn't have to clean up ANYTHING.

I'm so blessed to have such caring, incredible friends. I didn't have to do a thing, except enjoy myself, drink my favorite beer, and do a little dancing. It was seriously incredible. Grandma couldn't have asked for a better night or a better group of people to spend it with.

Mad Grandma Love.

Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday.

I love birthdays. If you've ever read my blog... you know they're my favorite day of the year. Your birthday. My birthday. Scott Disick's birthday. I love them all.

I did a few little creative DIYs for my birthday party this year... but, like most occassions, I was too busy enjoying it to take pictures of everything. Plus, I was a little tipsssay. FINALLY 21! woooo.

Anyway, as promised, I will share what I have... and pepper in some party pics to keep you entertained.

This is the food table, before it was covered in Brats, German Potato Salad, Beer Dip, Apple Sauerkraut, Etc. SO MUCH GOOD FOOD. The bunting was a DIY! Soooo Easy. A little bit of twine, scrapbook paper, and creativity will get you a long way on a shoe string budget.

These are the DELICIOUS Black Forest Cupcakes that my mom and I made. We cheated a little, and used a devils food cake to make the cupcakes. Then we scooped a little hole in the middle of the cupcake, filled it with cherry pie filling, and topped it with homemade chocolate and cream cheese icing and dark chocolate shavings. They were so easy and a hit! 

This was the back yard before we set up chairs. It was about 105 degrees in the shade and I didn't want to spend any more time out there than I had to... OVER 100 DEGREES=GROSS! P.S. If you can't tell, those are outdoor Christmas lights, strung tree to tree, with Yellow Paper Lanterns hung every few feet.

"PROST! Enjoy a Boulevard Wheat". We ended up tapping the keg inside, because it was wayyy too hot outside. But, we had music and games outside later... You know, to make up for it ;) 

This is me, blowing out the candles on my GIANT CUPCAKE (compliments of Megan).

This is me and my gorgeous Norwegian, Kaia! She is one of the sweetest people I have EVER met. 

Some of the party people, chit-chatting. 

More of my lovely friends =) Please excuse the lack of decor! This my parent's remodel project... I guess I get my DIY genes from them!

As I said, I love birthdays. All of them... Ok, especially mine.

And I promise, I dress up sometimes.

Usually when this kid takes me out for Porkchops. THEY MAKE US CRAZY.

Mad Love.

The Kind You Find In A Second Hand Store

One of the most frustrating things for me is messing up.

I wouldn't say I'm a perfectionist, but sometimes when my "brilliant" plans go awry... it's a little frustrating.

I started to revamp a nasty blouse I bought the other day... but, I'll admit, I had absolutely no plan for how I was going to do it.

My idea was to make the blouse backless with a cute bow to hold it together, give it a boat neck, and finish it off with cute puffed sleeves. Yes, I realize none of these things actually sound appealing, but I thought, together, they might turn out ahhhmazing.

Well, folks, I hate to say it, but I was TOTALLY WRONG. The shirt I ended up with was a hot tranny mess to the extreme.

So, now I've wasted a free afternoon, $3.99+tax, and lots of creativity.

Here's the baggy, saggy blouse before I did anything to it. Pretty gross. 

After I cut up the back and shortened it... The top was supposed to tie into a bow, but looked like craaaahp. I should have taken a picture of it, but it was too bad. 

However... amidst the lack of fabulosity... the fabric is still pretty amazing, and I think with a little rejuvination and creativity I can come up with something else to do with it. Maybe a little ruffle tank or some embellishments for my cadet cap.

What do you guys think?

Let me know if you have any ideas for my lovely leopard print!

Mad Love.

We're Gonna Party Like It's 1999.

My 21st Birthday is this Saturday and BOY am I excited.

I am a big kid when it comes to birthdays and this year will be no exception!

I think birthdays are the most special day of the year. Which, when you think about it, makes every day special... Since that day will always be SOMEONE'S birthday! (I find this to be a good way to look at life, when things aren't going as well as you'd planned. There's still always a reason to celebrate!)

This is me and my BEST FRIEND ON PLANET EARTH, Maren, all decked out for last year's party.

The birthday theme (yes, I still have theme parties) was Retro Roller Party... and the night's theme song quickly became Prince's "Raspberry Beret" after I found out that my girl Vinnie had never heard it before!!

So... What's the theme this year?!

PROST! *which means "cheers" in German*

There will be Brats, Beer, and Black Forest Cake! MMM.

There will also be lots of DIY projects and decor that I look forward to sharing with you!

Until then, if you have any great German recipes or decor ideas, hit me up in the comments section!

MAD LOVE.