I'm a winner!

Remember when I blogged about this giveaway over at The Blue Eyed Freckle?

Well, guess what?

I WON!

I know!  Craziness!

I chose these earrings as my prize...

Aren't they gorgeous??

Thank you again to Katie at The Blue Eyed Freckle for hosting this wonderful giveaway!

I can't wait for those pretty darlings to dangle from my ears!  :)

If you haven't checked out The Blue Eyed Freckle yet, you need to!

Splurge or Skimp: Charlize Theron style

I received such positive feedback with last week's Splurge or Skimp

post that I decided to make it a weekly blog post!

So, when I saw this outfit on Charlize Theron:

I just knew I had to do a splurge or skimp post!

So, let's see what Charlize has on...

Catherine Malandrino Dress...................$395

Elle Boyfriend Jacket...........................$60

Charnos Opaque Tights......................... $9

Dior Lady Dior Large Clutch................$1,090

Christen Michaels Patent Pump..............$160

Made Her Think Stud Earrings.................$44

Total = $1,758

Like, whoa!!!

Really Charlize? Really?

I think we can do much better with a smaller budget :)

So, let's see what we have here...

1. ASOS Leatherette Stud Earrings...............$6.76

2. Quilted Clutch with Chain Strap................$22

3. Delia's Jada Floral Dress..........................$15

4. Jessica Simpson Black Patent Heels............$70

5. Black Opaque Tights...............................$8

6. Old Navy Women's Twill Blazer.................$26

Total = $147.26

That's a savings of $1,610.74!!!

Are there any styles you'd like to see me pull off on a budget??

Maybe you have a special occasion or event coming up?

Let me know!

I love hearing from y'all!

No Sew Birthday Bunting Tutorial!

It has been killing me not to share this tutorial with y'all!

I did this project over a month ago, but since it was for the boyfriend's birthday

I had to keep my mouth shut about it - and we all know how hard that is for me!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MISTER!!!


If you have someone's birthday coming up this is such a sweet and simple
way to add a little bit of a personal touch to the decorations :)

Here are the supplies & materials you will need:

1.  A ruler or straight edge

2.  Computer (and printer!)

3.  Ribbon

4.  Hot glue gun

5.  Felt (I used the stiff kind)

6.  Disappearing ink pen

7.  Scissors

Instructions:

1.  Bunting - Take your felt that will be used as the actual bunting and

the straight edge and mark the outline of the triangle for the bunting.

I made mine 6 inches long on the shortest side.

2.  Letters - After you've cut out each triangle (there should be 13 total)

you'll want to work on the letters.  On your computer choose the

font you'd like.  I chose this font on DaFont.

After you've printed out each letter you will need to cut each letter out.

Then trace it onto the color felt you chose for the lettering.

Cut out each letter.

Ooooooo pretty! Ok, sorry I got carried away looking at the cute letters!

Take your adorable little letters and hot glue them to each of your triangles.

3.  Ribbon - Take your ribbon and decide how much space you want in between

each piece of bunting.  I chose to put 2 inches.  Hot glue the ribbon in place

leaving a little bit of ribbon on each end of the bunting to hang it.

 and...

You've done it!

Now how easy was that???

I hope everyone had a great weekend and is off to a fantastic Monday!

Any exciting plans this week?

Notice Anything Different?

Look up...

I designed a new blog header!

What do you think?

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

I'm going to live with Martha

After seeing these beautiful photos of Martha Stewart's kitchen I decided I'm going to live with Martha.

I'm sure she wouldn't mind an extra hand around to put dishes away.

I'd even clean her kitchen floors...if she'd let me...

That is if they even need cleaning (highly doubt it).

Maybe she'd let me clean her sink?

Or water her plants?

So, FYI Martha:  I'm on my way over.

I'm sure you'll have fresh baked pastries and homemade orange juice waiting for me ;)

I'll be attending the Medal of Honor Gala tomorrow with the boyfriend!

You know Sully the Hudson River pilot?  Yeah he'll be there!

I know, exciting right?!  I even have a new spiffy dress!

Hopefully we can take some good pictures so that I can share them with you :)

Hope everyone has a happy weekend!

Stella & Dot Giveaway at Blue Eyed Freckle!

Head on over to the Blue Eyed Freckle for a chance to

win a little something from Stella and Dot!!

Good luck!!

Fall Fashion: Splurge or Skimp?

I was skimming through a magazine yesterday and saw a page called

"splurging and skimping" and I found myself asking:

"Since when was $250 for a pair of shoes considered skimping???"

Sooo I decided to put together two different versions of the same outfit.

The first is the expensive (well, expensive in my book) version and the second

version is the budget friendly version for all of us back here on planet earth!

And they are of course ready for fall :)

Here is the first:

1. Anthropologie Terrace House Jacket $128

2.  J. Crew Beaming Blossom Earrings $95

3. MICHAEL Michael Kors Ruffled Silk Polka-Dot Blouse $89

4.  Sense of Fashion Braided Hoops Leather Bracelet $75

5.  Current/Elliott The Roller low-rise cropped jeans $220

6.  Pour La Victoire Avalon $200

Total = $807 (YIKES!!!)

And here is the budget friendly option:

1.  Jou Jou Ruffle Womens Jacket $45

2.  ASOS Small Flower Studs $5.06

3.  Fred Flare Polka Dot Coco Tie Blouse $35

4.  Forever21 Perforated Oxfords $25

5.  Charlotte Russe Dark Skinny Jeans $15

6.  Forever21 Rose Studded Bracelet Set $7.80

Total = $132.86 (woop!  woop!)

Thats a savings of $674.14!!

Ok, now the details on the budget outfit...

I kept the color scheme the same, but added a a bit of color with the blue blouse.

And if you'll notice, even though the jacket is now "leather" there's still a ruffle

on the collar!  Cute, huh?!  I kept the earrings as studs and in the flower category and

the bangle adds that bit of sparkle on your wrist!  And the shoes are nearly identical!

The jeans can be rolled up to look like the splurge jeans, too!

So, what do you think?  Would you splurge or skimp?

Need Supply Co.? Yes, please!

I recently discovered Need Supply Co. and la-la-love it!

And the prices?  Well, they're not too bad either ;)

Here are a few of the pieces that caught my eye:

Clifton Coat $120 USD

Shock Wave Shoes $58 USD

Carley Dress $64 USD

Campside Cardigan $58 USD

Boston Tote $68 USD

I'm so sorry I haven't posted the DIY jewelry holder yet like I said I would!

There have been a few snafoos in the production process, but as soon

as the kinks get worked out it will be up here in a jiffy!

Just hang in there with me!

I'd like to thank the Academy...

The sweet Mandy over at Mandy's Yellow Corner gave me not one....

not two...

but THREE blog awards!

I told you she was sweet :)

Here are the awards I received:

The rules are that I tell you seven random facts about myself.

So, without further ado...

1.  I am the worst dancer probably of all time...but I love to shake my groove thang!

I start out good, but then I just get so excited about dancing that I totally lose

the rhythm and all my inhibitions!

2.  If it were possible and I wouldn't die of cardiac arrest I would live

off of bread and butter.  Mmmmm....Ok, maybe bread, butter & cream soda :)

3.  I was born in Berkeley, California and moved to Marietta, Georgia when

I was 12 years old.  I am a mix between a hippie and Southern belle ;)

4.  Even when I lived in California I had a Southern accent just like my momma!

5.  I am a trained singer and I've even won a few talent shows & karaoke contests!

6.  My nickname from my family is Kelleykins.  I don't thik I've ever heard my

grandmother call me by my real name, haha!

7.  I would love to own my own shop or boutique one day!  That is

definitely something that is on my wish list of things to do this lifetime :)

NOW I get to pass the awards onto the blogs that I think deserve them!

(It's totally up to each of you if you want to play along!)

Katy @ Katy Harper: Musings on Stuff I Like

Heather & Jessica @ Saving Money & Living Life

Meg @ a boy, a girl and a pug

Jill @ Barnes Yard

Nellie @ McCarthy Designs

Heather @ The Coterie Blog

Jenny @ The Southern Institute for Domestic Arts & Crafts

Take a few minutes to check out these wonderful blogs and beautiful ladies!

Thank you again to Mandy for the sweet awards!

Flower Headband Tutorial!

A few nights ago I was trying to figure out what to wear to work the next day.

Sometimes it is such a tedious task!

Why can't I just have everything from the J. Crew catalog?

After going through a few different options I came to the

conclusion that my outfit needed a little something extra...

AHA!  A headband of course!

So, let's see what you need to make one for yourself!

Supplies:

 1.  Hot glue gun (& extra glue just in case!)

2.  Thread

3.  Needle

4.  Scissors

Materials:

1.  Fabric of your choice

2.  Felt in a coordinating color

3.  A plain headband

Instructions:

1.  Take the felt and cut out the shape of your choice.  You will need to

cut out 2 of the same shape.  The first one will be used for the base of your

fabric flowers and the second will be used to hide the underside of the first.

2.  You will need to cut out approximately (26) 2" squares from

your fabric.  These will be used to make the fabric flowers.  You can use

as many or as little fabric flowers as you want to get the look you want!

3.  Cut the corners of your fabric squares so that your squares have rounded corners.

It doesn't have t be perfect!

Like so...

4.  Take one fabric square and pinch the center like this:

5.  Take a second fabric square and pinch it over the first fabric square.

Now you'll have two fabric squares pinched giving it a layered look.

6.  Taking your needle and thread, run it through the pinched portion of your

fabric flower so that is stays in place.  I ran mine through 2-3 times per flower.

7.  After you've repeated steps 4 - 6 with all of your fabric squares

you will now need to attach each fabric flower to one of the

pieces of felt.  Use your needle & thread to do so...

8.  After you've attached each flower to the first piece of felt you will

need to hot glue the underside of the felt to your headband.  It helps

if you figure out exactly where you want the flower bunch to be placed

before you actually start glueing!  Then attach the second felt piece as shown:

And you're done!

Now, how easy was that?!?!

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial!

If you do this tutorial please send me pictures!  I'd love to see your work!

Tomorrow?  DIY Jewelry Holder!

Happy Tuesday!  :)