A New Project

Today I finished The Shoe Shopper for my last blog post. So logically I started a new project. I started "Dream" from the "Once Upon a Time" series by Little House Needleworks. 

My finished The Shoe Shopper. 

My start on Dream

Dream is my first adventure using silk thread. It is kind of exciting, although I am worried that I will run out of  one of the colors of thread. The silk thread is so nice and smooth its amazing to work with. At over seven dollars a skein I won't be working with silk much. 

This is what Dream should look like when it is completed. 

I have a few other blogs planned for this week among all the craziness which should finally die down after this week. Hopefully I'll get a few more posts up this week though. 

Project Update + Chirstmas

I am home for Winter Break. YAY!!!! It is no secret that I love to craft, unfortunately it is hard to take my vast collection of beads back and forth between home and school. So for this break I decided to bring home some cross stitch. I brought home three patterns which I hadn't even started and Secret Crush which I had the border left on. One of the patterns I brought home I have the floss and fabric for, the others are part to a series of three that come with the floss, my mom is amazing and let me raid her stash for fabric (she gave me three pieces so the whole series will be on matching fabric). My mom also helped me cut the fabric and will help me frame them when I finish them.

Secret Crush by The Trilogy is done and waiting to be framed!

A partially completed, The Shoe Stopper by JBW Designs. It is hard to see but it is done on sparkly white fabric. 

My mom also made me some Christmas presents that were just too cute not to mention. My brother and I both go to college in areas with better shopping than at home, so this year my mom enlisted our help for her shopping. She had me get my grandmother a fine fragrance lotion from Macy's, a Barnes and Noble gift card , and an Old Navy gift card. I needed a new pair or two of jeans but she didn't want me to buy my own gift card so instead she did this. 

 The Cute Envelope with the Sparkly Star.

The card she made with the amount for how much written inside and singed from her and my dad. 

My mom has also been into decorating wooden boxes. She paints and waxes them and then stitches a piece for the top. She made a beautiful one for my aunt, which you can see here, for her birthday. I loved it so she made me one out of the same pattern book for me. 

 The top of the box.

 A view from the side.

The inside of the box. 

The rabbit scissors she included in the box. 

I love the box so much. It is amazing. Since I have talked about my mom quite a bit in this post I will include a link to her blog, The Hoopless Stitcher, which is a blog about her adventures in Cross Stitching. 

Boots

I finally found a pair of boots! I have been looking for a pair of boots for months with no luck. I knew I wanted relatively no heal, good support and in a cognac leather or faux leather. I found a few pairs that I like but they were either all out of my price range (I'm a broke college kid) or didn't fit my supper muscular calves (I've been snowboarding since I was a little kid), but I finally found a pair. My mom told me to check  jcpenneys again so my friend and I did yesterday, and these are the boots I found...

This is what the inside of the leg looks like

 This is what is seen on the outer side. 

They are the Liz & Co. Alex in Cognac Croc, and they fit me perfectly. They are made of genuine leather which I was really excited about especially after I saw the price. ($65) I love them so much when I tried them on I was so excited that the fit I was jumping up and down. 

I picture of the on from the front

A Picture from the side

A close up picture from the side

I so excited about them and so happy with them I have been wearing them everywhere and probably will wear them for most of the week. 

Packing for College

Its that time of year again. Time to go back to school. Being a college kid that has a significant distance to travel (about 6 hours) I have to pack everything. To do this I took over my brothers room (he stayed and worked at the college he goes to all summer). This is just the start of my packing which tends to take a really long time. Hopefully I will get most of it done tomorrow so I have time to do a few last minute projects I've been planning. I'll have pictures of my dorm up hopefully next week the goal is to do that on Monday.

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

I really really want to do a giveaway. The problem is, I don't have and followers to give stuff away too. I have quite a few things planned for this, and I really hope I can do one relatively soon. I would be willing to do a giveaway when I hit 50 followers. I have a plan with some jewelry, made by me, some of my favorite beauty items, along with some other fun items. If you are interested in a giveaway and hopeful future giveaways, follow my blog.

Surgery

Had surgery this morning. It went well, took about 90 minutes. It took me a little while to wake up in the post op holding room. I've been up for most of the day after surgery with a few naps. For being at a hospital I figured getting gluten free food would be easier than it has turned out to be. My mouth and throat are REALLY dry. I have some minor incisional pain especially on my left side but its not to bad. I'm spending the night in Children's because of the long drive home but will be leaving tomorrow morning, hopefully early, its always nice getting home. I'll blog tomorrow and hopefully with in the next week I'll get my H&M haul up.

P.F. Chang's and Surgery

I'm in Milwaukee for the reversal of my Nuss Procedure tomorrow. We left a little after noon and got here around 4:30ish. We went shopping when we got here. My mom and I went to H&M (my favorite clothing store ever) and to Boston Store to look at shoes. Afterwards we went to our hotel room and unpacked the car and decided where to go for dinner. This can be a rather complicated process with me being Gluten Free. So I started looking up menus online. I really wanted Chinese food, so I started with the P.F. Chang's website. I went to the menu page and they had a whole Gluten Free sections, at this point I decided we were going to P.F. Chang's.

The Entry to P.F. Chang's at the Mayfair Mall.

One of the Horses by the door. My parents said I couldn't get one because it wouldn't fit in the back yard. 

What was left of my plate before I ate more. (It was really good)

Gluten Free Caramel Mango Chicken.

The Plates at the end. 

The Gluten Free Chocolate Dome Cake with Raspberry Sauce, Fresh Raspberries and Strawberries. Which I brought back to the hotel to eat.

Just over two years ago I had the Nuss Procedure performed to straighten the indentation in my sternum (Pectus Excavatum). I was having massive amounts of pain before had and my parents and I decided I needed to have the surgery done. I was in the hospital for five days after surgery. I had very few problems with it till this past Thanks Giving when it moved causing pain where the bar is. So it is time for it to be taken out. It will be done tomorrow at Milwaukee Children's Hospital and I will hopefully be going home on Wednesday. 

The x-ray of my chest from November. It was put in at an angle and moved only a little bit. 

Birthday Fun

This past week it was my moms birthday. So I figured I would show what I got her. Plus I love presents and wrapping things. I was probably more excited about my moms birthday presents that she was.

The Hoops and Yoyo card I got her from Hallmark.

The present from my brother and I. Lauren by Ralph Lauren Perfume

The Bracelet I made her. Its like one she bought from Twisted Sisters but in different colors. Shes wanted it for a while. 

Saturday Shopping

My cousins were up for a long weekend this past weekend. So my cousin Danielle and I did some shopping on Saturday. I live in a small town so there is not much to do and not that many exciting stores to go to but we still had fun anyway. My favorite store on earth, Twisted Sister, was closed though. So we went to lunch at Wendy's, I'm obsessed with the Berry Almond Chicken Salad. Then to Walgreen's, the book store, Hallmark and The Dollar Store.

 My Walgreen's Purchases: Yes to Cucumbers Make Up Remover Wipes, Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips, Formula 10.0.6 Seriously Shine Free Moisturizer, and Sensodyne Pronamel Toothpaste. 

 The latest Step by Step Wire Jewelry Magazine from the bookstore

Two Hallmark Cards that will make appearances in later posts. 

 A picture frame and some gift bags from The Dollar Store

A four pack of nail files, I also got a set for my mom. (Dollar Store) 

The lip products from The Dollar Store. Three two packs of Wet n Wild Mega Plump Lip Glosses (I gave one set to my cousin). A L'Oreal Colour Juice Gloss Stick in Go Go Pop. Two ELF 2 in 1 Conditioning Glosses in fanatic and super model. A Smackers Lip Sparkler in Raspberry. Two Sally Hansen Diamond 12 Hour Lip Treatments in Princess and In Love

Crystals, Cross Stitch, and Kumihimo

So I went to the bead store today and spent way to much money...like always. I got some crystals, seed beads, two metal beads, and ends for kumihimo. 

 Hot Pink and Blue Rainbow Crystals 

Miyuki seed beads size 8 in Matte Chartreuse and Matte Light Tea Rose 

 The two metal beads

 

 Plain Kumihimo ends in copper and silver

The Kumihimo Swirl Clasp

I have a cross stitch project that I started awhile ago. I don't have much time to work on it between beads, work and school stuff, but I recently picked it backed up and started working on it again. 

My progress on Secret Crush by The Trilogy

I have also recently become obsessed with my Kumihimo disk. I LOVE IT!!! It looks so cool with the beads on it. I have so many plans for Kumihimo. 

 My Kumihimo Dish with my first beaded cord and my bobbins

A close up of my beaded Kumihimo cord 

Book Review: The Lost Crown

Title: The Lost Crown
Author: Sarah Miller

I have wanted to read this book since last summer when I saw it on display at the library. It was a week before I had to leave for school and I was already reading another book so I knew I wouldn't have time. It was checked out over winter break so I didn't get to read it till this summer. The Lost Crown is a young adult historical fiction book about Russia's last imperial family. It cover a time span of several years from 1914 to 1918. It is written from the point of view of the four daughters of the Tsar.(Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia)  Each chapter is written in  the form of a diary entry from one of the Grand-Duchesses. The ending was predictable because it is historical fiction. I loved the pictures in the back of the book some of which were taken by the Imperial Family themselves. The epilogue at the end is rather gruesome but informative. I liked this book it was a quick read. I had a hard time putting it down.  

Book Review: The Night Circus

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern

Once again the cover of the book caught my eye while meandering thorough Barns and Noble over break. The book was tucked into a corner but I decided not to get it. A couple weeks later I still couldn't get this book out of my head so a bought it when at the Barns and Noble when I got back to school. When I started this book the beginning was a little slow and hard to follow. However it quickly fell into place. I LOVED this book. I found it enchanting and magical. With a captivating love story which is not introduced till later on in the book. The book is intriguing with wonderful descriptions of the circus intertwined. All of the ends were tied up in the end. I really didn't want this book to end, I loved the magical pictures it put into my head. I definitely plan on rereading this book.

Bath and Body Works Sale!

I went to Bath and Body Works this weekend to pick up three things. Two bottles of shower gel and a mini bottle of lotion. Well there was a sale, a really good sale which is still going on online. So I got a few more things, like six more things than I was supposed too. With such good deals how could I not stock up. 

Everything overall. Four bottles of Country Chic shower gel (two for me, two for my mom), One bottle of Citron body wash for my dad, Two mini bottles of Country Chic lotion (one for me, one for my mom), One mini bottle of Pink Chiffon lotion, and C.O. Bigelow Organics Moisturizing Lip Shine in Golden Peach.

 Lotion minis in Pink Chiffon and Country Chic. (two Country Chic)

 The Citron body wash for men, and Country Chic shower gel (four of the Country Chic shower gel).

 C.O. Bigelow Organics Moisturizing Lip Shine in Golden Peach.

Water Bottles

I am a water bottle junkie. I have like 5 or 6 and buy new ones rather frequently. I always take a water bottle to class and to work. I have three favorite types which I use most often. 

I have one Camelbak water bottle which I got at the school book store. It has my university logo on it and is one of my favorite water bottles. 

I have a Waterbobble in pink. I got mine from Old Navy. I love it. It is my other favorite water bottle. When they are new the first couple times they are used black beads come out of the filter, they go away after the second of third use though. 

I have several of the aluminium water bottles in different colors and brands. I like them but I am a bit of a klutz so I tend to spill them all over my face.