DIY crafts:

I'm dying to try these new crafts:

these adorable jars look super easy. Basically write in a hot glue stick, then coat with paint! how perfect for kitchen, craft room, or bathroom?!

I heart this initial piece of decor. The different sized buttons really add character and personality to the piece! I would love to try this with brown printed material and green shaded buttons!

this craft is practically effortless, and paints it's own beautiful picture! I'd like to try it with a smaller white canvas and frame it. ( this would be perfect children's room decor!)

this is simply precious, and I'm totally kicking myself for not thinking of it on my own. Scrapbook paper, picture frame. and it's way more attractive than a boring dry-erase board! 

I can't wait to get started on these doable projects!!
All projects via Pinterest ( of course).

Pinterest, you make the world go 'round.

I'm obsessed, for serious.

these gorgeous hairstyles have me daydreaming about what my wedding hair will turn out like.

new and improved lifestyle ( well, sort of).

Last Friday I finished up my day job with these sweetie pies:

I miss them so much already, but it was time to seek other things like college. My class started last Sunday and I've been logging multiple hours with my books. I'm also in the process of job-searching for a part time position half-way nearby my house. 

Since I went from a 60 hour work week, to a 20 hour work week, to a 7 hour work week, my body is slightly confused. It doesn't know when to sleep or when to be awake. And it definitely forgot what exercise felt like. I went to an hour long cardio class last night and literally thought my body was going to collapse. today, I can waddle across the room, every muscle in my body reminding me of its presence. Yikes. Coincidentally yoga is tonight, so hopefully that will relieve my aching muscles a little bit. 

Since I've had a whole (almost) 48 hours of not working, I've ventured to order 3 gluten free cookbooks, research jobs for about 10/48 hours, and log about 5 hours of television time. I'm not a huge television fan, so it's primarily what I do when the computer screen and book pages both burn my eyes.

I've started organizing my church class and oh my, I am excited! I found a curriculum that really suits the age group and personality of the class. I can't wait to see how they like it. I've been preparing decorations and trying to figure out the room setup:). I'll be sure to photographically document every bit of it. 

Make-up bag cleanout.

I cleaned out all my makeup this weekend. It's amazing to see how quickly a makeup bag's contents change, just over the course of a few months! 

I love bright lipsticks for summertime. I wear them rarely because brights aren't very common around here and most folks will stare at you like you are wearing a drag queen costume or something.

Obviously I have a thing for lip color. Right now my top favorites are: CO Bigelow's Blueberry Rose Salve- this stuff is so wonderful. It's an old fashioned salve, so it can be used on cuticles, chapped skin, cheeks, and lips! It leaves the perfect amount of light pink coloring, and gives off the yummiest blueberry scent! Revlon's lip glosses have come a long way. I purchased their newest coral color ( in attempt to replace my almost empty bottle of Estee Lauder's Praline, which I used endlessly until it emptied) and was really impressed! It's super glossy and gives a beautiful peachy glow without being too overtaking. The rest of my lip collection is used whenever I feel like something new and different.

For summertime, I try to coat my face as little as possible with thick products. I start out with a little Mary Kay mattifying gel, to ward off any oils on my face, next I use some sunscreen, then I pat on some concealer over any trouble areas, and finish up with some loose, sheer powder. If I'm wanting a little extra redness coverage, I'll reach for my Clinique foundation and blend a little of that in. 

Office Space.

I'm busy brainstorming ideas for a potential office space we may have in our new apartment. 

Fall Wardrobe wishlist.

Bright Pants.  

Vintage polka dotted dress.

lace skirt

skinny plaid shirt

via

Braids.

Braids have become my go-to summer hair style. They look so much more interesting than a regular pony. I've just about mastered the French. Now, I'm working on getting the Fishtail down pat. Braids are useful in that if your hair gets wet and the braid starts unraveling, you can dry it and undo the braid to create soft waves. ( A much nicer result than tangled, soaked straight hair!)

via

College.

Yesterday, my books arrived for my online classes ( starting up Monday). I got 6 books for just two classes! Looks like I am going to be doing tons of reading :). I am so excited to finally get started on my bachelors!

vacay: day two.

The second day of our vacation was slightly better than our first. We slept in ( to make up for the catastrophes the evening before), then woke up around 10 a.m. and headed up to Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. It was quite an interesting trip; I learned so much! I didn't realize that the Biltmore is un-airconditioned! It was pretty warm and a little stuffy, but totally worth the view. Unfortunately, Biltmore staff doesn't allow guests to take photographs inside the house, so I don't have any to post of the inside. I do, however have some lovely photos of the gardens outside! I think my favorite part of the whole trip was either eating at the Stable Cafe (inside the genuine horse stables) or walking through the lush gardens.

B & his mama

lunch

( Fried Green Tomatoes)

( Gluten Free Bread)

(steak and grilled peach salad)

( BBQ sandwich)

( dessert sampler)

Vacay day one:

Wednesday started out with lots of appointments and errands. We met with our photographer and started preparing for our wedding! My fiance and I are so excited about our pictures :). Our engagement photos are scheduled in a couple of weeks, so samples will be posted in the near future!

Onto the interesting part of the evening. I bought a one hour dance lesson for B and I through livingsocial a few weeks ago. We decided since the weather was nice, to stop by a local park and take some snapshots of each other before our dance lesson:

After the pictures we started searching for the dance studio. We drove to the right city, but we couldn't find the business! We finally drove up and down the particular street the business was said to be on, and found that the address was to a white home. Could dance lessons be given in a white home? Perhaps. B drove me to an ice cream shop where I asked the clerk for directions. He was not helpful. I then called the dance studio, which wasn't much help either. We returned to the car, and realized the gas tank was sitting on empty. While driving around, searching frantically for a gas station, we found our dance studio! If only the story were over. We thoroughly enjoyed our time dancing together and learned quite a few moves! After the lesson, we walked out to the car and then began looking for the keys. They were nowhere. I checked my purse, B's pockets, the dance studio, my purse, but no keys. Yep, there they were, inside the car. All locked up from every angle, my car was completely secure and so were the keys inside it. Our lovely night turned into about a 3 hour driving fiasco, running back to my house to retrieve the keys, back to get the car, then back home again. Day two, please bring good luck!