I Am DWJ | I Am DWJ

Accessories as Art!

DWJ — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:00:26 +0000

Remember the title of my old site? The Art of Accessories? Well, today I’m talking about how I display my accessories as artwork on the We Heart This site. Pop on over there to check out how I’ve turned statement necklaces into a statement piece in my home!

This Sums Up My Mood Today

DWJ — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:00:09 +0000

Okay, perhaps not totally how I feel but I thought it was hilarious. You know everyone feels like that every now and again. Who hasn’t? And the Someecards site keeps me laughing all the time. Enjoy!

My Weekend Update

DWJ — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:41 +0000

I had a weekend filled to the brim with so much stuff and yet no photos to show for it. It happens. I did snap a picture of my quick Saturday evening manicure (that I’m still rocking on this Tuesday). I grabbed the Kermit the Frog OPI glitter polish (Fresh Frog of Bel Air) on a run to the beauty supply place over the weekend. That green sparkle was calling my name. I decided to do a little dipped glitter looking manicure. I used a neutral as my base (OPI ‘Did you ‘ear About Van Gogh?’) with the glitter on just the tips. It was fun and different and it paired quite nicely with my green sequin bottom Deux Lux satchel.

This long weekend I had a brunch date with my husband, a sleepover with my cousins (and lots of homemade goodies), dinner with my family and outlet shopping with my girlfriends. Can I tell you the best bargain I got at the outlets was $8 Maidenform bras?! Yeah, I was entirely too excited to refresh my underwear collection, but man did I need it.Sometimes a good outlet trip to get essentials at great prices is all you need to make your day. Of course I’m now exhausted from my weekend running around. Oh well. Did you do anything fun this weekend?

New Shoes

DWJ — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:00:03 +0000

Over the last year I’ve purged a lot of old clothes, accessories, things that didn’t fit or just weren’t me anymore. That has left some holes in my closet. Don’t you hate that moment where you have a great outfit planned but you don’t have the shoes to execute it all the way? I’ve also realized I don’t do sky high heels anymore (unless they have a huge platform in them and even then it is doubtful) so I’ve been revamping my shoe collection to fit my style and comfort level more.

I popped into Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack on Tuesday and found two pairs of shoes on a random Tuesday night. I love when that happens. I picked up the Hinge ‘Lanie’ Pump at Nordstrom on sale. The heel isn’t bad but the shoes are actually comfy. I also love the perforated leather. I can wear them now with contrasting color tights peaking out or wear them in the spring when the weather warms up. After I left Nordstrom I walked across the street to the Nordstrom Rack and picked up these cute DV by Dolce Vita pink slipper/flats with studs. A great little punch of color. I had on maroon tights when I tried on the pink shoes and I think might need to be my next color combination. It was so bold and bright! My shoe wardrobe isn’t perfect but it’s getting better. I’m really trying to only buy pieces that draw me in and I instantly fall in love with. I definitely want to let my personality shine through. Have you bought any new shoes lately? Tell me!

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3 Things {That Just Happen to All Be Green!}

DWJ — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:00:47 +0000

I’ve got three good things on my mind today, so I thought I’d share them with you.

I ordered this poster from Yellow Heart Art on Etsy last week. It sums up the feeling of my kitchen and I can’t wait for it to arrive.

This camera strap was also another Etsy purchase from A Diva & Three Dudes Designs. It arrived yesterday and I put it on my camera as soon as I could rip the packaging off. I’ve made my own camera strap covers before but this one was padded, came in a lovely green chevron strip, has a little pocket to hold my lens cap and it was only $15. Sometimes I’d rather purchase an item than deal with making it myself, especially when it’s sewn so much better by someone else.

In the Gift Guide I talked about a gorgeous line of bags with sequin bottoms, Deux Lux Handbags. Well last night at Nordstrom Rack I picked up a canvas olive green satchel with mint green sequins – a fantastic color combo of my favorite color – for $45. To say I was beyond elated is an understatement. I also just realized, all of my three things have some shade of green in them. HA! So those are my three things I thought I’d share with you, want to share three things with me?

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My Funny Valentine(s)

DWJ — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:00:15 +0000

Remember the Valentine I shared on Friday that I found from the Craft Department at Martha Stewart? Well I took it up a notch and made it my own. My husband and I got engaged this time of year in 2002 so even though we aren’t super romantic people, we do give each other Valentines. It kind of commemorates the day. We also renewed our vows in Vegas on the 16 of February in 2009 so we like to celebrate our re-anniversary that day too.

So for this little mini Valentine I decided to take pictures to spell out I Love You for my husband. The first had to be my eye. Since my husband loves when I make crazy faces I thought this one was appropriate.

I decided to go old school and just make a heart with my hands. There were lots of things I could’ve done but this was the easiest.

And for the you I decided using my iPad would help express who I really love, and feature his picture from the marathon. I laid the pictures out in Photoshop making sure each image was the same size (the long image was the size of the two horizontal images stacked on top of each other for the folding to work properly) and then popped them into a Word document to print out. I have a big color laser printer at home but you could do this at a UPS Store or Kinko’s Office and have them print it on cardstock. My husband loved it so much he took it to work and pinned it up in his office.

I was also lucky that I had three more Valentines yesterday too. My cousins and I try to have a taco night at least once a month to get together and just laugh. We decided a Valentine’s day edition of Taco Tuesday was in order so my husband and I brought flowers and red velvet cookies to share with our Valentines. Yesterday couldn’t have been more fun. How was your Valentine’s Day? Hopefully it was full of love!

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NYX Cosmetics Butt “Naked” Eye Palette

DWJ — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:12 +0000

I got a card once that asked if it was butt naked or bucked naked…if you ask NYX it’s the Butt “Naked” Eyes Palette. The longer I blog the more I love palettes, before blogging I kind of hated them. I cannot lie. Now I love that palettes like the Butt Naked Eyes palette gives me a lot of options in one slim little case. I was super excited when the folks at NYX sent it to me for a review. Although my shadow draw is a rainbow of colors, with my recent love of bold lip colors I’ve been needing to build up my neutral eye collection to help balance out the bright colors I’ve been rocking on my lips.

The palette is jammed with 15 neutral eye colors that go from matte to neutral, 4 pink toned blushes, 2 highlighters and a bronzer – that’s a lot in one palette and it’s only $25. What?!

It’s the perfect balance of neutral staples with soft blushes and highlighters. Only one blush is a little too light for me but if that’s my only complaint in the palette…I’m good. This was the only palette I packed with me on our trip to Miami and I thought it was pretty versatile. I could do a little smoky on the eyes on just keep it simple. Totally loved this palette and would definitely suggest picking it up.

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Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

DWJ — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:51 +0000

I don’t know if it was Pinterest or part of my daily blog reading but I saw this recipe for Red Velvet Sandwich cookies and clipped it to Evernote to make for Valentine’ day. I’m not a mushy romantic person but I do love to spread love and one of the easiest ways for me to do that is through food.

I know that I know how to cook and that I can cook very well, which isn’t something a lot of people can say. I’m also a good baker but it’s not my favorite thing to do BUT I realized that most of the time if I want something sweet I have to make it myself to get exactly what I want. I’ve been disappointed way too many times by store bought cakes and treats. I love red velvet cake and I hate being disappointed by store versions so it was mandatory that I tried this recipe for red velvet sandwich cookies this weekend, kind of like a pre-Valentine’s day run. I’m so glad I did.

They bake up firm on the outside but are perfectly moist and soft on the inside. They’re also paired with a very nice cream cheese frosting which is the only appropriate thing to put on anything red velvet. And they smell AH-MAZING.

In the recipe I got online they’re larger cookies but I made smaller ones and you really only need to eat one to be satisfied. They’re that rich and delicious. My husband came home last night to try one after I sent him a picture of one (a sure fire way to get him to come home early from whatever he’s doing) and told me he had to restrain himself from eating just one. These are seriously that delicious and the recipe is very simple. You should make yourself some tonight in honor of Valentine’s day.

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A Valentine Pin to Share

DWJ — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:00:17 +0000

Source: thecraftsdept.marthastewart.com via Dana on Pinterest

I’m mildly addicted to Pinterest, craftiness and reading blogs. When I read the Martha Stewart Craft blog and saw this accordion fold Valentine I had to share it. I think it’s so sweet and cute and they give you step by step instructions and templates! Valentine’s is creeping up on me, so you might want to get to crafting this weekend!

Sweet Treats From Super Bowl Sunday

DWJ — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:00:08 +0000

I didn’t watch the Super Bowl but I did catch a lot of the commercials online. My favorite is the M&M’s Ms. Brown commercial. I love that they finally have a brown M&M and that she’s a female (voiced by Vanessa Williams). I always loved Ms. Green (voiced by Cree Summers) but I adore the smart and sassy Ms. Brown. My husband keeps saying that when he sees the commercial he thinks of me. This commercial cracks me up.

My other sweet treat from Super Bowl Sunday was a batch of Browned Butter and Course Salt Rice Krispie Treats. Actually this was my second batch, the first batch was made the day before in preparation for the Super Bowl but my husband, sister and brother-in-law (and me) plowed through those pretty quickly so I had to make another batch. I would’ve taken pictures of these when they were sliced up but again, they were plowed through by guests. Oh well. They were quick and easy to make and are an adult spin on a childhood favorite. I’d definitely recommend making these for your next party.