OhLaLaAli

Free Monograms & More

2014-02-10T17:07:00.001-08:00

I am beyond excited to announce that my etsy store, OhLaLaAli, has launched and is already filled with lovely monograms ready to be personalized for you. If you don't see it in the shop, chances are I can make it for you. Be it a different size or monogram style, just ask and I would be happy to oblige!

What I have discovered thus far is that getting a brand spanking new etsy shop out into the world to tell a success story is tricky. I have decided that who better to ask for help than you all. I am seeking a few fabulous "brand representatives," for lack of a better term, who are willing to spread the #OhLaLaAli love around in exchange for free monograms and other fun things. I would love to hear from as many of you as are interested and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
To "apply," again for lack of a better term, there are a few things I ask you do.
First, follow the shop's instagram and favorite the etsy shop as well.
Then, send an email to shopohlalaali@gmail.com and include:
Your Name
Your Age
Your Links (facebook, instagrams, twitter, tumblr, blog, youtube, ect.)
Ways in which you would share the love and get the word out
Any other things you would like me to know!

I am so excited to begin this journey and hope to have your gorgeous selves come along too!

A Year In Reiview

2013-10-31T04:30:00.000-07:00

It may seem odd to be doing a year in review in any month other than January but October 2012 was like the start of a whole new year for me.

I left my university in September after physically breaking my foot and emotionally feeling like I had broken my whole self. After a period of recovery, which meant I spent most of my time on the couch, gaining pitty weight and sporadically blogging, I decided I needed a change.

So I booked a ticket to Florida.

A one-way, not sure when I would return ticket to spend some time with my Grammy.

I knew only that I would come home when I had found some sense of solace and stability.

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The quote "not all those who wander are lost" did not apply to me.

I was so beyond lost when I decided to wander.

I spent the first two weeks vegging out enjoying the Florida sunshine while catching up with my sweet Grammy. After my brief 'incubation period' I started to apply for jobs. A day later I had an interview at a department store and the day after that I was back for training as a sales associate in the women's shoe department.

In fact, my very first day of work was Halloween 2012.

A whole year ago today.

I ended up staying in Florida through December and flying home to rainy Seattle on Christmas Eve to surprise my family. It was close to perfect.

I learned a lot in my few months as a one-time Floridian.

I learned that I certainly was not meant to live in a climate that means Christmas is celebrated with palm trees and 75 degrees.

I also saw where I did not want to end up in life.

I met so many strong, teaching people working alongside me in the retail environment but their lives were not easy. Mine has not been a cake walk either but Florida taught me to be more thankful of the things I have and the dreams that I very well might achieve one day.

January was the first time that I really understood that I was not going back to my university. Financially it was not in the cards and I was also overwhelmed by the thought of returning somewhere that my friends had also left. It felt like my place there had suddenly disappeared. I started taking nursing prerequisites at a local community college and adjusting to the itsy bitsy class sizes and complete change of atmosphere.

February and March were much the same.

April was when I decided I was bored and I needed a job. I knew that retail was not for me and, in fact, I had always really wanted to be a nanny.

So I set out my requirements.

The family would have to be a 'right fit' for me and also be willing to give me a way to attend classes at the same time. By God's grace I was blessed with the perfect family. Two sweet as pie little girls and a caring, down to earth set of parents to tie up the clan.

My 20th birthday came and went, celebrated by my amazing friend M and her dear family. It was also around this time that I began volunteering as a 'running buddy' for Girls on the Run which has become one of my most cherished moments.

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I got to spend some time running with a wonderful 4th grade girl and was beaming by her side as she crossed the 5k finish line. I truly believe that every woman/girl should be a part of GOTR at least once in their life.

Summer rolled around and I accepted a part-time position with the summer camp I had worked with the previous summer. The girls and I romped around Seattle, made dresses and tutus and rediscovered the magic in the simple things.

The summer also brought some not so great things.

My parents separation meant that it was time to sell the only house I have ever known. Months later and I still yearn for my cheery green bedroom filled to the top with too many quotes and memories.

I signed up for a hot yoga groupon with some friends from work and began to love something that I was so scared to do initially. Yoga became an escape for me and a good place to let everything I had stressed over that day drip down my body in copious amounts of sweat.

And that brings us to now. Halloween 2013. An entire year later.

This year I am still taking a few straggling prerequisite classes before applying to nursing school for the fall of 2014.

I traded a retail job that I dreaded for a blessing of a nanny job, where I get to go to the park and make pink princess costumes.

I continue to live too often in the what-ifs and one day world rather than making a change in the present.

The hill is starting to flatten out and a new horizon lies ahead.

Who Sees the Real You?

2013-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

When I Grow Up...

2013-07-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

I want to be Lemon Breeland.

A fictional character from Hart of Dixie and arguably the most well dressed belle out there.

Is she slightly ridiculous?

Perhaps.

After recently being called bossy, repeatedly I might add, by one of my co-workers I appreciate Lemon's no-nonsense attitude. The southern belle thing doesn't hurt either, although no one accuses me of that... yet.

Just wait until I move to the South and find a charming husband who will grow old on our giant wrap around porch with our children running all around us. Don't all you southern dolls live like that? Even if you don't, bless my heart and let me live in my dream world for a while longer.

Plus, I have Lemon to fulfill all of my picturesque southern dreams from her perfect blonde hair to her spot on outfits. Heck, if my name were Lemon I would wear lemons too!

She is charming, she is witty and most of all she feels the same way about 50 Shades of Grey as I do.

So, ship me off to Bluebell, sign up to be Zoe Hart's right hand nurse and let me go shopping for my future husband. Oh, and send Lemon my change of address cards, I expect us to swap tips and other perfect, charming women talk upon my arrival.
See you soon friends!

WIWW: Drop Your Anchor

2013-07-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

Happy What I Wore Wednesday babes!

After rowing for four years of my life I like to consider myself at least slightly sea worthy. Which simply means that I allow myself to believe that my nautical related purchases are not totally wannabe. Above all else, I am always up for a good deal at a solid price and Old Navy has fed that need as of late.

I first spotted these {anchor embroidered critter capris} and knew they were meant to be in my closet. I am also terribly lacking in the whites' department so I found this {white blouse button up} to be a staple as well.

Things have been getting a little 'nauti' here lately to say the least.

I have to admit that for some reason when I first saw this outfit on myself I immediately thought 'hippie alert!' I should have known better with the critter pants and preppy white button up, but all the same the alarm bells were not easily calmed.

To 'fix' the situation I did the two, and a half, preppiest things I could think of. Threw on some pearls and, almost old man, loafers and popped the color. And in that moment I felt ready to fly off to the Vineyard for the weekend. Crisis adverted.

For most of the summer I cannot be bothered with my 'Rapunzle hair' as the girls' call it, more like rats ~~nest~~ highrise, and so most of the time it ends up in a french braid. There is nothing worse than getting to that too hot panicked place where all you can think is to pull your hair into whatever horrid looking bun that keeps it off of your neck. Those are never fly.

I Wear Pink To Yoga

2013-07-09T10:55:00.002-07:00

In an effort to get myself back into shape, just in case Luke Bryan asks me to shake it for him at the end of the month, I have been really throwing myself into fitness. I started up with my normal favorite, a good long walk/jog/run, but after nearly jumping into traffic every time someone screamed out their window or tried to run past me I decided it was time for a new approach.

So I signed up for a Hot Yoga month long Groupon deal with two friends.

Then, on another whim as the unusual PNW heat is affecting my rationale, I agreed to go take a class the day we purchased our tickets to pain.

I usually nanny on Monday's so the whole ordeal had to fit in around those shenanigans. I had made sure I had a yoga mat but wanted to go check out some yoga towels as well. To Target the girls and I went, giggling all the way. Little miss pigtails, the younger of the two girls I nanny, walked straight up to the sports bras and asked me if I needed a new pair of breasts.

I could have died laughing.

I put her in bows and pigtails every chance I get. You're only 3 once!

Seeing that I thought it was funny, she then continued to point to every bra possible saying things like pink breasts, blue breasts, new breasts, new breasts. It was far too funny to be embarrassed by.

I ended up getting a 'high impact sports bra,' which basically means that your twins are large in far more in charge than you are.

See what I mean?

I also found my new favorite workout tank at Target the 'fit and flare,' which does all the right things for my not so hot bod.

Turns out yoga towels start at $30 and go up to $40, which meant that I was going to have to use my plain old strawberry emblazoned beach towel. Sue me actual yogis.

So off to the class I went. Except I was totally scared and felt like I may actually throw up at any moment. In fact I really wanted to run. I pretty much would have done anything to get out of that class at that moment. Something about yoga terrifies me beyond belief. 10 mile run? Sure I can do that if I have a good, long playlist and a fuel belt along for the fun. But an hour yoga class makes me want to sprint out the door in a fit. Yikes.

101 degrees, way too much humidity and an hour of 'fusion' yoga later and I was proud. I had conquered something that I was so terrified of. I may not become a professional, midriff baring, health nut yogi, but at least I can say I did it and I enjoyed it.

The only draw back is that my workout gear has been laying out all night and it is still not dry.

Summer Crazy

2013-07-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

Summers' past have been a time to relax, lay out and enjoy and this summer is already the complete opposite. My weeks are jam packed with my 3-day a week nanny job, 2-day a week camp job and 7am-1pm Saturday Anatomy and Physiology class. Its safe to say that when I get time to myself I spend it studying, looking up nursing schools or running. My 20th year has pretty much grabbed me round the arm and pulled me straight into the bustle of adulthood.

Even with all the crazy, I sort of love it.

Dresses have been made with my two favorite girls.

Hikes have been taken with dear returning co-workers.

The big nursing school list has started.

And I even have the slightest sign of a tan.

It has been a warm summer, as far as pacific northwet standards go, with most days in the 80's thus far. I have a good deal of reflecting to do this summer and vow to push myself into things I would never do on a regular 'Ali day'.

Happy summer kiddos. Come along for the ride.

The Flip Side

2013-05-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this blog post right now than I think it is safe to assume a couple things.
The first being that you likely have a profile, and or, participate in some form of social media. Regardless of the social media platform you find yourself inclined to use, by now you have likely seen this video, entitled 'My Last Days: Meet Zach Sobiech.'

I am also going to assume that you cried like a baby throughout and found yourself reflecting back on your life in some way, shape or form.
I certainly did.

After watching this video you probably did not, however, look further into the content of this YouTube channel. Being the internet junkie I am I began to delve deeper into the channel, named Soul Pancake. I quickly discovered {Kid President}, possibly my favorite kid on YouTube, along with a series of videos filed under '{The Flip Side}.'

Watch this first and then we will come back and talk about things, even though it pretty much speaks for itself.

well, shoot.

I know, it got me too.

The whole purpose of this series is to make us reflect back upon ourselves, upon our life and trigger us to think more deeply. Although my brain is constantly thinking, it is mostly filled with anxiety and worry over the future. But what The Flip Side does is forces you to freeze. It makes you think about the present, even if you only think about it for the 3 minute video.
That is three minutes out of your day that you were forced out of your head, and into the real world.

Go ahead, watch a couple more.

Are you thinking about the flip side of things in your life yet?

Northwest Preppy: Sweet Southern Spud

2013-05-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

Preps are a rare commodity in the Pacific Northwest, and comes as no surprise that when I find another prep amongst all the granola I get a little giddy. I found {Sweet Southern Spud} one day while browsing the internet for seersucker inspiration and fell in love with the brand instantly. They describe themselves as "Western Born. Southern Inspired," which hello, welcome to my life.
The gorgeous Melinda Jean Lewis is the creator of Sweet Southern Spud, and quite possibly my soul sister.
"Born and raised amongst the vast mountains and valleys of Idaho, Melinda has brought the pioneering spirit of the West and combined it with the charming nostalgia of the South. She began sewing at the age of fifteen creating small accessories and handbags designed from scratch. By her junior prom, she had sewn her own dress and continued to create her own formal wear throughout high school and college. At the University of Idaho, she continued to follow her passion and lent her talent to her fellow sorority sisters by creating letter sweaters and other spirit wear.
After graduating with degrees in Communications as well as Clothing, Textiles, and Design, she decided to pursue her masters degree at the University of Georgia. Though a world apart from Idaho, Melinda felt drawn to the culture, values, and fashion of the region as embodied in her life-long favorite film: Steel Magnolias. Now that she has been firmly planted in red southern clay, she hopes to make her bow ties a permanent fixture in the South."
Sweet Southern Spud's primary craft are bow ties, that just happen to be sported by gorgeous southern gentlemen.

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They do not stop with bow ties though. They also have the belles covered with their own headbands called 'bow bands.' Many of these accessories match with the bow ties making for the perfect pairing.
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Isn't she just precious?!?

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The title of this photoshoot was the 'Belles of the Northwest,' which I thought was beyond perfect. Being a prep in the northwest means that you stick out like a needle in a haystack of birkenstocks and often are accused of being overly 'WASP-y' or too girly. Which is impossible in my mind.
But more than anything else I love that the brand is rooted in its PNW traditions with just enough gingham to make a southern statement. It has become my new favorite thing and an inspiration to all of those 'out-of-place' preps. That just makes you a rare jewel, embrace it!

Girls On The Run

2013-05-23T02:30:00.000-07:00

Being around children is one of my favorite things in the world.
In fact, I believe that God's plan for me on this earth is to empower children and learn from them at the same time. When I found {Girls on The Run} I had originally wanted to volunteer at Seattle Children's but just was not sure if I could make such a big time commitment. So, I searched the internet for other ways I could volunteer my time and found GOTR. Girls on the Run is a fabulous organization that empowers girls with a little running thrown in along the way.

Their mission statement is just as superb and goes like this:

We believe that every girl
can embrace who she is,
can define who she wants to be,
can rise to any challenge,
can change the world.
Can.

Did I mention they are fabulous?
Every week 3rd-5th grade girls meet after school with their coach and assistant coach and play games that foster strong girls. About 3/4 of the way through the program the running buddies come into play. We show up at a designated practice and run a practice 5k with the girls. For us that meant running 12 times around a track, a little mind numbingly repetitive but the focus was more on our girl buddy anyhow.
I showed up at my first practice unsure of what to expect and was greeted by a big group of parent volunteers. I had expected to see a larger number of non-parent running buddies after learning that GOTR is Gamma Phi Beta's philanthropy and therefore a younger crowd is involved in the whole goulash. All the same, I was paired with a tall, eager girl with a pink bow in her hair. I knew we would get along right away. She wasted no time in getting to know me and soon enough we were ticking off lap after lap with a new knowledge of each other at every turn. At the end of our practice go I was glad that I had signed up for the whole thing and anxiously awaiting the actual 5k.
The morning of the 5k I woke up around 6am and headed into the city to get an early start to my day. I had decided that I would get to the location obnoxiously early, find myself a decent parking spot, walk to a nearby bakery and read Blog Inc until check in time at 8:45. The plan went smoothly until I walked back to the park and suddenly realized that I had showed up at the complete wrong place. The actual event was halfway across town and I had 15 minutes to get there... whoops. The buddy coordinator was fabulous when I called her to let her know about my blunder and I was off again.
I was greeted by a sea of pink shirts at the event and, best of all, my sweet running buddy's exuberant hug. We walked slowly to the start line and all of the sudden, we were off! My buddy and I went at a walk, run, jog pace and that was fine with me. We chatted the whole way and I was struck by just how big the whole thing was.

By the time we reached the finish line I was beaming. I was so proud of not only my running buddy, but of all of the other girls. Crossing the finish line in a race is a big thing. Because running is so individual and so self-motivated being able to say that they finished a 5k is huge. It is in a sense a validation of the strength of girls. I was beaming in the dorkiest way and so glad to be a part of such an amazing thing.
I found one picture of myself from the event, and had to cut my running buddy out as a courtesy to her privacy, so the thing is a little distorted. I can assure you it would be just as awkward and unflattering anyway you look at it. But rewarding all the same.

If you would like to find a Girls On The Run program in your area visit {GOTR} and find a chapter near you. You do not have to be a runner to volunteer, in fact they have plenty of girls who prefer to walk the whole thing. More chit-chat time I figure!

How do you get involved?

Watercolor My Life

2013-05-22T02:30:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I posted about the {pajamas} I had sewn for one of my best friend's birthday. I was not entirely sure that they would turn out the way I had imagined so I decided that I needed a backup plan. One of my favorite artists is {Inslee Haynes} She does sort of sketched stylized watercolors of different girls. They are all absolutely precious and I knew if I put my mind to it I could take her work as inspiration for an extra birthday gift.

When I began to sketch I basically just put pencil to paper with a picture of the birthday girl open in one window and Inslee's art in another. I began to itemize the things that reminded me of my dear friend. When we were roommates we pretty much always wore our vests and hunter boots for comfort and because our campus was almost constantly covered in some form of snow. Second, she was obsessed with Diet Coke and I had given her the monogramming bug so I added both to the picture. Lastly is the stethoscope, for the future nurse, and her little pink insulin pump. She is a type I and so strong, it would be a disservice to leave it out.

The way I see it, her pink pump is like her little superhero badge in this world.

I then bought a simple white frame to match her precious Tiffany blue room, signed the thing and put it all together. It was overwhelmingly my favorite gift and I think it turned out pretty darn well.

On Finding Love

2013-05-21T02:30:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Ali and I'm a 20 year old, still in shock of no longer being a teenager, obsessed with finding the perfect man. Am I too young to feel my biological love clock ticking? Perhaps. But I have pretty much always been this way.

I was 5 when I first fell in love. We will call him J. He was Asian and I was smitten. We kissed behind the bush and swore we were in love. Taylor Swift would have been jealous.

Next came N, who I noticed in 4th grade and soon after was quickly immersed in his love. We were married shortly after, with clay rings we made in our art class, and then came babies and puppies and a house. Which resembled the playground forest. But all the same.

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My first real kiss was when I was about 13. Our families had been friends for ages, he had taught me how to go down the stairs backwards when we were still in diapers and we were both at a curious age. So we decided that kissing each other would be a good idea. It was odd and our arms were pretty much plastered at our sides the whole time. Over the next few days of vacation we slowly got more comfortable and continued our little secret kiss sessions. Oh, and our parents still have no idea to this day. If they knew they would be planning the wedding without hesitation.

I had my first boyfriend my freshman year of high school. He was the new kid who had transferred in at semester and sat smack next to me in my English class. He was taller than me, which I loved, and asked me out on valentines day. My one and only valentine. But then I got into an avoiding phase and broke up with him. Another strike on the prince charming black board.

My last boyfriend was my junior year of high school. Lord, oh Lord, now you understand that I have been without a fairy Godmother granting me frog princes. Yikes. Anyhow, his name was S and he had curly hair, like me, so I figured it must be love. Not so much. I got awkward and avoided him like homework and basically sabotaged the whole thing. We'll never know if we were destined to have little curly haired babies together, but I'm going to guess not.

Short and sweet that is about how my love life has always been.

It now exists only in my head and through occasional tumblr pictures.

And now that I have had to leave my 'real' university I have pretty much only had contact with married men and those with children who are half my age. I'm not trying to be anyone's mommy here. So now I am in this terrible dilemma. Where do I meet my handsome, tall, manly, bow tie wearing, hunting, baby lovin' perfect man? Looks that rival Luke Bryan also might not hurt.

Maybe I need to wear more seersucker and find myself a 'perfect landing party.' Too bad Vineyard Vines is completely foreign to Washingtonians.

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The bars are out of the question since I am not 21 and have no motivation to get myself a fake. Except maybe to find these bow tie sportin' lads.

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Anyone know where I can find these fine snow bunnies in May?

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A little front porch sittin' never hurt anyone. It really didn't hurt this cutie either. I would snuggle up in that rocking chair with him, sweet tea included in the package.

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This one explains itself.

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Can you see my dilemma? First off, I live on the complete wrong side of the country and second, I have no idea where to find me my dream boy. Except on tumblr, pinterest and other social media sites. Where do I meet a MAN?!?

If you're a lucky lady and have a beau of your own, spill! How did you two meet? Or how did you meet past dates?

P.S. Wanna be my wing girl? I'm only half joking here.

A White Girl's Summer: The PTL

2013-05-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

Even though I will drink a good iced drink anytime of the year, Starbuck's Tazo Passion Tea Lemonade, or PTL if you speak #whitegirlproblems, is reserved for the sunshine months. I had my first official cup of the season a few weeks ago for my free birthday drink. It was just as good as I had remembered it being last year and the whole thing refreshed my love of iced tea.

Last summer my mom and I had taken the pledge to make more Starbucks like drinks at home, and hopefully save a couple of bucks. Target had a couple of different options to offer our concocting minds and we settled on the Tazo Iced Passion Tea. Starbucks uses the Tazo brand in their drinks and having the Iced version would hopefully mean that it would be a more concentrated brew to avoid watering it down with ice cubes.

The tea is simple to make, boil a quart of water, steep the tea bag for 5 minutes + and add one quart of cold water, then chill. Adding the lemonade part of the PTL presents a few different options. We often like to squeeze the lemon juice of one or two lemons directly into our pitcher and have a more 'natural' tasting version that way.

However, if I am on the go I'll pour the tea into a tumbler, in this case my favorite monogrammed mason jar tumbler, and bring an on-the-go packet of Crystal Light lemonade. Mix it in whenever you get thirsty and voila, you have a DIY Starbucks drink. You can also just add a packet or two of Truvia to the tea if you prefer the plain old Passion Tea taste, whatever fits the bill for that day's craving.

Simple, sweet and cheap!

Sunday Social

2013-05-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

1. What is your favorite kind of surprise?

Like most any typical, hopeless romantic I like the little surprises in life. I like it when people remember little things you like and show up on a whim to surprise you. It is a reminder that people really are thinking about you, that you matter to someone other than your dog.

2. Flowers or Chocolate?

Flowers, specifically hydrangeas.

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3. What is your favorite summertime activity?

I generally am an on-the-go sort of gal and so road trips with my girlfriends in the summer have been my favorite thing so far. I took one my junior year of high school with my best friends at the time and we had a blast.

4. Do you have any vacations planned this summer?

I do not have any huge vacations planned but I am going to Watershed, which is a country music festival in Washington toward the tail end of summer. Other than that I'll be hanging with the babies and getting a little less sickly pale.
Hey Luke, wanna go fishin'?

5. Favorite Summer holiday?

My favorite ever summer holiday was probably the summer I went to Hawaii. I had never gone that far from home before without my parents and was so blessed to have a best friend whose family was willing to drag me along with them. We stayed on the big island and explored something new everyday.
This was our model posed picture. At the time we were obsessed with it.

6. Dream vacation?

Right now I have a hankering to go to Paris. Or Europe in general. I would love to just travel around France, Monaco, Spain, Greece, England, wherever my heart desired.

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Welcome Spring

2013-05-18T02:30:00.000-07:00

Washington has been sending us little hints of spring the past few weeks and we have oh so been enjoying it. I think that it is because we get so much rain and gloom that we all flock outside at the first hint of spring. It isn't out of the usual to see shorts and tanks broken out when it hits around 68 degrees. I cannot promise you that our pale sun deprived skin is the prettiest sight, think Edward Cullen sparkle.

One of the surefire signs of spring was the blooming of the state flower, the Rhododendron. Not my favorite of flowers, I'm a hydrangea girl myself, but all the same I gathered a bunch for myself and got to arranging.

What better to be a makeshift vase than a Mason Jar? I stumbled around my kitchen for a vase filler and found myself pouring dry beans into my jar. What the heck, I thought. Not all things I test out succeed on the first round, as was my findings with the black beans. So navy beans went into the mess too.

The jar needed a little more whim so on went the baker's twine and a quick homemade 'Welcome Spring' tag.

The contrasting bright pink and dark dry bean vase filler was a gorgeous combination.

The whole arrangement looks perfect on my little old nightstand. It was the perfect way to welcome in spring, with a bouquet from my yard and a little something extra.
How do you welcome in spring to your home?

Old Navy Is Sipping On Preppy Punch

2013-05-17T02:30:00.000-07:00

I am a bargain shopper through and through. I like to splurge every once and a blue moon, but most of the time I hunt around for deals until I find the best one there is. Old Navy is a recent addition to my arsenal and all I can say is they have been enjoying the mint juleps as of late. Their spring and summer lines have both been surprisingly preppy, with plenty of staple items making their way into my shopping basket.

They have really embraced the embroidered "critter" pants and shorts as of late and I am totally smitten with these {anchor boyfriend khakis} which are on sale for $17.

A good white blouse is a staple item for any woman's closet and this {button front crepe blouse} is only $19. A total must have!

Did someone say chambray? I am loving this simple chambray {tab sleeved top} and think it is the perfect summer top. Easy, stylish and sophisticated all in one go.

I had to throw in this {mixed eyelet dress} because its pink, hello my favorite color, and utterly fabulous. I have seen a lot of other stores put out similar eyelet dresses for summer, but no one can beat Old Navy's prices.

Also, how simple is this outfit to put together:

Love it!

Like always I shop online using {Ebates} to save even more. Right now they have 14% off Old Navy. That would make this outfit only $50. Buh-bang baby girl!

Music of the Moment

2013-05-16T02:30:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started driving I have always loved the way a good playlist on a long drive makes you feel. It can change the whole mood of the trip, even if you are just popping out to run errands for the day. Now that I have purchased my own car I have been burning CDs like a madwoman. I have yet to purchase, or figure out for the matter, something to link my sound system to my ipod. For now we are stuck in the early years of sound systems.

My playlists lately have been centered around Watershed, a sort of country festival in Washington. It takes place at the Gorge in George, Washington (tee-hee, Washingtonians have humor too) which is undoubtedly one of the most scenic venues around.

This year Watershed will consist of Thompson Square, Kip Moore, Lee Brice, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley and, oh yeah, Luke Bryan. I am already shaking it for you Luke, just you wait.

As the days get closer, 77 days left as of today, I get more and more manic and make an increasing number of playlists just so I can memorize every last word in case Luke Bryan asks me to serenade him on stage. It could happen.

My favorite music of the moment has been, no surprise, overwhelmingly country with a little slice of pop music thrown in every once and a while.

I love just about every track off of Kacey Musgraves' album Same Trailer, Different Park. My favorites have to be Silver Lining, Follow Your Arrow and Merry Go Round. Easy to listen to while driving and fun to sing along to.

The Band Perry does it again with hit after hit on their newest release, Pioneer. This album is filled with their typical sound with a few surprises here and there. My favorites are Better Dig Two, DONE and Don't Let Me Be Lonely. I think everyone can relate to the fact that "mama told me to play nice, she didn't know you when she gave me that advice. All I wanna be is DONE."

Like most sane people I love Lady Antebellum too too much. I have been addicted to The Voice as of late, and Blake Shelton's entire team, and seeing Hillary Scott was Adam's right hand woman made me giddy. I am obsessed obsessed with Downtown and have to scream the lyrics every time the song comes on.

What songs are on your current favorite playlist?

Darling, Precious, Charming.

2013-05-14T02:30:00.000-07:00

My life as of late has consisted of the following:

Play time outside in the sand and at the park with the darling little girls who officially call me "nanny." Aka the babies.

Watching my amazing best firend cox in Seattle's opening day regatta, the Windermere cup. It made me miss rowing for a bit and then I remembered erg tests and waking up at 4am. I'll stay on the side lines for now.

Bows on bows on bows.

Manicures and pedicures.

Daisy chain crowns.

Sunshine and the official blooming of the state flower.

Sitting in too much traffic to get home at 5.

The most thoughtful birthday gift from my sweet best friend, MacKenzie. I slapped a monogram on my new tumbler and it has been attached to me ever since. Oh, and that charming lobst fabric is being made into something as we speak.

Just Do You

2013-05-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

For the longest time I thought fashion was a cropped tie front cardigan paired with pink shirts covered in glittered butterflies. I ate up everything that limited too promoted and begged my parents for a pink north face Denali when it was the thing to have.

As I entered into my sophomore year of high school I found a new way to follow fashion. I would spend my afternoons glued to my computer, no surprise there, browsing through fashion blogs and even watching style related YouTube videos. I wanted every thing they had and began to sign myself up for everything they shared.

It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I really began to wear exactly what I wanted to. I would parade around in my striped jcrew skirts that covered my butt in its entirety and learned to not care so much what people thought. Sure, there were days when I'd dress differently depending on the occasion, meaning I was attempting to impress some boy I had a crush on, but most of the time I wore what I pleased.

Like today, I find myself nannying the sweet baby girls all day dressed in my usual jcrew sweater, black pants, Tory Burch shoes (that I got for $50 from the fabulous tradesy) accessorized with a quatrefoil necklace. And tomorrow I might wear a dress, tights and my wellies; and I love both outfits!

I don't have the perfect shape, by any means, and after rowing competitively for four years I would do anything for that body again. Except workout and cut out ice cream. And that's how this problem is perpetuated. But all the same I think sharing my outfits is fun to do and maybe it will keep me accountable to keep dressing every day.

I think what I am really getting at is that you should dress how you want to. If you find yourself wearing a bright pink vest, to match your pink goggles of course, to dissect a fetal pig, than more power to you! We all dress for something even if your style is meant to be "laid back and casual" that is still a choice. Dress as loud and obnoxious as you please or keep it understated instead. Just do you!

And Then I Tried to Sew Something

2013-05-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

For my dear best friend's birthday I went a little nuts. I had gotten her present idea a few weeks before hand as we were discussing pajamas. She was my roommate my freshman year of college and the girl always wore shorts to bed even on the nights when it was below freezing. She made up for it in blankets, piled high on top of her as she slept but all the same I thought she was semi-insane.
The particular night that this idea came to me we had been browsing around on the Internet, like we usually do, looking at too many pictures of weddings and babies to be considered "normal" 19 year olds. We stumbled upon some precious collard pajamas and she immediately expressed interest in them. Perfect I thought! I already know what I'll get her weeks ahead of time.
Originally I was going to do the normal sane human thing and go buy a pair from target for her. But one night as my insomnia set in I decided it would be a good idea to make her a pair instead. Having only even sewn a stuffed animal and done some minor hemming before in my life. Good thinking self.
The next two weeks were undeniably the most frustrating weeks of my MRS degree so far. I learned the selectivity of tension and tried to make myself understand the exasperatingly vague pattern, but in the end I was semi-proud.

Sure there were loose threads and the whole thing was unlined which may have added to the whole home ec project look but you could tell they were pajamas and that was good enough for me.

Picking out the four little buttons was one of the hardest parts for me. The button section of the craft store is large but also too small at the same time. I spent at least a half an hour there, going up and down the isle putting buttons back and lusting over the sworovski crystal buttons all the same. I finally settled for some simple see through buttons that would not take away from the fabric but also avoided looking like a tacky thrift store toss.

The shorts were my proudest moment by far. As I began to carefully trim apart the delicate pattern I quickly realized that pants really were not what the birthday girl would want. So I decided to draft my own pattern. I took a pair of Nike tempo shorts and used them as a sort of guide, drawing a shape that I thought resembled a factory made short. I think they came out beautifully in the end!

I wrapped the whole mess up in a nice box and hoped that she would not totally hate them. In the end she may never wear them but I think that the point was made. The best presents are those that are really thought out and tailor made for the person. Every stitch of these pajamas was filled with love, thankfulness and joy to be her friend celebrating her 20th year.

Happy Birthday baby girl!

I Dream of Pink Scrubs

2013-04-29T17:45:00.004-07:00

I live by two big rules in my life.

The first being "if its not moving, monogram it."

Followed closely by

So a few weeks ago when I was contacted by Medical Discount Scrubs to review a pair of their scrubs I knew that they would be pink. It just so happened that Cherokee makes a 'luxe' line of scrubs and one of the options is a fabulous pink pair. I quickly responded to the company excited to try them on.
They arrived quickly and the company was great to work with. When I finally opened the package containing my new pink beauties I was so excited. Who does not want to walk into work wearing their favorite 'power color'? The only mishap was that I ordered the scrubs too big. It was a silly mistake on my part but I ended up having to pin them for the photos you see here. The customer service was great on this point to saying that as long as the tags were on they could be returned. But I think I'll try my hand at a home alterations job instead!

I think every nurse and nurse-to-be needs these in their closet. They are the perfect accessory to any pair of Danskos. Notice the pearls? I had to keep with my blog's namesake. We wouldn't be monogrammed scrubs and strings of pearls without them!

DIY Birthday: Cupcakes

2013-04-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday babes!
I have been a little caught up with school and life over the past couple of days and just haven't made the time to blog. But finally I am sitting down and writing a couple posts that I have been planning for a while.
On Friday it was my dear, sweet, precious, perfect best friend MacKenzie's birthday. Last year we spent her birthday cooped up in our dorm studying for our huge biology test the next day. I tried to make it as special as possible but this year I knew I needed to do it big, after the girl deserves it! Starting the weekend before I made trips to the craft store, wrote lots of to-do lists and made my own secret pinterest board for the whole thing. One of the best parts of the whole ordeal, in my opinion were the cupcakes. They turned out too sweet for my liking with all of the butter cream piled high, but they were lookers. I could have been describing myself there rather than a cupcake.

I ended up choosing Martha Stewart's salted caramel cupcake recipe along with one for white chocolate cupcakes that I added a strawberry filling to.

I then piped them with at thick butter cream recipe. I knew it was trouble when it called for 8 cups of powdered sugar. Did I mention I fed these to my diabetic best friend, whoops! Thank goodness for her pink pump.
Originally I had planned to find a bouquet online and replicate it with frosting. However, after breaking two pastry bags and splitting others in half I decided that hydrangeas and carnation sort of things would be just fine. So, the bouquet was all of my own design in the end.
So was the frosting technique.
I had planned to watch all of these videos and read tons of blogs telling me how to make the perfect frosting flower when I finally thought, how about not. I decided that I would throw some tips on bags, fill them with icing and pipe away. They turned out pretty nice if I say so myself.

The final, and best, thing about these cupcakes was 'potting' them in their flower bouquet. I took a cheap pot from the craft store, hot glued a 6" Styrofoam ball onto it and tooth picked my babies in. This part was frustrating because I did not plan it out, at all. Cupcakes went in, I forgot to balance it and down tumbled my hard work. I tried again and soon enough found that the more toothpicks, the better. In the end it came out pretty well, and even made it 40 minutes to the birthday girl's house with minor injuries. The best part was that she loved it and was totally surprised, I would do it again for her any day!

The cupcakes I made were:

Salted Carmel Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart

{Makes 18 cupcakes}

· 1 ½cups all purpose flour

· ¾cup unsweetened cocoa powder

· 1 ½cups sugar

· 1 ½teaspoons baking soda

· ¾teaspoon baking powder

· ¾teaspoon salt

· 2 large eggs

· ¾cup buttermilk

· 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

· ¾cup warm water

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water; beat until smooth and combined.

2. Spoon the batter into liners about two-thirds full. Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Transfer tins to wire racks and allow to cool for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 1 month in air tight containers.

3. To finish, use a paring knife to cut a cone-shaped piece (about 1/2 inch deep) from the center of each cupcake and throw away the pieces. Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons warm Salted Caramel Filling into each hollowed-out cupcake. You will notice the caramel will sink into the cupcake a little, just fill it up a bit more. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over filling.

4. Use a pastry bag with a medium open-star tip (I used Wilton #1M) and pipe Dark Chocolate Frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Garnish each cupcake with a pinch of sea salt. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are filled and frosted. Store at room temperature in airtight containers - do NOT refrigerate. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Cupcakes

{Makes 18 cupcakes}

· 1 ½cups all-purpose flour 

· 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder 

· ½ teaspoon salt 

· ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 

· ¾ cup sugar 

· 2 eggs, at room temperature 

· 4 ounces white chocolate (I used chips), melted and cooled to room temperature

· 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract 

· 1 cup milk room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter until light in color. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just combined, scraping the bowl as needed. Stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla until combined. Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour mixture into the bowl and mix until just combined. Add half of the milk, mixing until just combined before adding the rest of the flour and milk in alternating additions (half of the remaining flour, the remaining milk, the remaining flour) Do not over mix.

4. Place 2 level tablespoons of batter in each cupcake liner. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until centers are slightly firm. Allow to cool completely before filling or frosting.

Strawberry Filling

· ½ cup water

· 1 tbsp & 1 ½ tsp cornstarch

· 1 ¼ cups strawberries cut into bite sized pieces

· ¼ cup & 2 tbsp white sugar

Whisk water and cornstarch together in a large saucepan.

Stir strawberries and sugar into the water.

Cook strawberry mixture over medium heat until thick, about 10 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before use.

Salted Carmel Filling

1. 2 ½ cups sugar

2. 2/3 cup water

3. 1 tbsp light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, preferably fleur de sel

1. Heat sugar with the water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high, stirring occasionally, until syrup is clear; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan and stop stirring.
2. Cook until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush as needed. 3. Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and just reaches 360°F. Remove rom heat and slowly pour in cream; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in sea salt.

Use immediately; if caramel begins to harden reheat gently until pourable.

Butter Cream Frosting

· 1 cup Crisco butter flavor shortening

· 1 cup unsalted butter

· 2 tsps vanilla

· 8 cups icing sugar sifted

· 3-4 tbsps milk
1. Mix Crisco and butter until light and fluffy
2. add sugar
3. add vanilla, clear will make frosting more white
4. slowly add in milk, depending on how thick you want it to be

Matchbook Magazine

2013-04-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

Growing up I waited every month, giddy as can be, for my American Girl magazine to come. Eventually I outgrew the little cartoon AG magazine and finally was deemed old enough to have my very own subscription to Seventeen. Have a last name toward the end of the alphabet I was usually one of the last to receive my issues and would strategically avoid friend's houses who had already read through their copy. And then the magazine high wore off. I no longer found the many ways to mix prints and neon for spring enjoyable and my subscriptions stopped all together.

When I began blogging last year I discovered all sorts of magical things including online only magazines. They were exciting to me as a college student mostly because they were free. But I turns out that I actually enjoyed the content in them as well. Matchbook Magazine quickly became my favorite of them all with the monthly Matchbook girl characteristics and the always preppy photo spreads.

This month's Matchbook takes the cake.

As I flipped through page after page I found myself opening tab after tab to track down each special item featured in the magazine. The pictures were divine and all of the sweet families shown are what I hope to someday have all on my own. Plus, my secret wish to design things for people was happy too.

Here are some of my very favorite images from this month, all photos belong to Matchbook Magazine.

March Favorites: Miscelaneous

2013-04-03T03:00:00.002-07:00

Google Reader is sadly going away, move over to {Bloglovin} with me!

Yesterday I talked about my {Beauty Favorites} for the month of March. Today's post is everything else I loved throughout the month.

My mom just got back from Paris with Easter sweets in hand on Sunday. I had asked her for something from Laduree or Fauchon and thought macrons would be a good idea, it being Paris and all. I have been blessed enough to have gotten to visit France twice in my life and found my first trip to Fauchon to be a magical experience.

So when I spotted the black and white bag I knew something good was inside. My mom picked out eight macrons for me to enjoy and as you can see I have already munched away on a couple, they were delicious!

If you ever met me in person during the winter I would probably be wearing a vest. And when I was in Florida I learned about the J.Crew Excursion vest. I originally lusted over the herringbone version but when I finally found time to wander into a J.Crew they only had a few choices left. I saw the pink when the whole store was 30% off and snatched it up immediately. It is pretty much all I wear at this point.

One of my least favorite things about my hair is the texture of it. Because I have grown it out obnoxiously long it no longer really curls but instead sits stubbornly in between curl and straight. It is not a cute look when it dries on its own, so I usually end up putting heat to it. I got so tired of blowing it dry and then straightening it and one day saw the Revlon Hot Air brush at Target. For $20 I thought I had nothing to lose. Thank goodness I try it. It has been a lifesaver and the only tool I use on my hair lately. It straightens the kinks out but leaves volume and body to my hair at the same time.

I know I just talked about Justin Timberlake's new album The 20/20 Experience but I am seriously obsessed. It is the best CD to jam to in the car with friends, or totally alone as I do, and the songs are still good on the 100th play. Trust me, I'd know.

P.S. This is what I look like when I am trying to wrangle 6 kids under the age of 9 at once. QT. Remind me to space my brood of babies out.

The Journey To Nursing School: Failing a Class

2013-04-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

Google Reader is sadly going away, move over to {Bloglovin} with me!

Last week on TJTNS I talked about {Saying YES} and committing to a school. This week I thought we would talk about something a little less exciting and that is failing a class.

Failing a class is one of those 'taboo' things that no one really likes to talk about. If you're like me, generally type A, list obsessed, terrified of breaking the rules, determined to please, than failing a class is probably one of your top ten fears.

I am here to say this, I have done it.

I have failed a class before.

And you know what, it stinks. It was emotional, messy, disappointing and generally a pretty low point in my academic career. But, I got over it.

One of the best things you can do as a future nurse is to learn to deal with emotions and obstacles.

1. When you find out that you failed a course, whether it was expected or not, you are bound to feel some sort of sadness and anger. What you should not do is express those feelings in an unhealthy way, or worse yet, wallow in them. This is not the time to start feeling sorry for yourself, no matter how you got to this point you have to accept it.

Take a deep breath, call up your mom and enjoy a night in with your roommate. Things will be okay and for the time being surround yourself with positivity and love.
What is done is done and the best thing you can do is move on from there.

2. Failing a 'stepping stone' course can ultimately affect your ability to graduate and apply to nursing schools in the future. These types of classes are prerequisite courses for other required classes and therefore stunt your academic timeline. The smartest thing you can do is to be proactive and get in contact with your adviser to talk things out. Decide how your schedule for the next quarter or semester has to change accordingly and where you will find time to makeup the failed course.

In this time you will have to hear the truth that is not always easy to swallow.

Is your nursing career over just because you failed one course? Absolutely not. Put your train back on the tracks and keep chugging along the track.

3. Just with understanding how you have affected your academic timeline, you have to be realistic in retaking a course that you have failed. Think about the things that may have added to your failure in the course. Maybe you did not understand the way the professor lectured and tested, or perhaps the time was at a point in your day that was not optimal for your learning. Do not, however, play the blame game and start acting complacent in relation to your role in failing the course. Whatever the 'excuse,' you have to decide if changing that variable related to the course will help you to succeed the second time around. You may decide that you will suck up the way you feel about a professor, along with your pride, and take the course over again with some knowledge of his or her teaching and testing style ahead of time.

The second time around taking a course is go time.

You have to make the impression you failed to make the first time around. Work your butt off and you will get past it all in no time.

4. The biggest thing going forward in your nursing journey is to learn from your mistake. At times when you feel like giving up on a course think back to that moment you realized that you did not pass a vital course. How did it make you feel? Remind yourself how much effort it took going forward and just how much you want to be a nurse.

Or maybe you realize that nursing is not for you. That is okay too, but do not let yourself give up just because you failed one class. Everyone has bumps along the way, you just have to let them make you stronger.

Speaking of Nursing school I just purchased my first thing of fabric to test out some DIY scrub tops with. I bought the one on the right, with the advice of my dear friend, and hopefully will find it works the way I want it to, and may eventually think about selling some small scale once I get the whole system down pat.