Skunkboy Creatures

Weekly Wears: Movie Moment Dress

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:43:00 +0000

ModCloth has recently started carrying several different Eva Franco dresses, and quite frankly, I'm smitten. I was asked to style this pretty heart-covered dress (which is PERFECT for Valentine's Day) while here in Florida. This dress is so cute as is, or would be just as darling with a lovely cardigan and clutch for a special night out.

Dress/belt: Eva Franco Movie Moment Dress via ModCloth;

Heart Headband: Giant Dwarf (borrowed from Elsie);

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens; Necklace: handmade

This is THE BEST dress to twirl in. You know... in case you're that kind of girl. ;)

Have a lovely Thursday! xoxo Katie

Hello From Disney

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:32:00 +0000

I don't know if I've said this previously, but this is my very first time at Disney. I'm not a theme park fan (at all), but there have definitely been some magical points. The Japan store at Epcot? So fun! Watching the lady cut out tiny silhouettes of my kids? Amazing! Going on the "It's a Small World Ride"? Heaven. Just... can I please live in there? I'm considering moving to Florida so I can work in that ride. Okay, maybe that isn't a true statement, but in my dreams...

Here's a bit of "Music Monday" love for you as well. I stayed up waaaaay too late watching episodes of Austin City Limits the other night, and I was reminded all over again of my love for Joanna Newsom.

We are off to the beach today because my poor little ankles can't handle anymore walking. It's a good trade if you ask me. Have a wonderful day, friends! xoxo Katie

Florida Bound

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:21:00 +0000

Nope. We are not Florida bound, actually. We are here already! Tonight is for relaxing, eating take-out in bed, and enjoying early bedtimes. If you want to follow along with our vacation, you can find me on Instagram under skunkboycreatures. If you don't have an iPhone, you can view my Webstagram here.

I'm also doing a little call for sponsors, because... well... it's almost that time again! If you are interested in sponsoring Skunkboy Creatures in February, you can check out my sponsor page or email sponsorskunkboy@gmail.com.

Have a lovely weekend, friends!! I can't believe we escaped the 29 degree, sleeting weather in MO and slipped into the glorious 80s here in Florida. I'm feeling very spoiled and grateful right now.

xoxo Katie

Weekly Wears: BananaRama

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:11:00 +0000

Have you ever had a pair of tights that you plan your whole outfit around? Yep. I adore these tights. My husband (who knows me oh-so well) got these for me for Christmas, and they immediately shot to the top of my "most fun to wear" list. Sure, I get some sideways glances from older ladies when I'm out and about, but I really don't care. I just wear what I love. It makes me happy.

Dress: vintage from Red Velvet; Sweater: old old old; Tights: ModCloth;

Shoes: c/o Lulu's; Necklace: handmade (Hope has the other half of the bf)

So... we are leaving for Florida today (yay)! I still haven't packed or anything, so I'm off to do a whole lot of that right now! I will still be blogging while we are on vacation, so you'll get to see peeks of our fun time.

Have a great day! xoxo Katie

DIY Dip Dye Mittens

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:07:00 +0000

I have a fun little mitten DIY over on the ModCloth blog today. If you are interested in making your own dip-dyed mittens from an old sweater you should pop over and have a look!

Have a great Tuesday, friends!!! xoxo Katie

Music Monday: Devotchka

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:20:00 +0000

Happy Monday!!

Devotchka

xoxo Katie

Believe That Everything is Possible.

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:59:00 +0000

Whether you make "new years resolutions" or not, at some point this year you may find yourself making and completing goals. I love new year goals... not the difficult/impossible kind, but the kind that make me excited and motivated for the coming months!

Recently, my friend Shana started this little project where she was hand-embroidering some pieces to send out to friends... and then her list started growing... and kept growing... I think she may STILL be working on more pieces to send out. I received mine on my birthday (along with one of her AMAZING watches, which I am in total love with), and even though I'd seen them on Instagram, it was extra special in person. "Believe that everything is possible in 2012." Yes. Yes! In our house that will be our theme for this whole year.

Everything IS possible in 2012! If any time this year I am feeling less than positive, I will repeat this to myself. It's such a good reminder to look forward and be excited about all life has in store for (all of) us.

I also wanted to send out a HEARTFELT thank you for all of the birthday wishes!!! I had an amazing birthday and I'm so grateful to every, single person who sent me a message or comment. I <3 you!!

xoxo Katie

Baby's First Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:18:00 +0000

We had a little party for Poe on Sunday. It was really small and low-key, with just a handful of close friends. We packed everyone into our house, took my little runny-nosed grump (it was definitely nap time), put her in her high chair, and sang her a sweet birthday tune. :)

The party decor was mostly made up of things I already had on hand. I'm sure you may recognize that sheet from hair tutorial backdrops, the kitty teapot was a hand-me-down from my grandmother, the snack containers were canisters, the cupcake stand I bought for craft show display, and the box holding the little sodas was a fancy box that used to hold Hello Kitty pez. Oh yeah... and her dress was thrifted. Basically, we just bought some gold poster board and two small bags of balloons and had ourselves a little party. ;)

We skipped traditional party hats and threw on some pretty little crowns. I just used a couple of empty paper towel rolls, cut them to look like crowns, painted them gold, and then sewed small hair clips to some felt I glued on the underside. If only I could have gotten my tiny tot to wear hers a little longer. She hated it.

We opted for cinnamon rolls instead of cake, thinking Poesy might have an easier time with something more bready and less crumbly (oh, and Mama was SUPPOSED to leave the icing off, but forgot and iced them all). We served apple juice for the little kiddos, and let some of them even help with the present opening. All in all, it was a very nice party.

If you want to see more pictures of the party, you can take a peek at my Flickr stream.

Have a wonderful day!!! xoxo Katie

Happy Birthday, Poe!

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:14:00 +0000

Today is Poesy's first birthday! We are spending our day giving her all of our attention. I'll have pictures from her party later on tonight, but for now it's time to go make a little one year old feel very special. :)

xoxo Katie

Music Monday: Villagers

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:56:00 +0000

Happy Monday!

Villagers

xoxo Katie

Excuse Me, I'm What?

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Excuse me... WHAT??? I'm HOW old???

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez.

Today I am 30. It's true. Let's talk about that for a second.

Remember that episode of Friends where Rachel turned 30? Yeah. After I saw that episode I decided I NEVER wanted to be like that. What is so wrong with getting older? What is so wrong with aging with grace? Why do we fight SO HARD against gaining a number? I've been guilty of that. I think I was just whining a few weeks ago about not wanting to turn 30. But, why?

I've been thinking a lot about this lately. For myself, I know the answer. Somewhere in my head, I've decided that 30 means you are officially a grown up. Not that I'm against being an adult, but I've been scared of personal expectations that I've put on myself... which is silly. I love where I am in life. I love my family, I love my friends, I love my job, I love my blog, I love so many things about my life, why in the world would I want to make myself feel bad about the handful of things I have not yet accomplished? So silly.

I will never stop at 29. I will never lie about my number. I will wear it proudly, embrace who I am, and be the best old lady I can be. (<--just kidding. I DO NOT think 30 is old. If you do, you'll grow out of that someday. ;))

So, tonight I will raise a glass to my 30s, because I've already said my goodbyes to my 20s. I've learned SO MUCH through that decade and I am looking SO forward to this new one ahead of me.

Now, would someone PLEEEEASE pass the Birthday cake???

xoxo Katie Shelton

born January 6, 1982

Weekly Wears: Colorblock

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:25:00 +0000

I love this dress. I'm not normally a drop-waist sort of girl, but when I first laid eyes on this little number it was love at first sight. The material makes this dress actually work for me. If it were a stiff material it wouldn't fall where it needs to, but since it's so flowy/silky it doesn't create that typical box shape on me. Have I mentioned I don't wear drop-waists? I guess I stand corrected.

Dress: c/o ModCloth; Shirt: UO;

Knee Highs: Target; Shoes: Golden Ponies

Have the loveliest day, friends! xoxo Katie

Faux Bob

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:09:00 +0000

I did a fun little post over on A Beautiful Mess yesterday on how to style long hair into a bob. It's a pretty convincing hairstyle... meaning, I may or may not have sent that picture to several people telling them that I cut my hair. Good times.

(And just so you know, I love short hair... just not on me. Why? Because I end up wearing my hair in pigtails for two years straight due to laziness.)

You can see the full tutorial here. If you have any questions pertaining

to this tutorial, you can leave them here and I'll do my best to help!

Happy Wednesday! xoxo Katie

Party Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:42:00 +0000

So, it's that time. I am planning a birthday party for a soon-to-be one year old. Her birthday isn't actually until the 10th, but Johnny's brother is having a baby next weekend (scheduled, anyway), so the party had to be a little early. Pinterest is amazing for many reasons, and does not fail when you need some serious rush-party solutions. Here are some of my favorite things I've pinned for party inspiration:

via Oh Happy Day

Love the balloon banner! via Design Mom

via Castles and Crowns

via Smile and Wave

via Elsie A. Style

Okay, sorry but those baby masks CRACK ME UP! I laugh every time I look at them. I'm hoping to make that happen for Poe's party because I think the bigger kids will find them equally hilarious!

I can't wait to show you how her party comes together. So much going on this weekend!!!

xoxo Katie

2012

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:29:00 +0000

Well, it's officially 2012. My brain doesn't actually want to believe it, but that's what my phone says. We decided to keep it low key this New Year's Eve because I was just getting over an illness and really didn't have the energy to go out. Hope and I got dressed up, I made fondue, and we drank our drinks out of fancy champagne glasses. It was a really lovely night and we got so rowdy at midnight that we almost woke the littlest member of our family!

I do have a few personal goals for 2012.

**Get healthy. I know, I know... what a cliche new year's resolution, right? I don't care about being cliche, though-- I really want to get back into shape. I started back at the gym last week and I'm enjoying it immensely. That first week back is tough (I was SO SORE), but now I'm pushing through that and I'm starting to feel great again.

**House. I want a house. I don't have to own it. I would just love to love the house I'm living in.

**Be kind. I feel like I'm a pretty kind person as it is, but I want to take that to a new level. I want to be MORE kind, MORE caring, and MORE available personally to the people in my life.

**Be brave. 2011 was a pretty good year for me. I pushed myself more than I ever have and took many chances that I would normally hide from. I really want that for this year as well.

**Spend more time with my friends. This is just a fun little goal that I think we could all use a little more of, don't you think?

Tell me, do you have any great goals for 2012?

xoxo Katie

P.S. The winner for the double giveaway is Manda Jane! You will be contacted shortly. :)

Music Monday: Gotye ft Kimbra

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:57:00 +0000

Happy first Monday of 2012!!!

Gotye

xoxo Katie

Thank You, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:24:00 +0000

Dear 2011,
You were quite a year with your crazy downs and your crazy ups. As a person I experienced so much this year, and I am so thankful for it all. I'm counting you as another notch on my character-building belt as I say goodbye and move on to 2012. (<--with full force)

source

Stay classy, 2011. xoxo Katie

Happy New Year, friends!

Christmas With the Sheltons

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:19:00 +0000

We had such a wonderful Christmas! We do every year, though, so it's no surprise to us. Gift giving is a big deal in this house, and we all spend hours and hours picking the perfect gifts for each other. Seeing the excitement and love on my sweet family members' faces just makes it for me. Here's a peek at our Christmas (and baby Poe's very first Christmas):

Poesy was NOT ready to wake up. Sister said it was time, though! ;)

Favorite stocking prize? Banana. Hands down.

Santa loved the cookies so much he had to leave a note!

Hope made her daddy a very special present this year. He was absolutely touched.

Mommy was sneaky and got a few EXTRA presents this year! Socker Boppers for Johnny and Hope:

And matching vintage Izod sweaters because I just couldn't help myself:

For being such a good boy, Johnny got a special book of our family:

Katie got the vintage hat she was wishing for:

And Hope got:

A TRIP TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

Poesy got lots of fun things, but was only interested in Sister's new

Lalaloopy baby.

After presents we had Christmas pancakes, and then Poe and mama both had a long nap. That night we dressed in our Christmas pretties. This is the only picture that exists as proof that we were ever dressed that day:

As you can see, Poesy had already shed her pretty dress. ;)

Annnndddddd, even though you didn't ask, here are a few more tidbits from our day:

(Hope and I made all new stockings for our family this year.)

The only not-so-great thing that happened on Christmas was that my brother smashed into my car while backing up. I know he felt horrible, but I hope he at least learned a lesson-- don't stomp on the gas pedal while you are backing up, little brother!

I hope your holiday was perfection (minus one or two things) as well! ;)

xoxo Katie

Double Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:35:00 +0000

I'm excited about this giveaway because we have TWO prizes for ONE winner! First up, here is a lovely dress from my even lovelier sponsor MarMar Vintage:

Bust: 17 inches
Waist: 14 inches ( unstretched)
Hips: 22 1/2 inches
Length: 42 inches

You can find Maria's shop here and blog here!

Next we have Casey Wiegand. You may already know her from her wonderful blog, but for those of you who don't, Casey is a freelance artist, wife, and mama. She owns an art studio for kids in Dallas, does blog design, and has art in various galleries.

Casey is offering $100 credit towards anything she does! It can be used for blog design or it can be used in her shop!

To win both of these prizes, just leave a comment stating what you are looking forward to in the new year! Be sure to include a way to be contacted if you win.

You can also tweet about this giveaway for an additional entry with:

"There is a double giveaway from @CaseyWiegand and @marmarvintage on the @skunkboy blog! http://tinyurl.com/83le5ab"

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. The winner will be drawn on Monday, January 2nd (2012!). Good luck!! xoxo Katie

Music Monday: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:51:00 +0000

Happy Monday!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Also, if you celebrated Christmas I hope it was an amazing one for you!

xoxo Katie

Weekly Wears: Spread the Cheer

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:08:00 +0000

This week's Weekly Wears is all about spreading the cheer! ModCloth has focused this month on spreading the cheer by hand delivering gifts to customers in the Pittsburgh area AND handing them a $50 gift certificate for themselves AND one to share with a friend! Now that would make me cheery!

They have also sent out dresses to four bloggers and those bloggers got to pick a friend to spread the cheer with. My sweet, beautiful friend Elsie chose me, so here I am styling my very lovely, fancy dress from ModCloth! (Cheer!)

Dress: Classic Stunner dress c/o ModCloth;

Faux fur wrap: thrifted (with tags still on. Yay!); Tights: Marshalls;

Shoes: Golden Ponies via Etsy; Starlette Sparkler: Giant Dwarf

I LOVE focusing on spreading the cheer during the holiday season, rather than getting wrapped up in stress and negativity over shopping and finding deals and parking spots (!), etc. Let's take this giving spirit and implement it throughout the rest of the year!

Thank you, Elsie and ModCloth, for spreading the holiday cheer this direction!

xoxo Katie

Click here to see how the other bloggers styled their dresses and here to watch the Spread the Cheer video over at ModCloth!

Sponsor in January

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:29:00 +0000

I can't believe I'm already saying this, but January is right around the corner! Why is January special to me? Well, special things are happening in January, dear friends! January just happens to be my birthday month, Poesy's FIRST birthday, ANNNNND Hope doesn't know this yet, but for Christmas we are surprising her with a trip to Disney World in January!

If you are interested in sponsoring, please check out my sponsor page and email any questions to sponsorskunkboy@gmail.com. It's going to be such a fun month!!! xoxo Katie

Holiday Traditions

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:38:00 +0000

Ah, I love holiday traditions. Not only are they fun, but they force me to slow down a bit and enjoy the special moments that might not happen otherwise. Here are some of our very favorites:

*Have a hot cocoa-drinking Elf-watching party.
*Bake Christmas cookies (of course).

*Pancakes on Christmas morning!
*Make a new ornament every year together for our Christmas tree. Last year it was the paper mache hot air balloon.

*Save myself at least ONE of the ornaments I stitched up from the busy season. So far I have saved myself a penguin, a doe, a bunny, and a yellow bird. :)

Do you have any extra special traditions for the holidays? I'm not just talking Christmas here... whatever holiday holds special moments for you. I'd love to hear them!

Also, thank you for the positive feedback on the Christmas song. I was feeling really anxious about sharing, but once again you all are encouraging and thoughtful. Maybe I'll make releasing a Christmas song each year a new tradition. :) xoxo Katie

Music Monday: Gift Horse

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:32:00 +0000

This Music Monday is a little different. Johnny and I have a little band we play around with sometimes called Gift Horse. We decided to record a little Christmas diddy this year for fun. :)

We recorded live vocals and guitar (meaning guitar and vocals happened at the same time, standing around a couple of microphones), and then I laid down some very simple organ and accordion backing tracks. Johnny added a little extra guitar (because he can't help himself) and then we were done. It was very simple, quick, and fun.

If you are interested in downloading it, you can find "Blue Christmas" on iTunes here, or Amazon here.

Happy Monday! xoxo Katie

This is Real Life

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboycreatures) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 07:23:00 +0000

We are prepping for Christmas full force around here, including getting my (super late) Christmas cards ordered and on their way to me. You've seen a few of our Christmas photos in Hope's guest post, here's the rest of what we ended up with:

Annnnnnnnnddddd... this is real life:

(Okay, this one actually kills me. I'm going to have to video this song that Hope sings to Poesy. It turns into a baby sing-along every time.)

Eeeeep! Christmas is in a week! Happy weekend! xoxo Katie

P.S. Poesy just turned 11 months old. How is that possible???

P.P.S. The winner of the Cookoorikoo giveaway is Mandy Q!!