Sweet November

DIY: Snow Globes

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 16:30:00 +0000

Hey College Readers!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 15:00:00 +0000

If you're anything like me, this is how your college books are going to end up..

Seriously, not the greatest use for them, but it's really hard to sell back your books. I remember buying a book that was around $120 and when it came around to the buyback day at school, they wanted to offer me $10. Yeah, right.

So my final year I rented my books and it saved me an incredible amount, money that I needed to save for these crazy student loans.

So what's better than being able to rent your books?! Absolutely nothing!

Not only are you saving 40-90% off bookstore prices, but through CampusBookRentals.com, you're also getting free shipping BOTH ways! Cha-ching! Major money saver! (Just don't go spend it on pizza and beer! :) )

Not that I ever did this, but highlighting in their textbooks is also allowed. So get your highlighters out and go crazy!

Another site you should know about is RentBack. This is a great site, because all those books you bought before.. you can rent them out to other students! You know how I told you I was offered next to nothing for my $120 book, well RentBack will make you 2-4x more money than what you'd make back from a buyback.

The thing I love most about this company is that they donate to Operation Smile with each textbook that you rent! Not only are you getting what you need, but you're also helping out someone in need. It's all about giving back this time of year, isn't it? Why not do it all year long!

{this was a sponsored post}

Two Months

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 05:32:00 +0000

Two weeks ago I was just getting settled into Tennessee.

Two weeks out of the year we take a work trip to Tennessee for our show. While I wish that it was a relaxing time, it's really a bit stressful. Working eleven days straight, five of those being twelve hours or more, it takes a little toll on your body. Thankfully, we have this week off to recover and get back into the way things were before we left.

During those two weeks of being away from home, it finally caught up with me that my mom isn't here anymore. It finally felt like it just hit me all of a sudden, that breaking feeling, where there's nothing you can do to stop it. I cried a lot while I was down there, most times were alone in my room at the cabin, but there were times that it even happened during the show. I would be talking with another woman about her mom that she lost not long before mine passed away, and I would just break down. Like uncontrollable tears.

I keep thinking of the phone call from my friend during my mom's showing days, she kept saying that she couldn't believe how strong I was being through all of this.

No, I'm not.

I'm not strong. I put on a front for people and I hold things in.

I will admit that these days it's getting harder to do.

But I don't want to break down in front of my dad because I don't want to see him hurt. I don't want to break down in front of my friends or strangers who tell me they're sorry, because there's nothing they can do that's going to help. No matter how many plans I have set or how busy I keep myself, there's still the end of the day when I'm in my room, alone, and I'm not able to concentrate on anything else. I'm still going to have that empty feeling no matter what. And I don't think it ever goes away, I think things get better and we mask that emotion. I know that she's in a better place, and I love her for that, I'm so proud of her for taking that next step, but it's still hard knowing that my mom isn't here for things that I need only her for.

I remember last year during the show, her calling or me calling home to update her on things that were happening. While I was down there, I found the voicemail she left me last year while I was gone. It was hard knowing that I couldn't just pick up the phone to call her and tell her how my day was going.

My dad isn't a chatty person, and we're kind of awkward when we talk about things, so it was hard to even call home the few times that I did to update him.

I haven't even been back to her grave site since the funeral or to the tree that was planted in memory of her. I almost feel like I can't do it yet. They're things that I need to do though.

Every time I drive by the two hospitals she spent most of her time in, I cry and have this immediate hatred for them. I know they didn't do anything wrong, but it's still that feeling of knowing that those were the last places she went.

It might be strange, but mom was maybe home three months out of this year, when she passed away dad wanted to have the hearse drive through the neighborhood, just so we could say she was home one last time. And that's what we did. The hearse actually pulled into the drive way and we enjoyed a good five minutes of welcoming her home.

The two month mark is coming up on Saturday.

Tomorrow I'm doing something in remembrance of her.

Shop Update: Tank Tops!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 12:50:00 +0000

We've added women's tank tops to the shop!!

View them in the Ladies Corner.

Shop Sweet November.

saying goodbye.

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 03:56:00 +0000

two weeks ago tomorrow, my favorite woman in the world left me.

i can't even begin to explain how difficult it is to watch a family member pass away, but how do you sit and wait for the woman who has been your rock for twenty four years slip away? there's no answer for that. it's the hardest thing i've ever had to go through, the hardest thing i will ever go through.

my mom was my best friend.

she helped me through the high school drama, the homesickness that i felt when i moved to chicago, there for me when my other best friends weren't. she watched me cry over the most ridiculous things and helped me laugh my way through it.

i would not replace a day i had with this woman.

mom was a fighter.

she fought for four years.

three weeks ago we were given two to three weeks with her, that went down to three to five days when we moved her to hospice on friday, september 13th. on sunday, september 15th, we were told two to twenty-four hours. things were going down hill fast.

around 4:00PM on the 16th i had a major break down.

i cried for an hour, non-stop.

around 4:30 i told my dad that i didn't think i could come back the next day because i didn't like seeing her the way she was.

he told me it was fine to do that, that it was my choice on how i wanted to say goodbye.

so i decided i wasn't going back and i asked dad to have some time with her to say goodbye.

the nurse and pastor actually suggested that we leave her alone for a while, because sometimes people just want to pass alone and not have everyone around, so everyone agreed that we'd leave her alone for the night. at 5:15 all of the family went home except my dad and i.

he mentioned that he was going to pack up the car while i spoke with her because he wasn't going to stay the night with her. i kind of freaked out at this, just thinking of completely leaving her alone made me sad and i cried some more. i didn't want her to die without anyone being there with her.

so my dad left me alone to speak with her.

i told her that we were going to be fine without her.

i told her that i didn't know where grandpa, who passed 21 years ago, was, but wherever he was taking her she needed to follow him.

i told her how much i loved her and how much i would miss her.

i told her that she better not haunt me since we watched ghost adventures together (mostly because i forced her). as a joke.

i told her that if she was going to leave us that she needed to do it that night because i wasn't coming back the next day.

i'm pretty sure i told her i loved her more than ten times.

and then i told her to stop fighting.

she took a deep breath, and then i yelled at her.

i yelled at my mom, probably the only regret that i have.

but she needed to hear it.

i told her to stop fighting it.. and she did.

i leaned down to kiss her.

and i told her how proud i was of her.

it hits me at times that she's not here and won't be here for things in the future. and i cry when those times happen. whether it be in the car on the way to work, in my room at night, while watching tv, and just on saturday when i cried in hobby lobby and in the parking lot of michael's. it still just feels like she's at the hospital and hasn't come home yet, even though we've already gone through the funeral and everything.

its going to be hard, but we're also going to get through it.

because that's what you do in life, you move on, you say goodbye, and you see them again.

the hardest time is when i listen to this song..

justin moore's, one dirt road.

this woman will forever be on my mind and in my heart.

i'll see you again, mom.

i love you.

FACEBOOK SALE!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 02:31:00 +0000

right now i'm having a huge sale on facebook.

if you're interested in some super cheap onesies, definitely take a look.

i'm looking to clear out old inventory before opening the shop back up.

here's some of the goodies up for grabs:

'like' us on facebook.

Pinned it: Made it

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:46:00 +0000

Happy Friday!!

Hope you're all excited for the weekend!

Here's a quick Easter project that I found on Pinterest that I'm including in my Easter gifts to the girls at work.

Original Pin:

And here's how you can make some of your own..

I can't wait to fill these will little candies for the ladies!

Here's the template I made that you can use to make some of your own.

Just click to enlarge, and then print away!

You can follow me on Pinterest to see other things that I'm loving.

Enjoy!!

Currently Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:00:00 +0000

I figured since I update this thing so often, righhhht, that I might as well start something new.

How many times have I said that as well?

But I go through books like crazy. And I mean a lot.

I read everything through my iPad, whether it be through iBooks or on the Kindle App that I downloaded so I can read books through Amazon.com.

Next to my student loans, books might be my next highest purchase item.

I do get a lot of books for free or for a couple bucks, through Amazon, by following the What to read after Fifty Shades of Grey Facebook page.. which definitely helps the spending habit.

And yes, most of the books are pretty sexual, which if you're going to judge.. have at it :)

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

I'm not currently reading this one. I've actually just finished it.

And whew! I'm an emotional wreck after it.

I cried.. on my lunch break.

I loved it and I can't wait until the second books comes out!

Highly recommend this, and it should still only be 99 cents, not too sure!

Another two of my favorite books are these..

This Man and Beneath This Man by Jodi Ellen Malpas

These are two separate books in a series.. the third is yet to be released.

Holy goodness! They're crazy good.

I'm pretty sure I could read them ten times in a row and never get tired of them. I'm all about the controlling men in books. They're a little more in price, but so worth it!

If you're looking for a sample, make sure to just try it out before you buy it!

There should be a tab on the right side, below the buying option, that says 'Send Sample Now' and it'll give you a couple chapters of each before you decide if you want to buy it.

Collide by Gail Mc Hugh

Haven't started it yet, but it was only 99 cents :)

So I bought it.

Are you reading anything new?

Workspace Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Two weekends ago I went to Craft2000 which is like a discount craft store just over the Michigan line. Of course my mom told me that I needed to stop buy fabric because that's all I've been buying lately, and what do I do? I bought some quarter pieces of fabric.

I also accidentally bought the store display too, which is that little box in the picture above. I took it up to the register to buy it but I wanted to find out how much it was because there wasn't a price tag on it, and come to find out it was the store display. Needless to say, they sold it to me for a dollar after realizing they weren't going to be using it again (I seriously lucked out). I brought it home, painted it a nice Oyster White and the stuffed it with all of my smaller pieces of fabric that I had thrown everywhere.

Here's to getting lucky.. in more ways than one ;)

Just kidding.. maybe.

Workspace Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:00:00 +0000

I'm finally working on the remaining things for the shop!

The shop has a new design and I'm also going to be introducing new products, as well as putting a lot of things on sale.. and I'm SO excited!

Make sure to keep an eye out for when I announce that the shop has re-opened!

Favorite Work Out Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:30:00 +0000

I'm so picky about the music I listen to when I work out. It usually has to have a good beat to it so I can either stick with the beat while I walk/run or do any other type of exercise. So that usually knocks out the country music that I love so much and allows me to pick up on some other artists that I wouldn't typically listen to.

Here's just a sampling of some of my favorite songs to work out to at this time:

This is one of my favorite albums to listen to, especially in the summer when I can run outside.

Favorite songs:

Whistle, Wild Ones, Let It Roll Pt. 2, Good Feeling, I Cry, and Run

Sadly, I'm starting to like his music more.

Favorite Songs:

Boyfriend and Beauty and a Beat

I'm kind of embarrassed about this one too, but the songs are really great to work out to!

Favorite Songs:

Die Young, C'mon (..or maybe this is just my favorite song to listen to in the car), Crazy Kids, Gold Tran Am (totally inappropriate, but I love it anyways.. aren't all of her songs inappropriate?), and Past Lives

I love this album cover.. :)

Favorite Songs:

Man On the Moon, Gone, Gone, Gone (I love everything about this song), and Get Up Get Down

I think I'm just in love with her.. because we share the same name?

Favorite Songs:

Gonna Get Over You (Seriously, watch this music video! Love the ending) and King of Anything

Well well, Taylor Swift. I never thought she'd make this list, but her new music is a lot different. I didn't think I'd like it, but I downloaded it this week and I love it.

Favorite Songs:

22**, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (hated this when it first came out), Stay Stay Stay, Holy Ground**, Starlight**

**Absolute favorites!

Not really my favorite as far as beats go, but it's nice to listen to when I'm on the treadmill for an hour walking and reading.

Favorite Songs:

Some Nights & We Are Young

Coming Soon: Baby Toys

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:30:00 +0000

Even though I'm still in the process of updating the shops design, I'm excited to announce that there will be baby toys added to the shop within the next couple weeks. I've been thinking long and hard about what new products I'd like to add to the shop and I think that this is something that is going to be perfect.

I've been in the process of making patterns for these as well and deciding on fabrics. The toys even come with little bells inside so that they make a little noise (not too loud, of course!). I will be pre-making these and selling them after they're made, instead of how I make the onesies after an order has been placed.

Pinned It: Made It

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 18:00:00 +0000

I'm heading to a Baby Shower today for a friend that I work with and as my contribution to our "group gift", I was the one stuck making something by hand. Not that I don't love it, but usually when I make something for someone and have to gift it, it always turns out to be something that I want to keep for myself, even though I'll most likely never even use it. Apparently it was decided that she should have some paintings for the nursery.

Of course I had to make my way to Pinterest to see what kind of goodies I could make for her and I stumbled upon this crazy cute painting.

The original pinned painting:

And here's the much smaller version that I came up with:

via Instagram (@saratornow)

I also painted another one replicating the elephant in this pin. I guess that's for another day!

Hope everyone has an amazing Saturday!

If interested, you can always follow me on Pinterest.

2013

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:00:00 +0000

I DID IT!

I went ahead and joined a gym for the full year!

It's such a huge commitment for me because I've never really committed to working out for such a long period of time. I usually go into something hard for about a week or two and then completely drop everything and go back to my old ways. Needless to say it's been a lot of up and down with my weight.

It's weird to say (okay, not really), but I feel like I've finally gotten to a point that I am tired of living this way. So I went on Saturday and signed myself up and I'm going for my first work out tonight. I'm extremely excited and hopefully the fact that I'm paying monthly whether I go or not, it will push me to keep going.

I've set up a calendar for each month that has rewards and goals, it's also set up that I will be able to track my weigh-in days.

If anyone is interested in a printable similar to the one that I set up for myself, please let me know, I'd be happy to share it! I'll probably be doing posts through out this time to keep my updates documented. Hopefully that'll also be a little bit of a push to keep it up! :)

Hope you're all having a great new year!

Anyone commit to any resolutions this year?

Workspace Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I finally set myself up with a little shipping station..

..And I'm really excited about it, even though it's not a huge deal.

Workspace Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:38:00 +0000

Last night I worked on a little rebranding for the shop!

I'll also be updating the blog and shop in the near near future, so they'll both be shut down at some point. As to when they'll be, who knows! You know how it goes! :)

You can get a little preview of what's to come from our Facebook page.

Pinned it: Made it

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000

You can find my original pin here, via DevonlyCrafts on Etsy.

CampusBookRentals.com

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:42:00 +0000

Are you buying your books for school?

I used to do that too.

I'd spend a lot of money that turned out to be wasted because I'd use the books for the semester / quarter and then I'd just throw them into a box or I wouldn't even want to resell half of them because I'd only get about $10 back for the $150 book that I bought.

But there's a much easier way to get your books, which I wish I would've known about while I was taking classes.. and it's a lot cheaper route, all without having to worry about what to do with your book at the end of it all.

Heard of CampusBookRentals.com?

Seriously, the best thing ever!

You can save anywhere from 40-90% on your books, plus there's free shipping both ways!

The best thing about it is that you can highlight in the books!

You can even view a price difference here for a book that I had to have for a class.

But that's not all!

(I might work in sales, but I swear that's not a line I use all the time!)

((This is my favorite part))

With each textbook that's purchased they make a donation to Operation Smile!

You can even see how the whole thing works:

Safe Haven

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:14:00 +0000

I can't even tell you how ready I am for this movie.

Has anyone read the book?

A little Sevierville

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 13:00:00 +0000

We're in Sevierville!

We got in last night around 5PM and went out for a late dinner at the Chop House near the outlets. It was good, but the entire meal took way too long to get. Thankfully there were three glasses of wine involved and it turned out to be a pretty good night (honestly, how can you not have a good night with three glasses of wine?)!

Today was a long day of setting up the Registration area, but it should be done tomorrow and temps arrive tomorrow for their training! Should be quite interesting. Sadly, there's only champagne glasses in the cabin, but believe me that that's not stopping me from having a couple glasses of wine.

Some exhibitors will be arriving tomorrow and Sunday evening, which I'm excited for these cabin parties. Today was extremely long with a lot of work involved, which lead to me being in my bed by 8PM. I suppose that's life before the party hits!

NOVEMBER?!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 04:10:00 +0000

Already?

I can't believe how much time has passed. My blog falls further and further behind, and with that each post seems to talk about it.

Smoky Mountain watercolor print by Cathy Hillegas via Etsy

Anyways, I'm heading to Sevierville, Tennessee for two weeks for a work trip. So exciting, but it's going to be a ton of work and a ton of fun (hopefully it's balanced)!

Hope you all have a great November, because lets face it, I probably won't have another post until the beginning of next year! Hopefully it's before that! I have a couple DIY posts prepared, just not ready to go! Sorry for the lack of posts, as promised in every other post, I'll try to get back into it soon enough!

Thanks for being patient!

Shop Update: Baby Poppy Tees

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Hope you're all having a great Thursday! I thought I'd stop in to share that there's a new item that I've added to the shop! Toddler tee's are finally here! I've been wanting for a while to start doing t-shirt designs off of our most popular onesie designs and I've finally done it!

Hope you'll share the new addition with your friends!

Shop

Addicted to Love

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I love this version of this song..

Sale on Facebook!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 20:26:00 +0000

Come see the sale that's happening on our Facebook page!

And 'Like' us too while you're at it!

Shop Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Marie) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 00:01:00 +0000

Sweet November Shop