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christmas card templates

since being married, i have never - with the exception of last year - been good about getting out a family Christmas card to friends and family. sure i've wanted too, but honestly? i was lazy. i would put it off until finally it was too late. please tell me you are like this too? i'm not the only one? well, over the past month i've had a few different people ask me if i made Christmas card templates. i haven't ever...so by golly i decided i better make some, and i placed them in the shop over the weekend! take a peek:


and there are more! so head on over >>HERE!<< if you need a holiday card to match that cute family picture of yours. i really hope you find one you love!

and once again, all beautiful photography images taken by SimplySuzyPhotography << you best be lookin' her up if you live around the SLC, UT area!

*are you good or bad about sending out greeting cards? me=bad. definitely bad. however, i LOVE receiving them, and reading them, and looking at the pictures!

friday favorites + freebie!

you heard that right. let's start with the freebie shall we?

{for personal use only please!}

my craze right now is chalkboard art. i can't get enough of it. and with this tutorial you can make it even more personal (seriously, go check it out if you have Photoshop. and ps: you'll love all her other cute stuff and tutorials, she is the bomb)!

you can download below:
(remember these are for personal use only! all i ask is that if you like my stuff and download, that you follow me on Bloglovin' or like me on Facebook, because you know, i guess i look more legit if i have big numbers or something...hah. if you'd like a commercial license simply email me and we'll talk!)




and now on to other fun business:


1 • remember how i got these cute nail polishes at Forever21 last weekend?


well, right before i snatched those up, i was in line staring at some lotion bottles. then i opened one and smelled it. and ooohhhh it was the greatest smell ever. so i picked 2 (and will probably go back for the others...).



apricot and grapefruit. you guys. please just do me a favor and stop in to smell these when you're at the mall next. you won't regret it unless you are deathly allergic to these scents or something crazy (and in that case go eat a Cinnabon for me instead).

2 • speaking of cinnamon rolls, i was craving them Sunday. so i made some.


i found the recipe on a friend's fb page, originally from How to Be a Woman:


{pssst! my batch made 28, and they were still GIANT cinnamon rolls. and for some weird reason i don't like eating cinnamon rolls after 24 hours. so needless to say, a whole bunch went with K to his work, and next time I make these i will be halfing half-ing have-ing...i will be cutting the recipe in half. hah. }

3 • raspy whit. i don't even remember how in the heck i found her blog, but i'm so so happy i did!
Raspy Wit

please go follow her and get your dose of humor for the day. some of my favorite posts are: my husband the hobo, things that don't belong on facebook, and whitney's gym dress code. the list really goes on, so just go check her out now mmk?

4 • this white Christmas tree:


ever since i saw this post i've always wanted to have a "candyland" tree like hers. so this is a start. haha. i had been eyeing it forever (okay, like a week), and when B and i were at the store Wednesday, i bought it. i am in love with it, and so is B. every single time he sees it, he points and goes "oooo!".  mine's a little bare now, but hopefully i'll get to add some more fun "bling" to it here and there before Christmas comes!

5 • these adorable little 2014 calendars by Gingiber. i'm not a huge fan of small calendars because i like to write my whole life's plan and schedule into each day. but her graphics are so stinking cute i might need to grab one to put up here by my desk! i'm loving the fox one and the owl one!


{images via here & here}


*what is your favorite thing about today?

*do you have a Christmas tree up already, too? i usually don't until after Thanksgiving....that obviously didn't happen this year.

nails: gold + peach

i used to hate the color gold. like, hate hate it. i thought it was old and grandma-y, and too fancy. but thanks to Pinterest, and the zillion fashion bloggers out there who style it so wonderfully, i've come to love me a touch of gold bling. and i especially love it on my nails around this time of year.


colors of choice:
• NYC: Long Wearing Nail Enamel, Extra Shiny Top Coat, #271
• Forever21: Gold
• Forever21: Peachy Cheeks

i had to exchange a shirt at Forever21 over the weekend, and while i was at the counter i saw these two beauties and snatched them right up. why did they have to be so tempting? haha, but really i'm glad i did because i love a good gold polish. and just fyi: the other polish (peachy cheeks) is a lot more of a peachy/coral color...not so pink like it looks in the pic!

here's what i did:


oops. it looks like i have 3 different skin tones! ha. anyways, pretty self-explanatory, but here are the deets:

1. i threw a basic white coat on as a base to bring out the gold, and put two coats of gold on. let dry completely
2. cut some binder-page-ring-things(good name, right?) in half, and placed 'em on my cuticle area.
3. painted 2 coats of "Peachy Cheeks". i could have gotten away with one (love when a polish is awesome like that), but you know me and all my "i-gotta-do-two" ocd-ness. let dry completely before removing the stickers.


i used NYC Extra Shiny as my top coat. and in case you were wondering, yes, it sounds like a lot of layers, but definitely doesn't feel like it.

p.s. i could have just left my nails at step 1, because that looked really pretty too!


* are you a gold fan? 

* what color are your nails right now?

friday favorites

ahh friday. why are you so cool? in my household, it's because the hubs is home (day off) and we get to go do fun stuff. like, go to Home Depot and eat at Texas Roadhouse. anyways, i wanted to pop in and let you know how happy i am to see some new faces over here! hello!! i'm so excited to see you actually, that i'm even working on a FREEBIE! that i'll post soon, as well as show off some of the custom blog designs i've been working on lately. and talking of lately, here are some things i'm loving...

1.

i don't know why it's taken me so long to snatch up this font, but yesterday i did. and i love it. yes, it's been around for a bit (and may even be slightly overused?) but dang, isn't it fun? Bombshell, and Matchmaker are on my hit list as well if you want to check those out...and if you click >>HERE<< you can go stare at all the pretty fonts on my typography board. because isn't staring at fonts fun?! or is that just me??

2. 

K and i started watching this tv series a few weeks ago, and hello Phil and Clair Dunphy, you are like our exact replicas.

 3.

i watch Vamp Diaries (don't hate....although i am getting less and less into it...yet it is still recording on our dvr...), and this new series Reign comes on right after. so after watching the first 2 minutes of the first 3 episodes, i decided to record that too. i really like it so far!

4. 
i freaking love hot chocolate. sure, the temps down here might now be as chilly as idaho, but that won't stop me from busting out a mug or two, and getting cozy while watching my shows at night! my favorites right now (hot chocolate, silly, you already know my shows!) are Stephen's Candy Cane Cocoa and Kandee Johnson's homemade recipe for Candy Cane White Hot Chocolate!

5.
we went to the doc yesterday and found out. i am terrified and thrilled all at the same time! haha, terrified because i know how i was/am, and i am already dreading the teen years...and thrilled because i get to buy girl clothes, and pink things, and make tutus, and do her hair, and paint her little nails...!!! the list could go on peeps.

* i would love to hear some of your favorites today! i'm serious. i really would!

* do you stare at fonts too? like for an abnormally long amount of time??

* have you watched Reign? what do you think?

* what is YOUR favorite hot chocolate recipe!?

premade blogger templates

if you didn't know, i recently opened up an Etsy shop for my premade blogger templates. i'm pretty excited about it all! i do realize it has a LONG way to go, but i'm happy to show you these 4 that i have up now:


you can also find links to them over on my design site >>HERE<<

i have lots more in the works, and can't wait to share them with you soon!! another awesome bit of information is that i teamed up with the incredible Suzy of Simply Suzy Photography and her work is to die for. seriously. so all the lovely photographs you see on these templates are hers (ahhh, except for the mug shots of me...haha)!

now, i'd love for you to tell me:

*which is your favorite?

*if you were to buy a premade template, what would you look for and want?

*what color combos are your favorite right now? (not on my templates - just what do you love!)

5 things that might make you smile

the following are incidents that have happened to me over the past 2 months (basically since i've been away). as each one happened, i would think: okay, i need to remember this so i'm not the only person laughing and feeling stupid alone. ha. so maybe you can relate? i'll just dive right in.

1. forgetting to take my glasses off before i shower. i wear my glasses at night, and sometimes i take my shower at night. (it makes it easier for me in the mornings with Bronx...especially Sunday mornings!) anyways, i hopped in and BAM i was blinded with fog on my lens's. yep, i felt pretty cool right about then.

2. trying to spit as i run, while letting the stroller veer off course. i think the two elderly ladies ahead of me got a kick out of this one. i just leaned out to spit in the grass (cuz, you know, i feel bad spitting on the sidewalk..) and the next thing i know Bronx and his stroller are being rammed into a wild bush in the opposite direction (Oregon has a ton of these all over..). good thing he's a tough little babe. and good thing it wasn't poison oak.

3. forgetting to shave a leg. not forgetting both legs. just one. this has NEVER happened to me! i blame my pregnant brain.

4. being mistaken for a dog and getting whacked in the face. random? oh yeah. there i was peacefully falling asleep in our bed when i hear "umngrr...TANK!" and then WHACK. Kevin's hand/arm comes dive-bombing onto my face. "Oh sorry babe! i thought you were Tank!" uhhhh. you see, sometimes Tank - our little shih tsu - sleeps on our bed (i know, sorry you non-dog-lovers!), and sometimes he annoys Kevin. it didn't hurt as much as it sounds and we actually ended up laughing ourselves to sleep this night.

5. this gum:


please tell me you remember it too! the mr. saw it at a candy store in Idaho, and immediately grabbed it. no big deal that it looses flavor after 5 chews, the big prizes are definitely the tattoos inside.

*can you relate to anything here?!

*what is your favorite type of gum? i don't know if i really have one, but the hubby always buys the Extra Spearmint kind. without fail. he claims it as the best.

flip flop fantasy + some nail bling

lately, i've been going through our camera and phones and transferring about a zillion pictures to our hard drive. in the process, i came across some nails i did right before i started packing everything up - so the end of August/ beginning of September - and i seriously think this is the last time i painted them. ridiculous! i know. i know. but don't freak, because i DID paint them Saturday night while watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (isn't that the best one?) with the hubby!  i just haven't had time to stop, but i definitely feel like i'm hitting a good groove now. so hopefully some fun holiday nail ideas soon?! yes please.

okay enough. the pics:


both the China Glaze polish and Trendy Nail Wraps are from Sally's. i remember running in there one day specifically looking for this polish (Flip Flop Fantasy), because i was seeing it everywhere over the summer, and it just looked so darn awesome. on my way to the check out of course i stopped and skimmed over the $1 section, and saw these little beauties (the nail wraps) so i grabbed them! 



like the Jamberry Nails (see here), they were easy to apply, but i wanted to try something different, and use a technique a friend had told me about. this is why you see nail glue in that top pic. haha, yes, i did glue the decal to my nail! it worked, so hey. i topped everything with a coat of NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel(#271). i'm pretty much in love with this color, and i swear it could make any girl look tanner. does that sound weird? yea, but it's true! ha.

*do you have Flip Flop Fantasy?

*oh my heck it's NOVEMBER?! what's your favorite food this month? basically everything is my favorite food, but my top loves are: cinnamon rolls, apple cider or hot chocolate...you know, all those make-your-home-smell-cozy-foods!