Thursday, June 25, 2015

Day dream achiever...


Is it Thursday already!? Where has this week gone? I've been typing up a little storm over here trying to get my final manuscript done by August 3rd and trying not to have a panic attack at the same time. Ha! Too late for that one.... I'm an anxious ball of nerves over here but luckily I have had a few breaks in my day and lunch with some of my good friends, which helps me to think and talk about other things instead of obsessing over the book. They know I'm stressing out BIG time! This is kind of a new look for me, or one that I typically wouldn't gravitate towards but thought I'd give it a try and see how it felt. I've always wanted to be one of those girls that could rock a Body Con dress but never, even at my thinnest was brave enough to wear one out in public. I've grown a lot since those days and maybe care a little less what people think more so now than when I was younger. I saw this dress at Target and thought it'd be super comfy for shows and I could not only dress it up but dress it down as well and wear it in the Summer and in the Winter with more layers and boots. So I went for it, and the shoes too! Ha! The shoes I just couldn't pass up. The literally go with everything and I love the lace up Gladiator look. So here I am, in a Body Con dress.


Le Husband and I decided to go out to Dinner Friday night and ended up spending a small fortune because we indulged a little too much, but it was fun. No regrets. We tried out a newer Austin restaurant called Odd Duck and then made our way back over to the Eastside Showroom and had a few cocktails. For some reason every single drink I ordered I didn't really like or enjoy so I kept giving them to the Husbear. I guess I should just stick with what I like best which is a Dirty Martini (filthy).


My glorious Gladiator sandals....


The weather has been the worst here in Austin, humid as ever! There's really no other option other than to wear my hair up and try to tame the fly aways. It's pretty miserable here right now with all the rain. I'm still not sure what's going on with my bangs... I was growing them out but then got them cut so that they would lay to the side but they still aren't "working" for me. 


In other news, we had the tiniest kitten take up residence under our backyard Studio. Our dogs were going crazy so we ended up having to trap her and take her into the local shelter. She was just an itty bitty thing and I felt bad doing it but there were really no other options. That's about all there is going on in my exciting life. Lol. This weekend I want to just relax and have a little QT with the Husbear, maybe if it doesn't rain we'll head to Barton Springs and chillax. 


Dress: Target
Shoes: Target
Purse: Target

Can you tell I shop at Target?

Monday, June 22, 2015

Behind the scenes of Nothing but a Pigeon...


Why hello there! I recently did some very fun things. First, I attended Pop Shop Houston once again and then I also participated in an Austin Craft Riot takeover of their Instagram account. I had a lot of fun documenting not only my trip to Houston but also a large part of my crochet business Nothing but a Pigeon that many of you all don't get to see on a day to day basis. 








I had way too much fun taking images during Pop Shop Houston's Spring Show.... I even got in a few selfie's.










I also thought it would be fun to take a few images of my Studio that my very talented Husband designed and built for me. He is currently working on a beautiful Farm Table for our Dining room (more on that later). Some of these images are of me working inside the Studio and then a few fun ones that I used for the Austin Craft Riot IG takeover.



I also wanted to touch on a very important project that I've been working on, my very own crochet pattern book that's due to come out in 2016!





I also think it's kinda neat to show everyone what materials that I use and how things actually look before my little critters get constructed and all put together. I'm also helping teach a Photo 101 class for Austin Craft Riot with Chelsea Laine Francis on the 27th of this month... hence the little photo set up I've got going on above. It's super easy to create beautiful and clean photo's using natural light and a simple white background. More on that later.....


Lastly, this was my "peace out" post from my Austin Craft Riot takeover. This is the first ever taxidermy critter that I attempted to crochet. He is a little sad and pathetic but I love him and what he represents... my skills have definitely improved but I like to keep him close to me to remind me of my humble beginning.

xoxo

Friday, June 19, 2015

My past Summer favorites....


Since it's pretty much officially Summer already I decided it would be fun to go back through my past Summer outfit posts and pick out my all time favorite ones. It's funny, almost all my favorite posts are of outfits that are not mine but borrowed from my lovely girl friends on Flock Together. Ha! This sweet little number I borrowed from Elana of Room 334. I loved it way too much and wish that it were hanging in my closet. I decided to pair it with some edgier pieces from Target, the black heels and faux black leather jacket. I'm pretty sure these were the first black pieces that I added to my wardrobe, now almost everything is black. Ha!


This dress was a fabulous find that I scored at my favorite local thrift store on the east side of town. I love that place! It's a Gap dress in Small but it was rather big and quite shapeless so I threw on a belt and opted for some really bright orange lipstick. I don't think I was quite comfortable with my arms yet at this point in my weight loss journey so I always tried to cover them up with a cardigan or a jacket. 


OMG! This is one of my all time favorite dresses that I borrowed from Marissa of The Shades of the Monet Chronicles. It was a super short baby doll dress I do believe from Urban Outfitters with the black bow added on by Marisa. It was short and it was fabulous! I've always have had slimmer legs, even when I was heavier and they are my best attribute so when I get a chance to show them off, I sure will. 


This bright orange dress from Old Navy now belongs in the closet of Hannah from The Braided Bandit. It was once mine and I had a love/hate relationship with it. I loved it when I bought it, then saw a picture of myself in it and cried my eyes out because I didn't like the way I looked in it. I'm sure there were other reasons that added to the crying part but that's in the past. Lol! Just one of those days that a girl goes through I suppose. Anyhow, I fell in love with it again after this photo shoot but decided it was time for a wardrobe overhaul and set it to Hannah instead of donating it. 


These little lace gloves were a fashion risk that I decided to take and ended up enjoying the look. I bought them from Claire's on a whim with some other fun costume jewelry one day. I have no clue were they are now.... ha! This black J. Lo skirt is another awesome find from that east side thrift store I love. I still have the skirt hanging in my closet but it's too big for me now. I don't want to get rid of it but would love to find the time to try to alter it to fit me. I never can seem to find the time to do anything for myself anymore... literally all my time gets spent working on my crochet business.


Both these pieces the skirt and the blouse were thrift store finds. The skirt was donated later on... I think I wore it just this one time and got bored with it but I did manage to to hang on to the blouse. Someday I'll wear it again. The skirt was from Forever 21 and the blouse was from The Gap. I did have fun playing with the unexpected bright cobalt blue and funky polka dot pattern in the skirt. I was BIG into bright color....


Gah! Another favorite of mine borrowed from Marissa of The Shades of the Monet Chronicles. I love this Urban Outfitter's dress so much!!! I had a hard time giving it back, it was so perfect on me and I was sad to see it go. I'm forever trying to find a dress just like this everytime I go shopping. 


This was a fun photo shoot! I also found this dress at the east side thrift store and couldn't believe my luck. It's pretty much the best little 60's style dress there ever was. The cut and the color caught my eye right away. It was a tad tight but I forced Le Husband to zip it up! It was a hot day and I was uncomfortable but it was all worth it in the end... I mean just look at it! I still have it and I bet it will fit me even better now that I've lost a few.... I can't wait to re-visit this dress in the near future.


Our Founding Father's would be so proud of my Fourth of July outfit! Ha! I was really into nautical colors this Summer which pretty much worked out perfectly for the 4th of July post as well. I love this blue stripey top that I purchased from Forever 21..... I think I still have it too, along with my favorite red cardigan from Target. 


This is another all time favorite dress that I borrowed from Jana of small town, BIG SMILE. I'm pretty sure it's a Mod Cloth dress because the quality was great. I mean the cut and the color flattered my shape and I basically fell in love with it right away. I'm a BIG fan of mustard yellow, it's a re-occurring color in my wardrobe that you'll always find.


Here's another fashion risk I took and loved. The ol' crop top. I saw this top at Forever 21 and it was only a mere $10 dollars, so I decided "what the hell." It was long enough that it covered most of my stomach and the J. Lo skirt that I paired it with was high waisted so it pretty much worked out perfectly... although The Mister still refers to this top as "The Freddy Krueger top."


Another dress/shirt love affair borrowed from Hannah of The Braided Bandit. I love a good ol' casual fun top and this was just right. A little sailorish but not over the top nautical. I loved the cut and of course the color... I kept it simple with little sailor shorts from Forever 21 (you can't see the buttons) and black wedges from Target.


Last but not least... this vintage 60's style dress borrowed once again from Hannah of The Braided Bandit. I pretty much borrowed all the clothes out of Hannah and Marisa's closet. Ha! This was a fun one to style although I really wish I would have opted for my black t-strap wedges instead of these yellow ones that didn't even match. It just goes to show, you can never go wrong with black. Anyhow, I loved the Creamsicle orange color paired with the unexpected cobalt blue cardigan way too much that I almost didn't want to give it back. Lol! 
There are more favorites that I have or have borrowed over the years, this is just a few. It's fun to see how much my style has changed over the course of a few years. I was really into bright color and seemed to be trying to find my style when I should have been trying to be more comfortable with myself and being in my own skin. You live and you learn right?! I'm just so glad that it's Friday, the Mister and I promised that we'd spend the whole weekend together, just the two of us. We need to catch up on some QT. Have a great weekend everyone!!

xoxo

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

take a hike...


Every now and then Le Husband and I will escape our hectic lives and go on a hike together. This is one of our favorite places to go near Lake Travis. We discovered it years ago but haven't been back in quite some time due to me being ill and other life issues. Now that I'm physically well again I can actually make the trip and enjoy the beautiful scenery once again....
















I love spending time with the Mister out doors and am so blessed that I can go hiking with him once again. It's been way too long. This weekend we are planning some quality time alone together and I think we may just have to revisit this old hidden gem. It's nice to take a mental vacation every now and then and "un-plug" as they say.... hope everyone is having a great week!

xoxo