Fall vibes...

Oh hi there! I've been struggling to find time to blog and actually post about something meaningful. I have so much to say but not nearly enough hours in the day to do all the things I love doing 

(blogging being one of them). The last week has been spending time catching up with all my crochet projects for stores, wholesale orders and Etsy orders. Not to mention crocheting taxi heads to send off to be photographed for my upcoming book! Eeeeeep! I'm also trying to work on taxi heads for the four shows that I'll be participating in this Holiday Season. I'm so excited that I've gotten into all of the ones that I applied for. It's going to be a lot of work but I love that I'm a "Girl Boss" now and get to decided how I run my own show.... literally. 

This is a little outfit that I wore to my dear friend Becky of The Pink Samurai's Baby Shower. I was honored to be a part of her baby experience and am also delighted to help decorate her Dino themed Nursery. (I crocheted her a Triceratops Dinosaur head). It was a fun night and I aslo got to catch up with some crafty peeps that I hadn't seen in awhile.

I'm really looking forward to spending some QT with the Husbear coming up here mid October when we take a trip to Port Aransas. We booked a cute little love shack through airbnb. It's tiny but we will basically be spending the majority of our time at the beach anyhow... we just need a place to rest our heads at night. 

In other news, I'm hoping to buy some cute pirate accessories for my Halloween costume tonight with my BFF Christopher. I'm going the "cheap route" and am building a costume around a teeny weeny black skirt I own. I figure that I already own black boots and a red bandanna so voila! Instant pirate costume. I just need a few more pieces and it will be complete. 

Besides Halloween and vacation things I've been trying to get back into my daily workout routine now that my sister and brother in law have left. Did I mention we had house guests for a week? It was fun but I neglected my regular diet and workout regime and it basically threw my whole schedule off. It's totally okay to indulge every now and then, and I totally let myself.... but getting back on track seems so hard now, especially since the days are getting shorter and it's darker in the mornings now.

I have a few small goals planned for this October if I can find some free time I'd love to host a clothing swap and maybe have a small dinner party as well. I'm trying to be more involved and more social but I find it hard to find time. I swear there are not enough hours in the day....

On that note, I better take off to go on my daily run. Have a great week kittens!

xoxo

daisy duke

Happy Friday! If you've noticed I haven't been blogging very much lately... I haven't been doing much of anything except working these days. I must say this week has been very productive... but I'm still left with this sinking feeling of not getting enough done. To be honest... I'm terrified for this upcoming Holiday Season. I've applied to four shows and don't really have much of anything made as of yet. All my time and energy has been devoted towards my upcoming book and keeping my stores stocked. Yesterday morning I actually took some time to do something fun for myself. As you know... I love to play dress up, so I spent the early morning taking fashion pictures of my new outfits. I never get to "dress up" anymore because I work from home and it's really not necessary... I mean the only people that see me are my dogs. Ha! So... it's always fun every now and then to get all dolled up. 

It's been unusually cool here in Austin. Don't get me wrong... there are no complaints here. I've actually enjoyed life a lot more now that it's not balls hot outside. Sadly, it's not going to last that long.. it should be back in the 90's here this weekend. I'm so ready for Fall weather! Unfortunatly, we won't see or feel that kinda vibe here until late November perhaps... Oh well.... a girl can dream can't she?

Other than it being hot as hell here... life has been pretty swell. I had some help from my dear friend Lisa of lalafauxbois host a giveaway. That was pretty cool. Our little chicks are strong and very healthy and are also growing like weeds!! It's time for them to be moved outside into a permanent coop. 

I also managed to squeeze in a girl date with the gorgeous Katy of Wit & Bloom. Katy found a really cool pottery workshop for us to try out. It was too fun and I can't wait to take another when I can find some time. In other news... I've been looking at my girlfriend Pei of p.s.papershoppe's IG feed and am super envious of this "girl's road trip" that she's on with a few of my other gal pals. They have all taken a trip to Marfa, Texas and are currently staying at El Cosmico. I can't wait to hear all about it when she gets back home.

In just one week my dear Sister and Husbear will be in Austin and staying at our humble home. 

I'm super excited... it has been way too long since I've seen her face. That's not all either! Our longtime family friends will be staying in Austin the same time as well and we are all going to get together and break some bread and reminise about old times. It's going to be swell...

Until next time...

xoxo

Top: Target

Daisy Dukes: Target

Boots: Old Navy

Flower Crown: Garden Head Co.

Rustic roots...

Oh hi there! It's been way too long since I posted an outfit... I just received this beautiful burnt orange colored dress from Pink and Silver Fashion and I just love it! I saw it on IG and jumped at the opportunity to purchase it and I couldn't be more thrilled!! They even sent me a pair of earrings that I'm dying to wear. 

This has been my typical style lately... laid back with little black booties and a hat. It's so hot here in Austin that it's really hard to stay lookin' cute all day without melting. 

This Summer has been super challenging for both me and the Husbear. He is trying to wrap up a huge project at work (designing an arts center in Manor, Texas) and I am working on my crochet book while trying to juggle orders and keeping my stores well stocked. I just ship off a bunch of crochet taxi heads to some of my top stores so I'm glad that that's done with. Whew!

I seriously am looking forward to cooler weather but I know that won't be for a few more months. It been sheer hell driving my little VW around town with no a/c. It's not worth the amount to pay to have it repaired. VW's are super expensive to maintain... although they are great vehicles. I try to get what I need done early on in the morning while it's still cool out but it's still rough! #firstworldproblems

I'm just going to day dream about the weather in Ohio that my friends and family are experiencing right now... I hate football but miss football season. Is that a thing? I miss the crisp Autumn breeze and the spell of pumpkin spice and apple cider. I live for Fall and we just don't get that here.... le sigh.

In other news our Pride of Barbados is off the chain!!

Thanks for stopping by and checking up on little ol' me. I'll be back to blogging on a more regular basis once things calm down around here. Until then...

xoxo

Dress: Pink and Silver Fashion

Hat: Target

Booties: Target

Ring: SoLa

The dog days of summer...

 

Hey there! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! I'm back with a new outfit post this time. I've been trying new things lately, like this skirt for example... I'm usually too self conscious to wear something this clingy and tight but I'm trying to expand my wardrobe horizon and live life on the edge so to speak. 

I bought it on a whim while I was at Old Navy one day. It was cheap and I felt like it could be 

"do-able. If it didn't work out then I didn't pay that much for it anyway... so why not?! Turns out I love it and I actually feel good in it. It's half me "not caring" what people think so much anymore and the other half was me getting back into shape physically. 

This tank crop top I purchased at Forever 21 about a month ago and I have worn the shit out of it like everyday since. It's my "go to" tank now. It's nice because it goes with everything and I don't really care if my black bra straps peek out from underneath it. 

It was seriously beyond hot when I was taking these images. I ended up doing half indoors and half outdoors. It's almost impossible to do anything and stay looking cute in this Austin heat. It's supposed to get up to 104 today and that's without the humidity index!

At least our Pride of Barbados is looking good. It exploded this Summer and is more beautiful than ever! It's my favorite Summer blooms that we have in our front yard.

So here we are in our screened in porch. So technically I'm still outside but at least the shades are pulled down so the sun wasn't beating down on me. The Mister and I have spent a lot of time and effort to make our porch look amazing. Come Fall, it will be cool enough to hangout on and sip some wine and relax. Hurry up Fall!!!

This week is packed full of plans! I've been a very social butterfly lately which is not like me at all, but I'm trying to meet new people and develop new relationships which is a good thing. I want to surround myself with "good people" that actually care about my well being and that are positive influences on me. I want to be around people that have goals and want to achieve them and be the best they can be. I really do believe that positivity is contagious. 

I feel like I've met a good group of gal pals recently that are very outgoing and are very goal oriented. I'm really excited to see how our relationships blossom. I'm very much a shy type of person and am pushing myself out of my comfort zone on a daily basis. I need to be more out going and independent... at least that's one of my "grown up goals" for this year. Sometimes it's hard because I'm very guarded but I'll get there. Baby steps....

In other news I've dusted off the ol' sewing machine and have successfully hemmed a pair of jeans and am working my way through a pile of clothing that needs to be "taken in". I'm still really confused on how to take in old jeans that are too big on me. I have about five pairs that are too big on me but are so nice and such good quality that I hate to see them go to waste. I've tried selling my clothes before at Buffalo Exchange and Plato's Closet but never really make enough money back. It's kinda not worth the effort to me. I'd much rather "master" my sewing machine and be able to fix them and wear them again. Well see, that's another one of my small goals.

That's about all that's going on in my little corner of the Internet. I have more fun recipe posts coming up and hopefully things will start to cool off here in Austin. Till then kittens....

xoxo

Skirt: Old Navy

Tank: Forever 21

Hat: Forever 21

Shoes: Target

Sunnies: Target

No tea, no shade....

I can't believe the weekend has come and gone already! I swear these last few months have flown by so quickly.... now we are almost into fall. Not quite but all the clothing stores are bringing out their 

Fall clothing lines. I won't be able to enjoy fall clothing till winter! The struggle is real y'all!  

As you can see, things are still "toasty" here right now. It's pretty much the "dog days of summer". It's so hard to get all dolled up and stay looking frosty when your makeup is melting off your face. 

I've been watching way too much "Ru Paul's Drag Race" and have started to speak in "drag lingo" which is really getting on my Husbears nerves. The other day I walked up the stairs 

(I was sore from running) and when I got to the top I let out a big "Wheeew child!"My favorite saying though is "No tea, no shade", which basically means... I don't mean to come at you or offend you, but this is what it's really like.

I finally got to bust out my black bralette I bought awhile ago. I actually have two now because the first one I had purchased didn't fit so I bought this second one that I'm wearing here but now the first one actually fits so you'll be seeing a lot of peek-a-boo black bra straps coming up here soon. They are actually really comfy in that "house bra" sorta way. You know what a house bra is... one of the oldest most busted up, broken down bra you own that is so worn out that it's crazy comfy so you only typically wear it around the house to do chores in or when you know you're not going out and might get really sweaty. That's a house bra... 

In other news... I've been having fun experimenting with different recipes off of Pinterest. I made some amazing Ceviche the other day and managed not to kill anyone so that's a bonus. I also made some cilantro lime sauce that was delicious and can't wait to share all my posts on them. 

No that I'm done with my final manuscript (for the most part) it's time for me to get back into the grove of things and start crocheting and staining plaques. I had staining plaques, it's literally the worst part of the taxi head making process. It's always so tedious and labor intensive. I wish there was another way around it but unfortunately until I can afford to pay someone else to do it.... then I'm the one stuck. It must be done though....

Hopefully my orders on Etsy will start picking back up here now that it's getting closer to the Holiday season and there's always my stores that I have to keep up with as well. Things are looking up and I can't wait to start applying for shows again. 

That's about all this girl has got going on in her little ol' lifey right now. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

Jeans: Old Navy

Top: Asos

Bralette: Asos

Shoes: Target

Scarf: Thrifted

Cruel, hot Summer....

Is it Monday already?! It feels like this Summer is flying by right before my very eyes... 

We're at the tail end of July and it's about to be August soon... whew! If you haven't noticed I took a wee break from the Blogosphere.... it's nice to unplug every now and then and just enjoy life. Not only have I been enjoying life, I've also been working with the Mister on "fixin' up" our place. We just finished painting our guest bedroom "Saw grass", a very cool and calm grey color. It looks amazing and it wasn't all that bad because we did it together while listening to a mix that I made. It was actually kinda fun and I typically hate painting....

I wasn't sure if I wanted to post these images or not. I don't typically wear closes like this or haven't since I've lost the weight but they were there and I was like... "okay, why not?" I used to wear fit and flare skirts all the time to conceal or hide my tummy but now I'm more into form fitting clothes and actually don't feel all that self conscious in them either. I was also sweating buckets during this photo session and I think you can kinda see that I was all hot and flustered....

It's gonna be a "hot one" this week! There were even temperature warnings to take extra per cautions because of the humidity etc... It's almost unbearable to go running in this heat, I try to get up and go as early as I can but it's still just too hot. Not only that but there is like zero shade where I like to go running. It's times like these when I wish I could afford a gym membership or had a treadmill. Us broke people have to go outside and use old school workout video's.... which I'm totally not opposed to. I have some tried and true videos that are my favorites to use in a pinch. 

On top of all that the Mister and I have been doing the "21 Day Arm Challenge" by "Pop Sugar" and it's only week two and I've already lost 1/2 an inch on my arms! Matt gained 1/2 an inch... which was his goal and I wanted to get my arms more trim. It's so easy and I can't believe how fast we saw the results! The gals in my family tend to carry their weight in their upper bodies so I've always have been self conscious of them but now that I know how easy it is to keep them fit I'm gonna take it to a whole other level. I'm going to continue the challenge and use heavier weights and increase my reps. I'm really excited to see what they'll look like a month from now! 

In other news my BFF just gave birth to her little girl Eveyln Louis Hall last week and I got to meet her and hold her for the first time this last weekend. It seriously blew my mind!! She was pretty much amazing and perfect in every way and I can't believe my friend did such a great job delivering her! What a brave and strong gal my friend is... I'm so proud of her new little family!

This week I'm making some little but BIG goals for myself. I'm going to focus more on my book and finishing it up and sending it off to the Publishing Co. On top of that I want to knock out some plaques and stain a huge batch, which isn't going to be fun in this heat but it's got to be done! I'm going to pay more attention to my eating habits and implement the "no drinking rule" again for myself. I've been way lax on it recently and I've started to get into old bad habits again (drinking during week nights) and I hate the way it makes me feel. I don't get good sleep and then I wake up all anxious about life and it's just not a good feeling to have. I don't need those extra calories anyway.... so back to restricting myself once more. It's cool, I need to put myself in check every now and again.

Onto another topic... my messy milkmaid braids! I've pretty much worn this style since I can remember and just love it. It's so easy to do and it's perfect for this type of weather. I get a lot of compliments when I wear it this way and it looks great dressed up or down. I'd like to experiment more with different types of braids but I need some practice...

I hope every ones weekend was amazing! 

I already can't wait for next weekend to come... Ha!

xoxo

Skirt: Forever 21 (thrifted)

Blouse: The Limited (thrifted)

Shoes: Target