Moving On.

Ever have that feeling that everyone else is moving on with their lives and somehow you just missed the mark? Lately it feels as though every time I log onto Facebook another high school friend is getting married or having a baby.

About six or seven years ago I kept thinking I had so much time left and that there was no rush. Somehow before I realized what was happening people who are younger than I am are accomplishing more and I’m still stuck in the same place.

And of course ‘stuck’ is a wildly generous description seeing as in the last six months I moved to a different country and strange city all by myself where I didn't know a single person.

In the name of full disclosure I should also add that I haven’t exactly done my part as of late in moving my life forward. I spent so many years being jealous and angry that these things were happening for everyone else but at the same time I wasn't exactly putting myself out there either. So I guess in many ways I am to blame for feeling the way I do right now. 

So what's the solution here? If I knew that I likely would not be sitting here alone blogging. Stay tuned. 

2012 in redux.

This is definitely the longest blogging break I've taken since I started blogging almost 5 years ago. As 2012 is slowly coming to a close, I'm just going to do a semi-short (but I do tend to ramble) recap of my year.

In 2012 I..

..stood up in a wedding for the first time

..moved out on my own for the first time

..started a Masters program for the first time

..planned a bridal shower for the first time

..got to be an extra on a popular television show for the first time

..was involved in a natural disaster for the first time

2012 has turned out to be a year of firsts for me, and if you'd told me a year ago that this is where I would be - I'd think you were crazy. It's been a crazy ride so far and I look forward to many more adventures.

I also really want to incorporate blogging back into my schedule, but Grad School is taking up a ridiculous amount of time so we'll see how that goes.

Coaster Crafts & Photo Editing

well hello there! It's been a while, how ya doing? I've become so addicted to Pinterest lately that my blogging has taken a real backseat. I have so many updates on my life to do but right now I'm taking the time ti finally post about some recent craft-successes.

Also - I'm probably the last one onto this particular bandwagon since it's closing soon - but I discovered Picnik. Seriously, where has this site been all my blogging-life? Suddenly I have such easy access to cute filters, fonts and editing software without needing to proper knowledge of Photoshop.

The bestest and I have started a weekly craft/Pilates night in order for us to finally do some of our Pinterest pins, stay in shape and have some much-needed girl time. There's some major changes going on in both our lives so this is definitely a much needed night!

These coasters were last week's craft - and our first success. We've done 3 crafts now, 2 failures (her picks) and 1 success (my pick) - not that I'm keeping track or anything. *smiles*

These are the easiest, cheapest and cutest coasters in the world. The cost per coaster is something ridiculous like $0.75 and you can use any image you want. We used scrapbook paper, but monograms or images would work just as well.

Materials Needed:

• The tiles are 4x4 ceramics from Home Depot - purchased for the low cost of $0.38 a piece. 
• Regular Mod Podge (mine is matte but a glossy finish would work too) - on hand
• Acrylic Sealer - on hand
• Sponge brushes - 6/$1 at Dollarama 
• Self-Adhesive felt pads - 12/$1 at Dollarama 
• Scrapbook paper - on hand 

Steps:

• Cut your scrapbook paper just a little bit smaller than the tile shape 
• Coat each tile with a coat of Mod Podge
• Carefully lay on the paper, I'd do it slowly because the Mod Podge begins to stick automatically
• Smooth out any bumps or wrinkles - this will really bother you in the final product if you don't 
• Coat the coaster with a second coat of Mod Podge. Don't worry if it goes on white, I promise you that it will dry clear
• Let your coasters dry - about 10 minutes 
• Use 4 self-adhesive felt pads for the bottom - one on each corner 
• Take your coasters outside or into a well ventilated area and spray with a thin coat of Acrylic Sealer - this will keep the paper from peeling if it gets wet 
• Enjoy your adorable new coasters! 

The best thing about these coasters is that they are so versatile - I see everyone I know getting these for Christmas/Birthday/Mother's Day/any random gift occasion 

Hope you're all having a great Easter/Passover/Weekend! 

Thoughts on Thursday

- weekly girls nights really are good for the soul

- some crafts will undoubtedly fail. Others will be successful and turn out really cute

- there are all of a sudden so many new things I have to figure out on my own and it's overwhelming

- summer temperatures and sunshine in mid-March are my cup of tea

- I think I'm finally on track to becoming the person I'm supposed to be, but I keep fearing that something will happen to make it all come crashing down

- I love the Dollar Store. You can literally find everything there.

What are your Thoughts on Thursday?

[Posted from my iPod Touch]

Crafty Gal - Glitter DIY

Okay so it's probably one of the worst post titles ever but it was all I could come up with.

Lately I've become somewhat of a crafts person. You can blame Pinterest for this particular hobby. I was never particularly creatively gifted as a child, I liked to paint and color (and still do) but that's pretty much where my talent ended - until recently. This glitter DIY jar was my first major project - and the idea was courtesy of Tiffany over at I am Style-ish 


It was supremely simple to create, and didn't cause anywhere near the amount of mess that I expected.

The materials:

Mod Podge, Dollar Store glitter, Dollar Store jar

The procedure: 

• First, line a bowl with tin foil (it makes the clean-up a thousand times easier)
  
• Next, add the glitter and mod podge to the bowl. I used a rough 2:1 ratio (meaning twice the glitter for the mod podge). I used a sponge brush (bought at the Dollar Store) to combine the mixture.
  
• Lastly, pour the glitter-mod podge mix into the container and swirl it around slowly so that the entire jar is evenly coated.You'll see a lot of white peeking through, don't worry the mod podge will dry clear.

After coating the jar, still wet 

Finished product! 

I took these pictures on my BlackBerry which has a crappy camera, but the finished jar has a nice blue sparkle to it and makes a perfect pen holder.