Date night with my boy. Fat Tire for him, Sex on the Beach for me. Mmm!

Classic example of how I don't "act my age." I would totes wear these. Unfortunately, they don't come in my size. Oh, and they light up! The 5 year old I nanny just got these for school and I'm totally jealous.

More Crafts!

Here are some of the hair pins I have been working to perfect over the last few weeks. I enjoy making them so if anyone has any requests, let me know! Also, I would encourage you to try to make some yourself. They are all super easy. Just click on the links to get to the tutorials.

Click here to learn how to make the rosette. You may have seen these flowers a few posts ago on a to-do picture frame. I made a "UNI" colored pin also using this. (See below)

I made the white and yellow lace hair pins using this tutorial. In the white one, I made two flowers and sewed them on top of each other to make it a little bigger. I also made a mini rosette and sewed it into the middle of the lace flower.

The blue one took the least amount of work! I bought it in the craft section at Hobby Lobby-- I think it would be considered an embellishment. It was maybe $2. I just glued felt and a bobby pin to the back. Just walk around Hobby Lobby and you will find something you like! They had a section of embellishments that looked meant for hair pins.

Below is a bracelet I made from this tutorial. I branched off and used my own type of string. I'd recommend using a glossy string for the black string that goes underneath (doesn't have to be black) and a string that is a little more rough, like hemp, for the wrap around string. The beads were a little harder to find. I made my first one using pearls I found in the ribbon/lace section at hobby lobby but they were too big and I didn't like the look. I found the beads (they're actually plastic, not metal) at JoAnn Fabric near the buttons and lace. I found the hex nuts at Ace Hardware for 10 cents each. Kevin even went with me :) What a good boyfriend.

So this is what I've been doing during my free time when Kevin is busy working or the girls are playing Polly Pockets. I am sad all that free time is about to come to an end. At least I have some hand-made accessories to wear! Let me know if you try anything you see!

Also, I don't think I posted the tutorial for the fabric button earrings I made. Here it is! It will take you maybe 5 minutes total to make one pair. The hardest part is taking the metal part off the buttons with pliers. Everything else is a breeze. If you make these, I'd recommend getting fabric QUARTERS from JoAnn. I think they were $2 and I have used them to make the rosettes as well and I still have a ton left. It's cheaper than getting a yard and more convenient as well, in my opinion.

Last thing! Every website that I find my tutorials from is listed to the right here. I can't take credit. I can only take credit for having an excess amount of time on my hands.

I Have Awesome Friends

This post is dedicated to my best friend Tonia because she just got her first big girl job!!! YAY TONIA! Tonia called me a couple weeks prior to vent her frustrations about the education job market (or lack of) up in Minnesota and the slow processing of teacher licenses. We brainstormed backup plans and worst and best-case scenario options. Well, as luck will have it we didn't need to have that conversation. Tonia got a job! After only ONE interview! In a very random and bizarre fashion she met a grandma at the child development center she was working who passed her name along. One interview later and BAM Tonia had a job. I'm very proud of her and happy her stresses about finding a job are over. I know Tonia will do great in this classroom and the kids are extremely lucky to have her!

Rather than try to explain our friendship, I will do so in visual form. You will never understand it, anyway. I don't even understand it. Most of the time I'm trying to get out of it. ;)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of us over the years:

I believe this is one of the first pictures of us together. This was at my 21st birthday waaaay ;) back in 2009.

Another picture from long ago. We were at Becks in Cedar Falls watching UNI beat Kansas in the Sweet 16!!!!! (This was also the night Kevin asked me out for the first time!)

This was last November after the Living History Farms race in Des Moines. Tonia had an injured foot but we ran the whole 7 miles together and crossed the finish line hand-in-hand! Haha. (For those of you who don't know what LHF race is find out and then SIGN UP! It was so much fun. Even if you're not an avid runner, you will love it.)

This was taken later that night after the race in downtown Des Moines. I have 23092 pictures of Tonia kissing and/or hugging me. :)

This is us doing what we do best. We are the dynamic duo that invades the Hydrant in Cedar Falls every few months. Our set list includes: It's Tricky by Run DMC, Fat Lip by Sum 41, Handlebars by the Flobots, and Why Don't You Get a Job by the Offspring. I feel like I'm missing one.

These are our shoes. They explain more than you know.

Aaand this past spring we built a fort in my old apartment in Cedar Falls. We ate ice cream and watched Ghost Adventures late at night. It was one of the best days of my life.

I wish Tonia's teaching adventures had brought her back to Iowa. But, now we each have a city to visit when we're bored :) LOVE YOU T-FIZZLE!

Could this be any more "me?" I don't think so. Oh gosh oh gosh I'm so excited! Totally making this asap.

Here is the tutorial if you want to make it, too :)

I also need this. How perfect.

If anyone wants to buy it for me you can do so here :)

Also, I want an iPhone. Mainly because I want to have the ability to Instragram photos. If anyone out there wants to buy me one and pay my monthly cell phone bill let me know.

I'm Baaack!

So studying for the test was a short-lived dream. Turns out my study book had only 10 test questions! Yes, 10! Did I mention the book was over 400 pages long? Money not well spent. Math is the only part I am worried about so I think I'll just google 6th grade math problems to freshen up my skillz.

I am feeling the love today so I wanted to share this song and its lyrics. I re-discovered it on Green Wedding Shoes. A couple used it during their wedding ceremony to exit. I am always always looking for songs to use for my wedding, songs that are meaningful to me and said boyfriend. We have the same taste in music but both have very strong opinions about music. I like to pitch him ideas of songs I hear but he usually finds something wrong, and vise versa! I'd say my taste is a little more eclectic. Anyway, Kevin had an unhealthy obsession with Dave Matthews (much like my brother Dillon) in high school and college, now I would consider it a healthy obsession. I think he might actually go for this one unless there is something about DM or this song I'm missing that only members of the cult know. I think the chorus would be a good, upbeat exit song. My brother would probably poop his pants if he heard this at my wedding.

Lyrics:

Wanna pack your bags
Something small
Take what you need and we disappear
without a trace we'll be gone, gone
moon and the stars will follow the car
And then when we get to the ocean
Gonna take a boat to the end of the world
all the way to the end of the world

Oh when the kids are old enough
we gon' teach them to fly

You and me together
we could do anything, baby
you and me together yes, yes
you and me together
we could do anything, baby
you and me together yes, yes

you and i were not tied to the ground
not falling but rising like rolling around
eyes closed above the rooftops
eyes closed were gonna spin through the stars
Our arms wide as the sky we gon ride the blue
all the way to the end of the world
to the end of the world

Oh when the kids are old enough
we gon teach them to fly

You and me together
we could do anything, baby
you and me together yes, yes
you and me together
we could do anything, baby
you and me together yes, yes

we can always look back on what we did
always memory of you and me baby
right now its you and me forever girl
you know we could do better than
anything that we did
you know that you and me
we could do anything

you and me together
we could do anything, baby
you and me together yes,yes
the two of us together
we could do anything baby
you and me together yes, yes
two of us together, yes, yes
two of us together
we could do anything baby

Hiatus

I'm taking the test I need to get my teaching license, the Praxis II, on August 20th and I NEED to study. I have been procrastinating taking the test all summer, which isn't a surprise, but now it's crunch time. I purchased a study book MONTHS ago and have yet to open it. So, to force myself to study and I not allowing myself to make any more posts until I get some quality study time in. I know this test is supposed to be very easy and I have been told by many who have taken it before me to NOT study. But, I would hate to not pass on account of me not studying and thinking it's going to be "easy." So goodbye blog for at least a few days until I get my butt in gear. Encouraging words and good luck thoughts would be appreciated :). I can't afford to take this thing more than once!