New Pattern Alert ~ Mini Sunbow

Hey everyone! The holiday spirit has been so inspiring this year! Being surrounded by so many pretty things, happy people, and festive crafts has been so fun!!

While I really should be finishing up my Cold Hands Warm Hearts package (no worries Liana, your package is going out tomorrow), I wanted to throw this pattern up asap.

Well, it's not so "asap" as I intended- owning a store got in my way. :D

Without further adieu, here is the Mini Sunbow!



Talk about instant gratification! This baby takes me 12 minutes to make, start to finish.

The pattern is available on the [Pattern Page], or over on [Ravelry].

Enjoy!!

Ami Cowl

Add some spice and a flirty touch to a traditional piece with this broken rib cowl.



This cowl features one of my all time favorite stitch patterns. It's just gorgeous!



If you are looking for a great quick knit for the holiday season, I recommend this project. It practically knits itself.

Download the pattern on the [pattern page] or on [Ravelry].

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!

In the spirit of giving

I want to give thanks to the people in my live who have made a big impact. They all deserve their own blog posts because they are so wonderful.

Aaron- the best husband and bestest best friend a woman could ever hope for. Thank you for all the hugs, kisses, head pats, shoulder rubs, shoulders to cry on, hands to high five, ears to listen~ everything. My love, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO, AND HAVE GIVEN ME. It is precious.

My parents- I am so blessed for being raised the way I was, and I want to raise my children the same way as a testament to that. Thank you so much for being there for me (and us), supporting our decision to start a business, and helping us make it a reality, thank you for everything!

My sisters- I love you. We are all completely different women, but I love that we can sit around a table at Denny's and laugh and have fun. I want to become closer and better friends with you in the future.

My cat, Rinoa- You have been a great sport and irreplaceable part of my life. Outside of my family and Aaron, you have been apart of my life the longest. I want to keep you forever.

Meredith from One Sheepish Girl- your creativity, humbleness, and sheer sweetness is infectious. Your blog has made more of an impact on me than any other. You are so talented and so nice~ I strive to be more like you. I am so happy we have been able to chat on Twitter and on Instagram!

Joy the Baker- your sense of humor is incredible and inspiring. I wish I had half of yours~ you are so clever and funny, and you make the most AMAZING food ever. When I tell Aaron about your blog posts, I can sometimes make it sound like I'm talking about a real life friend. xD

Illy from Much Love, Illy- You were the tipping point in my blogging adventures. Thanks to you I have reached out to other bloggers and become friends with them, and become more involved in the blogging-sphere. I feel happy and accomplished because of this.

Hannah from A Cup of Subtle Tea- We have laughed, giggled, joked, and cheered with each other so much over the last few weeks. Your new friendship is exciting and a true blessing. I look forward to doing more of all this in the future! String Cheese Super Heroes GO!

Anna from Owls and Lace- You are so sweet!! I love that we have an imaginary pet owl we share custody with. Martin and his blue bow tie couldn't have better owners. *^_^*

Sandy from the Nerdy Nook- You were one of the first blogs I started following on Google and every day I look forward to reading your blog posts. We share a passion for Japanese fashion (and the language in general I think?) so I am excited to have someone in my life who understands it's awesomeness!

To all the everyone else out there- thank you for sharing your creativity and kindness. I feel like I'm an sponge and I want to soak everything and everyone in all at once!

On a smaller side note I am thankful for my store, my wrists healing so I can knit and craft again, I'm thankful for Girls' Generation releasing their firs English single, and my new found love of Brussels sprouts. Actually there are many more things I am thankful for but Aaron and our friends are calling at me from the frontroom to join them in playing LittleBigPlanet, so that's all for now.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
<3

Turning a frown upside down

Let's say you wake up and have a fine morning getting ready and out the door. Then you go to the pharmacy for your once-every-three-months refill, and the gal at the counter who is a few years younger than you ignores you, then when you tell her you no longer have health insurance she looks at you like you "WTF? You know this is $95, right?". Then you get to the store and realize you left the keys to the register at home. It's just one of those mornings right?

Nope.

When I was walking from my car back to the store, with the proper keys in hand, I told myself I was not going to let these things determine the outcome of my day. Sure, I would have totally preferred to not be talked down to by the pharmacy gal. Sure, it would have been awesome to not have to drive home and back to the store. But the day was still young and I knew I could rise above the irritants and have a great day.

So you know what I did? I made funny faces in the camera to help get our my frustration.


(There may or may not have been "grrrr!" noises being made while these pictures were being taken.)

We all have moments (or days) where things aren't going great, they are stressful, or just plain blah. In the spirit of my day, I was thinking I would share my thoughts on how to make these things better. I am by no means an expert at life, but I am very confident in the ways that make, and keep, me happy.

1. Smile. At everything and everyone. Smiles are contagious. Someone just might smile back. That's a nice feeling right?

2. Have a mini dance party. Put on your favorite happy, upbeat music and get into the rhythm. Give yourself 10 minutes to have the best dance party ever. Getting your mind off whatever and into the music, as well as getting your body moving, will help the bad feelings turn into good.

3. SING! Whether it's in the car, your bedroom or the shower- belt it! Pick happy, upbeat songs that you feel good singing. Use your diaphragm. Use up all that negative energy to sing those happy words.

4. Do something really nice. Call up your sister who's away for college and tell her you miss her. Move the shopping cart that's dangerously close to that car to the cart rack. Compliment someone on their awesome winter shoes. Leave a comment on everyone's blog you you follow or blog hop to.

5. Go get yourself your favorite treat. The sort of treat that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Is it a box of Gobstoppers? A homemade peppermint mocha? A Starbucks Cake Pop? Go get it. Fend off the bad feelings with something that makes you feel GOOD.

These things may be small, cheesy, and/or silly, but it's the little things in life. They all add up. So take advantage of them and use them to make your day a positive one.

Cake Batter Eye Shadow ~ Makeup Monday v5

Sounds glorious doesn't it?! I could hardly believe it myself when I first saw it, but that's exactly what I thought of when I saw this shade. Mark by Avon seems to consistently release new eye shadow colors that get me excited.

It's real name is Sugar Sugar and was a limited edition shadow (which Mark does a lot >.>), and it's one I have been wearing almost every day since I got it.

Today was a plain and simple sort of make up day, but that's not to say it's boring. Nope.

One reason why this is not boring is because I used TWO blushes- one highlighter and one pink color- each in different places on my cheeks for a bright and cheery look.

Grab a shimmery white or cream color and apply to your cheek bones. Then with a super light pink, apply just on the apples of your cheeks.

This picture ended up a bit darker than I would have liked... the "cake batter" color is a light pink/tan mixture.

Put a cake batter color across your eyelids (just the eyelids, not straying into the crease too much). Then use a super dark gray or black to the outer half of your eyeline. Going from wide to narrow as you go inward. (like like that little drawing I attempted) Add eyeliner (if you want a more defined look) and mascara.

Yay for simple but pretty looks!

By the way, do I explain these tutorials well enough? Is my wording ok? Sometimes I feel like it's hard to write in words as opposed to SHOWING how it's done. Because if it would be easier to understand my blabbering (cuz sometimes it is blabbering xD) I could always do videos instead. They have happened before. I'm not ready to share that secret with everyone just yet though. Sometimes I can't fathom my raging dorkiness, hehe!

Hope everyone is enjoying the rest of their weekend! [waves]

P.S. Are any of my blogging friends on Google+? I do quite a bit of random posting of silliness on there and would love to connect with people on it.

New Pattern Alert ~ Sunbow

I came up with this design while I was watching Iron Man 2 with my husband. All four of these bows where made and in my hair by the end of the movie.

All four of them. At the same time.

My husband thought it was cute.



It is called Sunbow because I thought it totally brought a little sunshine to my outfit and day despite the untimely cloudy skies we are having right now (apparently we skipped fall here and went straight to winter).

You can find the pattern on the pattern page, and on Ravelry.

This is a great knitting project for knitters of all skill levels. It requires the most basic knitting knowledge: casting on, the knit stitch, and binding off. Brighten up your day with a Sunbow in you hair. If you make one post a link to it, I would love to see it!