So Wonderful It's Still Worth Talking About

It's always so wonderful on my birthday when the people who love me go out of their way to show me how much they appreciate my life and who I am. It's amazing. It's amazing to feel that type of love. This year, for my 27th birthday, my friends and family showed me such a remarkable time. My birthday was on a Friday and after what seemed like a party all day that involved Baklava and lemon cupcakes, my mom picked me up from my apartment and drove us down to the beach. We stayed in a tiny motel, ate fried chicken for dinner, and drank strawberry wine under the moonlight by the beach. We had made so many jokes about my "aging" because I had on long mom-shorts, so it was only fitting that our room had these two old rocking chairs out front.

The next day we drove to my Aunt & Uncles beach house and my uncle took us around to small islands only accessible by boat to look for shells. I've never had that type of experience before, but apparently there's a big party scene on these islands where people with boats just pull up, jump off, and anchor down for a while before moving to the next location. I felt like I was in a Kenny Chesney video.

That evening we went to a pool party at their community and I realized I was so sun burnt from digging in the sand for hours with my aunt. I didn't let that stop me from going down what seemed like a dangerously over-waxed, but totally fun, water slide repeatedly. The next morning, on Sunday, I got my uncle to wake up at 6am and take us back to one of the islands we had been at the day before so that my mom, aunt, and I could see what the tide brought in. This was the most beautiful part of this trip.

No one else was on the island. It was quiet except for the sound of the waves and birds. It felt like something you would read about in children's books- like we were searching the treasures the ocean brought during the night.

AND, as if this entire weekend could not end on a more beautiful note, we came upon a school of dolphins on our boat ride back.

This entire weekend was so beautiful. From start to finish. I feel so thankful to have special people in my life who do these special things for me.

Easy & Cute Bridal Bingo

Remember the news that Jamie's getting married?

Well last weekend was the wedding shower and I was responsible for party favors, makeups, and BINGO!

For party favors I made little baby travel tin candles:



Here's how I made the BINGO cards:

I cut Cardstock paper sheets in half using a paper trimmer


I created the templates in Microsoft Word. It was really simple. I used the couple's online wedding registry to decide what to put in the spaces. I tried my best to not make any 2 cards the same, and I made sure that there were at least a couple of winning cards in there (using items that said "purchased" on the registry).


I had 2 templates on a sheet, and then I cut those in half. Making the BINGO templates was probably the most time consuming part of creating the cards. I'm not sure if there is a free program online where you can put in your word list and have it produce a bunch of different templates for you.

I just trimmed the paper and used a glue stick to stick it to the Cardstock paper. The Cardstock makes it comfortable to hold the card so the person playing isn't having to fight with a flimsy sheet of paper. A decorative stamp seals the deal.


I stuck a slip of star stickers on the side of the card with a paperclip, so the player could just use the sticker to cover the space instead of having to find/deal with a pen/pencil. Also, since this was at someone's house I totally ruled out the fear of getting ink on any furniture or carpet (kids were playing too). Using stickers was THE SMARTEST.


The guests at the shower seemed to really enjoy the BINGO. They played while the couple opened their gifts, so if they opened "bath towels," then that meant the player could cover the space that read "bath towels." I think this is a great shower game because it makes the gift opening process interactive for everyone and takes some repeated attention off the gift opener- it can get a little awkward just opening gifts and having people stare at you. Even the men seemed to enjoy this!

And finally, what's BINGO without some prizes? I brought chocolate and jellybeans.

The Scrap Exchange fun

I love The Scrap Exchange in Durham. It's a giant reuse center. It's warehouse-giant! It's decently organized with paper sections, wood sections, fabric sections, a Science section...

I only go if I know that I can dedicate some time because there's so much going on and it's easy to get distracted. It's a craft supply treasure hunt.

During my most recent visit I got a pack of fabric samples with 6 colors, some thick board, about 20 brand new white folders (for organizing papers), some recycled jelly jars (for candles), a pouch intended for organizing knitting tools, and some plastic bands. This was all less than $9.

I'm using this knitting tool pouch-thing for makeup brushes..

I covered the boards with the fabric to make some wall art. Super easy. Super cute. Super recycled.

I ironed the fabric,

Laid the fabric down and placed the board on top,

I used hot glue for this. I put a small, single dot of glue to secure the board to the fabric. And then folded the excess like a Christmas present.

I would have liked to align the designs but these were sample pieces so I only had a small amount to work with.


This cheap wall art turned out pretty cute!

2012 horoscope- I'll take it!

My horoscope for 2012 sounds like Eminem's "Loose Yourself."

You've got it going on this year, Leo, as Jupiter continues to reign over your career sector. If you had one shot and opportunity to seize everything you've ever wanted, would you not pounce on it? Well, now is your time! It's all about expanding your perception of what's possible in 2012. You were born for superstar status, and you know it. So what are you waiting for?

My vision for 2012 is pretty exciting.

So, this Superstar had a super-fun, super-productive day off from work in observance of New Year's.

I got my food-life in order today. I will accidentally eat some bullshit if I'm not prepared with lots of healthy snacks, and preparing healthy snacks can be really time consuming but it's worth it!



I broke out the ole glass beads and made some necklace/earrings for therapeutic purposes. Crafting is therapeutic.



I took extra-long to do my makeup for my cousin's birthday dinner.


My newest mascara is Buxom. I love this wand so much I could tell strangers about it. One coat=natural-looking. Two coats=huge, amazing, fake-looking lashes.

Green Tea Cupcakes are so cute and delicious!

I used this recipe and just cut it in half, which made 12 cupcakes. I didn't cut the icing part in half because I read some of the reviews that said they should have increased the icing amount.


The recipe told me to sift a couple times. Sift = put everything in a ziploc bag and shake. Works just as well I bet.


It was an awful green color but I gave it a taste test and I could tell immediately that these were going to be awesome!


The icing is so delicious. Tastes just like green tea, and not too sweet.

Christmastime Busytime

This was the busiest, craftiest Christmas. I attended, or hosted, 9 different Christmas events/gatherings. Lemon cookies for my aunt & uncle, dinner with my step-sister, my niece’s Holiday program & party at school, a Christmas parade, a visit with my Dad’s family, apple pie with friend Wendy, Doritos & koolaid with Jamie, Christmas Eve at my mom’s house, and Christmas day at my Grandmother’s. There was a work event too but that was during the day and I just bought salsa from the grocery store so it wasn’t a lot of work. This all happened within a week and a half. In addition to making candles, I made delicious food items like crab dip, and lasagna, for some of these gatherings. So that’s where I’ve been.

I wore some Christmastime cat eyeliner. My friends/family have to love me no matter what so if I happen to wear uneven cat eyeliner while I am perfecting my ability to apply it, they can’t judge me. Also, I can’t wear cat eyeliner at work. So Christmastime is the perfect time for cat eyeliner, right?


I'm wearing e.l.f. Studio Cream Eyeliner in Black that I applied with a slanted brush here. It's $3 at Target and pretty good to be so cheap! I just got Stila waterproof liquid eyeliner.

The parade I went to was in Bahama, which is a small town in Durham County. It was a cute parade and easily accessible- it was scheduled to start at 10 and we arrived at 10, parked, and found a spot all before it started. No traffic difficulties at all. Here are some highlights in pictures:









Christmastime also brought owl stuffs. A necklace, a statue-thing, and this cute ornament.


My homemade soy wax candles were a hit! Everyone loved them. I made lemon pound cake, pumpkin pie, red velvet with cream cheese frosting, chocolate walnut espresso, and fruit medley candles.


Ebi didn’t miss out on any excitement, either. He loved his milkbones and toys.

Glittery Sushi Ornaments are Back!

I changed them up a little bit from last year and I'm really comfortable with what I've created. I added a new one, the Temaki Roll, and took away one of the Maki (round) rolls because they just weren't that exciting. They're all sparkly and fun!


Ebi says "Ruff ruff. They're really cute. Now take me out."

This Tarheel went to a Duke game!

There’s a really funny/lucky aspect of my life in which I come into event tickets last minute. I usually drop everything and go because, duh, it’s free fun!

Last night I went to a Duke basketball game. I’ve been to Cameron Indoor Stadium before, but this was the first time I’ve been there with the Cameron Crazies!


(You can click on these bad iPhone pics to see a bigger image.)

Of course I’m a dedicated Tarheel so it was pretty convenient that our seats were right above what appeared to be the Davidson moms. In the second half Duke came back and completely dominated and dunked all over Davidson.

After the game there was a special encore presentation honoring Coach K on his accomplishment of becoming Div. 1 Coach with the most wins. The President of Duke, the President of the ACC, and the Duke Athletic Director were all there and spoke. Tom Butters, the man who hired Coach K, was also there. They revealed a new banner in the stadium.


During his acceptance speech of an honorary first game ball and the 903’d game ball, K said something that led me to ask “Did he just call himself a magician?” He pointed around the stadium to all the retired jerseys and banners and said something like “magic has happened.”

K was very appreciative of Tom Butters and spoke mostly to him. He said that they (Duke basketball) were once 38-47 and that is why they have won 903 games. That it takes being down to drive you up. He said that it is important to surround yourself with people that understand where you are going, and that Butters believed in him more than he believed in himself. He said that if you are fortunate enough to have someone believe in you like that in your life, then it is very “neat”.

He also said that he owes everything to his wife and 3 daughters and that they are “the starting five.” It was pretty special to be able to attend the game and ceremony at Cameron. I’m not even talkin’ junk.