Nailed It!

Over Thanksgiving break, my sisters wanted to show me this cool nail polish trick that they had tried a few weeks ago.  We gathered supplies and got started.
I think it was supposed to look like this.  It actually looked like this:

I kept trying different colors, to see if the newer or fuller nail polish bottles would work better.  My pinky looks the best, but it was still pretty rough.  I can't really imagine how someone could get it as perfect as the pictures on Pinterest show.   When we started the project, I thought it would be really cool to blog about.  After my total failure, I figured I might as well go ahead and share anyway.  Just keeping it real.

Nature Center

  

Last Sunday, after church, we went on an adventure at the Holliday Park Nature Center.  We had a blast wandering around, climbing trees and trying to figure out paths across muddy creeks.  I honestly don't know if I have ever climbed a tree before, but the one pictured above was just begging to be climbed.  It had branches at the perfect height, so I couldn't help myself.  This was definitely my kind of outdoor adventure - just a few hours, and then a quick return to electricity and running water!

Making Turkeys

One of our Thanksgiving traditions is making candy turkeys as decorations/dessert for the table.  My mom got this idea many years ago from someone, and we have been doing it ever since.  Here's what you need for each turkey:

1 Oreo or Peppermint Patty
1 Small Reese's peanut butter cup
3 candy corn pieces
1 chocolate chip
1 dollop of green frosting
1 pinch of pink frosting
1 pinch of melted chocolate chips
2 adorable nieces (optional)

First, we prepared the "glue" that holds all the pieces together: 

M mixing up the pink frosting

D mixing up the green frosting

melted chocolate chips

Then we start the assembly process.  It helps if you put the Reese's in the freezer for awhile before you start, as it makes the melted chocolate harden quicker.

You dip the tip of the candy corn into the chocolate, and then stick it on the back of the peanut butter cup.  These are the feathers. 

D is hard at work

finished product

The next step is attaching the turkey body to the base.  We use green frosting for this to look like grass. 

and then set the Reese's on top

Just a dollop of frosting...

The last step is putting on the face/wattle. We use a chocolate chip for the face, and pink frosting to look like a wattle

M is very focused

And here's the final turkey!  I mean, it's pretty accurate, right. 

Here's a whole flock of turkeys

For dinner, we put them in these cellophane bags and added orange ribbon for a little extra fanciness. 

These are the perfect little treat to have right after dinner, when you are too stuffed to even think about serving the real desserts.  Then a couple hours later, everyone is ready for pie! 

Trifecta Tuesday - Colorful Scarf

This is the only legitimate outfit I wore during the week in Indy.  This was my outfit for church.  I thought my nieces would like it, because it is kind of crazy, but D said it was a little boyish.  I don't know any boys who wear pencil skirts and polka dot cardigans, but maybe I am just out of the loop.  M was excited, because she was wearing polka dots, too.  I took advantage of my parents' backyard and took pictures in several different locations!

Scarf and Tee: Gap
Cardigan: Old Navy
Skirt: Target
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime

In honor of Trifecta Tuesday, here are 2 other ways I have worn this scarf:

Happy Late Thanksgiving!

 Happy Belated Thanksgiving!  I did not intend to neglect the blog all week, but John and I were out in Indy visiting the fam, and I was too busy to blog.  Some of my activities were:

"Helping" Dad carve the turkey

Climbing trees with D

Getting my hair done by E

If you follow me on Instagram, you have a sneak peak of some of the crazy stuff we did, which I will be posting about in the next few days.  It was such a fun week and I miss them already!

What did you all do for Thanksgiving?  I seriously need to catch up on my Google Reader!

Literary Link Up

This is mostly a fashion/style blog, but I am going to try branching out into other topics that interest me.  I've mentioned that I love to read, and even done a few book reviews.  I recently stumbled upon a blogger book club and promptly joined!  It's just a monthly link up, so I won't be abandoning my outfit posts, I promise!

This month's questions:

1) What book are you currently reading? Give us a little synopsis and your review.

•  I am currently finishing up "Fragile Things" by Neil Gaiman.  After being introduced to Gaiman last year, I have been reading all of his novels.  His books are definitely weird, but I have enjoyed them quite a bit.  Fragile Things is a collection of short stories.  So far, I am not enjoying it as much as his novels.  I think it takes me awhile to get used to the weirdness, so when each story is less than 10 pages, I'm just kind of confused.  If you want to read something by Gaiman, I'd recommend Neverwhere or Stardust first.        
• I'm just starting The Night Circus, too.  I don't know anything about this book, but it is the first selection of the book club.  I'm excited to read something that I might not have picked up otherwise.  I'm about 75 pages in, and so far, it is pretty interesting. 

2) What are your 3 favorite books of all time?

• This is such a hard question to answer.  I'm going to narrow it down to novels/fiction to make it a little easier, and I can't say these are my 3 definitive favorites, but they are 3 of my favorites, at least.   
• The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• I'm going to cheat on this one and say The Chronicles of Narnia, even though that is technically 7 books.  I read these all in a row and loved them, but I don't remember which book was my favorite. 

3) What is your "approach" upon entering a bookstore? Where do you immediately head after entering through the front door?

• I try to avoid bookstores, because I will just spend money.  I absolutely love to read, but I don't really need to own books.  They look good on the shelf, but they are a huge hassle to move, and I'm not much of a "re-reader."  I am a big fan of the library and try to check out books as much as possible.  I don't usually go to the library and wander around.  I use Goodreads to keep track of books I want to read, and then I use the library website to reserve the books I want, and just pick them up from the hold shelf when they are ready.  Sometimes, if the wait list is too long, I will break down and buy a book, but I usually try to borrow from a friend first.  I used to live in a suburb with a tiny library, so I couldn't always get the books I wanted.  Now that I live within city limits, I can pretty much find anything I want, if I'm willing to wait! 

Topknot, Come Down!

There is a story my mom tells about one of the first times she met my dad's parents.  She had her hair up in a bun, and my grandpa started quoting scripture at her.  Matthew 24:17 says "Topknot, come down!" Implying that women shouldn't do their hair in a topknot style. 

It was a joke.  The verse actually says "Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house" but my grandpa was making a little "out of context" Bible joke.  I don't think anyone knew he was joking.  He was sneaky with his humor like that.

I think about that story every time I put my hair up like this, so I figured I should share.

Sweater and Scarf: Gap
Skirt: Express
Boots: BareTraps via DSW
Jacket: Izod

300th Post and Blogiversary

I can't believe it has been one year since I started this little blog!  Time flies when you are having fun, I guess.    One of my favorite posts from the year was this "Repeat Offender" one, where I showed some of my most worn pieces.  One of the reasons I started blogging was to get out of my style rut.  I was wearing the same outfits on a rotation and was just getting pretty bored with it.  In the last year, I've really had fun trying new and different combinations!  Here are just a few of my frequently worn pieces:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1, 2, 3, 4

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Thank you all for reading along!

In the Morning

Morning pictures might not be the best idea for me.  Sleepy eyes + wet hair = questionable photos.  But this might be better than indoor pictures at the end of the day.  It's so hard to be a fashion blogger when you have a full time job! 

I just got this skirt from Target, for $10!  I'm not sure I would have tried it on, but I have seen Kyla wearing it recently in a few different colors (here and here) and thought it was cute on her, so I gave it a try and loved it!  It looks like a regular pencil skirt, but it is super stretchy, so it's super comfortable!   Winning!  Then I remembered that I just recently bought a blue pencil skirt, and wondered if I really needed another one.   Then I decided that they were different enough that it was okay.  So now you know what goes on in my mind when I am shopping.  I also kind of want this skirt in the "bluff green" color, but it isn't on sale online, and I don't really believe in spending $20 on a Target skirt.  I will have to keep my eye out on the sale racks when I go grocery shopping!

Sweater: Gap
Jacket: Younker's
Necklace: Charming Charlie (gift from my sister)
Skirt and socks: Target
Boots: Guess


 

Posing like a Model

You guys, I have had some serious writer's block this week.  Maybe I am just so excited for Thanksgiving that I can't focus on blogging.  Lucky for you, my nieces have been kind of hilarious this week, so I will just tell 2 stories.

The other night, I was on the phone with D, who is 8 years old.  Our conversation went something like this:

D: All we do at school is learn. It's so boring!
Me: I think it is fun to learn new things.
D: And THAT is why you aren't ready to have kids! 
Me: Well, maybe my kids will think school is fun. 
D (totally exasperated with my ignorance): What kid would think school is fun? I mean, your kids will be related to me, and I don't think school is fun, so they probably won't either!

She then lectured me about how school is torture and how if I ever have kids, I better not send them to school because school is just the worst.    

Then on Thursday, my sister instagrammed a picture of my youngest niece E, who is 4.  She kind of looked like she was getting ready for a boxing match.  The caption was "I asked her how she thought Aunt Andi should pose..."  Since I am always striving for "favorite aunt" status, this picture had to happen.  

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!!

Dress: Old Navy
Cardigan: Marisa Kristina
Necklace: gift (from the Bauble Swap)
Belt: Limited
Shoes: BCBGeneration

EDIT:  E has requested her picture on the blog.  I just do whatever she wants!

I think I should start a series inspired by her fashion!  She is mixing prints like a pro fashion blogger!

Keeping Cozy

One of my favorite ways to wear summery dresses in the winter is the whole "dress-as-a-skirt" trick.  Just throw a cozy sweater on top and you are good to go!

I don't have much else to say, but I am excited to link up with Bri Marie again for the Third Thursday Threads!  I really love linky parties, but sometimes it just feels like people link to a bunch of places and never visit the other blogs that linked up.  Isn't that the whole point - to find new blogs and support each other?  Anyway, I also like the linky parties that tell me what to wear, because then it is easier to dress myself for at least a day!

Dress: Ann Taylor
Sweater: Old Navy
Belt: Limited
Necklace: InPink
Tights: Express
Boots: BareTraps via DSW

Old Purse? Add Chevron!

As I was organizing photos, I realized that I never posted about this little purse refashion I did a few months ago.  This purse is really old.  I don't remember what year, but my sister and I went to Kansas City for a sister's shopping weekend.  I think I was in middle school at the time.  Anyway, I was a big fan of Steve Madden shoes (as evidenced here) and was not aware that he made anything else.  I think we were at the Halls department store when we found the Steve Madden purse section.  So exciting!  Over the years, I have kept this purse because it is perfect for occasions when I need a few things, but don't want a full purse (like concerts, or zoo trips).  I mean, it's just a tad outdated, but who is going to judge me at the zoo?

 A few months ago, I had some leftover fabric from this project, and decided the old Steve Madden purse could use a face-lift.  With very little plan, I got out my Mod Podge and went to work.  I wish I had thought it through a little more, but I just measured and cut the fabric and started gluing it to the front flap.  

Here's the final result: 

It's not perfect, but I think it looks pretty good.  A nice chevron print can distract me from minor flaws.  In hindsight, I should have seam-ripped the "Steve Madden" patch off before I started gluing!  Anyway, I think it will still be good for concerts and zoo trips!