Half Up Braids

I'm loving the braid trend right now (along with everyone else on pinterest) so here is a simple way to pull your hair out of your face with some braids! It can be done on almost any length hair (if you can pull it half up without braids, you can probably pull it half up with braids!).

Refer to this post to see what's in my hair. 

Refer to this post to see how to curl your hair like mine is curled.

Refer to this post to see my makeup routine. 

**I'm wearing a new lip color by MAC called Bare Again.

**If you want to cover the bobby pins a little more, like I did, just grab a bit of hair near the pins and pin them so they cross over and hide the original pins.

(Like my new francesca's bag? $16.00 baby! On clearance and then marked down even further!)

{shirt: J.Crew outlet Fall 2011, vest: Banana Republic outlet Winter 2010, bag: Francesca's, Jewelry: Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry} 

Fresh Market Pizza

The other night while I was driving home from work, I texted called my husband to see if he was going to be home at a reasonable hour and if I should pick up a frozen pizza. He answered Yes and Yes.

I had to go to the Fresh Market anyway to get my coffee (have you had their whole bean French Vanilla coffee? I grind it right there in the store. It's delicious!) so I thought I could just grab a pizza there.

But then I thought to myself, "Does The Fresh Market carry pizza?" If you have been there, you may understand why I thought that. It's sort of like a smaller, less cult-following Whole Foods. They have a lot of natural and organic products, and probably the best produce around!

I found the pizza section, which was about 1/8 the size of a standard grocery store's pizza section, and grabbed this:

The box was cool, so I figured the pizza would be too.

It came out of the package like this:

So I grabbed some mozzarella and sprinkled it on top. I like cheese.

Here it is all baked and ready:

And it was a winner! The flavor was delicious! It may be my new favorite pepperoni pizza. I'm just going have to watch myself if I keep stopping in to The Fresh Market to pick up pizza and coffee. . .because it wouldn't take me long to walk through every aisle and fill my cart.

Happy Saturday! 

Twinkies

Sorry if you hate feet.

My sister and I came in from a nice dinner out over the summer, and plopped on the couch. My husband came home later and looked at us weird.

"What?" I asked.

"What are ya'll doin?"he said. (did you read that in a southern accent? You should. He's a southern boy)

"Nothing. What do you mean?"

"Your feet. Look at them."

We both looked down, and then turned to each other in shock. We were doing the exact same thing with our toes without even knowing it.

A while back, someone said, when meeting my sister for the first time, "Oh my gaaaawd, ya'll are twinkies!" 

We enjoyed a hearty laugh and have been referring to each other as twinkies ever since. 

Not twins, twinkies.

Navy

I'm moving full steam ahead with the new "I'm not going to save outfits" goal! I really hope you are too if that is something you are trying to do. It's been great to feel like I'm really getting a lot of wear out of these clothes that I've bought.

This dress is from Banana Republic Outlet Fall 2011--The great sweater is from J. Crew Outlet Fall 2010--The tights are H&M for about $5.00--The shoes are Nine west Outlet Summer 2011 for $25 (plus 10% off since they were the floor model and the one had a tiny scuff on it!)!

I like to shop at outlets. Can you tell?

Do you have many navy items? I've just recently introduced it into my wardrobe and I like it. It's sort of another neutral that can be paired with most other colors. 

Now go put something on that you have been "saving". You'll be happy you did. 

Type B

My husband and I live in a rental. And I treat it as such. I don't paint, I don't spend a ton of time decorating it, and I don't "settle in" as I would in a permanent residence. 

However, that is no excuse for letting my office/studio look like a disaster struck. But thats how it normally looks. What can I say, I am not a Type A personality. Neat and orderly are not words I would use to describe myself. 

When my husband surprised me by moving my stuff into our office, so we could leave our guest room with only 1 purpose (to be a guest room), I swore I would keep it in perfect order.

That lasted about 3 days. 

So if you came over unannounced, this is likely what the office would look like:

Inexcusable I know. 

And while in my dream world I would love to have an office/studio like these:

I will wait until we own our home before I put a ton of time and money into a studio space.

But for now, I've decided to whip things into shape in my current location. It was almost becoming embarrassing. 

Side Note: I bought nothing for this office makeover. I just did a walk through around my house and snatched things from other rooms. :) 

drum roll please. . . 

I added a few more vintage bottles and flowers to the bookcase. Also, that vintage window was $5 from an antique store in Wisconsin. 

I cleaned the desk area, so I would have room to type. Isn't that Key Hook awesome? Another great find. That came from an antique store in Illinois and was about $8. 

I had a canvas from around the same time I did this project and had that fabric leftover from another project, so I spent 5 minutes stretching it out and stapling it on. I like to call it Insta-Art. 

These two boards will be for online stuff. Blog notes, reminders, etc. And that card on top is from my husband. He slipped it under my keyboard and I found it one night. He's sweet. :)

These two cork boards are for Etsy related things. Reminders, jewelry that needs adjusting, etc. 

 I've got my box that I'll put Etsy orders in when they are ready, and a notepad for notes!

The only problem is that Gravy loves to hang out in the box. I think he might be trying to tell me something. 

And then Grits came in a kissed him goodbye.

But shortly after that I removed Gravy from the shipment box, gave him a good hug and told him he's not going anywhere. He began to scratch his way out of my arms and ran off. Cats don't understand hugs. 

Here is my Etsy stuff! Major check off the 12 by 2012 list!

Etsy packaging all ready for orders!

So there you have it. My new organized office. I'm going to shoot for 4 days of order in here. 4 days of no piles. No random notes thrown about. No collection of half full coffee cups.


We'll see how I do. I'm not confident. ;)

Birchbox Giveaway//closed

Yep, you read the title right. No need to rub your eyes and crane your neck forward at the screen. Birchbox is giving away a 6 MONTH SUBSCRIPTION to a The Small Things Blog reader! 

When the lovely ladies at Birchbox contacted me about offering this giveaway, I nearly fell out of my chair. Not only is it Birchbox, but it's a 6 month subscription (a $60 value!) 

I write a monthly blog post about my Birchbox's as soon as they arrive. You can read about those here, here, here, and here!

Let's go through a sample box, shall we? 

Each Birchbox comes with a little card explaining the products.

This box had a wide variety of lovely little samples!

We've got some protective blow dry mist on the left, some body lotion on the right, and bubble gum in the middle!

(this smells amazing)

Wrapped in a little individual package within the box were these goodies. Some nail polish remover to go (genius!), toothpaste and a NARS illuminator. 

If you have gotten a chance to check out my other Birchbox posts, you'll see that each box has different samples.

Here is how it works: When you sign up for a Birchbox subscription, you fill out a beauty profile. This will help the curators of the box pick the right products for you! So while I may receive a certain type of facial cream, you may get a different brand. It all depends on how you fill out your beauty profile. You can also update that whenever you need to!

If you fall in love with a sample that you have received in a Birchbox, go online and give a little review of it and you'll earn points to use toward full size items!

You can find any other information about Birchbox on their website. And be sure to check their FAQ page. It'll answer most questions you may have.

And now for the GIVEAWAY!!!

How To Enter The BIRCHBOX 6 Month Subscription Giveaway:

1. Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment below (with your email address) telling me what your favorite beauty product is. From chapstick to Diorshow mascara, anything goes!

2. For a second chance to win, Follow Birchbox on Twitter and leave a separate comment below (with your email address) telling me that you did.

3. For a third chance to win, "Like" Birchbox on Facebook and leave a separate comment (with your email address) below telling me that you did.

The giveaway will end 8:00a EST November 1, 2011. The winner will be chosen via Random.Org and notified via e-mail. Only valid for US residents. 

And the Winner is:

JYag said...

My favorite make-up is Urban Decay eyeshadow pallatte called Naked... It's AMAZING! All natural flawless colors. I also love Tarte's lipstick in Thursday, mmm perfect and I love philosophy's birthday cake lipgloss. Ok, I love make-up, I could keep going... 

Congrats Jessica!!

*The box photographed above is a sample. The items in your monthly subscription will vary.

**I suggest writing your e-mail address like this: Name(at)gmail(dot)com.

The Ponytail

There is a big difference between the "I'm going to the gym" ponytail, and The Ponytail. This tutorial will show you how to do The Ponytail. 

Refer to this post to see what's in my hair. 

Refer to this post to see how to curl your hair like mine is curled.

Refer to this post to see my makeup routine. 

**I'm wearing a new lip color by MAC called Bare Again.

All you will need is a tiny little jaw clip (you'll see it in the video), some bobby pins, a clear ponytail holder (I recommend Conair Polybands) and some hairspray. 

(Sweater: The Loft Outlet Fall 2011, Earrings: Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry)