Happenstance

Over the last year, I have really started thinking a lot about positive body image, self-acceptance/love, and happiness. Not only are these ideas not tangible, but they can be so hard to talk about because their definitions widely vary depending on who you are talking to. However, I genuinely feel that I need to better understand not only what these ideas mean to me, but also how I am going to actually achieve them.  I wrote a long post earlier last year about why I decided to do a  boudoir shoot  and how it made me feel, and later followed-up with a post about my  pin-up party  experience, and recently I participated in an women's empowerment photo-shoot. All of these were very public and somewhat anxiety inducing ways for me to really force myself to see my body for what it really is, not what I perceive it to be. I can't say that I am a completely changed person or that I now look in the mirror and love what I see. However, I think I am making real stride...

Recently, a lot of very important little people have been having birthdays or showers. This really inspired me to make some stuffed animals/monsters for them! I have been struck with the urge to knit in the last few months, so my first few projects were along that vein. I generally prefer knitting to crocheting, I just find it easier and am more comfortable with it. However, when making animals or other complicated patterns, it can be hard to find a large selection of knit options. Luckily, I had on hand some simple knit animal patterns  and was able to set to work following them.  In general, the patterns were very straight forward and easy for me to follow (note: I chose very easy patterns). My only hitch-up is I still don't 100% understand how to correctly pick-up a stitch. I kind of just do it incorrectly and move on... Here are some of the projects I finished over the last few months: I really love how they turned out! The first three were about 6-7 inches long, but t...

As you can recall (I am sure) from my prior post ( Pin-Up Teaser ), I promised to talk more in-depth about the Pin-Up party photographed by Jena (of  McShane Photography ). However, first I need to talk about turning 30. A few of my friends hit the big 3-0 last year and they all had fabulous parties that exemplified who they were. Felisa had a huge bar crawl bash with a bunch of her friends, that was well organized, beautiful, and a lot of fun. Erin got a surprise 'Grumpy Cat' birthday party at a wine bar, where all of her friends and family were waiting to celebrate with her. It was perfect and very memorable. A few years back, Mark turned 30 and had an ALL NIGHT (I am talking 10pm-6am) laser tag party at Zap Zone with our nearest and dearest. Thus, I really wanted my birthday to be just as unique, memorable, and fun.  I really wracked my brain to figure out what I wanted my party to be like and how it would represent who I am and who I wanted to be. That is a tough orde...

This year I thought I would try my hand at baking Christmas gifts (again) and I decided to get my sister, Leah, to help me (as last time I sucked it up and she is a great baker). I started by scouring the Internet for easy and highly reviewed recipes (provided with additional tips below). After selecting a mere 6 and deciding to double each batch (I mean I was just sending cookies to several people, so I should send a lot!), I made a shopping list and headed out to buy it all. I had nothing on hand (did I mention I don't do much baking/cooking?), so I had to buy even the most basic materials. Still, I had budgeted for around $100 (I mean the whole point was that cookies were a great, easy, yummy, ship-able, inexpensive gift). I was obviously Looney Tunes when I came up with that budget, as I spent $200 and ended up using everything I bought. I am a firm believer that when you do something at home, you should do it as comfortably as possible. So a full day of baking defini...