playing catch up :: vol 3

Hi :)

This week (and last week) I've been trying to get caught up on my blog reading. Since I follow 100+ blogs, it can be easy to fall behind.

After not checking my Bloglovin' for about 3 weeks, I was REALLY behind. The most behind I've ever been with my blog reading...
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893 unread posts o_O
I got a headache just looking at that huge number lol

Anyway, I wanted to share a few things with you that I came across while bringing my 'unread posts' number down :)


This "Google autocomplete not working corremarshmallows" post shared by Kaelah - Super funny! The things people search...

Kaelah also shared this amazing artitst's work:

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...and also this beautiful woman:




Marinke (Wink) over at A Creative Being posted about a program called Cambodia Knits, which "is a social enterprise working with poor communities in and near the capital city of Phnom Penh. Their goal is to produce beautiful, high quality and unique hand-made products while providing fair and flexible employment opportunities." [Check out Wink's post here.]

Here is a video from their Kickstarter page that explains a little bit more.

If you want to stay updated or you want to help, you can 'Like' their Facebook page, 'Follow' on Twitter, go to their Kickstarter page, and their website.


This brooch from Mad Madam Mel is SO cute!!!



Sarah from Bring More Yarn shared this in her weekly round up. I love the illustration and the saying.



I still have a bunch more to catch up on, as well as working on my WIPs.

I'll be sharing with you soon :) Have a great weekend!!

I won a giveaway!! + review

Hi :)

So I recently started reading a new blog called Emma Deer, and I am just in love with that space.
Last month, Emily (the beauty behind the Emma Deer blog; also known as Em or Emma) had a giveaway on her blog for a $20 store credit to the Whale & Wasp Etsy shop, run by Amber of Whale & Wasp blog.

I entered almost everyday...

...and I won!!

(P.S. How cute is that GIF?!! I was just as excited to see it as I was to see the email in my inbox lol!!)

I was so shocked and happy because I always enter giveaways and I usually don't win so this was a very pleasant surprise :)

I've admired Amber's shop for a while, but never had the chance to purchase anything from her. After I found out that I had won the giveaway, I went straight to her Etsy and placed my order!


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I had a really hard time picking something from her shop... All of her pouches and hair bows were calling out to me! Ultimately what sold me on this beauty was the fact that I have been looking for a clutch type of purse for a while now, and the colors of the cute flower print with the bright teal zipper were just perfect!

I placed my order and it was shipped out within a couple of days. She lives in Canada and I live in the U.S. so I was expecting for there to be a bit of waiting before it came, but I was so surprised to see it in my mailbox 7 business days later!

I've been using it everyday since :)

I took some pictures the day I got it and wanted to share how beautiful it is with you guys!
(Sorry in advance for the not-so-good-looking pictures... I only have my phone camera to take pictures right now.)

 I love the inside fabric! And I love that she's added her own personal touch by adding the name of her shop sewn into the inside.

She even included a nice little note as well as her business card.

The clutch is perfect size for the essentials; right now I am using it to hold my keys, phone (not pictured because I am using it for the pictures), receipts and drivers license... maybe a candy or 2 lol

The wrist strap is so convenient because as a mom, I always have my hands full so this is a great feature. I have pretty wide wrists as well so I am happy that my hand fits through the strap, but that the strap is not so big that it will fall off my wrist if I wave my arm around.

It is also made very well. The fabrics are good quality and the zipper doesn't stick when you try to zip it open or closed. I can tell she took her time to make this and didn't rush through it just to make a sale.

Overall:

I am one happy girl!!! And I will definitely be a repeat customer!

Please go check out her shop! You will not be disappointed! :)

Thanks again to Emily for having the giveaway and thanks to Amber for hosting it and being so great to order from!


You can follow Amber here:
ETSY • BLOG • FACEBOOK • TWITTER • TUMBLR • INSTAGRAM

And you can follow Emily here:
POSHMARK • BLOG • FACEBOOK • TWITTER • TUMBLR • INSTAGRAM • PINTEREST • GOOGLE+

♥

'post'-poned

Hi :)

Firstly, I want to say to you, "HAPPY OCTOBER!"
I can't believe we are already into the beginning of a new month.
*sigh*

Secondly, I know today's post was supposed to be a Crochet 101 lesson, but I didn't get the pictures/video that I needed so it will be postponed until next Tuesday. Tomorrow's Crochet 101 will also be posted next Wednesday instead of tomorrow, as it is going to be part 2 of the lesson.

So, with that out of the way, I thought that for today's post, I would share this amazingly inspiring video by Marielle of Magical Day Dream.
(We need more people like her in the world!!)


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How great is she? :)


I also wanted to take this moment to remind anyone that is interested in the Fall KAL that I mentioned in this post, that today is the official starting date! If you are interested and have a Ravelry account, you should join the Instagram-Along-Ers group on Ravelry to stay up to date with all KAL news.
I went to Michael's yesterday and got all my supplies:

Can't wait to start!!!

See you tomorrow!

playing catch up :: vol II

Hi :)

I follow a lot of blogs (via Bloglovin') and I haven't had a chance to go on there lately to get caught up... I logged in today and it said I had 295 unread posts. O_O

So, it's time for another blog catch up sesh! Here are a few things/posts I loved:

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How great are these 2 videos that Kaelah from Little Chief Honeybee shared in her Things I Love Thursday post? She always finds such rad things!


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How exciting is it that Vickie Howell has come out with a self striping yarn? I mean look how great those color combos are! Her other lines [Sheep(ish) and Cotton(ish)] have gorgeous saturated colors and I can't wait to get my hands on this new yarn of hers!


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I love doilies! They are just so pretty to me :) Sandra of Cherry Heart recently posted all about her doily obsession with tons of beautiful pictures and links to all the patterns she used. I will definitely be making some of these for myself. She also has some great tutorials!


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How cute and ridiculous is this match up? *sigh* Des Hommes et des Chatons knows how to cheer a girl up that's for sure! lol





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Amanda of Little Lady Little City shared this super cute GIF in her Friday Fancies post and it pretty much sums up what I love about fall... PIE!!!


That's it for now. I'll share another catch up session with you guys again soon! If you haven't done it yet, check out the list of blogs I follow here, or click on the links I've included in this post!

See you tomorrow!

monday, funday

Hi :)

I hope you had a great weekend!

It's starting to get hot around here again :( BUT, I am getting things crossed off my mental 'to-do'
 list so I am a happy gal. {Pictures to come! I don't want to spoil surprises :p}

Since today's post won't really be a progress post, I thought I'd share a very easy, beginner type of crochet project for those of you that are itching to start making something (other than the granny square).


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How awesome are these headband/turban/ear warmers?

Stephanie, from All About Ami, has a lot of great free patterns, but I thought this was a great starting project for the newbies :)
Not only does she have a totally amazing name, her Tumblr is inspiring and her little one is so cute!

I also wanted to share that I am listed in her 'Crochet Blog Directory'!
How exciting is that?! There are tons of blogs listed so I suggest you go check them out! Get inspired! Crochet is a wonderful thing :)

See you back here tomorrow for our crochet lesson!

blog love :: okay, allison

Hi :)

I hope your week is going well.

Remember in this post I briefly mentioned my buddy, my pal, Allison? 

Well, I first came across her blog through Jennifer, who blogs over at Grits and Moxie, when she posted this feature sponsor post. I went to check out Allison's blog and it was love at first read. 

Allison is super funny (read this post and this post) and, through her writing, I could tell she was a 'tell it like it is' kind of girl. I like people like that. I left a couple of comments here and there on her blog before and once I started this blog I included the link in with a comment on one of her posts. I didn't think she would stop by, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to sneak it in.

She stopped by THAT DAY and emailed me THAT DAY.

I was so shocked/excited/surprised to see her name as a sender in my mailbox, I literally refreshed my browser page 3 times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. She said that she was grateful for my support of her blog and offered to advertise my blog button on her page to show her support. I felt like I was in a dream reading this.

I had wanted to make crochet and learning to crochet apart of this blog before I decided to make it official. After Allison posted her interest in learning to crochet, I told her that I was planning on doing a crochet 'how to' series and she thought it would be genius (and it is) for us to get together on the series. She will be learning to crochet through me! I'm so happy to be teaching someone to crochet, even if it is through a computer screen.

We talk through e mail and I follow her on every social media outlet I'm signed up for, and we've just bonded through all this correspondence. It feels great to have that support, especially from someone who I admire as a blogger and, now that I know her a little better, as a human being.

She has such a huge heart and is such a sweet, supportive person and I'm glad I left my blog link in a comment on her blog because I feel like this friendship is going to be a great lasting one :) I can't wait to meet her 'in real life' someday! haha

Stop by her blog today to learn a little more about me and see how she's doing with the Crochet 101 series.

See you tomorrow, friend!

a little cheering up

Hi :)

I hope your week is going well. Are you staying cool?

This heat is really bumming me out... So what do I do to feel better? Well, besides looking at pictures of yarn, (seriously, I could do that all day), I visit one of my many favorite Tumblr blogs: Des Hommes et des Chatons. It brings two of some of the cutest things together: kittens and gorgeous men! 

Here are a few of my favorite posts...

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Channing!

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You gotta love a kitty that likes to read.

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Kitty hoodie!

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Love me some Johnny! ;)

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That kitty just cracks me up!

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Because I love him too.

...and 1 more for good measure

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"HA HA HA!"

I hope that made your day a little better :)