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Jamba Bogo!

A friend sent me an email yesterday letting me know about Jamba Juice's current BoGo deal... it was so good, I checked it out to be sure it wasn't too good to be true...

From now through August 9, you can use Jamba Juice's online coupon to take advantage of their Buy One Get One Free deal! 

 

Woohoo! That's a good deal, peeps! 

Also - their website has a neat chalkboard doodle feature.

It's in the lower right-hand corner.

Chalk it out. (hehe)

 

Happy happy Fridaaaaay!

Feeding my ears

This week, I've been listening to...

 

 

 

 

 

I love music - it's the fastest transportation to islands of feelings the world may ever know.

Also, found a hidden musical treasure while watching So You Think You Can Dance last night (one of the many ways I find new fabulous music to add to my ever-growing library)... A song called All I Want by the Ahn Trio. I love the album title... Lullaby for my Favorite Insomniac

 

 

And that's what I've been feeding my ears + soul this week. If you haven't listened to any of these albums, treat yourself and check them out.

xxoo!

-h-

Tipsy Wednesday - Aha! Use for Coffee Filters

I love the section of RealSimple's mag that includes "aha! uses" for everyday items.

Today, I'm sharing a quick one of my own with you...

When cleaning mirrors, windows, glass items, and... well... pretty much anything else... use coffee filters instead of paper towels or cleaning rags.

Coffee filters are lint-free, which means they don't leave any annoying dusty bits behind! You can clean mirrors without trying to also chase down all those linty pieces paper towels leave in their wake.

Gotta love that!!

And they are the "right" size for almost any hand, so they're a perfect fit. (I usually double-up since the filters we have are a bit thinner than most.)

So the next time you're in your grocery store's coffee aisle... pick up some filters for your stash of cleaning supplies.

-

Happy Tuesday, flock!

-h-

 

Into hiding

Sorry I went "into hiding" for a few days - I was going to have a slammin' busy few weeks (working on an upcoming deadline), but suddenly my deadline went away. Just disappeared into oblivion! So I was enjoying the silence and indulged in selfish things for a few days...

Riley & I played in the backyard - he's loving his Kong frisbee and playing "let's chase the garden hose." He's adorable when he's dry + fluffy. But when he's wet he just looks like a sopping wet rat-of-sorts. Just not a great look for him! :) 

We also took a trip to a few of our favorite local Columbia restaurants. We go to Sumo for their tasty & affordable sushi... and our local "Mexican" restaurant is Eric's San Jose. (It's honestly not that great for a girl who's been spoiled with authentic Tex Mex from Houston for most of her life... but it works in a pinch and their Pina Coladas are to die for!)

 

 

I also watched a bunch of episodes of my current TV obsession - Dexter. That show is seriously excellent. Intelligent + crafty writing, acting that is so perfect you forget you're watching a show, and smart cinematography. I'm on Season Two - and can't wait to get completely caught up! Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter are now two of my favorite actors. (Did you know they eloped + got hitched on New Year's Eve? So cute!)

The show really makes me miss my days of studying forensic anthropology. I loved the detective-puzzle-solving side of that work!

Finally - we took a trip up to Lake Murray yesterday. Just wanted to drive around and see what we could find. We drove across the dam - which was really neat. (I would have taken a picture, but we were in the Jeep... with the doors off and the top down, so it was uber windy! Not good conditions to chance dropping a camera!) We grabbed a bite to eat and walked around the boat slip in the area. It was relaxing... and a nice way to round out the weekend.

Oh... and I did get a haircut on Saturday. The good news? I loved my stylist! I think I've finally found someone I can go to on a regular basis. Woohoo!

The bad news? I'm not crazy about the cut. But it'll grow out sooner or later... right?! :)

Happy Monday, everyone!

xxoo

What "do" to do

I'm getting my haircut this weekend, (I waited a while since my last cut in May because the girl threw in all sorts of super short layers and an uneven cut for free. How generous.) so I've begun the obsessive ritual that all girls perform before going to a new hairstylist - we hunt down pictures of celebrities that share our face shape and figure out what "do" to do.

So I've been obsessed with reading ridiculous articles online on face shapes and what kinds of styles look good with what type of hair... and everything I read is screaming "bangs bangs BANGS!"

I really wish I had the hootzpah to get bangs. But it just isn't in me.

(I actually asked my old hairstylist in Oklahoma to go for it last summer while my hunny was on a deployment in Iraq. I thought about getting the straight-across, I-don't-mess-around, heidi-klum-on-last-season-of-project-runway razor bangs...

I figured it was perfect timing - if I hated them and it was a horrible mistake, no one would really have to suffer looking at me (I was working from home at the time), and I could do it without Ryan having to lie about how 'it didn't look that bad'...

But my gal changed her mind last minute and said she liked what was "going on" and didn't want to ruin it. Part of me was relieved. The other part looks back and thinks I missed out on a potentially amazing look...)

But I feel myself chickening out this time too. And I'm halfway to sticking with a similar look to the one I've currently got...

Well, maybe I'll jazz it up liv-tyler-style... 

 

Hopefully this simple look won't be too difficult for my stylist.

Thoughts, thoughts?

mwah!

Sew in love with SewGracious

I was so pleased when my most recent Etsy purchase arrived today that I decided I just had to share it with you!

Pam Binkowski of Sew Gracious makes some great stuff... I purchased one of her pouches, deciding it was the perfect home for some of my business cards. And boy was I right!

 

 

 

 

These pouches are crafted with care, are multipurpose, and come in all sorts of smart prints. I can't help but feel I've found a craft-sister in Pam when I look through her shop!

So go and grab your favorite pouch up quick... before it's gone!

(pssst... she has a free shipping offer in her shop right now - go check it out!)

mwah!

-h-

 

Create your own font...

You may recall from my posting on the Helvetica documentary, I am a LOVAH of fonts!!

So, it was an awesome surprise when my sister sent me a link to the YourFonts website - this is SUCH a cool service!

You simply print out their templates, fill them in with letters of the alphabet, punctuation marks and characters... scan, upload, and VOILA! You have your very own handwriting font of your own!

I used a sharpie, my favorite writing utensil of choice, and the whole process only took about 15 minutes or so.

The font ended up looking a little messy - my actual handwriting is much more uniform and not as erratic. So I'll probably re-do it and be a bit more careful about centering my characters in each box. But they make it so easy, it won't take me long until I get it perfected. :)

 

Happy Monday to all!

xxoo!

Stinging Caterpillar

So here's the skinny on my last post:

I spent most of the day yesterday ripping up weeds, attempting to kill bamboo shoots coming up in our giant flower bed, and prepping the ground for long awaited mulch. (YAY!) I found a very strange looking caterpillar during that process - and didn't want to hurt the little guy. So I managed to get him onto a small elephant ear leaf, gently rolling him there with a twig. That's when I noticed juat how STRANGE he looked! He had a long black dagger-looking thing coming out of his rear-end!!

I ran to show Ryan, who was working away on a project in the garage. Then, I carefully placed the little creature on our protected front porch, where there were plants in close range -  and he was far away from my sharp garden rakes and pruning shears! I had barely touched his "dagger" with my pointer finger - I had my uber thick work gloves on - and hadn't thought anything of it. Later, I noticed the entire pad of that finger had gone completely numb! It was only later that I realized what had happened.

I can't quite believe that the toxins it exuded had managed to go THROUGH that leather glove! My fingerpad is still a bit tingly today - I'm assuming it will eventually go back to "normal."

After a bit of internet research, I wasn't able to identify the strange crawler. But I did found out there are caterpillars out there that are MUCH stranger than the one I found... and ones that can be deadly to humans - who knew?! 

Very strange. 

I did nab a few pics of the caterpillar with my camera on my phone - they aren't very clear because he was so darned small. But one was ok and at least shows you his strange shape. See my previous post to see that pic. :)

Signing off now to finish the rest of "J.K. Rowling - A Year In the Life" on my DVR. REALLY enjoying it so far!

xxoo!

What the... ???

A caterpillar attacked me today. It was a subtle attack... And I probably deserved it.

But come on!! I'm a lover of any and all things remotely related to nature!! To hurt me is... Well... It just ain't right! Right??!

Anyway, I'm now finishing the day with a still-tingly pointer finger. Will share the full story soon. Likely tomorrow. Sneak peek pic attached.

For now, it's off to bed after a long, productive (and painful) day of working in the garden.

xxoo

Tipsy Wednesday - Smart looking beds + uses for straight pins

(photo belongs to apartmenttherapy.com)

 

Three tips for the flock today... 

 

one...

My Mum called me the other day - very excited that she had finally figured out a clever way to keep a bedskirt perfectly in place. (For some of you, this may seem a strange reason for a call - but if you know me at all, you know I'm a seeker of tips... and I know part of this love was endowed upon me from my Mum... whether it was intended or not. At least someone in this world understands my quirky thirst for knowledge! :) )

 

So whether you're an all-star homekeeper and flip your mattress every six months religiously (and if you do, I tip my hat to you!) or whether you're like me and you seem to be engaged in a neverending game of tug-of-war with opposites sides of your bedskirt, this is, indeed, a great tip!

 

After you first put your bedskirt in place, go into your sewing supplies to steal some straight pins. (My Mum recommended the ones with colored heads since they can be more easily located later.)

 

Now, pin your bedskirt in place, by pushing a pin through the fabric and the box spring below. Place a pin every few feet or inches - until it is snug. Now it won't move when you place your mattress on top!

(Great idea, Mum!)

(Another option if you have a pretty bed frame is to use another fitted sheet on your box spring.)

two...

A tip for keeping a smart-looking bedroom is to use comforter clips on your duvet cover (available at Bed Bath & Beyond).

We found these last fall - and I LOVE how simple they are, how easy they are to use, and that they actually WORK! They keep a duvet snugly in place and prevents them from moving around inside a cover.

The bonus is they make covers for king or queen-sized duvets MUCH easier to put on. Here's how:

1. When you go to put your duvet cover on, turn it inside out, and lay it on top of your duvet.

2. Affix a clip to each corner, grabbing both the duvet corner and the cover corner in each clip.

3. Then, turn the cover inside out!

And finally...........

 

three...

For those of you who are big into scrapbooking projects, twopeasinabucket had some really cute ideas for how to incorporate straight pins with decorative heads into various scrapbook-y crafts. Check out more pictures on their website.

(this picture belongs to shannon tidwell and/or twopeasinabucket)

xxoo!

-h-