Photo Gift for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day. Love it or hate it?  I'm not a big fan.  Hubs and I don't go all out for it.  We make a meal together, or splurge on dessert, see a movie or stay in and cuddle. But sometimes all the hype and hearing about other's grand plans makes me feel like we're doing something wrong?

This year I'm spicing it up a bit and going to give him a little gift.  I've told him not to peek at my blog from here until V-day, so let's hope he listens to me so doesn't spoil his little gift.  This gift cost under $25 and took a little time to create - so nothing exuberant by any means.  I wanted to give something a little personal, that we could utilize in our home.  Still doing lots of home projects & decorating, we need wall art and I love photos, so I knew the path I wanted to take...

My friend, Lulu took a picture of us holding hands for one of her Valentine's-themed post (lots of fun photo ideas at her blog - A Candid Life), so with her permission, I used her photo in Photoshop to create something a little more artsy.

The Original Photo:

Post-Photoshop Fun:

Edited, Cropped, Sized to 8x10 and Personalized:

Next I'll frame it, wrap it and it's good to go!  What little gift things do you do?

Christmas Gifts Galore, Part 3: Bust of Move

Christmas time is always a good time to get anything that will help you get up and move.  I got two fun(ny) things that get me sweating!

Just Dance 2

My hub's parents got me this for Xmas.  And it is so fun! The first time I popped it into the Wii to just try it out, I was thinking I'd do a couple of songs, because it was way past my bedtime.  However, 45 minutes later, I was still dancing.  It's a great workout and pretty funny.  And you can do dance battles... my hubs and I battling:

He won...so I've been practicing ever since!  It was pretty funny.

And speaking of funny!  I picked this little thing up during a family white elephant gift exchange:

Shake Weight

I've always been curious about this thing.  The info commercials look funny, as the motion can be taken a little vulgar.  The shake weight dumbbell came with a DVD and a 6 minute workout.  I did it and the next day I was a little sore!  So if 6 minutes/day get my arms a little more into shape, I consider this a success!

Did any of you get anything to get you moving that you love/recommend?

New Years Day: Fitness Challenge Day 1

Hey all! I hope you had a great NYE celebrating with family, friends, or doing whatever felt great.  I took it easy this year, so woke up this morning feeling great.  Just a reminder: Today is the first day of the Fitness Challenge: 100 miles in 1 month!

You can do your 100 miles anyway you want, so you don't technically have to start today. And my only rule is that you keep us all posted (and therefore yourself in check) each Sunday (at least) on your progress.  You can do that by posting on your own blog or commenting on my Sunday post on when you ran/walked, how many miles you've done, etc.  Tomorrow will be the first official post on the first two days of progress. 

But I'll give you a sneak peak on my progress today.  I woke up this morning, like I said, feeling fine.  So wanted to get some mileage under my belt.  I walk, jogged, ran (including warm up and cool down walking) on the treadmill at my gym 5 miles.

5 miles down, 95 miles to go...

I know Peggy got in a walk this morning, too! There is still time to join in on the fun if you aren't participating already.  It's open to anyone - blog or no blog, reader or non-reader.  Feel free to forward on to anyone you think might be interested.  Just comment here and let me know if you are participating.  Make sure to read all the details here.

And if you just want to follow along - Here is the full list of participants:

Breanna

Jordyn

Peggy

Diana

Kitty

Lulu

Pheralyn Dove aka "Lady Dove"

Sarah
Laurel V.
Tai
Courtney
Angela H.
Dena
Maggie K.
Christina 
Tiff
Marty
Gigi
Amy
Cathy W.
Nicole
mack

Now I'm going to lay around the rest of the day!  Happy New Year to you all!!

My NYE Outfit - Casual with a hint of bling

Since I'm doing the more low key things this year, I'm actually not planning to wear a dress! I can't believe it!  Here's what I plan to wear...

Loft sequin top with a velvet black blazer, my Gap skinny jeans and black booties.

Tonight the weather is suppose to get pretty bad (even though yesterday was 68 degrees), so who knows, I might be in snow boots! :)  We'll see.  I hope you all have a great and safe evening. Talk to you in 2011.

DIY 2011 (with tinsel)

Happy new year everyone!! This year I'm taking it pretty easy.  Hubs and I are going to a nice dinner with good friends and then spending the rest of the night chilling at our home with more friends.  Playing wii, watching movies, having a few cocktails and just being around good people.

If you have some time today, and are, too, having people over to your home and need a quick little banner... I made this in about 15 minutes:

I found this idea via Miss Martha Stewart - of course!  She has the numbers in a template you can print out, but I just free handed it.  Here's how I did it:

Started with a cardboard box (from Christmas gift) and cut along the creases and got 4 equal size pieces to free hand the numbers in block letter form onto:

Then I cut out the numbers (if using cardboard, sharp scissors help!), get some tinsel garland (I got mine from Target on sale for $1.50, or you can piece together whatever is left from Xmas) and a stapler:

I used about 1/2 of the 25-ft package of this gold Garland to make my 2011 sign.  I just stabled the garland to the cardboard.  Then I stapled twine to the back of each number to hang from my fireplace.  Next year I'll just need to replace one number and can reuse this for years!

So tomorrow is 2011.  What are your plans tonight to celebrate the year change?  What about tomorrow - anything special?  I'm starting my January 100 mile goal tomorrow.  Going to hit the gym and aim for 4-5 miles on the treadmill (walk/jog).  You can still join the 100 miles in 1 month fitness challenge for some fun motivation along with all these other great people!

Happy New Year to you ALL! xoxox, MeggyD

Christmas Gifts Galore, Part 2: Glitz and Bling

Jewelry!  The best thing to give and get - never  can have too much, doesn't take up much room and always fun to open up something sparkly or shinny.

I got TWO watches this year!  Both very different, and much needed.  It's been years since I've worn a watch and I felt it was time.  So I got a fun, glamorous one from my hubby...

This has been on my wish list since finding it November and posting about it here. That hubs is a smart one...always consult the blog. :) It's from Nine West and I love it even more in person.

Then my parents also gave me a watch!  Something else I've been wanting.  A more casual, fun, white watch that is a bit more "mens-inspired".  I love it.  It is similar to this one by Adidas:

And then I got some ear bling - you might have seen these from my "Dear Santa..." post.  These pretty things, from the hubs' parents, can be dressed up or down! I have already been wearing them non-stop. :)

I got my sister a simple, yet glitzy bracelet (one I owned myself and loved - why not give others what you love yourself?).  It is similar to this one, yet ours is navy with silver metal.  I love wearing mine layered with other bracelets or with one of my new watches!

Banana Republic and currently for a steal! Love the hanging delicate chains at the clasp.  It's fun. :)

Did you get any fun bling and glitz this season??

Christmas Gifts Galore, Part 1: For My Kitchen

I was lucky to have such a great holiday full of giving and getting!  It's always so fun to exchange gifts with loved ones.  I love giving just as much as I love getting (both are pretty sweet)!  So I will share some of the gifts I received and gave through out the next few days!

New, already beloved kitchen appliance...Keurig Mini Brewer and Keurig K-Cup Carousel Tower with a 60-pack variety coffee, tea, & hot coco pack of K-Cups!  I've already tested out several and love it!

My little coffee station. :)

I got these 4 sweet bowls from Anthropologie.  They are so cute and will be perfect for table settings and apple sauce (among lots of other things):

I got two blue and two chartreuse.  Not avail online...

I also got two really cool cookbooks.  I'm a sucker for cookbooks.  Not only are they pretty, but these particular ones contain some pretty great recipes I cannot wait to try!

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

The Cook's Book of Intense Flavors
This particular one is written by local restaurant owners and contains unique combination of foods to mix. You can read about their story, and if you are ever in Lawrence, KS - check out their restaurant, here.

Then on top of all these great gifts that will help me through the kitchen - the hubs got us a gift certificate to the Culinary Institute of Kansas City to take a cooking (and eat what you make) class.  I'm really excited about that, and to do it with him!

2011 just may make me a better cook! :)  We'll see.  Did you get any fun kitchen gadgets, tools or such from Santa?

DIY Wreath: Christmas or Not

I hope you all had a GREAT holiday!  I am still celebrating - but hope to be back to my normal blogging routine soon. :) I hope you all can continue to spend a little family time cozied up next to a fire or out doing something fun.  And if stuck inside, I have a DIY project you can make all year around!  A yarn wreath.

 It doesn't need to be Christmas to make this!  I made a couple that can be hung year around, or simply edit the yarn & felt colors to coordinate with any upcoming holidays.  I'm just LOVING my yarn wreaths, so thought I'd share what I made and how to make them for an easy, fun project.

To make something like this:

 or 

What you need:

Yarn - I used Jiffy sweater yarn (it's a little fuzzy)

Straw wreath (made a couple with various sizes) - keep plastic wrap on

Felt (for flowers to adorn the yarn wreath)

And a little muscle...

Get comfy and just wrap the yarn around and around and around the wreath.  You will use at least one package of yarn (for small - medium wreath sizes).  The fuzzier yarn helps to hide gaps - but use any kind you want. To start and finish, just wrap the yarn around and with the end, tie a knot.  The knot will blend in to the rest of the yard - but I put mine in the back.

Once the wreath is covered in yard, you can adorn anyway you want!  I chose with felt flowers. I added red ones in there to be a little festive, but mixed with white and gray and the green/teal yarn base can be hung year around!

I started with a cut square of felt and then trimmed the edges in a wave motion:

The bigger the square (or rectangle in my case), the bigger the flower.

Then I cut in a circular to make a long ribbon, leaving an "eye' or little round/oval part in the middle, like so:

Then you take the end (non-eye end) and start forming the center of the flower - just continue to roll the felt up! I found this tutorial and idea for the Yarn Wreath at Take Heart.

They seem a little Anthropologie to me!  Enjoy!

Maggie's New Year's Resolutions (Guest Post)

Hi all!  Today you are lucky to have Maggie here to guest write about her take on New Year's Resolutions and such.  You can find some of my same thoughts over at her blog today, as we're doing a little swap.  


Hi everyone! I’m Maggie from Things I Love. Meggy and I are blog swapping today,
so I’m here to chat with you about New Year’s resolutions. I’m so excited and
honored to be here, and glad she’s on my blog today chatting with my followers.

First I want to wish you all a (belated) Merry Christmas (or Happy Holdays)! I hope
you all had a fabulous 2010, and that 2011 will bring even better things for you and
yours. 2010 was a complete whirlwind for me –my man came home after a year long
deployment to Iraq, we got engaged, I graduated from college, got a big girl job, got
married and honeymooned in Hawaii. Kind of a lot, hey?

While 2010 was amazing (and crazy!) I’m really looking forward to 2011. I’m
looking forward to a few more home remodeling projects with my hubs, continuing
to further my career, running my first half marathon and some surprises – who
knows what’s going to happen!

So about those resolutions … to be honest, I have mixed feelings about them. Don’t
get me wrong - I am a big believer in goal setting, but I get a tad bit irritated with
the frenzy that happens this time of year. The gym is always super crowded, new fad
diets pop up (and generally they are terrible ideas!) and people are so gung ho about
making changes that they typically burn themselves out after a few weeks.

However, it’s also a great time to start fresh. You start out with a clean slate – it’s
a whole new year! My advice is to set small, achievable goals. Saying “I’m going to
go to the gym every day this year” is setting yourself up to fail. Instead say “I will
work out for at least 20 minutes 3-5 days each week”. And don’t beat yourself up if
you miss a week or two. These are goals, long term changes - sticking with it is what
matters!

So, are you wondering what my resolutions are this year? I chose several of the
larger goals on my 101 in 1001 list as my “resolutions” for the year. Read on!

1. Stick to a monthly budget for at least 6 months. This is a goal my husband
and I discussed quite a while ago. Our wedding threw our finances totally out
of whack. And to further confuse us, I got a new job about 4 weeks before our
wedding and my student loans entered repayment in December. Our finances
were as much a whirlwind as our year was! So we’re using www.mint.com to
track our spending starting January 1st.

2. Run a half marathon. I’ve slowly built my running repertoire, starting with
my first 5K in May of 2009. At this point, I’ve done lots of 5K’s, a 5 miler and a
10K – I’m ready to add a ½ marathon to the list- I’ve already signed up! I’ll be
chronicling that journey here. Feel free to follow along!

3. Lower my BMI by two points. I’m so close to dropping it one point already – I
just need to hang in there. In addition to exercise (which I’ll be getting plenty
of once I start my marathon training), I also like Weight Watchers online
quite a bit. I don’t work for them or get paid to endorse them, but they’re
based on real science, they support slow, achievable weight loss and the
online version is completely affordable.

4. I have one other resolution but (shhhh!) it’s a secret. It’s on my 101 in 1001
list, but I listed it as “Private”. You’ll have to stay tuned to my blog if you want
to know what it is! Gotta keep a little mystery alive!

Are you setting resolutions this year? If so, I’d love to hear what they are and see
if you have any advice for me! If you have your own blog, leave the link in the
comments section and I’ll pop over and say hi. Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll
come visit me on Things I Love. And I’ll conclude with a big THANK YOU to Meggy
for hosting me today! =)

Someone won a new pair of PJ pants...(& Gift Ideas)

Sorry this post came late - got a bit crazy today.  But neither here, nor there - we have a winner of my 2nd holiday giveaway!  The winner of these fun PJ pants...

...picked by Random.org...

#8! Congrats to Miss K from Love, Lipstick, and Pearls:

And if you remember, the mandatory entry was to tell me one thing YOU are hoping for this holiday season.  Here were some of your answers (in case you still need gift ideas):

New Balance Women's Toning Shoe & workout clothes - Getting new work out gear is a great way to kick off the new year with a fitness plan.  I get excited to use my new gear and in turn makes me excited to work out.  Looking for a manageable new year's resolution or good fitness challenge for the month of January?? Go here.

Michael Kors Women's Gold Watch - Watches are always good gifts, I want a gold watch too.

Women's Hunter Original Tall Welly Gloss Rubber Boot - These are some popular rain boots!

Name necklace, or initial necklace - always something personal and cute to wear (a la the Carrie necklace Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City wore).

Spa gift certificates!  Definitely a good gift.

Books, like Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

Wine accessories, like a Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator

Good ideas!! Thanks for the inspiration all!

Party Time, Part 2

For my second party - my work holiday party - a night dancing, drinking fun drinks and eating good food, I wore my sequin dress!  I love this dress - it is fun enough, and also modest enough (with tights) to wear to a work function.

I love the cap sleeves and mesh trim around the edges.  It's a bit short for my preference, but I paired with bright fuchsia tights.  I feel like I'm channeling Kate Spade a little bit:

Hubs and I all decked out

I also have to share with you my hair - I loved it!  I had just let it dry naturally - which is a mess of frizzy waves on top and tight tendrils on the bottom. So a co-worker of mine twisted it back to a side up-do of the sorts!  She just experimented and it loved the outcome:

My twisted hair

Party Time, Part 1

I've had a couple of holiday parties where I've gotten to get dressed up and have a little fun!  To one of these parties, I wore my sequin dress I previewed last week, but first, I'll share with you my 1st party dress:

Worn to my husband's work party, and then to a friend's holiday party after that (2 in one night!) - I scored this turquoise strapless dress at Nordstrom Rack in Chicago back in October.  And because it was my husbands work party, I kept it modest with a black jacket.

I love these jeweled Nine West heels and necklace for a little sparkle to this outfit (it is the Holidays after all):

Jacket - Target

Dress - Donna Morgan via Nordstrom Rack

Heels - Nine West via Marshalls

Necklace - Forever 21