Monday, December 31, 2012

Let's toss confetti!

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Just 12 hours left in 2012. It's been quite a year, both personally and professionally - I look forward to what 2013 will bring. Happy New Year!!


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Friday, December 28, 2012

Easy New Year's Nails!

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Want a quick way to add some sparkle to your New Year's Eve? All you need to create this look is a nail file, your favorite nail polish, a base/top coat, and some regular old glitter.

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Ready? Grab your nail file and shape up those nails. I like to keep mine short, especially for this look. I paint all of my nails expect for the ones that be will glittered first and let those get pretty dry. Have you seen the PAM (yep, the cooking spray) trick on Pinterest? It really does dry your nails instantly.

Now it's time for the fun stuff. Shake a good amount of glitter into a small cup - I like extra fine glitter. Give your nail a thick swipe of base coat and imediately dip your whole nail into the glitter. Let that layer set up a bit (2 minutes should do it) and repeat the process on that nail. When the second layer is still soft gently push the top & edges inward to make a clean line. Your nail file or orangewood stick work great. Finish your nail off with a few layers of top coat and repeat on the other hand. Now you're ready to ring in 2013!

Products I used:
OPI Lincoln Park After Dark
Essie Super Duper Top Coat
Recollections (Michael's) Extra Fine Glitter - Copper
Beauty Secrets Fine 240/400 Grit File

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

What I'm Loving...

What I'm Loving Wednesday!


Happy Wednesday and a belated Merry Christmas!


I'm loving that I was able to celebrate the holidays surrounded by family & friends. Of course there were so many delicious food dishes, including several new "pinterest" finds. We even had some light snow on Christmas Eve which gave everything a little dusting of Christmas Magic. :)

Our little family...we must have taken 30 pictures and this was the best we got!
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Giving the pup some holiday love.
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I'm loving my new Jenna Kator Petoskey handbag from Santa! I've been dreaming of this bag since I first saw the Jenna Kator collection last summer at Little Luxuries of Mackinac. (Ok, truth be told I've been dreaming of everything in the entire store!) Aside from being a beautiful handbag I love that the designer is from Michigan and all of her designs are named after places in the state. Of course, I also love that her name is Jenna! Another very cool thing about the Jenna Kator Collection - her bags are made of vegetarian "leather" meaning that they look, feel, and smell like real leather but no animals are harmed. Check out the entire collection at www.jennakator.com!

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Image from The Jenna Kator Collection


I'm also loving all the new Pinterest recipes I've sampled this Christmas!

My sister made Bloomin' Onion Bread for Christmas Eve...talk about yum!
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Although we have to rename them since my husband is NOT an Ohio State fan everyone loved the Buckeyes. So delish, I planned to take them to my in-laws for Christmas dinner but none survived. Beth's tip about using mini-muffin trays is genius!

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The first batch of 2-Ingredient Chili Cheese Dip was gone in under 5 minutes. Lesson learned, make a double batch. Quick, inexpensive and yummy...my kind of recipe!
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Finally, I'm loving my new little blog. I have big plans to grow it in 2013 and am having so much fun with every new (small) step!


I'm linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday.


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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas!


I grew up with colored lights on my tree. My hubby grew up with white. Each Christmas we debate over which is best. In past years we have used white lights with red mixed in but this year we went all white for the first time ever. I can't lie, I am really loving the white lights (just don't tell my husband).

It seems we are breaking tradition (starting new!) all over the place this year. I found these Mr. & Mrs. burlap stockings on Etsy. I pinned a tulle flower brooch on mine for a little added softness. You can find them at TheGoodnessCentric.



In our house one of the most treasured Christmas decorations is our Nativity. The figures were a "First Married Christmas" gift from my parents. My dad made the amazing creche. Every time I look at it I am in awe.



Incredible, right?



These twine wrapped cone trees (twine cones!) were Pinterest inspired. I picked up the cardboard cones for next to nothing on Black Friday. I wrapped each cone with twine hot gluing as I went. When I was finished they still needed a little something but I still wanted to keep them simple so I randomly dabbed Mod Podge and sprinkled a little clear glitter all over. Its perfect, they just give a little sparkle when the light hits!

Thank you to anyone who reads my very first blog post! :)

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