Lacey in Love

F.E.B.R.U.A.R.Y.

2012-01-31T16:06:00.000-06:00

I know I say this basically every month, but uhm FEBRUARY? Where the heck did you come from? The other day it hit me that Christmas had come and gone in the blink of an eye and I feel like I didn't get to soak it in. Though, I suppose that happens every year. I always welcome February with open arms because January is such a blue month for me. I don't know... maybe it's the lack of holly jolly, the lack of money in bank accounts, the lack of customers filling my inbox? Whatever it is, January isn't my favorite month! February brings Valentine's Day & my favorite, Mardi Gras! Plenty of reasons to celebrate and have a good time!

I am also resolving to get myself on a better schedule in February. Work out more. Eat better. Wait... did I just make February my own personal January? Ha :)

Hope your February is fabulous!
xo

Avert your eyes Mom, I'm about to say shit

2012-01-27T16:07:00.003-06:00

Remember a few months ago when I got my swanky new header done? Did I ever tell you who did it?

Yes? No?

I'm not sure either.

It was done by I ROCK SO WHAT and recently she shared a printable that I MUST share with you!

How can you not love wood grain? Also, "shit" is my second favorite curse word. I find it feels even better when paired with the word "bull", but that's just me.

Download it, print it, frame it, love it.

HAPPY HAPPY FRIDAY, FOLKS!

Cover of a cover

2012-01-24T18:44:00.001-06:00

Some of you may have seen this viral video of this band Walk Off The Earth performing a cover of Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye. 5 folks,1 guitar... it's pretty wonderful, if you ask me!

Just when you think it can't get much cooler, these 2 kids pull the cute card and totally blow your brains.

Adorable, right?

The little girls dramatics in the beginning give me the giggles. Oh, kiddos :)

Favs & Flops

2012-01-16T00:26:00.001-06:00

Fav:

That wine color is perfecto on her skin!

With her body, she can do little wrong.

Reese in a red sweetheart. Love!

This picture doesn't do it justice. The back was lovely too!
Flop:

Again, this photo doesn't do it justice. I mean, how bad it was, of course. It looked like she had a 3rd droopy boob in the center. BAD.

I'm at a loss for words. Oh wait, I found one. WOOF.

Poison Ivy meets Britney Spears circa 2004.

Uhmmm... ya dropped a blue sock in your load of whites, Sarah.

Did you watch? Which were your favs and flops?

all photos via huffington post

Friday: As I see it

2012-01-13T17:37:00.001-06:00

Friday

4:00 pm

His PJ's

Her favorite(ratty old) hoodie

Coffee

Phone on silent

Brain on pause

Happy Friday, lovies!

What's that you ask?

2012-01-13T01:11:00.003-06:00

Agreed.

Read it and weep...

2012-01-11T12:25:00.001-06:00

or smile, or laugh, or feel absolutely nothing at all(what are you, the tin man?)... just read it.

Summer(the bloggy version of my big sister) talks about "in real life friends" vs online friends.

"Missy" got a "certain little something" she's been wanting!

Really love these sweet first look photos of Deanna Pappas and Stephen Stagliano over on Green Wedding Shoes

Katie writes yet another sweet post to her little one... and shares a few precious wedding photos from her Maui wedding 2 weeks ago!

Kenli(my bloggy version of a little sister) speaks from her heart... and she doesn't feel bad about it.

Today I am...

2012-01-09T13:44:00.003-06:00

wearing:

cooking:

sewing:

watching:

Let's go Tigers!

Brrr, Burn, Boo Boo Child

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Brrrrrr

It's cold. Like, way too cold for Louisiana kinda cold. 24 degrees? What is that all about? I'm wearing a hoody in bed as we speak. It's just like 8 mile in here. Except I'm not sure Eminem ever had the pleasure of watching Teen Mom like I'm doing right now.

This photo is NOT in black and white!! My sheets are black and white & winter Lacey just happens to match them perfectly. There's not enough bronzer in the world to handle all the white I've got.

Alright... maybe I'm not AS white as the picture makes me look... but pretty darn close.

Feel the burn

Much like the rest of the world, I have to whip my booty back into shape in the next few months. It feels so cliche to lose weight at the start of the new year, huh? It's not my resolution... I don't resolve to do anything for an entire year. I know myself better than that ;) It just has to be done. Normally I lose weight without trying during the winter, but that has not been the case this year. I've noticed my body reacting differently to my later 20's than my earlier 20's and I don't like it one bit. I don't know what it misunderstood about "Please be as good as you've been to me and don't make me work for it.", but it got confused somewhere along the lines and has been nothing but a screw up since 27 came knockin' on my door.

SO, I've decided I have to learn to like running.

via

Which means I have to learn to run without falling on the ground and having an asthma attack. All this to say I'm starting a Couch to 5k this week.

I'm doing this one because it has fun music. Wanna do it with me? No? Ah, I don't blame you.

Honey Boo Boo Child

Lastly, did anyone see the newest episode of Toddlers and Tiaras Wednesday night? Oh. My. Word.

This family may be the classiest yet!

This child could be the most annoying child on the planet. I couldn't find any clips of what I REALLY wanted to show you, but basically it's her Mom telling her to 'take out her fat belly' and squish it in her hands and such for the judges. Uhm, what? It was disgusting and weird and made for great tv... clearly.

That is all.

Have a happy Thursday, folks!

NYE- family style

2012-01-01T17:10:00.001-06:00

Our New Year's Eve was simple, but great! How was yours?

The Senior Prom of Holidays

2011-12-31T10:55:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year, folks!
Thank you for spending the last year(You've been here longer than a year? Bless your heart.) with me here at Lacey in Love. I hope to have more creative, loving, funny, life changing, everyday, wonderful, real moments to share in 2012.
Let's make it a pretty year, shall we?

I leave you with this loveliness:

Me? MR and I are spending the evening with my family! We're having a little shin-dig this year & I'm actually looking forward to "staying in" as opposed to going out and being let down with what the night brings. It seems like NYE gets so hyped up that it never meets expectations... it's like the Senior Prom of holidays. I hope you all have the perfect night... whatever your version of perfect is :)

Happy New Year!
xo

New Years Eve Manicure

2011-12-30T00:52:00.000-06:00

When you layer different size glitter from smallest to largest, it gives you this lovely foil-esque effect.
You don't get the true sparkly perfection in the video, so just take my word and go for it!
If you can't handle sparkles on every finger... just pick a few or even just one :)

Song: Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men

2011 Year In Bloggy Review

2011-12-29T11:27:00.000-06:00

January

Lacey Appreciation Day

February

Where I stand on Valentine's Day

March

I posted this without a title and it was weird... a Mardi Gras re-cap

April

All by Myself

May

A Bachelorette Weekend For "A"

June

Sunny Florida

July

GASP! I took a month long blogging break this month!

August

Call him Mr. Brad Paisley, Mmmkay?

September

Smoothie Packs

October

Been There, Done That

November

Dollar Store DIY: Studded Frame

December

Christmas Recap Video

Can't believe another year has come and gone! 2011 wasn't so bad... but I'm hoping 2012 will blow it out of the water!

Mama Kat's Writers Workshop

Christmas Re-cap Video

2011-12-27T17:00:00.001-06:00

Ours was lovely,

how was yours?

All aboard the 'Get Off Of Your Lazy Ass' train!

2011-12-27T03:34:00.000-06:00

Heyo! Christmas is over. Can you believe it? The week before Christmas I'm found spreading Christmas on everything, trying to soak it all in because it sneaks up on me faster and faster every year. Sneaky old Christmas! I have a sweet video recap of our Christmas, but until it cooperates and uploads, let's talk loot, shall we?

What did you get for Christmas? I got lots of great things! I must have been a good girl this year. That, or Santa's naughty detector is broken. Most of the things I received, I just wanted... ya know, like those boots or the resin antlers for my wall. Oh, or that subscription to Nylon. And I guess I don't really NEED a new purse, coffee mug or PJs... but I wanted it all, and boy am I glad I got it! I did get a few things that I definitely needed in my life though, such as new yoga pants, a yoga mat, some workout gear and an itunes gift card! That's right- it's time to get my booty in gear(and also into another...YES, a-freaking-nother bridesmaids dress). Tonight while looking for inspirational health/working out photos to plaster around my world, I came across an awesome website that will help me put that itunes gift card to work!

It's called jog.fm. You type in how long it takes you to run a mile(or how long you'd like it to take you), hit enter and then voila! You're given tons of songs that will keep you on pace to hit your goal. I'm not a huge runner, but I'd like to give it an honest shot at least twice a week on the days that I don't feel like hitting the yoga mat. Hopefully having some new songs to keep me on track will get me going!

So, what's on my playlist?

Work it girl by Lacey on Grooveshark

Yes, some of it is cheese-tastic, but that's how I like my workouts. Full of cheese.

& If I had it my way, maybe there would be crackers too. See why I need help getting on track? ;)

Hump Day Holiday Tuneage

2011-12-20T23:41:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays by Lacey on Grooveshark

Here are some holiday tracks I've been shamefully & not-so-shamefully thumbs-upping on Pandora lately!

Maybe they'll get you through some baking, wrapping or crafting?

Or maybe just work? Womp, womp, wommmp!

[Yep... that's the Biebs you see on there. I can't help it, dammit! That song is so catchy!]

On the 8th day 'till Christmas my true love gave to me...

2011-12-17T14:35:00.001-06:00

Seared tuna, roasted corn and sundried tomato salsa & roasted po-ta-tooooooessss.

[that was me singin', folks]

MR and I are working to get into the holiday spirit! Now that I am done with work until Christmas, it's time for present wrapping, cookie baking, baby snuggling, celebrating, movie watching & loving.

Last night MR cooked me a beautiful and delicious dinner(seriously, I'm drooling remembering how good it was) while I took a blissful shower and then had a glass of wine and wrapped our presents.

[Our gifts this year are wrapped in simple shipping paper, names have been hand painted on & they're all topped off with handmade bows! These happen to be all of my girlfriends gifts :)]

The night was finished with a massage for MR(he'd cooked for me, afterall) and a viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I just LOVE that movie!

Hope your weekend is off to a festive start as well!

You should be on a christmas card

2011-12-13T07:04:00.000-06:00

Our Christmas cards are traveling to their final destinations now, so I figured now is an okay time to share the photos here! I'm so glad we started this tradition of having a photo taken for our Christmas card so that I know, if all else fails, we have at least one nice photo of the two of us every year.

[Plus a handful of adorably sweet candid shots... and maybe some super awkward/funny ones I didn't upload :)]

[Won't you get on my back for a piggy back ride?]

I'm feeling a little Jollier just from sharing! Did you send out holiday cards this year?

[all photos taken by my sister bear]

Nope, that's not an engagement ring, y'all! Am I the only gal who wears whatever ring I'd like to on my ring finger? I've always done this & have never been questioned about it until the last few years. I must be lookin' old, like I should have a ring on it or somethin' ;)

Sunday

2011-12-12T00:23:00.001-06:00

a nap

a bubble bath

a handful of jelly belly's

a dinner of ramen and icees in bed

dayquil, blow nose, nyquil, repeat

making the best of a sick day :)
hope you're all well & enjoying the holiday season!

MISO HUNGRY

2011-12-08T13:41:00.000-06:00

Last year, MR and i got it in our brains that we could make sushi & for our first try, OF COURSE, we invited friends over. What in the world were we thinking? Making our poor friends be our guinnea pigs?

Well, lucky for us, it turned out great! Whew, lucky friends!

We recently decided to give it another go(just the two of us) and this time we got fancy!

ingredients: crab salad[store bought], cucumbers, mango, green onion, shrimp, carrots, avacado, wasabi

ingredients not photoed: sushi rice, nori (dried seaweed sheets) & cream cheese

Our fish of choice was tuna and salmon. We bought ours already sliced like this from the sushi joint in our local market. We then sliced it down into either thinner slices for the tops of rolls or strips for inside of rolls.

We prepped our sushi mat by placing it inside of a ziplock to keep things clean, then layed down a sheet of nori and smushed our rice onto it. This was our first time making rolls with rice on the outside & it was a breeze! It was actually a smoother process than rice on the inside!

Once our rice was spread across the nori(hint: keep your fingers wet while spreading your rice around... makes it much easier!), we layered salmon, avacado, tuna and mango across the center. We then carefully flipped the nori(with rice, fish and all!), top side down on your mat.

Now fill your roll! Just one little area... if your cover the whole sheet, it's gonna turn into sushi lasagna.

Now roll! Keep it tight!

Voila! Look at all the pretty yummies! Now slice with a super sharp knife.

Boo ya! Who needs a sushi restaurant? Not us ;)

[srirasha hot sauce & sriracha mayo[the recipe: mix sriracha sauce and mayo together! ha] were used as dipping & drizzling sauces]

And now for a shameless plug:

I not only make sushi... I make sushi bibs!

Poor boy can't pronounce Po-Boy

2011-11-28T10:09:00.000-06:00

Who? MR & I

What? Oak Street Po-Boy Festival

When? November 13, 2011

Where? New Orleans, Louisiana

Why? Because Po-boys are delicious, that's why!

Just in case you're from some alternate(and very sad) universe where good food is most often enjoyed in your dreams: A po-boy is a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana. Don't call it a poor boy or I will laugh at you... I promise. It almost always consists of meat(often roast) or seafood(usually fried) served on baguette-like New Orleans French bread, known for its crisp crust and fluffy center.

Soft shell crab po-boy with sriracha mayo... I'm drooling just thinking about it!

MR and I split everything so we could try a few things... the way to go, for sure!

I never would have been able to choose just 1!

We tried an oyster rockefeller po-boy, a shrimp remoulade po-boy and a soft shell crab po-boy.

Hubigs Pies. A staple here in New Orleans! My favorite is cherry, but you can't always find those, so apple is a happy fall back.

Second lining down Oak Street

Blue Plate Mayonnaise was one of the sponsors at the fest and they had a "Blue Plate Pong" game set up. MR won a year's worth of mayo...

but opted for a tee instead!

The Grinch who stole Po-boy fest. Hehe ;) Seriously, that look was permanent... she wasn't just giving me the stink eye.

A perfectly delicious day with my love! I'm aready looking forward to going again next year!

Oak Street Po-Boy Festival

Lacey's Thanksgving Day Parade

2011-11-23T10:32:00.001-06:00

What a better way to celebrate some folks coming in and doing a little "tradesies" with the Indians oh so many years ago. Lovely lush land for smallpox infested blankets... totally even trade! Let's celebrate by stuffing our faces and watching football.... oooooh and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! I love it, don't you!? [MR does not, but he will be watching it and not complaining... isn't that right, MR?]

In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd do a pinterest parade of Thanksgiving recipes! Juuuust in case there are some kitchen snafus or your Great Aunt Bunny's recipe suddenly goes missing and you basically ruin Thanksgiving:

No fear, I'm here to help you totally redeem yourself!

Let the delicious parade begin :)

asparagus & ham crescents

Sweet potato casserole

Mini pumpkin pies

Pecan Pie

Happy Thanksgiving!

On a totally serious note, I am oh so thankful for mine & MR's family, for my friends, for all of you who have become friends & for all of you who quietly visit without ever saying a peep(though I wish you would peep, so I could respond :)). My heart is full because of you. I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving! xo

A modern day kinda old fashioned love letter

2011-11-18T02:12:00.000-06:00

Dear MR,
I roll over in bed to find your photo staring back at me. I smile and feel like the luckiest girl in the entire world. I wouldn't trade you for anything. I feel an inward giggle creep upon me when I think about what it took me to get to this place... (the place I belong) here, with you. Then out of nowhere I feel a tear making it's way down my cheek. I am truly happy. You make me feel every emotion, sometimes all at once. If I could package that feeling up and give it away as gifts, I would. It would be the greatest gift ever, much like you have been to me. I promise to try my best to show you every single day that I love you, that I'm so proud of the man you are, and that I will always be here for you... because, to me, you are everything. There are an awful lot of people searching for what we've found in one another. I'm so lucky to call you mine.

Yours,

Lacey

My Grandpa, the stranger

2011-11-16T11:19:00.000-06:00

You know those old photos you see in other people's homes of some dear loved one & you think, "What an awesome picture. I wish I had a great old photo like that." Well... this is mine.

This is my Grandpa Bubba. My Mom's Dad. A man I never knew but have always felt so genuinely tied to.

I once had a dream where I ran into him in his old barn that I often played in as a child. He looked down and smiled and said, "Well, hello there stranger." I always liked that dream. It has stuck with me and makes me smile.

He unfortunately passed when my Mom was only fourteen, but has lived on through stories and great photos such as this. I love the smile on his face, the grand horse, the rickety fence, the looming crowd, the pennent flags... it's all so simple and lovely. I think what I like the most about this photo is that he looks so much like my Mom when making that face.

And as a girl who looks like her Mama... maybe that makes the ties between us feel just a little tighter.

Linked with: 5 minutes for Mom Wordless Wednesday Angry Julie Monday Seven Clown Circus

Shine Project Winner!

2011-11-14T20:30:00.001-06:00

The winner of The Shine Project necklace is Michelle S., whose comment was oh so sweet!

"I would give this shine necklace to my daughter because she is the light of my life and I want her to "shine" in her own right."

Congratulations, Michelle!

A QUICK Giveaway!

2011-11-14T11:00:00.001-06:00

I am having a Quick Giveaway on my business facebook page! Enter to win a cute personalized holiday children's tee! All you have to do is share my page on your facebook wall or mention @Laceyinthesky in your facebook status! Giveaway ends at 8pm central!

The Shine project giveaway also ends tonight @ 10pm! Get your entries in!

Fiddle Faddle is for the birds! Easy Caramel Corn Recipe

2011-11-10T10:27:00.000-06:00

DIY Caramel Corn

Ingredients

2 bags microwave popcorn
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

Pop your popcorn and lay it out on baking sheets.

Combine corn syrup, brown sugar, salt and butter and bring to a boil.

Boil for 4 minutes, stirring contantly.

Remove from heat and quickly stir in baking soda and vanilla.

Pour over your popcorn and then stir it all around on your baking sheet to make sure it's coated.

Pop in the oven & let it bake for 1 hour.

You will need to remove it from the oven every 15 minutes and give it a good stir!

When it's done, pour it onto your counter on some waxed paper and separate it.

Once it's dry, store it in air tight containers or ziplocks.

Now, nom nom nom!

Or, ya know, portion it into bags or containers to give to friends and family.

The choice is yours :)

Dollar Store DIY: Studded Shadow Frame

2011-11-09T10:16:00.002-06:00

Dollar Store DIY: Studded Shadow Frame

Hey Y'all! Today I'm sharing a project I am just plum tickled over! I grabbed a few things in the dollar store without a clue of what I was going to do with them & when I went to work on them, this just kind of happened. Love those moments!

1- Grab these items from your local Dollar Tree.
(or similar items from wherever you please)

2- Take that boring blonde wood frame to a new level by liberally applying a coat of paint!
No need to be neat!

3- That paint you just applied? Rub it in with an old cloth for a stained effect.

4- Cover up that sweet little rainbow with a few coats of paint!
(If you don't have a steady hand to paint around the edges, just tape over the edges and go crazy.)

Looking better already, right?

5- Pin the thumbtacks into the wood around the entire frame.
I didn't line mine up perfectly because I'm okay with a little imperfection!

6- Grab a roll of tape to create a stripe pattern.
To get even stripes, lay your strip of tape down and secure it. Lay the second strip down and just press lightly at each end. Once your third strip is down and secured in place, move the second strip down under the third one and so on and so forth.

7- Once all of your tape is secure, get to painting your stripes!
I did two coats.

8- Pull all of your tape strips off & then touch up any boo-boos!

You can't belive how much better this thing is looking can you? Me either!
9- Now set it aside and go dig in your desk drawer for one of those handy dandy paper/binder clips.
Now, you could certainly leave it plain, but I wanted to jazz it up a little so I decided to paint and glitter it. I started off with craft paint but quickly figured out that spray paint was the way to go.

10- Give your clip a few sprays of paint, let it dry a bit and then paint the body of your clip with glue and sprinkle over with the glitter.

11- Once everything is dry, hot glue your fancy schmancy clip onto the newly striped back of your frame...

and you're done!

Now clip whatever your heart desires in there & find a perfect space on your wall to hang it! I went with a leaf to bring the outdoors in a little, but completely plan on changing it up as much as my heart desires!

Love notes, reminders, photos, a countdown... the possibilites are endless!

linked:
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/ http://www.alittletipsy.com/ http://sewmuchado.blogspot.com/
* http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/ http://www.sugaranddots.com/ http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/
http://tearosehome.blogspot.com/ *http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/ http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/
http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/ http://vanessascraftynest.blogspot.com/ http://www.familyeverafterblog.com/ * http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/ * http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/
* http://www.whipperberry.com/ http://www.kojodesigns.blogspot.com/ http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/ http://www.icantstopcrafting.blogspot.com/

The Shine Project Giveaway

2011-11-07T09:02:00.000-06:00

Hey there! I was recently contacted by the sweet & lovely Ashley of The Shine Project to do a giveaway for all of my wonderful followers! I love a good giveaway, don't you? Let's get right to it!

Ashley created The Shine Project to motivate others to go after their goals and spread their light to others. Money from each necklace sold goes into a scholarship fund to help inner city high school students go to college. You can read more about that HERE.

Each necklace is handmade, and you can add personalized charms to them that represent a significant date or initials.

Today's giveaway winner will receive a SHINE necklace

and ALL of you will receive 10% off of your total order!

Go HERE to see more shine necklaces and order information. In your email order, write InLove10 for your code.

Here's how to enter (Leave a comment for each!):

1. Comment below who you'd give a shine necklace to in your life

For extra entries:

2. Follow The Shine Project blog HERE

3. Like The Shine Project on FB HERE
4. Pin this giveaway on Pinterest! [Leave your pinterest account name or a link so I can find it!]

Ashley also owns a sweet vintage clothing shop call Vintage Shine... go visit :)

**The WINNER will be announced on Monday, November 14th! Please make sure you leave a contact email if you don't have a blog or your account is not linked to your email! Also, please be sure you're following this blog so that you will see when a winner is announced!**

Go on with your good self...

2011-11-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

Good morning, y'all!I wanted to pop in bright and early to spread the word about an event Nikki is holding over at her blog Everything Under the Moon!
Nikki says:"From November 13th - November 19th, I challenge all of blogdom to complete just ONE random act of kindness (or more if you like). Do one thing that you know will help someone other than yourself and blog about it. Then on Saturday, November 19th, we will have a weekend linky party and everyone can link up there Random Act of Kindness and we can all see the good that was done in the world for just that week. With all the pain and suffering we see everyday on a very regular basis, wouldn't it be beautiful to see a linky party filled with nothing but good?"
I will be linking up, will you?

Qs & As- Writers Workshop Style

2011-11-03T11:58:00.001-05:00

Create a FAQ page for yourself that answers frequently asked questions if people were to frequently ask you questions. People make those up all the time. YOUR TURN!

I like this question because I've often read blogs and thought "Who the heck asked them that?" Anytime I've answered questions[uhm, I'm not sure I've ever done that now that I think about it!], I straight up ask you to ask me questions! haha :) Well, except one time when I had a cold and rambled on about makeup & got two random questions about the kind of makeup I use. Doesn't count though, right?
Anyway! Here are the few questions I've gotten or randomly get!

Q: Do you dye your hair?
A: Not so much. I think anytime I've been asked about my hair it is during the summer when I post pictures and my hair has a reddish tint to it. That is usually thanks to the sun! I have "tinted" my hair(aka: the color washes out after 12 washes or something) in the thick of winter when my hair seems to be jet black & my skin is snow white. In that case I used some kind of Herbal Essences color mouse.

Q: This is more of a common misconception than a question! Comment: "You and your husband are so cute!"
A: Thank you so much! I just adore him... but he is not my husband. Don't worry... I don't HAVE a husband so I'm not jeepin' behind my hubs back or anything. MR is my boyfriend. His initials just happen to be M.R., so I call him "my Mr." I fully intend on making an honest man out of him someday though! ;)

Q: Where do you live?
A: Deeeeep in the South. I live about 20 minutes outside of New Orleans, LA in an over populated suburban area :)

Q: How do you get your post titles to be in that cute font?
A: What do I look like, a web genius? Ask my blog design/setup guru, Steph! [To be clear, Steph did not create that sorry excuse for a banner up there. That was all me and it's just temporary until i figure out what I want! She is much more skilled than that!] I did try to figure it out the whole title font thing myself before begging her to squeeze me into her schedule, but clearly that didn't go so well!

Uhm... that's it! Sheesh, you guys need to ask more questions! Bring them on! I will even video blog(you know I hate the word vlog) the answers for y'all! You know how talented(cough cough) a vlogger I am. BRING IT!

Nobody likes a NO REPLY blogger

2011-11-02T14:22:00.001-05:00

So, odds are if you don't know whether or not you're a "No Reply" blogger, YOU ARE. Don't worry... all of us had to be told to go fix this little situation at one point or another in our blogging lives. The majority of bloggers receive their blog comments via email so that responding to comments and questions is much easier. This way, all we have to do is click "Reply" and shoot them an email instead of going back to our blog, finding their comment, clicking into their blogger profile, clicking into their blog and either a)commenting on a post with a response that has nothing to do with said post or b)searching for a contact button.

Lately, I've been getting lots of new commenters who ask questions that I'd like to respond to via email, but when I click "reply" in my inbox to answer their question instead of there being an email address I can send the response to... it says "NoReply@blogger.com" WOMP WOMP WOMP! So, if you think this might be you, then let's get that pesky problem fixed!

Head over to your blogger dashboard & click into your User Profile. See your itsy bitsy profile picture & username with an arrow up at the top right of your screen? That's a quick way to get to your User Profile. Click the arrow and choose "Blogger profile". You will be taken to this screen...

Click "Edit Profile" & you will be taken to this screen...

Click "Show my email adress" in the Privacy section & enter your email address in the Identity section.

Then scrolllllllll down & CLICK SAVE!

Bing Bang Boom, you are no longer a "no reply" blogger! I bet you will start getting a lot more responses from comments you've left now!

Me Want Cookies- A wrap on Halloween

2011-11-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

Halloween is over and "The Holidays" are in full swing! Before I start talking about Turkey[when have I ever talked about Turkey here?], fall crafts or Christmas goodness, let's wrap up Halloween, shall we?

MR and I were Cookie Monster and Cookies for Halloween this year! I made my little fur Cookie Monster dress, headband and all of MR's felt cookies on his shirt. It was pretty simple, super cheap and the kiddos liked it!

Speaking of kiddos, how cute are these? We stopped by MR's sister's house first so we could see his nieces all dressed up! Pinkalicious and a bumble bee! You can't not love those faces!

Then we headed to my Sister in Law's Mother's where my nieces and nephews all trick or treat! After the trick or treating was done for the pink crayon, Captain America and pirate girl these cuties were all very interested in cozying up with MR and I on the swing. You would have thought WE were giving them candy!

Mine & MR's pumpkins ready to greet trick or treaters!

[If you can't tell what's going on with MR's pumpkin, it's a skeleton ripping the pumpkins head open and busting out! He wanted to use a lopsided pumpkin, but unfortunately we couldn't find any!]

How was your Halloween? What were you & your kiddos?

Halloween Wishes

2011-10-31T16:32:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween, from Mr + Lace :)

[my pumpkin isn't scary, but boy is it cute!?]

Been there... done that!

2011-10-27T13:17:00.001-05:00

22 things I have done:

22. Snuck into a sold out concert, was then invited to stand on the side of the stage so I could see better and then invited to hang out with the band after the concert... all sans wristband. [I didn't do the groupie on a bus thing, no worries!]

21. Been a bridesmaid... 7 times.

20. Fallen in love.

19. Had my heart broken. Bad. Over and over again.

18. Told the girl at the Starbucks drive through I love her. [I might have to go confess my love for another coffee shop employee today... it's going to be a long one!]

17. Met bloggy peeps.

Daphne, Me, Summer, Trish, Julie

16. Written "In case something happens to me" letters. I'm kind of morbid sometimes.

15. Seen every single episode of Gilmore Girls. Many times. Over an over. Never gets old to me!

14. Cried my eyeballs out and had an hour long conversation with my Aunt's head stone... 15 years after she passed away. My heart never stops missing her & wishing she were here.

13. Learned the difference between alone and lonely.

12. Sat in the sky deck at the Willis Tower(Sears Tower) & may as well have been lounging on my very own couch. There was not a tremblin' bone in my body.

11. Been stuck in the car in traffic with 3 other friends for 8 hours. [Oil spill on the interstate]

10. Texted an ex while on a date with someone else. Woof. I was terrible!

9. Lived without power for many weeks after Hurricane Katrina.

8. Taken swing dancing classes.

7. Dated a guy my Mom forbid me to see. [Word to your Mother: When you tell a teenage girl she can't do something, she will in fact do just the opposite of what you told her. Even if she knows you're right, she will see things through and let them end on her very own terms. Mine were the "Frankly, I'm too good for you" terms. Moms are always right, after all.]

6. Been mortified. In elementary school, a trouble maker who had a huge crush on me got up on stage at lunch and sang Achy Breaky Heart and then dedicated it to me. I can't even see Billy Ray Cyrus on television without feeling the way I did that day 18 years ago.

5. Had a loose tooth knocked out by my brother, who was annoyed with me and was pretending to punch me when I turned and actually caught his fist with my mouth. He didn't know it was loose and was so afraid I would tell our Mom that he had punched out my tooth that he catered to me the rest of the day! [I totally told her anyway.]

4. Lost it on a teacher. She totally deserved it.

3. Dropped out of a sorority b/c I was told by a "sister" that I had to back out on moving in with one of my best friends(who had switched colleges so we could live together) to move into the sorority house, b/c otherwise some non-sorority member could move in. I told that girl she could kiss my ass & that, out of the two of us, I was and would always be a better "sister" to my friend than she was to any of her sorority "sisters". Boo Yah. I won't go saying the name of the sorority but it sounds like "Hi You" ;)

2. Been changed forever by the lives of 3 little nuggets.

1. Found "the one".

A little linky loo action with Mama Kat

A balloon filled weekend

2011-10-25T10:40:00.001-05:00

The Great Mississippi River Hot Air Balloon Race

Chevron balloon

Balloon squishing!

He was supposed to look like he was eating it, but he kind of looks like he's sneezing it :)

It took about 10 pictures to get one with his eyes open. Seriously, he's like a toddler with the camera flash.

Tonic. Remember them?

Some SERIOUS booty shaking. We actually saw this same lady at the festival last year and she had some mega awesome dance moves. MR kept trying to dance with her but she showed zero interest.... so this year he sneak attacked her and left her with no choice.

Another fun weekend brought to you by Natchez, MS!

It was lovely, Natchez... see you again next year :)

Linked with Impulsive Addict

Halloween Goodies DIY

2011-10-21T17:32:00.001-05:00

This is my guest post that's up along with lots of other awesome posts over at The Letter 4 today!
Wanted to share it here too & encourage you to pop over there!

Looking for favors for your Halloween party? Just a little somethin' for your neighbors? Treats for your kiddos class? I've gotcha covered!

While trying to come up with what to make, I couldn't shake the thought of smores. Smores are so Halloweeny, right? I've seen lots of smore kits as favors, which i think is completely precious, but I like to send my guests away with something they can tear into in the car if they please. I've also seen(and made) smore pops, which is a marshmallow, first dipped in chocolate and then dipped in crushed graham crackers on a lollipop stick. Again, cute... but still, I wanted something a little more clever.

Insert the Stacker Mallow!

I came across these bad boys while trolling the aisles of the grocery for inspiration and they basically jumped off the shelf, slapped me in the face and then buckled themselves into the baby seat in my basket.

They are flat, rectangle marshmallows that are made to puff up to the perfect size and thickness when making oven/microwave smores.[Growing up in South Louisiana, the microwave smore is something I am very familiar with! It's usually too hot for a bonfire!]

After finding this super sweet invention, I hauled it to the checkout and made my way back home to my kitchen where I already had the rest of the supplies I needed!

Ingredients/supplies:

Stacker mallows, graham crackers, wooden skewers, chocolate chips(or microwavable dipping chocolate, which is what I ended up using after discovering it in the pantry mid-project!). You'll also need cellophane bags and wire ties or ribbon.

Now let's get going! This is so simple, so I'm not going to dumb it down with tons of pictures!

Crush your graham crackers! I crushed mine up in a plastic bag because I'm all for keeping things as neat as possible so there is less to clean at the end of the project! Once you're done, pour them onto a plate.

Melt your chocolate! (over a double boiler if you went with chips or chocolate melts & in the micro if you went the easy route like me!)

Now, dip your mallows into the chocolate on the top and all four sides. You don't need to bother with the bottom! I just used my fingers to do this part, but you could use a pair of tongs if need be. Take your mallow straight from the chocolate and lay it in your plate of graham cracker crumbs. I just laid mine flat and then pushed the crumbs up on the sides to cover the chocolate! Lay them out on a piece of wax paper and pop in the fridge when you're all done! Give them fifteen minutes or so to harden up while you print out some labels to cutesy them up. I've made these for you, but you could easily whip yourself up some if you wanted to personalize them!

[right click & save]

Once your labels are printed and cut out, pull your coated mallows out and make yourself some smore kabobs by layering a coated mallow/plain mallow/coated mallow.

See? Looks like a cute little smore on a roasting stick!

Now, bag 'em, tag 'em and set them out for your guests!

I mean, how cute is that?

Thanks to The Letter 4 for "having me over" for their party today! I had so much fun!

You can also find me on Twitter and Pinterest!

Linked!

http://www.skiptomylou.org/ http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/ http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/
http://orgjunkie.com/ http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/ http://www.thesoutherninstitute.com/

http://www.tipjunkie.com/ http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/ http://www.todayscreativeblog.net/

http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/   http://cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com/   http://vintagewannabee.blogspot.com/
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/   http://www.alittletipsy.com/   http://thetrendytreehouse.blogspot.com/
http://sewmuchado.blogspot.com/   http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/   http://www.sugaranddots.com/
http://www.jaqsstudio.com/    http://www.somewhatsimple.com/   http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/   http://tearosehome.blogspot.com http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/   http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/   http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/ http://www.houseofhepworths.com/

I get around...

2011-10-21T11:36:00.000-05:00

This is Lissa.Lissa is sweet.She's the kind of girl who never stops, but somehow finds time to email and say, "Hey, how are you?"and that makes me smile.I'm posting over at Lissa's today while she takes a little bloggy break!Pop over and say hi!
This is Janae, Jamie, Juliana & Jade.They are sisters.They are having one heck of a Halloween Party today!10 bloggers + the sisters of The Letter 4 will be posting a tutorial every hour for 13 hours!A 13 hour long party? These girls don't play!I am getting in on the party action around 2pm.(I don't know what time zone, so I'll just say my post will be published in the afternoon!)The party will wrap up with a link party, so link up your Halloween posts if you've got 'em!

What the blank?

2011-10-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

Nothing says fall like pumpkin spice sprinkled on just about anything. I could bathe in it and I'd be a happy woman!

My favorite autumnal tradition is going to Hot Air Balloon Races/Festival in Natchez. It's been just perfect fall weather the last two years & it feels like our first real taste of Fall.

My favorite fall treat is Pumpkin Spice Lattes for sure!

Fall makes me think of pure happiness because summer is just so stinkin' hot here that once even an inkling of cooler weather makes it this way, everyone is automatically in a ridiculously great mood.

Autumn free form association, go! falling leaves, turkey and dressing, pumpkin carving, candy corn, pine cones, scary movies.

My go to outfit in the fall is jeans, a top, cardigan and boots.

My favorite fall Holiday(Halloween or Thanksgiving?) This is difficult, but I think I have to go with Thanksgiving because it's like a kick off to Christmas. Plus, I just plain love Thanksgiving dinner :)

linked: the little things we do

Be There or Be Square

2011-10-19T13:51:00.002-05:00

The Letter 4 is having a Halloween party this Friday and your girl right here is contributing a little somethin' somethin'. You can too! Link up your halloween crafts, food, ideas, what-have-yous!

Link up begins at 9pm!

Fill in the blank...

2011-10-14T00:40:00.006-05:00

1. The most selfless thing I've ever done was ... this is a really difficult one. I don't think of myself as a selfish person, but for some reason I am drawing a blank on this one. Maybe I'm just sooooo selfless, I don't think of selfless acts as truly selfless? Hrmmm, or maybe I'm just really tired. Yeah, probably the last one .

2. When it comes to working out I enjoy it... once I get myself on a roll, anyway. Making myself start working out regularly is a difficult task .

3. A woman should always treat herself the way she would like someone else to treat her. You can't expect someone to respect you if you don't respect yourself .

4. I wish I could sleep better. I am terrible at getting to bed at a decent time. You would think I didn't love sleep or something, but I do! I really really do .

5. A best friend is someone who knows when to listen and when to speak, shows up when you tell them they don't need to & loves you at your very best and your very worst .

6. I can't get enough of pinterest, like the rest of the world it seems !

7. This weekend I am traveling a few hours to Natchez, MS for the Great Mississippi Hot Air Balloon Races with MR and some friends! We went last year and it was such a good time !

It's time for a sing along!

2011-10-07T12:01:00.000-05:00

My niece sings almost every word she speaks. I just love that about her :)

Boo, Hiss, Grrr

2011-10-06T13:06:00.002-05:00

Hi there.

I've been having Blogger problems.

Not like, "I'm a blogger and I have problems related to blogging"...

but actual "Blogger" problems.

It won't let me publish any posts.

It will barely let me save any posts I compose.

Or maybe it just won't let me post with pictures?

I have yet to find that part out, because you know a post just isn't complete without a picture!

I guess that's what this post is...

a boring picture free post to let you know I'm alive and well,

but a little pissed at Blogger.

Anyone else experiencing these problems?

Etsy Loves: Hexagons

2011-09-30T10:40:00.002-05:00

& I do too.

As always,

click the pics to go to the shops!

A kiss with the fist is better than none

2011-09-29T00:22:00.000-05:00

Put on your fanciest dancy pants, kids!  You're about to feel urge to shake your groove thing...

I adore Florence Welch :)

Linked with Goodnight Moon

Lovely book page DIY

2011-09-27T00:02:00.000-05:00

 There is something really beautiful about an old book.  Seeing the spine all torn up, knowing that somebody really loved it & the fact that should you not actually care to read said book...  you can turn the pages into some pretty sweet things!  It's all about recycling, kids!

I picked up this old crusty well loved book at my local Goodwill for one dollar.  Sorry, Marguerite Steen, I'm sure your story is lovely, but I  have other plans for this bad boy!

All you need for this project is some old book pages, a glue gun and scissors!

Make a paper chain!

Who doesn't love an old fashioned paper chain?  This lady right here does, for sure.

To make sure my links were all the same width, I folded a few of the pages together and trimmed away all of the blank edges except for the side that was bound in the spine. I decided I wanted mine to be a little more understated than the average paper chain, so I went with smaller strips of paper(three lines of text wide). You could go larger if you wanted! With the pages still sandwiched together, I cut until i was half way through the blank space near the spine & then chopped all the blank space left on that one side off. Now you have your perfectly even strips! Clearly, the next step is to start looping those bad boys together. I used hot glue because I like instant gratification, but craft glue would work just fine!

How great would this be for a book loving couples wedding, a graduation party or just draped along your book shelf?

 Turn it into gift wrap!

Now, clearly you could wrap something small up in an actual book page, but i'm going to show you how to make a quick gift bow with it!

Pull two pages from the center spine. Chop off the bottom blank space and then make another cut about 15-20 lines up the page.

Toss the blank space and set aside the larger top portion.  Take that 15-20 line portion and bring the blank edges together and glue.  Now fold that in half and trim the sides to make your bow shape.  Unfold and chop a strip off of the larger top portion you set aside a minute ago, wrap it around the center of your bow and glue.  Now fluff it up a bit & voila!  Instant gift bow!

This project will take you less time to accomplish than reading the tutorial did!

That old book never looked so good!

[these projects were first shared by moi over at Indie Pretty... I just want to keep track of them over here & make sure I get to share them with y'all too!]

I made that!

2011-09-26T12:56:00.000-05:00

Photo Challenge Day... I don't know anymore: Something I made

I make things. Did you know that? It's what I do!

I love them all so much! Snag your own in my SHOP!