Livin' a part of life

So many little things brought a smile to my face this week.

Like

Putting my boots on to go see Eric Church and Brantley Gilbert in concert. Even though we left early cause my stomach hurt really bad it was still fun to spend time with my hubs. And because I missed actually seeing Eric I have a little video at the end of this post.

Making chap stick only because I have all the stuff to do it.

Snuggling with Gauge on the couch.

Listening to THIS song over and over and over again.

Hearing all your sweet tweets about my new company!

Going to see Hunger Games with my momma  (even though Ive never read the books)

THIS blog post the Dana over at The Wonder Forest wrote after trying some of my products. It definitely makes me happy that others will enjoy what you work so hard on. I hope all you guys get to go read it.

Learning my way around Storenvy, I think all Etsy shops should move to them. They are so friendly!

Wearing a Top Knot with a little french braid in it.

And the fact that I am baby free till tomorrow night so that my hubs and I can  go fishin'! 

(I wish someone would get why I love to fish so much!)

AND Nothing & I mean NOTHING makes me happier then this video on a Friday afternoon

Happy Weekend! 

My days lately

Bradley is on spring break this week, so our days have looked a lot like this

and a little like this

or this, if you will

because now we have this

and that can lead to days filled with fun in the sun.

Happy Spring Break! 

**NOTICE** 

My shop is closing for GOOD. So use code "GOODBYE" for 

45%OFF

Your entire order

A new adventure in the hand made business is coming to you SOON!!!

The Grand Canyon

Last Friday I had one of the best road trips ever!

After traveling all day Thursday to Arizona I went to bed early... and by that I mean 9:00. Actually on Florida time that would have been 11:00 so that's actually late! Anyway, I was ready to go exploring on Friday.

Point of interest - The Grand Canyon

I had my buddies Sara and Mandi in tow along with our trusty rental car. A little sporty red car that made me want to whip around the mountains a little to fast!

After we "ooohed and ahhhhed" at the snow topped mountains to many times, we decided to pull of the road for a little picture taking.

and stupid me i about froze in that 3 minute pit stop! It was way cold, hints the snow. 

Then we ran into a few other girls from the house. Just in time for another photo opt.

After a quick bite to eat and a elk spotting we finally made it to our point of interest.

It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. period. Beautiful, breath taking if you will. And to be there with one of my best friends and a new bestie, it could not have been any better.

On the way back to "camp" we stopped at this auh-may-zing road side store for a little shopping. 

Sara, Mandi and myself walked out of that bad boy with BUT FLAP JAMMIES! Best.Find.EVER.

Its a day I will never forget.

Where I come from

Where I come from...

we stand up for what we believe in

we don't hide behind false names and computer screens

we believe in the freedom of speech

we leave the judgments for god to do at the pearly gates

we would never say things behind peoples back, ONLY to their face

if you compared anyone to the cast of Jersey Shore you probably wouldn't get very far

we drink tap water from mason jars and shop at walmart on a daily basis

we are real, kind, genuine.

 

source

Now that I'm back from Creative Estates

This past weekend was so much fun! Spending 4 days in Arizona was truly amazing for this Florida girl. Meeting a few of my favorite bloggers was even sweeter!

I'm sad to see a few posts about what a joke the whole experience was. It breaks my heart that Shay spent so much time putting this event together as retreat instead of a conference so that it could be more personal. And because I have my own opinion and it may be strong at times I will share what my experience was like.

This trip for me was the first away time that I have had from my baby so I planned on living it up.

When I bough my tickets for a friend and I, I did not plan on sitting in a house for 4 days only crafting. As much as I love to make pretty things I can't imagine flying from Florida to Arizona to only see the inside of a house. I actually had going to the Grand Canyon in mind for one of the days and couldn't have been happier when a bunch of the other girls had the same plans. More on that trip later!

Hearing Ashley from the Shine Project speak was great. Making change jars was a blast. Learning to make a felt flower pin that Ashley from Little Miss Momma was really fun. Ilene showing me how to make a really cute friendship bracelet could not have been any better. ALL of these chicks were just as sweet if not even sweeter in person.

The meals a Creative Estates were very plain and made to please everyone. How do you please 35 or so girls? Well I guess you don't.

I never would leave food out of my budget when planning a trip. I am not a picky eater at all but if I am in the mood for going out to eat I would like to do so. 

 Breakfast time was very simple. Bagels and cereal. I eat bagels every day at home so that made me happy. I would not have imagined Shay waking up every morning and cooking eggs and bacon for that many people. It just would not have made sense. The "Vintage Lunch" was based around the theme. Tiny sandwiches and chips. My favorite? No, but did it go with the theme for the meal? Yes. 

What I am getting at is that it is out of this world crazy to think that you would be getting the finest food available at the market with the small price of 250.00$ that would include your lodging.

Now on the topic of lodging. The house was AMAZING! It was huuuuuge! Perfect for the amount of girls that would be staying there. Was there enough beds? No. But could one house have 40 beds? That would be nuts! I thought about that when buying my ticket. I knew that some of us would be on a floor or couch. Me? I slept on about 6 comforters and was totally fine with it. When a car load of girls left without says any type of good bye to anyone I slept on one of their bunk beds. I actually think my pallet on the floor was cozier!.

As for the drinking. I am of age. I am 27 years old and have every right to enjoy a beer or a glass of champagne. I am also entitled to drink 5 of each if I want to. Now did I do that? No. Did I drink hellz ya! I am kid-free and having a good time! I think that it is rude to think that because of that, one can be called an "alcoholic" to their face. Shay did not spend a lot of money on booze. So many people including myself brought their own alcohol. Shay provided champagne for the planned "Cupcakes & Cocktails" party. If you had read the schedule and had seen that the first nights party had the word "cocktail" in it you would know that there would be alcohol involved.

I also think that a lot of people went back on what they said they would do for the event planner in the way of helping out. If it wasn't for my friend and I helping her make sure that some items made it back to Phoenix she would have had to drive all the way back and get them.
I'm not getting into complete detail about every little thing that went on like the others did but I think that with what was given the experience was totally worth it. Would I go again? Uh Duh. It was totally worth the whole 250.00$.
Sorry that every one else didn't feel that way.

Check back tomorrow for all the fun stuff that went on. I just felt like this post needed to be said today. 

I'm leaving on a jet plane

source

The time has finally arrived!

Its crunch time. Time to pack, get the house in order and get ready to be up and out of my house by 4:00am. 

Because...

It's time for Creative Estates!!!

I have been waiting for this trip for months I tell ya and I'm finally leaving tomorrow.

 {Insert happy dance!!}

There will be endless time for crafting, meeting some of my favorite bloggers, late night candy raids, cupcakes, airplanes, mountians, fuzzy boots and not enough sleep and it will be amazing!

See ya when I get back!

P.S. Be sure to keep up with me on Twitter so you can 

keep up with all the fun happenings!

Tuesday 10, Whats in my purse

I'm linking up with my buddy Lena today for the Tuesday 10.

This week is 10 things that you would find in my purse.

So hold on tight as I take you on a tour of my JoTotes Camera bag/Purse

I love how the inside of this bag is all Velcro. If I had different lenses for my camera then I would have space for it but for now I'll just put all my crap in it.

First of all a purse is no good with out a wallet

So here is mine. A dark green Roxy wallet. I store coupons, money when I have it, cards, ID's, check book and any other assorted paper or plastic product.

Next you will find my Rouge & Whimsy clutch.

This little number is great to have! I keep all my little odds and ends in here.
-Lip gloss
-Advil for cramps
-BurtsBees chapstick
-toothpicks
-Earrings {I lost the back so they ended up in here}
-a pen
-Regular Chapstick
& my hair screw thingies

And rolling around somewhere in my bag you will find my phone, Ipod, gum, car keys, lotion, receipts, and a Just.Lovely headband. {The headband doesn't normally stay in my purse though, it just happen to be in the process of getting into my luggage to Creative Estates}
.....and I'm sorry that was way more then 10!


So there ya have it folks. Exciting stuff huh?

now you go link up to!

confessions

source

We all have things that we don't really talk about on our blogs, and that's OK. 

These pages are our place. 

Our place to share whatever we want.

And I love that about blogging. But I feel like you can't get to know the real person behind the screen unless they share some of the bad things, the weird things.

The things that make them awkward, different, silly, sad, happy, real.

So on those notes I have a few confessions.

Real Stuff...

-People take me as being stuck up. A bit of a snob. That's not the case at all. I'm just quiet. I have grown out of this a bit now that I'm older but it used to be pretty bad. Now I have passed this on to Brad and I don't want him to grow up being quit and shy.

- In school I had one good friend and a boyfriend that went to another school. I was a little bit of an outcast because I had short spiky hair, listened to punk rock music and dressed like a boy. My mom allowed me to get my ears pierced as many times as I wanted.... so I have 18 holes in my ears. 

- Choices I made when I was 16 has left me with a really shitty habit that I can't seem to kick.

- Being a mom can leave me in tears. I worry that something bad will happen to my kids or me. A horrific car accident, cancer. Something that will take them from me or me from them. 

Little Things...

- I am worried that when I get to Creative Estates people won't like me.

- I spend so much time on my phone when I should be playing with Gauge. I CAN'T SEEM TO PUT IT DOWN! 

- My family is on food stamps.

- I won't make my bed. It looks more inviting unmade. ;)

- I wasn't allowed to drive a car till I was 18 because I dropped out of school. But I did anyway and got pulled over when I was 17. Scared the crap out of me! The cop let me go but I never drove with out a license again!

Funny stuff...

- Did you read the part where I had colored spiky hair in school! HAHAHA that makes me laugh so hard! 

-My sister is married to my husbands dad. So that makes my husband my step nephew?! lol

- I wish I had a romantic story to tell you about my hubs and I but our first date was on a boat, in a river that involved fishing poles and his cousin.

- Thanks to certain blog friends I dream about Shamrock Shakes from Micky D's. 

- I can't tell a joke at all. I mess them up every freakin' time!

I hope a few of these little things helps you get to know me a little better. 

and I would love for you to share one random thing about you with me in the comment section. 

Dreams of summer

source

Dear Winter,

You are being  ridiculous.
Its cold enough at night that you make the lakes and rives cold, but hot during the day so I still can't go swimming.

I'm sitting here listening to some reggae on Pandora dreaming of getting my tan on while drinking something frozen with a splash of rum.

Please winter be over and let the warm days and nights warm up all water that way I can splash around with Gauge and Brad in all the watery goodness.

Love,

Katie

p.s. check out the summer dresses I have for sale HERE