One of the rare occasions where this is a style blog

Generally, this is not going to be a style blog, and it will rarely feature "What I Wore" kind of posts... because I mostly dress in jeans and t-shirts and don't consider myself to be very stylish. But I'm very excited to share with you a nice little outfit I wore for a little while today. :)

Dress - H&M, Tights - Vera Wang for Kohls, Boots - Payless, Watch - American Eagle Outfitters, Belt - Merona for Target, and necklace - loveisrising on etsy.

And now I'm in jeans, a white tshirt, and a sweater, though partially it is so that my beautiful stylish outfit doesn't get covered in pet hair.

Though there is a story behind this dress. I was shopping in the mall with my sister and I saw a girl wearing this dress in a store. I pointed out to my sister that I thought that the dress was gorgeous and that I wanted it. I didn't see it in that particular store, so my sister finished paying for her stuff. We walked into the store directly next to it, and there it was, right in the front of the store. I couldn't believe it! I tried it on, and was not sure about it. I liked it but it didn't seem like it was perfect for me... but I bought it anyway since I loved it so much. But once I got it home, put on a belt, and wore it in front of my parents and friends, they all agreed it looked good! So I am very happy I bought it anyway!

I did not get paid by any of those brands to mention their names... none of them even know who I am!

Snow!

So if you're wondering what I get for being proactive and Christmas shopping early, the answer is Snow!

It's only just started, and we're expected to get about half a foot or more! And although I live in Maine, have lived here all my life, and gone to school in Vermont (all very snowy places) let me let you in on something.

I HATE snow. With a passion. It's gross and wet and I don't do winter sports, so for me it's just a pain because what I do is drive, and it just makes a mess when you're driving anywhere.

I would love to live somewhere that doesn't get snow. It would be really ideal actually.

It's also cold, which doesn't help you when you are a skinny young adult whose body temperature is always below normal anyway. My toes were numb because it was so cold and snowing.

I'm hoping that it lets up by the time my mom has to drive my dad and her godfather to the airport tomorrow, and hopefully doesn't interfere with any flights!

I was excited to hear earlier this week about Obama making an announcement about student loan repayment. He made some huge changes which are pretty exciting to hear about. I was pretty pumped, until I read that it only is for people borrowing in 2012 or later. Which means people like me, who have graduated and are the people currently having to pay back loans, are unaffected by this new legislation. So I thought that I was getting a treat in awesome new legislation which turned out to be a trick, in being something that is not affecting me.



I am looking forward to The Pinterest Challenge, hosted by Sherry of Young House Love, and Katie of Bower Power. They first hosted the challenge over the summer, but at that point, I didn't really have a blog where I could post about a fun and exciting project. But being that I have on my twelve by 2012 list to make 5 things I've pinned on Pinterest, I am so excited! I'm definitely going to be making all sorts of fun things... maybe even tomorrow while I'm snowed in!

Crafty Productive Weekends

So, I'm feeling like the last two weeks, I've been crazy productive on Saturday's.

I've been applying to jobs, getting things crossed off my to-do lists, and especially have been really crafty on Saturday's.

I've been making more of those survival paracord bracelets like the black one I posted last week. I made some turquoise ones last Saturday, and then made more turqoise, white, and pink ones yesterday. I even mentioned to my mother making and selling them, and she thought it was a great idea... which is awesome that she is behind me on this.

She also suggested making cat and dog collars, and I ended up finding reflective cord for making animals easier to see in the dark, which I think is awesome. So supplies have been ordered!

 



I also made this, which I found on Pinterest, and found a tutorial from here. It was so easy, and I actually had all of the items on hand. My mom agreed that it looked great, and although I love it, I'm thinking it will make an awesome Christmas present for my dad, who is the one person in our house my dog loves best, and he loves her too. I know this would be something my dad would love!

And then, and I'm sure people are going to hate me for saying this, but I started my Christmas shopping for folks. I know it's October, but it works out. I've been saving on getting great deals, and it will be nice when my school loans come due that my shopping will be hopefully finished.

twelve by 2012

So I have 125 different blogs that I am subscribed to in my Google reader. (You can see a bunch of them listed on the right.) I get a ton of inspiration from these blogs, and from Pinterest. This was how I stumbled upon the blog Oh, hello friend today. Danni is the girl behind the blog. Like me, she has tried doing 101 things in 1001 days. But I love this great idea that she had. I'm a little late to the party, so I have about 10 weeks left in 2011. I'm going to make my own list of goals I have for the rest of 2011. So go and check out the other people doing twelve by 2012 and what other people have planned!

Edit: Items in progress will be in italics, and finished items will be crossed out!

1. Read 2 books. - I have a whole bunch of books in my room and books on my to-read list. So hopefully I can get 2 books off my list read!


2. Give Mia, Lila, and Jordan their belated birthday presents, and buy Dan his. - The kids I babysit all but 1 have already had their birthday. I need to buy one more gift and make sure all the kiddos get their gifts, though they are very very late!


3. Post on my blog 3 times a week. - I definitely feel like I am doing well at keeping up. But I need to keep on trucking. Hopefully I won't loose steam with everything else going on!


4. Open my etsy shop. - I need to make more items for the shop, I need to figure out packaging. Other than that, I already started making the site on etsy, and I have figured out pricing. Check it out!


5. Get a job. - Hopefully I can find something to pay the bills (boo student loans!) and hopefully still give me time to spend time with friends and work on my side projects.


6. Visit Eileen and Kyle before they head to Alaska. - You've heard of Eileen (I <3 My Airman) and hopefully I can see her and her hubby before they head to Alaska!


7. Start a little freelance business. - Hopefully I can find some local businesses that could use web design/marketing/social media or event planning assistance, and take on a client! I made business cards! Need to work on my portfolio and start looking for clients!


8. Spend quality time with my friends here. - I need to see friends I haven't seen in a while and work on spending time with people face to face on a more regular basis. Went out to dinner with a friend today, and I'm going to a concert with a friend on Thursday that I haven't hung out with in a while.


9. Finish my room design/clean/reorganization/set up. - My room has been a serious work in progress. I need to make it fun and functional and definitely update it!


10. Figure out budget and start saving! - Figure out a budget where I save some money aside each month for specific long term goals, and how much 'fun' money I have per month.


11. Make 5 things (either food or crafts) I've pinned on Pinterest. - I've pinned a lot of different things on pinterest. I would like to make a few things whether they be food or DIY projects. I made the silhouette in my last post from something I pinned. Participated in the Pinterest Challenge. 2/5!


12. Visit Burlington! - I need to go back and visit friends at my alma matter! It's very much an overdue trip.

Now go check out other lists or make your own!

Furry Attitude

I find it so crazy how babies, human or not, can show signs of their own personalities and attitudes at such a young age. Charlie, my little fur baby, is only 7 months. I find myself laughing at his little quirks and how he acts. As I drove into the driveway after spending a few hours with friends, I could see his tiny little body siting in the window looking out at me.

He's also pretty darn smart. He knows exactly what cabinet the dog bones are kept in and knows where the dog food is. So he will stick his head into the bones or food if the doors are left open. Yes, he thinks he is a dog.

He's also super curious, so he goes after anything in his reach (which is a lot of stuff!) which includes our dog's toothbrush.

Charlie is apparently very concerned about his dental hygiene. Though I don't understand how a cat that loves toothbrushes can have such terrible breath.

He's been great and really lo-key as far as taking care of him goes. He came to me at 5 months old and had already been neutered. He's been an indoor cat so far so I haven't had to worry about him getting hurt outside. He loves playing with things we have around the house, so I haven't had to go crazy on spending money on toys. Like an older broken mesh laundry bag that he goes into and plays. And sometimes sleeps, since he's getting to doing that more and more often.



He's growing up... but still a little peanut compared to his furry siblings! Charlie on the far left, my sister Michelle's cat Benji is they grey cat in the middle, and to the far right is our family cat, Toby. And obviously, the golden retriever/yellow lab mix (Abby) is the biggest of them all!

Fun Little Small Town Saturday

Warning: This post is very picture heavy.

I had a lovely day, which started off by getting my hair done at my favorite hair salon! I got bangs, which I was worried was going to make me look younger than my age, but my stylist told me she thought it would look good. So I went for it. And I am so glad I did. Bangs just make me feel fabulous. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to show you because I'm not happy with how the ones I've taken have come out.



I attempted to do some organizing in my room.

I did get some file folders put together, and ended up putting together a nice place for all of my fun paper type things to go.. like coupons and Charlie's paperwork.



I also got some clutter off of my desk... seriously, the picture on the left is way cleaner than my desk usually is.



I still have to work on the clutter and organization and storage in my room. The picture on the left shows some jewelry holders I made. They're great, and I love how they turned out. They were super easy and inexpensive, but you can tell by the picture that I have way more stuff that I need to put on top of my dresser. That doesn't even include a fun little thing I bought online recently... but I'll save that fun little thing for another post!



I'll probably steal these shelves that we have down in the basement and hang them up in my room. As long as they are hung up to where Charlie can't reach, I think it would be perfect for displaying artwork and trinkets, and maybe even moving some of my jewelry so that it is farther out of Charlie's reach.



 

 

 

I'll probably also steal this desk from our basement too. It's never used, and I think with the closed storage (for Charlie) and the amount of workspace it would be great in my room. I could also do a nice paint job on the top, and even change out the handles.

 



 

 

 

 

Also, as far as getting some containers for storage, I'm loving these paint can containers from the Container store. I think they are adorable, and definitely show off my love of interior design. Though I love most things from The Container Store. I just wish we had one closer!



I'm also loving AMAC boxes, which they also have from The Container Store. Unfortunately, they look nice but I'm not sure how functional they would be.

 

 



In other really fun and exciting news, I'm gonna open a small Etsy shop at some point soon. It's going to be called Cool & Pretty Things, and some of my first items I'll be selling with be survival bracelets made of paracord, like the picture on the left. That black one is the first one I made, and now that I have more cord and also, buckles to make it easier to put on and off, once I get a bunch made, I will be putting them on Etsy!



I also kind of went crazy with my camera. I took this picture of Charlie. It was completely accidental but I love the way it turned out!

 

 

 

 

 



 

I was also excited to find this delia's catalog in my mailbox today. Although I'm sure people consider it more of a Juniors/Teen store, I love their Bailey jeans. They have some of the best fit jeans for my body that I've tried. And as you might or might not be able to tell from that picture, Jeans are by 1 get 1 for 1/2 off. And you can save 15% off your purchase. I'm also trying to shop smarter. Although I've been treating myself to a few things here and there, I know that the more I save, the more I can put towards my student loans, and the faster I can pay them off and the less interest I pay... which is a WIN-WIN!

Student Loan Realizations and Treating Myself

I came to 2 realizations yesterday about my student loans. one good, one not so good, so in reality, they sort of balance each other out.

A) I don't actually have to start paying on most of them until December, and only two, I pay in November... but I thought I needed to start paying this month, so knowing I have another month is very exciting.

B) It's actually going to be about $38 more a month than I originally thought. So although I have extra time before I have to pay, it's gonna be more a month, which isn't that great.

And instead of doing the smart and responsible adult thing, I ended up spending money after I came to those realizations. But here's how I shopped smarter.

Payless had sent us a coupon in the mail for 20% off for the rest of the month. I hopped onto their website to see what they had, and in particular, for some brands that they don't carry in my local store. zoe&zac is a brand they carry that is made of all "green" and recycled materials. I saw this cute little bag below, and immediately fell in love. It has a zipper, which for me is a must have when it comes to bags.. considering I live in Maine where we get lots of precipitation, like snow, and I don't want all that stuff in my bags! The fact that it is all recycled materials and still looks adorable is definitely a plus! Originally the price was almost 25, but I used the coupon and that definitely made the price more manageable. And, because you can ship to your local Payless for free, the total came to around $20. Now, when it arrives to my local store, they'll call and I'll head over to pick it up! Yay for scoring some good deals. And for splurging and treating yourself to something every once in a while.

Note: Payless did not pay me to write that. All opinions are strictly my own!

Small Town 20Something: Blog Intro

So I've had some grand plans for this blog. Like really grand, in the scheme of me and blogging.

I had ideas of blogging every weekday, with different days having different topics, such as Munchie Monday's with recipes every monday. As much as I love organization and planning, it was hard thinking that I was going to be stuck to such a rigid schedule of what I wrote about and when. So I am going to not do that. I will post when I can, and about whatever topic is on my mind at the moment.. and it will all have to deal with the life of a young 23 year old recent college graduate trying to figure out life.

And now I feel so much better about the direction I'm taking this blog in. Even though this blog has only just started and it doesn't really have any direction at all yet.

And now, for your viewing pleasure: half asleep cat picture. Sometimes Charlie tries to bite my computer, but at the moment, he laying next to me, sleeping while I write. Also, in other Charlie the cat news, he just hit 7 months old a few days ago. YAY Charlie.

I also decided I wanted to adopt another cat, one that was a few weeks old and the baby of a stray cat a few towns over. But living with the parents, although it has been great, I can't just adopt any cats I want, since I'm bringing them into their house. So boo for not being able to adopt any new cats until I get my own place. Though yay for living with parents who are AWESOME, and it's probably a good idea not to get carried away with adopting cats. Don't really need to become crazy cat lady this young.