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Over the weekend one of my good friends celebrated her 25th birthday. I wanted to put together a special little present for her without breaking the bank. I figure that if I can’t put a ton of money into it, I can at least put a ton of love.
She loves all things hearts, so when I found an image of lips puckered in a heart shape in a magazine I knew it would be perfect for the card I was making. I had leftover bits of red-and-white polka-dot paper, which complemented the lips so well, so I decided to stick with that color palette.
The envelope was made from one of my favorite J.Crew catalogs. I googled “DIY envelope” and it actually turned out to be relatively simple. I gently pulled apart an existing envelope, traced the shape onto the paper I wanted to use, cut that out and then folded it to make an envelope. Now that I know it’s not too difficult I think I’ll be making my own envelopes all the time!
We both love to paint our nails, so I picked out two bottles of Revlon’s new scented nail polishes for her. Aren’t the bottles darling? I haven’t actually tried them myself yet, but I plan to soon. My friend isn’t afraid of bright colors, so I also gave her two neon-colored hairbands. Finally, I threw in some fun red crinkle confetti and sealed up the box (that’s an old Birchbox by the way- I often save them and use them for storage!).
Putting together this present reminded me how much I like to create things. I need to remember to create with my hands more often! It makes me happy.
If you could have a drink with anyone, who would it be? That’s one of the questions that the site, A Drink With, asks the various celebrities, artists, and influencers that are interviewed. I’ve always liked learning about other people’s lives and getting a peek behind the curtain. I first discovered the site earlier this week when Hallie tweeted a link and I’ve been poring over it ever since. The photographs that accompany each article are also great and I like the way the subjects are captured in a more relaxed setting. I recognize some of the names that they’ve featured, but others I hadn’t heard of before. Regardless, I’ve enjoyed all of the interviews that I’ve read so far and I think this would make some great weekend reading.
Tell me: If you could have a drink with anyone, who would it be?
(Kat Graham, Sophia Bush, Megan Mullally)
Seriously, how do I get my hair to look like this? Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted long, flowing locks and my hairdos have ranged from medium long to really long. Suddenly, however, I’m seeing versions of the long bob everywhere and for the first time I’m actually tempted by a shorter ‘do. I feel like everyone is chopping their hair these days- bloggers, celebrities, coworkers, friends.
This haircut just looks so breezy and effortless and the lightness would be really nice when the temperatures start to rise. I have a hair appointment tomorrow and it’s long overdue. Despite all this talk, I probably won’t be getting anything out of the norm, but it’s fun to think about it. Hey, who knows? Maybe I will be spontaneous and get it cut!
Tell me: What’s the shortest length your hair has ever been?
(image via)
Do you guys remember when I used to knit things? Sort of? Barely? Not really? The reason you can’t remember is that I haven’t knit anything for myself in about a year. That’s a really long time for someone who used to be an avid knitter. Back in the day, I would finish one project and then start another within a matter of days.
I have a few theories for why I don’t knit as much as I used to:
- I was part of a knitting group in college and we used to meet weekly, so even if I didn’t knit at all during the week, I was still knitting for a little bit each weekend.
- Knitting can be an expensive hobby. When I was part of that knitting group in college, our supplies were subsidized, but of course I’ve been paying for everything myself for the last few years since I graduated. I live on a pretty tight budget, so sometimes I just don’t have the money to spend on anything that’s not a necessity.
- I’ve been doing a lot more reading in my downtime. Sometimes there are only a few precious hours after work and while I didn’t knit a lot in 2013, I did far exceed my reading goal!
I did complete one item last year- this cozy herringbone scarf. Also, towards the end of the year, I became a test knitter for an accessories designer here in NYC. This meant that I knit up samples from patterns that they created. Now that that gig is almost over, I’m excited to pick up knitting myself again.
There are a couple of blogs that I’ve discovered (or rediscovered) recently that have gotten me excited about knitting again. Meredith’s blog One Sheepish Girl is fun and colorful and she always finds the prettiest knits. I just found Karen’s blog, Fringe Association, and I love her “Knit the Look” series where she describes how you might recreate knits from inspiring street style pictures.
Finally we get to the picture above! I think this sweater could be my next project. I love the simple, yet colorful style and it would be the perfect thing to work on as I’m logging all of these hours watching the Olympics. I’m currently in the research phase, meaning I’m trying to decide what yarn to work with and if I want to go for a more springy or wintery color combination.
Tell me: Are you a knitter as well?
(image via)
