little update note

just a quick little note... i don't know if you've noticed, but i changed a setting on my blog to allow larger pics.  this is something i've been wanting to do for quite a while now and i'm very happy with how it looks.  however i just noticed that in older posts the text now wraps oddly around the pics. so my apologies about the look of these older posts...hopefully i can figure out how to stop it from doing that...

~ jess

a bit of shopping

happy wednesday!  shut the front door...two days of blogging in a row.  what's happening around here?!?

i LOVE fashion and shopping.  a very dangerous combination.  last week i ran into tjmaxx, one of my favorite stores, to look around a bit.  big mistake!  i'd been doing so well not really buying anything and then bam...the money began oozing from my wallet.  all total that day i bought two necklaces, one skirt and two blouses.  and then the next day i still felt a bit of that shopping mojo and picked up 3 packs of bracelets from lane byant.

so i thought i'd show you a few pics of some of the things i picked up and one thing that didn't work out.

rose gold michael kors necklace from tjmaxx

tjmaxx --- purchased both of these items - calvin klein stretch skirt // (need to check brand) blouse --- still debating on returning the blouse

tjmaxx --- same skirt as above - tried on the blouse but the fit of it wasn't perfect, a bit too baggy in some areas so i left it there

new arm candy i picked up on sale at lane bryant --- if you have large hands/wrists like myself check them out for the perfect fit

now it's time to get the shopping back under control...at least until my vacation next month...ha!

ps...i kind of like this post so i'm thinking from now on i'll take more pics of me trying things on and more pics of the things i buy to share w/ you guys.

~ jess

layout redesgin

yay, i've got some blog posts ready to go this week.

last week i pulled out my scrapbooking supplies and got quite a few layouts made.  it felt good to dig back in to some creativity.

the first thing i wanted to do was redo this layout above.  when i created it i was playing around with a simplistic approach.  i just wanted a stamped background and not much else because i felt the collage of pictures was busy enough.  but i knew as soon as i created the layout that i did not like it...at all!  however i just didn't have any other ideas for it at the time.  this time however i knew exactly what i wanted to do for a redesign.

i started by stripping off the college of images.  they were all taped together pretty good so i couldn't do much about that.  i did add a couple more pics to change the size a bit.

after adhering the pics to white cardstock i wanted to anchor down the other side of the layout so i added a strip of paper and began adding embellishments accordingly.

before i added the title though i felt that the white cardstock was a bit too stark between the dark pics and the muted blue paper section on the other side.  so i thought a bit of watercolor might be nice.

at this point i was a bit nervous about trying to do some watercolor since i was nearly done w/ this layout and it was already the 2nd time i'm dealt w/ these pics.  so i grabbed a piece of extra cardstock and tried out a few techniques first.  i love the finished look that came out.

i took a watercolor 'pen style' paintbrush that houses water in it and dipped it into a mister huey in the color watercooler.  the first brush strokes were a bit too strong in color so i'd swipe the brush across the extra paper until it was the opacity i desired then i'd brush the color onto the layout.  it did warp the paper a bit, but i just used a heat gun and it doesn't look too bad.

i'm not sure i'd ever do this again to a layout, but i definitely am happy with the redesign of this one!

~ jess

birthday trip

well, i'm feeling a bit better since my last blog post. actually made it to the gym last week...no naps...got a couple things accomplished. now i'm looking forward to this weekend as i'm going away w/ a few of my girlfriends for a much needed mini vacation!

today i thought i'd post some pics from a couple weekends ago. one of my friends turned 30 and so we took a quick little day trip over to okc (oklahoma city). first stop was at the myriad botanical gardens located downtown. we actually didn't do much walking around outside but really enjoyed going through the tropical conservatory. next we headed over a couple of blocks into bricktown to eat lunch at zio's italian. after eating we decided to walk over to the okc museum of art. i kind of wish i'd got a pic or two of us walking over there...it was a bit odd because downtown was so deserted. the museum was great and i especially loved the dale chihuly exhibit. as we were walking back to the car we stopped off for some froyo in bricktown...it was soooo good and refreshing after walking around in 100+ temps. finally we headed over to the mall for a bit of shopping, including my first ever visit to a lush store (which i loved)...but for some reason i didn't get any more pics after we left downtown.

it was a great little trip and i think my friend really enjoyed going there for her birthday. oh yeah, it was a total surprise to her as we always surprise each other on these birthday day trips... we never give anything away and the location and each event is a surprise which makes it so fun!

oh, all the pics were taken w/ phones, either my or my friends iphones, so not the best quality.  i completely forgot to grab my camera as i was walking out of the house that morning...

the 4 of us...we were missing 2 other friends who couldn't make it that day

me and the bday girl...pretty sure we were laughing over the bday card i gave her

myriad botanical garden and conservatory

this was near the children's garden

there were numerous water falls inside the tropical conservatory

a fuchsia bush blooming behind me...love those!...my nanny always had those...

9 out of 10 times i give some goofy pose w/ my friends in their pics...

this fan on the skybridge felt sooooo good since it was so warm in the conservatory

view from the skybridge overlooking the tropical conservatory

my lunch at zios - shrimp limone...it was sooo good

massive chihuly work in the art museums foyer...wish i could of captured the whole thing as it was about 3 stories

hall w/ glass ceiling and chihuly glasswork w/ light shining through...soooo lovely

my fav painting at the museum...i always pic a fav from any museum i go to

really loved this painting too

resting at the froyo shop after walking in the 100+ temps

my froyo...soooo good

missing this place

i was a bit surprised to realize i hadn't posted anything here in nearly a month.  really though it shouldn't be any surprise to me.  you see i'm stuck in a bit of a rut...and i haven't been able to dig out of it yet.  i get up, go to work, come home, nap, watch tv/eat dinner then to bed so i can get more sleep to repeat the next day.  my body just feels worn out...as in i can't seem to get enough sleep.  and going to the gym has been out of the question as i'm so tired after i get off work i'm yawning all the way home.

i was sure this weekend would be sooo productive but alas i had a migraine all day friday.  saturday was pretty good and i got a few things done in the kitchen --> 2 batches of kale chips and 1 batch of cherry chia jam.  but by sunday evening i was sick again.

here's hoping today is better and i'm able to get a momentum going...get myself back to the gym...and get some things done at home tonight.

and since i hate posting w/o pics, i'll leave you w/ a few pics from this past weekend...

saturday morning - trying a lush face mask - loved it btw

saturday evening - all dressed up for church

sunday morning - breakfast w/ the parents at cracker barrel

~ jess