Jan 7, 2016 | Life
I’ve found that the right attitude is truly half of a chic life.
But sometimes, even if life isn’t getting us down and we aren’t depresssed per se, we can get into a rut of wake up, go to work, go through the motions, come home, go to sleep, and do it all the next day…without even feeling present in our own lives. We can feel complacent and bored; tired and irritable; or just flat-out burnt-out.
To feel that you are indeed RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE living a chic life, full of abundance, comfort, and happiness, requires a massive shift in focus. But it can be a very tiny change in what you think, to start a cascading ripple that emanates out to all other areas in life. So often we focus on minutiae: what hasn’t been done, what lacks in organization, never-ending home repair projects, the tediousness of daily life. In order to rediscover the minutiae that bring happiness, sometimes it is as simple as writing it down.
How to Start a Gratitude Journal
To Start Small:
Write one thing you are grateful for down in your place of choice before going to bed.
What makes you smile, what are you glad to have? What couldn’t you do without? How is your life blessed? Focus on each one as you write it, truly feeling thankfulness as you write it. Write it on paper, spell it out with scrapbooking stickers, leave a note on the mirror in lipstick. Any way to permanently record something that you are aware of that makes your existence better in some way.
To Reiterate:
Write down ONE. Just ONE. One thing, little or big – from that you’re grateful to have a roof over your head to you’re grateful for your best friend to your grateful that it’s tangerine season because you love snacking on those little suckers. Challenge yourself to write something different each day (doesn’t have to be anything earth-shattering)
And then…:
At the end of a week, re-read everything you’ve written and feel it wash over you like a wave.
Finally:
Upgrade your journaling habit to include what you will do to show this gratitude to the person/thing referenced when you note it down at the end of the day, as a To Do for tomorrow. Feel it tonight, create some action tomorrow. Whether it’s calling your Mom to tell her you love her, slipping a note under your neighbor’s door, complimenting a coworker, texting an old friend out of the blue. Write…then show. And watch how these actions create bigger ripples of positivity and happiness in your life – and the lives of others.
You have abundance. You have many things. You have many friends. You are living a full life.
This lovely Gratitude Journal was given to me by my friend, Lex Casciato (also known as the musician Little Warrior, who put together a lot of cool curated Spotify playlists for this site awhile ago). I am filling it daily with my gratitude – and my first entry was all about my bestie and how talented and thoughtful she is!
Here are a couple of my favorite Gratitude Journals:
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 (aff. links)
And there is even an app for that! TheGratitudeApp
Do you keep a Gratitude Journal? Has it helped your outlook or mood at all?
xo
Carly
P.S. The gold bangle in the top 2 photos is my DIY Free People Wrapped Quartz Bangle – click for the tutorial!
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Jan 5, 2016 | Beauty
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Burt’s Bees for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Burt’s Bees has just come out with a NEW line of luscious lipsticks available at Target – and I’m over the moon about them!
These lipsticks not only provide 8-hour hydration and moisturizing for dry lips, they also are 100% natural and thus: great for you. (Especially considering the average woman will likely consume a large amount of the lipstick she wears on her lips over a course of time…you can only imagine what tiny doses of methylparaben, colorants, and tocopheryl acetate can do when compounded in the body. Blech!) When it comes to something that’s on the lips and easily licked off or absorbed, it’s far safer to go with products that are safe to ingest and have no harmful effects.
These lipsticks are formulated with Moringa oil (full of essential fatty acids, and helps to soften and condition skin), and raspberry seed oil to improve skin elasticity, as well as vitamin E and of course, beeswax, a Burt’s Bees staple. Available at Target (or Target.com), each lipstick is $8.99 or less (look out for those Target coupons or Cartwheel offers!) and comes in 14 versatile shades that work great with a variety of skin tones.
I’m super-pale, so I chose to swatch and sample 3 colors that I felt would be ultra-useful for a number of different makeup looks: Nude (500), a warm beige with slightly blue undertones, Iced (510), a pretty pastel pink, and Magenta (511), a deep Winter berry color.
Here’s how they turned out:
Burt’s Bees Lipstick in Nude
I have very pigmented lips so I need to put on a layer of concealer over my lips so that lipsticks “read true.” Even so, Nude is a lovely, pigmented beige, that was surprisingly opaque even without the concealer (though that did help a bit for me). It makes a perfect 70’s-style lip…and could be dressed up for evening with a dab of gold gloss in the center of the lip.
Burt’s Bees Lipstick in Iced
I had to do the same concealer trick for Iced, but this time it was quite difficult to get the color to read. Unlike Nude, Iced seems to be more transparent, and would work well as a color for mixing or layering. It imparts a very soft pink sheen, very girly and sweet.
Burt’s Bees Lipstick in Magenta
For Magenta I didn’t even need to do the concealer trick – the formula was pigmented and went on beautifully. Such a pretty lip color for Winter (pair with flushed cheeks and dark, dark eyelashes!).
All of the colors were very slick and soft and extremely moisturizing. I’d even go so far as to say that Iced was more like a lip gloss! (Plus, no weird taste when you lick your lips because the formula is all-natural, yay!)
Since they’re available at Target (and less than $9 each, hello!) you can have your pick of color.
Check them out here:
Available at Target
Which Burt’s Bees lipstick color did you like best? (Help – I can’t choose!!)
xo
Carly
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Jan 4, 2016 | DIY
Oh metallic lurex thread, how I love thee!! It adds so much dimension, so much Wintry sparkle, so much glamour to just plain old fabrics. But it’s a demon to clean.
Once I found a beautiful silvery sweater at H&M on the clearance rack for a mere $8.95. And it happened to be in my size, too. I wore it often for many years. I wore it here, for example.
And then while at work one day I dropped my lunch on it. A small mouthful of leftover Thai drunken noodles. In oily brown sauce. And my favorite sweater was ruined forever.
I washed it multiple times, in both cold and warm water, and tried every stain remover known to woman. But nothing got the stain out of acrylic. That brownish-yellow stain would not budge. I tried to wear it after the unfortunate incident, but the stain was too obvious, and I felt self-conscious. I thought about discarding the sweater (heck, I had only paid $8.95 for it so it wasn’t a huge investment)…but I wanted to save it if I could.
And then I had an epiphany…to combine that trend of one big word on your shirt…with my poor abused sweater…hence forever covering up that stain and allowing me to wear it again (or at least, until it got too pilled and stretched out to even resemble clothing anymore). Hence this DIY. Here’s how to cover up that horrible stain on your own shirt if it has befallen similar circumstances:
DIY Shine Word Sweater (or, How to Cover a Stain on Your Sweater)
You Need:
sweater or top / black felt / fabric scissors / needle and matching thread / pins / graphic program to create your word if you’re not using the download below / printer (or print at an office store) / regular scissors
How To:
- Choose what word you’re going to put on your top. It took me forever to finally choose a word (and yes, I browsed Pinterest, blogs, and magazines for what seemed like ages). But I found it: Shine. Quite ironically literal. So I went with that, and typed it out in Photoshop using the Ballpark Weiner font and printed out a copy of the word to see if the spacing and font would indeed cover up the stain. It did so I went with that.
- Cut out the word using regular scissors. Don’t forget to cut out dots on i’s or punctuation as well. I didn’t cut out the negative space inside the letters at this point.
- Pin the word to your felt.
- Use fabric scissors to cut around your word carefully. You may need to make certain areas wider than the font so the felt doesn’t pull apart. For cutting the negative space out of the inside of loops, I just eyeballed it, cutting smaller than I needed to and then widening once I laid the cut-out on the original font.
- Place the the cut out felt word to the center of your top, and pin down so it is flat.
- Use a running stitch (looks like – – – – ) around the inside edges of the felt to secure the word to your top. This is long and tedious – make sure you have some Netflix or mindless TV to get you through. Also stitch on any i dots or punctuation as well. (If you’re dealing with a stretchy top like a sweater, be careful not to stretch the knit too much as you are sewing or else the finished word will pucker.)
And that’s it! A pretty upgrade to a soiled mistake…and I’ve just saved a major piece in my wardrobe. How to cover a stain on your sweater is really as easy as a bit of felt, time, and thread!
This is something you will need to hand-wash cold and lay flat to dry. You could also use suedecloth or any other fabric that doesn’t fray when you cut it – leather or vinyl I would think a little tough to hand-sew but you could always try it if you prefer that look.
Download my DIY Shine Word Sweater graphic here if you’d like to make your own “Shine” version (click below):
(77 KB PDF, sized at 300 dpi, for 8.5″ x 11″ paper)
Shine on, my friends!
Ever had a stain on your shirt where you did something creative to cover it up? Do tell!
xo
Carly
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Jan 1, 2016 | Life
To all my readers, wishing you the Happiest of New Years – hope 2016 started off with a bang for everyone!
Things are going to be changing around here, but I hope you stick around, because it’s going to get…ideally…awesome!
See you soon with new content, ideas, DIY’s, and a fresh start!
Thanks for reading with me for so long, and here’s to the new 🙂
xo
Carly
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Dec 14, 2015 | Media
This is such an adorable book, I can’t stop raving about it.
Washi tape has been around forever and I’ve been an avid collector of it for many years, ever since I first spied it while living in Japan 15+ years ago. My stash has grown and grown – and somehow just looking at all those pretty patterns and colors puts a smile on my face.
But what to do with all of that tape? Besides using it on my planners and calendars, I also have been known to use it as home decor on my walls. And wrapping presents of course. But besides that…? I’m kind of at a loss with how to use it in a cute and functional way.
Enter this awesome book, jam-packed with tons of tutorials and crafts for finally putting that washi tape to good use! With 110 ideas for using your tape (plus 10 original included tape rolls for you to play with!) this book can kickstart just about any project or idea for gifts, decor, accessories, office supplies, kiddie crafts…and on and on and on.
Written by the one and only Amy Anderson (of Mod Podge Rocks! fame – and accompanying Mod Podge universe website), the book brings Amy’s whimsical sense of design married to practicality and easy-to-follow step-by-steps.
After first laying out basic techniques and skills when working with washi tape like cutting clean edges, creating corners, weaving, punching shapes, and making patterns, the book dives into the projects section.
Between Goods and Gifts, Home Decor, Jewelry and Fashion, Holidays and Celebrations, and Just For Fun, there are so many projects to choose from. Though some projects may seem pretty basic (Embellished Envelopes, Photo Coasters, Wall Art) – I guarantee there will be many that make you go “I never thought of that!” and send you scurrying to your tape stash.
Some are incredibly innovative, like the Paper Planes Wall Mural, Wishy-Washi Window Blinds, Faux Floor Rug, Headboard, Party Mask, and Faux Floral Bouquet that are so fun to try out.
If you have a craft-loving friend, this book would be an excellent holiday gift for them – and will keep them crafting well into the New Year!
(aff. link)
You can also get in on the washi tape fun at Amy’s website WashiTapeCrafts.com.
xo
Carly
FTC Disclosure: I received one complimentary copy of Washi Tape Crafts for review purposes. I have not been otherwise compensated for this review. My full Disclosure Policy is here.
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Nov 26, 2015 | Life
For all of you, for all we have, for our family and friends, on this day and all days:
We are thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving, to one and all.
xo
Carly
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Nov 25, 2015 | Beauty
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Burt’s Bees at Target for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Fall evokes for me leaves crunching beneath my feet, warm apple cider, and whiffs of fragrant spices on the air. Pumpkin, cinnamon, burning wood, nutmeg, cloves…all very Autumnal scents. (When I was a teenager I always switched my perfume out to a deep spicey scent during this time of year…until it ran out and I couldn’t find anything similar ever. again. *sad face*)
But I digress. With the changing of seasons comes the changing of clothing, makeup, scents, lotions…to more orangey and cranberry hues and more deep and spicy scents. I LOVE this change and I love every day of this season. Warmth, crisp air, fun, friends, family…this time of year is one of the most special, filled with great food and holiday traditions.
Burt’s Bees (one of my faves for all-natural, good-looking-on-you-and-healthy-for-you lip balm) has once again brought our their Pumpkin Spice this year, a delicious take on their 100% natural lip balm. It goes on soft and moisturizing, with sunflower seed oil, coconut, and beeswax, scented with creamy pumpkin scent and just a hint of spice. It’s free of parabens, phthalates, petrolatum and SLS and any irritating substances. Plus it’s a handy size – and since it’s perfect for stashing in a pocket or a purse, it’s my new go-to balm when I’m on the go!
So much like my favorite spicey perfume scent from so long ago, Pumpkin Spice evokes Fall in every way – but is colorless, so doesn’t mess with anything else you may be wearing on your lips. (I like layering it underneath a dab of berry lip gloss for a delicious scented base to my color.) And, it’s ultra-moisturizing and keeps dry lips at bay during the sudden cold snap we’re experiencing here in the Pacific Northwest.
You can find Burt’s Bees Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Lip Balm in Target stores on an end cap or with the Burt’s Bees products – just look for the orange box decorated with bees and pumpkin illustrations. 😉 Or, you can purchase online here if you’ve got any other shopping to do from Target (and who doesn’t have extra shopping they can do at Target???)
The holidays are coming up fast – and I’m already stocking up on these little lip balms as stocking stuffers and Secret Santas for everyone in my life. (At around $3 a balm, these are definitely a chic steal!) They’re a great little addition to a homemade treat or a DIY ornament or thoughtful handmade trinket. Buying them in bulk is so easy online – and packaging them up with a ribbon and homemade gingerbread cookie and my gift-giving is done! My son’s teachers, check. My blogger buddy girlfriends, check. My coworkers, check. Mom, check. Done! (And, FYI: Burt’s Bees Pumpkin Spice is a Target EXCLUSIVE and you can’t get it anywhere else!)
Available Only at Target
Burt’s Bees has made this season that much more special with this great scent and sweet little balm.
So tell me: what are YOUR favorite Fall flavors or scents? Mine are most definitely pumpkin and apple. GO!
xo
Carly
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Nov 23, 2015 | Life
Fancy typography quote for your Monday.
You are enough. You are always enough.
Though I am egotistical enough to attribute this quote to me, it’s kind of an adaptation of the Maya Angelou quote:
You are alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.
-Maya Angelou
However the quote above is what I often try to remind myself of, when things get too much or are overwhelming. Please share with anyone who may feel self-doubt or unworthiness, because they (and you) are always, always enough.
xo
Carly
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Nov 20, 2015 | Life
OK, you guys. The holidays are coming up and I’ve been completely overwhelmed with all the things that have to be done to ready the house in time for the arrival of family, friends, and loved one. I don’t want my home looking a mess – and I certainly don’t want to spending this wonderful time of year in household drudgery. This year, it’s Hoover to the rescue!
I have a love/hate relationship with my current vacuum (or maybe it’s more of a dislike/hate relationship…?). It’s big, it’s clunky, it’s heavy – and yes, it gets the job done, but vacuuming the house takes forever and it usually feels like a workout of its own. I’m constantly tripping over the cord, having to find another plug that works as I move throughout the house, and have to lug it up and down the stairs to get it into all those little crevices.
So when Hoover sent me their new Air™ Cordless 2-in-1 Stick & Handheld Vacuum, it was like a godsend. Seriously – I had no idea how much time I was spending on this simple task until I tried this vacuum and experienced how much time it cut off of my cleaning routine.
I love the light at the front – perfect for those dark corners and nooks!
The head of the vacuum is completely adjustable, and glides over stairs and height differences easily. Love!
And then – this is amaaaaazing – you can pull on the handle in the center – and remove the canister…
…And use it as a handheld vacuum by itself! Total awesomeness.
The vacuum has 2 modes: hard floor and carpet – and switching between them is an easy flip of the button.
Plus – and here’s the kicker – the vacuum is cordless. Yup, you read that right: it’s completely cordless. So no cord to trip over, no cord to unwind and wind back up again, no cord to have to unplug and plug back in. You just charge the LithiumLife rechargeable battery once and you’re good to go. And their Windtunnel 3 technology provides performance with ample suction power to lift and remove dirt.
The entire Hoover Air line is a line of 4 cordless cleaners: 3 vacuums and a hard floor wet cleaner, and the batteries are interchangeable.
A 25 minute task for me just shrunk to under 10 minutes, and saved my sanity for the coming holidays. It’s totally a #nocordnobull life for me now!
Check out the full line of Hoover Air here to see how you could make a tedious chore…finally manageable.
xo
Carly
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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Oct 24, 2015 | Fashion
Hi friends!
Who attended the Fall Fashion Frenzy Charity Event at Woodburn Premium Outlets last Saturday? It was an awesome event, filled with fun, food, shopping, and steals to be had all day long.
The 11 charities that benefited from the event were all there helping out. These puppies were from Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Attendees received a complimentary catered lunch with original Fall Fashion cocktail (“Frenzy Fizz,” “Sparkling Diva,” and “Fashion Spritzer”), and snapped fun candid photos at the Photo Station by Paparazzi Tonight.
At each tent entrance there were different Fall ‘looks’ from Woodburn Premium Outlets retailers (top photo).
Attendees were invited to enter to win one of 12 purses donated by stores. Inside one purse was a $500 gift card. Attendees gathered together to find who the winners were at the drawing.
The lucky winner of the $500 Simon Premium Outlets gift card.
Plus there were cute swag bags attendees got to take home with them – filled with indulgences!
All in all, the event raised more than $50,000: a record year, with all of it going to charity. Everyone had an amazing time and it was a completely packed house.
If you’re in the Portland metro area next year, you should absolutely come to the event for a fun day of shopping and charity! Hope to see you there next year –
xo
Carly
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