November 1, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Keepin’ It Real: October 2014

I think I say this every month, but… What happened?! How is it the end of the month all ready?! It just does not feel like it should be November yet. October was an easy month for our family. And I very much appreciated that. We now all have our flu shots. No major sicknesses or injuries occurred (except for a minor burn I received from volcanic spaghetti sauce. I have a new scar on my left arm). Who needs tattoos? I’ll just keep splattering molten food on my body (not really. Kids don’t do that at home). Without further ado, some of the highlights and funny moments of the month:

I rented a bounce house for my daughter and a few friends for my daughter’s birthday. I thought she was crazy to want a bounce house at the age of fifteen, but it was a huge source of fun for everyone. My husband, my son and myself got in it when it was dark and watched the stars through the net. We took turns laying down while one person jumped and threw the others into the air with the momentum. There is nothing quite like laying in the belly of a giant inflatable beast and watching the crisp autumn sky. You must try it one day, if you haven’t all ready.

Outfit Outtakes.

Our house last night on Halloween:

It was the first Halloween I have not made goody bags since I moved out on my own. I do not get enough trick or treaters any more to justify making them. But full sized candy bars were had by all last night. And by all, I mean the four trick or treaters we had. I bought ninety candy bars, so that means I have eighty six left, right? My thighs are crying with guilt at the real answer to that.

I have been slowly going through this book. Not allowing myself to read too much at a time. It is like a bag of Lindt Truffles. I only want to savor one page. One paragraph. One line in all of its beauty. I am enjoying it so far. Have you read my favorite author, Patrick Rothfuss yet? If not, do not start with this book. Start with my very favorite book, “The Name of the Wind”. It is beautiful. It is fantasy. He is a brilliant writer.

We went to a Benihana-like restaurant for my daughter’s birthday. I forgot how much fun those types of restaurants are. We need to go again sooner than later.

Coming Up In November:

I Hate Pigeons (I originally had this scheduled for October, but the only picture I could get was of a dove. I was worried it would offend someone with the glowing eyes I set in it. What do you think?)
A Small Set Of Anthropologie Fall Reviews
How I Met My Husband
Is Your Mama A Llama?
Meatloaf Muffins
The First Kiss Of Autumn

How was your October? How was your Halloween? I am so sorry I have been behind in comments. I am catching up on all of them today.

If you want a good laugh today, check out this video on The Bloggess’s website. It is my new favorite thing.

May 31, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Keepin’ It Real: May 2014

Every month, I try to do a summary of that month with outfit outtakes and a quick wrap up of things I might have missed blogging about in that month. May had some doozies in terms of outtakes. And it was a doozy of a month for a lot of people I know, my family included. When I told my friend we had to endure one more day of May, she exclaimed, “NO-O-O!”

I hear ya, sister.

If you missed last month’s “Keepin’ It Real”, you can find it here.

On to this recap. May, I will not miss you:

Recipe fail. My mom asked me the other day, “Do you post everything you make?” Oh my gosh, no! When you are experimenting with a new recipe there are going to be some misses. I have even made some recipes from very acclaimed chefs and have had to throw the whole dish away. So, no, I do not post about every recipe. Only the ones I would absolutely make again. And again.

The other day, I made this dessert. So bad. Tip: Do not add raspberries to Strawberry Shortcake. It sounds good. It is not good.

Outfit Outtakes:

As promised. A glimpse of Holy Holey Girdle. It is such a small glimpse. We saved over the other original pictures with the revised ones, so this is what we have left. Here is the actual outfit post.

It really is more like an extra pair of skin colored shorts than anything else. And to be even more forthright, the only reason I wore them on this day was to hide my colored underwear. The dress is so flowy, it hides a lot of flaws. The girdle is not the typical spanx. It does not offer much support, but it makes me feel more confident.

And I could not resist adding this picture because of the unfortunate placement of my hand.

So, I fell in a cactus (picture of my cactus hand is in “Keepin’ It Real: April 2014. Link above). And my twirling has never been the same. The outfit post for this photo shoot is here.

This picture makes me laugh.

“True Detective”, anyone? Just a bit of an odd thing to find around town.

Peonies! Everywhere?! Yes, please! Tip: Trader Joe’s will let you take the plastic bucket if you ask nicely. : )

Does this alert ever make anyone’s day better?

At San Diego Children’s Hospital, the ceiling tiles are randomly painted overhead. Isn’t that just a nice unexpected thing? That way, when a child is being wheeled through the halls and into various rooms, they have something to look at and look forward to.

I could hug whoever thought of this.

My mom gifted me a gift card to Anthropologie and these for Mother’s Day. Isn’t that the sweetest?!

Father’s Day idea. My kids each made my dad and my husband some of these hammers a few years ago. We just painted a wooden hammer and then shellacked it. I found the idea on Pinterest. Easy peasy.

And my most exciting purchase of the month. Seriously. These barf bags. I have a post about them ready. If you ever get car sick or have children that get sick, these are priceless.

With that in mind, May, you can be on your way.

Oh my gosh! Last night my husband and I were dancing with the dogs in the kitchen to “I like to move it.” When we sing it to the dogs they dance with us. It is actually quite cute and comical.

The dogs are funny, too.

Well, Ollie got too rambunctious and did a back flip! He hit his head so hard. We immediately stopped dancing, but I felt so bad for him. You can see the beginning of it in this picture. Who knew he had it in him?

Coming up in June:

Maui posts! We are heading back to Maui next week and I cannot wait to blog about it!
My Husband’s Secret Part II… She had to find out sometime. ; )
Honey Ice Cream! My favorite treat in the summer.
Whirlin’ Twirlin’ (Free People Mixed Print Tunic).

What did you think of May? Will you be happy or sad to see it end?

April 10, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

NOW CLOSED! Thirteenth Month Blog Giveaway: Moon Necklace

Thank you to all who entered. This giveaway is now closed.

It’s time for my monthly giveaway! : ). I love this day!

Thank you all for your support. I appreciate it. So, so, so much.

I never even knew I had so much to say. Or share. Or anything inside of me. And you have brought that out of me. You have made my world which was so small seem so much bigger. And I am so grateful.

I was thinking about what I wanted to give away this month. And I knew I wanted to support someone new (to me) on Etsy that I had not featured before. I love supporting the artists of this world.

So, I purchased a necklace from Lunahoo, that I, myself, love. I think all of her jewelry on her site shows so much imagination and spirit. I love the bee products she creates, as well as the whimsical cats and cloud creations. I am thrilled with the item I chose to give away this month. And I love knowing it was handmade from a woman across the globe.

It is a Moon Necklace. It is handmade with love from Spain. I could not resist purchasing one for my daughter and myself to share, as well. I have always loved astronomy (that is until I took it in college. Ouch! The math! Who knew? But we will block that bit of unpleasantness from our minds). I also have a fascination with the moon. And I feel this represents how I feel about the readers of my blog. When I know you are reading, wherever you are in the world, I feel a connection to you. We might not be on the same place on this planet, but we will always share the moon.

Oh, man, now I’m all weepy. On to the rules:

To enter for a chance to win this month’s giveaway: one moon necklace from Lunahoo on Etsy, please leave a comment on this post telling me anything you would like about the stars. For instance: what do you think of when you look up into the sky? Do you wish upon a star? Do you think we really landed on the moon? When was the last time you laid beneath the darkened sky just to stare at the beautiful vastness? If that is too personal, you may leave any comment on this post as long as it is positive.*

You may earn a second entry by following this blog on the right hand side of the page. There are many ways you can do so. If you are a subscriber, please leave a second comment stating that you are a subscribed reader of this blog.. That second comment is your second entry. I am not using the word “follower.” I have never liked it and so from this post on, I have chosen not to use it. You, of course, can choose how you word it. ; )

Limit two comments/entries per person.

This giveaway runs from April 10, 2014 12:00 a.m. PST to April 15, 2014 9:00 p.m. PST. I will be using random.org to choose one winner for the necklace from the comments entered on this post. I will contact the winner on April 16, 2014 via the email address provided in their comment/comments. I will post the winner’s name on this blog on April 17, 2014.

Past winners are welcome to enter this giveaway.

Thank you everyone for entering! And for reading! And for stopping by! And for your support! I love ya to the moon and back! : )

The photos are from Lunahoo’s shop on Etsy. The necklace is being shipped from Spain. It is still on its way to me. The moment I receive it, I will update these photos by adding some of my own!

By commenting on this post, you are entering this giveaway for a chance to win one moon pendant necklace and agreeing to the rules outlined in this giveaway.

I will attempt to contact the winner three times with the email address provided. If I have not heard from the winner within fourteen days from the first attempted contact, the prize will be forfeit and a new winner will be drawn.

* Negative comments (chosen at the discretion of the owner of this blog) will be deleted and that entry will be forfeit.

March 26, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

My March Purchases. Eep!

Thank you guys for all of the anniversary wishes. They were much appreciated! We just got home and I am working on responding to all of your sweet comments. I cannot wait to check out my favorite blogs and chat with everyone. We had a nice time, but being home feels so good. I will do a recap soon. I also did some Anthropologie reviews while I was there. (Spoiler: I did not buy anything and only added two of the fifteen items I tried on to my wishlist. And one of those items is a pair of jeans). I also was able to do some Free People reviews while I was in Vegas and I added everything I tried on except for one pair of shoes to my wishlist there. Curious to see what you think.

I had the following post ready before I left. I figured I would share what I purchased this month. Tomorrow, everything will be back to normal (knock on wood):

I am so boring this month. Well, not budget wise. Budget-wise I am weeping. That is because I went over this month. I was having the hardest month and to make myself feel better I shopped. Then I felt guilty. And worse. But I love the darn clothes. I need to slow my roll for April. I believe I say this every month… Hmmmm.

I purchased these fun Cala Pompom Sandals from Anthropologie. It is the first full price purchase I have made in a long time. The funny thing is, they had 15% off two weekends ago, so I got a price adjustment. I guess I can’t pay full price even when I try.

And I purchased this amazing hippie dress from Free People called Sweet Lady Maxi. And not so sweetly of me, I cropped the model’s head off. I did not like the hat she was wearing with the dress. It ruined it for me and is perhaps the reason this dress hit sale so soon. And also, maybe the shoes. But who am I to criticize? It is on sale from $108 to $50. I bought it in a small in the pink color and it fits perfectly. It needs a slip underneath, but that just makes it better, because it adds a fairy tale like feel. Post about this dress coming up next week!

You know what? This beheading of models thing is kind of addicting. Here I did it again. Nothing against the models, but I can picture things so much better when the dress is on a form. Anyway, I also got this Candela Heart Dress for 62% off which might be my new favorite thing. So, of course I have only been caressing it. I have been scared to wear it. I don’t want it to get hurt.

Here I left only two torsos. I am sick, man. Sick.

Marie Antoinette had nothing on me. Brahahahahah!

Forever 21 is selling these cute items that they call dresses and I call slips. The first one in coral is Backless Smock Dress for $15.80. The second one in blush is called Darling Babydoll Dress for $14.80. I bought the two different colored pink slips to layer in two different sizes so one will peek out from underneath the other. I plan on layering a fun cardigan over the pair.

I scored this Free People X Lydia Maxi Skirt from Nordstrom Rack. I wore it in Las Vegas. It is one of the few Las Vegas outfit photos I managed to capture.

This is my first photo here I did not mangle. It is me being a grown up.

Why is that so hard?

On top of all that I bought two vintage pieces (one being a belt that was featured last Thursday) from Modcloth when they did their bohemian vintage collection.

Sigh.

I think what we learned here is that I am secretly a homicidal ballerina princess who cannot stick to her budget.

Who knew?

Hey! I can see you raising your hand.

Have you been as bad as me this month? What is something that you purchased this month that you love? Or have you been so very good?

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

month

Keepin’ It Real: October 2014

Keepin’ It Real: May 2014

NOW CLOSED! Thirteenth Month Blog Giveaway: Moon Necklace

My March Purchases. Eep!