Spring Outfit Inspiration

Just some fun spring time outfit inspiration on this snowy day! After another
5 inches of snow I'm SO ready for spring/summer! Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade & Spring Time 

Lovely Little Sparrow 

New Little Blooms!

Two new items listed on my Etsy shop today! They are two sets of two of my Little Blooms flower stud earrings. The colors are so pretty! I LOVE these earrings. The ones I kept for myself I wear all the time. You should go check 'em out! :)

Resolutions

I know I'm a little behind with this but better late than never right? For the first time ever I'm making a few New Year's resolutions. I'm making a conscious effort to make 2013 the best year yet. It's time to get out of this rut. Anyway, here's what I have so far not in any particular order necessarily:

-Get a new job. Not just any job, a job that I actually ENJOY, one that’s commensurate with my education.

-Buy a house. Technically, this process was started in 2012 but since we haven’t closed yet I’m still adding it to my list.

-Join a dance class. This is something I’ve wanted to do for quite awhile now but I’ve been putting it off since I don’t have much disposable income right now. I keep telling myself that will be one of the first things I do when I get a new job.

-Start an IRA. Also hinges quite a bit on the new job thing.

-Grow my jewelry business. I would love nothing more than to some day be able to work from home solely making jewelry for a living.

-Clean the clutter out of my life. Beginning with household clutter. I think moving will help this process. The hardest part of this process will most definitely be my closet clutter. I’m one of those people that keep things forever thinking that maybe someday I’ll want that item. I’m making it my new priority that if something in my closet doesn’t make me feel awesome when I wear it, its gotta go.

-Revamp my wardrobe. Along with cleaning out the clutter, the pieces that make the cut to stay I want to use as the basis for building my new wardrobe. During the second part of 2012 I’ve done much better about not compulsively shopping (VERY hard to do when you work with clothes everyday). Along with continuing this ‘edited’ way of shopping the items I do buy MUST fit within my new wardrobe parameters.

-Read more. I feel like I’m not as smart as I used to be. I know it sounds silly but when I think about it, when I was still in school I was required to read and I learned new things (imagine that!). Being done with school, doing the same job, I’m not learning anything. I feel like my brain is turning to mush and that must stop NOW.

-Reclaim my love of music. Music used to be such a HUGE part of my life it makes me sad to think about how much of a backseat it’s taken. 

On top of these few resolutions I'm going to try and put together a 'Things I Am Thankful for in 2013' journal. It will be my version of this little gem I stumbled upon probably on Pinterest. 

Hopefully I'll be able to accomplish everything this year! 

My Fashion Library

I have this goal of some day having this amazing fashion library. While calling my collection so far a 'library' would be a stretch, I have to say I could look at/read each and every one for hours. One of my current favorites is The Soucrebook of Contemporary Fashion Design, which was a gift from my husband for my birthday last year.

I could look at the pictures for hours (in fact, I have). I have a similar book, 100 Nouveau Créateurs De Mode, that I picked up in Paris at The Louvre when I was there the last time on my study tour in college. It's obviously in French which definitely helps me keep my years of French class useful.

I would highly recommend both of these. They are FULL of runway pictures, photo shoot pictures, and sketches from each designer. They also have information about each designer. So interesting!

DIY Doily Bowls

If you know me, you know I've always loved all things girly. I also love Pinterest. I spend entirely too much time there. Ever since I first saw pictures of doily bowls on Pinterest I loved them. They remind me of when I was younger somewhere I learned how to make fabric bowls using a mixture of glue and water paste and scrap fabric. These use the same concept so maybe it's a nostalgic thing, I don't know, but I like them.

When brainstorming what I wanted to use in my display for the craft fair I did at the beginning of December I thought it would be perfect to make one for my table. So I decided I would give making one a shot and found this tutorial:http://blog.freepeople.com/2012/09/diy-lace-doily-bowl/.

Here's an in the process shot:

And here's a finished shot: 

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It worked for the craft fair. I'd probably make more of different sizes for the next fair. I learned tons of what I would do for the next craft fair, but that's another story for another time.

Brooch Inspiration

Can I just say that I just LOVE brooch jewelry! What girl doesn't love something sparkly!? Things like this get me so inspired! 

And just for fun, one of my own pieces created for my Bella Marie jewelry line:

Bella Marie pieces are available on my Etsy site! You can check them out by clicking on the pink 'E' link on the right side of this blog page!VEA8VSN5FWHP