World According to Shia

So every year we all try to start off the new year with vowing to fix everything we deem wrong in our lives. It's human nature I suppose to fear the calendar flip.  I often have to stop myself from feeling that New Year bandwagon guilt and the looming birthday.  Let's face it folks ... January is a difficult month.  I've always said that it kinda stinks that I have to start off the new year getting older (well on the 27th) but to heck with all that Negative Nancy ... it's like a band aid - rip it off and start the new year.   2013 was definitely a year of changes for me.  First wedding anniversary and walking away from the legal world for good.  (well hopefully for good - fingers crossed Shia here gets into one of the 9 programs she is applying for this July)  Changes do come with costs and can be scary in the beginning.  Everyone around me was pretty supportive but I have seemed to fall out of touch with some people that possibly don't u...

So part of my couponing, I have gotten these makeup wipes for cheap and/or free.  These wipes have a tendency to dry out once the pack is open so I thought I would make a box to keep them fresh.   Mod Podge is a crafters dream.  I just discovered it recently.  I bought this off brand at Michaels with 40% off coupon and got it for about $3.  I bought the tin at the Dollar Tree and I bought the paper at Michaels on clearance for $0.29.   Applied Mod Podge to the tin ... stuck the paper on it and then coated the paper with Mod Podge. The wipes fit perfectly and there is room for a small scissor.  I found a tip in AllYou magazine to cut the wipes in half for more use.  I tested it out last night and half a wipe worked well to remove all my makeup.  Also, I had to leave the lip as is because the tin would not close with paper added there but you can't see it with the box closed so ... who cares! Simple, cheap and super cute! I ...

(I took this pic forever ago in Ottawa, Canada on vacation!) So what is it about making something, buying something, eating something, loving something, hating something, seeing something, hearing something, reading something {the list goes on and on} that makes me what to blog?  So right now I have got blog craze on my mind so much that I didn't think there was any better way to express it in the post title than using that horrible word ... cray and it's so intense it calls for a double dose ... cray cray.   So why so cray cray?   You all might remember that I mentioned that I was all about couponing these days and I've gotten pretty good at saving money on our day to day groceries with a few times getting certain items for free, etc.  Yet I thought ... how can I pick up my game?  I mean why pay $1 for shampoo or conditioner ... how can I start getting more of these things for free.  So, I enlisted my trusty friend Google (she's such a...

So my Sunday was full of newspapers and my first Red cup!  Last week, I saw this link-up over at siddathorton and thought I would participate this week. Reading ... AllYou November Issue - This is my new favorite magazine - lots of money saving tips on practically everything to buy. Writing ... This blog post ... YAY I'm blogging! Listening ... to my hubby yell at the Seahawks ... YAY currently tied ... fingers crossed!  Go Seahawks! Thinking ... why does fall back just feel SOOOOO good? Smelling ... lavender air fresher ... I love lavendar! Wishing ... this football game would end... OT... BOO!  Go Seahawks! Hoping ... Seahawks win or hubby will be grouchy :-/ Wearing ... jeans!  It is finally cooling down in the hotbox state I live in!! Loving ... that half of my answers are related to a football game currently playing in the background. Wanting ... to figure out some great homemade gifts to give out to my family this year.  Last y...

So a while back (heck everything is "awhile back" since I haven't blogged in FOREVER), I shared with you all some cakes that I baked and shared my ambitions to make a coconut cake for my first wedding anniversary.  Since we had a destination wedding in Oregon and traveled the Pacific Northwest for about a month ... there was no saving the top (heck there wasn't even a top) to eat on our special day.  So I got to work looking for the perfect cake recipe.  My inspiration actually came from the same blog that I found the chocolate cake recipe.  I tweaked it a bit.  Added coconut and coconut extract to the batter and the cream cheese frosting then patted coconut around the sides.  It was so good.  The cake was super moist and had a yummy coconut flavor throughout. It is a tad messy to frost but I just kept scraping and patting.   My sister Debra's birthday was in August.  Her favorite cake has always been funfetti.   Read my previ...

Can I just say that Bride of Frankenstein was the best Halloween costume I ever rocked.  I mean I went all in .... wig and everything ... and I am not ashamed to say that I made slight alternations the year after and rocked it again.   So Saturday I am headed over to see the girls (aka my nieces).  We are going to two fall festivals and then trick or treating.  I'm always confused as to when kids go trick-or-treating these days ... weekend or the actual day of Halloween.  Either way Paul and I usually escape to a nice dinner out because well ... we're the only ones not tracking around neighborhoods with kids.  I know it sounds mean but I leave a bowl of candy out in the driveway.  So either one kid is hitting the M&Ms jackpot or the kids pick it up as they pass. So what are your Halloween plans?  What's your favorite costume? P.S. Homemade costumes can always be the funniest and the best.  I remember when my sisters went as...

Rome wasn't built in a day.  Having goals and being passionate about them is just as respectable as completing the goal.  Having goals shows that you have ambition.  Also, when you tell others about your goals with passion it shows that you have drive.  Don't get caught up in the thought that the world is keeping score.  There is no one out there with a check list keeping track of what you do and don't because sometimes when you are working on a goal you may reach a point where you no longer want what you were working for - let's not get it twisted - if your goal is to quit drinking or doing drugs - those types of goals need to be completed for your health and well being.  Also, if you have one or both of those goals - CALL AUNTIE SHIA - she's here for you.  But seriously, sometimes your initial goal can morph into something new or you realize that the end result isn't really what you wanted and you then reevaluate and form a new goal. In all ac...

Happy Monday everyone.  I hope you all had a fab weekend.   Paul's birthday is coming up this Wednesday so I thought I would make him a chocolate cake from scratch. Before this great adventure I have made two homemade cakes.  The first one which I have dubbed cake-gate was a complete let down.  The first one was just way to much to tackle for a newbie cake maker.  It had great intentions ... double birthday cake ... for Paul and for my lil sis Debra ... which then just caused my lil sister to be bratty (which she will probably still deny and who in their 20s still wants funfetti cake when someone is WILLING to make you a cake FROM SCRATCH ... hence the name cake-gate) anywho ... I tried making a healthy version using splenda and such and it turned out to be a heavy somewhat tasteless cake. Womp womp womp ... so I went back to cakes in a box.  I mean hello they taste good don't knock Betty Crocker that girl has it DOWN.   Yet cake-gate and all,...

So this week's topic is back to school and guess what ... Shia is back in school!  YAY!  More on that later but for now here's my attempt at geek chic.  Love those bangs but too bad my white girl fro doesn't agree ... boo hoo!

So errands can be fun {sometimes} but going through all the prepping can just be a big waste of time.  I'm not big on dressing up unless I am meeting friends for lunch or coffee. However, I do hate to just wear running shorts and have the whole going to the gym look when I have no intentions of going to the gym {ahem flip flops kinda give it away}.  So I thought ... why not find a fun way to dress up some gym shorts and tada ... here is a def look I would wear when doing errands. What do you think? Are you one of those girls that looks flawless when doing errands  ... you know the ones I outfit crush on?

So, we all know that I love bareMinerals (if you are new look HERE and HERE for my previous posts). However, recently I've tried to be a little more budget conscious and try e.l.f. Mineral Infused Face Primer . I found it at my local Target and thought I'd give it a try since it is half the price of bareMinerals Prime Time . It looks and feels exactly the same.  Plus, you can buy this primer online in different shades for color correction, brightening and a little glow.  Browse the customer reviews if you plan on trying one of the other shades.  Since I stuck with clear, I have no clue if the others work well.  {If you try one (or currently use one) let me know - I'd love to hear about them}.  This primer is just as smooth and lightweight as the other. I can't even tell the difference, my foundation looks just as even, smooth and natural.  Also, just like the other it doesn't clog my pores.   The only griped I have is that the container is...

So here's my Friday Fancies on Saturday ... better late then never.  I'm not a huge fan of shorts ... I prefer skirts but I found these shorts similar to a skirt I own and thought I'd so a simple way to look fabulous when out and about this summer.   Join the fun and link up at {long distance loving} !

So instead of telling you all the things that I am okay with this week ... I thought why not share some things that I wonder if I am okay ... so more like a "is it okay?" kinda day. Isn't it weird that ... I always think of the most random moments in my life when I am taking a shower.  Seriously, it never fails some weird memory will come back to me and the entire time I am showering I am also thinking where in the world did this chain of thoughts come from?  Weird? To stop drinking Starbucks (yes weird) but then go back and think ... YUCK ... this stuff is so bitter and have weird caffeine withdrawals or yet the opposite because duh you just drank it.  Then think why the heck didn't I think to get decaf ... you know like easing yourself back into an addiction rather and overdosing.  But wait ... there's more ... then the lil starbucks app has a 1 on it ... you tap it and TADA free drink reward at your service.  Okay so next time ... totally getting dec...

So you have escaped from home ... you now have your own place.  Great right?  No parents, no chores, no nagging you know the great life.  Well almost.  Dishes!  Let's face it they need to get clean and if you are living in the world without a dishwasher that means ... you gotta wash them.   It all starts with one cup or plate in the sink and before you know it everything you own is in there needing to be cleaned.  So what do you do?  Roll up your sleeves and start washing? Here are some tips .... 1) When apartment hunting make sure your kitchen is off the beaten path ... you know not viewable from the front door.   2) Decorative dishtowels over the sink will get you an extra day ... or two.   3) Soaking them for later is never a good idea - you just end up with STANK water and slimey dishes. 4) Marissa you are in luck ... bring that little sister over and bribe her to do the dishes.  Ex. Debra ...

I'm not one to crush over an actress/model/whatever's look.  Come on they have stylists!  However I do envy and have style crushes on those around me that can create a bold color and printed outfit.  I have outfit crushes ... so here is an attempt to make an outfit that I would totally crush on if I saw someone wearing it. I just love mint and coral together ... now only if my skin tone loved them as much I do.  Also, it takes guts to mix prints and bold colors so I just crush over anyone's outfit that does and then scour the internet looking for the same pieces {true story}. Have you ever had one of these moments?

What better day to make a fresh comeback than an It's Okay Thursday! I've done some blog soul searching and discovered that I had indeed lost my roots but I have gained some other great things along the way so those need to be embraced as well.  So here it goes ... my plan: First off, Friday Fancies are a must have comeback post so tune in tomorrow for my fabulous outfit creation! Second, I started this blog to WRITE and I haven't done that in a long time.  Some of it was due to writer's block and the other due to convincing myself that no one actually reads anymore because they just want pictures and the ability to move on quickly.  Well tough luck cuz I'm doing some writing. I am devoting one post a week to a new idea ... {here's a little back story} ... a fellow blogger, Stephanie at Bourbon and Glitter , recommended a book Adulting:  How to Become a Grown Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown  so I checked it out from my local li...

Okay so for once I am going to just blog about some random thoughts without pictures so here it goes ... First, seriously check out this post about moving over to bloglovin ... it literally took me less than 5 minutes to  add all my blogs I follow to bloglovin.  If you follow me let me know if I am not following you ... I don't want anyone to slip through the cracks!!!  Leave me a comment below and I'll fix it ASAP! Second, I have been having some debates with myself about my blog ... change it, keep it, toss it, revive it, forget it, cherish it, etc.  I am working on it.  Suggestions are helpful. Third, tonight is finally/sadly/terrifyingly Game 7 of Heat vs. Spurs ... GO HEAT!!! Moreover, I just realized other night that evening tv sucks during the weeknights ... so now nothing to watch until Sunday night and no basketball ... how will I make it through the Summer? Furthermore, I have decided to read more ... yes READ BOOKS.  How...

I just love Christina Hendrix and I always list her character Joan on Mad Men as my fave. Love this outfit but um ... Lucky ... where did her girls go? They are big girls and here she looks a tad flat chested.   Photoshop busted! Now Mad Men - give her more of a story line this season!!