Beauty Swap

I signed up to do a beauty swap with Crystal over at Crystal Cattle and I am SO GLAD I did.

I was paired up with Sarah over at The Dusenberry Daily.

She totally spoiled me!!!!!

We emailed each other back and forth to get to know each other.

I told her I liked to play to with eye color, battle dry skin this time of year, 

and love trying all sorts of new hair products.

She did SOOOO GOOD! 

We both started following each other’s blog and also Instagram account.  

I posted the other day on Instagram that my eye shadow never lasts all day. 

So she hooked me up.  She gave me Urban Decay Primer.   

Also 3 samples of different tinted eye primers.

AND....the most fabulous eye shadow colors!!!!  I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She also gave me 3 samples of different moisturizer and my all time favorite lip gloss.

I love EOS!!!

 Sarah also included 2 bottles of nail polish, and a new file.

I have already used both colors and the file!!!

The pink Revlon polish is a perfume polish.  YES PERFUME!!!!  It smells amazing!!!

Sarah included some of her favorite products that she really wanted me to try.

One of these was Nail Butter.  And OH MY IT IS FABULOUS!!!!

She also really wanted me to try Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray.

I don’t know why I have not tried this before.  It is incredible!!!!

I couldn't be happier with ALL the items I received!!!!

 I am so glad I signed up for this and I will definitely do it again!

Head over to Sarah’s Blog and see what I sent her.

I hope you sign up next time!!!!

I love you Grandpa Ray and I can’t wait to see you again

Early this morning my grandfather passed away.  In this sorrow filled time I have to admit I feel so incredibly grateful and blessed.  Not because he is gone, but because I get to sit here at 31 years old and say that I had 31 years with my Grandpa!  This is a blessing denied to many!!!!  I will not let the sadness, loss and sorrow overpower my extreme gratefulness to have had my grandfather for so many year.  Not only did I have him for 31 years I also can say I knew him!  He was such a hard worker!  He put in LONG HARD hours of work and I never heard him complain.  He had faith!!!  He was smart, determined, strong and yet a gentle man. 

My grandfather was a quiet man.  He did not say much. He was not much of a talker.  But when he did speak you listened.  You didn’t listen because he demanded it, expected it, or required it.  You listened because you truly wanted to hear what he had to say.  He was a smart man who had great knowledge and experience to share. 

His hands….when my husband first saw them said they looked like baseball mitts.  They were the thickest strongest hands I have ever seen….AND permanently stained from YEARS of HARD work!  But those big, hands could calm any baby!  I am so grateful my children were held in his hands and got to know him!!! They will always remember Great Grandpa Ray!

As a kid I felt like my grandpa could make anything.  He and my grandma did a lot of wood working and crafts.  I loved going out to their farm to help paint.  He would even do a lot of the sanding for me. …shhh don’t tell grandma, she always told me I couldn’t just do the fun part of panting I had to do the prep work also :)  He would walk in, tell me I was working harder then I needed to be, show me the right technique, and viola it was done!  I LOVED THAT!  They both really nurtured my creative spirit!

He was a great man and I can’t imagine you will even find someone to dispute that!!!

I love you Grandpa Ray and I can’t wait to see you again!!!

Make your own fringe t-shirt scarf

This past Fall I shared how I made a t-shirt scarf for my cowgirl.  

Today I am sharing the one I made for myself.  

I LOVE IT!  and it was SOOO EASY!!!

I used the same technique as I did here.

(I used a mans L t-shirt to do an adults size scarf)

One of the things I love about this scarf is that it is season(less.  

You can wear it over a long sleeved shirt, with a jacket, or over a tank top.

AND....well its fringe!!!  FRINGE IS FUN!!!!

See my boots....The Hubs got them for me for Christmas.

He ordered them from the Fort Western Stores, you can see them here.

If you make a fring scarf Please send my pictures.  

I'd love to feature you on the blog!!!! 

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These pictures were taken in my basement.  

I recently turned my dark creepy basement into my new bright studio, office, sewing room, craft room. 

One of my goals for 2014 was to make time to create more art,  this space is the first step in moving that direction.

I LOVE having a space to spread out and work

The cowgirls love having a space to go do projects also.

I know the Hubs is glad to not have our projects all over the dinning table!

{Blog post coming soon with pictures of it}

breaking through my weight loss plateau

I posted my goals yesterday and one of my goals was to continue with my weight loss.

So far I am very proud of my weight loss {around 40lbs before the holidays hit}.

It is been due to changes in my diet. 

I have cut out potatoes and starches and replaced them with with fruits and veggies. 

{So I mainly eat meat, fruits, and veggies...."eating clean"}

But I have NOT been working out.  I need to start! 

I have hit a plateau {for over 3 months} and I know I need to start working out to break through it.

I have so many excuses...

• its cold {which it is}
• I live in the country so it is a pain to drive to town to work out {which it is especially on bad roads}
• I am a busy mom {which I am}
• my schedule is so different day to day, week to weak {true story}

...and the list could go on and on, AND ON!!!

But as long as I make excuses I’ll get the same results.

It is time to actually start working out and find a way to make it work FOR ME!

What am I doing? 

Well first off I am doing a 30 day ab challenge {you should join in}

Then I am also doing a boot camp challenge {you should join in}

And lastly cardio {yep you guessed it, you should join in}

I am going to attempt to do cardio 3-5 a week.  It may be a jog, the elliptical, a bike ride, a walk with the girls, or whatever the day/weather/schedule allows.  The key for me is to make it flexible!

I did day one {for both of the abs and boot camp} yesterday. I looked at them and though wow this will be pud.  I did them not problem BUT I quickly realized I am farther removed from ‘in shape’ then I had realized!  It feels great to be doing something again. 

Did you set a goal for getting fit, being healthier this year?  

What step are you making to work towards your goal?

setting goals for 2014

Well it is that time again.

Time to reflect back on the past year and think forward to the upcoming year.  

2013 was a good year for me.  

I have really found peace in the simple things in life!

I have an amazing family and wonderful friends.

I feel that this past year I have been who I want to be who I am suppose to be!

Every year I think of goals I want to accomplish throughout the next year.  

I don't get really specific.  This year It is actually pretty vague.  

But all are obtainable......I cant do it.  

I WILL do it!

Do you set goals for the year???

I wish you all an amazing 2014!!!

I have always been a creative person

I have always been a creative person.  I often lovingly remind the Hubs.....

"this is what you signed up for, you knew what you were getting when you married me"

When I came across this saying today I thought it 100% fit!

Being creative is incredibly fun and gratifying but also can be a bit overwhelming for others.  I am hard to carry a conversation with because I think of something and I jump topics then remember what I was saying and jump back (maybe an hour or so later).  I am a free spirit who loves to try new things.  This is one of the things that the Hubs loves most about me AND DRIVES HIM CRAZY!!!!  Not that I blame him.  At times I have to be a blast and other times I cause stress because I didn't always think things through before I begin or I didn't plan my time the best.  I get wild ideas while sitting on the couch in the evening next to him,  he is ready to head to bed while I am coming up with ideas for a new project.  

For instance When I painted our entry....

I was getting new carpet for our living room the following week so I was peaking under our old carpet.  We never had an entry so when I pulled up the carpet and found we had a few feet of GROSS wood floor in front of the door my mid started spinning with ideas.  So the next day while the Hubs was at work I painted the floor. You can read more about the floor here. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and gearing up for a FABULOUS New Year!!!

Are you setting New Years Resolutions/Goals?

The Cutest Christmas Coop in Town

I know I have been slacking at blogging lately.  

To be honest I have not been that busy.  I have just been enjoying my family.  

It has been nice to just slow down and enjoy.  
It also does not help that I dropped and broke my phone while decorating outside for Christmas.
The hubs was not impressed, he does not understand the importance of taking pictures for Instagram.
But I now am an iPhone user!

I’ve been doing projects so I have a bunch to blog about I just need to set down and do it.  Which I WILL

But it has been brought to my attention that posted on my Facebook page 

about putting Christmas lights on my chicken coop but I had not posted any pictures yet 

{if you're not following me on Fabebook yet click here too, 

and also follow me on Instagram @chores_chandeliers}.  

So I headed out and snapped a picture.....

It’s pretty darn cute huh?   

Yes my coop also has stockings, a wreath, candy garland,bows, tulle, AND a lighted snowman.

Doesn't yours???

It makes me happy and to be honest the ladies of the coop must love it too.   

They have been thanking us with a mass production of eggs lately. 

You can see other pictures of the coop HERE

Merry Christmas

rusty tin and turquoise cross ornament

I am super excited to share my rusty tin and turquoise cross ornaments with you!!! 

A fellow blogger and friend of mine is doing a 'Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree".   

This is Kacey and she blogs over at Fancy Ewe.  You need to head over and check out all the amazing ornaments she has already made for her tree!  She is super creative {and fashionable} so I was very flattered when she asked me to do an ornament for her tree.  I was SOOOO EXCITED!!!!  My mind started spinning!  I decided on using some old tin that is out in the Barn. It was an easy project.  It only needed tin, some beads (that I kept aft a necklace broke), and some tin shearers.  Last year for Christmas the hubs gave me a DeWalt drill and tin shearer attachment.  I WAS SO EXCITED!!!!!  Really I was.  I am pretty practical when it comes to gift giving!!! Never heard of a tin shearer?  Here is what it looks like!  You could use tin snips and cut by hand to do this project but this saves a ton of time!!!!

I have used it to make wedding shower decorations (you can see here), 

 stars for my mantel (you can see here), and other various projects.  

 

I decided to do different shapes and sizes of rusty tin crosses.  

I am trying hard to keep the reason in the season.  

So why not fill my tree with crosses?!?!?

Making the crosses were easy.  Here is my step by step picture tutorial. 

Here is my entire tree.....

• The tree topper is left over flowers, stick, and a burlap bow.
• I found the big cross propped up in the tree at Hobby Lobby.
• Aluminum horseshoes.
• Turquoise bulbs.
• Silver bulbs.
• Silver snowflakes.
• White lights.

Holiday Traditions

We are flexible with family holidays and traditions {changing every year}.  

Whenever we can get together we celebrate.  

BUT one tradition holds true....Christmas pictures on Thanksgiving!!!

Every year on Thanksgiving I make my younger brother take my families pictures for our Christmas card.

{I set it up, hand him my camera, and he snaps away}

This year was no exception. 

It was cold {like REALLY COLD!!!!!} so we didn't go far,  

we just walked across the road from parents to an old shed and snapped a few quick shots.

 

You can see in some of the expressions that they are COLD.

Everyone was a trooper though and no complaining {but we kept it short and ran in for coco and cider}

Now which picture goes on the Christmas card?

Well I couldn't pick just one, So this is what I chose.
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What do you think?  Good choices for the card???