Birthday Weekend Festivities: Concert, Dinner, Gifts and More!

For those of you who didn't already gather from my various photo posts on twitter and Instagram over the weekend, I am indeed, now, a 26 year old gal :) I must admit 26 feels way better than 25, odd as that may sound. 26 came with more ease and feels overall more fun, dare I say :) Below are some photos, most of which I also posted somewhere on one of my social media sites, of how my weekend went, enjoy :)

The day before my actual birthday I had one of my very good friends, my job and my boyfriend all surprise me with some awesome things :)

The actual night of my birthday I invited a group of my closest family and friends to a restaurant that I like for dinner. You can never go wrong with Mexican food right? Sombrero and all, I laughed the night away. I even had a shot, something that I haven't done in YEARS (you guys remember I don't drink right?)

Cake and a game night followed dinner and it was honestly the perfect ending. I am such a simple woman when it comes to things like this. I almost always have a game night on my birthday because board games are something I really, REALLY enjoy! Taboo games are always interesting with my crew and things can get a little crazy, I love it! :) As tradition follows, my pup helped me blow out my candles, love love love her :) Aren't my best friends beauties?!

The next day, my friend took me to see OneRepublic live as her birthday gift to me. I LOVE OneRepublic and this was honestly a highlight of my summer. They were AMAZING live, so much so that as awesome as they sound on their records, that doesn't even do them justice! I would definitely go see them again without a doubt.

I ended my birthday weekend with a picnic at the park with my pup and the mister. What a perfect way to wind down--the weather, food and company were bliss :) 

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as I did mine :) 

Candles, Cake, Friends and Being 26, 

xox

My Trip To The Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

Last weekend I was in the mood to just get up and go somewhere fun. Last minute long trips are always so hard to plan so staying within a reasonable distance to home made this adventure that much easier to plan! I love nature and the outdoors simply for its beauty and serenity so this was the perfect day trip for me :)

The Brooklyn Botanic Gardens are absolutely stunning no matter the season you decide to visit.  In the Winter I can just imagine all the snow covered tree lined paths and in the Spring all of the blossoming Cherry Blossoms (My absolute favorite!). In the Summer you get to see the fully bloomed rose garden and other very colorful flowers/plants.  It really is such a wonderful sight to see and if you haven't ever been, I suggest one lazy Sunday, you take a visit!

I brought my DSLR camera just to get better photo quality as opposed to my everyday point and shoot.  Ever since getting this camera I feel like I see my surroundings differently, is it just me? I NEVER had the eye for that "perfect photo" or what lighting worked best etc., because I never really took interest in professional photography, BUT when you have a camera that takes such wonderful photos, you start to see all those "perfect shots" ;) I walk around and stop and say to my boyfriend (or myself in my head haha) "honey look, that would be SUCH a nice photo!" Now by no means is this anything more than just an occasional hobby, but being able to look through the lens and see how amazing that photo you just took came out, I must admit is super cool :) My neighbor has a Cherry Blossom tree on her front lawn and boy do I look like a spy as I crouch down in my driveway just to try and capture its beauty hahaha What a weirdo! Anyway, nature photography is my favorite so far ;)

Now for the Botanical Garden Photos! Enjoy xox :)

I like to do these types of posts because I know I have some readers that are way to far to visit the places I go and vice versa. I think it's a wonderful way to make my readers feel like they have visited a new place :)

I am in the process of getting the photos done for my next Product Review, woohoo! :) haha That will be my next post some time this week. Hope you enjoyed a glimpse of my trip!

Blossoming Gardens,

xox

DIY: A Wreath To Display Spring/Summer/Fall!

If you have been reading my blog for some time now, then you know that I also made the wreath we use around the holidays. You could say I am somewhat of a wreath lover! haha I always see those pre-made ones in my local craft stores, but that just seems like the easy way out. If you are however, on a time crunch, or maybe your creative juices are just lacking lately, getting one of those pre-made ones may just be exactly what you're looking for. Personally speaking, I like starting from scratch, this way you not only save a little money, but have tons of fun making it just as YOU want it!

I went out on a whim today and stopped by a craft store because I had gotten a 20% off your ENTIRE purchase coupon in my email. After the long cake tasting I did today for another event I am helping coordinate, I figured since this craft store was on my route home, I would stop in and see if they had the sunflowers I was looking for for this particular wreath I had mapped out in my mind. Boy did they have them, and SO much more! I could swear they had just replenished their entire stock of silk florals because let me say, they had so much variety!

I looked around for some inspiration and didn't really see anything comparable to what I was thinking that I wanted to make but I did gather some "data" and figured out that a wreath of the sort that I made could cost you up in the price range of  $55-70! Keep reading below if you would like to see the one that I made for under $35! :)

Here is what you would need if you are thinking about making one of these bad boys:

• Silk flowers of your liking and some greenery to go in the gaps
• A grape vine wooden branch wreath like the one in the top side picture above
• Some wire cutters and scissors
• A few yards of gardening wire (green) --This is in case you need to secure any stubborn flowers down.  As you may be able to see above, the bottom sunflower was being VERY stubborn and would not bend properly, so I used this gardening wire to secure it the best I could)
• A device that will allow you to hang your wreath on the door. 

It was hard for just me to take photos of myself doing the actual assembly of this wreath, but in a nut shell you just separate any bunches of flowers into single flowers leaving some stem so that you can easily intertwine them in the branches of the wreath.  You then just maneuver each individual flower in between and underneath the branches of the wreath and secure them with some garden wire if need be.

This wreath was SO simple to make. The worse part was the soreness I now have on my fingertips from tightly working with each branch. This wreath will last me way into the Fall season. I love the colors I chose because they are really suitable to Summer and Fall :)  Let me know if you make your own wreath!

Sore Fingertips,

xox

Spicing Up Your Humble Abode For Fall!

Let me first state that I am no professional home decorator, I just know what I like when I see it, and those are the tips I am going to be sharing with you today :) Decorating your home doesn't have to be a huge task as many think. I think it is the word in itself that can be intimidating to those on a time constraint or those who just don't have confidence in the creative person inside of them, but fear not, making your home look "spiffy" is not rocket science, I promise!

Lets jump right in as I have so many pretty awesome things I want to show you guys.

1. Fall Floral Centerpieces--Displaying floral arrangements in areas where a lot of people gather (ex kitchen, living room, front foyer) can be an excellent way to add some pizazz to your home! You can use either silk flowers or fresh ones depending on the type of maintenance you are able to do. The good thing about the fresh flowers is that you get to enjoy the scent, but I think for lasting power it may be smarter to use the silks! A few examples of some flowers that can be included in your fall arrangement would be sunflowers, chrysanthemums, gerberas, roses, lilies etc.  Fall colors include shades of red/burgundy, oranges, yellows, greens, almost any color that can be found on the changing colors of the leaves on the trees :) 


** Choose a rustic looking vase for an optimal look, and don't be shy to add a plaid bow with some plaid ribbon that can be found at your local craft store, this really ties everything together. You will see that ribbons are something I mention a lot in this post because I really think its such a simple way to spruce things up! 

 2. Outdoor Decoration Florals: --Mums are a very popular Autumn floral that can be found outside many homes as decorative pieces.  They really add curb appeal if you ask me :) I love the vibrant colors they come in, and honest to goodness, they last forever! haha Something I like to do with these is change out the pot they come in (mine come in a cheap plastic pot with some cellophane wrapped around it), and place them in ceramic clay pots, pretty inexpensive but makes all the difference! Next I love buying many different patterns of ribbon from my local craft store, plaids, reds etc., and tying a bow around the pot with these.  It adds something so homey feeling to them and makes them look even more "handmade".  

*If you are really feeling nifty, you can also buy some pumpkin garland (pretty much garland but with mini pumpkins and leaves etc) and use this to decorate your pots as well, use your imagination and go crazy! 

Pumpkin Garland

3. Decorative Votives: --I don't know about my readers, but there is nothing I love more than feeling warm and cozy during those brisk Autumn nights.  What better than creating your own Fall votives?! This is something I am definitely going to be trying out this year. It's so simple and requires only what you want, oh and a candle of course :) 

*Some common things to include when making a decorative fall candle would be gourds, decorative apples/pumpkins, decorative leaves, Indian corn etc. What you want to do is place your candle on a dish a few inches larger than the diameter of the actual candle, preferable something appealing to the eyes :) Next overlay some of your decorative pieces around the candle on the dish. So Simple I tell you, yet looks so beautiful when you take your time with it.

4. Glitter Pumpkins! --Ok, I had you at glitter right?! haha Anything with glitter seems fun to me, and no this does not have to get super messy if you follow directions carefully, it's actually astonishingly simple but by far my favorite craft for the Fall ! No, I didn't come up with this idea myself, I have to give credit where it is due, and I shall. I actually came across this in a video on YouTube and thought oh my goodness, I HAVE to do this! She makes it look so fun! Below I am going to link the video so that once you gather the three things you need, you can watch and create :)

* If you choose to do this on real pumpkins, they should last a few weeks as we know the pumpkins will eventually go bad. However, if you choose to do this on decorative fake pumpkins, they can last very very long! You can do the entire pumpkin, like shown in the video below, or you can even just do the parts you would normally carve out to make funny faces in glitter for kid approved ones! :) 

5. Fall Flare Wreath--Wreaths are perhaps one of the staple items that stay around for 75% of the year throughout many of the holidays.  They are something that, with a change in colors and theme, can always decorate your door for something splendid.  In the Spring, we do a wreath made of Lavender and boy is it gorgeous, in the Fall, we do wicker handmade wreaths and in the Winter, we do the Balsam wreaths in typical Winter Fashion.  

 

Well that's it for this edition of my Fall rambles haha I really truly hope this blog post made some of you want to go out there and get your "creative on"! lol I love being inspired to make my home look nice during different seasons/holidays, so I thought I would pay it forward to you all. I am not the most crafty person so all of these things are for beginners trust me! Just think of how amazing your home will look, I bet you will have people asking you who you hired to do it ;)

Gourds, Indian Corn, Pumpkins and Glitter Galore! ,

xox