DIY Spring Wreath

Happy Easter!

I'm a bit behind with my posts because once again Dylan has taken the laptop as he has now moved up to Minnesota. 

Speaking of which it's definitely been a change to be 3 1/2 hours away from him! Today was Easter and it just didn't quite feel right not being together. 

This DIY is a spring wreath that I created a couple weeks ago to give to a friend as a bridal shower gift. I saw a lot of wreaths on Pinterest and also on Etsy selling for upwards of $50 or more. I'm a pretty crafty girl so I knew that it would be ridiculous to pay $50 for a wreath, when I could easily make it myself!

I ended up getting all of my supplies at my local Hobby Lobby but I'm sure the supplies were also available at Michael's or Joann. I actually have all three stores in my area but Hobby Lobby is usually my go-to. 

Materials:

Twig/branch wreath to use as base, they sell various sizes

Assorted artificial flowers, branches, greenery

Ribbon 

Wooden letter or numbers 

Acrylic paint 

Brush 

Floral wire (or jewelry wire or any sort of flexible wire)

Wire cutters

Hot glue

You'll want to start by picking out a wreath base that is the size you would like, depending on where you want to hang it. I designed this to be hung on the front door. I want to say mine was about 1 foot in diameter. 

I then started by arranging the flowers in the way that I wanted them to be before I even started attaching. 

I then trimmed down the excess wire of the floral pieces the best that I could. Some of the thicker parts of the 'stems' wouldn't stick to the wreaths with glue so I used floral wire to wrap around and attach to the wreath. Make sure that you then spread out the flowers and branches to cover up the wire. I used hot glue for the rest! 

This wreath was for a friend who's new last name will start with an 'N' which is why I chose that letter, and then I painted it with two coats of white acrylic paint. I have also seen wreaths on Pinterest that use your house number rather than a letter which I think is cute as well. I was able to attach the letter to the wreath with glue. 

I made the bow out of burlap and also attached it with hot glue. I also made a loop with the burlap ribbon that she can use with a wreath hanger. 

It's hard to describe the process because it's pretty simple- just pick out the flowers, ribbon, and other adornments that you want and start attaching them to the wreath! There is no right or wrong! 

The best part about this project is that the total cost was only about $15! I can't wait to make one for myself. 

Mallory

My 'Beauty Station'

Because Dylan is going to be living in Duluth without me for a few months (sigh), he is taking the spare bedroom furniture, leaving the room completely empty.
Prior to today, I would sit on the spare bed, with a mirror propped against the wall, to get ready in the morning. This was neither glamorous, comfortable, or practical.

Today I moved the desk from my front room that I refinished a few summers ago with my friend Kelsey into the spare bedroom and set up my 'Beauty Station'. I few months ago I picked up these decorative canister/candle holders? at Target for just a few bucks each. I had them in my dining room hutch for decorative purposes until today- now I'm using them to hold my brushes, hair products, and lip products! I picked up a plastic organizer at Target today on clearance for under $5 where all the rest of my makeup is now held.

I'm so happy to have my own space, to be comfortable in the morning, and be organized! I think I threw it together pretty easily. What do you think?

Canisters, Key wall decals, mirrored tray, lamp, and organizer all from Target. Wall mirror was given to me by my mom. 2 way magnifying mirror from Menards.

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain + Balm

From Left: Twilight, Frenzy, Gothic, Instinct, Dawn, Desire with 2 coats

I'm all about a good deal, and whenever I stop at Walgreens for an essentials purchase, I always check out the cosmetics section for any good clearance steals. I came across the Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain + Balm, regular price $9.49, clearanced to $4.79. This price was good enough to at least catch my eye. Then one of the employees that I know there informed me that they would also qualify for the buy one get one 50% off sale on all Revlon products. I then checked the Walgreens coupon book (which can be picked up by anyone upon first entering the store- I believe you need to be signed up for their rewards program, which is free, to use) and there was a $1 off Revlon lip color coupon!



Regular price to purchase 6 lip stains= $56.94
Clearance, bogo 50% off, plus $1 off each coupon price for 6 lip stains = $15.54

Yes just $15.54 for all 6 lip stains, which I purchased over the course of a few days.

Now, sometimes I can get a little TOO excited about a good deal and buy things I don't even need (or want- what?!), so you might be wondering, how great are these things?

The Revlon website claims:

This unique 2-in-1 gives you kiss-proof color with soft shine and a nourishing balm for supreme comfort.

1. YES this color is kiss-proof. I gave Dylan a kiss on the cheek and he freaked out 'aww man am I going to have kiss marks on my face?' No. No he did not!
2. The balm IS nourishing and does leave a soft shine. Without it, you could go for a more matte look.

The Revlon website directions:

EXPERT TIPS:
Step 1: Apply lip stain evenly to clean, bare lips and wait 30 seconds. Build color and coverage as desired.


Step 2: Follow with moisturizing lip balm. reapply as desired for knockout shine and moisture throughout the day.

I'd say the instructions are about all you need to know. My personal tips: Practice makes perfect! This was my first time with a lip stain, and it takes some getting used to! The applicator is basically that of a Crayola marker.


So my review:

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Dawn

PRO's
-The great sale price (duh)
-Easy to apply once you get used to the marker tip, easy to control
-Balm is moisturizing
-Don't have to re-apply often as the color lasts a long time
-Can go matte or slighty shiny depending on whether or not you use the balm
-Can build up the color by adding more coats
-Very lightweight. You don't even feel it once it's on.
CON's
-The balm of at least 2 of them broke off the first time I opened them! They are very fragile.
- The darker colors seem to cling to the crevices of my lips. My lips are in my opinion, well moisturized, and don't have dryness or cracks. However when I applied the darker colors it ended up looking spotty. I might try a DIY lip scrub to get rid of this issue!
- This is not something you can touch up on the fly. You need a mirror and you have to take your time.
- More color pay-off with the darker colors. As you can see from the swatches, Desire is hardly visible with 2 coats.
- When they say stain, they mean STAIN. At least for the darker colors. I wore Gothic to work on Friday - a bright, classic red. I scrubbed Friday night, Saturday morning... This morning (Sunday) when I woke up all the color had finally faded from my crevices.

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain + Balm in Dawn, one coat.

Week 6

Me and Dylan on the Skydeck in Chicago

Hello!

So very unfortunately on Dylan's last day here before leaving for Illinois, he decided to bring the laptop with him. Of course he definitely needed it for studying more than I needed it for blogging, Pinterest, and Facebook, but alas, I was very sad without it!

Dylan was home for his midterm break last weekend, so he brought the laptop home for me now that his tests are done.

Like I said above, Dylan passed all of his tests. I'm very proud of him and how hard he has been working! He really dedicated himself to exceeding in class and passing these tests. His last two weeks are spent doing fieldwork which I think he will find much more enjoyable.

I went down to visit the first weekend, and we laid low for the most part- trying to save money between paychecks! We found a local bar in Tinley Park - Teehan's - that quickly became our favorite hang out! Turns out my parents used to hang out their when they were younger, too. I spent the second weekend at home, and went back down the third weekend. We went into Chicago for St. Patty's Day and went to the Sears Tower Skydeck. The fourth weekend Dylan came home secretly without telling any of his friends and family- so it was wonderful to have that 'alone time' uninterrupted. He was home last weekend for his 'midterm break', and now we are debating what to do this weekend - will I go down there or will he come home? We are leaning towards him coming home because it is the cheaper option- he can ride home for free with a friend from class!

I'm happy to have my laptop back so I can start posting about what I'm up to while I'm alone! My next project is a spring wreath for my friend Karissa's bridal shower.

Snickers Breakfast Protein Shake

Tomorrow mid-morning Dylan is leaving to drive down to Tinley Park, IL for his training! We are both very excited to begin this new adventure. But of course, with the excitement comes the sadness of being separated. I know it may seem a bit ridiculous, but in the almost three years we have been together, the most time we've spent apart from each other is four days. FOUR DAYS. Dylan will be gone for training for seven WEEKS.
But, I'm so excited for what the future holds because of this amazing opportunity. So I am trying to be optimistic and hold back the waterworks (though they have let loose a few times!)
I took next Friday off of work to go down and visit Dylan there for my birthday weekend (Monday, March 3 is my birthday so this is the closest we could get to the actual day). I am originally from the Chicagoland area so we will also visit with my grandma who lives only twenty minutes from where Dylan is training!

Dylan threw himself a little going away party last night at the bar, and so it is now 11:32am and he is still sleeping. To give him even more extra time to catch some zzz's, I decided to make myself a sweet treat- a breakfast smoothie. Because when I'm sad, I want chocolate. But chocolate isn't exactly suitable for breakfast!

So here it is, my Snickers Protein Breakfast Shake (that's what I'm calling it I guess!)


Snickers Breakfast Protein Shake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Fage 0% Plain Greek Yogurt (vanilla may have been better but this is what I had on hand)
1/2 cup Bolthouse Farms Mocha Cappucino Protein Shake (again, could have used milk, almond milk, etc but this is what I had on hand)
3 bite size candies (I used 2 Snickers, 1 dark chocolate Milky Way)
6 salted almonds (I used Blue Diamond)
8 ice cubes

Place ingredients in blender, and blend until smooth!
My little sister got me a Ninja blender a couple years ago for Christmas, and I love it!
Like I mentioned above, I think using a vanilla greek yogurt would have sweetened this up so it was just right. Plain greek yogurt can be a little bitter! But overall I enjoyed this smoothie.

I entered the ingredients into my MyFitnessPal account to get a rough estimate of calories! And as you can see this shake has approx 20g of protein. See below:

Enjoy! Now it's off to wake up my sleepyhead of a boyfriend and start the last full day we will have together in Wisconsin for a while!


Mallory

My First Blog

Hello everyone,

I'm Mallory! This is my first blog post. Thanks to Pinterest, I've been wanting to start a blog for a while. Blogs with recipes, DIY tutorials, make up looks, crafts, etc. that I found via Pinterest have taught me a lot! And I hope to teach others too by creating my own blog.
I do plan to share this blog with family and friends who want to share my journey with me, but I also hope to gain some 'random' followers as well!
A little bit about me: I'm 22 years old (soon to be 23), living in Central Wisconsin. I work for a transportation company at a 'desk job' in customer service. My boyfriend, Dylan and I will have been together for 3 years coming up on March 18th and I couldn't be happier. Him and I and our Beagle-Pomeranian mix 'fur baby' Lola live together in our cozy house 'in the middle of nowhere'.
Dylan bought our house in November of 2011 and since then we have made a lot of changes. Although I never took the time to make step-by-step instructions for some of projects in the beginning, I'm hoping to create some step-by-steps for our future projects!
Dylan was just hired for a Conductor position with CN railroad. And so begins my life as a 'railroad wife' (ok, railroad girlfriend, but that doesn't sound as catchy). He will have training outside of Chicago for 7 weeks (about six hours away) and then will start working in Superior, WI/Duluth, MN -just about 10 minutes apart on the Wisconsin-Minnesota line, hence my blog title! We will be making the move up there together hopefully by mid-summer.
I'm used to being with Dylan every night, and every weekend. This is going to be a HUGE change for me. And blogging about all my crafts, projects, makeup ideas, etc. is what I hope will keep me busy in the coming months!

I hope to use this blog to give others the confidence to DIY- our whole home remodel has been done by US alone and it feels so good to know that! I hope to show some makeup looks that I try out (I plan to attend cosmetology school this fall!). And I also plan to use this blog to vent, and share Dylan and my adventures in a new state!


Mallory