Thursday, May 31, 2012

Short & Sweet

I am so unbelievably excited to have Jeffrey home!!! I know he was only gone for a week {it felt like a month} but I missed him so much!!! You don't realize how much someone means to you until they aren't there and even though Jeff and I have been dating for three years every time he leaves it makes me realize how much he means to me. I guess the saying is true "absence makes the heart grow fonder". We went to the river today with Sean and Courtney and had a blast. We got a little burned but it was totally worth it. After that, my mom, grandma, aunt, and I went to watch my little cousin's ballet performance. She was so cute:) To end the night my Aunt, Uncle, three cousins, my parents, grandma, Jeff, Courtney, Sean, and I went to dinner at Oreganos. Yum! Now as I'm writing this, I'm about to fall asleep so sweetdreams!!!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

DIY: Succulent Terrarium

Yesterday I made my brother go to Home Depot with me to do some heavy lifting. I have been wanting to plant some succulents lately but since I don't want to leave them outside this is the perfect DIY to bring a little nature indoors.
Now I have a little living sanctuary on my desk to look at everyday. A little tip is to give these bad boys about 4 hours of sun a day. I will put it out in the kitchen for a couple of hours or I will put it by my window. The cacti don't need a lot of water so spray them sparingly and leave the glass lid off to let it air out. But it is hard to kill these plants thats why I went with them:) All different shaped glass containers can be used even mason jars. But make sure you use glass. That is how the sunlight gets to them {and it just looks super cool anyways}. This DIY in total cost under $25. The most expensive thing was the glass jar from Hobby Lobby for $12. The succulents were only $1.89 each. I had to stop myself from buying more because they all were awesome!!

PS Jeff comes home tonight and I am so excited!!!! They made it so far in the World Series and I'm so proud of him and the whole team. Way to go Chokes!!!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

DIY: Studded Converse

I finally did this DIY today! This is totally customizable for any style and color of converse.
I'm pretty much obsessed with them. I hope you like yours as much as I like mine!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Monday, May 28, 2012

DIY: Hex Nut Bracelet

This DIY has been all over the internet so I wanted to try it for myself.
The last picture has an optional closure that I did. A simple knot will work just fine, however, I wanted mine to be adjustable. Have fun DIYing and Happy Memorial Day!!!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Antique Finds

On Thursday when Rea and I went to Prescott, I didn't come home empty handed. Here is what I got.
{three cheese graters for an up coming jewelry DIY}

{sterling silver dish for my bracelets for $3}

{chandelier crystals for an up coming DIY}

{gorgeous leather purse for $20}


I hope you guys had a wonderful Sunday!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Outfit Post: Spikes & Stripes/ DIY: Spike Friendship Bracelet

Here is my outfit post in my awesome dip dyed shorts. I also got my studs and spikes in the mail so I studded the inside of one of the back pockets.
DIY dip dyed jean shorts, striped blouse Q, handmade assorted bracelets, Michael Kors watch, handmade spike necklace, sandals TJ-Maxx, purse Saver's, Rayban sunnies


This is the simple DIY for the spike friendship bracelet I'm wearing in the photos above.
1. Friendship bracelets {you can find different patterns on google & I used embroidery thread}, spikes {I purchased mine from studsandspikes.com}
2. Lay out how many spikes you want to use {I'm used two different sized spikes}
3. Insert the screw on the underneath side of the bracelet and screw the spike on top
4. Repeat the same steps for the bigger spikes
5. & 6. Finished product!

This is such a fun twist to the standard friendship bracelet. The actual friendship bracelets are not hard to make but they are time consuming. However isn't this a perfect project for summer?! Super adorable to layer and stack these bracelets with others for some arm swag don't you think?!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Friday, May 25, 2012

DIY: Dip Dyed Shorts

I have been wanting to do this DIY for the longest time and I finally did it today. Here are 13 easy steps for a cheap and chic refresher to your old jean shorts.
1. What you need: jean shorts, 3 buckets {depending on how many colors you want to use}, Rit dye {I am using teal, purple, and fuchsia}, wooden stir stick, hot water, clips
2. Fill 3 buckets with hot water
3. Stir dye into bucket
4. Wet jean shorts first to help dye soak in
5. For an ombre look, let shorts sit in Fuchsia dye for 5-10 minutes
6. Dip half of shorts in purple for 2 minutes then finish with just the bottom in the purple for as long as you want. The color should be darkest on the bottom.
For the second pair & third pair:
7. Dip the top of the shorts in the fuchsia dye
8. Finish by dipping the bottom of the shorts in the teal color. {overlap the colors to get a faded ombre look}
9. For the third pair I just used teal and dipped the whole pair in the teal for 2 minutes and continued until the bottom was darker teal.
10. Finished product
11. Wash and dry shorts all SEPARATELY. They will bleed.
12. This step is optional but I wanted to embellish this pair with silver pyramid studs {I will do the fushia and purple pair once my shipment of gold spikes/studs come in}
13. Finished studded and dyed shorts!

This whole DIY cost under $10. You seriously can not beat that! Stores sell these shorts online for up to $200 dollars...outrageous!! Such a fun summer DIY! Enjoy:)

xoxo,
Alyssa


Thursday, May 24, 2012

Prescott Adventures & Three Year Anniversary

Today is Jeff an I's three year anniversary and he is in Oklahoma :( I miss him so much but couldn't be happier to have been blessed with such an amazing guy. He is my best friend and I'm excited to see what God has in store for us in our future. Always&Forever

Rea and I had an amazing relaxing day today! We drove up to Prescott to enjoy some 70 degree weather, antique shopping, Bill's Pizza, Young's Farm ice cream, picture taking, and some good quality friend time. Here are some fun snap shots from today's adventures.
{awesome candle shop with tons of different shaped candles}

{Bill's Pizza for lunch}


As you can tell we had a lot of fun!! I will post my purchases tomorrow!

xoxo,
Alyssa




Wednesday, May 23, 2012

DIY: Dip Dyed Extensions

I had so much fun doing this DIY, but I am by no means a professional hair dresser so all the coloring was done by simply following the directions on the packaging and experimenting.
1. Clip in hair extensions, foil, brushes & bowls, bleach, volume and pink hair color {any color can be used}
2. Mix volume and bleach together according to package directions
3. Brush bleach on extensions {I tried to make the bleach fade lighter as it went up}
4. Put foil on hair and let it sit for about 30 minutes
5. Wash bleach out, shampoo & condition
6. Blow dry & straighten {I added some moroccan oil also}
7. Apply pink hair dye {I wanted it to be pale so I make it darker at the ends and had it fade lighter, I also turned my brush sideways and feathered the color up so it wouldn't be a harsh line of pink}
8. For a pale pink, immediately wash color out after applying it. Blow dry and they are ready to be put in.

{*the bleach steps are optional. I already have blonde hair but I wanted the pink to pop more so I just bleached the ends of my blonde extensions a little more this step should be manditory for people with dark hair.}

I hope you guys like this DIY as much as I do. It adds a fun touch to my hair for summer that can easily be removed. Happy hair dying!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Outfit Post: Vintage & Handmade

Tonight Jeff and I are celebrating our 3 year anniversary early because he will be gone to the world series on Thursday:( I always cherish the time we spend together but since his signing with Colorado Mesa University and knowing he will be gone for the majority of next year, it has really made me love seeing him and hanging out with him even more. Our traditional anniversary dinner is at Red, White and Brew but I wanted to save that for when he comes home so tonight we are going to Salty's for some yummy Mexican food then to my newly discovered, favorite dessert place Cookiez for some homemade ice cream cookies. YUM! Here is what I'm wearing.
shorts Forever21, blouse Goodwill, necklace handmade, bracelets all handmade except gold cuff, shoes TJ Maxx, purse Saver's, Raybans


I made that necklace last night and I love it so much! Those charms are actually Afghan coins that I got last week along with that gold cross that I made into a bracelet, and the skull beads that I made into a bracelet also {plus tons of other fun stuff I will post later}. Happy Tuesday!

xoxo,
Alyssa