Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Andy and I are starting to feel a little better, but my family is coming over here so we don't have to get out in the "cold". We had such a great morning opening presents and seeing what Santa brought ^_^ Andy got me a giant monster Fuji Instax and the pictures above were taken today! I hope everyone has an amazing, fun and relaxing day with the people they love.

<3

Resting up

Turks and I are takin' it easy...

My sinuses are a-holes

Feeling a little under the weather...as in...my face is trying to secede from my head. I've got a really great quick DIY to share this week, and some fun Christmas traditions that my family always celebrates. So I'm going to chill out and watch some Star Trek TNG and eat some mac and cheese and back later this week!

Office Christmas Party

Our company Christmas party was this week and we got dressed up! It's been a pretty exhausting work week and it was fun to just go out and see all the people I'd just seen 2 hours prior, but a fancier version of them. I didn't have my camera or phone out, but was lucky to get a couple of shots from coworkers.

These are some of my girls! I'm so lucky to get to work with these ladies every day. They are phenomenal at what they do, are totally hilarious and they indulge me in my cat videos during our daily meetings ^_^

Andy and I took these on the way home. We were waiting for the Metro and I took a picture of my legs...and he too a picture of me taking a picture of my legs haha. I might have to find another reason to wear this outfit and make up again ^_^ BY THE WAY! I tweeted about watching Lisa Eldridge make up videos all day and she totally tweeted back at me! Huge fan girl moment for a minute. She said I looked good and liked my bow <3 I totally made that bow the night before because I wanted something else for my hair. Anyway, yeah, kind of awesome.

<3

dress » Red Velvet

tights » American Apparel

shoes » Steve Madden

makeup tutorial » Lisa Eldridge

Merry Kittenmas

Things got a little silly at lunch the other day. Look at all these bad kittens in the tree!

Oh...and here's Sprinkles in a box.

Happy Thursday!

Wedding Giggles :P

So not only was our wedding perfect and beautiful and full of love...it was also really silly :P Here are a few of my favorite goofy shots from our happy day!

<3

Weekend Thrift Shopping

It has been a while since I've really been thrift shopping and with the holidays so close, I've been really wanting to dig through some vintage Christmas-y stuff. I googled thrifts stores in DC / VA and came across Unique! They're owned by the same people that run Value Village, so I knew we'd found a cool place. Here are some photos!

Such an awesome store front.

Oh look! Christmas is that way!

The Claus', a stenograph, a Kodak 8mm film projector & a Lady Baltimore suitcase in the best condition I've ever seen.

Turns out there was an Asian grocery store in the same shopping center. It was like a perfect storm of awesome.

So fancy!

My haul is on the bottom: Brown Sugar & Milk hard candy, a couple of Pocky's and a Hello Kitty rice bowl and steamer combo!

We had so much fun ^_^ Ended up coming home with a Little Drummer Boy album (which immediately made it into our Christmas rotation) and a giant bag of tinsel (for an upcoming DIY project). Unique was definitely huge, but you really had to dig to find the good stuff. It makes me sad that most thrift store now are over-run by crap from the 80s and 90s. Sorry, but I don't need 3 Who Wants to be a Millionaire board games :/

In addition to Unique, we passed a Goodwill on the way that we stopped in on the way back. I found something there that was so perplexing I just had to share. I give you, Harry Potter and the Narcissistic Reporter:

Yes. That is a small sculpture of Harry Potter reading, glued to the front of What's a Woman Doing Here? A Reporter's Report on Herself by Dickie Chapelle. You're welcome.

<3

Santa Fe Exploring

On our first day in town we decided to walk over to the State Capitol and take a little self-guided tour. I couldn't help thinking a little bit about Pawnee when we were poking around ^_^ There was artwork all over the building and the architecture of the building its self was so cool. Before we went in, though, we met the most amazing man. I was just snapping photos of the front when this older gentleman told me to stand to left, it was the best angle to get the whole thing. I took his advise and he was so right (hence the top photo). Then he asked if I could take a photo of him infront of the building. I absolutely obliged, and when he came back to look at the photo, he said, "I'm done. I'm finally done." Turns out he had visited every state capitol in the continental US! By only driving! He said we were cheaters for flying in ^_^ I just thought it was so cool to be a part of such a big moment in a stranger's life.

There were so many fun shops just right across the street from our hotel. The sign above the buttons says, ".50 a handfull"!

Ugh! I still have so many photos to share! Later that day we visited the St. Francis Cathedral Basilica, walked around the plaza and found some really great shops. So yeah...you're just going to have to deal with so many more photos :P

SuperCute Sunday #6

We've been really into owls lately at home and I thought they would be a perfect way to kick-off SuperCute Sunday again. I'll probably post some photos of our growing collection soon, but until then, enjoy these finds! They'd make pretty great gifts for owl collectors, too.

• Vintage Owl Trio • Paper Owls

• Barn Owl Print • Owl Calendar

• Shower Curtain, Bathmath, Toothbrush holder & Shower rings

We actually own this shower curtain! I might have to get the matching set for the bathroom ^_^ Oh! And I can't have a post like this and not include this video. I've never wanted to snuggle with an owl before...but now I want to more than most things.

<3

28 before 29

I love the idea of lists. I can't get through the day without writing down pretty much everything I need to do and everything I've done. Including, but not limited to, -Get out of bed, -Take a shower, -Get dressed, and so forth. So when I saw Elsie do a yearly list centered around her birthday, I had to get in on it. My birthday was Nov. 4, so I'm a little late getting this up here, but whatevs. Here it goes!

1. Start blogging again

2. Make button collections

3. Go on a vacation adventure

4. Take photos everyday

5. Expand products in shop

6. Sew a dress

7. Organize nail polish collection

8. Make seasonal decorations for our home

9. Hang framed family photos

10. Enjoy my first year of marriage

11. Draw something everyday

12. Make prints of illustrations

13. Participate in at least one craft fair

14. Get an Instax & fill an album

15. Make candles

16. Sew ties for Andy

17. Watch classic movies I've never seen

18. Visit the ocean

19. Expand my wardrobe & be more adventurous

20. Find a new favorite video game

21. Cook dinner during the week

22. Get my sense of smell back

23. Play with tubcat

24. Learn to crochet

25. Get a new tattoo

26. Visit family from far away

27. Go to Texas

28. Play with makeup / classes

I'm already making a good start on the list...but there's definitely a lot to accomplish! Has anyone else got some long term goals?

<3

DIY Holla-Daze!

So I've been in full-on Christmas crafting mode since the last dishes from Thanksgiving were put away. The holidays were a really big deal for me growing up and my family, my mom especially, made sure to take the time to keep up traditions and let everyone be involved, no matter how young. We would get out old decorations and make new ones. And now that Pinterest exists, I have access to pretty much every Christmas crafting idea ever in the history of ever. Not to mention, I have a holiday itch all year round, so I collect fun ideas all year. Also, my friend Lindsay likes to call the holidays, Holla-Daze! and it makes me giggle ^_^

Here are some that I've done recently. The tutorial photo is on the left, and my version (forgive me for taking all these with my iPhone) is to the right...

Twisted Felt Garland via The Purl Bee

Ruffly Felt Wreath via Design*Sponge

Scalloped Tree Skirt via Pinterest

Glitter Ornaments via Greenbean's Crafterole

I hope you like them! If you try them out, too I'd love to see!

<3

Pinterest Wishlist

Just a few of my favorite things on pinterest right now ^_^

1. Clutch

2. Pink Coat

3. Heart Sweater

4. Doily Rug

5. Hello Kitty Glasses

6. Dino Earrings

7. Pink Polka Dot Bow Heels

8. Cat Rings

9. Bow Phone Case

10. Vintage Canisters

The Kittens

Some gratuitous photos of Turks and Sprinkles. These are from instagram (my user name is thepinksamurai!) which I use every day and compulsively check throughout the day ^_^

<3

Santa Fe

We went on our moon to Santa Fe, NM. We'd both been before and really wanted to go together. I took an obnoxious amount of pictures and will be sharing lots of them in the coming weeks. That place is just so cool! One of my favorite things to snap shots of were the flowers. They were so different to what we get on the East Coast. And there was so much greenery up in the mountains!

The last two photos are us at a place called Guadelupe Cafe. Specifically these were taken right before I ate the most delicious burrito in my whole life. Oh look...here's a picture from instagram...

I reiterate...most delicious burritos in my whole life.

More fun photos from the Southwest are coming soon! We also bought Holga on the Plaza and took a bunch of photos with that and our Lomo, so I'll share those, too!

<3

DIY Stamp

Here's a really quick DIY that we did for our invitations. Making your own stamps is super fun and as long as you have the tools you're armed and ready for any occasion. Above is the during and below is the after ^_^ Along with another fun stamp just cuz I felt like it.

Materials:

Block » Speedball Speedy Carve

Carving tools » Pictured above | Cheaper but just as good for linoleum

Sharpie » Everywhere

Ink » Martha Stewart ink pad

Super easy...just draw what you want to cut in Sharpie and carve around your lines. This is a negative process, meaning that you cut away what you don't want there. I wanted the lines to show up, so I cut everywhere but the lines. You can get the opposite effect, a black rose with white lines, if you cut the lines out. When you're cutting around your design, be sure to cut deep enough that no chatter shows up. Chatter is just extra stuff that picks up the ink. If a lot of extra is showing up, just cut back into your block and try again. So easy.

You can also glue a piece of wood to the back to have a better hand hold and make it look a little more legit. This also helps you get even pressure when you stamp. But mine are still all nekkid. Super fun and super easy!

<3