{today i'm rockin' ...} sequins!

in honor of the royal wedding this morning, i'm wearing sequins!

okay not really. i wanted to wear a plain white top today - but the only one clean was adorned w/ sparkle. and let's face it - the hat i had planned to wear today in honor of the big day probably wouldn't have gone over so well at the office. casual fridays and all:

{hat - limelight occasions uk}

... so sequins it is!

check out these other sequin-adorned finds i've got my eye on:

1 // urban outfitters sequin swirl pillow
2 // anthropologie luminescent top
3 // modcloth glimmer glamour jacket
4 // toms silver glitters
5 // ban.do heart shoe clip
6 // tfnc all over sequin w/ keyhole back dress

also in honor of royal wedding day ... okay - not really again - check it out: A GIVEAWAY!!!

{sponsor} FRESCHETTA® simply inspired + A GIVEAWAY! (expired)

this post brought to you by FRESCHETTA®. all opinions are 100% mine.

since i’m still a bit under the weather, wade and i have been opting for easy meals this week. last night, we decided to try FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizza for the first time.

i’ll admit it … i’m not always susie homemaker. at times, we’re frozen pizza people - and we’re used to sacrificing that fresh homemade pizza taste for time saved. but with FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizza, we didn't have to sacrifice! using a blend of top-quality ingredients on a thin artisan crust, it delivers a delicious flavor i couldn't believe came from frozen! the fresh taste of homemade pizza minus the effort of putting it together.

"larger cuts of fresh-tasting vegetables. flavorful cheeses. vibrant sauces. experience a deliciously different pizza from toppings to bottom." i couldn’t agree more!

{check out the size of the veggies!}

check out the variety of combinations available:

• hawaiian style pizza
• farmers market veggie pizza
• harvest supreme pizza
• southern bbq recipe chicken pizza
• rustic pepperoni pomodoro pizza
• classic bruschetta pizza
• tuscan farmhouse pizza
• chicken bianco pizza

we picked up the farmers market veggie pizza. i am a visual person - if it looks good, i'm more likely to give it a try. and i love FRESCHETTA®'s FRESCH-TASTE SEAL™ packaging and the preview window (though it definitely made choosing a combination 1000x harder)!

plus - along w/ a better pizza, FRESCHETTA® has created a better package. their FRESCH-TASTE SEAL™ packaging locks in all the freshness and flavor and reduces their carbon footprint by reducing their packaging material by 30%!

so now it's your turn to try a FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizza of your own. they are giving away a coupon for a FREE pizza + a FRESCHETTA® bamboo cutting board of your choice.

and to make this giveaway even more fun … i’ve made a little mix/match apron to add to your collection. it's not perfect - but i think it's pretty darn cute!:

here’s how to enter (you can enter up to 3x!):

1 // follow @freschettaSI on twitter and/or “like” them on facebook. (bonus: the FRESCHETTA® simply inspired facebook page is offering weekly giveaways of awesome prizes through the rest of 2011. and right now, they have an opportunity to download a $2 off coupon!)

2 // be or become a follower of a case of the mundays either on twitter, facebook and/or blogger.

3 // visit freschettasimplyinspired.com and take the “what’s your flavor” quiz to learn more about their 8 great-tasting varieties, and find which flavor is simply … you! then share your flavor. {i’m the classic bruschetta – yum!}

this giveaway ends weds, may 4th @ midnight. this giveaway is closed.
i’ll announce the winner on the blog the next day!

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we joined a gym!

and not just any gym ...

{source: climb nashville}

over the weekend, we saw the film 127 days. it's the true story of a mountain climber (played by james franco) who becomes trapped under a boulder while climbing alone and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive. wade promises the film isn't the only reason he was motivated to join a rock climbing gym this week. and i believe him --- he has had major spring fever. climbing/hiking is about all he has talked about lately!

at first, i tried to persuade him to consider a regular people gym - ie. the ymca. but once we looked further into all that a climb membership includes ... we both were impressed: core conditioning classes, kickboxing, a weight/cardio room + rock climbing! and as an added bonus morning/evening yoga classes by sanctuary for yoga.

i'm actually pretty excited about the membership now! just sounds like fun.

do you know the best part about joining a rock climbing gym w/ your husband? we're pretty much required to work out together (one belayer/one climber) - at least until we make gym friends. this morning we took a yoga class! it was the 2 of us + 2 others and the instructor ... intimidating but fantastic! and tonight we climb. have i mentioned that i have a slight fear of heights!?!

i think it's safe to say we're officially hippie cool. (unfortunately bonaroo tix aren't included w/ membership - though they totally should consider it!)

so now it's your turn ... what's your idea of a fun workout?

{simple things} craft hope

have you heard of the site craft hope? one of my favorite bloggers, ashley ann at under the sycamore did a post this morning about participating in the most recent craft hope project which reminded me of this sweet cause. their mission is to help crafters (like us) share handmade gifts w/ those who need them around the world. currently they are on project 12.

a few heartbreaking statistics:

• more than 1 million orphans are waiting for a home in russia.
• in russia, 60% of girl orphans become prostitutes and 70% of male orphans become hardened criminals.

for this project, craft hope is partnering with orphan outreach. they will be working at st. petersburg’s crisis center 15 - a center for children ranging in age from infant to teen who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. craft hope is encouraging crafters to make bracelets to be given out during the trip!

i'm definitely on board - and since the rain won't go away ... i'll make good use of my couch time! and bonus: i'll share a little tutorial later this week w/ my bracelet of choice.

interested too? check out craft hope now! :)

{love} england's royal school of needlework

i haven't posted a single thing on the royal wedding this week. my blog is never really about current events anyway ... BUT i saw this a couple of weeks ago on CBS sunday morning - and i have been dying to share it ever since.

so - this will have to count as my bit of royal fever:


okay - for reals!?! "i want to go to there."

{source: royal school of needlework}

have you caught the fever? my intern and her friends are having a tea party bright and early on friday am to watch and celebrate the nuptials. okay that's cute! but she'll be absolutely useless on friday {i kid!}. think i could convince wade to wake up early so we can have a tea party of our own?

easter 2011

luckily we celebrated easter on saturday this year ... bc i spent the majority of easter sunday in bed w/ something ick! my easter dress barely made an appearance. then i enjoyed the rest of my day in pjs + a bucket! woo hoo. nothing like being quarantined to an upstairs bedroom when fun is happening downstairs!

but here are a couple of pictures from our saturday celebration:

1 // my grandma spent the holiday w/ us while mom and her sisters sorted out her care for the future. could you keep them in your prayers? they have some tough decisions to make.

2 // every year we have a family (raw) egg toss. the little ones and my 83 year old grandma are included in the pairings. i lucked out w/ my cousin stephen as my partner - but my 5 year old nephew + brother beat us all! then it was on to the egg decorating contest. this year the judge was announced AFTER the decorating. (2 years ago, my nephew was the judge and my brother made a lightning mcqueen egg that swept the boards!) i had a hunch that the judge this year would be grandma - so i went sparkle-tastic. instead my dad was the judge - and it still caught his eye. everybody loves glitter! my nephew won this event too - but i consider myself an honorary winner - 1st adult.

3 // my $1.00 garage sale easter dress!

4 // we usually forget to get a "family" picture of just wade and i. luckily we didn't forget this year ... and we captured it the day before i got sick.

5 // the big event - the easter egg hunt. examining our loot. i wasn't the only adult to participate - there's cash in some of the eggs! my nephew (yes - the same one that one the egg toss and the egg decorating contest) banked w/ $25.00 ... while i walked away with a whopping 50¢.

6 // by the end of the day, we were all overfed and ready for naps!

{food for thought} meal swap: may edition

hey peeps! it's that time again - time to round up meal swappers for may. we're keeping our meal swap at 8 swappers. we have 6 carry-overs from last month ... so that means we have 2 open spots. (first come, first serve!)

a few details about our group:

* we pull recipes from the book "fix, freeze, feast".
* we do 1/2 portions - perfect for a family of 2 (or 2 roommates).
* we live in the nashville area. pretty important!

not sure what i'm talking about? see here.

we'll most likely swap this sunday evening - so i'll need to know who's interested by friday at the latest so that you have time to prep! interested? email me ASAP here!

~*~*~*~*~* UPDATE *~*~*~*~*~

this month's menu:

cashew chix stir-fry
dave's swap blues bbq chix
sweet asian chix
caribbean port tenderloin
feta/spinach lasagna rolls
basil-balsalmic pork chops
black bean vegetable chili
beef fajitas

yum! (still looking for 2 additional swappers!)

{inspire} easter DIY roundup

wade and i arrived in illinois late last night to spend easter w/ my family. we're ready for lots of fun family time. in fact, we're about to start easter crafts w/ my neice nyah (2) and nephew haven (5) {and we'll skype w/ dayton (3) and easton (6mo) that are in rhode island. we miss u!}.

i can't wait until we have kids. i mean, i can & we are - but holiday crafts are so much more fun w/ little ones! i imagine i'll be more in to decorating for holidays then. in the meantime, check out all these fantastic easter ideas:

1 // papier-mache easter eggs - not martha
2 // butcher paper spring wreath - alisaburke
3 // easter egg-o-gram - poppytalk
4 // peep s'mores - eclectic recipes
5 // chocolate eggs - martha stewart
6 // sticky fingers cupcake - real simple

it's fun to decorate & bake ... but it's much more important to wade & i that someday we share the true reason behind celebrating easter with our kids. in the end, it would still be a celebration w/ out the chocolate bunnies and easter egg hunts and pretty new clothes (as enjoyable as all of those things are). it's about the love that was shown to us on that first easter!

we hope you have a wonderful good friday (and earth day) and easter w/ those you love.

{shop} anthropologie

i have a slight obsession w/ measuring cups - so many cute options! but this is my ultimate favorite. i'm sure of it. check out these milk bottle measuring cups from anthropologie. i'm in love:

{click to shop}

{whatever wednesday} oooh pretty!

here are a couple of things that have caught my eye this week:

1 // this lovely teacup collection. wade has begged me to be finished w/ the apt. we are all out of space! {little does he know that our home will ever be evolving. hee hee.} but i agree we need more wall space. talk about the perfect dining room wall "art":

{source: pinterest}

2 // who's thrilled about heading home for easter!?! i am. i am. i'm also eying this adorable "i heart illinois" necklace by truche on etsy. such a cute little tribute to my sweet illinois. find your own state - here:

{source: truche}

3 // these adorable hardware store ideas from country living:

l: wall storage from cardboard tubes.
r: an easy to clean up playhouse from roller shades (GENIUS! - i must remember this for someday when we have kiddos!)

{source: country living}

4 // this pretty pretty chair inspiration from name design studio on etsy:

{source: name design studio}

5 // our kitchen is by far my favorite room in our apt. and i'm pretty sure the favorite for everyone that comes to visit as well. isn't this adorable vintage kitchen full of bright colors and mismatched prints inspiring!?! again with the fresh flowers ... love!

{source: myhomeideas}

wednes-DIY: ruler lamp

moment of truth - i have crafters ADHD. i don't consider a table full of craft supplies a mess (unfortunately wade doesn't share this sentiment). and i usually have a good 3-4 projects going at a time.

i bought the supplies for this little project way back during nashville's march flea market. wade and i had a looooong list of flea market hopefuls - remember? but we also have a long list of bills to pay (including taxes - boo) so we only brought $20 w/ us. and we came home w/ several new records for wade + 5 old yard sticks for me!

inspiration: i am loooooving this ruling the roost lampshade from roost living. too bad i don't have 495 bones to shell out.

materials:
* several wooden rulers or yardsticks (i should have counted! i think i used 7 yardsticks!)
* saw + sandpaper
* lamp shade
* masking tape
* glue gun

1 // measure the length of your lampshade and cut your rulers so that they are a little longer than your shade. my rulers needed to be 9" long - perfect ... each yardstick made 4.

2 // sand down those jagged edges.

{smooth vs rough}

3 // using masking tape, align the tops of the rulers w/ the top of the shade. begin with one ruler and then add another and another around the shade.

*** i found that my rulers weren't a perfect fit - BUT the yardsticks at home depot are wider than a standard ruler. w/ 2 home depot rulers, i had a perfect fit!

4 // once the tops are in place, use masking tape to evenly place the bottoms of the rulers to the bottom of the shade. to evenly space my rulers, i tried to align the ruler perfectly perpendicular to the table. however - i went around the shade quite a few times making sure the spacing was as close to perfect as possible.

5 // unattach the bottom of one ruler so that you can lift it while keeping the top connected ... like a toilet seat. add your hot glue. then close the "toilet seat" - carefully replacing the bottom of the ruler to the base of the shade and maintaining your spacing. work you way around the shade (remove the masking tape as you secure each ruler.)

the finished product:

we're pretty excited w/ the result! and our little office space is finally coming together:

of course, i'm still on the hunt for a few cute accessories (and a plant for that empty pot by the lamp - pathetic!):

1 // a horse hair brush as a pencil tray
2 // yes - again a chemistry set (i know i posted about it yesterday)
3 // and an old wire desk tray

did i mention this little wooden filing cabinet we found on craigslist for $10? w/ a good sanding, a bit of gray/blue stain, some chrome spray paint for the fixtures, and a couple cute pieces of scrap fabric ... i think she's looking a-ok. i might take the sander to her once again - to give her a bit of wear. what do you think? (i'm becoming an expert sander. we also refinished that desk a few weekends ago.)

okay - okay ... i've gotten a little carried away! :) this was a DIY after all - not a show-n-tell.

be sure to send me a link if you make your own ruler lamp!!!

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