New Obsession!!

So it's no mystery to anyone that I am currently interested, obsessed with blogging, decorating, and everything in between. Through blogs, and magazines like this...

...I have gained so much inspiration and found so many great ideas for cheap! Beyond decorating, I adore organizing, (yes, I am a nerd, whatever!) and this idea that I found through DIY magazines and blogging is SUPERB!! They are called...

...chalkboard labels! It is a shiny, black adhesive paper that can be written on with actual chalk, or a pen like this...

The nice thing about this liquid chalk is it wipes right off, allowing your paper to be re-used! I was able to get 6 ft. of paper, plus this chisel tip pen for $15 (thank you Amazon!) There are multiple uses for chalkboard labels, including...

These all look soooo good compared to mine, but hey, I'm just an amateur, I will soon become a pro at chalkboard labels (hopefully :)

Cam got the following spices at the Farmers Market for $1 each and the holders from Hobby Lobby for under $1 each (I may or may not have helped him pick out the perfect spice holders that can later be used in an apartment/house... :) Here were the results..

Again, mine kind of suck, but I am hoping I will only get better with more practice!

I also took this beautiful pictures this weekend...I am also thinking about taking up photography...HAHA NOT! But I was proud of how these few turned out :)

Happy Monday!

Until then,

Brittany

What Does it Mean to "Nest?"

Interesting title...I remember last year when I was introduced to this term. My bedroom at home was bright blue, with writing on the walls, a Sweet 16 poster hanging up and mismatched picture frames and knick knacks from Junior High and High School. It was decided that since my bedroom would eventually turn into a guest room, it needed to be re-done and my parents were willing to chip in to make it happen. We painted it and I spent lots of time (and money, if I do say so) to decorate it and make it look "grown up." It was at this point that my mother introduced me to the term "nesting." Nesting, in more terms or less, is settling down and getting acquainted with your surroundings. Ever since last summer, (and some intermittent visits to thenest.com) I have been "nesting." Recently, it has gotten really bad.

This weekend I spent a relaxing day at the pool and needed something to read, so I decided to buy a decorating magazine! This one seemed applicable because it gave great suggestions on how to effectively store your belongings and get organized! I for one, LOVED THIS! I was even able to tear out pages I liked, circle items, and make small comments next to it so I could remember it for the future!

I also spent a great deal of time on the dollar rack at Michaels, and among some of my purchases were..

...these recipe cards for $0.20 each. YES, THAT'S RIGHT, $0.20 EACH!! I died inside because I have been meaning to buy some cheap recipe cards for awhile and this was just what I needed, and on a great budget! I also found a very nice black foldable on sale at Office Max for $5 so I bought this to store all my recipes!

I spent most of tonight going through my mom's recipe book and pulling out recipes that I knew I would use this upcoming year, and in my future endeavors!

So now, you should all come visit me in Manhattan and I can cook you a nice meal with a refreshing beverage and yummy dessert, and then we can talk about decorating ideas! Yay, what fun! :)

Until then,

Brittany

What a Saturday!

Good Evening Bloggers!

I have been so excited to find a spare 20 minutes this weekend to tell you about the FABULOUS yesterday that I had! I have seriously been little a little giddy child on Christmas morning to update this blog. You may laugh, but I hope you are as excited about the things I am about to tell you as I am!

Cameron has been meaning to get some fresh spices from the Farmers Market for a while, so we ventured there yesterday and let me tell you did we find some great things!!! We headed straight for the fresh fruits and veggies as we first came in, and this was one of the first things we saw...

That's right, two young children on top of a mound of corn!! This family seriously probably had enough corn to feed the whole city if they so desired! Although we did not purchase any fresh corn, we did get some fresh green beans, tomatoes, peaches...

 and my absolute FAVORITE find of the day..

...some beautiful fresh flowers for $8. I wish I could describe to you how beautiful these flowers truly are. We found them off to the side, and a young Vietnamese couple was frantically working to provide everyone with the flowers they wanted. They meticulously put together each bouquet and probably spent 10 minutes making each one just right. It was fascinating to watch as they worked to make each flower fit into the overall bouquet according to color, height, and type of flower. Ahhh, for someone who loves flowers as much as I do, I was in heaven :)

The flowers were my favorite find of the day, and although Cam found his spices, he also set his eye on something else that stole his heart..

...cannolis!!! We have had cannolis before, but NEVER ones as good as these! They are made fresh daily from this little Italian bakery at the market and they were to DIE FOR. They were so right and creamy and they definitely hit the spot :)

After spending the majority of the morning at the market, my mom took us to The GreenWood Tea Room. It was a cute little cottage that had been turned into an antique shop and tea room. We dined in this precious little room...

...and had the world's best string bean soup, raspberry iced tea, and homemake key lime pie!!! It was such a fun atmosphere and it would be absolutely wonderful for a girls day out sometime :)

After finishing our delicious lunch, my mom took us over to the Cockrell Mercantile, a place filled with five cottages that have been turned into little stores to shop around in.

Although we didn't purchase anything, I did find some very cute ideas for a future classroom and/or house!

Although very simple, I thought this could be fun to use in a classroom! Wooden letters can be bought at Hobby Lobby for relatively cheap, and they can be painted a variety of colors, or remain black for a clean look. They could be placed on the wall in a reading center, or even hung from the ceiling to add some dimension to the classroom!

Scrabble letters!! This would be so fun to use as a fun labeler in a classroom for a book area, craft supply center, or table names! The letters were hot glued to the back of the stand, and then it can be used for whatever purpose you decide!

This is a simple idea that has been used before, but the windowsill flowers are just a must for a cute little house! It is simple and just made out of wood and then painted, but it is so cute and will definitely need to be an addition to my house somewhere down the road :)

I adored this fun patio table setting! All the dishware is from Fiesta and I love how fun and bright it is! If you have never heard of Fiesta Dishware, it is SO sturdy and bright and fun that will add some life to your kitchen! Although somewhat expensive, colors do go on sale temporarily, so keep an eye out for it!

We had such a fun day together shopping around and getting ideas for the future! The Farmers Market, Greenwood Tea Room, and Cockrell Mercantile are all places you need to check out next time you are in KC!! I hope you all have a wonderful week and we will meet again soon!

Until then,

Brittany

Birthdays, Birthdays, and more Birthdays and 4th of July

Good Evening!

This past weekend was full PACKED with fun activites, family, and friends! Since it was a three day weekend (yay for 4th of July!) we were able to do much more than on a normal weekend!

Last Monday, Cam turned 21 FINALLY! We celebrated that night with some good old fashioned pizza, beer, and red velvet cake..Cam's fave. He opened my gifts (a money clip, cologne, and DIY bottled candy) and enjoyed a relaxing evening together! This night was pretty low key because we were planning the big celebration for Friday when we went to...

...the casino! We started off the night with a gormet buffet dinner (buy one get one free, compliments of Kauffman Stadium) in which Mark and Michelle, (Cam's dad and step-mom) met my parents! It went to well and everyone got along just great, which means all engines are officially a go for our future plans :)

Some of Cam's good friends from High School, and some friends from college were also able to join us for the actual gambling part of the night, which was so exciting to see everyone there to celebrate!

We went in and it was like a foreign land to me! Granted, I have never been to Vegas or any place even close to it, but Harrah's in KC was huge in my eyes! There were two levels of different gambling machines, and I was overwhelmed with where to even begin! By the end of the night, I broke even and even made $2, however the story was not the same for poor Cameron, who lost a total of $60! :( It was a fun night though and he got to enjoy it with great company!

YAYAY, Happy 21st Bub!! :)

On Saturday, we made our way to Manhattan to celebrate Shelbi's 21st! But first, we made a stop in Topeka at Cam's parents house to celebrate his birthday, his sister's birthday (July 4th is her b-day) and his sister, Carmen's graduation party! It was great to see his family and bond in their FABULOUS backyard (sorry I don't have pictures, words just doesn't do this place justice, you just have to see it, they have done so much work on it and it's awesome!) I didn't take any pictures, but I do have this one..

 Jill is SUCH a teacher, is she not? We had a lot of fun seeing his family and bonding over birthdays and graduation!

We then headed to Manhattan. As you all know, we have been working hard to get our house in Manhattan decorated and ready for the school year to begin! However, we had enough stuff in there to cost a party on Saturday night to celebrate! We started the night off at Houlihans with all these wonderful people...

...and it was here where Shelbi got to see her infamous shot book!

...which she loved! After Houlihans we went back to our house for a relaxing evening of hanging out with friends and celebrating Shelbi's 21st!!!! On Sunday morning Shelbi and Ethan bought donuts for everyone and we bonded over breakfast and how much fun we are going to have this next year!!!

4th of July finally rolled around and we had plans to hang out at the pool and barbecue with my extended family. I decided to make some festive choclate dipped strawberries for the occasion!

Mmmmmm, they were delicious if I do say so myself!

For fireworks, we met up with D and AJ and watched them from the JCCC parking lot!

Kimmy joined too!

Cuties :) :)

It was a great night with great family and friends and there is just something so romantic about fireworks :)

WHOOOOOOOAAAA, what a jam packed post!! I hope you all enjoyed it and you have such a wonderful work week!

Until then,

Brittany

PS: I forgot to update you on the most important portion of the weekend...

...I purchased a new phone! It's a white Blackberry Torch and so far so good with it! I really like it, but I'm sure there will come a point in time that I hate it, and when it comes, I will certainly let you know!

High School Memories

So after a friend texting me about a show we did in high school (which prompted all of this foolishness I am getting ready to say) I decided it would be interesting to watch some cast interviews from numerous shows I was in. I look back on it and laugh at a few things that I will share with you.

1. I cannot believe I was so heavily involved in productions. This is no longer a part of my life, and it is crazy to look back and think that all of my high school years were spent living and breathing theatre. I know my high school experience would not have been the same without theatre, but it seems so weird to me know what an important part of my life it was!

2. When in high school, I remember looking back on home videos of my junior high self and I CRINGED because of how immature I was at age 14. Well now, I look back on my high school years and CRINGE because of how immature I was then! I remember thinking I was HOT STUFF in high school, but in reality,  I was still annoying and immature. Hopefully five years from now I won't look back on my 21, almost 22 year old self and think the same things!

I also got to looking through some old pictures, and although I know posting these pictures of me in shows will be humiliating for me, I will take one for the team so you can all get a good laugh. The red lipstick is atrocious, the costumes are hideous, the hairstyles are out of control, and I was SOOO SKINNY it's disgusting! But alas, here are the much anticipated pictures. Enjoy!

Hopefully your laughter is now under control...great memories in these pictures, but I would not want to go back to those years! Have a wonderful 4th and there will be an upcoming post of my birthday weekend festivities!

Until then,

Brittany