Love is... Velvet

Malia Green Velvet Pumps

I never knew love was lusterous and soft, that is until I saw this MUST have fall fashion heel and knew I had to have it.

Besides who doesn't love velvet fabric, red velvet cake, or The Velvet Underground. Like I said velvet is love. I just wish I had more of it because to tell you the truth I honestly don't believe I ever owned anything velvet that is besides my lovely Virgin Mary coin bank. Can't picture it? Well it looked exactly like this...

But since it was such a beaut I used it simply as a sculpted piece of art rather than a coin bank. Then one unfortunate day my <insert title here> dropped it from my dresser and like my heart it shattered into a million pieces.

You see this velvet scuplture was given to me on my birthday from my sister who lives in Ventura. One beachful day when I went to visit her we went window shopping (which is an awfully teasing sport) and I eyed it. It was the only one in the store so when I received it I was the happiest person in the world. So when I lost my velvet Virgin Mary it was a tragic day.

But back to the present velvet is love and if you are in as much love with the heels as I am you can get them at Torrid here Malia Green Velvet Pumps and for those of you not in love with green then you can also get them in purple here Malia Purple Velvet Pumps ♥

Back to School

Back to School. Back to School, to prove to dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Ohhhh Back to School.

Yes I did just quote Adam Sandler from the movie Billy Madison, but everytime the school year starts that song merrily fills my head. And if you are a little like me you also appreciate a pair of stylish oxfords to go with your first day of school.

I know most of you are praising the idea of me going back to school, but unfortunately I have not made that decision yet. Then who? Well my stepson of course and this year happens to be more of a big deal for my <insert title here> and me because he is starting first grade and we are officially sending him off on his first day of school. I know how exciting and yes he did have his lunch packed but his stylish slip-ons have no laces.

It was an exciting morning for all of us and now I am left with my stepdaughter for some quality girl time. If you are in need of some stylish oxfords then you can get them here Miz Mooz Women's Franka Pump ♥

The Sweetest Thing

Yesterday was my three year anniversary with my <insert title here> and I woke up to something as sweet and lovely as this featured heel.

That's right you guessed it... a good old fashioned love note. You know the kind you read over and over again and still have that cheesy smile and aura of love beaming around you. Now that's amore'.

And I am not parading my love note around to make you all think where is my love like that at because trust me it is out there. It just seems to come when you least expect or in my case when you aren't expecting it at all. I know gag me with a spoon, but the point I am trying to get at is it made me think about the few girls that are lucky enough to experience true romance like this especially with living in what seems to be a pure electronic age. It is after all the 20th century, although, I am still waiting for my flying car. I just long for the days without ipads or kindles, netbooks or laptops, and bbm or im. You know a more simplier time.

And I know some of us can't live without these things, but I guess what I am trying to preach to you all is maybe we should for one day. Some of my best moments are without electronics like dining alfresco at home on date night, sneaking a kiss down an aisle in the library where you both meet, sipping coffee under the stars at a local mom and pop shop, and crying in the car on christmas over a promise ring.

I think a world without electronics and more human interaction is a world of love and as you sit there and imagine it, you can get your sweet and lovely heels here Iron Fist Lacey Days Platform Girls Shoes Ivory ♥

Sleek and Skinny

Now that the birthday is complete, I can slip back into my happy life in Arizona. The only dilemma is I wish my happy life included the drive to workout so I could be resemble this sleek and skinny featured heel more.

So it is on with researching the workout routine and diet (I hate that word) plan. Researching you say, why not actually do it? Well because although my own personal life is finally at ease my families is not. Don't fear though it is a good uneasy feeling.

My mother and sister are purchasing their first home and are currently in escrow. Hooray!!! I know, but what does that have to do with me? Well when escrow closes I'll be leaving in a jet plane back to California for the move. Yes we are that close of a family.

So after the move I want to focus on losing some weight. The target goal is to go from my current size 16 back to my high school size of a modest 12. After all I don't think that is too much to ask for. Then I can once again praise after clothes, style, and fashion. Why don't I do that now? Well it is a bit hard to find clothes for a size 16 gal that is also considered petite. And not to mention most plus size clothes are all sleeveless, which I happen to feel uncomfortable in.

In the meantime, if you have any tips please feel free to send them my way and if you are in the need to feel a little more slim then you can strut your skinny heels here bebe Women's Hugh Platform Pump ♥

The Carnival Birthday Party

I am so pleased to slip on these featured everyday mom heels and wave goodbye to the circus. Yes the "Greatest Show on Earth" was a hit but it left my <insert title here> and me completely exhausted. It was well worth it though because all the kids enjoyed it.

From the event I now truly understand the concept of hiring, or at least assigning, someone to take some photos because yes a girl as together as me can forget to take the photos especially because I was the only carnie working the booths. Here are a few of the highlights I did manage to capture on film:

The first act was my version of the Super Epic Rainbow Cake balancing on the wonderfully built cake stand by my <insert title here>. Yes it is a bit thicker than the original, which you can see at Whisk Kid, but it was my first time baking this monsterous cake.

Overall everyone loved the sight and taste of this cake especially the birthday boy and girl (pictured at the right). I thought it turned out superly delicious not to mention there was plenty leftover so I got to quietly indulge my first piece of cake the day after the circus left town.

Next up are the games because what is a carnival without games. Yes you said it... Nothing! The games were all made by hand because the Ringmaster and I wanted to be a little more "greener" and spend as little as possible especially with the 400 miles of gas to cover. One of the first games played was Tic Tac Toe or in "carnie speak" Three in a Row.

This game was made with miraculosly no cost to me since I already had all the supplies. If you would like to recreate this board you will need:

1. A board. I used the backing of an old framed poster that someone threw out, I know redesign points for me. You can also achieve this look with a foam core board.
2. A ruler. You will need this tool to achieve a perfectly straight square for your board.
3. Some paint or decorative paper. I used leftover Tempra paint I had for the stripes and puffy fabric paint for the outlining of the star (thus the gloss).
4. Bean Bags. This is the fun part because you can design your bean bags to the theme of your party whether it be by color or shape. Since I am obsessed with the Strong Man and his mustache I opted for mustache and lip shaped bean bags that I made with scrap fabric I had.

I then used canned food cans and covered them in ballon and star wrapping paper to hold the bean bags. I think it came out great and the best part is I can pull it out anytime for the kids to play with it.

On to the next game... Go Fish. Although this picture is not the actual one taken at the party it was the same concept minus the Goldfish in the middle. Hands down the goldfish was what made this game and I am glad I bought them even though some parents weren't pleased they were also the prize for winning the game. The object was to get 3 ping pong balls into the jars and win the fish such a classic. I still remember when I won my first goldfish at the fair. Thanks Grandma.

Another classic game is Pin the Tail on the Donkey but to keep with the theme it was more like Pin the Nose on the Clown. The other featured games were Shoot Out, Knife Throwing and Ring of Fire which are not pictured.

With all great games come great prizes, such as live goldfish, cracker jacks, brownie pops, pinwheels, and circus maracas.

And yes you guessed it, the circus macaras were the most wanted prize. I just wished I made more. I stumbled across these diy maracas from Beauty All Around, but put my own spin on them. My favorite was the Strong Man (of course) and the Bearded Lady.

If you are planning a carnival and need any ideas or help please feel free to contact me. In the mean time you can relax and get your heels here Butter Women's Sallie Pump ♥



Throw me a Knife

Being the expert knife thrower I am I came across this heel and thought this is exactly how my victim, umm I mean assistant, would look after I showed my circus skills to the crowd.

I guess it is a good thing my knives are made of cardboard so no one will lose their limbs. Cardboard knives you say? Well you can't give children real knives to throw or they may end up like my assistant. Thus the genius idea of cardboard and a knife throwing game at the carnival birthday.

For this game all you need is cardboard, cardboard, and yes more cardboard. What I did first was draw and cut out the shapes of the throwing knives, which resembled a cleaver and a dagger. If you use thicker cardboard you only need to cut out the shape once. However, in my case I used thinner cardboard (easier to cut) and glued 3 piece together. I let them dry overnight and I then used mod podge to apply the shiny silver tissue paper to give the knives more of a real feel, but you can easily use any decorative paper to also achieve this look. I think they came genuine and the <insert title here> had fun test throwing them for me.

I am planning on using a hula hoop with a bullseye in the middle for the target board. Since the knives are a good size the children will not need to try to aim too hard to win the game. If you are in need of a limb you can get your heels here Iron Fist Glamour Guts Platform Heels ♥

Mustache your Lips

Nothing beats a good handlebar mustache. I guess that is why I conveniently tattoed one on my pointer finger and got my <insert title here> to start growing one. Plus who doesn't love Tom Selleck, The Super Mario Bros, or Groucho Marx.

I just wish the mustache trend was followed by heels, but since it is not (yet) I will settle for these heels that inspired me to want to play tic tac toe or in carnie speak "three in a row." And what do you get when you mix these heels and three in a row? Well a fabulous game of course...


Yes you guessed it, those are bean bags for the three in a row game. I had so much fun making them and now my mind is thinking what else can I tranform into adorable mustaches and lips. I free handed mine but there are plenty of templates online like this one from blonde-designs.squarespace.com.

Enjoy and have fun mustaching your world and you can also enjoy those polka heels here Betsey Johnson Women's Mackenzie Pump ♥

Circus Animals

Lions, Tigers, and Bears oh my. Good thing I am not Dorothy and in the woods anymore but if I had to be someone else I think I would quit my job (oh wait I already did that) and join the circus. Why? Well if I was a member of the circus these heels inspire me to be a lion tamer. I would sport them every night under the Big Top especially because I think they are the best representation of a circus animal from the color to the ferocious lion.

These heels have also inspired me to whip up a couple circus animals of my own after all what is a circus without acrobatic animals. Mine, however, have not been beaten so they can perform. That is the beauty of cardboard animals they are harmless. So without further adieu here is the rare ribbon tail giraffe in his natural state...

He will also be joined by his pals the worlds smallest elephant and the ball balancing seal. Oh the joys of the circus. I was originally planning to make the circus animals be a ring toss game for the upcoming carnival themed birthday party for my stepchildren but I later changed them simply into decor since I fear they may be harmed in the ring toss.

If you need any advise on creating your own circus animal I can always hang my hat as a lion tamer and assist you and to get your very own lion tamer heels here T.U.K. Women's A7712L Pump ♥

Cake Eater

I am and always have been a cake lover. I am just more vocal about it now plus who doesn't love a cake be it homemade, cupcaked, or rainbowed.

For the kids birthday party I was originally thinking of buying a cake from Sam's Club since they are cheap, cute, and can feed a lot but then I stumbled across this little blog Whisk Kid and saw the Super Epic Rainbow cake, which looks like this...

Once I saw it I knew I had to have it so I haulted all plans and decided this is a must have cake for any carnival themed birthday party. Plus it is always cheaper if you make anything yourself.

So if you are craving cake and excitement follow the recipe on Whisk Kid especially since you can have and your cake and eat it too and if your sweet tooth is hankering heels then you can find them here T.U.K. Women's A7712L Pump ♥

Call me a Carnie

Its back to reality which means back to work. I just wish the Ringmaster wasn't such a slave driver but then again I could be on grooming the bearded lady duty or the knife thrower's assistant.

So I'll happily keep on crafting and stress over the fact that I only have 24 days til the carnival comes to town. On the plus side I do get to find whimsical heels, like this one, to introduce you to.

And on to the next project... Games!! Because what is a carnival without the food and the carnie booths. The Ringmaster and I have nailed the booths down to six since the magic birthday numbers are six and three. So drum roll please, the games are...

1. Ball Toss
2. Duck Races
3. Three in a Row
4. Go Fish
5. James' Shoot Out
6. Searra's Knife Throw Off

Now doesn't that list just make you smile as big as a clown. In addition, there will also be the ulimate favorite games of Pin the Nose on the Clown and the get your rage out on a Pinata. So far I have only completed the Ball Toss.

Did I mention I have less than a month to finish all the games, prizes, decor, and food ideas. Talk about stress. Right about now any job sounds better even cleaning out the wolfman's cage. While I set up the tent you can get you whimsical heels here Irregular Choice Sweety Bird Platform Ladies Pump ♥

Raccoons, Coyotes, and Bobcats oh my

This past weekend was our yearly family camping trip. We pitched our tents at one of the largest state parks in California: Montaña De Oro. The campsite was located by the beach, although I still managed to get sunburned overcast and all. The creme de la creme of the site was the lack of cell phone reception which meant just the family and beautiful ol' mother nature. Sounds gorgeous right?

Well it was but with all beauty there is always an ugly side. In this case the culprits were masked bandits (otherwise know as raccoons) and the treasure was smores. The dead give away was their glowing eyes which also happen to be a must have of the featured glow in the dark heels. In the middle of the night the racoons bared their thieving masked faces and swiped all of our smore ingredients just as in Over the Hedge. Yes I did just referenced a Disney movie... Stepmom hello! Back to the crime scene, I was sadden by the emptyness of my blue ice chest but luckily my sister bought all the smore essentials too. So the lesson of the story is never under estimate the power of the uncontrollable hunger for a smore whether it be from man or beast always lock your cooler.

Day two brought a smile to eveyone's face as it was the night of the talent show and since I still live by the rule "save the best for last" the puppet show was the last performance. I would have to say with no script the show went off with a blast and I could tell the audience thoroughly satisfied because after each ad-lib performance the kids kept chanting, "Another one!" Sadly though, the cast was so into their performances we forgot to get a full cast picture. Since the show was a hit I am planning to do another one next year but with more elaborate puppets.

The camping trip was nice and relaxing but like all vacations once they end. You then have no choice but to come back to reality and face the overheating car still sitting in the drive and  the six hour drive home. That is when your own monster starts to appear and you realize I should of bought the Iron Fist Zombie Stompers - Glow in the Dark Limited Edition Heels and left the attitude at home ♥

You are Invited...

If I ever had to find a sparkle of hope and beauty I would have to say I found it in this heel. Plus for some reason sparkly glitter and bows make me smile almost as much as my carnival invitations.

That is right they are antonishingly complete and just in the nic of time. With the help from the love of my life, I managed to finish all 21 confetti popper invitations today. By the way did I tell you that I came across this fabulous idea from Oh Happy Day and they have a tutorial to help us crafters along the way. I, however, made a couple changes of my own to their tutorial which were as follows:

1. In Step 2 instead of disassembling the confetti popper I had my <insert title here> help me with this one and he pushed the spring back down and I turned the bottom to reset it. Which  means NO disassembling and less time fighting with the popper. Remember think smarter not harder.
2. In Step 3 I opted to use the top of the confetti popper instead of creating my own (although I did later create my own, but more on that later) since it had a cool firework explosion graphic.
3. In Step 4 istead of using their template and buying sticker paper I traced the label on decorative paper and sealed the ends with mod podge. However, first I sealed the canister with a thin sticker strip before I added the decorative paper since the paper was the same size as the canister.
4. The other additional steps I took was (1) I cut my shapes into triangles so they formed a more appropriate circus flag shape and (2) when all was complete I added an additional circle upon the top of the canister sadly covering the firework explosion graphic as a name tag since we were hand delivering them all.

If you asked me I would have to say they came out looking superb. What do you think?

For your own glitter smile you can get the heels here Kate Spade New York Women's Charm Sandal and be sure to ask me any questions or problems you may run into during this project. I had fun making them and thought they fit perfectly with our carnival themed birthday party ♥

bang bang my baby shot me down

I would have to say this was the busiest fourth of july week ever. As a matter of fact it was as busy as this attention grabbing featured heel.

The worst part is when you are busy crafting your heart away time seems to fly by faster than you want it to. And soon enough it's time to put down the scizzors and gluestick to journey into the welcoming heat and gaze upon some glorious fireworks. After all you always need to make room for family and celebrations. Plus fireworks, like this one, makes you feel at ease and at awe.

And by the end of the day you feel as if you can  just close your eyes and drift off to sleep and dream merryily little dreams. But as you lay there you soon remember all the unfinished items on your to do list that need to be finished before you leave on vacation on Thursday. The first and utmost important is the carnival invitations especially since they will be handed out at the camping trip. So me being me, I have to get up and start working on one so I can feel accomplished and get some rest. Oh what a night but it did end with a good starting point so the feeling of accomplishment put me to sleep.

For your own busy heels you can get them here Irregular Choice Women's Trinkletina Pump ♥

Be our Guest

What other inspiration do you need for a carnival themed birthday invitation than these splendidly spotted heels.

And no your eyes do not deceive you, yes that is right I have finally come up with an idea or two for the invitations. The first idea is just your ordinary paper invitation but to add pazazz, which I am a sucker for, it would be in the form of a ticket. I have actually been working on this one and I loved the way it came out, but it was lacking something.

That is until I stumbled across the second idea and well you have to see it to believe it...

How superb and splendid it would be to have a confetti popper invitation especially with our carnival theme. So all the work with idea #1 went down the drain when I saw it. Plus Oh Happy Day has a full tutorial so anyone can whip up this invitation. I started the process it making mine and will be posting the grand reveal here once I pass them out to all the guest. Why? Well because I do love the element of surprise even though they already have an idea of what they will be now. Plus who doesn't love a good surprise.

Til then you can spot the heels here Apple Pie Polka Dot Low Heel Mary Jane Pump BLUE ♥

10am Wake up Call

I rolled out of bed this morning at 10am due to a loud knocking on my front door. When I opened it I looked almost exactly like this heel. The man that greeted me stated, "sorry, did I wake you?" To which I embarassingly replied, "yes." How could I forget the bug man was due this morning.

He had the job done within 5 minutes and even managed to get rid of the lovely wasp hive in the corner above my front door. I haven't yet seen one gnat, drain fly, or whatever you call it since so I applaude you Mr. Exterminator for a job well done.

Oh yes and before he left he commented on one of my projects saying, "that looks like fun making it and drinking it." Yes you guessed it was on my cork board project. This project is dear to me because it is the first ongoing project I started when I first moved to Arizona. Ongoing? Well yes, you see half way through I ran into a minor problem... I ran out of corks! So now everytime we buy groceries we buy a bottle of vino. Yes people of the world for once my art has made me drink.

If your thinking, hey I have some corks lying around that I don't need then I think it is time you contacted me or if you are thinking where can I get those heels the answer lies here T.U.K. Women's A7835L Pump ♥