I'm dreaming of a....

... neutral winter wedding!

I'm so excited to say that I've nailed down my wedding colors! People keep asking me and I give them a list of 10 colors with names they do not know (sorry guys!) so here is a visual for those who do not know what "cognac" is ;)

Follow this link to my wedding color board so you can see all my visual inspiration:

Neutral Winter Wedding

Here's the image that I drew the majority of my color inspiration from.

We're having our reception in the Old Courthouse of our home town, which was built in 1875 and retains the majority of it's old character. I'm just in love with the building and I want my wedding to reflect that antique feel. The rooms are painted black with beautiful white moldings so I want my color palette to reflect the neutral feel of the place as well. Just talking about it makes me get so giddy!!!
I'll be going home for Christmas break soon so hopefully I can pop in and take a few pictures of the space to post on here. But until then, you can see a tiny picture of the exterior in my wedding color board on theknot.com.

375 Days! (Ha!)

Engaged!!!

Yep, you heard right.

KEVIN AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Kevin took me down to the church where we grew up, told me he knew when he was thirteen (and at this very church) that he was going to marry me one day, and got down on one knee!!! 

It was so perfect! 

I, of course, said yes over and over again :)

(Kevin and I at my club ring ceremony)

And life has been so amazing and busy these past few months, that I had to take a break from blogging. But I never stay away too long. I'm back with a WHOLE NEW MISSION!

To help friends and family know what's going on with the wedding planning, I'm temporarily going to turn this into my WEDDING BLOG!

Honestly, I've wanted to do this for a very long time because I'm a little obsessed with all things wedding planning. I just love all the personal design people can incorporate into the day they declare their love for one another.  As you can tell from my blog roll, I gain lots inspiration from other wedding blogs, so of course, I would like to have my own. :)

But don't worry, I'll still be posting other non-wedding related things dealing with art and design.

So yes, get ready for it people!!!

DECEMBER 15th, 2012!

Stitch, Stitch, Stitch

Amongst all the other random things going on right now, I have this deep nagging, urging feeling that I need to improve my sewing skills. 

Why?

No clue.

Maybe it's because everything is so stinkin' expensive these days and

 I think, "With a little practice, I could totally make that."

So here I am. Planning all these sewing projects when I should be working on lesson plans. 

Oh well.

Here's some pictures of a few things I've been wanting to do. 

Maybe I'll get around to attempting them around.... Christmas time?

    

Pinterest is my frienemy.

It's been FOREVER. I am definitely aware of that. 

Partly because Pinterest is my go-to source now. She (yes, Pinterest is female) is taking up WAY too much of my time, but I do love it! 

Hop on over and see what I've been pinning!

Hey!... remember me?

Once upon a time there was this girl. Let's call her Paige. And she had a blog! She loved this blog so much and couldn't wait to share everything with it. But one day, she ate this apple that this old lady brought and fell into a deep sleep and...

Ok. Not really.

I've been.. detained.

But let's quickly fill you in.

-JCP got busy. Lots of hours.
-Worked on painting a toy chest/bench for a lady and finished. Pics to come.
-Working on 3 portraits for a client. Pics to come.
-Began student teaching (!!!!!) two weeks ago. Up to my ears in waking up early.
-Being a busy Pres. for Chi Omega Pi.

So yeah... I'm still around. I won't promise I'll be blogging super often, but hopefully I've broken the dry spell. I kept thinking, "Why write? No one reads this." But then my roommater said that she checks everyday to see if I've posted anything, so here you go Jenn. Just for you :) and Wanda :)

I'm on Etsy!!!!

What are you waiting for?! 

Go check out HandiworkShop today!

Cutting it short

Well, yesterday I decided that I wouldn't finish my 30 for 30 this season because I really fell behind in the picture taking. I probably will continue to wear the 30 for 30 clothes, but just not post pictures.

 Sorry.  

Even though it is just a little challenge, I really don't like to quit at things :(

But on a brighter note, I started a new project today! I was hired a few weeks ago to do custom painting on a toy box/bench for a family and I finally got started on it! A couple of paint coats down and all that's left is the artwork. I won't promise any pictures of it, but I will try to put some up once it's done!

Anyway, I hope you're 4th of July was amazing! Jenn and I had a big party (aka a small group of friends) at the apartment and we cooked and played and set things on fire to our hearts content!

We made sure everything, even Trannie our orchid, was festive!

Our lovely spread. 

Oh, those boys. 

Lady Liberty

Have a great week y'all!!

Day 6, 8, 10 of 30

I win the worst 30 for 30 blogger for sure, especially since I didn't even take pictures of days 7, 9, 11, and 12 . But don't fret! Kevin (my official photog) and I will "pretend" that I didn't miss those days and will make up those pictures tomorrow. I did actually dress for the 30 for 30 (scout's honor!) those missing days, but never had my camera handy. But anyway, here's what I've been wearing for the past few days...

Day 6

(The awkwardness continues...)

I worked at JCP that day so I wanted to be comfy but cute.

("Don't forget to get the shoes in the shot!!!")

The Breakdown:

Cardigan: Loft

Black shirt: Gap

Skirt: Gap

 (I've had this skirt for 3 years and I LOVE it. It's been my staple every summer.)

Shoes: Gap

On Day 7 (Not pictured) my parents, Kevin, and I drove up to St. Louis for the weekend! Kevin and I were in the car for about 6 hours so that explains the lack of picture. 

On Day 8 we woke up really early to get all the sights in. My family doesn't do lazy, relaxing vacations. We wake up at the butt crack of dawn to cram in as much as we can stand so we don't "waste the trip". Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. But this vacation it was great because by 1:00 we had already gone up in the St. Louis Arch, had a walk-through tour of Busch Stadium, and ate at Hard Rock. 

Good times, good times :)

The rest of our weekend was filled with 2, count 'em, 2 Cardinal's games and shopping. Oh, and eating. Lots of that. We even went to Cracker Barrel twice! I was extremely happy about that :)

Day 8

See that metal thingy? That's the Arch. 

Yeah, we're cool like that.

And one for the awkward lovers.

 I like to make sure I look ripped when I go on vacation. 

The Breakdown:

Cardigan: Gap (I got it for $10. Serious steal.)

Ruffle shirt: Gap 

Short: Gap

Sandals: Target

On Day 9 we watched the Cards play and headed back, so again, no picture.

On Day 10 we were back to the grindstone. I must say, this is my favorite outfit yet. Wearing black makes me feel professional, but popping it with my reddish-pink cardigan makes me stand out. Love it. 

And this time, I only took awkward pictures. Sorry Mom. 

Day 10

The Breakdown:

Cardigan: Gap

Shirt: Gap

Skirt: Gap

Sandals: Taloni

Pictures for days 7, 9, 11, and 12 are coming today. Or tomorrow. 

Probably tomorrow. 

Day 5 of 30- Creeper.

Day 5

The Breakdown:

Ruffle shirt: J.Crew

Navy cropped pants: Gap

Shoes: Taloni (my aunt's shoe boutique)

If my neighbors didn't think I was weird before, I'm sure they believe it now. 

This was taken on my dinner break. I worked 10.5 hours at JCP today. And I'm pooped. 

I'll probably be folding and greeting in my sleep tonight. 

And I think I've convinced my roommate Jenn to take on the challenge too!! Yay!!!

(Jenn, now you have to. I've announce it to the world now.)

Day 3 and 4 of 30

 I forgot to put yesterday's picture up (oops) so here is 

Day 3
(sorry for the overall paleness and awkwardness that this picture embodies)

I really didn't do much yesterday since it was my day off.

 TV, laundry, and eating was about the extent of it. 

The Breakdown:

Shirt: J.Crew

Shorts: Old Navy

Sandals: Target

Earrings: XXI

Day 4

 Today I worked at JCPenney so I decided to keep it simple, but somewhat dressy.

The Breakdown:
Cardigan: Old Navy
Ruffle shirt: Gap
Skirt: Gap
Shoes: Payless
Earrings: XXI

Tomorrow I'll be working a double so I doubt I'll get a picture on here, but I'll definitely keep them coming, even if they are a day late.

Day 1 and 2 of 30

Day 1

Shopping trip to Little Rock with Kevin

(No, I'm not trying to give you the stink-eye. The sun was in my eyes 

so ignore my awkward squinty expression.)

The Breakdown:

Ruffle shirt: J. Crew

Shorts: Gap

Flats: Gap

Day 2

(Father's Day)

Kevin and I went home Sunday to surprise my dad at church that morning. 

Our whole family got to be together so that was really nice :)

Btw, this jersey dress was great for traveling in the car because I didn't have 

a single wrinkle when I got out of the car. Amazing. 

The Breakdown:

Cardigan: Gap

Dress: Blackbird Boutique (here in Searcy)

Flats: Gap

Final List (revised)

Hooray!!!! I've finally picked all my 30 for 30 pieces!!
But Blogger is being a turd right now (yeah, you heard me right, a turd!) and it's not letting me finish uploading my pictures. So tomorrow (I PROMISE!) I will post Day 1, 2, and 3 plus my pants and shorts. 

(Update: All revised now! Yay!)

Here's the official breakdown:

8 Tops

Gap, J. Crew, Old Navy, Gap, Gap, Loft, JCP, J.Crew

4 Cardigans + 1 Button-down

Loft, Gap, Old Navy, Gap, Old Navy

2 Dresses

Blackbird Boutique, Forever 21

2 Skirts

Both from Gap

2 Shorts 

Gap, Old Navy

4 Pants

Gap, JCP, Gap, JCP

7 Shoes

Payless flats, Gap flats, Target sandals, Payless heels, Payless wedges, Taloni sandals, Payless heels

Let's do the math, shall we?

8 Tops 

4 Cardigans

1 Button-down

2 Dresses

2 Skirts

2 Shorts

4 Pants

7 Shoes

-----------------------

30 for 30!!!!

Hope you all had a great Father's Day and enjoy your Monday :)

Day 1 of 30

I did start my 30 for 30 today... but I did not load the picture (fail), and I do not have a post about my first day (another fail) because I haven't 100% nailed down all my items yet (bigger fail). BUT tomorrow night I will have a post of all my items, plus Day 1 and 2 photos. (This weekend was way busier than expected.) I'm really excited about the items I have picked out though because there's some new pieces that I actually haven't worn yet so this is going to fun :)  

Let me know if you're doing the challenge too because I would love to hear from those who are first trying it or are old pros. Any tips would be much appreciated :)

In the mean time, Happy Father's Day, Dad!!!

In honor of this day, I thought I'd share one of my favorite pictures of him. 

And for good measure, here's a "normal" one.

Love you Dad!!

I'm back! I'm back! + 30 for 30

For those of you who check regularly (Mom) I'm sorry for my delayed posting. Working and studying take more time then I thought they would! Plus, I felt like I had nothing cool to right about... until TODAY! I'm taking on the 30 for 30 challenge again!!!!! For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, click HERE and Kendi will do the explaining for you. 

So I had planned to start my 30 for 30 with everyone else on Wednesday, but I'm postponing my starting point till Saturday just because I need some extra time planning what my pieces will be. My summer wardrobe is Terrible (with a capitol T) so hopefully this 30 for 30 will help me get more creative with it.

But now I'm off to JCP to fold/hang/help like a man-woman. 

The Apartment (part 1)

Ta Da!!! As promised, here are my apartment pictures! These are just of my living, dining, and hall way, but the bathroom and bedroom pics are coming soon (they were a mess when I was taking these)

The Kitchen/ Dining Area

The Living Room

 This is the view as you walk in.

View from the kitchen walk-through

View from the bookcases

 Our happy little recliner

 And our orchid, "Trannie" :)

More to come!!! 

Maybe I did fall off a cliff.

Again, my lack of posting is ridiculous.

I blame my new interest in reading thanks to The Hunger Games series. Omw. SOOO good. So good. You must read them. You'll be hooked.

Anyway, I've been adding the final touches to my apartment so pics will be taken today! Promise! I'm loving how it's turning out. It feels so much like a real home. 

But today I have a few pictures of a set of nesting bowls I made for my brother and sister-in-law. I made these before my senior art show and they were a thank you gift for them since they helped me out so much. My brother, awesome photog Matthew Walton, took pictures of them for me so here they are! 

Thanks again for taking the awesome pictures, Matthew!

I'm still here!!

Yeah you probably thought I fell off a cliff or something, but no. I'm just finding it hard to blog between working at JCP, moving and organizing the apartment, and studying for finals. I'm running on very few hours of sleep right now and I have 4 finals left to take/turn in. 

Shoot me now. 

On a happier note though, the apartment is AMAZING! I'll post before and after pics as soon as the after is finished. Jenn still has to live in the dorm so she won't be moving in till Friday. We still have a pile of boxes as tall as me and a table and shelves to assemble, but overall it's coming together perfectly! I'm completely in love with our new little home :)

Plus, I got an iPHONE!!!!!!!!!! I still haven't had time to play with it a lot, but blogging will certainly be done through it. Amazing. 

Besides the lack of sleep, stress of finals, and the weird bruises I've gotten from working/moving, I'd say this has been a fantastic week... and it's only Wednesday!.... it is Wednesday right?

And since a post really isn't a post without pictures, here's a diy pop-up card picture tutorial from Oh Happy Day that I just LOVE and it's super easy! Have a wonderful rest of the week!!!!