A Backwards Glance at all the Firsts: 2012

This past year has held a lot of firsts, beginnings, endings, excitement, disappointment, and soul searching. I feel like I have grown more as a person the past year than maybe any year before. On that note, here are a couple of the highlights from 2012 (the year the world was suppose to end. Also, sorry this post is so long, but everything is better with a lot of pictures, right?):

I went to my first crazy college New Years Dance (ok, it was at the SLC Institute so it wasn't THAT crazy).

I went to my first Brain Regan Concert. It was worth every penny and my cheeks were sore all night! If you ever get the chance to go, DO IT!

This wasn't my first, but it was a first none the less! I accompanied my roommates to go see Parachute when they came a second time to Salt Lake City to a sold out show. It was beyond amazing! It was two of my roommates first concert! I am such a concert junkie that it was fun to see them at their first one. 

I planned/went on my first Spring Break vacation without parental supervision. A group of us hopped in cars and went to St. George. It was also my first time driving for longer than an hour at a time (leg=sore). It was by far one of the funnest trips I have ever been on. 

Hugh's Family (Peter was the dad, I was the mom, the rest were our kids :P )

I experienced my first Color Festival. Man was it crazy! But SO much fun. I totally plan on going again this year!

I was bold and had my first "break up" hair cut--everyone says you'll regret it later, but I sure didn't!

I met the guy who plays Elton in Singles Ward. It was a big deal ok?

I posted my first DIY shirt to my blog and Pintrest (it is still my most viewed post and pin).

I started my first full-time summer job that extended into the school year at US Novelty and Party (this was a pic on my first day of work).

I successfully pranked a boys room for the first time with a whole bunch of left over yarn. 

I became a member of the Latter-Day Saint Student Association (LDSSA) at the SLC Institute as head of the Historian committee. I also designed the t-shirts that you can see everyone wearing around the UofU campus!

The first of my best girl friends got her mission call: California ASL speaking. She is in the MTC right now and I am so proud of her!

I went to my first Murder Mystery Party and it was a blast. 

I sang in a choir for the Relief Society Broadcast for the first time (though it was not my first time singing in a choir in the Conference Center).

I went to Nightmare on 13th for the first time (I'm the crazy looking one in hipster glasses almost hidden in the back :p What you can't see is that I'm wearing a cat shirt ;). )

I wore a wig cap and a wig for the first time for a Hallowen Costume. (LOVE this costume.)

Dress: Thrifted (such a good find), Beads: Claires and borrowed from my roommates, Gloves: Halloween City, Boa: Halloween City, Wig: Halloween City, Bracelets: Claires (way old), Ring: Forever 21, Tights: JCP, Lips: Sephora Lipstain

And last but not least, I threw my first ever Christmas Party that ended up being a SMASHING hit! 

So there are some highlights of the "firsts" I experienced this year. To wrap things up, a few firsts and highlights that I don't really have pictures for: 

I experienced for the first time what it feels like to find your perfect match and have them not feel the same.

I got into the Graphic Design program, so I have a concrete plan for the next 2 1/2 years for the first time since I didn't get into the program the first time. 

I was paid for my first design job. 

I created this blog.

I went fishing for the first time and LOVED it. 

I had my first summer romance.

I rode a moped for the first time. 

I ate sushi for the first time and actually liked it. 

I had my purse stolen. 

I spent a summer not at home for the first time. 

I got my first big paycheck and was tempted to blow it all. 

I experienced what it felt like to be loved back...and what it feels like to be the one to end things. 

I started an Etsy shop.

I signed up for my first boutique (more on this to follow).

Well there you have it folks. Here's to 2013 and all the new firsts that are just waiting to happen! I plan on grabbing each new experience by the horns and riding them till the next one comes along!

Happy New Year!

xoxo

CRM

Christmas Extravaganza!

Well it's been almost a week since my party last Friday and I am finally getting around to posting the results. I must admit I was amazed at the outcome. The changed location ended up being perfect, I had amazing helpers to set up and take down, the food was all eaten, and I think everyone had a great time. It just goes to show that even when everything looks like it's going to crash and burn, it really can work out in the end. 

Ok, on the fun part! The pictures :)

Here was my outfit for the night. I was hoping to make something new for the party, but time ran away from me and I had to scrounge through my closet to find something that I hadn't worn for awhile

Dress: Down East Basics (old), Belt: Wow, I can't even remember!, Shoes: Forever Young Shoes (old, like 8th grade old), Tights: JCP, Necklace: Gift from China, Lips: Sephora Lipstain

I was happy it turned out as well as it did for a very last minute holiday ensemble! 

The dessert table: definitely the favorite spot to mingle all night. 

The cute banner I made to add a little sparkle. A party just isn't the same without a banner! :)

The cute tree decoration I made using this tutorial. 

Hot Chocolate Station (Note to self: A small thing of Steven's would have been PLENTY.)

I think I ate more of these throughout the night then I did cookies!

I love these bowl pedestals! So much classier than just sitting the bowl on the table. 

Quick D.I.Y. tip: 

1: Buy a cute bowl or platter

2: Buy a glass candle stick (often on sale at Hobby Lobby)

3: Wash bowl/platter

4: Hot glue or super glue (I like to use the glue brand "Goop") the candle stick to the bowl/platter and "Ta Da!" you have an amazing platter your friends will want to take home with them it's so cute!

I had a bunch of leftover felt from making the first cute tree (they just took too long to make a ton of them), so my mom and I made up this cute decoration that was a TON faster. A step by step tutorial on this one will be coming soon!

We tried to dress up the walls as well as we could with some beads and twinkle lights. 

I stole the ever popular photo booth idea and it was a hit!

What can I say? I love a good fake mustache and top hat! (Also, props to Camilla who is pictured above for doing my hair for the night! She is amazing!)

In the end the party was a great success and even though it caused me much stress and loss of sleep, I'm glad I was able to pull it off and might even consider doing it again next year...maybe...

Or maybe it would just make me look like this again ;)

xoxo

C.R.M.

Panic

So I'm throwing a Christmas party tonight. The panic of pre-party-planning jitters have arrived and I'm not sure if I will live to see tomorrow. Or the end of tonight. 

Just kidding. 

But I'm pretty sure this is how I look right now: 

(Or at least that's how I feel like I look.)

I know I'm being overly over dramatic over this party (how many times can I say 'over' in one sentence ), but I want it to be a success and I don't want all of my hard work and money to go to waste. I'm sure you've all felt that way about an event at one point or another. You've tried to keep your expectations low, but in the end you just hope and wish it will be a smashing success.

Well I don't know which way it will turn out to be, but there will be pictures to follow and even a tutorial on how to make some cute centerpieces that are now not even being used as centerpieces because my venue got changed. (See, I have a little bit of room to panic, right? Right?)

xoxo

C.R.M.

Bloging Hiatus and Making a Comeback

I check Blogger almost every day to catch up on all the blogs I love to read and check out the outfits I wish I had the money to buy (And sometimes not. Even if I had the money, I think I would still have a hard time spending over $10 for a t-shirt no matter how cute it is.). But this time I checked up on my own blog and realized with dismay that it had been five months since my last post.

Pathetic much?

There are more than a few reasons why this little blog hiatus was inevitable to happen:

1: I got a job. Yay 9-5 work. (But really I am grateful for the work and the money.)

2: Summer ended. School began.

This is the first summer I have spent away from home and needless to say I felt the need to fill the void of family time with other things like blogging and ultimate frisbee. Well, once that ever elusive time of summer passed and the new semester started with me in my design program, all hobbies seemed to go out the window. Any free time was spent doing homework and spending time with my then boyfriend. I didn't touch my cross stitch, digital scrapbooking, sewing machine, or blog for almost the entire semester (as you are now realizing I'm sure). I never knew how hard it would be to balance work, school, and life...and still get good grades and some sleep.

It is defiantly an art.

3: Curve balls.

Life has a way of throwing us curve balls right when we are expecting a fastball. (That is about as far as I can go with the baseball analogies. I'm a football/basketball girl all the way.) It is amazing to me how hard some of these changes in life can hit us and rock us to the core. I have been what I can only call floundering for the past two months. There has been a lot of soul searching, decision making, tears and Taylor Swift songs. (Thank you RED for coming out at just the right time. How did you know almost 1/2 of your songs would be oh so applicable?) There was an easy way before me and a hard way. Two paths that would determine my strength and spirituality. Of course the hard way was also the right way. And in the end, after a long internal battle, that still has its little skirmishes sometimes, I chose the hard way. The right way.

Were there moments when I wanted to give up and give in?

Yes.

Are there still those moments when I let the insecurity and fear creep in?

Heck yes.

But I finally feel like I'm on the up and up.

There are many times, looking over the past semester, that I wish it never happened. Times when I wish life came with a remote all decked out with a huge rewind button. But when I really stop and mull over the things I've learned, the ways I've grown, I don't think I'd take it all back. Do I wish I would have made some different choices that could have saved some heartache? Yes. But we all have those times in life. The trick is to figure out a way to come out of them alive. Maybe not unscathed, but alive and aware of how wonderful life can be. Even if we can only recognize that in small tiny doses at first because our "sad song" playlist is deafening the beauty in our minds.

The only advice I have to those of you who might be in similar spots in your life right now is this:

Make the right decision, no matter how hard or painful.

Stick to it no matter what.

Keep moving forward.

It's the only way you will be able to make it through.

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

Ok, so the reasons for my hiatus did end up being only a few (3), but let me tell you, each is jam packed with reasoning and justifications out the wazoo.


I've made it through somehow, the semester is over, and the year is almost out. So let me publicly (You know, to my...8 followers?) declare this here post a COMEBACK. 

COMEBACK  [kum-bak]
noun
a return to a former higher rank, popularity, position, prosperity in all things
crafty, how-to, fashion, life and love

Maybe it will be just as awesome as Kelly Clarkson's comeback. Just sayin'.

xoxo
C.R.M.

p.s. Can I just say that the biggest reasons I am SO HAPPY classes are over are the chance to craft, be with my family and cuddle with my kitty. Bring on the eggnogg!

Summertime Flip Flops

I'm sure we have all made a pair of flip flops like this at least once in our lives, but I thought I might as well post a tutorial on how. Especially since it has been forever since I have posted anything. 

I think my favorite thing about these flip flops is what my roomies little sister said about them. She said they were the type of flip flops that crafty, suburbian teenage girls made {said in a snooty "I'm way too cool for those" voice of course.}

Well, call me crazy, but I like em. 

{Another thing that inspired this project was Old Navy's $1 flip flop sale last weekend!}

Step One:

Gather together any fabric scraps you have lying around. I know I have bundles of them!

Step Two: 

Cut the fabric into relatively uniform pieces. You can try and match the fabric and make sure you have even numbers of each kind so the shoes will be the same, or you can just make it random. It looks cute either way!

Step Three: 

Acquire some flip flops to jazz up like the crafty teenager you are

Step Four: 

Tie the fabric onto the straps of the flip flops on one side like I did, or on both if you like that look better. {Ignore my un-manicured thumb. Yuck.}

Step Five: 

Enjoy wearing your cute new flip flops to the pool, beach, fair or any other summer activity you have planned! Or, make them for siblings and friends as a cute summer gift. 

Enjoy!

xoxo

C.R.M.

Artsy Fartsy

I've always thought the title "artsy fartsy" is pretty hilarious. Maybe it's because it's the phrase my mom always uses to describe artsy things that I like. Well, she definitely would have been using it last Saturday if she had been with my roomie and I at the SLC Arts Festival. What a hoot and a hollar it was! Between the crazy graffiti art to the live sand sculpting and amazing vendors, it was right up my ally and I absolutely loved it.

And to top it all off I was looking pretty artsy fartsy if I do say so myself. :)

{Shirt: Limited, Necklace: Forever 21, Earings: Forever 21, Sunglasses: Quilted Bear, (What can I say, I get my clothes/accessories at super random places!) Lipstick: Sephora, Shorts: Walmart, Hat: Walmart, (Yes, I just typed the world Walmart in a fashion post. All I can say is the shorts and the hat were cheaper there than anywhere else and they fit better. So there.) Shoes: TaiPan}

xoxo

C.R.M.

Emoticons

It is rather amazing how many emotions one can go through in a single day. For some reason today has been rather eclectic in its collection of thoughts and feelings. I blame Aunt Flo's monthly visit.

The day began rather glumly...

:( Waking up lonely is never a good feeling. Especially after falling asleep lonely listening to your go-to  feel sad song. {Currently mine is Come Wake Me Up by Rascal Flatts. It's wonderfully sad.} We all have them, and even though we know how they will make us feel at 11 o'clock at night all alone in our apartments. But we listen to them anyways. Over and over again.

:/ The day got a little better when I realized I had a cute outfit to wear and I got free Papa Johns pizza for lunch from work. It's greasy goodness all but canceled out my 4 straight nights of ultimate frisbee. But oh was it worth it. I'm pretty sure I sometimes scare all the warehouse guys with my ability to tuck it away at our weekly Friday lunches.

>:( Listening to angry people on the phone makes me angry. NO the company I work for is not personally trying to make your life a living heck. But you are making mine one right now. Thanks.

:) I got out of work a bit late, but after filling up with gas I headed to a retreat for a group I am a part of through the LDS institute up here in SLC. It was a bit of a drive, but it was nice to just put pedal to the medal and let off some steam. When I got to the house we were having this little get together at, my smile grew even larger. The yard was GORGEOUS. It wound and wound with a sport court, hammock area, fire pit, trees, a fountain etc etc. All I can say is I want a cool yard someday that my kids can explore to their hearts content...Ok, I admit it. I really want it so I can explore it to my hearts content!

;) I am so grateful for the people I get to work with in LDSSA (Later Day Saint Student Association). Going to this retreat tonight was exactly what I needed to raise my mood. There was good food, spiritual nourishment, and more laughter than I've had in a long time. Even coming home smelling like campfire was alright by me.

:D For some reason by the time I got in my car to drive home after the retreat, I was feeling sky high. There is just something about driving on the freeway at night with the windows down, music blasting, and the city lights surrounding me that always gets to me. I sat in my car and realized that I don't need to let anyone bring me down. I don't have to do things I don't want to do just because someone who doesn't want me will be there. I can decide how to live and how everything affects me. Maybe it won't be easy, heck I know it won't, but will it make you happier in the end? Probably. Will you be happier for because of it? Most definitely. Will I regret ending my day listening to Brian Regan's All By Myself CD? Not one little bit.

xoxo
C.R.M.