looking back

fourth of july | 2013

For some reason, every Fourth of July, I find myself looking back on where I was the year before.

Whilst in India, Fourth of July 2011, I remember being really proud to be from the U.S.A. I remember the nuns at the orphanage wishing me a Happy Independence Day and making pizza for them to honor my home country. I remember this Fourth being the first that I actually felt a connection to the holiday, which was previous just centered around barbeques, fireworks and friends.

Last year, Fourth of July 2012, I was in the midst of a sad period of my life. Despite all the things and people I had to be thankful for, I wasn't a very happy person. Nonetheless, I put on my favorite polka dot shorts, tried red lipstick for the first time (it was a keeper) and spent the day frolicking around Mission Beach, San Diego, one of my favorite places in the world, ending the day at In-n-Out with my then roommate.

This year, I felt on top of the world. I woke up at my best friend's house and we ventured into San Francisco to join our friends for a picnic of sandwiches, cupcakes and beer. The sky was cloudless and blue; the weather was warm; the air, brisk; and the laughter between my friends and I was endless. I felt  free from my own insecurities and free from the sad place I was trapped in just a year before.

For the first time in a long time, on the Fourth of July 2013, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

guest post: kaylyn from the weir house

While I'm en route to Dallas, I have one of my favorite bloggers here with you today to get you in the mood for Valentine's Day (PS: how great is her man for helping out with this craft?). This lifestyle-meets-crafty-meets-my new best friend-blogger is always making me smile - from inspirational posts to personal emails...  if you haven't visited Kaylyn's blog, you should probably do so. Right. Now.

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What's up, love birds. It's Kaylyn from The Weir House blog bringing you a tutorial on how to make a festive heart pinata just in time for Valentine's Day. How you choose to use it - smashing it with a bat, stuffing it with candy hearts or hanging it over your dinner table for a Valentines party - is totally up to you. The good thing about this DIY is that it doesn't take much to get it started. The only thing you need to get is metallic foil, patience and a tall glass of wine (it's required).

1. Using any cardboard box around the house, remove the flaps on the top and bottom of the box. KEEP THESE! You will use them later.
2. Cut the box open
3. Now cut the walls into individual sections.

4. Draw a heart on one of the sections and cut it out (we free-handed ours).
5. Using the heart you just cut, trace it on another section of cardboard. After it has been traced, cut it out. You should now have 2 hearts. These will be the front and back of your heart pinata.

6. Remember the flaps we told you to keep? You will need to measure the width of your flaps and divide them in half (we divided our flaps at 4 3/4 inches because our flaps were 9 1/2 inches wide). Once measured, cut your flap down the middle giving you two pieces.
7. Roll your flap so that it will become more flexible. These flaps will become the walls of your pinata.

8. Form the walls of the pinata by curving the flaps around the edge of the heart (you can't mess this up). Tape the flaps to the heart by using masking tape. This doesn't have to be pretty! You can tape it anywhere you want to hold it in place. It will be covered by foil later.
9. Once you have taped all of the flaps around the perimeter of the heart, grab your second cut out heart.

10. Tape your second heart onto it, making the second heart the top layer. Again, this doesn't have to be pretty. Just tape it! ...HOORAY! You now have a pinata.
11. With the foil that you have (we ordered ours from dickblick.com) cut strips of it and fringe the strips.

12. Start from the bottom of the heart and foil UP. This hides the tape. Finish the sides the same way. THE KEY: FOIL UPWARDS! There you have it, you've officially been shot with Cupid's arrow. Enjoy your glimmery heart and feel free to send us pics of your finished product!

be mine valentine

Many consider Valentine's Day a scam. Overrated. A hallmark holiday. The list goes on. But even as a serial single lady, I have always liked this day. It's a fun opportunity to go to dinner with your friends... and who DOESN'T love homemade valentines and chocolate. My good friend and blog idol, Sam, has been doing diy valentines for several posts now and it inspired me to get crafty this past weekend. This is what I came up with:

orange crush bottles with homemade tags that display various messages such as "i'd be crushed at work without you" or "i gotta crush on you" and so on...

in honor of new year's resolution #1, i'm supporting local artists like my friend, lori, and her adorable creatures. they made fabulous valentine's day presents! visit her etsy store [here]

& a serious amount of cookies and candy, duh

Plus, one of my best friends in the entire world, AJ, came into town today for work And I think, even if I was madly and deeply in love, that I would much rather spend this day with her and my other incredible friends.

So let it be said. Even as probably the most hopeless of hopeless romantics, this day doesn't have to be a disaster. It doesn't need to be a day to reflect on lost loves or failed relationships. Spend it with your friends, the ones that will be there for you as guys come and go... cherish the people who cherish you in return... let yourself be hopeful [instead of hopeless] even if only for one day and be excited for what may come in the future.

{and, of course, enjoy all of the treats!}