Moving on

Wow. It's been a while. Lets just say my life has been a bit nuts lately, which has left me feeling lots of ups and lots of downs. BUT I am so over it. I'm ready to move on and this is the best opportunity to do so, seeing as I have a whole week off!

I started today with a trip that I've been meaning to make for a while - a local baking supply store that I've *gasp* never been to. I have a friend who has been raving about this place and I finally took it upon myself to check it out. Let me just say one thing; how did I not know about this?! Oh. My. Goodness. Every kind of pan, cookie cutter, wrapper, sprinkle, extract, tool, you name it, you can find it here. I was honestly in this tiny little store for at least an hour. If you find yourself in Maumee Ohio you MUST stop in The Baker's Kitchen, and forewarning, there is an actual bakery attached to the store and if you don't faint from the sugary sweet amazing smell then you just may have to buy baked goods before you leave.

The other fun thing that I did to start off my week was to try out the Popsicle molds that I got at Ikea not too long ago. I used a recipe from the Cookie Dough Lovers cookbook - cookie dough Popsicles! Also amazing! I took a picture but it did not do the Popsicles justice, and then they started melting, so I ate them, hence, no pictures, but I promise that they tasted amazing.

Now I'm off to bed early because I am getting up at 3:30 in the morning to embarks on a pilgrimage - Vera Bradley outlet sale here I come!!!!!

Vacation time!

Today I am thankful for vacation time, and I think whoever introduced the use it or lose it policy is a genius!

I work at a community college, so my school follows the college's fiscal schedule, our contracts run July to June, and this year I have three personal days and 5 vacation days to use before the end of June, Which is making my spring very exciting.

Today, for example, I bought two tickets for the Vera Bradley outlet sale, which we will be attending on a Tuesday morning, because we can!!!! I am so pumped!

Time to breathe

Whew. I'm wiped out. Today was awesome and jam packed. It was one of those days that wears you out completely, but you're ok with it because you've gotten so much accomplished.

I was off work today, but my vacation didn't start until I finally sat down to eat dinner at 7:30. The rest of my day was a marathon cooking session - baking cookies, 2 different kinds, frosting cookies, baking sweet potato biscuits, packing everything up, and cleaning the kitchen, like 3 times. I also may have taken a little break to get my nails done, a girls gotta splurge every now and then!

This morning seems like a really long time ago! Here are some pictures of my hard work. I'm off to enjoy my holiday! (And check out the cute lamp I scored for $10! So I did some shopping too, there's always time for shopping).

Wait... Free Starbucks?!

Have you seen this?! This weekend Starbucks is doing but one get one free on their holiday beverages from 2-5pm. Umm yes! I'm in for sure! This is perfect for all of you who will be shopping this weekend. There are some awesome deals out there, but I'm not sure I understand the point of a Pre-Black Friday sale... I'm all for a sale, don't get me wrong, but the whole forgetting the entire holiday of thanksgiving thing rubs me the wrong way.

I may do a little shopping the weekend, but for the most part I will be devoting my weekend to getting into the holiday spirit in other ways. Saturday morning is my hometown's annual holiday parade, and just because I don't live there anymore doesn't mean that I get out of the festivities, ill be there, freezing my butt off with everyone else!

Sunday is devoted to frosting thanksgiving sugar cookies, and I have some really cute designs planned for this year. I am so looking forward to hanging out in my sweats and getting frosting everywhere!

I hope your weekend is just as festive, I'd love to hear about it!

Inspired

I had a ton of fun shopping with my very best friend this weekend and I am so proud to be able to say that I have to buy one more gift card and then my Christmas shopping will be completely done!!!!

That is huge for me! So, since my shopping is done I've talked myself into taking on a bunch if Christmas projects. I bought material yesterday to make a new tree skirt, which has been a goal of mine - to have a handmade tree skirt.

While we were shopping, ok while we were eating dinner we saw a woman wearing the cutest scarf, and the more that I checked out her scarf - I tried really hard to be subtle - the more I was convince that I could make one myself, so I did! Now I have three more to finish before Christmas!

Let me tell you this was the easiest scarf to make. As long as you can crochet a single chain, you can complete this scarf. I made a super long chain, wrapped it in a loop 24 times, and then wrapped one section with a single strand of yarn (like you would wrap a wreath form with yarn). I think for the next one I will do it a little thicker, but I love how cute it is and I will definitely be making one for myself too!

Deal of the week!

I had heard that Old Navy was having a $1 flip flop sale yesterday, and seeing as it has been at least two years since I updated my flip flop collection (and seeing as I can't find it in me to pass up anything that only costs $1) I decided to check it out. It never occurred to me that this would be the flip flop version of black Friday. Let's just say I was a bit overwhelmed. I mean, really, we're fighting people to dig through bins of plastic flip flops. So, I did what I always do, waited patiently, got the colors I could manage to find without causing a brawl, and stayed out of everyone's way, it was kind of like being invisible, and that's the way I prefer it!

At the end of my 45 minute wait in the checkout line, I ended up with 5 pairs of flip flops for $5, and while a lot of people would say that it is ridiculous that I waited in line for that long, I say "what else did I have to do?" at least I can get rid of the old nasty ones now, and I consider the whole thing a learning experience because I learned a lot about the ladies behind me in line who talked non-stop for our entire 45 minute wait!

A relaxing afternoon...what's that?!

After such a crazy month, there is nothing that I appreciate more than a relaxing Sunday afternoon, although I must admit that I am not totally sure what to do with myself, and I am working to restrain myself from freaking out about the projects that I really should be working on.

I know that I have things to do, that's almost an understatement. But I definitely understand the importance of taking some time out. Yesterday was extremely productive, I managed to post four new weekly planners and update photos for four of my wedding plan books (all can be found at Obsessively Organized on Etsy), but instead of showcasing the work that I was able to finish up yesterday, I think I will stick to the spirit of relaxation and show you a few incredible Etsy finds that celebrate what it means to really relax.

The first item is Dream Balm from Lilith's Apothecary . Not only is it beautifully packaged, but it is also supposed to banish stress - sounds good to me!

The second item is this gorgeous cardigan by Hackwith Designs. The best thing about this insanely gorgeous article of clothing is that it looks super comfortable, yet you could definitely dress it up to go out. I am seriously contemplating a purchase...

Finally, one of my favorite things, slipper boots! My feet are forever freezing cold, needless to say I do not walk around my house without a pair on, these are essential. This pair is by marissaann.

Now, if I can tear myself away from Etsy, I am off to curl up with Eclipse (for the fifth time) and spend the afternoon reading about someone else's drama!