Happy Birthday, ‘Merica

Heres some fun 4th ideas! This one has always been my favorite: Fireworks Cookies! Throw some pop rocks in there and a 4th of July pop! Kenny suggested not telling your guests they are in there so they are very surprised!

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How about some cute 4th nails? I love these because they aren’t as cheesy as so many others are – and i love me some anchors!

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And how about a cute outfit idea? Have a striped red cardigan anyone? And yes, i enjoy getting dressed up for the 4th!

Can’t locate the source 😦

And the best part about the 4th of July? People being horribly stupid with fireworks:

PS, the last few seconds there are some bad words. I think id say some bad words too.

Happy 4th! BE SAFE!!

iPhone Cases for Creatives

There have been so many cute and fun iphone cases coming out recently, i just had to share!

First up is one of the most unique iPhone cases I’ve seen. Which is saying a lot since theres SO many crazy ones out there.

Its a cross stitch iphone case! I really love when old arts like crocheting and cross stitch get a new breath of fresh air and creativity. The fun thing with this you can take out the stitching and make something new whenever you want!

Another one of my favorites are by Satchel & Sage. Seen this design before? Yup! I bought a print at the Renegade Craft Fair and haven’t gotten enough of it since. Read all about that story here. To purchase an iphone Case from Satchel & Sage, head over here!

This one from Amy Sia I almost bought when i saw it because it was so dang cute.

I definitely have a huge love for watercolor so i just about died when i saw those. Love this geo watercolor by her as well!

Now all i need to do is actually upgrade to the iPhone 4… or wait for the 5?! Decisions, decisions…

Hurr Cut

Yup, definitely chopped of a foot and a half of hair last week! I wanted to cut it all of months ago but i decided to wait until the wedding (everyone wants super long hair on their wedding day, right?

But it was time to say goodbye to my long, broken, annoying hair. Adios. I definitely had a lot of things I loved about it. My husband loved it. But how about a story, shall we? I drive a Scion tc. Basically that car just begs for the sunroof to be open. And with the beautiful weather we get in Austin, it was open all the time. The problem was that it created a wind vortex in my car. Often I wouldnt notice when a large chunk of my hair would get sucked up into the sunroof as i was driving. Im pretty sure this just had to look pretty silly from other drivers… me cruisin around with my hair sticking up a few inches out of the top of my car. It would get even worse when i close my sunroof as i get to my destination and still dont realize my hair that is now closed into the roof. Thankfully i never jumped out of the car with it still in there because I would have one nasty bald spot.

Anyway, i decided to give Kenny a few months with it before i chopped it off. So on Saturday, the appointment was set. And of course, i decided the best way to tell him about it was just to lie. I think lying is the foundation of any great marriage. I’m kidding. But i really did. I told him i was off to get a massage! So when i came back and walked through the door, he was in shock!

So heres some before and during shots. Sorry, my hair looks fine on my head but when its on the table it looks sick nasty. It kind of looks like a horses tail to me. Eww.

My stylist is great with hair but not with a camera. But it still gives you a good idea. I think i wanted a little bit shorter but i didnt want a bob. eww, those things look good on other people but just not my style. This is chunky, messy and i love it!

My husband is not a good photographer either…

The crazy thing is before it would take me like 30 minutes to clean my hair and then 45 to dry it. So annoying. Now it takes like 3 seconds to clean it and just 5 to dry! I love it! And it doesnt get caught in everything like doors, chairs, doggie teeth…

Now I’m definitely ready for summer 🙂

Buy Gifts that Give Back!

Well Christmas is coming up and i though id throw together a good Christmas list for different types of interests. But instead of just buying crap that youll use once and forget about, heres some gifts that will actually make an impact globally.

For the techie:

The Charity:Water Jambox : $50 from every Jambox will go to Charity:Water.

HelloSomebody watches! Theres so many bright and beautiful colors and proceeds support boys in Rwanda.

For the Artist:

Makarios Prints by Esther Havens: Prices ranging from 25 – 500 bucks you can easily purchase one print in your budget! Each purchase helps support Makarios school in the Dominican Republic along with projects in Haiti and Sudan.

Krochet hats from Krochet Kids International! As much as i dont like winter, i love love the hats 🙂 I have two of these hats (one in yellow and one in ocean blue) and i LOVE them… so cute and colorful. Every hat is handmade in Uganda or Peru and creates jobs for hundreds of people. Help support them this Christmas!

For the Fashionista:

Sseko Sandals: This is one of my favorite pairs of sandals… Everywhere i go i get compliments on them. The best part is Sseko helps women in Uganda raise tuition money for their university education!

Noonday Collection Jewely & Accessories : Noonday Collection purchases fair trade products all over the globe to help create jobs.

For the person that has everything:

Buy them a brick! No, seriously. At Glimmer of Hope, they started a campaign where you buy one brick for 20 bucks.

Trust me, your friends and family will love knowing that they were able to help out in some way! Merry Christmas!

-Rachel

Oh snap…

…. no one told me that wedding planning was so difficult! Venues, flowers, colors, dresses… gosh i have no clue what I’m doing. So far what I have picked out is… wait for it…. wait for it…. nothing. Yea, nothing. Theres just so many choices for everything! And oh man, for an incredibly indecisive couple like us, this is going to get crazy. Sidenote: I’ve had the hiccups for like an hour. Funny like the first hiccup or two but now im about to kill someone. (can we say wedding planning stress or what?!)

Anyway, i thought i would just throw out some of my fav wedding inspiration. Theres a lot out there, folks. Especially on pinterest. That site is just mean… i could be on there for 12 hours straight and still wonder what new pins are up…  So without further adieu… wedding stuff!! yaaaay!

First off, what is THE most important thing about a wedding? the dress? no.. the whole “marriage” thing? nope… its aaaaaall about the cake. Thats what everyone goes to weddings for, lets be honest, people. So how ridiculously amazing is this? A PAINTED cake? Umm, yes please!

Ok, lets talk flowers. Seriously, two K for some flowers? seriously? they just grab a bunch of them and throw ribbon around them… thats it. And they get 2 grand. Whateve… how about some door knobs instead?

Bam! Doorknob bouquet. Maybe 20 bucks total… lasts a lot longer and is all around awesome. Now, i know what you’re thinking. “Rachel, you are going to have the coolest wedding of all time. Painted cakes and doorknob bouquets… ” Its true. I’m awesome. But i will be honest… i went into this thinking i was going to be as far away from traditional as humanly possible. But the more i get into this stuff… dang, I’m kind of cheesy. No, i dont want my fiance seeing me before the wedding. Yes, I want the good ol scripture readings to take place. And well… I’ve been gettin all gitty about the details.. yea, for serious. Went out dress shopping and man, i got excited! Who knew?! I actually fell in love with the first dress i saw in the first boutique i went into. Oh, dont worry, i went into about 17 more stores after that and tried on 638 different dresses… but yup, still love that first dress. Kind of want to wear it all the time. Good sign i think?! Anyway, I’m obviously not going to post the dress I want incase my snoopy fiance decides to read this and get a sneak peek before he’s allowed so I will leave you with just some fun dress + accessory awesomeness.

Super cute, huh? I will not disclose if mine is at all the same as this one (which its not) but this is one I definitely love. Except I can only find it on ebay… and that just makes me Uber nervous. Any of you brides make a wedding dress purchase on ebay?!?

So definitely with a dress like that you’re going to need statement shoes.

Go big or go home. I am definitely going to wear some super tall heels. Hey, my fiance is 6’1, if i dont, i look teeny tiny and have to get on my tippy toes to kiss him. Plus 1″ heels are super lame. Sidenote #2: It may not be a good idea to post on my blog at 1am. I tend to say rather silly things and could possibly offend people (like those of you that spend 2,000 on flowers and wore 1″ heels) My bad.

Ok, moving on. Veil: the only way i think i would wear a veil is A. if its rad and like the picture below and B. if i had a simple dress without a ton of crap on it. (i.e. glitter, flower pouf thingies, ribbons, etc. etc. etc.) Ok wait, on that note, im going to vent again…  of those 638 dresses i tried on… SO many of them were just plastered with that stuff! I mean how hard should it be to find a simple dress? I was about to just run to JC Penny to pick up a dress that didn’t have glitter caked on it. (dont worry folks, i didnt)

So yea, i like this but maybe not the whole crazy feather thing. Thats a little much. By the way, incase any of you were wondering… yes, I am still hiccuping. I feel like I’m about to pass out.

Alright, receptiony things… apparently i love peonies. Everything about these pictures i absolutely adore…

Oh heres another good one… this is a super cute outdoor reception:

Love love those chairs and pillows! so dang cute.

Hold up…  this is just gettin crazy. This blog went from how to build your own furniture  – using power tools, how to stain… and now we are at high heels, flowers and dresses. The femininity of this blog jumped up 57 notches post engagement. I just need to go build something…

-Rachel

Recycle old shirts: DIY Shredding

I don’t post often about clothing but i thought I’d post about my new found project on recycling old shirts… i had an old white t-shirt that is super comfy but just didnt really fit me right, so i decided to give shredding a go! Click on the photo below for the tutorial i used on how to get it started..

Here is what my shirt looks like up close:

Here is a really great online tutorial on how to get it going… its pretty fun and when you get the hang of it goes really fast. I think my next project might be a cardigan, that would look pretty sweet! Oh! and when you get started, you cut off the bottom hem, i decided to use it as a headband! Works really well and it’s free! What whaaat!

-Rachel

Etsy Rocks!

See what i did there? Yea, I’m cleaver. Anyway, so here is a fun etsy find! I’m fascinated with jewelry design… and rocks. I blame my parents for bringing me to the Austin Gem and Mineral show every year. Anyway, with metal jewelry design, its like welding but miniature. At least in my head.

LauraTreloar of Elseetee2 has some of the most unique jewelry I’ve seen in a while including pieces of glass that date back to 100 BC and even dino bones! yea… truth. 

That is one intense ring. It would definitely do some damage if anyone tried to mess with you.

Theres just something unique about the rocks in their raw form. You definitely dont see a lot of that anymore.

This piece is ancient Roman glass dating back to 100 bc! Pretty incredible.

But here, kids, is the best part: Dino bones!

Thats right- we’ve got Mastodon Ivory, dino bones and my personal favorite; Fossilized Mosasaur Tooth. Now what classy lady wouldn’t want to have this guy’s pearly whites around her neck?

Yea… he’s practically dominating Jaws. That takes talent to make a 30 ft great white look more like a pansy dolphin.

Wow, talk about a tangent. Till next time!

-Rachel

Photographs by Laura Treloar of  Elseetee2. Bottom photo from National Geographic Magazine.

Think Global

I love the new styles coming out that are inspired by other cultures… interesting patterns, bold colors and lots of animals! These are all clothes and home goods from Anthro

I definitely would love to use some of those bold reds or blues for wall paint…

Noa Noa

decor8 posted about Noa Noa, a Danish fashion brand that sadly is not sold in the States but I still love the colors and designs for inspiration!

i adore everything! please please please sell in the states! And spring, please come soon….

DIY Pom pom Necklace!

I cant wait to head to the fabric store to make a few of these for just a couple bucks! Aren’t they adorable? And simple! For the how to click here. Thanks Little Miss Mama for your amazing (and free!) DIY projects!

This headband is on there too using the same technique.