Addicted to pinterest....

I'm on Pinterest!! Please follow me and leave me your link in the comments and I'll follow you!  It's been fun :)

Click here to go to my pinterest page!

  

Yay!

Lookie what I got in the mail today!

 A nice lil sewing machine....

 A bunch of fun looking books about sewing...

And a cute lil' puppy dog!  No just kidding.  He likes to hide under my craft desk while I'm sitting sometimes.  Cutie!

Weekend Update

I think I’ve said before that I really enjoy my weekends much more since quitting my job in public accounting and switching over to “industry”.  No more frantically checking my blackberry for emails over the weekend, worrying that I might be called into the office at any time.  Once, I had to go in to work at 5pm on a Saturday.  You know it’s going to be bad when you are ENTERING the office that late on a Saturday (we worked til 1am).  

This past weekend I finally woke my lazy butt up early to go for a long run – 6.5 miles, which is almost about as far as I’ve run thus far.  I need to go 1 mile longer every weekend now to build up to 13 miles before the half marathon.  I’m really nervous about doubling my distance in just 2 measly months!  Send your prayers and well wishes my way please!

Respect the Distance half-marathon necklace from GracieandMeDesign

We brought our doggie to a new place in town that is a hybrid dog park/human bar.  A pretty cool concept.  Unfortunately, our dog is just about as anti-social as we are, and he just wanted to hide under a picnic table the whole time and observe the other doggies from a distance.

My friend and I also tried yoga this weekend.  I am TOTALLY inflexible (as in, cannot come anywhere close to touching my toes without bending my knees) and I’ve been attempting to stretch every morning to keep my muscles loose for running.  I’m particularly worried about possible IT band issues.  So, I thought taking up yoga would be a good partner for the running.  However, much to my surprise, this was NOT stretchy, get loose and meditative feel good yoga.  This was sweaty, trembling in impossible poses, extreme soreness the next day yoga.  I don’t know what I’m doing.

Inhale, exhale, yoga print by hopskipjumppaper

I also mentioned that I bought a sewing machine yesterday.  I don’t regret buying it for a second, but I do feel guilty about all the money I’ve been spending.  I got a vintage-style Disney World map custom framed yesterday too.  Even with a ginormous coupon, custom framing is so dang expensive!  What’s up with that?!

Finally, I capped my weekend off by being completely scared by my husband.  As a little ongoing game, we like to hide around the house and see if we can startle each other.  Well, I was holed up in our office, milling away the time writing happy little blog entries about sewing machines.  When I finished, I got up, turned off the lights and walked toward the head of the stairs, when out of the laundry room pops my screaming husband.  I yelled in terror and then I actually started to cry.  I was totally alarmed at this involuntary reaction (I've never cried from being scared or surprised before, it was weird).  He literally startled tears out of me.  Needless to say, he felt really, really bad. Hahaha.  Oh well, I’ll get him next time!

I'm thinking about starting up on pinterest.  Do yall use it? What do you think?

Bubbly bauble rings!

Perfect for a mid-summer pick-me-up, these fun bauble rings will get you in the party mood!  I'm currently selling size 7 bauble rings in purple/lavender, aqua/sea foam, and pink.

 Click here to see the listing for my pink bauble ring

Signs of becoming one's mother...

So, today I made quite a random purchase...

I saw on someone's facebook status that Amazon was selling these awesome sewing machines for super cheap, and the machine has like 650 reviews and 90% of them are stellar so....I couldn't resist.

I grew up with a mom who loved to sew.  She made my sister and me all sorts of frocked and frilly dresses when we were young, and even made many of my dresses for proms/homecomings/fancy terms for formal dances in high school.

I took home ec (I think it was officially called "family & consumer science") in high school and I remember making a few basic things, like scrunchies and pajama pants, but these days I can't even remember how to sew a button back on.

Sooooooo, NOW I'm getting a brand new sewing machine!  And of course, the obligatory Type A personality set of 5 or 6 instructional books on sewing for beginners and how to use a sewing machine.

The main reason I'm excited to sew is because fabric these days is just so FUN.  Sometimes at hobby lobby or JoAnn's I just buy the fabric because it's so cute I can't resist; with a sewing machine, I'll actually have something to do with it!

Can you expect some handmade sewn-by-moi crafts in Lazy Owl Boutique in the distant future?  We shall see!

Here's the link incase you just figured you'd buy a sewing machine too.

I'm looking for some reader feedback!  Do you sew?  What are some of the things you've created?  Do you have any suggestions as to web sites or books that are good for beginner sewists?

 

Golden Days

So, I suppose this has been a good week for my childhood self.  Wednesday night I went to the Britney Spears concert.  For a while I was thinking, “Wow, Britney’s been out for a whole decade and I’m still going see her in concert.”  Then I realized, it’s been way *more* than a decade, right?  I can remember hearing “Hit Me Baby (One More Time)” on the radio in 8^th grade.  I was not a Britney fan at first.  Her seemingly helium-ed voice confused me. 

In 8^th grade, obviously during the height of my supreme coolness, I created an *NSync website.  It was your typical late 90’s angelfire.com fan site explosion of obsession and html, full of midis and awful rotating gifs and blinding sparkles, and always, always a visitor counter.  Anyway, when Britney’s first raunchy cover on Rolling Stone was published, I freaked out and posted a giant tirade against her on my site.  I don’t know how long it took for me to go from hating Brit Brit to jumping on the cheesy pop bandwagon, but it probably wasn’t too long (is it really much of a step from *NSync to Britney?).

Britney "Keep on Dancing Til the World Ends" t-shirt sold here by lovejonny

Anyway, I saw her in concert this week.  She puts on a good show.  This time around they actually turned on her microphone for a few seconds here and there so you could hear her acknowledge the audience and the fact that she was in Houston.  So that was exciting.

In another nod to my childhood, I’m dragging the husband to see the very, very, very last Harry Potter film with me tonight.  I’m actually pretty sad/excited about this.  I will not claim to be a Harry Potter purist or anything.  When the first film came out, I think some friends in high school asked me to see it in theaters and I had never even heard of Harry Potter.  I wasn’t *instantly hooked* or anything, but since I liked to read I thought I’d give the books a try (same thing happened with the Lord of the Rings). 

Goblet of Fire was always my favorite book, and I happened to be studying abroad in the UK when the corresponding film was released.  My friends and I actually stood in the rain all day in Leicester Square for the premiere and got to see the stars walking the red carpet, so that was an exciting moment (Robert Pattinson will always be Cedric first before Edward). 

When the final book came out, I was living in Boston.  My friend and I dressed in our best Harry Potter gear and went to Harvard Square to see Harry & the Potters play, before waiting in line for many hours to buy the novel from the famous Harvard bookstore.  We put headphones on for the trip back to my apartment, because my friend was sure some ill-meaning hooligan was going to drive by us and shout out the ending of the story and ruin it for us.  We stayed up reading until we couldn’t handle it anymore, then read the next day in the park until we finished.  Good times.

Muggle ring sold here by PrettyLittleCharmsUK

So now, the kid in me is excited but sad, because going see this final film is like the last new Harry Potter thing I will ever really get to do.  There won’t be any fun, exciting little memories associated with Harry Potter moments anymore.  Plus, I guess I’m really getting a little too old to get this excited about children’s books…

Bracelet sold here by tesorojewelry

Old Hollywood Jewels!

I'm thrilled to reveal a few new listings I've been working on with some of my newest supplies.  They are very glamours and vintage-inspired and I kind of want to keep them all for myself...but I don't think my husband would appreciate that.

 These are perfect for a summer wedding...

Lime green lovelies to pair with your sundress and gold gladiators...

 The perfect mix of sparkle and sass!

Many more to come soon!  Check them out at Lazy Owl Boutique!

Lazy Sunday for Lazy Owl...

Ahhhhhh, a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon.  When I worked in public accounting, I never enjoyed my Sundays.  The feeling of anxiety would just build in me throughout the day, knowing that tomorrow I had to return to my hectic work environment and receive another dose of mental and emotional beatdowns (over dramatic much?).

Thankfully, one of the things I've noticed since starting my new job is how peaceful and relaxing Sundays can be.   I spend my Sundays catching up on laundry and ironing, working outside, taking walks with our dog, sorting through the mail pile, and yes, working on Lazy Owl Boutique!

You may not know, but Houston (and Texas in general) is in the middle of a really extensive and long drought.  And it's RAINING right now!  Not just raining but like, a full on downpour!  As a new homeowner and thus a new owner of a whole bunch of dying thirsty plants, this makes me quite happy.  That means no more watering for like....at least a day or two right?

I think Leo (dog) was very confused by all this since it hasn't rained in so long.  He first sprinted out the doggie door to bark defiantly at the thunder noises.  Now, he is sitting upstairs with me staring at the rain (which you can't really see in this photo but trust me, it's raining!).

I hope you are all enjoying your Sundays, whether they be productive or lazy!

Lovely lovelies...

Here's my latest treasury, an inspired collection of items from my favorite shops:  lovely lovelies

Tell me what you think!

Also, don't forget to find me on facebook, here.

Life tip of the day...

Do not ever enter a public restroom with food in your mouth.

You never know what might hit you when you enter the restroom and it could be a nasty surprise that does not mix with food....

In other news, I am going to attempt to "run" 3 miles in this 99 degree heat.  If I don't write again soon, you can assume I've died.

God Bless America

Happy Independence Day!

I have many fond memories of the Fourth of July over the years.  In 2006, I was working as a custodian at Walt Disney World on July 4th.  In 2007, I walked from my brownstone apartment down to the Charles River in Boston to watch the famous Bostonian fireworks.  In 2008, I went on a road trip with my best girl friends to San Antonio and spent July 4th at Six Flags and Schlitterbahn waterpark.  This year, my family came into town and we hit up the premiere outlets here in Houston!

Let's celebrate with some red, white, and blue earrings from Lazy Owl!

 

Red dice earrings

 

Sapphire blue earrings

 

Iridescent Swarovski rivoli earrings

Walk the walk...

So, I have mentioned in prior posts that I recently 1.) started a new job, and 2.) started training for a half-marathon.  A week after I started here, corporate decided to have what they titled a “pedometer challenge”.  Being the new girl, I shyly asked the secretary if I could join our team and participate in the challenge, only to be told there wasn't a team.   This is how one week after starting my new job I unknowingly became our entire department’s team captain. 

The challenge lasts 2 months and basically boils down to taking as many steps as you can each day to boost your team's weekly average steps.  It has been very interesting to see how many (or how few) steps I take in an average day.  Yes, I’m an accountant, so looking at these stats, and basically boiling down my physical actions into averages and percentages is interesting to me.  My first few weeks on the job were slow for me, so I had an excuse to spend extra time walking around the building, heck, even around the parking lot when I was really bored.

The suggested goal for us each day is to hit 10,000 steps.  I was surprised to figure out how difficult this actually is.  Even if I go out of my way at work (print to the farthest printer, park in the back of the lot, take the stairs instead of the elevator), I am lucky to hit 5,000 steps by the time 5pm rolls around.  And sadly, even though I have a desk job, I’ve found I get far more steps during the workday then I do during evenings at home.  My first weekend I think I logged about 5000 steps TOTAL.  Sad.

I wanted to sign up for this mainly because I am training for that half-marathon and I thought I’d be totally rocking the step count, but it appears I am wrong.  Running two or three times a week has not really boosted my average, and I’m sad to think about what my numbers would look like if I were NOT training. 

Last week I hit my peak with 71,840 steps, finally breaking the 10,000 per day average.  Will I do better this week?  We’ll see.  Have you ever participated in a pedometer challenge before?  Does anyone have any tips for me?