Currently.

I haven't done a currently post in awhile, so I figured go a little picture crazy for this one!

 Loving: my fun new Shwings! They're fun wings to accessorize your sneakers for some extra oomph. While I usually prefer to get my wings from a can of Red Bull, these pink sparkly beasts definitely dressed up my Nike Dunk Sky Highs rather nicely! I can't wait to test them out on my Neon Yellow Litas!

Making me smile:  The awesome Lionel Richie Valentine's day coloring sheet I found! While bebesitting for my two of my favorite littles, I was looking for a holiday themed craft. I couldn't find the craft bin, so I decided to print out some fun coloring pages. I don't remember what I searched for, but when I saw this, I gasped + one of the cutest two-year-olds on the planet toddled over + asked what I was doing. I showed him, but he didn't understand it. I already gave it to Erich, because its amazing. You can find this gem over at Creative-Type Dad, because this dude seems to love Lionel just as much as I do [there are pages of Lionel goodness].

Patiently waiting for: the Wildfox SS '13 lineup, which is based on Clueless, which is one of my favorite movies ever. The collection launches sometime this month + I've been obsessively checking the site to see if its up yet. 

Reading: Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby. I snagged a first edition hardcover, because I really dig finding the original books, because I feel that is truly the author's creation. Levin captured my attention when I read The Stepford Wives years ago + this has been on my reading list for years now. Better late than never, right?

Rockin' out to: Rooney's self-titled album. I have been in a hard-core nostalgia music mode as of late, so I revisited one of my favorite albums from ten years ago. Somewhere in my old room I have the old demos burned on a CD, along with a few of the old EPs. 

Thinking about: what the next Iron Craft challenge will be. Week 1 was cotton, so Sarina + I used cotton totes I had lying around + made some fun stencils with freezer paper [Sarina created a freezer paper stencil tutorial, so make sure to check it out].

Watching: H2, which is essentially what the History Channel used to air - actual shows about history [instead of stupid reality shows that make me want to cry]. I pray that they don't pull an MTV2 + decide to switch from awesome programming to more heinous reality shows. 

A big thank you to Danielle from Sometimes Sweet for passing on the idea for these fun "Currently" posts!

So This Is The New Year...

... and I don't feel any different. - Death Cab for Cutie, New Year

For the last ten New Years, I have always played this song a few times the first week in January - its like New Year holiday music, if you will. I love older DCFC + Transatlanticism is my favorite album (you can snag a copy for under ten bucks from Amazon), so its often in rotation throughout the year as well. The opening lyrics stand true, though. I don't feel any different because the year has changed. If anything, I'm stuck in the previous year - it takes me a week or two to get into the habit of writing the new date on documents - I can't tell you how many times I would sign off on things at the beginning of 2012 + date them 2011 - I wouldn't realize it until someone pointed it out, either.

Same thing goes for birthdays. I never feel any different + it usually takes me a few months to start saying the correct age when people ask me how old I am. Since I recently turned thirty, this one was easier for me to remember, but I can't tell you how many times I would tell people I was 27 or 28, when I was actually 29. If I didn't realize what I said right away, Erich would joke that I was lying about my age.

I didn't make any resolutions (they're doomed from the start), but I did decide that over the course of the winter, I would attempt to drink less coffee, eat healthier, craft more + dress up more. So far, I have only been drinking tea, I have been eating healthier than normal (less candy now that my Haribo advent calendar has been demolished, but I just ate a slice of pizza that was leftover from dinner last night), I went to Sarina's last night to work on fun crafty stuff + I am attempting to break free of my usual winter attire - sweatpants, sweatshirt, Uggs + no makeup. As you can tell, its baby steps, but its better than nothing.

What Is Influenster?

Recently, I have read many bloggers talking about Influenster. I decided to see what the big deal was. After waiting to receive an invitation [if you want one, comment with your email address + i'll send it over], I logged in + saw what the deal was.

Basically, you review products + based on your choices, Influenster sends you a VoxBox full of goodies [sample size + full-size] for you to review, or to pass onto friends or readers to review. Its totally free, which is awesome. I have seen VoxBox samples on other blogs, + to be honest, the goodies inside look better than Birchbox samples, which cost $20 a month. I was a faithful Birchbox girl for quite some time, but after I was sent expired products twice, with a generic email response back from the girl I was told to speak with, I decided that I wasn't going to give them any more of my cash. Plus, the last few boxes I got were crappy anyway.

Whats awesome is that Influenster doesn't want you to write a review praising the product if you think it sucks - they want to know why you're not a fan  + why! Its also a great way to find out about a variety of items from folks that aren't being sponsored [some bloggers don't like speaking poorly of a product that they don't like - I, on the other hand, will tell you if I'm not a fan, because being honest is key]. As soon as I receive my VoxBox, I will share it with you all on here + yes, I will also be sending items to my readers, because sharing is caring!

If you are on Influenster, what do you think of it? If you're interested in joining, let me know + I will send you an invite!

Teach Me Something Thursday, Volume Eighteen.

Welcome to the first TMST of the new year! The eighteenth installment is from Amber, the blogger behind My Three Bittles. Amber teaches us how to make play dough from ingredients sitting in your pantry! This is an excellent activity to develop fine motor skills in little ones [the teacher in me HAD to tell you that].

Hey guys, I'm Amber of My Three Bittles and today I'm going to teach you how to make play dough! YAY!!!!My kids got so super excited about this and spent FOREVER playing with it. So, let's make some play dough, shall we?! Yes. I think we shall. It's QUITE simple really, but I've been in such a "let's share" mood lately, that I thought I'd photograph the process and share with y'all.

So here we go:

You'll need:

1 c. flour

1/2 c. salt

1 tbsp. cooking oil

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 pkg. unsweetened Kool-Aid

1 c. water

Go on and mix up your dry ingredients into your pot. Then add the oil and water.

Cook over medium heat until mixture forms a ball.

Dump onto counter or wax paper and knead, knead, knead the Kool-Aid into it.

Then watch little hands play.

And sometimes your kid will be so grateful that he'll make you a play dough heart and melt your heart.

Visit My Three Bittles for recipes, crafts + everything else in between!