Spring Break Days

It is currently my spring break and I wish I was here telling you what a fabulous vacation I've been on or how many drinks by the pool I've been having or at least how productive I've been with the extra time off. But who are we kidding? None of those are true. I've been relaxing, watching my recorded TV shows, working a little bit, and hanging out with my man and pup. However, I haven't been completely useless and here is the proof!

[+] Remember my Burst Skirt? My very first, completely from scratch, piece of clothing? I love it so much that I decided to make another.

We'll call this one Yellow Bouquet Skirt.

Ollie insisted on standing right next to me where ever I stood to take these pictures. At least he was out there with me so if someone walked by I could pretend to be taking him potty instead of being awkward taking pictures of myself. Speaking of awkward, like my jump?

I'm such a loser :-)

[+] I made new pillows for our living room and I love them. I don't have a good picture of them (bag blogger) but here is the link to the picture I tweeted right after I made them.

[+] Speaking of the living room... J and I just purchased a whole new living room furniture set and I'm so excited for them to get here. We were very fortunate to have parents that let us have the things we do now but I'm ready for a change and to have our "own" furniture instead of hand-me-downs. We got a steal of a deal for a new couch, loveseat, chair, ottoman, coffee table, two end tables and two lamps. Now if only they weren't out of stock and we didn't have to wait until the end of April to get them!

[+] Ollie's been a big boy and has been playing at the dog park almost every day recently. He loves going up there to run and play with his doggie friends but he gets mighty dirty in the process. Especially since there are many dirt patches and it's been raining recently which means lots of mud. It wouldn't be such a problem if Ollie didn't end up on the ground so often (combination of being submissive and clumsy). Needless to say he's been in bad need for a bath and finally got one on Tuesday.

It's a struggle to give him a bath because it has to be in our tub but our shower has doors instead of a curtain. Picture a 90+ lb dog in a bathtub that's even too small for me sometimes. Not pretty. However, he is definitely pretty now!

It was a gorgeous day outside on Tuesday so after I scrubbed him good and quickly ran him through the apartment and onto the porch to shake we headed out for a nice long walk. He has so much fur it's impossible to towel dry him so there's nothing better than the sun and breeze to dry this pup.

We walked for a long time and headed to the Starbucks closest to our apartment. We spent a lovely afternoon sipping lattes and ice cubes (the first for me, the second for him) and once he was just slightly damp we headed home.

He's the softest and fluffiest he's ever been before and it's wonderful. Plus he smells good. Now if only he would stop shedding garbage bags of hair we'd be set.

I only have one more day and then the weekend before spring break is over and I hope J and I can get some fun in this weekend. For now I'm off to volunteer. Happy Thursday everyone.

[Target Tuesday] v2

How is it Tuesday again already? I feel like I'm losing track of the weeks lately. I might have a problem. (But that will be for a different post altogether.) Today, it's [Target Tuesday] again at Fabulous but Evil! Make sure you go check her post out and link up.

On Sunday after work I needed a few things at Target (new black belt. peanut butter. you know, the essentials). And while I was there I couldn't resist stopping in the shoe section because every girl loves the Target shoe section. Well to my happy surprise I stumbled upon these pretties and they have become my inspiration for this weeks Target Tuesday!

Merona Maribel Peep-Toe Wedges

Graduation is right around the corner here at SDSU and that means I'm already planning my wardrobe for that big day. To be included:

+Wedge sandals of some sort (because I'm much too casual to wear them on a regular basis but love them just the same)

+Sun dress (because I do live in SD and it will be the middle of May, it just makes sense)

+Beachy curled hair and a nice pair of sunglasses
And while I didn't end up buying these pretties (I'm too thrifty to get them at full price when they'll hopefully be on sale soon) I definitely want them. I have a few contenders for dresses already in my closet but I can't help myself from thinking some of these would be amazing as well.

Mossimo Women's Draped Elastic Waise Dress

Xhiliration Sleeveless Tribal Dress

Merona Sleeveless Scoop Neck Dress

Xhiliration Scoopneck Back Strap Dress

And, just incase my dream shoes don't go on sale (or they do and they sell out because everyone loves them like I do) these babies would definitely work too!

Merona Elliana Wedge Sandals

Now I'm off to start my Tuesday of spring break, enjoy the nice weather today, spend time with the puppy, and relax a little.

It's A Basketball, Get it?

Upon returning from the pet store to get Ollie's much needed 40 lbs bag of puppy food, I realized J also got him a few new toys. Fine with me because there have been a few we've recently thrown away. While I was looking at one of the others J says to me....

"Look, this one's a basketball. Get it, because of the NCAA. He's like DJ Gay now."

It made me laugh. You might not get it though.... To fill you in DJ Gay is a player for our SDSU Aztecs who are hopefully going to beat UConn tonight and make it to the Elite Eight for the first time ever!

Okay, now is it funny? Yeah.... still no. That's alright.

Ollie's cute enough laying in his chair with his new toy to make up for my lame sense of humor. Happy Thursday everyone!

[Saturday Snapshot]: Shot 2

It's [Saturday Snapshot] again and I'm happy to playing along this week . To check out my post from last weekend, go here.

Photo Taken July 2007

With graduation slowly approaching I can't help but think how crazy it is that my time here in San Diego is coming to a close. It doesn't feel like that long ago that my family visited So Cal for Orientation at SDSU but in reality, that was almost 4 years ago. Looking at this picture, taken during Orientation week, of my sister and I at Mission Beach makes me realize how many different times I've been there since that day. With J, with friends, with family. In the summer, in the winter, on Thanksgiving. To lay on the beach, to have lunch, to walk around. I've been very fortunate to live in such an amazing place these last four years and I will always hold it close to my heart.

Go link up!

School Spirit Dress

Since I've gained so much confidence when it comes to making clothes lately, thanks to my bow-tee and burst skirt projects, I decided to try something else new. I've seen these dresses (made with college t-shirts) around blog-land many times before and now that San Diego State is in the NCAA tournament I figured it would be a great opportunity to try one for myself. I love all the clothes our bookstore sells but frankly, a lot of the cuter girly stuff is pretty expensive and I get sick of just wearing a plain tee all the time to support my school.

And well.... it was another success!

I purchased (off the clearance rack) a size small "SDSU Dad" shirt. The Dad part was below the rest so I cut it off in the process. I added more jersey knit fabric in black for the bottom and some scraps of an old white t-shirt to make the white bands. I used 1/2 in elastic for above and below the SDSU lettering.

I didn't take pictures along the way to write a complete tutorial but it was really simple. And the nice thing is, I was able to improvise as I went along. It took some trial and error to get the center white band with the elastic sewn to the top and bottom pieces but the nice thing about pins is that they aren't permanent. I'd simply pin it how I thought it was supposed to be, turn everything the right way and see if it looked right. If it didn't, I'd know what to change. If, however, you do have any questions about it I'd be glad to answer them.

Now that the weather is nice here in SD I'm going to definitely wear this tomorrow for game day. SDSU plays UNC (Northern Colorado) and I hope they're able to get their first tournament win! It might be a little chilly in the am but thankfully I have a white cardigan that would look great over this. And paired with my black cons I'll be pretty and in the spirit to cheer on the Aztecs!

[Target Tuesday] Link-up

Today I'm joining in on the [Target Tuesday] fun over at Tara's blog Fabulous but Evil. If you don't already know her you definitely should! She is lots of fun, gorgeous and is, of course, the starter of Target Tuesdays.

My Target Tuesday is full of home decor/bedroom decor because that's what's been on my mind lately. I love that our bedroom is simple right now (black, white and grays) and it's not really worth it to change it up right now but I am getting a little sick of it. We will hopefully be moving out of this apartment at the end of the summer and I look forward to hopefully decorating a new bedroom for us then. Here is my current inspirations on what I wish our room looked like....

Floral Duvet in Blue

Floral Quilt in Blue & White

I've been in love with Blues and Whites in bedrooms lately. I don't think I could handle a completely white duvet cover/comforter though (even though I think they're stunning) because we all know Ollie joins us on the bed sometimes and white is just hard to keep up.

Texture Pillow in Blue

Flocked Dot Window Sheer

Thomas O'Brien Towels in White

Towels is something I could easily change even before we move and I just might. I read in a magazine recently (couldn't tell you which though) that white towels easily add the "Spa-envrionment" feel to your bathroom. White bath towels, white wash cloths, chunky white rug on the floor and a few blue accents would be my dream.

Van Gogh Poster

And of course I'd get a print of something gorgeous, or maybe hand paint something myself (eek!) to go above the bed. Finish it all off by keeping the furniture black and adding bright silver touches (like lamps and frames etc) ..... ahhh if only I could make the transformation now.

I hope you've enjoyed my [Target Tuesday] and you should all check out the other links for this post too. Happy Tuesday.

[Saturday Snapshot]

Today I'm participating in Kim's {Saturday Snapshot} link-up. You should too!

Photo Taken October 2007

This picture was taken in my dorm room my first semester at SDSU. It was definitely hard to have J and I living in separate states for that whole year but I loved every time one of us could visit the other. It seems like so long ago that we attempted to share a twin bed, would enjoy afternoons spent relaxing & playing with photo booth and fell in love even more with each visit. Now here we are, three and a half years later, living together with our amazing pup and continuing to build our life together.

I ♥ you J!

Burst Skirt

It's official, I made my very first clothing item from scratch!

This ladies, is my Burst Skirt.

I simply followed this tutorial written by Caroline who was guest posting on Kim's blog, Yellow Songbird. It was super easy to complete, involved only straight line cutting & sewing and took simple supplies I already had.

_________________________________________

+ 1 yard of left over cotton fabric.

+ 1-inch elastic

+ thread, scissors, iron, and sewing machine

_________________________________________

I struggled a little bit to get the elastic through the top of my skirt but once I figured it out I was good to go. Now that I've made one, I want to get more fabric for more skirts! It was so fun and only took me about 45 minutes. I have a handful of bright colored tanks that would look wonderful paired with some coordinating fabrics for spring time.

I ended up wearing it for the rest of the day while I ran my errands just because I was proud of it. Even though it didn't make my sore throat or headache go away, this skirt definitely improved my day.

(Please don't mind my messy hair, no make-up and overall sickly appearance. I've been sick all week)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Because My Life is Boring

... I figured I'd update on where I've been, what I've been doing, why I haven't been crafty, why I'm basically just useless in general right now, and a few other random things I think you should know.....

[1.a] We had some awesome visitors here for the weekend.

[1.b] We laughed. We went to the zoo (one of my favorite places ever). I made new friends. We watched SDSU basketball win. We drank a few too many Cape Cods and fishbowls, which leads to my next point...

[2] I'm sick.... again. Which completely ruins everything. It makes going to class hard. It makes working all day hard. It makes studying, shopping, being productive in any way just plain hard. I hope it goes away soon.

[3] I've been working a lot of hours lately and I can't wait for Friday to be here. Because we all know what that means..... Pay Day! It feels so nice, beyond relieving, to be making money again.

[4] I decided it wasn't the best idea for me to go volunteer at Hospice tonight because I'm not feeling good so I'm hoping I can get at least something done today. My goals for the day are:

* Buy shampoo, pillow protectors, and breakfast food

(you know, all the essentials)

* Attempt to make my very first skirt

* Maybe splurge on a new OPI nail polish

(I've been wanting one from the new Texas line for some time now.)

* Do some of my dreaded reading for my classes

* Take the pup on a walk

(or at least to the dog park)

[5] I head to Omaha in exactly one week for my interview at Creighton Medical School and I'm a little nervous. I'll be traveling there by myself and staying with a student host (I hope) and I'll be there for about 24 hours total. I definitely have some research to do on the school itself and I need to prepare my interview answers a little more but fingers crossed it goes smoothly.

[6] Yesterday I received notice that I've been placed on the "alternate list" for admission at University of Colorado Medical School. This is both good news a bad news rolled into one so I'm not really sure how I'm handling it as of now. It's awesome news because alternate is way better than rejected. But it's unfortunate news because a straight up admission would have been so much nicer. Now I have to wait (hopefully not all the way until August 19th) to find out if I will be given a spot after all.

[7] I promise to be back on a regular schedule soon, as soon as my sickness goes away. But for now, be jealous of the 80+ degree weather SD is having today and wish for summer (because there's no such thing as the season spring in SD)

via

Ollie Moves

In my last post, my February VOTMC entry, I attempted to show you a clip of our pup. He was, however, not in the mood. The combination of that video and his laziness in my dialect vlog makes it seem like he doesn't ever move. And I am here to tell you that that is not the case.

Five minutes after I taped my last vlog he decided to stretch his legs and told me he wanted to show you his coolest trick. And yes, he did actually speak to me. He said "Mom, those bloggy people need to see a different side of me. Turn that camera back on." So I agreed and here he is...

Ollie Moves from Simple Sweet Life on Vimeo.

Happy Thursday Everyone.