[150] A Week (more like two) In Review

On Labor Day, I rode up to DFW with my dad and baby sister. We were meeting up with my sister (and her little family) to pick up our mom from the airport. She's been in the Philippines for the last three months and was on her way home. We arrived at the airport an hour before her flight was scheduled to land. Three and a half hours later... we find out she had a 15 hour layover in Tokyo and wouldn't be in until Tuesday morning. I made the mistake of staying up ALL NIGHT LONG so I could nap to and from DFW. (Bad idea!) To cure all the crankiness, we stopped for lunch at Chili's before heading back to Wichita Falls.

Later in the week, a friend of mine sent me this with the message, "Quick! Before your mother finds you a zombie!" Hahaha! I'm about 102% sure I have found a non-serial killer. Success!

A cold front rolled in... rolled out... then rolled back in and brought some rain.

With the rain, came a few wrecks. As I was coming home from my parents house, I noticed a bunch of sheriff's were pulling onto my street. I took the other entrance to my street only to find this car parked in our driveway. After a few mumbles and grumbles I decided to carefully pull into my driveway (by jumping the curb).

While staring at the unfortunate accident of this Sheriff's vehicle (who happens to work with a friend of mine... small town!)... Mackenzey and I hear the impact of two vehicles. Unsure of what caused this particular wreck, I decided to go take a look. Their airbags had deployed and it was obvious their car was totaled. All we could do was look and think to ourselves, what sort of distraction caused this wreck? It's unfortunate that this happened on such a bad weather day, but it seems as if they made it out okay. Possibly a little upset at the situation but they're both alive.

Everything was cleared out before I had to be at work at 3pm, but it certainly is entertaining living on right off of a very busy street.

[149] Crafts: Handmade Halloween Accessories

Halloween is creeping up! I'm looking forward to browsing through all the decorations popping up in stores all over town. AND throwing a Halloween party at some point. I shared this on another blog last year and figured it was time to share it again for any crafty readers out there. ;)

Do you dress up for Halloween? What will you dress up as this year?!
I'm planning on being Robin Hood. :)

Homemade Halloween costume hair clips: Pichu Ears

If you're on a budget around Halloween (whether you're saving up for Christmas time or you just flat out don't have the income to throw money at a full costume) making homemade costume pieces is a budget friendly way to celebrate without setting yourself back $50.

Want to know how to make your own Halloween accessory hair clips?

Materials Needed:

• Printed image for reference (optional)
• Scissors
• Ultra Fine Point Sharpie
• Ruler
• Craft felt: 1 sheet in black and yellow is more than enough.
• Needle
• Yellow (or white) thread
• Cotton balls
• Hair clips (These no-slip grip clips are nice and sturdy.)

Start out by sketching the shape of Pichu's ears.

The black felt ears measures:

• 2.5" from the top point to the bottom edge
• 2" wide (point to point)
• 2" from top point to side point
• 1" from side point to bottom edge

The yellow felt ears measures:

• 1.5" from the top points to the bottom edge
• 1¾" wide (point to point)
• 1¼" from top point to side point
• ¾" from side point to bottom edge

Begin assembling your ears. Layer, yellow-black-yellow, and sew them together, leaving the bottom edge open for cotton stuffing. You should be able to fit 1 jumbo cotton ball in each ear. The extra piece of yellow felt will be used to close up the bottom while also providing a flat surface for the hair clip to be sewn to.

When choosing a pair of hair clips to sew your ears to, try to match your hair color as close as possible. And you're done! You can use this tutorial to make a variety of different creature ears.

[148] Moving on up!

I moved out of my parents house! I have been on the hunt for a place to live for the entire summer (since becoming employed). The one thing that kept me from moving into an apartment was the mere fact that I'd be paying $550-700 for a one bedroom. (That would leave me with very little money every month.) I really got lucky with this. I'm living with two girls. They're sisters and we grew up in the same neighborhood just a few streets away from each other. A couple of lovely ladies, if I do say so myself.

Plenty of PROS with moving. I went from driving 11 miles to work, down to 1 mile to work. (Gas prices have gone back to being outrageous!) I used to live on the north side of the city, away from every thing. Now I'll be closer to plenty of the places I visit on a regular basis. Not to mention, being able to sleep in a little bit longer and only having to leave 10 minutes before work instead of 20-30 minutes. I'm living with the one person that has been the only 'constant' in my life since moving back home. I truly love that.

Moving back home is hard. You grow apart from people, whether you like it or not. You can make comments here and there on social networks, but the truth is that people become distant. I'm in better contact with people I met playing World of Warcraft than I am with people I've known my entire life! It's sad, sure! But hey! People go through changes and that's just how life is. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm just pointing a few things out. Just call me Madam Observant.

Anyway. I'm back to unpacking boxes once again, and I'm excited to decorate another living space. (With tons of natural light pouring in my windows!)

I'm going to enjoy this entire experience the best I absolutely can. :)

[147] Shop my AVON store!

Yeah... I'm getting hot and heavy into Avon. I've been a representative for a whole week now. Woo! I'm surprising myself with how much work I've put into it thus far. I have been known to say I'll do something and never get into it. But I'm really interested in learning more about Avon products, both as a customer and a representative!

[146] Busiest of the Bees

I am going to be INCREDIBLY BUSY this entire week. Let's recap the weekend starting with Saturday, shall we?

I had the day off. Woo! That rarely happens, but my boss offered either Saturday night off, or Sunday and Monday off. I took the Saturday night option so I could have a date night with Dustin. I'll get to that later.

My sister, Jeanine (who is 23 today! Happy Birthday little sister/best friend!) came by the house so we could run a few errands. Well, it happened to be the same day as the Hotter N Hell Hundred, which runs directly by my house. Sitting at a stop sign for way longer than anyone would ever want to, just hoping for a gap in bike riders so I could make a right turn and cruise at a low speed along side these riders (except that one guy who was riding comfy cozy in the left lane... ugh). Anyway! I had to follow Jeanine to run some errands.

We had to stop by El Norteno's 2 to pick up some food for Kirk (my brother-in-law). While Jeanine ran inside to get the food, I had to entertain Khloe before she could even start to scream her head off. As most mommy's know, once you're out of sight... your kid will probably freak out. That's exactly the case EVERY single time Khloe is left alone with me. So, I had to act quick! What's one thing that calms her down?? Jeanine's cell phone. CHECK! With the lock screen featuring a picture of her carrying her two woo-woo's (puppy stuffed animals)?? CHECK! She's absolutely adorable when she picks up an iPhone. Just like her mommy; push the home button, slide to unlock, tap messages, starts typing to the last person Jeanine messaged... which happened to be Kirk.

Khloe, working on very important tasks and sending out messages. Her sidekick, Diesel, taking a nap.

Jeanine and Kirk gave Khloe a new puppy. She loves her woo-woo's! While we were driving back to the house, Diesel decided to curl up around my gear shift for a nap. He'd stick his face anywhere that was covered with shade and take a little snooze. Cutest little dude. I definitely took advantage of handling him while his dander levels are very very low. I'm sure within the next few months this German shepherd and pit bull mix will cause my allergies to go crazy. When that happens... I'll keep a bottle of Zyrtec everywhere I go.

After a very long shopping trip with both my sisters and my niece, we finally ventured back home around 5pm. Even though it was date night for Dustin and I, we hadn't set a specific time to go to dinner. He had a late lunch and I was still satisfied from my lunch at Cotton Patch Cafe with my sisters. We ended up going to dinner around 830 or 9 o'clock. Even then, we weren't really starving. As planned, we went to Red Lobster for the Endless Shrimp. Only able to order one refill each... amateurs!

I ended my night by going out with a few friends while Dustin stayed in as he had to be up at the crack of dawn. The country night club I went to was holding a "Best Chest" contest for men... way too many shirtless dudes for my liking. I prefer them clothed and not awkwardly shiny, but I guess that's just me. Haha! It was followed by a bikini contest, which a friend of mine entered. Being the good friend that I am, I got a group of strangers behind me to help cheer her on. She may not have won, but she looked damn good out there!

On to Sunday... Kirk dropped off Jeanine and Khloe so I could take them to church with me. Father Rogers is by far one of the best when it comes to the sermon. You can tell every single word comes from the heart and definitely not something he's typed out the night before. With that... sometimes he loses track of time, haha. We were cutting in close as I had to be at work by 1230. Service ended around 1145 at our tiny church in Burkburnett. I had to drop off Jeanine and Khloe, and make it to work before 1230 so I could do all my pre-opening procedures. Somehow, I made it in 5 minutes early, going the speed limit and obeying traffic laws. *FIST PUMP*

After work, I made my way home to change clothes, relax, and straighten Krystal's hair for the first day of school. She had her hair cut rather short when she came back from a 2 week vacation in Virginia and it just hasn't been straightened properly since it was cut, dyed, and styled at the salon. I started out as I always do... brush and blow dry. With her short length, it ended up in a big fro, hahaha! Although she asked that no pictures be taken or posted anywhere... she broke her own rule by posting it herself. Only after I told her she should text her friends asking if she should wear her hair like this on the first day. Nobody said yes... hmmm, I wonder why? Haha!

After an hour of straightening those curly/frizzy locks... I was finally done! But not before taking a picture of the process. If you look closely, her straightened hair in the back lays flat, while the frizzy fro hair in the front sticks straight up. Hahaha, endless laughs on my end.

Today is Monday... First day of school for all the children and college students. I don't even want to begin to check how many friends posted about it this morning. Too many! Good luck to your kids and to those college students.

Anyway. This week will be jam packed with work and packing. That's right! My friend officially asked me to be her roomie. The thing is, I don't have a day off until September 3rd, the day we pick up my mom from the airport. Somehow, I'll have to manage hauling my stuff across town and get myself settled in (and most importantly, out of my parents house).

Time to go get ready for work and write out a to-do list for the week!
Happy Monday! (Sorry for the wall of text!)

[145] I Sell Avon!

After a very long and exhausting tax-free weekend, I was gifted with two days off in a row. On Tuesday morning, I left my house around 8:45am to meet up with a friend at Starbucks. I brought along my (mom's) laptop, my notebook, and a notepad to make a list of any ideas that come to mind. I spent a good three hours just chatting about anything and everything that came to mind.

At some point, a woman I had met a few weeks ago had called my phone. (I dropped my phone a couple weeks ago and the earpiece stopped working, so now I have to take all phone calls using speaker phone.) Her name is Janis and she's an Avon representative. When we had spoke the first time, she was looking for new recruits to join her team. At first, I wasn't really sure I wanted to join. I don't consider myself a very good sales person when it comes to approaching people with what it is I'm selling. But as I have been told numerous times, "Things, like Avon, pretty much sell themselves." So I went ahead and decided to join up and try my hand at selling Avon. We decided to meet at Atlanta Bread at 2pm.

Just before noon, my sister had sent me a text asking if I could bring her a coffee. I know her a little better than that. She doesn't drink coffee too often, but when she does, she prefers a caramel frapp. I'd much rather pay the same amount for a meal that will fill her up. So I shot her a text back asking if she wanted a large tea (for $1!) at McDonald's. She opted for a coke and a chicken nugget happy meal. I swung by her work and had a quick light lunch before she had to clock back in and make her deliveries. To kill some time, I went by Ross to see if they had put out any new clothes. While I didn't find anything different from Monday's trip, I picked up a few birthday gifts for my sister. ;) I'll share that next week! (She turns 23 on Monday!!)

I decided to show up to Atlanta Bread early and just sit in the parking lot until I saw Janis pull up. Once we got ourselves situated inside, she began telling me about a meeting that was taking place that night at her church, All Saints Episcopal. Small town!! I'm a member of St. John's Episcopal in Burkburnett, just north of Wichita Falls. Our two churches have shared reverend's when we've been in between rev's. Turns out, Janis knows a few members of my church. I'll say it again, small town!!

Anyway. We got to chatting about little things, here and there. She really got to learn a little more of my personality, as well as taking me through the Avon booklet to sign up and become a representative. Two hours later, I officially became a representative! Now it's time for a shameless link to my website:

youravon.com/jasmineyoung

In celebration, I treated my dad and baby sister to dinner at Grand Buffet. Usually, after over eating at a buffet, I find myself incredibly tired and in need of a nap. This just wasn't the case for me. I must have been on a high of happy feelings, excited about this new journey into selling Avon products. I immediately shot a text to my friend, Mackenzey, asking her if she wanted to meet up at the Iron Horse Pub. We met up around 8pm and ended up staying until 2am. We definitely didn't plan on being out that late, but with Wednesday being our day off we definitely owned the night. I didn't get home until nearly 5am! It was one of those really great nights that you can't quite explain. Sitting around, chatting about this and that. Laughing way too hard at everything. Having a quote of the night and still giggling about it the next day. (Giggling about it right now, hehehe!)

Life is so good right now. I have my family. A job I actually love. A new part-time job that I'm excited to learn more about. Big Red is still running and going strong after 9 years (she's 12 years old!). A roof over my head (which may be changing to a different roof soon!). A boyfriend who happens to be the cats pajamas (even though I prefer to say the bees knees)! The most incredible set of friends near and far.

I hope everyone has a happy Thursday. This little lady is off to sell some shoes!

[144] Bookmarks

Last year, I had tried my hand at making bookmarks. I had a good time laying out different patterned paper, mixing and matching colors. I ended up with a few good ones that I had intended on selling. Unfortunately, keeping up with my Etsy shop and promoting my items became a complete failure. (I will try again in the future!)

Before my shop was up, I started a craft blog (that only made it through three posts before work consumed most of my free time). Before shutting down that blog, I saved a few of my posts to see if I had shared them here, and it looks like this is one I didn't share.

: : ░░ ░░░ ░░ ░░░ Handmade Bookmarks ░░░ ░░ ░░░ ░░ : :

Creating your own bookmark is easy. It doesn't call for too many supplies and makes a great gift for anyone who loves to read.

What you'll need:
card stock, patterned and solid colors
glue (I prefer and recommend Zig Memory System 2 way glue pen)
scissors (or paper trimmer, or rotary cutter and cutting mat)
stickers or punch-outs

[143] Thrift Finds

At the end of June, Dustin and I took a little trip to Lawton, Oklahoma for some thrifting (and to feed his craving for Chik-fil-a). I knew exactly where the Goodwill is located (only because it's on the way to my mother's doctor's office). Also, for a visit to Ross! Nobody believes me, but I know for a fact that the Ross store in Lawton always carries way more owl options than my local Wichita Falls location.

Anyway. We started at Goodwill. Upon entering, I headed straight for the household goods! Eyeing every single knickknack three times over. I usually make one run through, grab anything that looks interesting, check out the price, and think about it as I make a few laps. Dustin immediately headed for the clothes racks to see if he could find himself some goodies. I ended up with a few treasures while he left empty handed.

These tiny owl frames came as a 2 pack. I was a little scared of the packaging tape holding the two frames together, but luckily there wasn't any sticky residue left behind. I love the artwork on these.

Continuing my search, I found a Homco owl! My mother gave me her set of owls last year (after eyeing them in the curio cabinet for a decade or two). Of course I didn't actually need another one of these, but there's something about Homco that warms my heart. :)

I stumbled upon this little guy. He's rather plain and simple; which I quite like. I've been considering adding a little bit of antiquing paint to give him a little more character, but I'm just not sure if that's what he needs.

A few scuffs on the back, but nothing major.

This is where he currently sits. On the very top of a bookshelf, next to a bright orange wooden "J" and a painting I had done while living in Massachusetts. :)

I'll save my Ross finds for another time.

I'll leave you with this: The best way to view Oklahoma...

In my rear-view mirror. (As long as I don't see state trooper lights flashing in the reflection! It's been nearly 10 years since that first speeding ticket! Hahaha!)

[142] Things I Love Thursday

It's Thursday! For us Texans, that means tomorrow kicks off Tax Free Weekend. I'll be very busy going insane with shoe and accessory sales during the entire weekend. Luckily for me, I have Thursday off to rest and get ready for a very long weekend.

via Modcloth.com

I absolutely love this print, which you can find here. About a month ago I picked up a memory box at Michael's craft store. It has an octopus sketch that stretches across the cover of the box, as well as octopus legs that wrap around the sides. Super cute!

via Modcloth.com

I have been eyeing this lovely tea set for a good year or two now. This is definitely something I would love to have for morning or afternoon tea on the back porch in the middle of fall.

via Modcloth.com

I love this "Diner-saurs Mug". In fact, I own it! I have yet to use it, but when I do, expect a few photos capturing the moment. (As well as two mugs I recently thrifted!)

via Modcloth.com

via Modcloth.com

Also available; a matching apron and tea towel!


More things to love:

These dotted tights!

These cute bow-tied pattern tights!

World map patterned wedges? Don't mind if I do!

A fan of Portlandia? Check out this Birdlandia Cardigan. They put a bird on it.

Have yourself a Swell Morning with this lovely mug!

[141] Instagram Diaries

You can follow me on Instagram

If you don't have Instagram, you can follow my feed on Webstagram here.

[140] Black Bean Burger Salad

Wednesday afternoon, Dustin and I went to Chili's for lunch. I ordered their Avocado Burger with a black bean burger substitute, and only managed to devour half of the burger (in addition to my fries, coleslaw, and splitting a bottomless tostada chip appetizer. Mmm, it was so good!).

For dinner I decided to make a salad using the rest of my burger as an ingredient. And so we have...

LEFTOVER BLACK BEAN BURGER SALAD

• Spinach and Arugala
• Grape Tomatoes
• Broccoli Slaw
• Crumbled Feta
• Leftover Black Bean Avocado Burger
• Newman's Own Lite Raspberry & Walnut Dressing

Enjoy!

[139] Things I Love Thursday

How about another round of T.I.L.T.?! I've been eyeing all these crazy cute dresses, bags, and shoes. Here are my recent Modcloth Loved Items. Enjoy!



I love the soft pink of this dress. Perfect for a bride or a bridesmaid. You can find this gorgeous dress here!

I love the design on this bag. It's the perfect size for carrying a notebook or two. Hop on down to your local coffee spot and enjoy a beverage while you brainstorm, doodle, or read a book. You can find it here.

This "Grey-t Escape" dress is just lovely. I think it would look really cute with an eggplant purple, royal, or navy blue half sleeve cardigan.

Lately, I've been interested in a lot of clothes and accessories that feature bows. These shoes are a perfect example.

This grassy green bag with an anchor pattern is too cute!

I can't get over this gorgeous royal blue dress!

All items in the post can be found on Modcloth.com. You can take a peek at my Loved Items list here!

[138] Garage/Yard Sale

If it weren't slightly embarrassing, I would share a photo of my bedroom's current state of mess. I have 3 different sized hampers overflowing with clothes, and two dressers with clothes in each drawer (although, not overflowing).

Ever since I lost all my weight, I have had piles of clothes that are just way too big for me. I'm the type of person who holds onto old clothes, regardless of if it has gone out of style. (I've never been one to care much about that.) If it fits well, why get rid of it? Right?! Well, now they just don't fit well... at all.

I have been considering putting (super low) prices on all the clothes I no longer wear and selling them off to anyone who would like to wear (or upcycle!) them. In fact, just today, I was talking with my co-worker about creating a Facebook page to serve as an online garage/yard/closet sale. She and I both are interested in selling clothes and accessories for low prices. (This way, we can both avoid sitting in the heat just to sell off these items. Genius!)

I picked up this adjustable rolling garment rack for $19.88 at my local Walmart. Pretty good price for what this rack offers. Adjustable bar as well as two storage shelves for shoes, etc.

The plan is to use this to hold all my sale items before I donate what is left over. Eventually, I'd like to use this as a home for whatever pieces of clothing I am wearing for the appropriate season.

To make room for this clothes rack, I'd like to get rid of my dresser (which is currently being used as a computer desk). When I switched out my twin bed for a queen bed, I lost quite a bit of space. Things are getting quite cramped, especially with my mess of clothes.

Hoping to get things cleaned up so I can setup my little garage/yard/closet sale.

Happy Wednesday!

[137] Little Critter

As a little girl, growing up in Guam, I have quite a few memories catching gecko's. I was surprised to find this little guy sitting in my kitchen sink, very close to falling into the drain. I scooped him up and placed him inside a rolled up paper towel so I could bring him outside.

I placed this cute little guy on the brick, right outside my front door. He was kind enough to sit still for a bit as my sister and I took a few photos.

I placed my hand in the photo for size reference. He's so tiny!

Happy Monday. :)!

[136] Friday Favorites: Texas

I have a confession to make...

I love Texas. Is it obvious?

I also love Guam. It is such a beautiful island.

Happy Friday!