A to Z with a little J

I have been asked several times in the last couple years exactly how I created Jameson's mural wall in his bedroom.  It was actually much simpler than it looks.  Unfortunately I don't have step by step pictures from when I did it but I have recreated a few of the steps for you to see. I took my inspiration from his bedding, you can see the quilt hanging over the front of the crib.  I matched the paint colors using a paint deck but you can easily take your inspiration colors to a paint store and they can custom match the colors for you. After selecting paint colors I painted 3 walls green and the mural wall brown.  I used Sherwin Williams Low VOC paint with a Satin Sheen, since I was 7-8 months pregnant.  The circles come next... What you need: Paint Polycrylic String T-Pin Pencil Paint Brush Tape Measure 1. Using a tape measure find the center of each circle and mark it on the wall using the pencil. 2. Create a large compass using the T-Pin,...

Today is day 12 of my 21 day blogging challenge !  When I started I thought it would be a lot more difficult to come up with something for a daily post but have found it pretty simple.  After my 21 days is up I think it will be easy for me to keep up the good habit.  The HabitForge website has really helped me along the way, making me check in daily. It is fascinating to watch the stats for the blog, nearly 1,700 hits, over 100 on my Bold Lips post and people from all over the world are reading what I wrote: China, Singapore, Canada, Australia, UK, Russia, India, Iran and Belarus (which I have never heard of).  I have even gained 9 new followers!  It's not huge compared to a lot of blogs but I am happy with the progress! I know there have been a lot of random posts but it is what is on my mind at the time.  I would love feedback from you about my blog.  Things you have liked, disliked, or would like to see.  Either...

Why has the perception of beauty and the ideal of perfectionism become so important that we can't see the real beauty within ourselves?  Why would a mother not give the love and support to her child because in her twisted mind that child isn't perfect enough?  Isn't being a child and being your child make that child perfect?  What has gone wrong? Over the past couple years I have been privileged to be part of a group of women from across the world.  Although thousands of miles separate us and our backgrounds are as diverse as can be, the love of a mother for her child brought us together.  In getting to know these women there seems to be an overwhelming amount of childhood stories of neglect and emotional abuse by their own mothers.  These women that are beyond beautiful in every way cannot see how amazing they truly are because their mother's voice is in their head tells them otherwise.  I just want to grab hold ...

Products Used: Step 1: Apply a cream eyeshadow base #1 with your finger over entire lid from lash line to brow.  Eyeshadow base helps keep eyeshadow in place longer and allows for bolder color application. Step 2: Apply eyeshadow #2 to lid from lash to just under brow bone. Step 3: Apply Eyeshadow #2 along upper and lower lash line, feathering at the outer corner. Step 4: Apply Eyeshadow #3 on brow bone from the crease up to the brow.  Blending with Eyeshadow #2 using upward strokes. Step 5: Apply Eyeshadow #4 just under brow bone where Eyeshadow #2 and #3 meet.  Start stroke from the inner corner to the outer corner. Step 6: Apply Eyeshadow # 3 just under the eyebrow as a highlighter. Step 7: Apply Slate Eyeliner from corner to corner of upper and lower lash line.  Making it thicker at the outer corner tapering to a fine line at the inner corner.  Drag a Q-Tip along the line towards the center to help smooth out and achieve the desired taper. ...

Products Used: #1 Eyeshadow Base: Clinique Touch Tint #2 Eyeshadow (light shade): Mark Eyeshadow #3 Eyeshadow (dark shade): Mark Eyeshadow #4 Highlight Eyeshadow: Clinique Eyeshadow/Liner combo Eyeliner: Avon Glimmersticks Mascara: Avon Lash Extender Blush: Clinique Lipliner: Mac Lipstick: Avon Lip Gloss: Mac Step 1:  First take an cream eyeshadow base #1 and apply it with your finger over your entire eyelid, from lash line to brow.  I chose one that has a shimmer but it is not necessary.  A concealer that is approved for use in the eye area would work as well.  The Eyeshadow base helps keep your eyeshadow in place longer and allows for bolder colors. Step 2: Use Eyeshadow #2 and apply it over the same area you just applied the base, from lash to brow. Step 3: Apply Eyeshadow #3 on your lid from lash line to crease concentrating the shadow a little heavier in the inner corner.  Don't worry about blending yet. Step 4: Go back to Eyeshadow #2 and blend the t...

I am not much of a cook.  I love to bake and decorate baked goods but regular cooking isn't my favorite thing to do.  However, I have an amazing recipe to share with you.  I went to a friend's party where she made this soup and it was to die for!  I craved it so much I even made a batch of my own and it turned out fantastic. It was pretty easy to make and it makes a lot so be prepared for left overs!  The most difficult part was peeling the roasted red peppers but apparently you can purchase peppers already roasted from your local grocery store.  Since I am a bit of a cooking virgin I didn't know that and the whole process would have been a lot quicker.  If you want to try roasting your own I used directions from All Recipes for mine. Enjoy and let me know if you love it as much as I do! Roasted Red Pepper Bisque as prepared in DEAN & DELUCA ’s Kansas City kitchen Yield 3 ½ qts Ingredients: ½ stick Butter ½ cup Celery, ...

Dear Employees, When are you going to grow up and realize this is a place of business? Not some place for you to show up when you feel like or expect someone else to clean up your messes. These things have to stop!  To: All…what does your desk look like? Your desk is not a private place for you to wallow in your own trash, dirty dishes and scum. It is open for all to see, including clients. What do you think a client thinks when they walk in and see dirty dishes, laptops sitting on piles of paper, paper thrown on the floor and junk every where? Is that the type of place you would want to do business with? This doesn't mean it needs to be spotless, it just needs to be tidy. It is disrespectful!  To: Coffee drinkers…did you make the coffee? You ground the coffee and you made the coffee but did you clean up your messes? The coffee grounds on the counter or spilled water take two seconds to wipe up. Don’t just leave them, it is disgusting!  To: Coffee drinkers…Did you t...

Among the many hobbies I have picked up over the years is a love for graphic design.  I am by no means a professional nor do I claim to be an expert but I love learning new Photoshop techniques and tricks.  I am 100% self taught on the program and my knowledge base is very limited when it comes to such extensive software but I manage. Want to learn how to do Photoshop too?  The software can be very costly but there are free Photoshop-like programs available on the web.  Two that I am familiar with are Gimp and Paint.net .  Gimp is the more advanced option of the two but I have found that Paint.net may be easier to use if you are unfamiliar with the programs.  Tutorials on different Photoshop techniques are available on YouTube which is where I have learned most of my abilities. If you are interested in basic photo editing I recommend trying Google's free program Picasa combined with Picnik .  Both very easy to use and have fun features to c...

Some things have just always come easy to me and it has taken me a while to understand that these things may be difficult for other people.  Take for example the biggest difference between Zack and I .  He is Mr. Number's and I am Mrs.Creative.  Number's come easy to him, he understands the stock market, and even actually enjoys it.  I try to understand what he is telling me and I just don't can't get it.  None of it makes sense to me.   On the other hand colors, composition, design and planning are my forte.  I love doing them and the come easy to me. For my wedding I took complete control.  Color selection was a breeze, I made every decoration, designed and printed my own invitations and programs, and even made a 3D model of the event space to show how I wanted table layouts done.  Unfortunately I didn't document all of these steps but my sister-in-law has asked me for my assistance with her wedding planning so I am doing ...

While Jameson and I were flipping through an animal picture book yesterday, making animal sounds, I came across a picture of a giraffe.  I sat there dumbfounded that I had no idea what sound a giraffe makes.  So today I head to the internet to answer this question.  What sound does a giraffe make? Apparently it is a common misconception that giraffe's don't have vocal cords therefore don't make any sounds, which made me feel slightly better that I didn't know this.  I found a wonderful video that not only answers this question but has some other interesting giraffe facts.  Watch this video below. In FACT giraffe's do have vocal cords but they rely on their other senses so much as an adult they just don't use them.  Baby giraffe's however will use them as seen in the video, urrrrrr. Question for the day...did you know this?