Host a Clothing Swap Party!

Whoo!

What better way to clean our your closet than to have a fashion show 

with your good friends and get some new digs in return?!

That is just what three of my lady friends and myself did last Saturday

when I hosted what will most likely become an annual (seasonal?!) event!

I hosted a Clothing Swap Party!

If you haven't heard about clothing swaps, let me fill you in.

A clothing swap is like shopping your friends' closet.

Everyone brings an agreed minimum amount of items,

that can include clothes, accessories, shoes etc. that are in good, clean condition.

Our group agreed upon at least 10 pieces, and we kept it to clothing and accessories.

To make things easier, I recommend hanging up your clothing items.

We all pitched in and organized the clothes by tops, skirts, pants, and jackety-things (a new term we invented) and it made it go really quickly!

TIP:

I would recommend marking your hangers by tying a colored ribbon on them,

or putting a piece of colored tape around it, to avoid mix ups with other swappers.

After the clothes were all organized this is how I chose to proceed.

Instead of going at it all at the same time, we took turns, each lady drawing a number to determine what order we would 'shop' in.

But before we started shopping, we got to look over the items,

and each lady was given an equal amount of stickers that she could use to mark the pieces 

she wanted.

 When your turn came around, you were allowed to pick 3 pieces.

If two ladies had marked or 'claimed' the same item, we just did a little fashion show,

and had each one try on the piece, to see which it fit better.

 There really were no problems in this area, everyone was very gracious.

Once everyone had about three turns each, 

we just went in and picked through the leftovers together.

It was really relaxed, we simply asked, "Does anyone mind if I take piece," or "is anyone else interested in this?" and it worked out very smoothly.

Everyone ended up with several pieces that they really liked and looked great on them.

One thing I did notice that I found interesting was that on at least two occasions,

someone tried on a piece that they really weren't sure about, but when they modeled 

it in front of the others, they received a wonderful response that they hadn't expected!

It was a lot of fun and everyone agreed that we need to do it again

I ended up with a pretty intimate group, only four ladies including myself,

and I was worried there wouldn't be enough items to generate a good mix to choose from,

but it ended up working out great! Everyone brought more than 10 pieces, which helped a lot.

 

 Since it was a ladies get together,

I used it as a excuse to try out a new Pinterest recipe, and a special girly one at that!

I made these French Vanilla Cappuccino Cupcakes!

They turned out pretty good, although I would make a few adjustments in the future.

 

So there you have it, ladies get together with new clothes and dessert!

 I call that a triple win!

Have any of you been to a clothing swap? 

Anxious to host one?

I hope this gives you a great idea for a ladies night out!

DIY Embroidery Hoop Earring Keeper

In a burst of creative inspiration, last week I gathered some craft supplies
I had on hand and created this cute and easy Embroidery Hoop Earring Keeper!

When you have so many pretty earrings, why not display them in an equally functional
and decorative manner! 


Including the drying time for paint, I was able to whip this up in probably an hour's time!
Do you want to know how I made it?
I'll show you!

You Need:

Embroidery hoop, medium size range

Jute string

Paint

Brush 

Scissors

 

Paint your wooden embroidery hoop

the color of your choosing.

I painted the outer and inner hoops different colors for an extra pop of contrast.

If you are feeling adventurous, paint a little design on the outer portion of your hoop
where it will be visible.

A few swirly scrolls with some four petal flowers scattered over it looks great.

Then just to add more pop, I scattered some bright red dots and filled in some of the flower petals.

Begin to fasten your lengths of jute to the inner hoop.

I found the best way to secure the twine was by

wrapping it around itself and pulling it toward you.

By doing this it pulls the twine to the fore front of the hoop frame which will work best

when hanging your earrings.

This method doesn't actually secure the twine very tight,

the tightening is accomplished when you put the outer hoop on top and tighten it up.

I found when I made knots, they were too bulky and the outer hoop didn't slip over them,
so this is the method that worked best for me.
If this seems confusing or isn't working, just find a method that works for you.

Once you have the twine lengths tied on where you want them,
{I advise you hang some of your longest earrings from them to get the spacing right}

put the outer hoop on and pull each end of twine as tight as it will go.

Now tighten the outer hoop.

Once everything is tightened, snip the excess twine ends

 And, you're done!

Hammer a nail, and hang your new earring keeper!

Wanna know what sparked my sudden burst of creativity?

My dear friend and fellow blogger, Aspen aka The Texas Rebel Girl,

made me one of her awesome mathom keepers!!

 S E E?!

Isn't that just awesome?!

Made from chicken wire, sticks and jute twine, this piece is a great way to 

hang and display not only your jewelry, but also paper memos and various mementos as well!

I love it so much!

If you want to know how to make one, you can read Aspen's DIY blog post here!

I have found it so much easier getting ready
when I can quickly see the jewelry choices in front of me.
Not to mention I rediscovered some pieces
that had fallen out of circulation because they were buried under all the rest!

I hope you give this easy project a try!
It makes life a little easier...and a lot prettier.

Franklin Bound

You're back!

Ready for that stroll through Franklin, like I mentioned?

Then let's be off!

For the duration of about two hours, our party of six drove past scenes like this,

before arriving at our first stop...an antique shop, on the outskirts of Franklin.

There I found the most extraordinary doll house I've ever set eyes on!

The exterior was covered with tiny colorful, pebbles, and some of the windows

were made of green and red glass.

There were two stories, and a balcony!

Aspen stands next to it for scale...
she is about, oh 5.4 I would guess {Correct me if I'm wrong dear.},

and it is taller than her!

Shall we have a look inside?

This is the front door entrance...there is a room off to the left...

....which houses an lovely ceiling light and a sweet little 'hanging' painting.

The other door you saw front the entrance,

leads to a flight of stairs in the back... shall we see where they take us?

Look!

It is an adorable little stage with a painted backdrop and a chandelier!!

I mean, how cute!

This upper room was all open and very large...at least for dolls.

While the details were darling, and while most interesting, overall I found it slightly creepy.

So I didn't get it. 

Not to mention it would fit in my suitcase.

And not to mention it cost over $200.

Yeah...not worth mentioning.

BUT...

I did find a little souvenir!

I finally converted to a tea cup lover and collector last year,

and have slowly been building my collection.

I found this old, slightly stained, but still so pretty cup and saucer.

I know...they don't match.

But they are both blue, and they were together, so I went with it.


After a bit more driving we found ourselves in the heart of downtown Franklin!

Some pretty, old brick buildings.

One of our first stops was the amazing store, Anthropologie!

I've always loved the style and look of their merchandise, 

but this was the first time I had been in one of their stores...it was amazing!

Look at this scrumptious collection of vibrant dishware!!

I was completely in love.

These tea cups...I mean...*sigh*...they have little legs!

We went into many more shops...but it was so busy and full of people,

I forgot {or was too camera shy} to snap shots of each one.

I'm really not the type that feels comfortable carrying a camera around 

and taking pictures, but I always wish later that I had, so I'm working on changing that. 

 

We stopped for a sit down on the steps of an old church, I think it was,

which was home to this gorgeous blossoming Magnolia tree.

It was dripping with full, creamy blooms.

 

The bud pods were fuzzy, isn't that interesting?

Our final stop of the night was supper at Whole Foods Market.

Oh. My. Word.

I had never been in one of these stores before,

and I'm telling you, it was pretty amazing!

Any sort of healthy, natural, organic, gluten-free food can be found in this

Wal-Mart sized wonderland of edible goodness!

Oh, how I wish we had one near us.

If you live near one, please, count yourself supremely blessed.

Because you are.

Like I said,

I'm not used to carrying a camera around,

so this concludes my photographic documentation of my week-long stay in Tennessee.

Believe it or not, this was my grandest and best effort to date!

It is my dream someday to go on a trip with the understanding

that we can and will stop at any given moment for pictures...and I will

unabashedly tout my camera along with me everywhere.

Since that day has yet to come,

I hope you enjoyed my present efforts!

{If you want more pictures of our day in Franklin

you can see lots more pictures in this post at Aspen's blog!}

And guess what,
it just so happens that today is Atlanta and Jordan's 1st Year Anniversary!!
 Happy Anniversary you two! 

There and Back!

Hello all!

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately, haven't they?

Can you feel an absent-blogger explanation coming?

I dropped a little hint as to my recent where abouts in this short post,

but in case you didn't catch it...I am {somewhat} recently returned from a week long stay in Tennessee!

About one year ago,

my dear friend Atlanta was swept off her feet and consequently all the way to Tennessee

when she married.

I was blessed to attend the wedding,

but didn't get the chance to see their home.

However, upon the arrival of her baby girl in February

I had good reason and great excuse to make a trip to see them!

I tagged along with Atlanta's brother Cim and sister Aspen

who were also making the trip to meet their new niece.

Here is Auntie Aspen holding sweet, sweet baby Marian!

Honestly,

this little darling is one of the cutest babies I've ever seen!

So, ok, it is my friend's baby...I don't think that makes me prejudice...much.

A bed-full of ladies admiring the baby!

Marian will be a pro at this picture taking thing...

T O E S!!!

She was modelling a new dress, and doing a darling job of it, no?

Aside from the beautiful baby,

there was of course, some breathtakingly beautiful nature to explore.

Ahhh...wandering these lovely woods was utterly and truly refreshing...for this northern girl,

it was like being home. Trees and water bring life back into my soul.

Can you see the little trickle of a stream, just there, meandering its way through the forest floor?

I found this verdant, mossy growth to be most intriguing.

 

 Here is a close up....

it reminded me of tiny tropical trees or something of the sort.

And here we have a log specimen covered in fairy like stepping stones

made of paper thin, mushroom like growths.

This also warranted a closer look.

Ahhh...trees...I just love getting lost in a forest.

So, funny story.

Notice the spattering of trees here that still have their dried, dead leaves intact?

I inquired as to what type they were, but received no satisfactory answer.

Then, lo and behold while further indulging myself in Jane Austen-esque films

after returning home (a past time with Atlanta) I received the answer!

I learned from Mr. Plumbtree aka Tom Hiddleston, in Miss Austen Regrets 

that these must be Beech trees.
I had to marvel when I heard him spout off this little offhanded information
in an awkward scene of the movie. Funny how little things come together.
"Fascinating subject, botony."
{You can see clips from this movie here,
including the very last scene with the beech tree reference.}

Anyway, back to the greenery...

More adorable moss to document.

A nice walk by the creek, just at sunset, does a heart good.

Slightly infatuated with water...don't mind me.

I just love how this gnarly, moss riddled tree hangs over the bank.

Do you see this?!

Doesn't this look just like the flower from Horton Hears a Who?!

I'm not sure what these are, other than they are a type of seed pod-thingy that grows on trees,

they had all fallen off and there was a generous smattering of them everywhere.

Sadly,

 I had not my camera with me the day we saw the most beautiful scenery of all, I was quite heartbroken.

It was Sunday, see? And I thought, silly me, that, one needn't bring a camera along...it was only going to be church, then home again, right?

Big. fat. wrong.

We saw waterfalls...waterfalls you guys!!

Ohhh, it was thrilling...waterfalls are among my favorite things in the worlds,

and these particular falls were nestled deep in the craggy, wooded back roads.

There were steep, towering rock walls to one side, complete with tiny cave holes,

and an ever expanding forest on the other, with the river weaving its way in between.

There were wild daffodils, old abandoned houses, valleys and hills.

 I ran about like a school girl at Christmas, and kept muttering thanks and awe

to God for the beauty He created. 

It was one of those times when it almost hurts, the beauty and wonder of it all.

So, the moral of this story.

Always. Always. Bring your camera.

Did you enjoy this little walk through the countryside?

Well tomorrow,

I'll take you 'round on a little excursion of Franklin, Tennessee.

See you then!

{For LOTS more pictures of sweet Marian and Tennessee scenery,

you can see things through Aspen's point of view in this post!

Including a few pictures of the falls, 

courtesy of Atlanta, who had pictures from a previous visit.}