Free Stuff!

I just wanted to pop in real quick to share some awesome news with you guys...


One of my favorite craft blogs, THRIVE, is turning one! In honor of the occasion Nike (THRIVE's creator) is throwing a week-long blog party, complete with presents! Carolina Pear is joining the fun by hosting one of the seven, yes SEVEN, awesome giveaways. Stop by THRIVE to enter to win. And while you're there, stick around, you could probably learn a thing or two about thrifty crafting from Nike!

My Brand-New, Old Ottoman

If you read my baby blog, then you already know I hit up the yard sales on Saturday. If you don't read my baby blog, WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME?

Anyway... In addition to the amazing deal I scored on a jogging stroller I also got this gorgeous vintage leather ottoman for $25.


Well, technically my father-in-law bought it for me for $25.

As soon as I saw that ottoman I fell in love with it. At $25 I thought it was a bargain, but there was something holding me back. A certain something that I happen to be married to and that can be quite closed-minded when it comes to decor.

Admittedly this ottoman may be a bit of an acquired taste. It's more than a bit quirky, but I love it for its style as well as what it represents to me. You see, when I was a kid my grandparents had an ottoman very similar to this one that they bought when they lived in Peru in the mid-1960's. So seeing this guy instantly brought back memories of my childhood. But what really sealed the deal was that, by some strange coincidence, my grandfather's initials were stamped into the leather on the bottom. No, I don't think this ottoman belonged to my grandparents, but I do think fate was trying to give a little shove. Despite all that I couldn't bring myself to buy it knowing the hubby could hate it. And since yard sales don't really have return policies, I was prepared to walk away but my father-in-law sweetly bought it for me. Maybe he couldn't stand the way I was awkwardly staring at it hoping no one else wanted it.

Luckily, once I got it home the hubby said it could stay. He was lukewarm at first but after an hour he decided it was pretty cool.

I am quite curious where the ottoman came from and when it was made - no, I didn't think to ask the woman who sold it to us - so I sent an email to Apartment Therapy. I'll keep you posted if I learn anything new!

Project Closet

I am embarking on an adventure to wear everything in my closet. I have lots of clothes that I like, some I even love, but I am very bad about gravitating to a few favorites and leaving the rest hanging unworn. Well, no more! I plan to break free of my old standards and learn to see my clothes in a new light.

To help me keep track of what's been worn I whipped up some closet dividers (one for tops, one for dresses) out of cardboard from - you guessed it - the recycling bin. The process was so simple I didn't bother to photograph it. Instead I made you this handy illustration:

They look exactly like that. Except imagine them colored with sharpies and shoddily cut with scissors.

There are lots of ways to keep up with which clothes have been worn or not - rotating the item on the hanger, a hidden safety pin, etc - but I wanted the easiest possible system. I hung the divider at the back of my closet. After I wear an item I move it behind the divider. Easy peasy. As I mentioned before I am keeping track of tops and dresses, but not bottoms since I rarely build an outfit around skirts and pants.

I decided to make it easier on myself and only keep up with the clothes I wear during the work week. Which means I am still free to adhere to my weekend uniform of skinny jeans, ribbed tank and cardigan. That's not changing anytime soon.

If I were a super-fantastic blogger (HINT: I'm not) this project would include outfit posts, accessory close-ups and such. Sadly my new work schedule - four 9-hour days and a 4-hour Friday - means there is no daylight before I leave and when I get home I want to play with my son before he goes to bed. Sorry, Internet. You're playing second fiddle to an adorable, giggling toddler. I might pop-in if I come up with something particularly inspired, but this is not some sort of 30-for-30 type deal so don't expect daily documentation.

That being said, I'm looking forward to dusting off some beloved but neglected things from my wardrobe. Care to join me in the challenge? All you need is a closet, some cardboard and mediocre scissor skills.

Bring It On, Fall

Fall is upon us and I am pumped! I can appreciate the seasons and the changes they bring - except for winter; winter can suck it - but my favorite season will always be fall. I'm a sucker for apple cider, tights with boots, football, hot soup and scarves. Oh, how I love scarves. This year I am welcoming my beloved fall with the perfect autumnal color, rich smoky purple. I picked a dark grayish purple for my manicure on Saturday and bought a blouse on Sunday that coordinates perfectly. I don't know what I like better, the perfect pleats or the unexpected color!


What's your go-to color this fall?

Does This Job Make Me Look Fat?

Holy paycheck, Batman! I'm employed! See, here's proof:

photo not-so-stealthily snapped with my phone in the middle of the day

No, I'm not important enough to have my own name plate. Why do you have to bring that up?

After months of fruitless job searching I signed on with a temp agency to make them do the work for me to expand my horizons. I sent a resume, did some skills assessments and met with a recruiter. Much to my dismay she was all "I'm not sure what to do with you. You're trained as a designer yet you're trying to find administrative work." Well, yeah. If there was design work available I WOULD BE APPLYING FOR IT. But there's not, thus the temp agency.

Jump forward 2 weeks and I get a call from my recruiter. There's an opening for a temp-to-hire* receptionist at an architecture firm. Is that something you would be interested in? Hell yes, lady! Sign me up! Granted it would be admin work, but I'm all about keeping a foot in the door. The temp agency forwarded my resume, the firm liked the look of it and invited me for an interview. At my interview they were super pleased that I have a design background, told me I would be able to assist the design team with various architect-y tasks and offered me a job on the spot. All I had to do was swing by my temp agency and fill out the paperwork.

I wanted to shout my good news from the rooftops on the internet but the hubby was more than a bit wary after my last job offer. For someone who claims not to be superstitious, he is very weird about sharing good news too soon for the fear it would jinx something. No matter how many signs pointed to yes they actually intend to let me come to their office and pay me for it he said he wouldn't consider me "having a job" until I was actually there and working.

Today was my second day, so I'm officially allowed to broadcast it. Heh. I'm getting settled and everyone seems very nice. There are even some familiar faces amongst the crowd, so that helps me feel more at home. Plus, you have to love a job where you're allowed to read if you have downtime.

*That means the job listing is for a short term contract, facilitated by the temp agency, and the company is free to hire me at the end of my contract if they think I'm cool. Which they'd better.

If Dog Is Man's Best Friend...

... then cats are those friends that REALLY can't take a hint that you need some space.

Most days I sit on the daybed in the playroom with my laptop. It lets Luke have supervised play time while also allowing me to do Carolina Pear projects, bloggy stuff, or general internet goofing off research. I research A LOT of stuff. Typically Pop-Tart lays at my feet and naps like a normal cat.


Other times she decides she has to be as close to me as is physically possible. You see that black mass at the bottom of the picture? That's Pop-Tart, laying across my wrist, making it darned impossible to move or do anything productive.


You know how most cats get pissed and run away if you even flinch near them? Not Pop-Tart. I wrestled my hand free to take a picture, but she's still holding down the fort. Here's another angle to illustrate just how persistent she is.


Luckily Yo-Yo likes to amuse himself by cramming into small boxes/bags and going to sleep, which is way more hilarious than irritating.


Are you pets clingy too? Dish the dirt!

Are You Ready For Some (Fantasy) Football?

*If you didn't read that as sung by Hank Williams, Jr then there's just no hope for you.

I was talking about football over on my other blog, which did 2 things:
1) It gave me an excuse to post some pictures of my kid.

Whoops, there I go again.

2) It made me realize I have some football-related awesomeness to share with you guys.

pictured: awesomeness

That bug wearing boxer shorts is the mascot for my fantasy football team, Bloomer Crickets. For those of you not well-versed in ridiculous Southern slang, bloomer crickets is another way of saying crabs. The STD, not the kind you serve with butter. Don't ask me why that's my team name, but it makes me laugh and that's good enough for me.

I have played fantasy football in the past, but this year my best good friend Rachel and I started a women's only fantasy football league. We named it... wait for it... A League of Their Own. Awesome, right? We got 6 football loving ladies to join our league, but the hubby strongly felt the league would be more fun if we had 2 more teams. We were fresh out of actual women, so he suggested that he and Rachel's hubby join the league. But to keep with the women-only part, the guys would play on behalf of our female cats, Pop-Tart and Eureka.

That's right, I run a fantasy team AND shit in a box. What can you do?

Since he was officially playing as Pop-Tart, hubby wanted a cat-centric team name. And what hilrious team name did he come up with? Hans Cougar, an homage to Die Hard's famous villain. That's right, the family that puns together stays together. To hammer the point home I photoshopped Pop-Tart's face onto Hans' head, which is a sight that is equally awesome and terrifying.

Hans Cougar in the flesh fur

We have our league set for this year, but we hope to expand (and kick the boys out) in the future so if you are interested in playing next year let me know!