Skinny Jeans On The Cheap

One of the perks of working in a hardware store is getting to wear jeans and comfortable shoes everyday. Don't get me wrong, I love getting dressed up in pencil skirts and heels, but my feet and back are loving their current gig.

The one downside to wearing jeans everyday is that I needed more pairs of jeans to fill out my rotation. When I started at Lowe's I had only 2 pairs of skinny jeans and 4 pairs of flared or bootcut jeans. Being the slave to fashion that I am (har har), I only wore the skinny jeans while the others sat in the drawer, untouched. I tried to wear them, but I've found that once I get used to seeing myself in a certain cut of jeans (skinny, in this case) it is very hard to "approve" other silhouettes on myself.

As much as I would have loved to just drop some cash on new jeans I knew that wasn't in the cards. But I did have some perfectly wearable jeans and a trusty tailor at my disposal. So after a little pinning and a lot of sewing I had converted my old jeans into skinny jeans. TA DA! Obviously if you have some sewing skills and a machine that can handle denim, you can skip the tailor and save even more money. This solution works in several situations:

- take dated jeans and turn them skinny, like I did
- if you've lost some weight take the opportunity to slim the legs AND take in the waist, for a double dose of skinny
- if you're just jonesing for some new skinnies, grab a pair of jeans from a thrift store and have them skinnied, for less than the cost of a new pair - as long as the waist size and rinse/color make you happy you're good to go

If you try to do this allow me to make a suggestion. Bring a pair of skinny jeans you already own to show the tailor. It is very hard to pin the pants tight enough during your fitting and you may have to return them to be taken in again. This happened to me and thankfully the tailor corrected the mistake at no extra charge. But if I had taken a pair of pants they could use as a guide this would have saved me - and the tailor - an extra step.

Come on now, get to skinnying!

Garden Sneak Peek

The hubby and I are working on revamping our garden this year. I'll have a nice long post for you once it's completed, but I couldn't resist sharing a little peek with you.

Instead of traditional edgers we are using concrete blocks to fill the gap between the fence and the ground. Not gonna lie, I got my inspiration from Pinterest. Just today we filled the blocks with soil and added some bean seeds. I can't wait until they sprout and we have some lovely bean plants growing up our fence!

Photos

Periodically I upload all my phone pictures onto my computer to make way for photos/music/apps yet to come. Here's some of my favorites.

What? You DON'T sit on the trash can?

morning fog

clouds

my fur babies

moon through the pines (amazingly this is straight from the camera, no filters or effects)

pattern

embers

I freaking love spring

On A More Hilarious Note

image source

While all the fan girls were watching Hunger Games, the hubby and I went to see 21 Jump Street last weekend. Easily the funniest movie I have seen in a long time. Go see it. Now.

That is all.

PS - If you like your comedy with a side of beefcake, Channing Tatum will more than satisfy.

Et tu Brute?

Yep, I'm a traitor. I've only been at my current job for 3 months, but I'm leaving for (hopefully) greener pastures. Even worse, I'm leaving  my company (Shmowe's) and going to work for their biggest competitor (Shmome Shmepot). I guess it's fitting that the new job offer came a few short days after the Ides of March. bewaaaare

image source

Why am I leaving? I am currently a cashier and I was offered a cabinet designer position, which is a) more hours, b) better pay per hour, and c) somewhat related to my architecture background. You'd take it too, right? I do feel terrible over leaving because I really do love it at Shmowe's* and I'm going to miss my co-workers terribly. I am one of those people that thinks everything should be open, honest and fair and I have a hard time having interactions (usually in business situations) where I have to withhold information or tell partial truths. And to me, going to work with a smile on  my face when I know I'm in the process of getting another job is one of those situations. Everyone tells me "it's just business" and "you need to do what is best for you" but I still feel bad for leaving. Most people seem to genuinely like and appreciate me where I am and I feel awful, like I am betraying them somehow. I keep justifying my actions with this: I didn't set out to leave my job. I applied to both companies at the same time, and it just worked out that the better offer came about 2 months after I had accepted the first offer. So I guess I'm only a partially terrible person.

Today is my last day as a cashier and I start my cabinets job bright and early Monday morning, assuming no one stabs me between now and then. Wish me luck!

*Is it weird that I'm still writing "Shmowe's?" I think it might be, but I can't stop. Or bring myself to write the company's actual name even though I know you know what "Shmowe's" means.

A Gift For Penny

 A few weeks ago I got to go a baby shower for two of my favorite girls: my twin soul Brettany and her soon-to-be-born daughter (and Luke's future girlfriend) Penny.

I'm a fan of practical baby gifts so I gave her a whole box full of useful, been-there-done-that stuff to get her through the newborn phase. However, I couldn't keep my crafty side at bay - nor could I resist the urge to make something personal for Penny's nursery - so I made a little initial block that was very similar to some art I made for Luke's nursery a few months years ago. God, has it been that long?

True to form, I made it using stuff I had lying around the house. The "canvas" is a wood scrap I found in the workshop. The patterned layer is stripes drawn onto tracing paper with markers and the top layer - which creates the outline for the 'P' - is a piece of white cardstock. I chose shades of lavender and pink to match Penny's nursery.

Don't you just love projects that are as simple as they are cute?

How Is My Finger Like A Lemon Pie? It Has Meringe On It!

OK, that joke may only work here in the South, but wasn't it a clever segue into talking about my new ring?

It was supposed to be a Christmas present (well, technically, it still was) but it didn't get here until mid-January because I took my sweet time telling my MIL what I wanted for Christmas. Yes, we're those people that make wish-lists and ask each other what they want for their presents. It does eliminate the element of surprise, but it also prevents present guilt which is brought on by opening a gift that tells you the buyer had no idea what to get you but you still have to act like you like it. Plus, our family is big on pitching in on big-ticket items instead of lots of small presents. Practical and efficient, two of my favorite adjectives. But back to my ring...

I had been thinking for a while that I needed to beef up my "real" jewelry collection, because I can only go so far in life with only button rings. I also had been thinking that a good place to start would be a peridot ring, because that is the hubby's birth stone and occasionally I decide to be sentimental. After scouring Etsy for a long, long time I came across the shop of Jen Hough and instantly fell in love with her off-beat yet architectural style.

I quickly settled on the Move Aside ring and placed my order. It took a little longer than expected to arrive - Thanks, USPS! - but Jen was gracious and worked with us to send a replacement ring when the USPS (more than likely) lost the first one. I have to say, I love it even more in person, if that's possible. Partly because the form reminds me of an 'H' (our last initial). There goes that sentimental streak again. It is one of the few pieces of jewelry I own that gets compliments every single time I wear it. What can I say? I have My MIL has great taste.