Colorful Textured Layering

Hey all hope you're doing well this weekend.  Aaron usually works on the weekend, but luckily he got all of today off.  It's the first Saturday he's had off in a long time.  We visited the local farmer's market, bought some breakfast, beef pot pies, homemade breakfast sausage, and a phone case for me.  Oh yeah and some chocolate chips, cause I'm thinking about making something with them.  Then we headed over to our favorite garden center, because my gerber daisy desperately needs a new pot.  In the mid-afternoon we hung out watched the brand new Downton Abbey together, and ate some air popped popcorn.  

 Sweater-- Forever 21

Lace Tank Top-- Urban Outfitters

Tank Top-- Target

Pants-- Forever 21

Shoes-- Rocketdog

I love bright colors and combining different prints and textures.

  

This sweater is so comfy.  I wear it practically everyday in the winter.  

I don't own much jewelry, but I love these three necklaces together.  My Rocketdogs are my favorite winter shoe.  I love how colorful they are, yet they are warm, and comfortable.  

Have a good weekend, and happy DIYing, chris!

Warm Days in the Garden

For today's Saturday Blogger Love I want to highlight Annika over on The Pineneedle Collective.  She has a lovely sense of style. Bright colors, fun tights, cute shoes, and colorful hair.  Anyone who mixes prints and brilliant colors wins my vote.  Then add in some fun hair dye, and I'm sold!  To top it all off she also sews, and has some great fashion related DIYs.  All around great blog, definitely check her out!  Plus, she turned me on to Chictopia, Annika posted that she was awarded May Style Icon.  Congratulations to her!  

So since I haven't done an outfit post in weeks.  Without any further ado ...

This was the perfect outfit for some light gardening, and a long walk with the dogmander and mister. 

These are my three favorite accessories.  I'm in love with my rock necklace, and I love wearing a clock with it.  The two necklace lengths worked perfectly.  My stepdad gave me the bracelet, it was his mother's.  This is my favorite bracelet, and I compare all other's to it. 

Tank Top -- Target

Shorts --  Kohl's

Shoes -- Dirty Laundry

Watch Necklace -- Urban Outfitters

Rock Necklace -- DIY handmade

Bracelet -- hand-me-down from my Step-Grandmother

I love mixing patterns and colors together.  Sometimes Aaron and I go a little overboard, but I'd rather majorly clash than wear all beige.  

I've noticed when scanning through the hoards of photos on Chictopia, my eye automatically zones in on these three things first.  

#1. an in-focus, well framed, and posed photograph

#2. BRIGHT COLORS!

#3. a great blend of patterns and colors.  Including how the background works with the outfit.  

Most of my outfit photos are in green spaces.  Though I do live in suburbia, and a hop skip and a jump from philadelphia, or other city-like places.  I guess I could include some actual cement in some of my pics.  Actually, when I drive to schools in the city I see AMAZING graffiti, which I'm a big fan of.  I love graffiti.  As long as the person spraying his or her mark on the wall is actually trying to make something beautiful, I think it's beautifying the concrete jungle.  My favorite graffiti tends to be in the worst neighborhoods though.  I might feel extra awkward posing in front of some awesome graffiti, while my husband takes pictures of me.  I think I'll try out somewhere In my neighborhood first.  I think I might have some ideas ...

That's enough rambling, hope you had a good saturday, and happy DIYing, chris.  

Rock Necklace

For April's Photo An Hour I  posted this photo, saying I was planning a DIY with these items.  I did the DIY with the doggie brooch at the beginning of this month, and today I am working with the rock.  This rock is from my one and only trip to Brighton Beach, England.  It was the only beach I've ever been to that was complete covered in rocks, no sand anywhere!  I love rocks, so I was in heaven.  Best beach ev-ar!  Way better than sand.  I didn't come home at the end of the day finding rocks in strange places, like I do with sand.  

Anyway on to the DIY.  In addition to the rock, I used some leftover chain from a project Aaron did, and some twine that came from a candle Aaron got from Pier1.  The rock is perfect for this project because it natural has a hole in it.  The moment I saw it I knew it was meant to be on a necklace.  This is my kind of DIY, because I didn't have to pay for any of the materials.  I also used a needle nose plier, and a pair of scissors.

This is the finished product on.  I started by centering the twine in the rock, and then I threaded it through the loops on the chain.  The ends of the chain met at the rock.  The ends of the twine met at the nape of my neck.  I used the needle nose pliers to remove the excess chain.  I eyeballed the length, placing it around my neck as I went to make sure I liked the look.  

I'm really pleased with the way this turned out.  So simple, and free, can't beat that!  I'm glad I'll be able to wear this lovely memory around my neck, and it looks so fancy.  It definitely doesn't look like something I made in less then ten minutes.  I hope I find some more awesome nature bits to make necklaces out of! 

Happy DIYing, chris!