Closet Bedroom - 90% Complete

I made it! Whew!

In all honesty, I am not sure I truly anticipated the time, injuries, and hard work it would take to finish my new & improved, "closet bedroom". I started the project on a whim, on March 24... it's now a month later & I just began moving in the furniture. Looking through the photos, from start to completion, I really can't share my excitement enough, that I DID THIS! No help from friends or family, just ME :)

A little history, before I share the photos... when Tequila moved out last April, I quickly turned her room into a "closet bedroom"... it was freshly painted (thanks girl!) and easy to throw some racks & shelving into. However, as it was the smallest room in my house, I quickly outgrew it's space. When Amelia moved out in June, I knew I wanted to eventually move the "closet" into that vacated space, but Parade season & winter laziness definitely left me unmotivated.

Fast Forward.

Room Before #1 - Dark  Matte Paint, Light Blue Ceiling & Trim & Navy Carpet

Room Before #2

Room Before #3

Step #1 - Paint Ceiling White

BEHR Premium Plus Primer in Garden Wall

Goodbye Navy Carpet!!

I cut the carpet into strips, because LBH, I am not a muscly meathead :)

Moment of Truth!!

YAYAY!! They look decent!!!

This is where things get ugly & boring... womp womp!!

Need a closer look?! UGH!

I do not miss this!

Tack Strip & Staple Removal

Final Painting Step... The Trim!!

NOW, here is where things get AMAZING!! Is it sad that I could stare at my hard work all day?!! :)

How good do those floors look?!!

A little bummed about the missing trim, but it's hide able :)

Still debating what to do with the closet door...paint, stain... ?

YAY!! Missing - Rug

For the record, I carried those wooden towers up from the basement, BY MYSELF! :)
My legs may or may not have felt like they could fall off after...

Missing: Full Length Mirror!!

Missing - Bench or Chair, oh & blinds & curtains!! :)

I can't wait to add more things & get all my clothes moved in (my laundry piles are disgusting, I should really hire a maid)!! And truthfully, I am excited now to do the same to my current bedroom, which suffers from the same ugly navy carpet! Woo Woo!!

xoxox

Product Love!

I don't want to brag, but lately my hair has been runway good. Victoria Secret model good. It's amazing.

In honor of it's magnificent waves, that more often than not get me asked if I'm wearing a weave, extensions or even a wig, I've decided to share a few more of my favorite products... (you can find my other favs in this post).

For starters, my new fav curling iron! Which isn't really new at all... was on my Christmas list like 4 years ago and has been sitting in my bathroom drawer this entire time because I didn't quite know how to perfect it's use... until now!! YES!!

Hot Tools 2" Curling Iron


It's so amazing, that while in Chicago this weekend I introduced it to Brianna, who went and purchased one on Monday!! Everyone should own one, no joke!

Another fav product is Wool Shake 08 by Redken. I wasn't quite sure why I was buying it, maybe because I was intrigued by it's name and the fact that it's a gel that you shake into a liquid before spraying... but nonetheless discovered it's fabulous!! I use it post waves, to create volume and texture; I would say the texture is the real reason (because I think I have enough volume).



Oh & big plus, it smells pretty :)


The reason I say I have enough volume is thanks in part to this product... which weirded me out a bit that it warns to not use with heat (okkkk? no.) but I am glad it had a warning, although I didn't obeying it & stuck the dryer a little too close but quickly realized, they meant business! Despite having to hold the dryer a little further than normal now, it's a great root lifter & light, which is perfect!



Guts 10 by Redken


This next product works wonders for second day hair, which luckily I rock all the time. Seriously, sometimes my second day hair is so much better than my just styled do! Must be those good hair genes, thanks mom & dad!!

I've tried quite a few dry shampoo's but this one trumps them all! And thank you to my Ulta points for allowing me to fall in love fo' free :)


Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible
Volumizing Dry Shampoo


Now lastly, this isn't hair... but this weekend I am standing up in my friends wedding. Catholic ceremony at 1pm and reception in the evening... so I need my make up & hair (both of which I am doing myself) to stay all day & night!! So I purchased this sample from Ulta (only $10) and fingers crossed, will have a perfect MAC Force Field in every photo!!! (PS I know "MAC Force Field" is meant to negatively address women {or strippers} but I am embracing it...)


Urban Decay All Nighter 
Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray


In closing, I must applaud the cosmetic & hair companies on producing sample sizes! I personally find myself testing out products I typically wouldn't because I don't have to invest in the full price for something that I may not like (and LBH, I am not big on returns). I have a greater respect for the companies selling samples; like Redken, Urban Decay, Tarte... someone in their marketing departments are doing it right!! :)

Happy Beautification Peeps!!

xoxox

Chicago!

Weekend Recap: AMAZING.

I got into Chicago Thursday evening and Brianna quickly whisked us away to happy hour at Tavernita!! It was great to meet Bri's co-workers, and funny to read their "banker" faces when I said I make my living from Parades & Fireworks :) After a few hours of college stories and too many glasses of Chardonnay & Booty Collins (green tea- infused absolut vodka, passionfruit, lemon, cayenne, yohimbre) we desperately needed some food! We headed to Portillo's and consumed the craziest smorgasbord of food ever, I won't even touch on what we ordered to save our dignity :)

Friday morning, I headed out to meet my former co-worker Elizabeth & Steve for the CWS Opening Day vs. the Tigers! I must say I am completely proud of myself for taking the Red Line alone for the first time, even though it was only a couple block walk from Bri's high rise and only 3 stops to our pre-game meet up, Cavanaughs!

We made it to our seats in right center field just in time for the first few pitches; after, of course, some good natured heckling from White Sox nation (which sadly, needs some extensive lessons in fashion). I actually feel bad for Sox fans in general, having your stadium in the middle of nowhere really puts a damper on the full scale tailgating, bar hopping Opening Day that Detroiters (and probably even Cubs fans) are accustomed to. Sadly, the Tigers lost (CWS 5, Tigers 2).

Post game, Brianna and I met up for dinner at Uncle Julio's; which was so yummy, margarita's & steak enchiladas (I literally just drooled writing that). Feeling beyond full, we made our way to Duffy's to catch the end of the Red Wings game with her bf & friends! Duffy's was totally a hot mess, if it's even possible, it had better people watching than the Sox game!! From there the night gets a little blurry, but I know we made it to a bar in Old Town, and someones apartment, and finally home :)


Bri & I at Duffy's


Somehow, Saturday morning, we pulled ourselves together to go to WERQ, a fitness class based on hip-hop dance. I swear it was like we were 19 years old again, dancing in Canada :) I definitely recommend checking it out, if you like to break a sweat while dancing!

After class, Bri & I discovered what could possibly be the best breakfast restaurant in Chicago, Meli Cafe! It has now become our "spot" and we even went back on Sunday!! I totally recommend the fresh squeezed grapefruit juice & feta-spinach-tomato breakfast sandwich on wheat!! (Again, with drooling).

In the afternoon, we headed out to run some errands & shop! We hit up my fav Francesca's, where I purchased the greatest clutch known to women!! Black Satin. Gold Trim. Glitz Peacock Closure. AMAZE.

Saturday night we met up with our friend Melina (who we've been friends with since Jr. High) for dinner at Quartino's! Another fabulous restaurant! And since it is a small plate style & there were three of us, I have no problem sharing what we ordered :) A liter of Sangria, Romaine Heart Salad, Gnocchi, Sea Scallops, Margherita Pizza and a rib pasta dish I couldn't find on the menu. (Still drooling). It was all delicious and much needed for our night out of drinking & dancing!!


Quartino's

The night took us to my next (new) fav place, The Pump Room at Public Chicago. The moment we walked in, I felt like I was at the Chateau Marmont on Sunset, I actually expected to walk outside after and see palm trees, or my brother :) We each decided to order something new to our taste buds, Melina = Old English Gentlemen (Dewar's White Label, Tobacco Syrup, Fresh Lemon Sour, Sweet Vermouth & Egg Wash), Brianna = Raspberry Lychee Bellini (Prosecco, Raspberry & Lychee Syrup) and I had the Pump & Circumstance (Bombay Sapphire Gin, Earl Grey Tea & Lavender Syrup, Fresh Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup & Egg Wash). Truthfully, my drink tasted like I was drinking from a Bath & Body Works Wallflower, which was a little hard to get past. Our second round we all switched it up, but Melina was still the dare devil, ordering a Passion Whiskey Fizz with Chili... it had a kick. I tried to order Hpnotiq (classy I know) which they did not have but luckily the bartender drinks it as well and tried his best to recreate it using tequila and vodka, he came pretty close!!

Shots from the very sweet bartenders at The Pump Room

When the urge to dance took over, we relocated (in the pouring rain) to a hole in the wall bar, that I don't even remember the name of (yes, the drinks were that good). All I do remember is that Bri somewhere found a beer case to use as an umbrella, we cut in line (yes, we were those girls) and their bathrooms were in the basement, which was flooded. It was a hot mess. But we came to dance, and dance we did, until 3 AM! The walk home was memorable, as was our late night shopping spree at 7-11.

Trendiest Umbrella Ever :)

Sunday came entirely too quickly. I literally had to fight back tears when I hugged Brianna good-bye. It was seriously one of the best weekends I've had in a long time, like I am ready to plan a trip back tomorrow :)

xoxo

I am my father's daughter :)

xoxox

Life as I know it...

This is so very MySpace of me, but will fun to read down the road :)

Age: 28

Bedsize: Queen

Chore I Hate: Moving the grass clippings from the mower to the bags

Dog(s): Valentina Milania, (almost) 3 year old Austrian Shepherd | Golden Retriever monster :)

Essential Start To My Day: Sunshine... & bronzer.

Fav Color: Yellow

Gold or Silver: Gold, always.

Height: 5'3 ish (?)

Instruments Played: Only my vocal chords baby!

Job Title: Event Specialist, so official.

Kids: Can I find a husband first, gosh!! :)

Live: In The Mitten

Mother's Name: Margaret Phyllis & Andrea Carmella

Nicknames: CarolAnna Banana (Boat) & CAB

Overnight Hospital Stay: When I was a babe

Pet Peeves: Negativity.

Quote From A Movie: "The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize" Steal Magnolias

Right or Left: R

Siblings: Hollywood (baby) Brotherrr

Time You Wake Up: As last as possible, 7:40 or sometimes 8... whoops :)

Uncanny Resemblance: Snooki, it's the hair & tan.

Vegetable You Hate: Pickles, are pickles a vegetable?!

What Makes You Run Late: Outfit selection.

X-Rays You've Had: MRI to discover the inside of my knees are flat & that my hips rotate opposite of normal, whatever that means!!

Yummy: Colin Egglesfield, or did you mean food :)

Zoo Animal: Elephant

xoxox

Who doesn't love a good deal?

So I just recently discovered DSW. I mean I knew about it, but just always walked passed it at the mall. I know what you are thinking, how did a girl who once dropped $800+ in a Guess store (I wonder if they work on commission?) never venture into a shoe warehouse?!! And all I can say is... I HAVE NO IDEA, pure irresponsibility on my part!

But back to the point....

I have already found some amazing deals there; black knee high boots for $30 (SCORE!) and my Roxy tennis shoes for $9.61 (Double SCORE!) but this next purchase takes the cake...

Two days ago I popped into DSW to find some suitable heels for a wedding I am standing up in. I was putting a lot of pressure on these shoes; must have a good heel, must let me comfortably walk down the aisle (without gripping whichever groomsmen I am paired with) and must get me through dinner & sober dancing... oh and did I mention I didn't want to spend a lot, because the chances of me wearing said heels again, were slim... WHEW... high expectations!!!

LUCKY me... I had totally found a few pairs that met all qualifications when I spotted these little monsters on clearance... Not the most dazzling of the bunch, but cozy. Not the highest heel, but cozy. Not the prettiest of bows, but... well you get the picture.

So why, you ask did I chose these when they weren't my absolute favorite? Well this I have an amazing answer for... because they were SIX dollars & EIGHTY-SEVEN cents... again, you say?!

$6.87!!!

I mean can you even pass up anything for that amount? It's less than a tanning session, less than my lunch bill today, less than what I spend on coffee a week!!!! Less than just about everything!!!

Pure madness... I even text messaged Tequila who said "How is that even possible?!"

It's possible because these sweet little Nina heels were originally $80, but only $56 at DSW... then you add the 70% off clearance and my handy dandy $10 off coupon..... and you have yourselves a deal my friends.

A deal that had the sales clerk gasping... GO ME!!

xoxox

Happy Easter!



Happy Easter 1988

Phil & I were definitely blessed, to have parents that every year, dressed up & hopped down the street with Easter baskets just for us :) Although I don't think this photo captures the real joy :) I love the Pee Wee doll in my basket & the Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmellow Man in brotherrrr's!!

xoxox

Just call me Bob Villa!!

I can hardly contain my excitement ya'll...

I am finally moving my closet bedroom from the smallest spare room to the biggest spare room... and in the process I have had to paint the ceiling, the walls & the trim... AND RIP OUT THE CARPET!!! Well the ceiling & the walls are complete as of this post, tonight I am working on the trim & the carpet.

But I had to share my excitement as last night I ripped back the carpet a bit to examine the wood floor beneath it... and this is what it looks like.... pretty good condition if I say so myself!! HOORAY!!



It's a lot shinier in person & needs a good cleaning :) but YAYAY!!

I, of course, will be doing an entire post once I finish the room; before I load in the furniture, clothing racks and all my fashion ensembles!! I am definitely proud of myself for taking on this project all by myself... can I get a GIRL POWER?!!

Amen.

xoxox

PS Tomorrow is Opening Day, I am sure I won't sleep a wink :) Woo Woo!!

Opening Day Kicks... The Tutorial :)

I always feel pretty crafty when I go up north to visit my parents... maybe it's because Andrea is so creative & crafty, or because she has her very own craft room & an abundance of supplies or just because I have loads of free time.

So even though I was only visiting for a day, I decided it was time to accomplish one of my very first Pinterest projects! You can find my inspiration here, unfortunately I have googled and can't find the artist to give proper credit... but they did an excellent job on their finished product! 

First I started with a pair of canvas Roxy's which I found on sale (SCORE) at DSW!! 

Once I had decided on my two designs, I printed each from the computer in a size that fit on the front of each shoe. I chose the Old English D and a Detroit Tiger's logo. 

Andrea recommended that I use tracing paper, which required me to transfer the Tiger's logo onto transparent paper by tracing the printed logo. Once I had transferred the logo (see below); I then secured the tracing paper (dark side down) onto the shoe with the transparent logo face up with a few pins.

NOTE: I did not find the tracing paper to be helpful at all. In the future, I will trace the outline of the computer print out straight to the shoe, like I did for the Old English D (photo below). I ended up free handing the inside of the Tiger's logo because I could not see the tracing marks. 

Computer logo transferred to transparent paper for tracing onto the shoe

I found this way to be much easier; printed logo pinned straight to shoe

Traced Old English D ready for paint

Once my shoes were ready, I used acrylic paints to color in the logos. I did researched and found that some people choose to outline with paint markers first, but I decided to drive right in with a small bristle paint brush & acrylic paint! 

The shoes only required one coat of paint

Here you can see how the tracing paper worked on the baseball shape

The paint took only a few minutes to dry between color blocks. Once most of the color was complete, I decided to outline each logo in black. I definitely think outlining them was a plus and adds to the color pop.

I still need to spray them with a treatment

I also hand painted baseball laces on the back of the heels

I painted on a large piece of parchment paper for easy clean up

LOVE!

I am happy that I decided to give this project a try! It took about two hours, from tracing to finish. It was super relaxing and fun! I showed our Director of Costuming (who taught me how to sew my Halloween costume) and she thought they were a little plain for me :) but once I explained my whole outfit, she then agreed that they didn't need any bling... although I'm thinking of adding a few quarter size baseballs on the sides, we'll see though  :)

xoxox

PS My co-worker Jas really wants me to start a separate blog about my DIY projects & fashion statements. However since I have a hard enough time updating here, I told her in this case, two is not better than one :) She did though, come up with some awesome names for blog #2; so from here forward, I will tag any & all of my creative projects with "The Pink Apron" :) Thanks Jazzy Jas!! :)

Brotherrr

Silly. One word that comes to mind when thinking of my brother. Of course he can also be described as motivated, talented, meathead... but for this post, we'll just stick to the silly.

Every so often, my blackberry (yes I am still using a BB so stop laughing now, I have no wants or needs to change) lights up with a text message from my brother... which most of the time is filled only with a photograph... no words. Just silliness.

Like this...

Brother & Beta (his & Hayley's bengal cat)


Or this...

What Hollywood meathead wouldn't love Arnold?!

Or ones that make me jealous....

Front & Center

Or ones that make me not so jealous...

Wounded by an invisible gun, oh brother! :)

But this one, I recieved the other day, is by far one of my favorites... we will call it Elvis Brother :)

It's clear that I miss my brother dearly, everyday... but when I get updates like these it's totally worth having him miles away while he lives his dream :)

xoxox