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

How cool is this?!!

We have an event at our studio this weekend that features a military 50 Cal! So before our studio is filled with attendee's... I took advantage of this photo op (which I'm clearly not dressed for)!! :)

Where's my driver?!!

xoxox

Puppy Girl

Valentina is having a great time at her gamma & gampa's house :) She is running free on 10 acres for 2 weeks!! I am sure she won't remember who I am when I go to pick her up!! :)

I miss my ma ma ma monster girls!! 

xoxox

Shamrockin!

This year I celebrated St. Patrick's Day two weekends in a row... I know right, Party CarolAnn!! :) Woo Woo!

The weekend before the actual holiday, was the Corktown 5k & Parade! Of course since I have fallen off the workout wagon (other than Zumba & a cardio class here & there), it was in deed my worst timing ever!! But I did stop on Mile 3 to enjoy a cocktail with the Bender family... so factoring in that on my timing, I guess doesn't make it horrible :)

I ran, jogged, walked alone most of the time but started the race with Patrick & Tequila!

No our best self taken photo :)

But at least my outfit was legit, right?! :)

After the race, we enjoyed the Parade nonsense for awhile. It was a beautiful day out & Corktown was packed! It was great to see so many Detroiters out having a blast!! It got Tequila & I so excited for Opening Day (but when are we not)!!

The next weekend we headed to Chicago for Amelia's Bachelorette Party!

10 ladies made the trip and Patrick :) or as he liked to introduce himself that day, Patricia!

Majority of the group @ D4

Tequila, I & Rachel @ D4

Reunited!!

This is when it started to get fuzzy!!

YAY! Happy we ran into Brianna!!

OMGosh and how could I forget... Monica starting the day w Starbucks (beer) and her whole life (money & ID) in a sandwich baggie... I swear only my frinds :)

It was a great two weekends of celebration!! Happy St. Patrick's Day 2012!!

xoxox

Happy Spring!!

It's been a heat wave in the Midwest this March! We hit 85 degrees yesterday, breaking any previous records! Insane!!

My neighbors tree is already starting to bloom! :)

I'm so excited for the spring & summer! Yesterday we received our 2012 festival guides at work!! How can this not get you excited for sunshine, tan lines & messy, driving with the windows down hair!! :)

xoxox

Just another day at the office....

Today we experimented with Hair Color Rubs for an activity at our Fireworks Rooftop Party!! 

What do you think?! I love them!!! 

xoxox