Weekly Favorites

Hello! Hope you all are doing well! I'm back to blogging more and to start it off I thought I would do something new: Weekly Favorites! These are the things i've been loving this past week.

1.) Leopard print... this is more of a trying to fit it in my life more. I'm not much of an animal prints fan, except a brief season of cow print back in middle school (I think I might of had a wallet or bag with cow print and that was it, it was very brief). Now i'm really digging leopard (or is it cheetah? Are they different printwise (I know they are 2 different animals)) Anywhoo... I have a scarf I made out of fabric and I plan on getting a leopard print wallet maybe. And i'm dreaming of shoes, but I don't know. It's definitely out of my comfort zone.

2.) I LOVE Glade fall scents! Pumpkin Pie Diner is my favorite! Smells so good and they are quite affordable.

3.) Dessert Skittles. A little while ago Skittles switched out lime (why, Skittles, why???!! :(   ) with green apple ( I won't go in to my usual rant on why it was a bad move and how green apple doesn't even complement the rest of the favors, i'll save that for another day). Dessert Skittles however has key lime pie, which makes this a good substitute for my favorite candy.

4.) Caramel Apples are one of my favorite fall treat. It's a little early and I do want more summer, but I can't wait for fall. I want to try to make these this fall. I found it on pinterest, but the link doesn't work. If I can find a source, I will add it.

5.) The Sims 3 (my favorite pc game ever, well the whole Sims series, since the Sims 1 back in 2000). This image is of the world Appaloosa Plains which is from the Sims 3 Pets. This world is so pretty and set kind of in a fall setting. I've been playing in this world a lot lately, maybe because it's almost fall.

6.) Gold Spray Paint. I am getting obsessed with gold. I bought a wire metal trash on clearance (I love back to school clearance, especially when things can be use for other things. And I was good this year and didn't go notebook crazy I only bought !) and it's pink. It's pretty, but i'm not a teenager, so it's getting spray painted gold!

7.) Yankee Candles Apple Pumpkin (more fall scents!) in a car air freshener. It smells so good. Did I mention I love fall.

8.) House md . Hypochondriacs shouldn't watch this show. Myself, being a tiny bit hypochondriatic (I feel something, check the symptoms, then narrow down illness base on that.) this show doesn't help. Thanks to netflix, i've been watching this show like crazy. I do like medical shows like Scrubs (finished that a year or so ago), this is different, but good. Only 3 more seasons to go!

9.) Wet n Wild Megalast nail polish in Disturbia. Like it so much I accidentally bought it twice. I love deep purple colors (especially in fall). I'm actually wearing Under Your Spell now, it's a reddish brown color. I like it. But the Disturbia is my favorite.

10.) Mcdonalds Caramel Frappe. Love this drink. They had a buy one get one free coupon, so I had to get one. It's my once in a great while treat and the closest thing to coffee I like. I have found a way to make a similar drink at home, which I like, but the original is the best!

So that's it. My 10 weekly favorites! Hope you enjoyed and like this post, I will maybe make this a regular thing on the blog.
I do have to know- What is one thing that's on your weekly favorite list? Let me know in the comments, or link me to your from your blog if you already do these type post!

Have a great day!
-Jen

Something New and Something Kinda Random

Wow, my last post was like a few months ago, yikes!
Well, Hi everybody! Sorry it's been so long. I've been working more on a new business!!! Wanna know what it is???
JAMBERRY!!!!

What is Jamberry, you ask? It's an awesome nail wrap product. They last about 2 weeks (and maybe longer)! The above photo is my first manicure using Jamberry. What sold me on them is they don't chip. I've tried other wraps and i'm a nail polish addict. I tried the Sally Hansen gel wraps and they did chip by day 2 and didn't look so great at the end of the week, but I loved that they did last longer and looked nicer than polish. So when I was introduced to Jamberry and tried them, I was hooked!

I have become an independent consultant at the end of May and I love the business so far. Now just to make some things a little clearer- this is my blog, however I don't want to be like a crazy sales person. I won't post about Jamberry all the time, though I do want to post about it for business ideas, advice, or what i've learned. Also I want to share my nails! I won't post anything on this blog that I personally haven't tried and don't believe it's a good product or I just don't like it. I may review some things and give my opinions in feature post. But yeah, this won't become a Jamberry blog (unless y'all want that ;)  )

That's pretty much what's new with me... Oh I have an instagram account now. I don't have a lot of pictures yet, but it will grow! so you should check that out, maybe in a few days when I have more than 1 pic on it. And maybe soon, when I get the courage I will post a youtube video soon. If I do add youtube videos to the blog, what would you guys like to see? Please let me know! I'm kinda clueless on what to make a video about... do you want to see a diy project? a what's in my bag video? a tag? or maybe do a vlog sometimes like once a week?

Alright, I think I will end this random blog, but here's some links-
if you want to follow me on instagram: http://instagram.com/sobrilliantlife
if you want to check out my Jamberry biz and see all the awesome wraps available:  http://jenniferdavis.jamberrynails.net/ 
Also feel free to ask if you have any questions about Jamberry, or like anything. You can email me here at sobrilliantlifeblog(at)gmail(dot)com!

Hope you have a great night (I am! I'm watching Big Brother. Do any of you watch Big Brother? What do you think about it?)
-Jen

20 Random Facts

Hello! Today's blog posting will be a chance for you to get to know a little bit more about me! Here's 20 random facts-
1.) Though my all time favorite color is purple. Week by week I usually have a different favorite color (other than purple. This week it's coral.
2.) I'm a picky eater. I've been trying new things the past few years now, and in inclusion I still don't like tomatoes.
3.) I'm not picky on cereal. Of the ones i've tried, I like. Even the non name brands, though some you need to get the brand- cheerios is one of them.
4.) I'm also not picky on candy. I love candy. My favorite is cotton candy and for chocolate are snickers and the chocolate with almonds and toffee in it.
5.) If I find money, I pick it up. Even pennies. The greatest amount I found so far is $10. So far I have over $40 of found money. I find money mostly everywhere I go, other than paper money I love finding quarters. It's a childhood habit I will never grow out of.
6.) I love playing games. However I tend to get bored easily with games you play on your phone with other people. For example, I can play candy crush daily (multiple times a day), but Song pop, words with friends, etc I play a few rounds then I don't play for like 13 days. Some friends understand, some friends want to block me... speaking of, I better take my turn on Phrase Friends (it's pretty fun, kinda like wheel of fortune), it's been 10 days since I last played.
7.)I do like fast food (who doesn't?), I just don't eat it often, about once every 2 weeks or so. But my current addiction is Taco Bell. I love the ranch doritos taco and their happy hour- freezes for $1, absolutely!
8.) Pandas are my favorite animal. Followed by Flamingos, and Sloths. I don't know what it is about sloths, I just find them unique. Owls are an honorable mention :)
9.) I have a collection addiction of white ceramic owls. I have 3 so far, may add a non white one soon that will be spray painted white.
10.) I like white ceramic animals in general. Along with the 3 owls I have a fish, a bull dog, 2 rabbits (felt I needed something Eastery/ Springing in my decor), birds, and a deer. I will be painting a rhino white soon to add to the collection. I also bought little plastic animals and painted them white, so I think they should count too. They are actually for a potential diy project, but for now a white mini dinosaur and mini rhino are hanging out on my thermostat.
11.) I love HGTV magazine (and the tv network too). It's my favorite thing to come in the mail that I look forward every month!
12.) I have a crush on the Property Brothers. I can't really decide who I would pick (as if life was like the dating game haha), I like Jonathan for his contracting skills... um... yeah, and I like Drew for his knowledge of home stuff.... lol... yeah I don't know them personally, but they are nice to watch, both for tips on house stuff and they are rather dashing in appearance, but more for the house stuff.
13.) I'm addicted to office supplies. I feel like this has come up before. But I can't pass by a cute patterned notebook even though I have 10 notebooks (I buy them on clearance after the back to school sales, I got a ton of composition books for under 10 cents each!). Oh and the pens, and storage, and furniture, and.... yeah i'm learning self control. The last office supply I bought was pens because they were pretty and I wanted a new pen. They were $1 for 2 and are gel pens. I haven't used gel pens in ages, I kinda miss them.
14.) I'm quiet. I tend to listen more than talk, until I get to know people, then i'll talk more. Except for when I blog, can't stop talking (or typing rather).
15.) I usually like things other than cake for my birthday. For many years I had cheese cake with strawberries. Pie is the other contender. Last year I had a mix of eclairs and cream puffs. I do love cherry pie with the crumbles (like dutch apple pie), and my favorite cake is cherry chip cake.
16.) I like this song- M83- Midnight City (youtube video). When I first heard it, rather when I first saw the album cover- it creeped me out, so I always used to skip the song when it came up on my Pandora station. I finally gave a chance, still couldn't look at the picture of the creepy monster alien. It's a pretty good song, it grew on me (just not the creepy picture). Oh p.s. I chose a video with the creepy monster thing to show you, so just as a warning, it's there.
17.) I used to have bad dreams about the zoo when I was little. The zoo I went to twice in my life in Ft Wayne, Indiana. It's a really nice zoo, I totally recommend it. At the zoo there is a little island in the middle of a little lake and on it was a mother goose statue. I don't entirely remember the dream now (thank goodness), but I remember it had to do with that lake and island and being trapped out there. I don't know, it was kinda scary as a kid. Though when I went back the actually place it's scary, like I said, it's a very nice zoo.
18.) I'm currently addicted to Bath and Body Works Hawaiian scents. I got a free travel size lotion of the Hawaiian one, and it smells so good. I think it's passion fruit and something else. It smells like bubble gum to me. I also love the coconut one too, I have it in a body spray and I might go a little overboard with it.
19.) I mentioned before I like video games, especially most Mario games. Well I also like The Sims. I've been playing the game since Sims 1 came out and loved it ever since. I have most of the games and extension packs of the Sims 1 and 2. The Sims 3 I only have a few. I've kinda grown out of the game a little, but do enjoy building houses more than playing the game. I find it so fun to build and decorate. I've actually built my parents home and my house. I used the game to see about furniture placement and decorating ideas. It's actually come in handy for that kind of stuff. Plus is it fun to play too.
20.) I love cupcakes. Maybe more as decor verses to eat (don't get me wrong, I like eating cupcakes). I want to have my dining room and kitchen be kind of decorated more with desserts. I have cupcakes fabric framed in my dining room, and I have a few cupcake jars around the house too. They are cute and delicious!

So there is my lengthy 20 random facts. Hope you enjoyed and hope it helps get to know me a little more!
Thanks for reading!
-Jen

Financial Fridays- Coupon Haul and Tips

Hey guys! As you may know ( or maybe you don't know), I love gettings deals and saving money. I try to get as many free birthday deals coupons (updated birthday list coming soon!), I like to use coupons, buy things on sale, check all the clearance end caps, and more. I'm addicted to savings. So today for Financial Fridays (possible Saturday, depending on when I actually post this) i'm going to share my most recent couponing haul and some tips about couponing. So here it goes:

Not pictured-1 more box of cereal, 1 Schar wafer, and 2 chocolate Easter egg candies

Here's my deals breakdown:
-Bath and Body Work-
  Travel size lotion -$5, used coupon for free travel sized item = Free!
-Walmart-(2) Shar wafers- $1.67 ea. (1) Bag of dog food - $10.22, used (2) $3/1 Schar coupon and $2/1 dog food = $2.63
-Kroger- 1st Transaction: (3) Kellogg's Brand cereals- sale 3/$6 + free gal. of milk. Used $1/3 coupon = $5, recieved $2 Catalina coupon for buying Kellogg's products to use on my next purchase.
2nd Transaction: (3) Boxes of General Mills cereals- sale 3/$6 + free gal. of milk. Used $1/3 coupon (coupon listed cereals, I could only find one that matched up with the coupon and the sale, may be different =in other areas) and used $2 off next purchase = $3
-Walgreens-1st Transaction: (2) Almay make-up removers - $5.99 ea, (2) Almay eye shadows- $4.99 ea- sale Buy one get one 50%off. Used (2) $5/2 coupon + (2) $2/1 Walgreens coupon= Free, just had to pay the tax $0.99
2nd Transaction: (1) Colgate Optic White Toothpaste- sale $3. Used (1) $1.50/1 coupon= $1.68 , recieved $2 register rewards coupon for my next purchase.
3rd Transaction: (1) Colgate Optic White Toothpaste - $3, (2) Chocolate Easter Candies- sale $0.50 ea. Used (1) $1.50 coupon and $2 register rewards coupon= $0.68, received another $2 off coupon.
4th Transaction: (1) Colgate Optic White Toothpaste- $3, (1) 2L Dr Pepper- sale $1.00. Used $1.50/1 coupon and $2 coupon= $0.68+ deposit (which I'm not counting in this), received another $2 off coupon.
5th Transaction: (2) Snickers Bite size Bags- sale $3/7. Used $3/2 coupon, $1/2 walgreens coupon, and $2 coupon = $1.
    Total paid- $14.67
   Total Retail- $84.15
   Total Saved- $69.48, 82.6% savings!

     There's my detailed haul. I think I did pretty good for my first time semi extreme couponing! A side note, with the $2 off coupon from the Kroger deal and the Walgreens deal, you can use these on anything you want, I just chose to do it this way. On the Walgreens deal, I find it funny, I paid $4.04 for all of it, that's less than the cost of one toothpaste at regular price of $4.49!
Here's my tips for starting about couponing that I learned on this trip-

1.) Plan ahead- I spent a lot of time looking up coupons, printing and cutting them, and looking up deals. I found most of my deals at TheKrazyLady . I gathered my coupons for the deals together and organized them. I also made a list of all the deals I wanted to get and an estimate of what I was going to pay. When time came to shop, I was set and it made shopping a lot easier (except at Walgreens finding fillers for the $2 coupons).

2.) You don't have to get every deal- If you don't have to budget for it, don't do it. Just because it makes for a good deal, it may not be a product you need. One example for me was at Target, I was going to do a deal for (3) Mio or Crystal lite drink mixes, using (3) $1/1 coupons, and getting a $5 gift card. I could find room in my budget to pay $7.47 for drink mixes I didn't really need. I still might refigure things out to see if I can, because it's a good deal. Then I would use the $5 gift card towards DiGiorno's pizzas- (2) $4.99 each, using (2) $2/2 manufacturer coupon, (2) $2/2 Target coupon, and 5% off Cartwheel and $5 gift card and pay only $0.60....... hmmm that deal is really good. $8.07 for 3 drink mixes and 2 pizzas.. I may have to get that. Or there is also a deal with Old Spice- buy 4 at $3.99, get a $5.00 gift card. Use (2) buy one old spice deodorant, get body spray free coupon from the sunday paper, and pay $8. Thinking, do the drink mix deal, use the $5 on the old spice deal, and then the $5 on the pizzas and pay- $11.05 for $36.41 worth of products. Not to bad either. I may or may not do those. The pizza deal is good enough on it's own though, for $5.60 for 2 pizzas. Ok, i'll stop deal calculating (I told you it was addicting). To prove this point- i'm not a guy, I don't necessarily need guys deodorant, unless for relatives or donating it, so instead of getting that deal, save the money for a better deal you may actually need.

3.) Don't go too crazy- Don't let couponing consume you. Set aside a time to coupon and when the times up, stop and go at it another day. You don't want to neglect time spent with family (unless you do coupon with family), or time spent on other activities such as house work, hobbies, or whatnot. Also don't go crazy in stores, respect the couponing policies, don't make a mess of the stores, and try not to leave a shelf empty.

4.) Do some research- TheKrazyCouponLady has a youtube channel too, watch some their videos- they have great tips for starting out couponing. They also share deals, how to coupon, what not to do, and a lot more. I'll have a playlist of their video on my youtube channel for things I think are good for beginners. Watching TLC's Extreme Couponing may not be ideal in all circumstances, but it is good to watch and cool to see how they do it and what they save. I get excited to see people save money!

5.) Try not to be too disappointed- Sometimes you store prices or sales may not be the same as some couponing sites show, or there may be different coupons that you don't get. Also they stores may be out of products. Some examples I have is I check out the Sunday Coupon preview last Saturday. I was expecting my paper to have some coupons that I really wanted, but it didn't. I was kinda disappointed, but some coupons are regional meaning some places may not get the same coupons. Also at Target I was hoping to get some free shampoo and conditioner using coupons and they were sold out :( I was bummed, but happy they offered rainchecks. Hopefully they will be stocked back in soon! This happened at Walgreens too. I went to one location planning to do the toothpaste deal with the Almay deal to not pay as much and they were out of the toothpaste, so I had to get the Almay there. I went to the other Walgreens near buy and was able to score 3 toothpaste. So it worked out and luckily I live close to 2 Walgreens.

6.) Be adaptable- You may need to change your couponing deals a tad when in store when they are out of products, or only certain products for the coupons are part of a sale. Have a plan but adapt to changing it a bit if needed. That's why it's good to have paper on hand to write out deals, atleast I like writing out all the deals so I can see if they work and have an idea of what to do.

7.) And finally Have fun- Saving money and couponing takes time and some work, but it's worth it and having fun makes it so much better. Having a bad attitude if something doesn't work out the way you planned will make things worse. Being happy and in a good mood despite obstacles will make things so much better for you and your cashier. Always be polite, friendly, and kind to the cashiers. Couponing for them may not be as fun, but it will be a more pleasant experience if you are nice.
Saving money is a ton of fun and totally worth it. I hope this helps you out a little, I will definitely have more tips about couponing and saving money in future post.
Until then- have fun, save money, and go get started couponing! If you already coupon or love saving money, what's your best or favorite deal so far? Share in the comments I would like to hear and if you have a haul you would like to feature on here email me the detail and if you want to have a picture send it to sobrilliantlifeblog@gmail.com!
Thanks for reading and have a great day! -Jen

Dining Room Inspiration

Hey guys! The blog renovation is still going on. It should all be finished soon though. But I was thinking, why wait till everything is done to post. I know it has been a little while since I last posted something. So today I wanted to share some Home Inspiration. I've created a few sets on Polyvore (love that site!). If you don't know what Polyvore is it's a website where you can create collages of anything like fashion to home ideas. I'm working on a collection of home inspiration boards for each room in my house and today I want to share my Dining room Inspiration!

Dining Room Inspiration by sobrilliantlife

My dining room is connected to my living room, which I will have my living room one up here soon as well! In this room I want a buffet, which I will have from my mom, who got it from my grandma. I can't wait to get it to my house. The rug I love, I found one at Ikea for $200, not too bad, but it's something I have to save up for. I have some fabric framed that's dessert themed already, I find it fun. I just love the look of this all together. In reality some pieces won't be the same, but close. I'm on a budget, and if you've used polyvore, your know that the items they have to choose from range from inexpensive (Target prices) up to thousands of dollars. I'm not going to buy a $1,000 rug when I can get a similar one for $200. It's just not in my budget now. I do believe that sometimes the more is cost the better quality it is and sometimes you have to splurge, But as long as you stick in your budget, you can have an awesomely decorated room!
Well that's all for this post, to see the items I used, click on the link below the picture. And if you created you're own, let me know in the comments, I want to see!!! And follow you on polyvore too!
Thanks for reading!

Shine Bright -Jen

Coming Soon

Hello! Things are slowly changing around here as you're probably noticing. It's going to stay like this a little bit, i'm working on other things. And soon when everything is done i'll have a little blog party here with a day filled with lots of post, some diys, and maybe if I get the courage a youtube video. I actually made had a channel that I just made playlist of my favorite videos and songs for certain times. I redesigned it to go with the blog and I should probably use it for what most people use it. I'm still quite nervous. But yeah, so look forward to that coming soon! If you want to I made a twitter account, so you can follow me on there for more updates and whatnot. It's https://twitter.com/SoBrilliantLife , so follow me!  Alright well that's all for now, just a little update on how things are going.
Talk to you guys soon!
-Jen

Relaunch

Hey guys! I would just like to say Thank! Thanks for being readers, for following me , and for sticking with me through all my changes, lack of post, and everything. I appreciate each of you soo much! As you might have noticed I am posting again on this blog. I'm doing some changes and making this my main blog, and from it I will be opening an etsy shop. I'm super excited about this and can't wait to be post more diys, more house stuff, more finances, and yeah, just more! So keep checking back, because super soon (i'll post a date when I plan everything out) i'll be relaunching this blog (new design included), opening my etsy shop, and celebrate with a posting party. Plus for the first time ever i'll be doing youtube videos to go along with some of my post. I'm actually super nervous about youtube and i'm not good infront of the camera, I prefer behind the scenes. But i'm going to stretch myself and get out of my shyness and try it! You never know what you're truly capable of until you try!
So with all that said, i'm going to get to work!!! So stay tuned! Thanks again, you guys are the best!
-Jen

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year... Belated

Hello! I'm a little behind on the times, yeah Christmas was over a week ago and News Years was yesterday, but I haven't posted since September, so yeah I need to get up to date with y'all. Might as well add Happy Belated Thanksgiving too lol.  Well, if any of you work retail, you know this is/was the business time of year, then add family time, and just everyday life. It can be pretty crazy. My Christmas was good, mixed in with eh... I live in Michigan, and you may have heard about our big ice storm that knocked the power out in over 200,000 homes. I was one of them. I was without power for 6 days. I stayed with my mom the whole time. And it was annoying after awhile (not the getting to spend more time with my mom part, but having to go to my house to get things, check on everything, and pray my pipes wouldn't freeze (they didn't!)). Glad its over and thankful to have power! So blogging wasn't a big priority at that time.

So now I got you up to date, kinda, it's the new year. And I am so happy for 2013 to finally be over. It was a good and bad year. Probably the worst. My father and half brother passed away, which i'm still not over. I think losing a parent will take some time to get over. But for 2014, i'm praying for restoration. I'll write more on that later. I'm looking forward to 2014. I'm looking forward to more projects, more blog post, and finally- 3 years in the making- the launch my business! Yeah, i'm finally gonna do it! So yeah, that's all for now. I'll write more later, but for now I just wanted to check in with you and share briefly what i've been up to. Talk to you later!
-Jen

A Long Time

Well, Hello there! Its been been awhile since I last posted (since April... yikes!). Well I'm back and ready to get back into this blog! So what have I been up to since, you ask? A lot and not a lot.

I may share more a little later, I'm not quite ready yet, but my dad's been pretty sick these past three 3 and in August of this year he has passed. It's been terribly hard since, but I've been making it through with God as my help. I do want to share that story later, but for today- that's all. Things are getting better. It just takes time.

Speaking of taking time- I'm officially (like really, definitely,  gonna do it, for real) going to start my dream of owning an etsy shop. Ill post all shop updates, the launch/ grand openning, sales, and everything business on here!

And lastly, my home blog is up and running!  You can find all my home ideas, inspiration, and projects in my home. My home blog is The Creative Home Project. You should definitely check it out!

Well I guess that was my summer. I'm very much looking foward to the fall season and all the stuff that's going to happen in my life, my business, and this blog!
It's good to be back!
-Jen

Chalkboard Labels DIY

Hello! I finally did it, my first diy of the year! I've been working on my craft room off and on, it's not done yet, but I needed to do something crafty. So I cleared off my work table and got to work. I bought some glass jars at Hobby Lobby for my dogs' treats and just for fun I wanted to label them. Instead of chalkboard paint (which I love) I went with the vinyl chalkboard surface, also at Hobby Lobby and made the labels myself, so here is the DIY instructions for it!

This is a super easy project and fun and addicting. As you will see I made a ton of labels, just for fun! Also don't forget to read some tips below the diy!

The Supplies you will need is:
     1.) Chalkboard Vinyl Surface - It will stick to almost anything, plus it's removeable and reusable!
     2.) Cricut cartridges- I used Storybook and Songbird
     3.) Jar - Or anything with a smooth surface
     4.) Cricut Machine - This one is the Cricut Create, any cricut will do
     5.) Cricut Mat
     6.) Scissors

Step 1: Cut the chalkboard vinyl to the size of the cricut mat. Smooth out any air bubbles.

Step 2: Pick the shapes you want to cut. I chose from Songbird (the one on the right), the top label. Any shape will work as long as it have enough room to write on.

Step 3: Program your cricut with the shape, size, and any other feature.

Step 4: Press the cut key and the cricut will cut your shapes. Since vinyl is a little thicker than paper, make sure your mat is sticky to where the vinyl will stay on, if not hold it down as it cuts, just be careful not to get too close to the blade. And if the vinyl slips off the mat while cutting, just press the stop button and unload, then realign and start over with cutting.

Step 5: Peel off your shapes. They should peel off easily. If not, like the big one on the left of the mat, lift off what you can then use your scissors and carefully trim off the rest of the vinyl. The blade may have left an imprint so cutting may not be super hard.

Step 6: Peel off the vinyl backing and stick to the jar (or whatever you decide to label).

Step 7: Write on you labels using chalk and have fun!

As you can see I love these chalkboard labels. And yep, I had to put a bird on it (Portlandia reference), which turned out a little small. I like it none the less. So yeah, next up will be my sugar, flour, and etc canisters... and probably more!

I did make a few mistakes on this diy, so here's my tips from what I learned. 

- Before cutting the vinyl, practice on a regular sheet of paper. I didn't quite get the right size at first, as you see in the picture of the cut vinyl. This way you don't waste your vinyl trying to figure out what size labels you want.
- Make sure your cricut mat is really sticky. Mine wasn't, so the vinyl came up from the mat when cutting. If it's sticky, you shouldn't have to hold it down. Plus the shapes should cut out fully.

Cost of project-
  -Jars - $5.00 and under per jar, plus half off (Hobby Lobby)
  -Chalkboard Vinyl Surface- $7.99 orig. $4.79 with 40% coupon (Hobby Lobby)
     So, all together, with my 4 jars and chalkboard vinyl, for my project, it was under $10. Not to bad. That is if you already have the rest of the supplies. The cricut machine cost anywhere from $120 to $300 depending on the size and kind you get. The machines already include the mat, blade, and even a cartridge. Now I think most machines come with a pre loaded cartridge with shapes and fonts. Cricut has evolved since I first got mine. You can check out the Cricut website for more information of that.

As an alternative, if you don't have a cricut machine and don't want to buy one, you can just use a stencil of the shape you want to cut, a pencil to trace, and scissors or an exacto knife to cut it out!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this diy. It's super simple, fun, and addicting. I love it! The dogs, however love what's inside better! :)

And yes, Riley and Lily both love bacon! I do too, I mean real bacon, not bacon dog treats!
Now to go make some labels for more things. Thanks for reading! :)  -Jen

Disciple

Hello! I hope you had a good Easter Sunday! Mine was spent at church, then with family, and ended with watching the conclusion of The Bible series. Yep, I still get an Easter "basket" (decorative box, basket, or etc...this year was going to be a flower pot for my front porch, but I was unable to decide on one), anywhoo... :)   It was a bag filled with candy, a new glass water bottle, a melon baller (yes, I been kinda wanting a melon baller,  I like kitchen gadgets and appliances  it's my other addiction besides office supplies.), and a few other fun things! My doggies were also giving a basket full of 3 different kind of dog treats- one is duck shaped crackers, they love those! and a new rope toy (they love stuffed toys to shreds (literally) so only durable toys make it in this house now).
The Bible series was pretty cool. I only saw a few episodes, but they were good. I hope to watch the whole series sometime. I'm more of a visual person. I like to see things in order to figure things out, like with problems I like to write things down, or with traveling I like to see the directions and how to get there on a map instead of hearing the directions. I've been reading/hearing the Bible since I was very little. Always tried to picture the stories in my mind. Actually seeing them through this series brought them to a different light. One of my favorite things to see was involving the disciples. I don't know why, it just stuck with me different. Seeing a portrayal of their relationship with Jesus, how they interacted, how they loved him and each other, how they followed him- even after his death and resurrection, and a bit of their stories.

Being Christian then wasn't easy. Many of them were persecuted, most were put to death because of their beliefs, and yet they didn't give up. Being a Christian today is a little different, depending on where you live of course. Living in the U.S, there is persecution, but not to the point of prison or death. But there is more distraction, more things that make us comfortable and willing to live in our comfort zones. Jesus is outside of our comfort zone. I don't want to be a Christian who just sits on the side lines. Just goes to church and lives a nice life of being good to people and loving God... I want to do more, be more. I want to be like Peter, when an opportunity comes, to speak bolding about Jesus and do His work. I want to be like Paul, to encourage people and not give up. I want to be a disciple who does the work of Jesus, believes His word, and loves people. I want to live the life God intended me to live. One in which He will say, at the end of it all, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

But how? I know what being a Christian means, I know what His word says, I know how to love others. But how, specifically does God want me to be a disciple. It's kinda a weird question, I mean you should be a disciple in your everyday life- at your workplace, school, home, in everything. I guess for me, i'm trying to figure out what God wants me to do. I've been wondering this for awhile, as far as my calling. I suppose that's for another post. But yeah, I just want to be a disciple. One who walks with Jesus, one who hangs out with Jesus, one who knows Jesus. I want to help people, heal people, give to people, love people, and most important share with people that God loves them, that Jesus is their Savior.

That's what i've been thinking about this Easter. Being a true disciple. I guess I can go in more detail on that too in another post. This is mostly about what's on my mind. God is amazing and good. And even when we think we aren't good enough, He doesn't see it that way. He loves us right where we are, and wants to help us grow from there. There's so much more I can post about this and I will, but I will end this here for now.
-Jen

Martha Moment

Is moving into a house 7 months ago and still not fully unpacked a bad thing? Or does it just show that I may not need everything I have? Or that I want to be organized and make sure everything has a place? I hope it's not bad and I think it could be a both some things unneeded and some things I just wanted to get the right place set up for it. When I first moved in I originally wanted to get the house ready- clean, paint, pull up carpet, then unpack. But life happened and I was never able to do what I planned. I had to just live in my unfinished (cosmetic, not structural or anything unlivable) house. I've been working like crazy to just unpack and settle in a half primed and painted 2 different color for sampling living room. I think I need a week off to get this house done (minus painting, I don't like painting in the winter), but I will work on it little by little with the free time after work. As I was working on it today, a thought came to me. Am I too busy thinking and working on my house when I should be thinking and working on my heart? I do spend a lot of time on pinterest getting ideas for my house, thinking about decorating and furniture placement, and cleaning and unpacking. So much time i've been neglecting other things.

Psalms 37:4 says- "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." and Philippians 4:8 says- " Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Houndstooth and Damask are lovely... oh and a pink couch is something I kinda desire. But these aren't the things I should be obsessing thinking about. I was reminded of the story of Mary and Martha found in Luke 10:38-42: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” I'm so caught up in my house, my problems, and just daily life stuff that I lost the opportunity to spend more time with God, think about Him and what's on His heart for the day, to pray more for what's on God's heart.

To be honest, i'm not the best at setting aside time for that. I spend my entire day taking little moments to talk to God or read a verse, but not a good amount of time. I'm letting life distract me from being at Jesus' feet. I'm being more like Martha in this case. I need to let some stuff go and realize what is truly important- spending time in God's presence.
And once I let go, things will get better, I will feel better. I need Him more than anything, more than a pink and navy blue room. When it comes down to it, not much matters except God and people. God loves us and cares about what we care about. And He is totally cool with that lamp from Target, or the table from Ikea. The desire for my house to be a home and nicely decorated is one that God is ok with. Just look at Solomon's place (well read about). God's ok with nice things. He wants us to have the best, but more importantly He wants us to be the best.
I encourage you, I don't know what things you have going on in your lives, take time for the things that matter most. Do what makes you happy (or buy, with in your budget :), what makes you happy (a nicer tv)) and most importantly do what makes God happy- love Him and love others.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! 
It isn't my favorite holiday yet. It's fun for kids and couples, but not so much for singles. Kinda depressing. Well, after many years of "depressing" Valentine's days, i've learned its ok, it's just another day! Basically I got over it. This year i'm still over it. I'm still single. And I started something different, something new, something uncertain, and yet something- I signed up for an online dating site. I'm learning as i'm going (was always and will always be cautious). I'm still not a big fan of it, but it's something. I'm tired of not doing anything but waiting, hoping. I'm still waiting and hoping, but i'm also trying this. And if I even just meet some new friends or whatever, that's cool. But I do hope i'll find the right guy sometime soon.
Some things for singles to remember-
1.) You are more valuable and worth far more than anything. No guy can take that away. The right guy will see it and treat you as such. Don't settle for just any one, go for the best, the right guy.
2.) Your time is valuable. Don't let people waste it.
3.) If someone you have a crush on doesn't feel the same way and you get crushed, don't be heart broken. Be sad for a bit, be mad if you have too, then move on. He's not worth it, and really he's missing out. The right guy will come and will know you're worth more and he will be worth everything.
4.) A guy won't define you. Dating won't define you. You define you and before you are in a relationship you should really have a solid grasp on deep down who you are. No guy can change the true you, only God.
5.) A guy won't complete you. He should compliment you. Bring out the best in you.
6.) Be careful. Guard your heart.
7.) Be yourself. The right guy who you are ment to be with will love you for who you are. Never try to impress a guy with exaggerated facts and things to make you look good.
and
8.) Have fun and trust God. He has the best plans for you. Just be patient and prepare yourself. And enjoy your life whether you are single or not.

There's just a bit of my advice for fellow singles.
Later. -Jen

Operation- Live Like No One Else

A few years ago I read the book: Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. And he said: 

“If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.”

Meaning if you live below your means like few people do, later on you can live like the few that are well off. That's what I want to do this year. When I started my taxes I looked at my W2 and saw how much I made last year. I looked at my bank account and saw how little of it I had. I'm not the best saver yet. I did save like crazy to buy my house. Usually I will have a couple hundred ( in honesty) in my savings and the rest in a checking account. Usually after tithes, bills, and expenses my accounts get low. I know it's good to have 3 to 6 months expenses in a savings account, I just have never been that good at saving. Until now! It's a new year so that means it's time to buckle down and get saving. So comes in Operation Live Like No One Else. What brought this up was from pinterest. I repined a blog about a family of 4 who lives on $14,000 a year. It kinda shocked me. I make a good amount, but I somehow live on close to that amount a year. I want to change, I want to have a huge amount of savings left over at the year end. I also realized, i'm not a family of 4 and I also only have one income, at the moment. So their scenario may not work for me entirely, but I can use their tips and adjust them to fit my needs better. I'm pretty excited to start and even more excited to see my savings account grow! I'm excited to become financially free! So let the journey begin. I will be sharing what i've learned from changes i've made, what works best for me, and some money saving tips. I will include it in my financial friday feature and maybe a few extra posts as well. I can't wait to save!

Hello, Goodnight

Hello! A ways back i've decided to stick with one blog, this one. Well, i'm sticking to it. If I want to write something that isn't crafty, or home related, or whatever, I can. It's my blog :)   So i'm posting on this one and this one alone.. well i'm not entirely being truthful. There is another blog in the works. It's a specific blog. I've been wanting to write about home decor, design, and homes for awhile and that's what i'm going to do. It's going to be my version of an hgtv show but blog (kinda). So that will probably launch mid February. I'm currently working on the design and getting some content written before publishing it. I'm excited for it. And I won't neglect this blog either. I was reading some older post and I came to the conclusion that I miss posting on here. My goal is to post on here atleast once a week. If I post more, great. But i'm ok with once a week for now. I actually have a schedule planned out for this blog to write every other day and write weekends on the home blog. I think it will work, but i'll take baby steps and go for the once a week goal till I make that a habit.
If I get married this week (I'm not, and Im not seeing anyone, so this is all hypothetical) I would totally have navy, pink, and gray as my colors. If i was designing a room I would have navy and pink be the main colors with gray and yellow(?) as accent colors. I'm still crushing on Navy and Pink. It's a pretty color combination. I've noticed a color trend for spring, i'm indifferent about it. Lots of soft mint, blue, and coral. I can't wait to see more color trends.
Well I better get going.
Night Nite-
-J

Navy and Pink

Hello! First I would like to share some news- i'm starting a new blog. More of a personal (but not too personal) journal style blog about my life, thoughts, questions, more of what i'm thinking on a daily basis. I will still post on here of course, this is my creative outlet.

Second- my dilemma: I want to paint a room/wall dark blue in my house, but i'm not sure where. All my rooms, except for 2, are already planned/ painted. The 2 left are my spare bedroom and my craft office. I'm not sure if dark blue would fit in with my house flow color scheme, atleast upstairs where the bedrooms are. The craft office is going to be white with an accent wall of either fushia or dark blue (with pink accents of course). Since i'm not going to actually paint till the spring time, I have time to decided. Here's some inspiration of dark blue and pink i'm thinking of pulling from for somewhere in my house.

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I'm thinking of changing my color scheme for the house to make these fit in. I would love to paint a room dark blue. I'll find a way to make it work!

Till next time,
-Jen

Happy New Year!

Hello! I've been away for awhile, but i plan on coming back to blogging soon, like tomorrow actually! I just wanted to wish everyone a very late Merry Christmas. Hope it was fun, and meaningful, and restful, and the best! And Happy New Year! I hope 2013 will be your best year yet! I'm thinking of a few new goals, i hope to share some of them with you tomorrow. That's all for now, good night!

House Love: Flipped

  I love houses. I loved looking for houses when I was buying. I love watching shows about houses- buying, selling, remodeling, etc. I loved finding my perfect for me house. Because of all this, I decided to do a new feature called House Love! It will be where I write about house- listings I find under $100k (appox.) and simple ideas to make it better, dream houses, and home decor ideas. I will share my own house buying story soon, but tonight I wanted to share one of the houses I loved, but didn't get. 

It was on and off the market, the 2nd or 3rd time it came back on the market I jumped at it. I walked through it with my family and love it. Though it needed a lot of work, there was more pros than cons. The yard was probably what I loved the most, huge yard with trees- perfect size (maybe not to mow though- i'm not much  into yard work yet, but mowing is ok). The inside had great potential. I thought about the house a lot as far as what I would change and what I would do to each of the rooms. I was too infatuated with this house (my advice on looking at houses is don't get too emotionally attached, houses come and go, and not all the houses you like are meant to be yours, just keep your head up and the right one will come! I'll write another post with my house hunting advice later). I made an offer after looking through it, and was excited. A few days before I made my second offer (well tried) on a different house, but it had too many offers and weren't accepting any more. I was heart broken, then this house came and I thought this house could be it. Well, it wasn't. I was heart broken again, but it was ok. I always knew the right house would come (and it did, that story will be another time). So appox. 6 months later, this house is back on the market and it's been flipped! And it looks incredible! So here's the before pic (I don't have a source for these pics since it was from the original listing which was removed after it sold.)-

The pics are of the front of the house, the livingroom, the kitchen, and a bathroom.
Now here's the after pics same house and same rooms, except remodeled and $100k more.

Source

It's quite the transformation! I can't believe the kitchen- amazing!

If you are looking for houses, don't over look the lower priced or foreclosed houses. There are some great houses available right now. You may not be a professional, but with a few simple changes you can make a house look way better. Sometimes all it takes even is a fresh coat of paint!
I'll post more budget houses with potential and ideas on how to make them better in the future. I was so excited for this house, I had to share!
Thanks for reading!
-Jen

My New Life

One of my goals this year was to get a dog. I wanted a small/medium size dog, well trained, easy grooming, house broken, and preferably crate trained. I kinda also wanted 2 dogs so they could keep each other company. Well last friday I went to the local animal shelter and I tried out a few dogs. A medium size labrador retriever, she was too big and too much for me, I couldnt really control her. I also got to meet a cute beagle named Buddy, but he wasn't the right dog either. Then I decided to take on the twins (not identical). I took the two over hyper jackabee (jack russel/ beagle mix) into the little room and yep, they were it. I felt a little crazy and impulsive, but I liked them. A lot. So I adopted them. Now my life is a lot different. They sleep in my bed, good thing I have a queen size! They also get up at 6am, and I have to take walks everyday with them, which isn't a bad thing. Pets are awesome, but also take a lot of responsibility, which is totally worth it. The first night as I was trying to sleep, I just couldn't turn my mind off and kept regretting getting them. Mostly I was nervous about the new life I was about to embark on. I was thinking about the things I would have to give up and change. But then came the thoughts that I was able to give these guys a new life and a good change.

Me and the pups

There's me with the pups. Their previous name was Samson and Delilah. Samson is the one with brown fur in the back, Delilah the beagle looking one in the front. I'm not 100% sure about names. The names reminds me too much of the Bible story of Samson and Delilah, and based on the story, I prefer to rename them. The boy's new name is Riley. And the girl i'm having a bit of trouble. She's cute and little, so she needs a cute name. So far i've come up with Penny, Lucy, Lily, and Lilah. And I can't decide. I think i've narrowed it down to Lily or Lilah, i'll make a decision tomorrow, because I have to start teaching them their new names. I may stick with Lilah since it's a part of Delilah, i'm not sure. 

Here's a little more about them:
They are both 4 yrs old, brother and sister, and the classic jack russel and beagle. Loves to sniff everything, can jump really high, and very hyper. It's pretty interesting watching them and seeing their different personalities.
Riley- He's a very lovable, people friendly, sweet dog. He loves to gives kisses. He's a little more chill and likes to be near me constantly. I put them in the crates over night the first 2 nights because I wasn't sure what they would do. He would be good for a few hours, but then whine and bark. He's a very obedient dog. I love him!
Lily or Lilah- She is also lovable, sweet, people friendly, and independent (to an extent) dog. She is more of a leader. She also doesn't like to be without her brother. She is really good in the crate, never whined or barked. She's very smart. She's super sweet. I love her too!

They are the sweetest dogs! I do love them so and would do anything for them. I am so blessed to have them. They are everything I wanted on my dog list. I can't wait to take them for walks, go to the park, and spend the rest of my life with them (or the rest of their lives). They are so cute, I can't get over it!
Well, there's one of my big news. My new roommates lol.
Good night!
-Jen

Catching Up a Bit

Hello! I haven't written in a little while. Just wanted to stop in and let you know of some news about the business. I officially came up with a business name and it's super cute and it has a specially meaning to me and I can't tell you quite yet! I will soon though. I'm hoping to launch my etsy shop in Oct. I'm still working on product development, my brand, a logo, goals, 5 year plan, and everything else. I want to take my time and do it right. Speaking of that, that's kinda been my new motto. Especially with my home makeover. I like doing the work, but it gets tiresome over time. I can see the end result in my head and I want to fast forward to get to that part. So I tend to rush some projects, which I realized isn't right. I came to the realization I need to take my time and do things right. Fill in all the cracks on the wall, tape the edges of doors and windows so they don't get painted, and everything else that goes into painting a room or any other project. Do it right the first time and do it with excellence. If it takes 2 weeks to do one room, so be it! I'd rather have a really good looking room than one that is done but half heartedly. I think that could be applied to everything in life too. Do your best, do it well, and love what you do. I will love my bedroom so much more without settling cracks in the wall and maybe some crown molding on the wall/ceiling. I really can't wait till everything is done with my house, but i'm going to enjoy the process. Along with my business too!
Good Night!
-Jen