7.31.2012

Monthly Review // July 2012

Usually I would make a "monthly mosaic", but I wanted to try something new. I have been making monthly mosaics for over 2 years now. The pictures are so small though. I decided to just make a larger collage with numbered pictures. Let me know what you think! July was yet another awesome month!
Month in Review Title July12July 2012 in Review
LINKS:

1. We took a trip to the Denver Zoo {HERE}
2. Had a lovely day at the Park {HERE}
3. Holy Crap, I met Peter Hammarstedt from Whale Wars (Dream come true!) {HERE}
4. We finally went biking, this trip was rough {HERE}
5. Cute picture of us with our dorky helmets {HERE}
6. Cody and I have been Vegan for 6 months! {HERE}
7. Did two more "What I Wore" posts {HERE} {HERE}

This month was my first month of Sponsorship. I really enjoyed doing this. I have met some great new bloggers. If you are new to my blog, welcome and thanks for following me. There are so many great blogs out there and if choose to take time to read mine, wow! Thanks!!

I did 2 guest posts this month! That was exciting!
Blogged about Taking A Roadtrip on Kitty & Buck
Blogged about Hiking on Modern Buttercup

If you missed my sponsorship posts this month, make sure to go back and check them out! I had some great ladies in July!
July Sponsor Post {HERE}
Stamp Charm {HERE}

7.30.2012

Liebster Award

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Cassie & Dorien! I actually posted 11 things and 11 questions about myself awhile back HERE. I didn't realize that what I was doing was really supposed to be The Liebster Award, oops. I am glad that I have been nominated now and I can do it "the right way" this time around!
Liebster Blog Award 650x200

If you haven't heard of the Liebster Award, here is the breakdown:

The Liebster award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

The RULES:
1. Link back to the person who gave you the award
2. Post 11 things about yourself
3. Answer the questions that the tagger sets for you, plus create 11 new questions for the people you've tagged to answer
4. Choose 11 people and link them in your post
5. Go to their page and tell them
6. No tag backs!

hot pink and light pink divider 11 Things About Me:

1. I used to dream of building my own HUGE home but recently I don't have that desire. It's not important to me anymore. I just would love a nice mid-century modern home. Preserve something vintage.

2. I also recently starting having a strong desire to have a baby. Since going Vegan, it's made me want to have a baby that I can raise Vegan. It's such a healthy lifestyle and great for the planet. It's exciting to think about raising a little "mini me".

3. I try to always have my camera with me. (Sometimes I forget it!) I will take 300 pictures just at the park in a single day. I love capturing photos of nature and animals!

4. At one point in time I had 8 pets. 6 cats and 2 dogs! Growing up I always had lots of cats and they are my favorite pet. They are such sweet loving animals.

5. I love listening to "Oldies" music. Songs from the 1950's - 1960's. It is what I call my "happy music". Working in antique stores for many years caused me to hear it all the time. Sooner or later I knew all the words. Most days when I am at home you will hear Buddy Holly playing on my IPOD.

6. I am very scared of Great White Sharks. I am working on my fear by watching Shark Week episodes on Netflix. I am learning more about them to help maybe get over my fear. (It's not working yet.) LOL

7. I don't know how to swim. I want to learn but since my hair is bleached I have to stay out of swimming pools. It's weird because I love the ocean, but I am scared to be in it.

8. I hate cooking,...but love to clean. Cody does most of the cooking. I can cook, I just don't enjoy it. :(

9. I can and sometimes wear kids' clothes because I am so small.

10. I have never gone to college. I go back and forth about whether I want to or not. In about 5 years the Air Force will pay for a complete education for me. But I am 30 and that would make me 36 years old!!! I am happy though with who I am and my life, so I think I am okay with waiting or passing the benefits onto my child someday.

11. I have really bad road rage. It's gotten better, but I can get really mean in the car.

Some of these answers were things I used in my previous post.


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11 Questions for me from Cassie of Cassie Shea

1. What's your earliest memory?
I actually remembering being 3 or 4 years old and riding the Pirates of The Caribbean at Disney World. I remember it being so scarey with the loud canons going off.

2. What's your all time favorite author?
I really don't read, so this is a tuff question for me to answer. I love the Harry Potter books. What a great complex story!

3. If your house suddenly caught on fire and you had five minutes to collect five items, what would you get?
(Not including pets and family, they're all safe!)
My wedding photo album, My honeymoon photo album, My MAC, and a few other boxes I have full of OLD photos. Honestly everything else can be replaced!

4. What are you craving right now?
More coffee. LOL I always want coffee!

5. Who's your current favorite blogger?
Oh, I hate only picking one. I would say Shell from Kitty & Buck. She took the time to email back and forth with me and gave me great advise. It's always "weird" to just randomly email someone. At least it is for me. She was very easy to talk to and kind. :)

6. Do you have an etsy? If not, what would you make if you decided to open one?
I do not have one. I would maybe like to have one someday, I just don't have time. I would sell vintage items and maybe some graphic prints I designed.

7. What do you miss the most about your childhood?
Probably using my imagination. Playing for hours at a time with Barbies, in the woods and with all my toy figurines. I think that's part of the reason I love to collect toys now and be outside!

8. What was your happiest/proudest moment?
This is easy. Last year when Cody graduated his basic training for the Air Force! The first time I saw him after being apart for 8 weeks! I was so happy my face hurt from smiling so big! You can see the graduation HERE.

9. First Movie that comes to mind, go!
Saving Silverman. Gosh, I don't know if that's a good choice! LOL Cody and I just watched it a few nights ago. We think it's one of the dumbest yet funniest movies. We own it on DVD. Jack Black is so funny in it.

10. Do you cry at movies?
YES! That just means it's a good movie. :)

11. Have you ever been on TV?
No. I am totally okay with that. I have no desire to be famous or on TV.


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11 Questions for me from Dorien of Bodacious Thought

1. What is your favorite colour and why (in five words)? Those five words would actually imply what you think of yourself.
PINK: Happy. Calm. Pretty. Loving. Peaceful.

2. What is your favorite animal and why (in five words)? Those five words would actually imply what you would like in a friend.
Whale: Peaceful. Loving. Unique. Amazing. Beautiful.

3. What have you always wanted to do but never did because you don't dare to?
Learn to swim. I am nervous about drowning. I know I will get over this someday and learn. I went under as a child and it's caused a strong fear of water ever since.

4. What was your dream career as a child?
Be a Veterinarian. I mainly never learned to be a Vet because I can't handle seeing blood. My stomach is not strong enough for this career.

5. What's your favorite game?
I love to play Dr. Mario on the vintage Nintendo! I am really good at it and Cody hates playing against me. lol

6. Tell me about the weirdest dream you have (in life).
I wouldn't even know where to begin! My dreams are crazy. I dream about Zombies a lot because I am so scared of them. I just had a horrible dream the other night that Cody turned into one and was trying to kill me! Whenever I am stressed out in my "regular" life I dream about Zombies! I hate it!

7. Where would you like to go on your next vacation if money was no problem?
If money didn't matter, I would go to Antarctica to see icebergs and whales! I found a travel agency that goes to Antarctica, but it's $14,000 a person!!!!

8. What do you like most about blogging?
Being myself and sharing bits of my life. Inspiring others to live a great life!

9. What's your favorite holiday? (Your birthday doesn't count, even though that's mine too)
I would have to say Halloween. I have always enjoyed buying a costume and dressing up!

10. If you would be a contestant at the Olympics, which sport would you be there for?
Cycling. Even though I can't even go up a simple hill in Colorado! LOL I would love to be that in shape! WOW!

11. How do you like to spend your time on a day to day basis?
I spend a lot of time blogging. I kinda wish I didn't, but it is a creativity outlet for me. I think that is why I spend so much time doing it. I love creating things on Photoshop and editing pictures I have taken.

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My 11 Tagged Bloggers
I tried to pick bloggers who had not been awarded yet, some are though!

1. Peggy from Creative Influences
2. Kim from Her Sunday
3. Amanda from Amanda K By The Bay
4. Michelle from On The Adventure
5. Carol from Calypte Collection
6. Margo from Craft Pond
7. Daisy from Boux Who
8. Kelley from A Crooked Trail
9. Katherine from Of Corgis & Cocktails
10. Katie from It's Better 2 Help People Then Garden Gnomes
11. Amber from The Owl's Den


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My 11 Questions For My 11 Tagged Bloggers


1. If you made a "bucket list" what would be one of the top things you'd want to do?
2. What is your favorite movie?
3. Are you a dog person or a cat person, and why?
4. What was your favorite childhood toy?
5. What is your favorite type of music?
6. If you could travel to one place where would it be?
7. What is your favorite thing about your personality?
8. What is a perfect day for you?
9. What is your favorite decorating style?
10. Do you have any collections?
11. If you were a cartoon character, who would you be?

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This is fun to do, but man what a lot of typing!
I hope my 11 tagged bloggers will play along! :)
Just leave me a comment here if you answer the questions and I will make sure to read them!
Feel free to use my graphics for your post if you'd like.

7.29.2012

Enjoying Our Summer

Cody and I spent this weekend just staying local in Wyoming, no trips to Colorado. I am going to miss Summer so much. We took advantage of the bike trail our city has to offer. As much as I don't love where I live, the bike trail is very nice. It basically takes you around the whole city. Makes commuting around on a bike safe and it's just great exercise. I like biking because I get to be outside and I am getting a good workout at the same time. It's a win win situation! Of course when we bike, I have to stop and take pictures....

Biking on the Greenway2
There is a tiny patch of sunflowers growing along the bike trail.
Another thing I love about the trail, is part of it runs behind a lot of stores and businesses.
We started biking at 9am and stopped at Barnes & Nobles to get a cup of coffee.
Biking on the Greenway1
I feel like such a dork on my bike. I am not to worried about "how I look" though while I am biking.
It doesn't matter! :)
Biking on the Greenway3
The sky was beautiful yesterday. I did drink lots of water yesterday, which made things a lot easier.
We purchased a backpack with the built in water. I highly recommend it for biking or hiking.
We got ours at Kmart, it was the best deal and has great pockets for small things and snacks.
Here I am taking a little break to drink some water!
Biking on the Greenway4
These birds were hanging out on our neighbors fence.
I thought the picture was so cute so I had to share it with you.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
This biking adventure was way better then last weekend's! You can read about that HERE.

7.28.2012

Guest Post: Modern Buttercup

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. This weekend we are going to get out away from "technology" and bike in the park!

guestpost go for a hike1

I am guest posting over at Modern Buttercup! So go over to Nat's blog and say HELLO!

7.27.2012

What I Wore #5

We headed down to Ft. Collins Colorado last weekend. We found a great park to stop at to snap some pictures for an outfit post. No one was around. I forced Cody to take pictures of me. I still think I prefer posing alone and using a tripod. I am not as "self-conscious". Still working on that. First photo is one I took in the car of myself....

WIW TITLE 5 650x100WIW5 7.21.12 pic2 The sun was bright.
Outdoor photos are so much prettier then indoor ones.
WIW5 7.21.12 pic3 WIW5 7.21.12 pic4
I was more worried about checking out the beautiful scenery behind me, then posing for pictures. WIW5 7.21.12 pic5
This outfit was a bit different for me because I never wear black anymore.
I love this combo though. I thought it worked well with the necklace.
WIW5 7.21.12 pic6
I am still in that awkward phase of "not knowing how to pose" for the pictures.
I know I will get more comfortable in front of the camera with time.
The main reason I am doing these posts is to build my self confidence. It really is helping me.
WIW5 7.21.12 pic8 WIW5 7.21.12 pic7 OUTFIT DETAILS:
Necklace - Hobby Lobby (made myself) | Tank - JcPenney | Shorts - JcPenney | Belt - came with shorts
Sandals - Old Navy | Nail Polish - Sally Hansen WIW5 7.21.12 pic1 WIW5 7.21.12 coffee
Best accessory: Latte with soy milk - Barnes & Nobles
Tastes just like one from Starbucks. Soy Lattes are my favorite now, try it please.

Have a great weekend! Don't forget to take pictures!

Linking up over on Blonde Episodes for Fashion Fridays!

VIEW WIW POSTS HERE

7.26.2012

Decor Love: Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters seems to always have the coolest home decor items. There is always something new and fun to look at on their website. Here are some of my favorite items currently...

Decor Love urbanoutfitters july2012
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Have you ever purchased anything from Urban Outfitters?
I still haven't! Usually once I go to, the item I want is sold out!
Bad luck I suppose.
I like their stuff because it's unique.

VIEW DECOR LOVE POSTS HERE

7.25.2012

Travel: Santa Barbara, CA

If you have been following me for awhile you know that I lived in California last year and LOVED it. If you new to my blog, welcome, and be prepared to hear about California fairly often. I love California because I think it's gorgeous. Mountains, rolling hills, trees, wild flowers, the ocean and green grass everywhere. It's perfection to me. :)

Last year when I posted pictures of Santa Barbara, I didn't post very good photos. They were tiny. I decided to go back and revisit my photo collection to post some more images that I love.....

Photos taken May 2011
Santa Barbara CA collage 1
We drove by the Betsy Johnson store and I snapped a photo from the car!
I didn't have the heart to drag Cody in there.
I don't think he could of handled all the girly pink stuff.
I knew I couldn't afford anything anyways!
Santa Barbara CA collage 2
One of the cutest pictures of Muffins EVER!
She was so happy in California.
Santa Barbara CA collage 3
See the cute little guys above that lived in the rocks.
I loved them. :)
Santa Barbara CA collage 4
Maybe next time we'll ride one of those!
I am sure it would be fun!
Santa Barbara CA collage 5
Santa Barbara Seagull
Santa Barbara CA collage 7
Dear Palm Trees, I love you.
jessie Santa Barbara CA collage 6
We hope to take a road trip next year and Santa Barbara will be part of that vacation!
I want to take Muffins to the beach again and go Whale Watching!
Oh how I love California. I dream about living there again everyday!
See my original Santa Barbara post HERE.
You can see all my California related posts HERE.

VIEW TRAVEL POSTS HERE

7.24.2012

Mini's Out & About

Okay, call me crazy, strange and/or weird, but I wanted to start a blog series featuring Mini Coopers that I see around when I am out and about. Cody and I love Mini's. Back in the winter our Saturn VUE was having lots of trouble and we spent $2000 on repairs and new tires. We were so frustrated about it at the time. It felt like the end of the world. We almost drove down to Ft. Collins Colorado to the BMW dealership to look at Mini's. I am so glad we didn't, because I know we would of came home with a new car. Yes, new cars are awesome, but car payments are not. We came to our senses and spent the money on all the repairs for the Saturn and still have no car payments. YAY! One day in June when we were shopping in Colorado I saw this mini and I decided that I wanted to start photographing them....

Our favorite Mini so far...MINI pimped out 650x850 Mini Collage 3cars july
MINI on a trailer 650x650
Saw both these on the same day! One on a trailer and one being pulled!

MINI being pulled 650x650
I really like white ones. I think they are pretty.

MINI pretty white 650x650
The coolest one I saw was last weekend at Starbucks and I DIDN'T HAVE MY CAMERA!
It had a checkered roof and side mirrors!
Not very many people seem to get the cool decals that the dealership offers.
My dream Mini would be custom painted orange with a hot pink and orange Union Jack roof!
So what do you think, cute or not?
{Don't worry this won't be a weekly post, maybe monthly if that. lol}

7.23.2012

Our Biking Adventure / Failure

Over the weekend we headed down to Ft. Collins Colorado to go biking on a beautiful paved bike trail. The scenery was gorgeous! This was our second attempt at biking. The first was last weekend on a what I call an "easy" trail, flat and no hills. The one in Ft. Collins on the other hand was one mountain hill after another. The day started out great. We got up early and got to the trail around 7:30am! I wanted to start biking before it got really hot outside.

See how happy we were!
Our Biking1 Trip Ft.Collins 7.22.2012
The day before we scored a bike rack for only $43 at Target!
That was the cheapest we had ever seen one. Now we look like true mountain bikers. LOL
Our Biking2 Trip Ft.Collins 7.22.2012
I like to think of myself as a fairly in shape person.
The altitude causes the air to be thin here and you get so out of breath.
I peddled my little heart out. My bike was having trouble switching gears, which didn't help at all.
Our Biking3 Trip Ft.Collins 7.22.2012
I ended up being a girl and basically giving up.
One hill after another kicked my butt and I just lost all my breath.
I actually through my bike down and started crying. Epic Fail. LOL
I feel stupid about it now, thank goodness Cody "gets" me.
I was so frustrated to feel so out of shape.

Photo I took of Cody while I took a break.
Biking at Ft.Collins
We ended up biking for less then an hour, which made me sad.
I didn't want to push myself though.
I think I was close to passing out due to the lack of oxygen.
I am not giving up!!!.
The trail and I will meet again, and I will win. :)

SPONSOR MY MOD STYLE IN AUGUST

Hello friends!!! I am looking for sponsors for the month of August!
{Only I would put this dorky picture of Cody and I on my blog for a sponsorship post!}
SPONSOR Aug biking
Cody and I finally went biking! I had about six "oh sh*t" moments where I almost wrecked. I am not good at balancing myself on the bike or curves. It was fun though and I think we will be going a lot before the cold weather comes!

Okay, back to sponsoring my blog....

I love swapping ad space with other bloggers or you can pick a size you may be interested in purchasing.
If you swap or purchase a medium ad I will feature your blog in a mid-month "meet my sponsors" post.
View my July post HERE.
Large ads are given the option to host both a giveaway and do your own guest post on my blog!
If you are interested please visit my sponsorship page for full details!
I look forward to working with you!

7.20.2012

Fashion Friday: CONVERSE EYE CANDY

I am basically obsessed with Converse right now. I just LOVE them. I love the colors and the patterns. I also love the fact that they never go out of style. I currently only have a pink pair and a navy pair. I really need to expand my collection. Look at the rainbow of color below! Totally Converse eye candy...

Converse Collage 1
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Emma Watson is so cute! She can wear anything she wants and be adorable.

Converse Collage 2 LINKS
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I dream of having green converse. I think I should just buy them and be done with it. :)

Converse Collage 3 LINKS
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The first image below melts my heart! I hope I have a little one someday so I can take a photo like that.
Baby converse are so adorable!

Converse Collage 4 LINKS
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I also want a pair of black and white ones. Talk about going with EVERYTHING!!!
Did you know that you can design your own pair of Converse?
Yes, it's amazing. Visit the Converse website HERE to get started!
Do you have any pairs of Converse?
I have had my pink ones for about 12 years!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND FRIENDS!!
I am linking up over at Blonde Episodes for Fashion Fridays!
Head over to Kori's blog and join the fun!