Blog Milestone!

When I started this blog, I kept it a secret from my friends and family (my sister and husband know about it, but I haven't let them read it yet!) I really wanted to give myself time to see if I would stick with it and if it would turn into anything.

Over the weekend, I realized I now have 25 followers!

While I know 25 is not a huge number, I REALLY and TRULY appreciate each and every one of you and am so excited to reach this small but important landmark!

I had decided a while ago that when I reached a certain number of followers I was going to do some kind of giveaway. I'm so excited to have hit #25, I don't think there's a better time than now.


In honor of my 25 FABULOUS followers, the winner of this giveaway will be able to choose a $25 gift card to either Target or Starbucks!

To enter:
You must be a follower of Mind of Mister via Google Friend Connect.
Leave a comment below with your name, which gift card you would choose, and some way to get in touch with you.

Extra entries: For every friend you refer that begins following Mind of Mister and mentions your name in their comment, you, the REFERER will receive an extra entry.


This giveaway is open until Monday, December 12th at midnight.

I will announce the winner on or before Wednesday, December 14th.

Again, thank you all so much!

My Weekend-Coat Closet Redo

It's the beginning of another week...I can't believe it!

My weekend was totally low key. I spent it baking cookies, doing laundry and finally cleaning out that pesky coat closet that has been neglected for about 10 months.

It has been a catch-all for chaos, so it felt really good to pull everything out, sort, organize, and then put everything back in it's place. I finally have a spot for my 3 pairs of rain boots I reach for every time it snows (which is a lot at my house) and all my coats look so pretty and happy hanging in their particular place.

All my winter coats hanging prettily in a row. No Before pic - sorry! Trust me, it was bad!


I went through and tried on so much stuff- just to make sure each item was worth keeping. I also consolidated my many hats, scarves, and gloves into a much more manageable system of keeping them in an open box for easy access. I've been on the hunt for a really cute bin with handles to store them in, but haven't found many choices. Wal Mart had cheap ones, but they were WAY too boring and Target had some, but none of the patterns really called out to me. I checked the Container store online and couldn't really find a must have one either. So I'm going to keep checking online and also at Ross or Marshall's to see if I can find something cute to house my favorite winter accessories.

Cardboard box just waiting to be replaced with something pretty.
And, trying to embrace the upcoming winter weather.

I was feeling kind of crafty so I cut out birds out of cute paper and taped them to the inside of the coat closet door. I know, I know, more birds! They are just temporary, but I was so proud of my newly non cluttered space, I wanted to celebrate by jazzing things up, and giving me a reason to smile every time I open the door. I also snuck some snowflakes in there just because they're pretty! I had a ton of craft paper so my shoe closet got some cut out hearts too! Ah the wonders of Dollar Store craft section, a good pair of sharp scissors, and a chick flick you've seen a million times playing in the background. *Bride Wars, in case you were wondering!

Birds

Hearts

Check out My Guest Post!

Hi, everyone. I hope you like the new look of the blog. I was feeling inspired the other night and decided to change things up a little bit. The background is pretty similar to what I had before, just in a different color. And, I have a new header to spruce things up. It's funny that I decided on a bird header because IRL I have a huge bird phobia/aversion, whatever you want to call it. I like them still, silent and under my control. That means I only like them behind my computer screen.

Today I have a guest post over at THE DAPPER BUN about my favorite fall outfit. Head over there and check it out! Below are a few outtakes from that day. More pics @ the DB!

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Random Pics & Fill In the Blanks

1. Waking up at the break of dawn to go shopping is my idea of fun, but I have to be in the right mood for it. I've sat out the last 2 years of Black Friday- so I think by next year I'll be ready for a full on, crazy shopping spree .

2. If I were to go shopping today I would be on the hunt for a portable DVD player that runs on batteries. I know this sounds odd, but I really want one for car trips and when the power goes out at my house in the winter. Anything that can entertain me until PGE gets on it, is a GOOD thing. It keeps me from losing my mind! I also want a Nintendo 3DS pretty badly, but I can't justify buying one since I got the DS XL a few years back.

3. The best thing I ate yesterday was leftover Chinese. I wasn't sure if it would still be good since it was from Sunday, but it tasted delish to me!

4. Something I've been learning lately is life is full of decisions. Some easy, some hard. One decision, good or bad, can alter the whole course of your life. This has been on my mind lately since I seem to be at a crossroads and am feeling very self-reflective.

5. I cannot start my day without visiting the little girls room! That's the first thing on my mind.

6. My nighttime attire consists of warm Pj's in the winter- I like cotton pants and a long sleeved, comfy tee. In the summer- usually very little! A tank or tee with either undies or shorts. That's about all I can stand in the heat.

7. I am looking forward to February when my sister's coming to visit and winter will be almost over!

And now some random pics from the last few weeks...


My niece modeling the new dress I bought her. Isn't she adorable?

A curtsy for good measure

Trying to be serious

Kitty cats!

Us at dinner

My nephew sporting another awesome bow tie. I can't get over how cute this kid is- And very well dressed!

The new HK slippers my mom got me. I LOVE these! It's no secret I am completely obsessed with hello kitty and these are so soft and cozy, they probably will not leave my feet for the next few months!

Even the inside has that sweet face.

This pic makes me laugh so hard. My feet are on the left. Nuff said. :-)

Caramel corn cupcake with salted caramel icing.

My sister in law's salted caramel cupcakes- Seriously, dangerously delicious!

Lemon custard gelato with a cute little cookie

Giraffe earrings. Another gift from my mom. They are my favorite animal, along with elephants. She knows me so well. Thanks, mom!

OOTD- New scarf!

Hi, everyone! I can't believe it's been a week since I posted anything!

I was not planning on taking a week off from blogging, but I guess that's life!

I ended up taking a very impromptu and unexpected one day mini vacay that was AMAZING.

I've planned trips with a week or two to spare, but I don't think I've ever mentioned an idea for a road trip at 10:00 at night and then hit the road 12 hours later.
The spontaneity totally added to the fun.

I'm back now and so excited to share with you the goodies I got from during the Just Add Color Fall Swap hosted by Jessica and Ashlee.

I got paired with Jinny from A Girl In the Real World.

She is such a sweet girl and you can't read her blog without smiling.

My package arrived in the mail and I could not get that thing open fast enough!

Inside was the most GORGEOUS purple scarf that had SPARKLES all over it!
It was perfect for me because

1. I LOVE sparkle and/or bling

2. I LOVE purple
3. I don't have any purple scarves
4. I don't have any scarves with sequins all over
5. I wear a scarf every single day when it's cold outside

In case you can't tell - I really LOVE this!

Another exciting item was ...drum roll please.... my first ESSIE nail polish! I am so excited about this! I have coveted the brand for SO long, but have never had one to call my very own.

None of the drugstores in my small town carry it and every time I go to Target I am already spending way too much money to justify buying a bottle.

I really love this color- Gray is definitely one of my faves and I think it looks so cool on nails. Plus, I love gray and purple together so I can't wait to rock this scarf/ nail combo.

The scarf up close:

Paired with one of my favorite hoodies and a gray beanie. The first of many wearings, I'm sure.
Here it is- the one and only...
My camera was giving me problems, but the name of this beauty is "Power Clutch" and it's the perfect shade of gunmetal gray.


Overall, I got a great partner and a great package! Thank you so much Jinny, Jessica and Ashley, this was SO much fun!!

DIY- Elbow Patches: Bolts, Buttons, & Owls

Well, the crafting/ elbow patches were a huge success!!

My mom & dad are out of town so I am helping out with my niece that my mom is in charge of a few days a week. Yesterday was school, ballet class, and homework, and today she got out of school early so we went to the craft store, ran some errands, and watched half of Alice and Wonderland.

Then we headed over to my brother's house for elbow patch night with my
sister -in- law while my niece and nephew played together. We had a few little projects for them to do too, and I think they had fun. I also got dinner out of the deal - SCORE! and an AMAZING salted caramel cupcake! All the makings of an awesome night to me.

I made 2 bird pins out of pre-cut felt that I hot glued onto a pin back, and ribbon bookmarks with buttons at the top and bottom. Those turned out ok, but the elbow patches stole the show!!!!

My S-I-L FREE HANDED a lightening bolt onto bright yellow felt and we attached those with glue to my coziest striped sweater. (Have you ever tried to draw a lightening bolt that size with no pattern? It's way harder then it looks!) Then she had some owl fabric, so we used a heart cookie cutter to cut the patches, made a mark where my elbow is, and used iron on adhesive to attach to my green hoodie. Tell me this is not the most adorable thing you have ever seen!

Those were my projects. Hers was an embellished cardi with petals and buttons, which looked really cute on, and a button belt inspired by Pinterest. That was fun to make. I didn't do anything, but I had fun watching her hot glue all those buttons to the elastic. It is secured with a ribbon loop onto a bigger button and looked seriously adorable!

We had a ton of fun jazzing up our fall wardrobes!

Check out some pics:

From plain navy cardigan to beautiful statement piece

Shazam! Lightning bolts, baby!

Owls in love!

Button Belt

My first instinct once we did the owls was to iron on owls to everything. I almost ironed one onto my jeans while I was still wearing them! But, I had to remind myself less is more and take a break before I ended up ruining something by over doing. I LOVE the finished product!
Easy, cheap, and one of a kind. And so many possibilities!

Now for Fill In the Blank Friday:

1. A nervous habit I have is laughing weirdly and loudly. I do it anyway, but when I'm nervous or uncomfortable it gets worse.

2. Something that makes me sad is everything. I am way too sensitive. And been very emotional lately.

3. Today I am thankful for laughter.

4. My favorite room in my house is my shoe room. I have an entire room dedicated to my shoes and makeup. Please don't hate me, it just worked out that way when we moved into this house 2 years ago, we had an extra bedroom, and I was able to make it into pretty much a walk in closet/ work out room. (My treadmill is in there too.) I'm not that good at decorating, but I made it very girlie and fun in there.

5. I can't stand entitled/selfish/rude people. If I can smile and be nice, you can too. It's not that hard.

6. If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would taken my niece on a shopping spree. That would have been fun- she would have loved it!

7. The last person I hung out with was my brother, sister in law, niece and nephew having fun with glue, felt, buttons, ribbon, and baked goods!

Randoms

Very random photos from the last few weeks:

Anthropologie's new, pretty packaging

Colorful and tasty Chilean food

Spotted around town- smart girls can be pin ups too!

Bracelet from my sissy

And lovely UK candy- bite sized flakes for those of you familiar with British chocolate

Ahh, back when the weather was still warm and my hair was still braided from when my Sister in law did it.
Before I had to, you know, wash it and brush it :-) Wish I knew how to french braid. I would wear it like this every day

Deer sighting!

Bubbly!
Fall themed baked goods

OOTD- GRAYPE

Now that tights are back in my life, they are back with a vengeance. Love these polka dot ones from Target. I am also currently loving this color combo: purple and gray togrther cannot go wrong. There's just something about it that is so right!

This fun outfit aside, I'm having a pretty crappy week. I'm trying to stay positive and not be a negative Nancy but it's so hard sometimes. Besides not feeling well physically and other troublesome personal issues I am dealing with, I am just feeling down and off.

Not to mention with all the craziness going on I haven't worked out in almost 2 weeks besides 1 walk I took on Monday. If I knew ahead of time I was going to be taking 2 weeks off from exercise I would have just enjoyed it and vowed to resume regular activity as soon as possible. But when I keep trying and things keep getting in the way, it's frustrating.

Plus, daylight savings hasn't helped with my listlessness. I love the extra sleep, but getting dark at 5 is seriously throwing me for a loop this time around. My motivation level is lower than low. Making hot chocolate is about the peak of what I'm inspired to do. Anyone else dealing with the winter time blues? Everything seems to get so...complicated this time of year.

They say positivity begets positivity, but it's hard to stay upbeat when my natural instinct is to venture over to the dark side. I know how much I have to be grateful for, and I do take time out of EVERY day to acknowledge and appreciate those things...It's just hard to write a post pretending like all is well when that's not always the case. The truth is, I've made some pretty big mistakes recently that are definitely affecting me - even days later. I know that no one is perfect and I could not be FURTHER from it, but I find the hardest disappointments to deal with are when you disappoint yourself. Please excuse the melancholy tone, but today- 11/16/11 at 11:08 - this is how I'm feeling. That's the beauty and curse of documenting your life. It can take you back to the wonderful times and also transport you back to the low points. That's the danger of putting it all out there. But, I thank you all for reading.

As Scarlett would say, Tomorrow is another day... until then!