My Sister's Wedding! Part 1

I know I've mentioned this briefly before, but a week ago one of my sister's got married! I took the photographs for the ceremony and reception so I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favorites on here! I took A LOT of photos so I might break down the day into a couple posts.

 She got married in a park with a beautiful garden

 

 The groom eagerly waiting for the ceremony to start!

 Beginning her walk down

 My dad and my sister! She looked so beautiful!

 While she walked down and around the tree, the groom refrained from looking until she was directly in line with the aisle. That way he didn't look right away and I could get his first look! He stared at Jon who was sitting in the front row!

She's gone down the stairs, behind the tree, and rounding the corner.... he's just about to turn and glimpse her for the first time...

More coming soon!

Fill in the blanks Friday

1. My favorite color is: I don't know if I have one favorite color. But right now I'm loving dark purple, teal, pink, dark blue, yellow ok maybe every color!

2. My travel destination of choice is: pretty much anywhere! Especially if there's a beautiful view!

3. My favorite food is: avocado, strawberry-mango
Frozen yogurt, and ceaser salads!

4. My happy place is: somewhere quiet and away from the crowds. Favorite places are on top of a hill/mountain after a hike up, middle of a lake or floating down a river, camping out under the stars away in the middle of no where.

5. My favorite saying is: gosh I can't think of one at the moment.

6. My dirty little secret is: my idea of a relaxing evening is ordering in some probably quite unhealthy dinner, picking up a few ingredients for mixing drinks, renting a couple comedies and hanging out at home with the husband.

7. Something friends might say about me is that I: am all over the place. I change my life, hair, hobbies, interest, place of residence, you name it; quite often. They'd probably say it's hard to keep track of my latest project. Thank goodness for blogs!

Head over to lauren's blog and play along!

July through iPhone pictures

Hey! Remember me? I used to blog on here... We're still without internet at home. I didn't realize it would be so difficult to find a decent option out here. We think we might have found one that might work! So hopefully soon! But may I just say I miss the blogging world! Jon says when he comes home from work he can tell it's been a long quiet day. He always says I look like I lost my best friend. (or a bunch of them) I don't think I'm moping around lol but my days have been quite boring. I've unpacked almost eveything in record time, I've watched many a tv series, and I got all the photos I took for my sister's wedding: edited in record time! Anyways, one of the good things about not having Internet or tv and living out of town, is I spend a lot of time outside and I take a lot more pictures. I thought today, since I'm writing this on my iPhone, I would do a post dedicated to my life in July through the pictures on my phone!



Delicious pie at the cafe at the museum




Cute kitty cuddles




Moving into a new place




It comes with a great view on the lake




I love matching. My nail polished matches my shop packaging.



The only as station near by ran out o gas. I barely made it the 25 km to town. I don't recommend this.



Setting up all the chairs for my sister's wedding.



All did up and ready for it




Their first dance as Mr and Mrs




Enjoying a quiet evening with the husband.



My favorite morning routine. A cup (or two) of coffee on the deck.


I ALWAYS forget what time I put dinner in the oven. I love how the stove in the new place keeps track. I know a timer would too but I also forget to set one. Or assume I'll remember when I put it in!



I've been watching a bit of tv series. My favorite show ever. I own the whole series!





Another favorite morning routine!



So there ya have it. My month in iPhone pictures! What was your month of July like?

Guest Post ~ Christianna

****Hey guys! Today one of my sisters is getting married! We're excited to celebrate her special day! They asked me to photograph the ceremony and reception so right about now I'm probably a nervous wreck! Christianna has offered to guest post today! It's a great topic for today!****

Hello everybody! I'm so excited to be guest posting for Carissa, while she is away from the blog world for a bit! It's her sister's wedding today, so here's to the bride (join me in a virtual toast)! Nothing better then the wedding of someone special in your life! "Marriage, marriage is what brings us together...today". I hope everyone is having too much fun! Anyways I'm Christianna and I write, rant and review over at my blog The Girl With The Blue Bow. (http://thegirlwiththebluebow.blogspot.com/) Feel free to drop by anytime!

So when I was thinking about what I wanted to write up for Carissa's readers (that's you guys), I couldn't help but draw inspiration for her blog title. Kissed A Frog, well, it reminds me of fairy tales! Doesn't it trigger that for you? So with some added inspiration from my own "little" DVD collection, I bring you my top 9 fairytale, live action flicks! Cause who doesn't love some crazy, dramatic, fantastic fairytales? Hope you enjoy!

The Mother Of All Fairytale Flicks!

The Princess Bride!(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/)
No matter how many wonderful fairytale flicks you see, this one stands out as the one that started it all, even if it didn't. The classic tale of Wesley and Buttercup, the farm boy and the middle class, farmers daughter who fall in love. Then Wesley disappears and becomes The Dread Pirate Roberts, and Buttercup is set to marry the evil Prince Humperdinck. What will happen? And who can forget the wonderful supporting cast, a giant, a Spaniard, and some witches! Just to name a few... "As You Wish"!

The Man's Fairytale!

A Knight's Tale! ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/)
Here is a fairytale told from the guys point of view. It's the story of William, a poor guy, who just wants to joust. When his master dies while jousting, he puts on the armor and becomes Ulrich von Lichtenstein. Followed around by his pals Geoffrey Chaucer, Roland, Watt and Kate, chasing after the beautiful Jocelyn, and being rivaled by Count Ademar, William has his hands full! Throw in some amazing classic rock, and a mixing of time areas, and you have this wonderful flick!

The Feel Good Fairytale!

Penelope! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472160/)
No matter what mood I'm in, "Penelope" always cheers me up! It's just so cute! It's the story of a girl who, because of a family curse was born with the nose of a pig. The only way to break the spell is to find someone "of her own kind" aka a rich dude, to fall in love with her. Then she can be pretty for the first time in her life. Her parents throw men at her, and they always run when they see Penelope's nose. Then one day Maxx walks in and doesn't run. Penelope runs away from being locked up by her parents, and makes friends, while hiding her nose under a scarf. And the only problem could be that Maxx might not be who he says he is... oops!

The Musical Fairytale!

Once Upon A Mattress! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426148/)
Ok, who loves musicals? I do, and I couldn't leave Disney outta this post, so I picked this film. It's a ridiculous re-working of the fairytale "The Princess And The Pea". Queen Aggravain has set up a rule that no one in the kingdom can marry until her son, Prince Dauntless does. Well see, The Honorable Sir Harry knocks up Lady Larkin, and goes on a hunt for a bride for Dauntless, so he and Larkin can marry before it's too late. He finds the swamp Princess Winnifred/Fred, and she's not your typical princess. Sparks fly, but will Winnifred be able to pass Aggravain's crazy test? You know you wanna find out!

 

The Fairytale No One Seems To Know About!

Ladyhawke! ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089457/)
I find it odd that no one ever seems to know about this film. If you do then I'm glad I'm not the only one who knows about it, cause it's fantastic! It starts off when the young thief, Philipe escapes from a dungeon, sparking a manhunt by the evil Bishop of Aquila. Philipe meets Captain Navarre and they become something like friends. And as the story unfolds you discover that Navarre is also running from the Bishop, with his true love Lady Isabeau. But the Bishop lusts for her and set Navarre and Isabeau under a spell that makes her into a hawk during the day, and him a wolf during the night. Will Navarre and Isabeau break the spell? And what will become of Philipe? You'll just have to watch this secret gem to find out!

 

The Cult Classic Fairytale!

Labyrinth! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/)
This film has such a huge following, and you can see why. Even though I didn't see this flick until I was around 15, it was still magical! With Jim Henson directing and adding goblin puppets into the mix, it's something very out of the ordinary. It's the story of Sarah, a 15 year old left to babysit her baby brother, who won't stop crying. Sarah has a great imagination, and says a little chant that lets goblins take her baby brother away to the Goblin King, Jareth! The only way she can save her brother and get him back to her house before her parents come home is to complete Jareth's labyrinth in under 13 hours. And of course he doesn't make it easy for her. But on her journey she runs into some rather fantastic puppets, and David Bowie sings a few songs in really tight pants!

 

The Trippy Fairytale!

Willow! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096446/)
This might have to be my personal favorite! I remember watching this for the first time and being amazed. My brother's were tired of me watching "Princess Bride" over and over. So they rented this for me. It's got everything. It's written by George Lucus, its has fairies, little people, witches, princesses, sorceresses and a ton of heart! When evil Queen Bavmorta is on the hunt for little, baby princess Elora Danan to kill her, the baby gets hidden/found by a small apprentice magician named Willow (he played one of the main Ewoks in Star Wars), he knows that she is not his kind. So after his village is attacked, he goes out on a journey, to take her the land of her people. On his way he meets Madmartigan, a few brownies, and the beautiful Sorsha (who's mother happens to be the evil queen). This movie is full of twist and turns, shape shifting, comedy and adventure! What more could you want?

 

The Fairytale We All Know, But Different!

Ever After! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120631/)
If Cinderella were real, then this would have been her story! The twist on this classic fairytale, blends the line between reality and make believe. Danielle's father marries a rich woman with two daughters of her own and then dies of a sudden heart attack. What he didn't know is that his new wife would not care about his beautiful Danielle, and would treat her like a servant. When Danielle meets Prince Henry by accident, she finds him silly and boring, and too full of himself. But when her family falls on hard times, she takes it on herself to pretend to be of noble birth, and starts to fall for the prince. But how long can she keep up this pretense with her stepsisters Marquerite and Jacqueline trying to woo the prince as well? And what happens when you show up to a princes ball after your stepmother and stepsisters lock you in a cellar? And who doesn't love having a great guy friend around like Gustave? It's all the makings of the wonderful story you know, but with some added kick!

 

The Modern Classic Fairytale!

Stardust! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486655/)
This new modern classic is based on the book of the same name by my favorite author Neil Gaiman! When Tristan Thorne promises the beautiful Victoria that he will jump over "the wall" protecting his little farm town and bring her back a fallen star, he has no idea what he's gotten himself into. When he finds the star on the other side of the wall, he discovers Yvaine, a young girl. For that is what she is in this magical land. Throw in princes killing each other off to gain the crown, witches trying to kill Yvaine to eat her heart and become young again and lightning pirates, and you have a wonderful adventure, like you've never seen before!

So I hope that was fun trek down memory lane! Maybe you were reminded of some old favorites, or discovered some films that you want to check out?! Remember, you are never to old to dream, or to believe in fairytales! And with Hollywood jumping on the band wagon, there are sure to be some awesome new movie fairytales coming your way! Have you heard of "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters"? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1428538/) It looks amazing! Well now that I feel like I just did a plug for Hollywood, I will bow out!

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

 

*****Thanks so much Christianna for posting today! It was fun to remember some of these stories and there is a few more added to my "must watch" list!*****

Guest Post by Kristi!

**** Packing, moving, unpacking. Does it ever end? Kristi has also recently experienced the fun of moving. Today she's offered to talk to you guys while I try to remember what box I packed the small dog in.****

 

Hello lovely Kissed a Frog readers! I'm Kirsti, and I blog over at Melbourne on my mind. When Carissa asked for guest bloggers the other day, I immediately put my hand up because I LOVE Carissa's blog, especially Small Snapshots!

Once I'd put my hand up, I started thinking about what I could write about that you guys might actually be interested in. I'm not even remotely crafty, so that was off the list. And it's been ages since I went to the gym, so it would be a bit hypocritical to write about exercise. And given that I'm about to move house too, I've packed all my baking equipment! Anyway, I put my thinking cap on, and finally decided on this:

My favourite place to take photos. It's not exactly cheap (unless you're one of the lucky ones who has a free zoo nearby!), but without fail I seem to get my best photos at the zoo. More specifically, in the reptile house. It may seem a bit weird, but the more I think about it, the more it makes perfect sense. You can get really close to the animals, which means you don't need to cart around a heavy zoom lens and a tripod. You can easily crouch down to take shots from the animal's level, giving your photos a different perspective. And about 90% of the time, they're sitting perfectly still! It's pretty much ideal for getting decent photos with a minimum of work on your part. (Or at least I think it is!!)

If you're not a fan of snakes, there's no need to fret. There are some surprisingly adorable lizards in there, once you look past the whole scales thing! And there are usually amphibians in there too. Plus? I've found that when you're looking through a camera, the snakes aren't really that bad...

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. So here's a nifty little slideshow of some of the reptile house pictures I've taken since I got my DSLR about 18 months ago!

 https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

What's your favourite place to take photos?
Kirsti :)

Love Quiz

When I was at the old place and had internet, I loaded the blogs of the newest followers of my blog so I could read their blogs and post a Follower Love post soon! I came across this one that had this great "Love Quiz"  on Kelly's blog. I typed out a draft to post once I had internet access. I still don't at the new house... triple boo! But I make the most of my opportunities in town and I drag my laptop along so I can schedule a few posts! Ok wow when did I become so long winded! All that to say.... here's a quick "love quiz" about Jon. Sappy... I know.

 

1. What is your husband's name? Jonathan 

 

2. How long have you guys been married? 4 years and 4 months

 

3. How long did you date? 10 months

 

4. How old is he? 24

 

5. Who is taller? he is.

 

6. Who is smarter? haha we both say each other, but truthfully I think we both are but in different ways. 

 

7. Who does laundry? At the last place we lived, he always put them in the machines, and I was the one that folded and put them away. But I think at this house it will be mostly me as the machines are in my bathroom. 

 

8. Who pays the bills? I do. We have a budget binder and each pay check we go through the budget for the month, but I'm usually the one that does the online payments. 

 

9. Who does the grocery shopping? he usually does. Some weeks I got along with. But we end up with entirely different things when I go along. Plus I hate grocery shopping so I try to get done as fast as possible and we miss lots of items. 

 

10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? he does. but we switch sometimes. 

 

11.Who eats more sweets? probably even. 

 

12. Who cleans? mostly me, but I don't work out of the home, so that's the switch off. He does help a lot with cleaning though. 

 

13. Who cooks dinner? Again, at the last place it was mostly him. He loves to cook and is really good at it, so no complaints here. But at this house I think it'll mainly be me. 

 

14. What do you like to do together? hiking, geocaching, window shopping, camping, cooking, video games, watching movies, zumba. 

 

15. What are his hobbies? anything outdoors (see list above), fishing, traveling, reading, collecting coins and such. 

 

16. Who drives? His car is for work and camping/hiking. So we take it when we're doing outdoor things with the dogs. My car is for anything else we do. 

 

17. Who kissed who first? haha we actually don't know. It was late and we had a few to drink so we can't recall for sure. I think it was pretty mutual. 

 

19. What's your favorite physical feature about him? his eyes and his arms. Oh, how they make me swoon. 

 

20. What's a hidden talent that he has? hmm…. he sews. He made a baby quilt a few months ago. He doesn't usually announce that at work though. 

 

21. What's your favorite quality about him? he is so generous and caring. Always willing to help people or do things for someone. 

 

22. Who has more friends? We both don't have a whole lot of friends. I probably have more. But in his defence he grew up in the country and never had a vehicle to hang out with people. Then he moved across the country. It's harder to make friends if you move every couple years. 

 

23. Who does the dishes? I probably do them more often. But he does the worst jobs like cat litter and garbage. I haven't taken a garbage out in close to 3 years. 

 

24. Whose parents do you see more often? Mine. His live on the other side of the country. 

 

25. Who asked who out first? he did. I didn't see it as a date, but apparently it was. 

 

26. Who wears the pants? haha depends who you talk to. Most people say me but we think it's pretty equal. 

 

27. What is your favorite gift he has given you? my camera and different lens! They were surprises. He knew how much I'd love them. I appreciate how much he encourages me to use them more. And looks through a bazillion of "very similar pictures" as he says. 

 

28. Does he have a nickname? babe. Or if we're trying to weird people out I'll use whatever name I can think of from movies… tinkle monkey, booboobear, love muffin, anything that makes my brother gag. 

Sound like fun?? If you decide to answer the Love Quiz about your husband/significant other... let me know!

Guest Post by Mary!

***While I'm trying to find my way out from under all the boxes, a few of my wonderful bloggy friends have offered to stop by and say hi! Show them lots of love! ***

My name is Mary, and I blog at a small loss. While I usually write on a variety of topics, the main focus of my blog is my journey to health and happiness as I attempt to lose 210 pounds. I'm down over 145 pounds so far, which I credit to eating better, eating less, staying active, and blogging.

Like many people, food has always been inexplicably linked to family for me. My summer memories of my father's mother all involve blueberry pies with her perfectly flaky homemade crust; my mother's mother, on the other hand, was a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur who would whip up a batch any time someone popped in to visit. My own mother was a stay-at-home mom who made everything from scratch, from baked goods to spaghetti sauce and everything in between.

Needless to say, the "how" of my getting so big is pretty apparent.

Following the tradition of my grandmothers and mother, I've been honing my cooking skills since I've started to eat better. Trying to satisfy being a foodie *and* losing weight has been an interesting challenge, but certainly a worthwhile one.


One of the most important goals with seeking sustainable weight loss is to develop a healthy relationship with food. I can't imagine a life where I don't get to eat cupcakes ever again - so I make sure that I enjoy treats, except just occasionally, and I balance them out with workouts. And by making healthier versions of your favorite meals and snacks, you can feel the comfort and familiarity of the foods while still staying within the limits of your personal eating plan!

What about you? What's your favorite food from your childhood? What are your favorite lightened-up recipes?

Hi my name is Carissa, but you can call me Jennifer

Do you have any awkward, embarrassing moments that at time to time come to mind and make you cringe or laugh. Almost a year ago I wrote about how I'm not a fan of wrong numbers and I thought I am probably due to share another story. You know those people who seem to move around from blog to blog every so many years. Yeah, that's me. So after this story happened,  I went home and blogged about it. I'll post it just as I wrote it that day, then give a recap of what happened after.

People never seem to get my name right the first time they hear it. I get clorissa, krista, kristy, chrissy, marissa. Which isn't really a huge deal. I usually try to correct them once but just go with it after that.

To give a little background... this story happened almost 2 years ago when I was working at a student centre at a college. On that day, I was working in the sandwich chain area of the building.

The other night at work I met the new guy, who just so happens to know a good friend of mine from Ontario. I can't believe how small the world is.

I said my name when I introduced myself and made a mental note to try hard to remember his name (as I am HORRIBLE at remembering names 5 seconds after I hear them). Later on that shift his wife came in so he introduced me to her; said her name was Jennifer. I thought ok that's an easy enough name to remember.

But sometime after that he called me over to ask me a question by saying "Hey Jennifer can you come here?" I thought it was weird that he thought I had the same name as his wife. But after he called me it a few more times I realize when I met her, he wasn't saying her name was Jennifer, he was introducing me as Jennifer!

By now I've answered to Jennifer several times already, so he has been confirmed that, that's my name. He's a really nice guy and I didn't want to correct him and make him feel awkward on his first day of work, so I sort of just kept answering to Jennifer.

I tried to correct him a few times. But I just couldn't do it! This probably makes me a huge jerk, but anyways. He said he's going to message our mutual friend and tell her he met me. So I quickly sent an email tonight warning her that if he says he met Jennifer... it's actually me!

Jon was scheduled to work with him last night, he said he was going to walk up to this guy and introduce himself as Jennifer's husband. A girl at work said she is going to change my name on the schedule and have everyone call me Jennifer from now on. So guess I better go get my name legally changed now to aid in this embarrassing situation.

Lessons Learned: 1. Correct someone as soon as I realize they have my name wrong
2. Talk about myself in third person.

 

By the next time I worked with this guy he had my name right. I never figured out how he found out it wasn't Jennifer. I actually got to know his wife and became friends! But I'm glad they found out my actual name! You'd think I'd have learned my lesson about not correcting people. But I still just go with whatever interpretation of my name they come up with. Like I'm pretty sure our new landlords think my name is Krista. Not his fault. I repeated my name the first time he got it wrong but he repeated it back the same way as before so I just went with it.

Do you have a knack like me, of being awkward and embarrassing? Do people ever get your name wrong? Do you correct them or just go with it?

 

A Quick "Hi"

We headed back to our old place to pack the last of the stuff up, so I thought I'd steal a moment away to say "hi" and write a quick blog post! We still do not yet have internet out at our new place. Didn't realize it would be that difficult to get it out in the boonies. But apparently it is!

Here's a few pictures from last night. It's been raining every single day for the past three weeks but last night was one of the first non-rainy times. This the view out our living room window/from the deck.

This is from the boat house.

Love it!

We're loving the new place! The animals are loving it there! I miss all my bloggy/twitter friends. Is that lame/sad? I plan to upload a bunch of my favorite blogs on the computer so offline I still have some to read and catch up. I have internet on my iphone so I've read a few on there, tweeted, and answered some emails. But it's not quite the same! I look forward to catching up and commenting on all the posts I've missed! Have you enjoyed the guest posts? I updated Kelly Michelle's last one so hopefully you all can see the picture! There's a bunch more really great guest posts coming up! And hopefully we'll find an internet alternative soon! Probably not a bad thing as I've almost unpacked everything already! Let's not mention the season of Fraser and Gilmore Girls I've almost completed. Alright, done stalling... back to the last of moving/cleaning of old place.

p.s. I know I missed Small Snapshots this week! :( sadness. Also I'll probably have to miss it this week! So lots of time to work on the theme of song lyric!

Guest Post ~ Kelly Michelle!

*****Hey guys! Right about now I'm probably cornered in a room with a bunch of half empty boxes, I bet I'm probably on my 4th cup of coffee for the day, and more than likely distracted by everything. Or maybe I ditched unpacking and I'm kayaking around the lake. Any rate, my friend Kelly Michelle has offered to guest post for me today! Enjoy!*****

 

 

In honor of Carissa moving this week, I thought I would share the mood board of what we are thinking of doing in our bathroom, since we have lived there for about 10 months and have done little more in the bathroom than hang up a shower curtain and change the shower head.

So here it is everyone, my first EVER mood board! I am pretty proud of it and I can't wait to start updating the bathroom to make it look like this.

 

 

 

1. Paint color inspiration via Pinterest -- Robin's Egg blue seems to brighten up this small space and that is definitely what we have, a very small space.

 

2. White framed pictures -- The frame is via Ikea, though I think the closest one to us is in Canada. :( This image was the inspiration for the whole bathroom design. I don't know where we found it but we plan on printing and framing it, along with a couple other similar ones, for wall art. They are so bright and cheery and clean feeling, they would fit perfect in a bright room and would make you want to just be clean.

 

3. White framed mirror image via Pinterest -- I love how it would match the white window frames and door and would pop from the wall. The mirror we have now is more of a rectangle, not framed and old looking but I think framing it would be pretty easy and cheap. I hope?

 

4. Orange curtain-- this was an image taken from decor4all.com and Photoshopped by me to make it look more like the color of curtains I would want in our bathroom. These would be prefect for the window because we have blinds that would be behind them [for privacy of course] or for the shower curtain. Hope I can find good fabric to make some.

 

5. Lighting fixture via Home Depot -- since we rent this apartment and it is highly unlikely that we will see any reimbursing for this update, we need to be thrifty with our money so these seemed simple and inexpensive lights for over the mirror. The one we have now is weird and old so anything would be an improvement.

 

6. Towel hooks via Home Depot -- Since I know this is where we will be going for most of our bathroom update needs [meaning we live in a small town and it is one of our only choices] I thought this hook rack would go nicely, providing a clean line to hang the frames above and tie in the white.

 

7. Tall vase via Apartmenttherapy.com -- I think they got the pic from Target some time ago but I don't see it on their website anymore. It is a cool idea about stacking up about 4 rolls of toilet paper in this clear vase as simple easy storage. Follow the link for pics, I like the idea.

 

8. This orange vase is something I have had on hand for a while, well it has been in a box with newspaper for a while. I have been aching to utilize my various color vases and this seems like the perfect time for the orange one! I might have a light blue one too, or maybe I just wanted to buy it and my lovely non-vase-loving fiance said no. Ha, like that would happen. I probably do have at least one.

 

9. Yellow towels via World Market -- I love this sweet color and you can only have so much orange before you go crazy so I thought bringing in some cheery yellow would be nice too. These towels look so soft, makes me want to take a bubble bath.

 

10. Candle ball via Crate and Barrel -- I love the idea of candles that look like oranges or candles made out of oranges but either way, my goal is to have the bathroom always smell like oranges. Yea, I doubt that is going to happen but hey, a girl has to try. I think I will have to buy some dog-safe citrus spray. We had some when we had a cat so she wouldn't try to eat the sugar gliders and she hated it but it did smell amazing.

 

Well guys, what do you think? Too bright for your taste or not neutral enough for a bathroom? I think it seems achievable, I just hope it turns out the way it looks in my mind. I'll post before pictures over at my blog When the Time is Right when I start making some changes. For now, it is just an eyesore and I don't want your poor little eyes to be sore for too long.

 

 

****Thanks Kelly Michelle! I love seeing how others would decorate their place!*****

Shop Love - Livy Love

Today's shop owner is Diana from Livy Love!!  She has cute colored prints that you can hang on your wall!

Why did you decide to open a shop? I opened my shop because I loved creating art and drawing.  I figured I could only make so much for myself (my walls have quite a bit hung already) so I thought why not try selling it too!

How did you come with your shop name? My shop name is Livy Love- meaning Olivia my daughter which Livy is her nickname.  

Your favorite thing to make in your shop? I love custom orders but I also love make bright colored prints with fun wording.  Anything that is sentimental to someone makes me really happy!

Any advice for people thinking of opening one? If you are wanting to open a shop, you must be responsible.  Not everyone can be a shop owner...you gotta stay on top of things especially if you have a popular product.  Nothing worse than buying from someone who never checks their email and takes forever to send their product out. Also, get involved in Social media (facebook, blogging, twitter) This will make a worlds difference in promoting your shop!

Here's a few items from her shop! All images are off her site, click on them to go directly to her shop! And her prints can be customized to different colors if you like! Aren't they cute!




Thanks so much Diana for being featured in Shop Love this week! Guys! She has a bunch more prints so head over and check them out!

Guest Post: DIY Magnet Project

*****Today Jen is here with a diy tutorial!! These are SO adorable and I'm super excited to see how she made them!*****  Hi, I am Jen from The Cozy Project. I LOVE being creative... and throughout my life have had various outlets... painting, sewing, tailoring, drawing, mix tapes (those count, right?). My current adventure involves crocheted cup cozies. My Etsy shop has been open for about four months and I have been using Twitter to promote it and to stay in touch with other crafty types. When Carissa asked for guest posters I was super excited to share my little DIY magnet project. Recently I had been looking for cute and fun little items to include in my packages when I shipped orders from my shop. As I was rifling through my craft box one day I came upon a package of magnets and had an itty bitty "A-ha!" moment. I decided it would be super fun to make little magnets with my hand drawn cozied coffee cups on them. So I went about making it happen. These are easy to make and could be tweaked in all sorts of ways. I hope you can use them to make something that will be exciting and fun for you! Here is what you will need: -thin sheets of cardboard -card stock or other thick paper -good ink pen or thin point permanent marker -colored pencils -scissors (not pictured) -Spray adhesive -Mod Podge and sponge applicator -magnets (any kind will work, but preferably not rolled strip) -serious craft glue Let's get started. First using your pen or sharpee, draw whatever you would like for the image of your magnet onto the card stock. I drew a few different images and then photocopied them onto my card stock because I knew I wanted to make a lot. You could also substitute magazine clippings or construction paper cut outs for this step if you wanted. Once I had the card stock sheet of drawings, I colored them with colored pencils in various different colors and cut them out into individual pieces. Next I sprayed the thin pieces of cardboard with spray adhesive... following the instructions on the can. Once it had set for about a minute I laid out my cardstock pieces with enough space to allow for a cardboard border on each magnet. After I had pressed the card stock pieces into place on the cardboard, I cut out each magnet piece leaving the space around the edges for a border. Then using Mod Podge, I brushed over each piece to further seal the cardboard and the card stock. Then I left them to dry about an hour. Once dried I used my glue to attach a magnet to the back of each piece.... and Ta-da!! I had lovely little magnets to include with my cozies. Not only where they cute, but they also had my website on them to remind people where they could find me again. Hope you enjoy!   ***Thank-you so much Jen for showing us how to make those adorable magnets! I'm definitely going to give it a try! Check out Jen at her shop the cozy project and her blog  thecozyprojectblog.blogspot.com. You can also "like" her facebook page

 

We're Moving!

 

[vimeo 26249753 w=400 h=300]

We're Moving! from Carissa Z on Vimeo.

So we got the keys and started moving in. We'd love to be sleeping there tonight but a last minute trip came up for my mom and brother so we're pet sitting till they get back. So hopefully we'll be in there by Tuesday or Wednesday night!

Apparently our new place is out in the sticks. Ok I suppose SOME people might call it that. We're having a heck of a time finding a company that services high speed internet out there. Did you know that dial-up still exists!?! Yeah, no thank-you! Hopefully we get internet out there this week! But until then enjoy a few of my blogger friends who have offered to guest post. Plus I have a couple posts scheduled! And might pop in from time to time using my phone.

A Whole Lot Of Randomness

Usually I like to have some sort of organized plan or theme to my posts. But while looking for a picture on my computer I came across some random ones and thought why not?! While I usually try not to post a lot of pet pictures on here out of fear of being the only one interested in them, today I thought I'd upload a couple   some.

 

The cuddliest cat I have ever had/seen. When he's not napping on our bed, he's napping on our laps. 

Or on his best friend. These too love each other A LOT! (excuse the packing mess)

Least photogenic person. ever.

 

Someone's not a fan of moving. Or maybe he's trying to make sure he comes along.

Seriously, every chance they get.

And to end the  post in total randomness... this is a huge moth Jon brought home from work the other day (no he doesn't work in a moth garden or anything!). The container it's in is a regular sandwich container. That's how big that guy is! Gross!