Top Posts of 2014

Happy New Year!!! Well, almost New Year :) I'm just barely squeaking this post in of my top posts of 2014.  It's alright though, it's still 2014 until the clock strikes midnight! Until the fat lady sings! Until I fall asleep at 11PM because midnight is sounding verrrrry late to me right now...hah! I always have fun looking back at which posts have been the most popular on my blog for the past year. Surprise surprise...for the second year in a row all of these posts are jewelry related.  I guess I know what kind of projects you guys like!! Two jewelry round-ups were also very popular this year so I added them into the mix as well.  Without further ado....
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
There you have it! My top posts for the year.  I hope you have enjoyed reading over the past year and will stick around for another one! I've slowed down blogging a bit, I can't promise a new project to post every monday every week but I still do like blogging and I'm not going anywhere.  I've just got a relaxed attidue toward it.  I'll craft when I craft and blog about it after the sun comes up again to take nice pictures haha :) My top posts of years past are listed below as well if you are interested. I wish you the very happiest of happy new years!!
 

Your Whims Wednesday #195 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here were some of my favorites from last week!

Spiced Maple Mini Cheesecakes by Pink Heels Pink Truck
These Spiced Maple Mini Cheesecakes feature a gingerbread cookie crust and a ginger cookie, pecan and maple syrup crumble on top. Super yummy!!
 
DIY Scrabble Tile Coasters by Simply Darrling
DIY Scrabble Tile Coasters
 
Sweet Potato Hash Brown Breakfast Bake by Loaves and Dishes
Sweet Potato Hashbrown Breakfast Bake @loavesanddishes.net
 
Crown Molding Shoe Rack by Genia Be Me
DIY Shoe Rack
 
Margherita Pizza by A Simple Pantry 
This Margherita Pizza with Salami is the real deal of delicious; a must eat tonight!
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


How to Make a Multi-Strand Bracelet with Elements of Antiquity

I've "met" a lot of people through blogging.  I "virtually" know so many people! I have really only met very few of them in real life though.  One such blogger that I HAVE been lucky enough to met in real life is Suzette Bentley of Ellie's Bijoux. We were members of the Cousin Creative Circle for a little over a year together and got to meet on our trip down to Cousin headquarters. I have so much admiration for Suzette: she is SUPER friendly and nice and makes BEAUTIFUL jewelry. She is so talented! She has made jewelry making her way of life and recently launched a new business selling jewelry components called Elements of Antiquity.

Elements of Antiquity is an online shop that sells aged pewter jewelry components that are 100% made in the USA, lead free and nickel free. Suzette sent a couple pieces my way to play with and I chose to make a multi-strand bracelet with the aged pewter beehive bead caps!

Bead caps are a pretty staple jewelry making component but I have always had a terrible time trying to find ones I like either in local bead shops or online. So I was glad to have the opportunity to use these caps with a simple but elegant bracelet design.  Here's how I made it!

I first laid out a pattern of beads I wanted to use. I chose a grey mix of various size stone round beads, faceted Czech glass beads and faux pearls. Other supplies needed are crimp beads, a clasp, beading wire and some beading pliers.

 I cut four strands of beading wire using wire cutters and strung on each type of bead.  I recommend using scotch tape to secure one end of the beading wire while you are stringing, this will make the strands easier to work with later on.

After all my beads were strung I gathered the open ends together and strung on a bead cap.

 Next string on a crimp bead and one end of a toggle clasp

 Wrap the wire ends around and back through the crimp bead and use needle nose pliers to crimp the crimp bead flat to secure the clasp.  Use wire cutters to trim off any extra wire tails.

 Next arrange your lengths of beads to the size of your wrist and after you have a proper length string the other bead cap on the other end of the wires and repeat the crimping process again for the other side of the toggle clasp.

After all the wires have been crimped in place you are left with a pretty silver beaded bracelet!

Bead caps are used to make the ends of multi-strand bracelets look cleaner. I think they make the finished product look very professional (and stylish!)

Elements of Antiquity offers lots of beading finding components but they also stock various kinds of charms and pendants. There are plenty of pieces to inspire your next jewelry creation so if you have a minute hop over to take a look!

Your Whims Wednesday #194 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday
 
There were a lot of DELICOUS looking cocktails linked up to last week's party so that is what I am featuring this week!

Raspberry Mojitos by Hairspray and High Heels
For a fun twist on an old favorite, give this raspberry mojito recipe a try! Delicious!
 
Cranberry Martinis by Sugar Love Chic
cranberry martnini 027
 
Champagne Smash by House of Hipsters on This Silly Girl's Life
Champagne Smash, a bubbly Champagne cocktail with hints of mint and lemon, cheers!
 
Champagne Punch by Tabler Party of Two
Holiday Champagne Punch
 
Mulled Sangaria by Pink Recipe Box
Mulled Sangria Christmas Recipe | www.pinkrecipebox.com
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


70 Pounds Down - Weight Loss Update

Alrighty I'm officially 11 months into this weight loss gig - 1 MONTH AWAY from a full year of being committed and after hitting (and maintaining finally) 70 pounds down I'm pretty pleased with my progress! The only thing that has gotten bigger between these two pics is my hair bun. Hah!


I'm noticing more and more changes in my body as each month passes.  I have collar bones now! My arms are no longer trunks from my hand to my shoulder, I have WRISTS and even the little bit of beginnings of biceps :)

The change in my face is still one of the most noticeable I think, as can be witnessed between these two before and after sweaty selfies :) How did I not notice earlier that I was getting the beginnings of a double chin???

The biggest hurdle for me in this past month was getting through Thanksgiving.  I'm still sticking to the plan of eating very healthy and tracking my calories throughout the work week and allowing myself to cheat some and not count calories on the weekend.  During Thanksgiving week my order just got all out of wack: we always have a pre-Thanksgiving meal with friends the day before Thanksgiving (where we dress up as pilgrims and Indians!!) so I had that on Wednesday, Thanksgiving with my family Thursday, drinks/appetizers with friends on Friday, something that Saturday as well and then Thanksgiving with my in-laws on Sunday.  Five full days full of cheat meals!!! I had gotten down to 70 pounds lost right before Thanksgiving but that all went out the window after 5 days of treats!  At least I looked way better in my Indian costume this year than I did last year!!!

The most important thing for me though is that even though I slipped up for a bit, I still kept pushing.  I'm on a diet but it does not 100% rule my life.  I wanted to eat, drink and be merry when I had extra time away from work and got to enjoy the company of friends and family celebrating the holiday. My eating was off track for a bit but I still exercised every day but Thanksgiving and come Monday I was back on track like always. Obviously it worked because I'm still down 5 pounds from where I was last month!

I have to comment again that I'm actually truly enjoying my workouts lately.  Deep down would I rather be sitting on the couch watching TV rather than busting my butt on the treadmill? Yeah, I suppose, but I don't really think like that any more. I like seeing my results every month and I know that exercising consistently is a big part of that.  The picture above was from a rainy Saturday this month when it was just kind of dreary outside and I didn't really have much planned for the day so I hit the gym and ended up staying for over two hours.  Whoops?

I burned over 1100 calories!!! That's not something I do every weekend but I was really enjoying myself so I stayed and sweated it out and acquired some pretty epic boob sweat by the end.  Sigh. Boob sweat strikes again.

Now that it's winter time my workout schedule looks something like this: Mondays I go to an hour Zumba class at the gym and lately have been getting there a little early to do an easy 20 minutes on the elliptical while reading beforehand.  Tuesdays I run on the treadmill at home. Wednesdays I do T25 doubles at home. Thursdays I go the the gym and do a mix of the elliptical, treadmill and weights. Friday mornings I do T25 before work, one or two depending on how quickly I roll out of bed at 5:15 AM ;) Either Saturday or Sunday I go for a long run outside and go to the gym on the other day.  

I've stuck with 6 mile runs for my "long run" this month, the two times I did 7 last month were really challenging!!! Also it keeps getting colder and colder around here which is making it harder and harder to go outside each weekend.  We'll see how far into winter I can keep it up!!

I'm still trying new healthy recipes each week.  I really need to do a round-up post of some favorites but until then I have most of my recipes pinned to my healthy eating board on pinterest!

I learned this month that I've been living a lonely and unfulfilled life without sweet potatoes in it.  SERIOUSLY.  Why haven't I eaten sweet potatoes in any form besides fries up into this point? WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME WHAT I WAS MISSING???? I made this sweet potato, brussel sprout, chicken sausage and Gorgonzola cheese dinner this week and just about died and went to heaven.  If you have any healthy dinner recipes that include sweet potatoes, please share with me, I'm a little obsessed at the moment. I may have fallen asleep after drinking two lemon drop martinis on Saturday night (apparently I'm getting to be a little bit of a light weight after losing 70 pounds) while searching pinterest for more sweet potato recipes only to be suddenly awoken from my drunken slumber muttering "sweeeeet potatoesssss". I am not even making this up.

 I also made this Gorganzola herb baked chicken this month with a side of roasted green beans and regular white potatoes which was really yummy!!!

So, I have one more month to go to reach my one year "fitness anniversary." I've set some firm new ultimate goals for myself, but I think I'll save that to talk about next month.  For the short term, I would really just like to see another 5 pound loss by next month to put me at a  solid 75 pounds down in my first year.  I did it this month so hopefully I can do it again! Just keep all those Christmas cookies away from me, mmh kay???

Your Whims Wednesday #193 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday
 
Here are some of my favorites from last week:
 
Hanging Evergreen Bough Basket by It's Always Ruetten
 
Crepe Paper Christmas Tree by Summer Scraps
Crepe Paper Christmas Tree Crepe Paper Christmas Tree
Nursery Reveal by Simply Salvage
Grey Orange Neutral Nursery
 
Christmas Chalkboard Printable by The Vintage Sheet Blog
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)