bracelets for a cause

besides my family i have two things that i love and make me happy: friends and crafts. 

the craft that i have recently picked up are chan luu type bracelets. i really enjoy making these (just making them is somewhat therapeutic) but i realized there is no way i can wear them all :)

since i had no interest in actually selling them for a profit, i decided that instead it would be really great if i could make them but have them benefit a charity or a cause.

i have two friends near and dear to my heart that have lost someone very close to them and i decided that i would sell these bracelets and have 100% of the profits go towards the charity in the name of the person that they had lost.

charities/causes:

one of my best friends from college julianne gage lost her sister, jessica gage a few years ago to brain cancer. when you purchase a bracelet in honor of jessica your donations will go towards the national brain tumor society.  

on october 9th, two people very close to josh and i, ashley and sean dugan lost their baby boy, royce haskell dugan just two weeks before he was due to come into this world. when you purchase a bracelet in honor of royce haskell dugan your donations will go towards MEND (mommies enduring neonatal death)

below are some examples of the bracelets i have already made (to give you an example of what they look like). bracelets with gold, silver, or pearl beads: $60 and bracelets with all other colors are $50. you can either choose to order one from the examples below or you can customize a bracelet to be any bead and leather rope color of your choice. for orders please email BraceletsFAC@gmail.com

for more information visit Bracelets For A Cause on Facebook.

silver bracelet: $60

pearl bracelet: $60

mutli-color bracelet: $50

gold bracelet: $60

leather cord color options

home improvement

so as you know josh and i recently moved in to a new home back in august. since we're still in the process of selling our other house, buying new furniture and decorating has been on hold until we sell the other house...but it doesn't mean i can't daydream and get inspiration for how i want to decorate the house for when we do :)

the good part of having to wait to buy furniture (we're going to replace almost everything we have) is that i have time to find exactly what we want instead of feeling rushed to buy something and it be a compromise compared to what i had envisioned in my head. with that being said below is my living room "board" as far as the colors and furniture that i have on wish list for the living room.

one exciting thing is happening in terms of decor that josh broke down and let me get is the media console! i had originally planned on buying an antique dresser off of craigs list or oodle and then refinished it to be that seafoam color above. after weeks and weeks of searching for the perfect piece i stumbled upon a beautiful dresser AND the owner already recently refinished it in the EXACT color i was wanting...and the best part is that it was cheaper than what it would have been to buy one and refinish it myself (not to mention all of the time in actually refinishing it!)

we pick it up on sunday and i am SO excited :) :) :)

(if you look at the drawer on the top - thats what the finish is going to look like when its done)

besides decorating - the other "to-do" on our list is our kitchen...nothing needs remodeling but when we bought the house - it came with white appliances and it doesn't really go with the finish and countertops in the kitchen so appliance by appliance we are replacing them. but luckily! (kinda) our dishwasher broke - which meant buying a new dishwasher! (now we only have the microwave and stove/oven left) - and to save $150 on the installation fee i decided to take on the dishwasher installation myself! it took me about three hours but i got it done :) (FYI youtube is awesome for installing instructions)

(we are 95% there - just need to re-add the modeling to hide the insulation)

not gonna lie its a pretty satisfying feeling knowing you installed something 

(especially the money saving part too!)

happy friday :)

a few of my favorite things

today i felt like sharing a few items that i have purchased over the past year or so that i realized has made my life either easier, more comfortable, or organized.

ralph lauren newbury wristlet
$58

i was so tired of either carrying around a purse or misplacing my id/credit cards because i was always putting my cards and phone in my back pocket (when i didn't want to carry a purse).

after searching and searching for a wrislet that wasn't too big or only had enough room for my cards - i found this amazing wrislet at zappos.com...its perfect bc its juts big enough to hold your phone (iphone or smaller) and a few cards - i can even put my car key in there. additional plus is that its saffiano (like) leather, which means it doesnt scratch easily or discolor and holds up to wear and tear unlike canvas or traditional leather

coffee mug tree

$14

seriously i use this everyday - i know its silly to think that having your coffee mugs on a tree rather than in your cabinet - but if you drink coffee as much as the hubs and i do it makes life so much better (and prettier if you have cute mugs) when you're half awake in the morning trying to make some coffee

(they have these and bed bath and beyond)

dog bowl water mat

$10-$15

i know this seems pretty simple but josh and i actually didn't acquire one until we moved into our new house. seriously - how did we go so long without one (and having two dogs) i'll never know. its great because it contains (most) of your dogs lapped-out water/slobber. just seeing all of that stuff on the mat and not on our hardwood floors makes me happy. (ps. they come in colors other than pink - only image i could find)

pretty plum sugar robe

$65

i know most of your probably have robes - and before this one i had about four. now i don't even use the other ones. why? well being tall most of the short robes don't exactly cover my bee-hind and if they are long enough they are too thick and in the summer that just won't do. this robe is great because its knee length and the pattern options are super pretty, and the material is light - i feel girly just putting it on :)

tory burch robinson work tote

$550

ok - so out of all of these this is definitely the most expensive by far. before this bag i have never owned a designer bag and don't plan on making a habit out of it. but after breaking the handle off of four $50 bags from target from wear and tear at work and traveling i had had enough and finally was willing to dish out the money for quality. so far - i definitely paid for what i got. when i travel i carry about 10-15 lbs worth of stuff in this sucker and it has shown absolutely no signs of wear and tear whatsoever. and the best part is that its true saffiano leather which means it won't scuff or stain (which is great because i have already spilt about three things on it and it cleans right up). net-net: if you need a work bag that will take a beating - this is your bag

victoria secret's "pink" v-neck t-shirt

2/$26

i know what you're thinking - "a t-shirt is a t-shirt" and yes i would have agreed with you before i came across these bad boys. i had about four different brands of your standard v-neck t-shirt (what can i say i love me a great pair of t-shirt and jeans) and then i saw these at vs one day and decided to give them a try. these are seriously the best t-shirt out there - it's super soft (think vintage tee) - fits great and to top it off they have them in about every color under then sun. all i am saying is that if i could wear these every day of the week i would be a happy girl.

water carafe

$5-$15

yea, i know - it's just a water carafe. but if you drink water or tea like josh and i do - this is absolutely amazing. we have two - one for water and one for tea. i got this because josh and i were constantly pulling out our ginormous tea pitcher (full weighs in at about 5 lbs) but then got tired of it so we started using this (especially for dinner). its great because its convenient and its super cute (and cheap).

magnet wall calendar

$20

this is probably one of the most used items in our house. as josh says when i tell him about my travel and events in our life "put in on the calendar" - this is better than your standard calendar bc its MAGNETIZED which means that it goes right on your fridge which is something you go to multiple times a day. and the other thing is that its dry-erase which means you don't have to buy one every year

last but not least!

calphalon panini grill

$40

panini-schmanini: i have never used this "panini" grill for paninis. BUT what i do use it for is inside, stove-top grilling. i use this most awesome pan for everything from grilling salmon, to aspargus, and of course chicken. it's great because it does a great job without burning (or scorching) your food and the best part is that its non-stick and there is hardly any clean-up. but please for the love of god - DO NOT dishwash this..ok? :)