Hobbies Upon Hobbies: Drawing Part 1

Christmas break gives me time to sit back and relax. And search blog after blog. Instagram post after Instagram post. Etsy shop after Etsy shop. Pinterest board af… What then happens is I come up with a list of 27 {million} things I should do. "100 sit ups, 75 crunches, and drink 60 oz of water every day for a slimmer figure, coupled with a lime juice/honey cleanse!" Pinterest makes dieting look so easy. Mainly I have had an itching to draw/paint lately. Have you seen the beautiful watercolor prints people sell on Etsy?? I'm swooning over here. And now I wish I was artistic. I am a good mimicker, but when it comes to drawing up a little sketch I have 0 spacial reasoning (3 inch left margin, 1 inch right margin, large nose, & disproportionate arms on tee tiny body, etc). But alas at 2 am this morn' Trevor was fast asleep on the phone and I sat up from bed, went into my old closet and dug out a sketch pad and "learn to draw" book I got for Christmas circa 2006 (Thanks Grandma!!) I love love love all of the whimsical art with laurels, wreaths, and loose cursive. So I drew this up:

draw it NOW (how can you resist with a title like that?)

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also"
much needed eraser marks=highly visible.

in color

 I could use some work, but my semi-circles are pretty round, thanks to my 5th grade teacher who taught me this trick--just lock your elbow in a 90 degree angle and freeze it as you guide the writing utensil. It works about 87% of the time. Try it!

See what I mean about the spatial reasoning? (not sure if that's the correct term). I have a squished up "is there will" and a space hog "Treasure", but that word deserves the space… after all "Treasure" is Trevor's nickname. This was one of my favorite scrips before I met him too. Sooo, my heart and Treasure are both in the same place….Provo, UT, Get it? ;) {insert heart-eyed emoji here!}

Also found this true fortune while scarfing down my Chinese food tonight, after a 75 minute wait. 

I drew. I enjoyed it. I'm happy.  

Christmas Gifts To Be Had.

The last two years I haven't made a Christmas wish list. Mainly because I couldn't think of anything that I really wanted. This year I didn't make one for the intention of giving it to someone, but here are the things that would have been on that list. {warning:mostly full-priced items below} ;) 

LL Bean Pima Cotton Flannel Nightshirt in navy. It's monogrammable too! I would get the "insignia" design with all 3 initials.

50 mm f/1.8 camera lens for my Canon. Mainly because my favorite blogger uses this lens so… haha

Umm hello perfect wedding shoes. I have been dreaming of you. My wedding color is gold. Gold sparkles. Gold metallic. Gold, gold, gold. With blush pink as an accent. Not Pepto pink. Not salmon pink. Not baby pink. Blush pink, and these shoes are spot on. Alas, there is no size 7.5 left. Trevor would want me to have these to show off my toes instead.

Clubmaster Ray Bans. Don't you love the name? My best friend has these. I didn't like them at first, but they've since grown on me.

Nordy's sparkly track pant. They're just like these. 

Madewell Transport Tote in black, with (again) my monogram in gold letters. Wouldn't this be such a timeless bag?

Iphone tripod. Everyday I think of how much I need one of these.

Restoration Hardware slippers in silver sage. Too bad they are only $19 which means there are no size small left online!

I'll take one of these in "Luxor" or "Causeway Grey", please. Or even just a Land Rover for now ;)

Target on Trend

At 10am I woke up only to realize I still hadn't found my calculator for my final at 12:30. I was hoping and praying Target would have a simple four-function one for cheap. I had no luck. But the alluring "dollar spot" near the exit caught my eye (as it always does) as I was leaving. I almost missed the bus because I wanted to check out all the new Christmas goods.

So much so that after my finals I went back to Target to see if I could find little gifts to say "thanks for all ya do!" to my hardworking SRA officers. I found some. And a myriad of other knick knacks that I just couldn't pass up. What can I say? Target is right.on.trend. Here are my finds:

I was on a hunt to find these little journals. I love the geometric shapes mixed with gold. I bought the last 7 and dug through about 16 bins. 

The set of gold ribbons is only 4 yards total, but I don't care. It's perfect. The baker's twine was just to replenish my used up stock. I wrap pretty much everything in brown kraft paper with a little of this. I think it looks so simple and fun. This will probably be what presents under my tree look like one day! ha.

These blank note cards are great! Seriously $1 for 8? I swear I spend $6 on a Hallmark card with the tiniest embellishment. My favorites are in the middle with the reindeer. It reminds me of this World Market gift bag (along with their other forest-y gift wraps. I am so in love with the woodsy holiday prints this year! 

My Favorite Cyber Monday Deals

I. love.Black.Friday...but I also love Cyber Monday because it's an egalitarian way to shop (am I using that word right?). If you think about it, Black Friday is really only for those who have the time on their hands to wake up early and stay out late to get the best deals and steals. Cyber Monday lets anyone shop in their pajamas from their home at any hour of the day. In all honesty, I like to do both. Here are my tops finds this year: 

AE Faux Fur Vest for $45 & free ship with code 94C486V1

L'amour Nanette Lepore Legging JCPenney leggings for $9.59 w/ code CYBERDLS. I LOVE these because they are a Ponte knit and extra thick so your skin doesn't show through. They are juniors so I got a medium (I'm 5'6 and 130lbs) and they fit perfect. There is also a little extra room in the booty because of the way they are sewn.

I wanted these Nordstrom Chica Mimi pants two days ago, but they were still $42. Now they are $25.20! And it's always free ship at Nordy's. Plus double points on your Fashion Rewards card (you need one). If you're afraid of credit cards just get the debit. It comes right out of your checking account and you still get $100 in free alterations every year, plus $20 bucks back if you spend $100 on your first purchase. Also I saw similar pants at anthro for $78 (yikes). 

Jcrew Factory Pencil Skirt for $35 and free ship with code GOSHOP. I got a similar yellow one the other day at the outlets and can only think of a million things to wear it with.

Butter London Polishes  at Ulta. 2 for $18, no code necessary but free ship on orders over $25 w/ JINGLE13. I love 'Tea With Queen' and 'Trout Pout' ( I haven't bought these, but I may suggest it for a stocking stuffer ;)

Landsend Velvet Dolman Sleeve Top for $5.60 (YES, Five bucks!) w/ code WONDERLAND and pin 3050. My future SIL-to-be and Iwere just talking about how  much we love velvet so we both got one. Reviews say it runs big, I got XS and usually wear S. I want to wear it with a gold pencil skirt, untucked.

Chi for $79.95, but $10 off with code 105706 and free ship at Ulta.com (this is the cheapest I've ever seen the Chi)!

Men's Nylon Jacket at Gap for $33.59 with code CYBER, free ship if you spend over $50. I love this men's jacket, but Trevor won't accept any more clothes from me. ;)

Men's striped button down at Old Navy for $13.40 w/ code CYBER.  I bought this for Trev, and it'll look great in the spring with some light blue or red flat front shorts (can't wait!) . I think J.Crew had a similar one last season.

I've already started to clean out my closet and sell some stuff on Ebay. ;)

PS I like shopping for other people more than myself. If you want me to find you good deals and clothes, give me a budget & I will. I may need a few weeks to cycle through the sales though!