30 Before Thirty

I recently had a birthday. Although I am grateful for the memories and lessons that came with the past year, I can honestly say that I am ready to take on a new year with fresh eyes and vision for what lies ahead. There is no turning back, what’s passed is past. And so, with the newfound realization that I will be 30 in just a few short years—three to be exact—there  are a few things that I feel are important for me to accomplish (or at least attempt to) before I hit that landmark birthday. For lack of a better term, I am calling it 30 before 30, I have seen it circling the internet and decided that I’d give it a go. So here is my wish list of feats I attempt to do in the next few years leading up to my 30^th Birthday. I must warn you, it’s a pretty ambitious list...

30 before 30

1.   Develop as a writer

o    Something I have always wished I was better at

2.   Master the guitar

o    I would love the ability to play more than just parts of songs…

3.   Learn a Foreign language or two or three

o    Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here though, but a girl can dream…for now we’ll stick with at least one

4.   Become a better Christian

o    More of a lifetime goal but it would be great to have a solid foundation by the end of my twenties

5.   Get better at graphic design

o    I love being creative and making things by hand, I would love to increase that creativity with developed graphic design skills

6.   Master 10 signature recipes

o   I’m on my way, I have a solid 3 or 4 under my belt currently..

7.  Become an organized person

o    A lifelong struggle…

8.  Master sewing

o    I am determined to sew all of my future children’s clothing

9.   Learn to dress other people

o    Starting with my husband…

10.  Ride in a helicopter

o    Because they're awesome...

11. Plan a really big event

o    We’re talking huge.

12. Become a great photographer (and learn to edit photos..)

o    Because who else is going to take all of the obsessive pictures I will require of my future children?

13. Learn how to do a hand stand

o    I tried once and nearly had a panic attack…

14. Run the Nike Women’s Marathon

15. Meditate weekly

o    And hopefully work our way up to daily

16. Learn to knit

17.Write/publish a book

o    I would also love to illustrate a book, if I can ever convince my sister to collab with me…

18.Go camping

o    One that no doubt excites my ever-adventurous husband

19. Read 30 books

20. Blog regularly

o    The current goal is weekly..

21. Grow (and keep alive) a garden

o    The ultimate sign of adulthood…

22.Visit a castle

23. Go rock climbing

24.Take piano lessons

o    I promise I could have been a musical prodigy as a child if given the chance lol

25.Participate in a 30 day challenge

26.Travel more

o    I’d love to hit at least 5 more countries before 30…and increase my list of U.S. states visited..

27. Finish my wedding scrapbook

o    4+ years in the game and that thing still remains unfinished, staring at me from its little box every time I walk into the office

28.  Perform 30 acts of kindness in the month of my birthday

o    What a better way to welcome my 30^th birthday?

29.Read the Bible cover to cover

30.  Become a mom

o    Because by 30 I should have my crap together enough to make it happen right?

XOXO,

Cass 

Let's Start Over

"Let's give love their wings..."

Hello, and welcome. I recently gave the blog a much needed face lift to give us a fresh start in what I hope will be a consistent schedule of sharing. It is my hope that I can use this space to share photos, recipes, dreams, goals…my life. I want this to be a creative outlet for me and an inspiration for those around me. I have many plans and it only seems fitting that I share them with those around me. So, if you are up for the journey, come take a ride with me as we navigate this thing called life. I promise to check in more…

XOXO,

Cass

Birthday Recap (2014)

So my birthday was last week (woot) and I decided to celebrate by having family and friends over for an ice cream social. Well, I believe it goes without saying but I will say it anyway....I am a bit on the theatrical side, I am also obsessed with the fashion of the 1940's and 1950's. Needless to say this ice cream social would include a dress code. Running with this theme, I decided to play dress-up all week in celebration of my party--pictures below.


I also spent the week preparing  about 7 or 8 different flavors of ice cream for the party. The flavors I ended up with were:

• Chocolate
• Vanilla Bean
• Strawberry (with strawberry chunks!)
• Cookies and Creme
• Orange Sherbet (coconut milk edition)
• Berry Sorbet (strawberry, raspberry and blueberry to be exact...)
• Chai (vegan--made with cashews. Not my fav)

Of course, in all the excitement I forgot to document the ice cream making journey, I did get this photo however...Yum.

The party was great, the ice cream was fab (you'll just have to take my word for it) and it was great spending time with family and friends. 

One of my sisters got me this book. As you can see it is already tabbed, I can't wait to get started on some new projects...

I love entertaining. Sometimes I do think I may have been born in the the wrong era. I would have made a glorious socialite. Anywho, I digress. Family, friends, fun, what more could you ask for? Ice cream maybe.... Til next time friends.

xoxo,

Cass

Vintage Style | DIY...kinda

If you know me well then you know how much I love vintage style. Seriously. If I had the money to completely redo my wardrobe, or the sewing proficiency (someday) I would do it in a heartbeat. Of course my era of choice would be a hodgepodge of the 1940s and 1950s decades..

Well, I have neither the money, nor the current sewing ability to completely re-start my clothing life as a 1950's housewife so until then I will have to settle for a slow but steady changeover with with outfits I created from finds at my local thrift store. Let's have a look at some shall we? First, let's look at some style inspiration. Ready for an onslaught of photographs? Ok, let's go...

Ok, let me just say...I love EVERYTHING about this outfit!

Oh Grace Kelly, anytime you want simple elegance, she's your girl..

I love these pants on Marilyn Monroe! Although I think she may have still been Norma Jeane here...

More Grace Kelly if you didn't get enough...

I love this shot of these 3 ladies on bikes but peep their shoes...you still have to be fashionable even on casual bike rides!

The late, great Ms. Lena Horne...gorgeous woman; elegant, sultry, and I love her hair in all of these photos!

And one more time for Ms. Marilyn Monroe...

Ok, now let me show you some of the outfits I put together that was inspired by these lovely ladies...

Outfit 1

This one is probably my favorite out of all of the outfits I put together. I was trying to channel Grace Kelly elegance. All I needed was a sleek bun...

Outfit 2

Here I was going for a Lucille Ball type casual outfit. I could wear this everyday...

 Outfit 3

With this outfit I wanted to channel what I thought a professional woman would look like in the 40's or 50's. For some reason I had a school director in my mind...

Quick makeup shot. Red lipstick is a must...

Outfit 4

Ahh the finale, I was going for casual, fun and flirty..

Don't mind my Rosie the Riviter-esque posing here, I'm a nerd 

And of course here I had to play into a re-enactment of the above photo of the women on bicycles. Except I opted for no shoes instead of the fancy ones they had on. I'm still in search of satisfactory shoes...

Anywho, here is my first attempt on vintage style, I am sure I will post another once I have acquired a few more pieces. If all else fails there is always the default to the poodle skirts and sweetheart necklines... I just wanted to put together a few outfits that did not include skirts or dresses, although that is my favorite style choice when it comes to 1940's and 50's fashion. We all need to get out of our comfort zones sometimes though right? 

I have a Pinterest board with all of my vintage inspirations, granted they are mostly pins of women from Old Hollywood, but I believe there are some links that could steer anyone looking for vintage style inspiration for children or men in the right direction...

And if you want to see a bit more of the outfits I put together, check out this video!

Until next time peeps!

xoxo,

Cass

Random Fact for the Day: To Have and Have Not (1945) is the only instance when a Nobel prize-winning author (Ernest Hemingway) was adapted for the screen by another Nobel-winning author (William Faulkner)

Natural Looking Makeup

Hi there! Want to see how I do my summer makeup for a more natural look, like this?

Check out this video!

Happy Friday-eve! 

xoxo,

Cass

Random Fact of the Day:

Every year there are close to 900 million lipsticks sold worldwide. That means almost every single person in the United States could own three tubes of lipstick!

Framed Burlap DIY

So I am constantly looking for ways to beautify the spaces I occupy and recently I have become very interested in letter blocking  (I'm not sure if that is a real term, but let's pretend it is...) and I have always loved the rustic look of burlap. Ok, enough of the background, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Here's how I made a framed burlap that can be used for your home, apartment, dorm room, office or whatever space you feel needs a little sprucing up. It is very quick and easy with few materials used.

Here's what I started with:

8x10 frame I purchased from the dollar tree

9" letter from hobby lobby

letter stencils

acrylic paint

a roll of 12" natural burlap

paint brushes

hot glue gun (not pictured)

Here we go:

First I started out by painting the frame black. The bronzey gold color did not match with the other deco in our home, plus I love black and gray so there you go... I didn't get a picture of the painted frame but you can use your imagination...sorry.

Next I painted my letter of choice (the "H" representing our last name...) and seeing as I am also currently obsessed with all things teal:

Here's what I ended up with

Next, I cut the burlap using the frame glass as a guide. I cut it with about a 1" allowance around the glass.

 I then hot glued the burlap to the glass. This is where the 1" allowance comes in handy because burlap will stretch the way it wants to and you want to have that extra so that you maintain some form of control (no matter how feeble your attempts.)

Be sure to cut off the excess

And you will have something that looks like this

And place the burlaped glass back in the frame, burlap side facing out.

I like the pewter black much better than the bronze

Hot glue the letter we painted onto the burlap--you need to do this in one quick motion, no lolly gagging! And you will end up with something like this

Purty, ain't it? 

I think so at least

Now go and try it on your own! Til next time!

xoxo,

Cass

Random Fact of the Day--In honor of the World Cup: 

Soccer was developed in London’s Newgate Prison in the early 1800s. Prisoners who had their hands cut off for crimes of theft came up with a sport that used only the feet. The rest is history. 

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UPDATE 8/7/14

For more letter-themed DIY ideas check out this video!

xoxo

Casual Friday OOTD

Happy Friday peeps! And happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone! I just had to share my outfit of the day today. But first, let me take a selfie...

I think it is the perfect blend of cute & comfy, and with that let's continue with the OOTD shall we?

When I got dressed this morning I had no idea that I would head to work feeling as cute as I did while still being comfortable. Needless to say, I was feelin' myself so I took that opportunity to snap some pics in order to share in my joy.

The shirt is a Merona button down I got from Target. I don't own many button down shirts, most of my tops are blouses but I must say this is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

Le pants are SO jeggings I picked them up from Kohl's a while back (another quick fav). Jeggings are so great because you get the stretchiness of leggings with the stability of jeans. I would feel naked if I went out in a pair of leggings that weren't underneath a dress... The shoes are from DSW by Mix No.6. And how cute is that pop of color in the toe?!

Accessories include this rhinestone watch I got from Rue 21 and these gorgeous pendant earrings I got from a local accessory shop. 

Can you tell how comfy I am in my work day attire?? Almost made the work day fly by. Almost.

That's all I've got for today. Peace out homies.

xoxo,

Cass

Random Fact for the Day:

Memorial Day was not always known by that moniker.  During the Civil War, people decorated the graves of fallen soldiers on what became known at the time as "Decoration Day."