Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Weekend Wear

Sundays, for us, have always been about being with family and eating delicious food.  But lately they are being done while wearing comfy, oversized sweaters and I don't plan on breaking this streak anytime soon.  Paired with some jeans and boots, it's just the perfect "I'm going to relax and just hang out all day, maybe even take a nap" outfit.




Sweater: Thrifted // Jeans: Levi's // Boots: Sprit 


Probably the second best thing about these sweaters, aside from their comfiness, is the ease at finding them at thrift shops.  So having oversized sweaters in several different colors doesn't even come close to breaking the bank.

And in random news, as I write this, two days after these photos were taken, it's over 50 degrees here and the snow is almost gone.  That is just how this season has gone, less than two weeks of snow before it gets oddly warm and all melts.  But I'm not complaining :)

Friday, January 27, 2012

Tree of Life

Since it's theatrical release, Eric has been wanted to see Tree of Life.  The film stars Jessica Chastain, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt.  Despite an impressive cast, this film has received polarized reviews.  There isn't really a story or linear dialogue.  Eric best described it as watching a poem.  He mentioned this before we started the movie and it really helped me.  There is a focal story of a boy and his family during the 1950's.  Sean Penn plays the boy as an adult.  The movie begins with the death of his brother and the film's narrative dialogue seems to revolve around life, death, dying and eternity.

This definitely isn't your typical film and scenes don't always follow each other.  One moment you're seeing a glimpse into the boy's life and the next you are watching images of the origins of the universe.  Aside from it's practically nonexistent storyline, the imagery is absolutely breathtaking.  Scenes in the ocean, of volcanoes, of the cosmos, in the forest are all beautiful.  If you don't mind not understanding a film, this one is worth watching.


Throughout the film, I felt like I was watching poetry.  And a lot of the dialogue is very poetic too.  Oh, and the music.  The music was simple incredible.  There was so much emotion in most of the music, which definitely enhanced the poetic feeling of the film.

It's a movie that can really get a discussion going between those who have seen it.  I have my own ideas about some of it's meanings and have probably interpreted it differently than anyone else.  But this film is probably not best for the occasional movie-goer who primarily sees the box office hits.  If you enjoy odd, obscure or just different films, you may like it.  Or you may not.  It's definitely one that you either love or hate, there's really no landing in between.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

DIY Gold & Silver Chain Necklace

I have been on the hunt for a basic necklace that I can wear everyday and that matches whatever I'm wearing, whether it's dressy or casual.  So naturally I started by searching Etsy.  Here are a couple necklaces that I found.



I really like the ones above, but I am really cheap and ideally wanted to find something while thrifting, but so far, no luck.  So instead of thrifting one or purchasing one, I decided to try and make one for myself.

I went to Hobby Lobby (which, in my opinion has better jewelry making supplies than Michaels) and found everything I needed.  I wanted a necklace with two rings and was two toned, silver and gold.  So I purchased two chains and two different sets of jump rings.  The only tools that I needed were a pair of pliers and some nimble fingers.


I started by laying the necklaces out and finding the most centered link, opposite of the clasp and removing that link.



Next,  I opened up the jump rings, placing one jump ring at the end of each necklace.



Then, I connected the two jump rings, creating the necklace.


The final step was to combine the two clasps.  It's up to you which color clasp you want to keep.  Just remove the one you don't want and attach it to the one you do.  I chose to use the gold clasp.



And that was it, a great, simple chain necklace for everyday wear!  You don't have to make it two tone or use two rings.  It's all up to you and what you want to do.  My wedding rings are white gold, but I also like to wear yellow gold, so this necklace is perfect and will go with whatever jewelry I feel like wearing.


Monday, January 23, 2012

Weekend Wear

This weekend, our Saturday was jam-packed with fun stuff.  In the morning, I got to meet up with my lady friends for breakfast.  It was totally awesome, since I absolutely love my friends and breakfast is my favorite meal.

For lunch, we surprised my father-in-law along with my mother-in-law and brother-in-law.  We ate at a small restaurant around the corner from us.  Everything on their menu is organic and pretty much everything is purchased locally.  I wasn't too hungry after my girls breakfast so I just got an order of hand cut sweet potato fries, but everyone else loved what they ordered.

We rounded out the night with homemade pizzas and Pictionary.  It was seriously so fun.  Most of the time when we get together with friends, the boys play video games or watch sports and the girls craft or watch a movie.  But this time we all hung out together.  Like I said, so fun!


Tank: Target // Cardi: Target // Jeans: H & M // Boots: Top Shop

Although I am now battling a little bit of a sore throat/cough, staying up late and yelling my guesses was totally worth it.  I used to play games all of the time, but Eric and I usually just play card games or Scrabble.  They are fun, but when you get a group together, I think it gets a little more competitive, and in my opinion, a little more fun :)

Sunday, January 22, 2012

DIY Infinity Scarf


I'm not really one to think of a great craft or DIY on my own, so I love when I come across a quick, easy and cute idea.  Last week, I was reading my regular blogs and found this little gem.  The original tutorial is from Pink Pistachio, one of my favorite blogs (if you're not a regular reader, you should change that).

All you need is a seamless cotton t-shirt (men's m-xl work the best), a ruler and scissors.  I thrifted my t-shirts and was able to get three different colors for $4.75.  So this DIY is quick, easy and cheap!


Once you have your supplies, cut the t-shirt just under the armpit and above the bottom hem.  Make sure to save the hem, you'll need it later.


Use your ruler to make one-inch snip marks along the side of the t-shirt.  Once you have your marks, cut across the t-shirt, leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch at the end.  Once you've cut your strips, pull on them so that they roll.



Gather the t-shirt along the uncut side and use the bottom hem to tie it all together.  Trim the hem to your preferred size.


Wear and enjoy!  Thanks Missy for the great DIY!



Friday, January 20, 2012

Double Feature

My husband, Eric, owns a film production company, which pretty much automatically means we watch a lot of movies, especially this time of the year.  Between November and December, a lot of movies are released that are considered Oscar contenders.  So between November and the Academy Awards (February 26), most every date night is spent at the movie theatre.  And let me tell you, there are a lot of movies to see.  So many, that we decided to get a little crazy this past weekend and see two movies in one night.  I know, you'd think we were 20 year-olds without any kids to get up with in the morning or something.

The movies of choice this round were Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Take Shelter.  First up was Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a mystery movie set within the British intelligence.  It's a movie that hasn't gotten a ton of publicity despite it's cast (Gary Oldman, and Colin Firth).  There's a lot to discover as Gary Oldman's character investigates a potential mole at the head of British intelligence.  The movie was a little difficult to follow, particularly at the beginning when you're not prepared to follow along so closely, but neither Eric nor I had trouble understanding the story.  Personally, I like movies like this, which require you to pay attention to detail.  I always grew up paying attention to foreshadowing in the story, so this movie was right up my alley.  Although the story is very interesting, the movie itself isn't very action packed and lacks a lot of emotion.  But that's not surprising since every character is a secret service agent. 



Second on the queue was Take Shelter, a very small movie about a man who struggles with a developing mental illness.  Because of vivid dreams, he believes he needs to expand and prepare the storm shelter in his backyard.  These dreams and resulting actions create tension at work, with friends and also in his family.  Eric and I were both very impressed with the acting on the part of the main character and his wife (Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain).  I really think that movies which require someone to portray an average person dealing with a real life situation is harder than acting as a larger-than-life character.  But however you feel about that, the job these actors did was incredible.  Intermingled in this story about a family are brief scary moments as we witness his nightmares.  I would definitely consider this film a psychological thriller.  Although this film made me jump a couple of times, it is probably one of the better movies I've seen all year.  I've always loved movies, but since marrying Eric, I have developed a love for movies that really get you thinking.  We seriously spent the entire drive home and then some talking about the film, trying to analyze and understand the story fully.  We didn't have any luck, because we both interpreted the film a little differently and I don't think there's a "right" answer.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Some Winter Fun Videos

I am seriously so glad that I remembered to bring my phone on our winter walk.  Although the quality isn't the best, I will have forever memories of the boys' first time out in the snow.  They make me smile already. 




Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Kids and Snow

On Saturday, the snow continued to fall and we couldn't resist taking the boys out to play.  This isn't their first winter, but it's the first one where they can go out and play in the snow.  It was a feat in and of itself getting them ready, but it was absolutely worth it.


Eric bought some kid-sized sleds and we pulled them around our neighborhood.  Atticus wasn't feeling the greatest, so he didn't do so much playing.  Baxter on the other hand, had a blast and let us know of his displeasure when we went inside.










Once Atticus feels better, we'll get a better read on whether or not he likes playing in the snow.  I imagine he'll have more fun, but he may not be able to compete with Baxter's new love.  Every time we go outside, Baxter has to point out that there is snow on the ground.  It's a pretty big deal right now.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Winter Has Come

On Wednesday, it was sunny and 50 degrees here in west Michigan.  I wore a winter coat out of habit, but ended up roasting while running errands.  Then on Thursday, it got much colder and started to snow.  By Friday morning, we found ourselves in a winter wonderland.  Only in Michigan is this not surprising.

It was so peaceful out that Friday morning, I couldn't resist stepping outside and capturing a little bit of its beauty.









After being outside for a while, the only way to warm up is with some hot tea.  I drink warm beverages all year long, but they're always so much better after being out in the snow.  It probably has something to do with a warm cup in your cold hands.



Thursday, January 12, 2012

Christmas from my Camera

In addition to my phone, I did manage to take some photos with our nicer camera.  I almost didn't on Christmas morning, but the few I did take I will cherish always.  Not because they are the best, but because I captured the boys' first Christmas morning when they actually participated.  I would definitely regret it if I had let the opportunity pass.

So, here is what I managed to capture when I had my camera out.  Although, most of my time was spent hanging out with family and playing with my kids.

Christmas Eve with Eric's family







Christmas Morning





Christmas Day with my family








I am not sure whether holiday photos will become easier or harder.  In some respects I think easier, and in other harder.  No matter what, I think it's going to take some motivation to get the camera out and capture the memories that are being made.