2011's Most Beautiful

I am not sure I agree with People Magazine making a big fuss over who is the most beautiful celebrity of the year. However, I always want to know who is on the list! Then I heard that Jennifer Aniston was voted Sexiest Woman of All Time by Men's Health readers. I don't really have an opinion on the matter, but I would agree that she does a good job showing her natural beauty. I read an article about her this month from InStyle. She mentioned that she does not like wearing make-up and focuses on cleansing and moisturizing to keep a natural glow. However, of course she does wear make-up, but limits it to natural looking colors. Aniston also mentioned she hates mascara and tints her lashes every 3 weeks. I wish I could afford to do that! And when you have a hair stylist at your beck and call then you will always look great because a nice blow out will make anyone look beautiful, make-up or not!

Here is the list:

J. Lo

Zac Efron

Reese Witherspoon

Jessica Simpson

Mandy Moore

Katie Holmes

Jennifer Hudson

Kellan Lutz

Dana Delany

Emma Stone

*Love her! Especially blonde

Mindy Kaling & Ellie Kemper

Sandra Bullock

Jennifer Lawrence

Eva Longoria

Ryan Reynolds

*Not many men made the list, but of course Ryan did! <3



Then of course Jennifer Anniston on a list of her own.

Image Sources via People and Daily Mail

*What do you think?

-M

Homemade Snow Globes

I am very lucky to have an Anthropologie store just down the street from me. Everything they sell seems to be so expensive, but once in a while I discover a good find that I can afford. Or even better I get a lot of inspiration for things I can make myself! The style of their clothing, decor, etc. appears to be very vintage, found in the attic, thrifty, or DIY. Which is definitely why I love it there and also why I am able to make things that can compare to what they sell.

Recently when I was strolling through one afternoon I stumbled upon all of their holiday merchandise. It was all very original, cute and just my style. However, the price tag was ridiculous. So I put it upon myself to make some of the decor. One of my favorite decorations was the cute mason jar snow globe! And it seemed to be such an easy craft, which it was! Not to mention a lot easier on the wallet.

Image via Anthropologie 

A friend and I went to Michael's one day and found everything we needed. We got medium sized mason jars for about $1.50 each, a package of small trees for about $4 (though we were disappointed with the selection, unless you wanted to buy a package with 50 small trees), some white glitter for $2.99, and then just used my glue gun and mod podge type glue that I already had. So for just $10 we were able to make 2 medium sized snow globes, with enough glitter and glue to use for others. The Anthropologie globe costs $30 for one! The selection of jars and trees are different at every craft store, so the pricing may vary when making your own.

Here is how it turned out:

Like I said, we had trouble finding a variety of mini trees, so they are a tad small for the jar, but overall it is cute! Most mason jars have 2 pieces within the lid, so you just need to glue those together with a glue gun. Then you glue gun the trees to the inside of the lid however you want. Next you would use the mod podge type glue to to get some of the glitter to stick to the trees and also some glitter to the inside of the lid. I decided to use the glue gun to create some little piles of "snow" made of glue around the trees, then covered with glitter. So just be creative. Then lastly you put about an inch or 2 of glitter inside the jar and screw on the lid, and Ta-Da!

Happy Holidays and Crafting!

-M

A Backyard Barn House

I found a very interesting backyard house on treehugger.com. It is built with copper roofing and recycled barn board. The inspiration came from Bernard Maybeck's Sample house, now known as the Mistake House in June of 1931. Maybeck created the sample house as a test of building and design.

The place is tiny, but very comfortable and can be used year round since it has a cute little fireplace to keep warm! They did a great job decorating and furnishing the house since they had such a small amount of space to work with. Who wouldn't want to cozy up with some hot chocolate in this backyard house on a cold day??

Picture sources via tree hugger

Enjoy your week!

-M

December is here!

I cannot believe it is December 1st already, this year has flown by! I do not enjoy winter in Chicago very much, but December is the best winter month due to all the holiday decorations around the city! There are tons of lights on the trees, and colorful window displays everywhere. Everyone just seems to be in a better mood close to the holidays; more giving, kind, and friendly. Then January and February come around with their bitterness and freezing cold temperatures.

Here are a few things I like about December and the Holidays:

Holiday Cards

*Keep those few favorite cards and put them in a frame to showcase each year. 

Hot Chocolate

*Have a few friends over and make a hot chocolate bar to make it more fun!

Holiday Parties

*Dress up your bottle of wine for the hostess with a cute 

sweater bag instead of the usual paper one. 

Snow

*Be more creative when playing in the snow!

Gifts

*When you give this year, be a little unique 

by making some homemade bows and tags, your gifts will stand out!

Images via my pinterest

What do you enjoy this time of year?

-M

Make yourself a burlap wreath!

I am sorry I have not posted in a while! I was very busy with work and family around the holiday, but I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving if you celebrated. I definitely had to work out today for all the food I ate last week! Also I have been busy making some holiday crafts the past couple weeks, there are so many good ideas that I have been finding on Pinterest lately!

I made this burlap wreath a week ago and ended up giving it to my boyfriend's mother for her birthday. He kept telling me how much she would like it, so finally in the spirit of giving I wrapped it up. We saw her at Thanksgiving and she absolutely loved it! I will have to make another one for myself someday soon.

What you need to make a Burlap Holiday Wreath:



*A Foam Ring (or you can use foam tubing from the hardware store, just tape it in the middle!)

*Burlap (in a strip or a sheet)

*Twine

*Pins

*A Large Bow or Flower

I was able to find all my materials at Michaels, or also Joann's Fabric is great too.

Basically I just pinned the end of the fabric strip underneath, and started wrapping it around clockwise and pinning it as I went. I had to fluff it up and pin it in several spots to give the burlap some oomph. Of course there are several different ways you could pin the burlap to the ring, be creative! Then I used a large fake poinsetta flower, that had a little clip on the back and just clipped it right on. Or you could tie or pin a large bow. The nice thing is that you could really use this wreath all year if you change out the bow or flower. I just love burlap! The twine is for tying it on your door.



*More holiday craft posts to come!

-M

Slow Cookin'

Who doesn't love a good Crock Pot meal in the winter!? It is so easy, since all you have to do is a little prep work then it cooks itself! Well I have been looking for some more recipes to use for these upcoming months and found this blog where a woman (@ crockpot365)  made a different slow cooker receipe every day for a whole year...wow! Also I found out she is gluten-free, which is what I started doing the past 2 weeks. So she gives a regular version and GF substitutes!

I think I will start with this yummy one:

Chicken Nachos

The Ingredients:

--2 cut up raw chicken breasts (or by ALL means, cooked and chopped!)

--large package of Velveeta or other "cheese product"

--can of tomatoes and chilies

--stuff you like to put on nachos: beans, sour cream, olives, etc.

The Directions:

--put raw chicken in bottom of crockpot (if you are using already cooked, melt the cheese completely first, then stir in)

--cover with cheese slices

--dump in entire can of tomatoes and chilies (that means don't drain)

--cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3-4.

--pace house wondering if the raw chicken was a good idea or not

--stir thoroughly and serve over your favorite chips

--doctor up with beans, sour cream, olives and whatever else makes you happy

--realize that the chicken cooked without help and share brilliant discovery with The Internet.


Recipe and Pictures via Crockpot 365



Can't wait to try a bunch of others!
-M

Warm yourself up!

If you live in a place that has cold, blistery winters, you will most likely be enjoying some hot beverages around the holidays! From tea, to cocoa, espresso drinks, or coffee, you have several options to quickly warm yourself up on a freezing afternoon! I found some homemade, all-natural organic recipes for creamers. They have no artificial ingredients or high fructose corn syrup! These can be used in any of the above drinks, you may need to be creative when putting them in tea though. They are very easy to whip up as well.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Recipes and image via deliciously organic

Image via my pinterest

Next time you enjoy your hot beverage, hopefully it's a little bit sweeter!

-M