hot tool covers

i have had this particular project at the top of my must do list for a while now.

I would have done it a lot sooner if i wasn't so picky. for a while i used to try and justify myself by saying that i just have high standard that i choose not waiver from, but who am i kidding, i't just picky, probably the most picky person you will ever meet. i still think i have high standards that i choose not to waiver from though.

so this project, after leaving my straightener sitting in the carpet for way too long, how long? you will never know. i decided that something needed to change, not that i needed to pay more attention while i am letting it heat up, or cool down. but something that will allow me a little buffer room while i am being absent minded.

so i went on the prowl for some cute oven pads at the local dollar stores. now like i said, i'm picky, and most of the ones i found just weren't cutting it for me. i mean i don't even drink cappuccinos why would i want to have to look at one every time i reach for my curling iron? see? weird. but then last friday after work while we were waiting to get the car out of the shop (long annoying story) we stopped into dollarama and there i beheld these beauties.

see how cute those are? now what if i had bought those ugly cups of brown addiction? 

next I folded the oven pad in half, pinned along the bottom, and the side leaving the top open.

and then sewed it up. 

*i used a denim needle because when the pads are folded in half they are very thick, and very tough, so a regular needle won't be able to quite do the trick, unless the trick is them breaking. also it is going to be a tight squeeze under the pressure foot, unless you have an adjustable one (i wish!) so you're really going to have to help feed it through. 

i didn't sew all the way up the side because i wanted to leave it a bit open to make it easier getting things in about out, and it also lets the clamp on a curling iron have a bit of breathing room, therefore letting it sit farther down into the cover. which is the point anyway right?

and there you have it!

easy peasy. 

moral of the story? being picky pays off in the end. 

a letter of thanks

dear 2012,

you have already been so good to our little family. unlike those nasty first days 2011 decided to spring on us. i just don't think my pour nerves would have survived, if i had to wake up, look out the window, and to my utter horror find my car stolen right out of our parking lot again! it was so nice to not worry about where in this big city she could be, what kind of awfulness had taken place, and if against her will forced to commit some kind of a crime.

this year, i think we are going to be good friends, i can just feel it.
looking forward, with some hesitation, to what else you have in store. if i may ask just one thing, don't go too crazy on us.

and for that 2012, we thank you.

the ellisons

Bantu Buns

i have been trying to find different ways of styling my hair, but require the most minimal amount of work to get there. i am very much a wash and wear type of girl, but i have been feeling like i need to step it up lately, because i do know that with added effort i am a lot better looking (funny how that happens) and who doesn't want to be just a tad better looking right? to say that my mother was happy to hear me admit my latest decision would be a huge understatement. her exact words were "i have been telling you that for years!" which is true, she has. 

and so i have been surfing the internet, and by that i mean pinterest, looking at all the beautiful hairdos that i'm sure took way more time than i am willing to put into my hair. but then i came upon a few pictures of the type of curls that i do have, but only come out with some effort to get there, and effort takes time, remember reducing the time and effort is the key here. so from there i started to look into quick ways to curl my hair and with some help from a few other pinteresters... pinters... pinners (?) (i think the last one is the best) i decided i would try and put some bantu buns in my hair. 

i first did this for dennis' family christmas ever party, and it turned out pretty well, i didn't take any pictures of it, i am not wishing i had because it rocked! i did have to blow it dry after i took them out, because my hair holds moisture like it gets paid to, and helped it out with the curling iron. i am not opposed to those extra helpers, i just wanted to try and get the look a bit more low maintenace. so i decided next time i would shower at night, put product in my hair and take it out in the morning. 

well let me tell you, it work. a little more then i had expected it would. 

brace yourself....

i think i look like my mom in this picture, it's not a bad thing, she just has short curly hair. i will definitely be doing this again, after i got over the shock of my new do i enjoyed playing around with it, and all the new possibilities of thing i can do with shorter uber curly hair, rather then my long hair. but i will say this, i am glad this isn't what i have to deal with every morning.

so this last time i made didn't put product in my hair, and i made thicker buns, or less buns, whatever way you want to look at it. 

now this on the other hand, i don't mind one bit. 

and it only took me 5 minutes, yes!

thank you sewing machine

for christmas dennis bought me these babies

*que angelic sounds of joy and praise*

i am in love with them, maybe even a little obsessed considering i have been wearing them almost everyday since.

But then this thing happened, i started thinking about all the things up in my closet that i can wear with them (and that is a lot, plus they are brown boots, they go with everything!), and i realized i needed another pair of skinny jeans. yes need. i looked over at dennis playing video games, and stated "dennis i need another pair of jeans", right away he paused his game, paused! this never happens, i swear a bomb could go off and he would never know it. anyway, he paused the game, and just looked at me, a look that said "you don't need another anything!" which is actually true, i'll be the first to admit i have a lot of clothes. but the boots! they are just screaming at me that a new pair of jeans will solve all of my wardrobe problems.

cut to later on that day.
i was upstairs in my closet trying to stuff some of the freshly washed, and folded jeans into the shelf i keep my jeans on, and to my utter dismay they wouldn't fit! maybe i really don't need any more jeans? nonsense. i took them all out, sure that if i just refolded all of them they will all fit, yes! that will do the trick. so there i am folding all my jeans and i come across a pair of rock&republics that had obviously been at the bottom of the pile for a while, since i forgot i even had them, and it hit me! i really don't need to go out and buy another pair, dennis will be so happy.

and so i turned these...

into these...

my boots, and dennis, both thank me

back at it

today has been torture
it's my first day back at work after a week long vacation, which was magical. what isn't magical is waking up to your alarm clock, not being able to turn it off, snuggle into the little space between dennis' slightly outstretched arm, and the side of his body (which for future reference if ever needed, i call the armpit crevice)  and then fall whimsically back to sleep. nope, didn't happen, almost, but no.

instead i had to get up before the rise of the sun, rush to get ready, because remember i almost gave in, and head out the door. one bonus is that there were no cars on the road this morning, none! once at work i was greeted by 53 emails, all needing to be responded to right away, i don't even know how many voice mails, and stacks of paper work to be sorted through, and then decided what needs to be dealt with and when. but who am i kidding that kind of sounds like any regular day, i was just out of practice.

slow and steady was the game today.... but i just don't want to be playing at all.

currently i am...

  

this actually pretty accurately depicts how i am feeling. focused on what i am doing, everything else just sort of seems like a blur. except when i stop and think for a second, it all goes away and 5 minutes have passed without a single remembrance of what just happened.

but the up side?
everyone except myself had vacated the office by two o'clock. this gives me a chance to put my ipod on as loud as it can go, and listen to some of the new music i got for christmas.

but when i get home i am looking forward to having a cup of this...

this is the best hot chocolate ever, ever! den bought me some of their vanilla bean hot choc mix the other day, i think it might be time to crack that sucker open.

let there be light!

i love our little apartment, what sold me on it in the first place was the warm, homey feel you have when you are here.i don't know exactly what it is, maybe the shade of beige the walls, the earth tones that are everywhere, maybe the two over sized, out of this world comfortable couches your butt has ever had the privilege to site upon, possibly a combination of all three and some more. it's definitely a place i love to come home to, i just feel happy.

but nothing is perfect, our little nest has it's downfalls.

this thing called winter we are going through has a nasty side affect other then cold, snow, ice, car crashes, stress, ahhh... you know how it goes. i think this is what i hate most about winter, shorter days, less light, leaving for work in the dark, AND coming home in the dark, awful. that big yellow thing in the sky just doesn't seem to want to come out and see the light of day. (that's funny cuz the sun is what gives us the light of day, ha!). seriously, i think i am just as excited for dec. 21st as i am for the 25th.

if you have ever been in our living room around sunset, or soon thereafter you know how dark it gets in here, and how quickly, it happens so fast sometimes i swear i start seeing spots while my eyes are trying to adjust to the lack of light. so far we have only had one lamp in the room, and unfortunatly i chose one for the pretty factor it has, and not for functionality. it is a gorgeous lamp, i mean, i did personally pick it off the shelf at homesence.but the shade hardly lets out any light, it's more of a redish glow, that only makes it the armrests of the couches on either side. no bueno.

well don't worry beacause this problem has been fixed! we took a trip to ikea on wednesday to finally rescue our eyes from over exherting themselves while trying to look at anything after 4:30pm.

here is out new floor lamp peaking out from around our fat christmas tree. this guy works wonders!

we also got some lamps for our bedroom. you know the movie p.s. i love you? ok well if you don't go watch it now! oh and bring a box of tissues.but if you have... well you know the turning off the light, then running into things problem they had, we totaly had the same problem. it was a frustrating situation to be in. well there will be no more stubbing toes in our house, because we have lamps, and we l.o.v.e. them!



atleast it can only keep on getting better right?