The Untold Story: Linking Up

My first post: a "tutorial" on how to turn a ribbon into a headband. 

I didn't even take pictures of my face! So awkward!

Disclaimer: I had sun poisoning on my chest & thus buttoned my shirt all the way up.

& I couldn't swim our last day in Florida.

Couldn't find my contacts either so I'm "double lensing" it. 

The awkwardness never stops, folks.

A post you enjoyed writing the most: birthday posts. 

They're like a small tribute to the important people in my life: sister, dad, grandma, boyfriend, best friend, Martha Stewart.

Plus I get to be all nostalgic and look through old pictures! I missed my mom's! Hoops.

A post which had a great discussion: IKEA hack. 

Most comments on a post I've received & by far the most popular post.

[source]

A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written: what a perspective (one I certainly didn't consider).

I love this site. Marc is brilliant, I wish I was such a good logician! 

Bet you didn't expect that (but this girl loves philosophy)!

[source]

Your most helpful post: Free dinner menu for the week printable

[source]

A post with a title that you are proud of: Hot in Cleveland, a post about my visit to (where else?) Cleveland!

PS- I love Betty White.

A post that you wish more people had read, if I had to choose one. 

It helps me stay focused on the purpose of this blog & stay true to myself.

Ready to Run

The Color Run recap:

On Saturday, my mom & I participated in the craziest most colorful 5k out there, namely The Color Run. We started the race about 9:35am after waiting at the starting line so the race course wouldn't be too congested. While waiting everyone started throwing their color packets. We were quite colored before the race even started. Here are some fun pictures from the day.

Chrissy, my mom & me ready to get colorful!

These are all pictures before the race started, mind you!

Inching closer to the starting line

We did it! I am so proud of my mama! She has had recurring problems from a broken ankle & was really hesitant about running. But, she did it! Yahoo! Next to conquer: a sprint triathlon!

Who knew climbing a tree would be so hard!

The champion finishers!

This was a really low key run, no timing, etc. I had so much fun.

Any fun fitness challenges for you this summer?

Tuesday Tutorial: Color Block Spatulas

I measured 3 inches up from the end of the handle, marked it with pencil & taped each utensil. Because these are bamboo, they were grainy/porous, so I used primer. Depending on your material, you may not need primer at all.

After the primer is dry, spray a light layer of paint. Make sure to get the sides and the bottom.

Let dry & flip repeating on the other side. I used two coats on either side. Peel off tape as soon as paint is dry.

This is a trendy and original way to incorporate color into the kitchen (not to mention fast & affordable). Enjoy!

Happy birthday Grandma!

To a lady who tells the most fascinating stories, a lady who makes the best peanut butter balls, a lady who can rock skinny jeans, a lady who can IM, video chat, and email like the best of 'em, a lady who is both sassy and classy, a lady who has taught me so much. I am so proud to have you as my Grandma.

Thank you for all the love, stories, memories, meals, and fun over the years! You are such an inspiration!

You, my dear Grandma, are so much sunshine to the square inch!

Week Wrapped Up

Busy & fun weekend planned. Mom & I are doing The Color Run, which should be so much fun. My sister's boyfriend is celebrating a birthday. I have two graduation parties to go to. My grandma's birthday & Memorial Day are on Monday (& a day off from work!).

Photo dump:

Sis & I worked on an easy summer sewing project! Tutorial to come next week.

My budding graphic art wall. Featuring art by January Jones Prints & The Wheatfield

Not looking for a car, but decided to visit the Hyundai dealership!

A nice capture after seeing Wicked!

I have dubbed every Friday French braid Friday. If I didn't limit myself to once a week, I'm sure I'd wear it like this every day. This is post nap hair, but still very pretty. 

Yes, I have it in a French braid now (it is Friday after all!).

This drawing at Which Wich, yummy sandwich too!

Roses while walking to work. Freshly coated with some light rain.

Winkflash Photo Book Review

As I mentioned a bit ago, I made a photo book about my Peruvian adventure. It's hard to believe Peru was a year ago! I used winkflash mostly because it was affordable (or considerably affordable compared to other sites). The 12 x 12 book starts at $38.95 for 20 pages and increases with every page &/or custom cover you add.

With a custom cover & a grand total of 96 pages, I was looking at $158.95. I rationalized this by considering how much money I would spend on stickers, printing pictures, how much time I was saving, etc. Okay $160, I can do this.

Then... (thank you, Google) I found a coupon for a base rate. This means that I wouldn't pay the per page fee (translating to $1.50 savings x 76 pages... or $114 in savings!). I nervously typed in the coupon code & my jaw dropped when I saw that it worked. With the 20 pictures I printed, my GRAND TOTAL with shipping was $57.53. Regardless of the quality this was a STEAL.

I placed my order on August 29 & received the book in my hands on September 6. Considering there was a weekend & a holiday in between, this was FAST.

I was very impressed. Great quality! I will be using winkflash again for another photo book (or five) (& a calendar...).

PROS:
Easy
Simple & not too time consuming
One flat fee goes into the book (ie no stickers cost, no cost for printing the pictures, etc.)
Affordable (with or without a coupon)
Very good quality
Shipped right to your door quickly (unlike some companies who ship from Hong Kong or the like and take weeks)

CONS:
Limited variety of backgrounds
Limited add-ons to pages (buttons, or embellishments)
Limited font selection
Limited templates

Overall, however, I loved the quality & simplicity of designing a winkflash book. They're having 50% off photo books now through June 9th with the coupon code BOOKS50!