Talks a Lot

Wedding Portrait

2012-02-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

After our wedding I asked my wedding planner Katherine for a picture of her and Magno from their wedding so I could do a drawing of them. Last weekend I was able to give Katherine the drawing and she featured it on her blog and on her wedding blog.

It looks really good the way she framed the drawing.

Check out Katherine's blog here.

and

Check out the wedding blog Katherine writes (where I am featured) over at the Southern California Bridal District.

Happy Friday!

Austin

2012-02-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

This weekend we are going to Austin TX, and I am sooo excited!

My good friend Andrea is having a baby soon and this weekend she is having her baby shower so we are going to Austin to visit her and have a weekend away.

I have been to Austin before and I loved it. This will be the fourth state Grant has visited and he has already been talking about how he needs to get some cowboy boots and a big belt. yee haw!

(Source)

(source)

I plan to drink plenty of Mexican martinis and eat lots of Tex Mex food!

One day till we go.

YAY

Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T21:44:00.000-08:00

Today is Valentine's Day and to be honest if I hadn't gone to work and saw everyone giving out candy and notes it would have been just like every other day lol.

Grant and I didn't do anything special, he handed me a dandy lion that was growing on the driveway and said I should make a wish hahhaha.

This is what I wore to work today, I tried to wear red but I don't own one item that is red or pink!

Here is a picture of the drawing that I finally finished this last weekend. It feels like this drawing took extra long because I kept having to stop for moving and working. So it feels really good to be done.

I am having an on going dilemma regarding the curtains in our bedroom!

The walls are painted a sort of natural grey/brown/green earth color and the colors I want in the room are teal, white, black, and silver. I tried striped curtains at first and they were too dark and the stripe through off all the other patterns in the room. So I thought white would be good, but I feel like it looks boring and sort of like I just threw a sheet on my wall!

I don't know what to do???

Second set of curtains.

First set of curtains.

What should I do?

Linking with:

Green Card Ceremony

2012-02-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

Finally a FUN Saturday

2012-02-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

After a ridiculously annoying week at work I was finally able to have some fun on Saturday.

Saturday morning my mom arrived with her old oven to donate to us because the pilot lights in our oven would not stay on, and because nothing in my life seems to go smoothly, the electricity in the "new to us" oven is now not working! Oh well, you win some you lose some.

Saturday night my cousin Lacey and her family, Kristen, and my friend Katherine (my wedding planner) and her husband came over for a few drinks and a night out to dinner.

We made lots of margaritas and everyone got loud.

Dean was really enjoying the chocolate candy.

Please notice how Brandon and Grant have their arms interlocked, best friends? I think so...

Notice now the guys still have their arms locked together, but for some reason now Dean is holding a hammer!

We ended up going to dinner at Ruby's and it is so close we were able to walk there and back.

It was a really fun night.

What I Wore Wednesday

2012-02-08T05:29:00.000-08:00

Today is Hump day! That means we have hit the middle of the week, YAY.

Here are a few pictures of what I have been wearing lately.

Soon I will atempt to take a picture of what I wear every day to work so I don't get lazy and wear the same thing everyday lol.

Here is what I wore yesterday, its not new and that is why I need to get creative again.

Happy Wednesday!

Linking with:

Monday

2012-02-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is already Monday. It feels like the weekend never even happened lol.

I am happy to say that the living room and the kitchen are pretty much done being decorated.

At least I am happy with the way its looking so far.

There is still a lot of work to be done with decorating the bedroom.

I don't really like the curtains we bought, so I have decided to take them back to target and look for something else. It is really hard to buy decorative items without putting it in your room and seeing how it looks with everything else that's already in there. The curtains looked too dark in our room and the stripes made everything in the room look mismatched. oh well.

Marathon

2012-02-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

This last week has felt like a marathon to me! I have never felt so worn out in my whole life!

Monday was my first full day of work and straight from work I came home to our new place to pack a bag to stay back at my parents place, because Tuesday morning we were up at 430am to catch the train into LA. Tuesday morning we had Grant's immigration interview to see if he could stay in the country.

From moving, starting a new job, and having the immigration interview I was a huge ball of stress.

The interview went great and now Grant can live and work in the USA for 2 years!

When we got home on Tuesday afternoon we went back to my parents house and finished packing and moving all of our stuff back to our new place.

Wednesday was my second day of work. During my lunch break I had to get a TB test done for my job and the nurse at Kaiser talked me into getting the Tdap shot, by the end of the day my arm was killing me.

When I got home my mom said that the gas company came and turned on the gas, but now it was leaking and we had to wait for them to come back to fix it. The gas guy came back and turned the pilot light back on and then as soon as he left it went off again! Sooo we had to wait for him to come back again only to tell us he would send out a technician Thursday night.

All day Thursday at work I was in a ton of pain with my arm, I felt like I would be sick on my drive home, so as soon as I got home I called Kaiser and told them that I could not lift my arm and that it was swollen and purple and hot. I guess that pain around the injection site must be common because she said that I should just take asprin.

By the time Friday rolled around I was so happy to have the weekend to rest and recover!

My cousin Amanda and her family came over for dinner that night, but we were able to be asleep by 9pm.

Yesterday, Saturday I was able to sleep in and finish organizing our house, its finally all put away!

Saturday night Lacey and her family came over and we all went out to dinner, it was a really fun night.

L.A. and the immigration interview.

Saturday we went to Ikea and got some shelves for our room.

Finally its all put away and we can enjoy Sunday!

I hope next week goes by smoothly and quickly till the next weekend.

The Big Move!

2012-01-29T22:52:00.000-08:00

Let me start this by saying, I hate moving! Moving house is soo much work, but in the end it is all worth it because we are in a fun place and we are having fun putting everything together.

Saturday we rented a U-Haul and picked up our furniture from where we were storing it at my Grandpa's house. We spent the entire day until about 11pm at night putting everything together.

Luckily everything fit perfectly!

Today we got some wood so Grant could build us some more shelves in our closet.

There was no way everything would have fit without the extra shelving.

Before:

After:

He added the shelves all the way down the left side and all along the top!

We are almost done...NOT!

More Changes

2012-01-27T23:40:00.000-08:00

This week has been really crazy busy! I interviewed for 2 jobs, and said yes to the one I really like.
So I started a new job and moved to a new house all in one week! Talk about crazy.
After work today I met my mom and Lacey, my cousin, and Grant at our new place to start unloading a few car loads. Tomorrow is the BIG move where we will officially have everything in the place.
I will update with pictures soon, but right now its 11:38PM and I am soo tired and we have to start at 6 am tomorrow.

Its all so exciting!

2 Awesome Sunsets

2012-01-24T21:28:00.000-08:00

That is right, we have had two beautiful sunsets 2 nights in a row.

This is what I normally wear when I am at home bumming around.

And this is what I wear on my job interviews, yep I said it 2 interviews in one day.

Take that!

Can you believe this is a real sunset that has not been altered at all?

Amazing!

Linking with:

One Crazy Weekend

2012-01-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend turned out to be a little crazy. Grant went to work on Saturday to help out a friend fix their stairs and next thing I know I get a call saying he has cracked his wind shield with the wood somehow. So we spent the afternoon getting his window fixed. After the window we went to the Verizon store to look for phones because in all the confusion about the window he dropped his phone and stood on it, so now its not working very well. Since I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a phone that will probably get ruined very quickly we are waiting till we can find one for free or cheap.

Sunday, mid morning rolls around and Grant decides to pick me up and body slam me into the bed and the next thing we know my mom's 100 year old bed breaks! So again Grant spends the afternoon gluing and reattaching the bed together!

I got a lot done this weekend thanks to some free material from my cousin Lacey!

I covered 2 pillows and my office chair in some soft zebra material and it came out great.

Before:

After:

I can't wait to see how everything is going to look in our new place.

Beauty Blog

2012-01-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

I would like to introduce all of you to:

Mandy Jane Beauty

Mandy is a freelance make-up artist who is currently starting her own business. She has worked at an eyebrow studio for years shaping eyebrows and doing permanent make-up, but now she is starting her own make-up business where she travels to any Southern California destination to make you beautiful!

I find her blog super interesting because she does great before and afters and she also has a tip of the week, where she shares a beauty secret with all of us followers.

I hope you stop by and check her out!

Day In Pictures

2012-01-20T22:08:00.000-08:00

The End!

Last Year Same Day

2012-01-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

One thing I really like about having a blog is I can go back in time and see exactly what I was doing that same day the year before. Last year on January 18, 2011, I posted about our last weekend spent in the north of New Zealand at Grant's family beach house and about how I had just stared a new job. Read more about a year ago here, if you want.

Today exactly one year later:

I woke up in CA (where we live now)
My car did not start again (its been not starting on and off)
After jump starting the car we drove to get it fixed
We stopped by my Grandpa's shop to say hi
I went on a job interview
We drove and picked up my car (now its fixed!)
I got home starving but decided to wait till Grant got home so we could eat together
Since the day is not done I plan to still get some stuff together for immigration and work on painting my little side table for our new place

Only 7 Days till the big move...

Make up Before and After

2012-01-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

My cousin Amanda is taking professional make up school and asked if I could be a model.

I said of course, because getting your make up done is so fun!!!

Before:

After:

After with makeup and Hair

I love the way it came out.

On Sunday she is doing make up on a few of her friends so it will be really cool to see how they turn out.

Desk Re DO and Dance Party...

2012-01-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

Last week I finished my desk that I needed to paint.

Before:

The green and yellow are cute but they will not fit in with the colors of our new place.

During:

After:

From green to white. I am really happy with the way it turned out. On Friday we went to Lacey's house for a little get away and we ended up trying out her dance game.

Linking With:

Friday Progress Report

2012-01-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Well its Friday again and I finally remembered that I have not done a progress report in a while, so here it is.

(Alina I hope you are reading lol)

I have 2 weeks left till we move into our new place and to say I am excited is an understatement!

Every time we are out doing something I am always keeping my eye out for possible decorations and furniture for our new place. I have found some really cute vintage stuff and I can't wait to see how it all looks once its in the place.

The past week I have been working on a few art projects as well. I finally finished 2 drawings that I had started a week ago. Below is a picture of the drawing I did for our wedding planner Katherine from her wedding day. I am really happy with the way it turned out and she has not seen it yet so I hope she likes it!

I finished the drawing below for our friend Mike and his son.

Below are pictures of the coffee table and the desk I found for a great deal while my mom got her hair cut the other day. The store is in Claremont and they have the best deals I have seen in a long time.

The desk is currently getting a make over because I didn't like the 70's green color.

I will do a post on the before and after as soon as its done.

Grant is doing great in Ca so far. He is getting really good at driving around and he probably knows his way around better than I do by now, with all the working and surfing he has been doing. He is currently working and has 2 jobs in the making so it seems to really be moving along. We are having an extremely warm winter here and I am happy about that because I feel like we got ripped off for a summer this year having been in the New Zealand winter before coming here.

That is all for now... 2 weeks left till the BIG MOVE!!!

Before and After

2012-01-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I decided that I would re paint a shelf that I have had for years.

I thought with the shelf painted I would be more likely to want it in my new place because I don't like the country theme it had to start with.

BEFORE

AFTER:

I love the bright white and teal combo and it will look great in our new place.

I am thinking either in the kitchen or in our bedroom.

This is what I wore while finishing up the painting.

It is finally just starting to get cold here so we might have a winter after all.

Can you tell I am excited to get in our new place by the amount of posts I am doing about it?

Linking with:

Birthday Party

2012-01-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

Today is my mom's birthday!

To celebrate my mom and I spent the day at Glen Ivy, a day spa where we floated around hot pools.

After dinner she left for a meeting and I made brownies for her and little did I know she stopped by the store and got ice creama and cake. Soo we had a lot of desert.

Grant was soo excited for desert! Yum

The Weekend

2012-01-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

Saturday my mom and I went shopping at a few second hand stores for furniture and decorations for our new place. We found the most perfect retro table! I can't wait to see what it will look like in the new place and to fix it up a little.

Sunday we went for a hike in our local trails. Although it didn't last long, my mom had to go to the bathroom and there was no where to go, so we had to have my dad come pick us up, lol.

It has been so sunny and warm everyday that it does not feel like winter at all!

This squirrel is so cute he was running up and down the branches and swaying back and fourth, very entertaining!

Time to gear up for the week!

Interior Design!

2012-01-04T22:47:00.000-08:00

This site is sooo cool! You can design a whole room all you need are the measurements of the room and the furniture! Now I know everything I want to bring to our new place is going to fit.

http://www.urbanbarn.com/the-make-room

Find all my pictures and ideas on Pinterest

I love these colors and this will be one of the colors in our bedroom.

Whenever I am out and about I am always keeping an eye out for a teal blanket.

I love this dinning room, so retro.

Etsy

This print would look great in our kitchen/dinning room!

I have only just begun...

New Year

2012-01-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

Well its officially a new year!

And with a new year comes lots of changes.

I started using my new camera and we started shopping for new and new to us furniture because ...

We are MOVING into our place!!!

I can not wait to get into our own space, it has been a real struggle living at home especially since we are crammed into a small room, but all of that is about to change in a few weeks.

We spent New Years Eve at my cousins house.

Grant is dressed as some sort of pirate.

What we Wore on the EVE.

Now this is true love. Grant and Dean are best friends!

I will leave you with the table we might be getting for our dinning room.

Linking with:

Cha cha cha Changes... The End of 2011

2011-12-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

What a year I/we have had! So much has happened in 2011, that when I look back it seems crazy that so many things can change in just one year. Here is a recap of what happened for me personally in the year 2011.

January 2011

In January 2011 Grant and I were living in New Zealand enjoying the summer.

I had just started a new job as a receptionist and on the blog I started doing 2 challenges, a picture a day and the 30 for 30 challenge. I successfully finished the 30 for 30 remix challenge but sadly I did not finish the picture a day challenge. I think I made it for about 3 months before it became too much work.

February 2011

In February we were still enjoying summer in NZ. My dad came to visit and catch a huge fish at sea. We continued to work and enjoy the sun, I got burned! On Tuesday February 27th 2011, a huge earth quake hit Christchurch and many lives were lost, and they are still till this day being hit with more and more earth quakes!

March 2011

In March life carried on as usual but I was able to smash my finger in the car door some how.

Yes my finger did have to be drilled to release the pressure and yes my finger nail did eventually fall off, but thankfully it grew back pretty quickly and now everything is back to normal!

April 2011

What happened in April?

Hmm...party's with friends, the Royal wedding, rugby games, rats in our kitchen, Grant's 29th birthday, art, deciding we would get married, and move to the USA.

May 2011

In May we realized we were for sure going to move from NZ to the USA and we were going to get married!

We caught the rat! There was a tornado in Auckland not far from where we lived, we celebrated mothers day with pictures and skype, and it finally started to get cold outside.

June 2011

A lot happened in June!

My car crapped out and I had to buy a new alternator. We visited Anna in Palmerston North, where we got our second flat tire in one month! We realized Grant can not plank. Our immigration papers came and we decided on moving to the USA on August 7th. Grant lost the hot curry challenge and I sold a ton of our personal belongings which turned out to only be the start of getting rid of almost every item we owned!

July 2011

In July we: Took engagement photos, we sold everything we owned or gave it to the good will, I quit my job, we moved out of our place and into Grant's dads house, we closed all of our accounts, and we tried to spend quality time with our friends before we left.

August 2011

We enjoyed our last rugby game the night before we left for the USA.

We said goodbye to everyone in NZ and moved to CA!

We went to Bonneville to go racing, I started planning my wedding, I picked out my wedding dress, I got my wedding rings, we picked out wedding settings and I spent time with family and friends I have not seen in a year.

September 2011

September was a crazy month this year. We had all of Grant's family in town, we were planning the wedding, we had a bridal shower, the bachelorette party and the bachelor party.

Between being a tour guide, planning my own wedding, and dealing with slight problems (like not liking my hair and make up design for the wedding) somehow we all made it through!

October 2011

(photos by Jerry Foss and Richard Wong)

We got married on Oct first and from that point on the month just got more and more jam packed!

Grant and I went on a 2 day honey moon to Ocean side, we then took his brother to Vegas for the weekend. We spent time touring the out of town guests around CA and finally saying our sad goodbyes. Towards the end of the month I had my first art booth at the Hot Rod Reunion (which was a major success in my eyes), I got deathly sick, and I ended the month with turning 28 years old and dressing up like the day of the dead for Halloween!

November 2011

November flew by! It seemed to include all the usual things, like Thanksgiving dinner and present buying.

December 2011

Its the most wonderful time of the year!

We had an excellent December. It was my first Christmas home in over 3 years and it really felt like nothing changed. I enjoyed every party and family gathering, often thinking to myself that if I was in NZ and knew all this was happening here without me I would often get very down and cry. So it really was nice to not miss out on all the family festivities.

December has brought some of the most happy times like Christmas morning and gift opening and also some very sad moments too! All in all it has been an awesome year filled with lots of laughter and fun and I can't wait till the next year to see what that will bring along!

Happy New Years Eve!!!

New Clothes

2011-12-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

We went out to lunch yesterday with my aunt and uncle and I was able to wear some of my new clothes!

The boots are new from my birthday, the sweater is new from Christmas and so is the necklace.

Its so fun to wear new clothes.

Linking with:

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011 is now over and we are all looking forward to the New Year!

On Christmas Eve we all went to my grandpa's house for lunch.

Ryder was the only one who got gifts. Grant got him a special remote control car.

Amanda and Keith

One tradition we have is on Christmas eve night we get to open one gift and it is always some new Christmas PJ's to wear for Christmas morning.

On Christmas morning our tradition that we have had forever is we wake up and first thing we do is open stockings. After stockings we have breakfast which is normally waffles and bacon.

After breakfast we open all our gifts. My mom acts as Santa's helper and hands out the gifts one by one and we take turns opening them so we can all see what we got rather than tear the gifts apart all at one time.

This is what I got!

This is what Grant got. I have the feeling Grant got the most gifts out of everyone.

Around 1pm all the family came to our house for an early dinner.

It was so sunny and warm out probably about 75 degrees.

It was a really nice Christmas and I don't think we could have asked for more !

New Etsy Art

2011-12-26T21:44:00.003-08:00

The Best Hoodie Ever!

2011-12-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

On Friday we went to Huntington Beach for lunch and that is when Grant found the best hoodie ever!

We were sitting at Fred's eating lunch and watching everyone below buying all the sale clothes, when we spotted a neon green hoodie on the $20 rack.

After lunch we went down to check it out and it fit perfectly and we realised something even more cool than the price, the hood zips up too!

Yummy Mexican food lunch.

I have never seen Grant more excited about a clothing deal lol.

Merry Christmas

Guest Post

2011-12-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

Today I am guest posting over at the blog: A Beautiful Feather

My post is all about the differences between the American Christmas I grew up with and the New Zealand Christmas I grew to love!

Please go check out my post and the Beautiful Feather blog!

And I will leave you with a few awesome pictures of the New Zealand summer.

Happy Friday

We have a Winner!

2011-12-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

The My Memories winner is: sandandstarfish

Congratulations!!

I will be emailing you later today with the code to get the My Memories Software!

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1

Max: 24

Result: 13

In case anybody still would like to buy the my memories scrap booking software they gave me a coupon code so you can get $10 off your purchase!!!

Save $10 by

using this code:

STMMMS39065

I hope everyone is having a good day,

I am feeling a little like this today.

Happy Thursday...

The Best of the Year

2011-12-21T00:02:00.000-08:00

A whole year of outfits one month at a time.

I decided I would keep with my theme of recapping the year 2011 and show you

what I thought were some of my best outfits from every month this year!

Also please keep in mind this is the first year I have ever really put any thought into putting outfits together, remixing, and fashion posting.

Here we go:

January in New Zealand

February in New Zealand

March in NZ

April in New Zealand

May in New Zealand

(its cooling down)

June in NZ

July in NZ

(winter time)

August in CA USA

(summer time!)

September in CA

October in CA

(visit my wedding posts one, two, and three for way more cool wedding pictures)

November in CA

December in CA

Thanks for joining me this year on my clothing journey!

I have never put so much thought into clothes before, but its fun so why not.

Don't forget today is the last day to join my giveaway, go here to enter!

Linking with:

2011 Review

2011-12-20T11:24:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened this year in our lives and I thought December is the perfect time to recap our year.

We both started new jobs this year
We both quit those new jobs to move from NZ to the USA
We sold every single thing we owned and moved out of our own place and into my parents place in CA
We got married
We have both found new jobs in CA
We have bought cars, tools and clothes
We are starting completely new!

I must say we have accomplished quite a lot in one year, we have made more changes in one year than most people make in their whole lives! Life is a challenge and we are up for it.

Tomorrow is the last day of my giveaway, go here to enter!

Thursday I announce the winner winner chicken dinner!

My Memories Scrap Booking

2011-12-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I was able to take a few minutes and use the My Memories Software to create these fun scrap book pages. It is so easy and I love all their fun pre-set designs. For me the hardest thing about scrap booking is all the cutting and pasting and realizing at the end that sometime is does not look good after all!

That is why I really like that there are pages that are all set up and all I do is drag my pictures in!

I hope you enter my giveaway for free My Memories scrap booking software, I will announce the winner on this Thursday. So you still have time.

Just click here to enter

The Weekend Wrap Up

2011-12-18T17:53:00.000-08:00

This weekend was very relaxing and fun.

Friday night started with a Christmas party at our neighbors house.

Here I am working on some art before the party.

Saturday I was very lucky to have Grant home so we could spend some time together.

I had started to feel like I never see him. I know I see him every night, but its hard to spend fun time with someone when they have just rushed home from work and they are tired, hungry, and want to relax.

Most weekends he goes off to surf and so it was really nice to have a whole weekend together.

Saturday night we went out for a date!

We started with drinks at the Hip Kitty and ended with dinner and more drinks at Mexican food.

The craziest thing happened, the bottom of Grant's beer glass made the shape of a jack o lantern on the napkin and then the foam in his beer looked like a skull!

Maybe its not crazy and just we are hahhaha.

How do you save $30.00?

At home hair cuts! This morning my mom cut Grant's hair and I think it turned out pretty good.

Before:

During:

After:

Now I am getting ready to start the new week and a new job!

P.S. Don't forget the enter my Giveaway!!! The winner will be announced on Thursday the 22nd!

Christmas Projects

2011-12-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

This past month I have been working on a ton of art and projects for friends, family and customers.

One extremely interesting project was when our family friend call me and asked if I might be able to sew her up a quilt using her husband's favorite shirts that he no longer wears.

This is such a great idea because you can use something that might have meaning to you to make a blanket that will be used forever.

The first thing we did was go to the fabric shop and get some material for the backing of the blanket and also some non woven interfacing (that you iron the t-shirts to so they don't stretch all over the place).

I simply layed out the t-shirts in a pattern that looked nice and did some math on what size each t-shirt would need to be cut down to and iron them to the interfacing and sewed them together.

When all the t-shirts were sewn together then I sewed the backing on and the next thing I knew we had a blanket!!!

It turned out so good that I was enlisted to make another one!

Linking with:

Blue Cricket Design

Made in America Gift List

2011-12-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my mom and I were at the mall to meet a friend and do some last minute shopping, while we were there we both thought it would be interesting to see if we could find anything that was made in America.

We started looking around Nordstroms and quickly realized we could not find even one item!

I asked the man working there if he knew of any items that were made in America and he said he thought the Tom's shoes were made in America so we went over and had a look and sure enough they are made in China!!!

So I thought I would compile a little list of made in America stores and items that could maybe inspire all of us to buy items made here in our own country.

(source)

Overstock.com has a 100% made in America section of the store!

American Apparel

Everything is Made in America and they have a lot to choose from.

(source)

Omaha Steaks and other food

A kids rocking horse from Maple Landmark.

Plastic toys from American Plastic toys.

I am finding the more I look into buying Made in the USA products the more I am finding, but its not easy and that is sad.

Here is a list of websites that I have found that make it a little easier.

And don't forget there is always Etsy, where you can find not only American made but hand made =)

My Memories Giveaway!!!

2011-12-13T21:42:00.001-08:00

Its time for an excellent giveaway from My Memories.

My Memories Suite is the #1 rated scrapbook software. Not only is it affordable and fun, it’s also extremely easy. Whether you’re new to digital scrap booking or a seasoned pro, My Memories Suite is the perfect digital scrap booking software to use.

I used the My Memories Suite to do my outfit post this week and I must say it was extremely easy to use and there are a lot of fun layouts.

This giveaway is for a free My Memories Suite!!!

There are a few different ways to enter the give away:

Mandatory: You must be a public follower via Google Friend Connect of this blog or via Bloglovin. Comment letting me know you are a follower.

(if you already follow me just leave a comment letting me know)

Extra Entries: Leave a separate comment for each you do.

- Go to the My Memories site and tell me your favorite digital layout

- Follow me on Twitter

- Tweet about this giveaway {just once} linking to this post in your tweet!

- Post a link to this giveaway post to your Facebook

That is 5 total entries you could get, improving your chances to win the My Memories Suite!

You have until Wednesday, December 21st to enter this giveaway! I'll announce the winner Thursday, December 22 - so check back. Open internationally.

Linking with:

Hair and Makeup

2011-12-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

As I was searching the Internet for ideas for art, and I came across the top 12 hair cuts right now.

Turns out the latest greatest is the lob (long-bob).

I have had this hair cut before and loved it, but I decided to keep it a little longer for now.

These were also in the top 12 and it reminds me of my exact hair cut I have now.

I am in style and didn't even know it!

(source)

I also ran across the sexiest 5-minute makeup looks, who knew it was so easy to look good.

Slightly Smudged Eye Liner ( I do this one in my sleep before I even wake up)
Red lips and Eyes (The suggestion is to rub blush all over your face this can also be done if you forget to take your makeup off the day before)
Violet Eye Liner under your lower eye lid ( Is it just me or does this give you the black eye look)
Tawny Eyes lips and cheeks ( this looks good on very few people, pretty much its like you are not wearing makeup at all)
Chocolate Lip Color ( in my opinion this looks good on no one)

(source)

Thank you for the Sexy tips, but I think I will stick with my make up routine for now =)

Don't forget there will be a giveaway on Wednesday!!!

Christmas Party

2011-12-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend we went to my cousin Amanda's Christmas party. The theme was crazy hats. I decided that not only would I wear my crazy new red hat that I found specially for this party, but I would also wear my new red pants. I ended up looking sorta like Santa hahhaha.

The party was a lot of fun and I won a prize for most festive outfit =)

I am ending the weekend by watching Kourtney and Kim take NY.

You know there is nothing on TV when that happens LOL!

On Wednesday I am doing my first giveaway so make sure you check in!

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2011-12-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

We officially decorated for Christmas at our house and the spirit is in the air!

Just last Wednesday we went to Lacey's house for the night because we were NOT invited to my parents Christmas party (and we live with them) so we stayed the night at Lacey's house.

Just look at our Christmas picture! Below is normal.

But look how much happier we are when we have Christmas sweaters on!

Can't you just feel the Christmas Spirit. woo hoo!!!

I don't think its possible to smile any harder lol.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

P.S. A way funnier picture will be coming in the mail to family =)

Etsy Art

2011-12-08T21:29:00.001-08:00

Happy Friday!!!

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-12-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

I think this could be the first time I have ever pulled 3 outfits together for a what I wore Wednesday!

It is so hard to remember to take pictures for this blog lately.

Last Friday's out for drinks outfit.

Finally I am able to wear the scarf I bought from the Pleated Poppy!

I just love it.

I just added some new kids art to my Etsy shop, Pirates!

Linking with:

Made in America

2011-12-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I was watching Good Morning America and I was shocked to find out how buying American made gifts could make such a difference in creating jobs here in America.

"The average American will spend $700 on holiday gifts and goodies this year, totaling more than $465 billion, the National Retail Federation estimates. If that money was spent entirely on US made products it would create 4.6 million jobs. But it doesn't even have to be that big. If each of us spent just $64 on American made goods during our holiday shopping, the result would be 200,000 new jobs. "
Source

Go here if you want to see a huge list of places to buy American made products and I would also suggest http://www.etsy.com/ to find tons of great gifts that are not only American made but also home made!

Spread the word and hopefully it will make a difference!

Progress Report Weekend

2011-12-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been great! The weather has been perfect, warm in the sun during the day and crisp and cool at night, because after all it is winter. It seems everyone in the neighborhood has put up all their Christmas decorations and it looks lovely. After living in NZ for the last 3 years where there are not really any decorations, it is fun for me to help my mom decorate again.

My mom bought a surfer nut cracker for Grant.

Saturday started early with Grant going on the roof to see what damage was done after the 100mph winds.

Turns out the chimney will need some fixing, there is a metal part that is bent up.

In the afternoon my cousin Lacey and her family came up to see the Christmas train pull into town.

Dean decided to share Lili's(the dog) tent with her.

I decorated the tree while we sat around and talked before going to dinner.

Dean and I are waiting for the train to come into town.

I have never seen a kid more excited than Dean. He had this look plastered on his face the entire time the Santa show was going on! I have never laughed so hard in my life, besides the look on Dean's face the Santa show was bizarre, I think whoever wrote the script must have been on drugs!

Dean got to sit on Grant's shoulders making him the tallest kid in the world hahah and also blocking about 25 people standing behind.

What to do with a blanket no one wants? Make it a blanket scarf!

Totem Pole!

It was getting late by the looks of this picture both our eyes are half shut lol.

This was a fun weekend and its not even over yet!

More Art

2011-12-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

I have been working on a lot of art and just today I finished a painting for a friend.

Maybe one day I can post a piece of art work a day on the blog, you never know!

I have just posted this painting in my etsy store as a commission so if there is anyone out there that has a picture of something they want a painting of just let me know I am ready to paint and draw!

- Happy Friday

I Got a Hair Cut!

2011-12-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

First things first, last night we had 100mph winds (or at least it felt like it) and we woke up to our yard being totally ripped apart. Luckily the only thing that broke was our bird wind chime.

All over our town the roads are shut down because of all the branches and a lot of the power lines are falling over. As we drove to the hair place most of the signals were out. We were lucky that nothing fell on our house or cars!

Here is the big hair reveal! I was so sick of my long dead hair and I had to get it cut.

It was at the point where I didn't even dry it or style it, so something had to give.

I had about 4 inches cut off and its so much better now =)

Before and After

I love the new look, it feels so fresh. I can't wait to be able to have a style again!

Childrens ART

2011-11-30T16:34:00.000-08:00

I have started doing art for children. I was thinking the other day about what I might want to do in my Etsy store, and I realized it would be fun to do some art for children's rooms. I noticed most people sell prints of art for children's rooms and I thought it would be interesting to see if I could sell original watercolors instead of prints. All of my originals are one of a kind and will not be scanned and reproduced.

I am selling them for the low price of $22.00 and they are all the same size 8x10 inches, which is a standard mat and frame size in all stores, making it easy to hang the art as soon as you get it.

If you are interested in one of my Originals head over to my Etsy store:

Shannon's Shop

Children's art is a great gift idea for:

Baby Showers, One Year Old Birthdays. Christmas, Congratulations on a Pregnancy and many more...

linking

Jammed Packed Long Weekend

2011-11-29T12:11:00.000-08:00

Friday

I took the metro into LA with some friends.

Union Station is decorated for Christmas, I love when a tree has a theme, like gold.

We had a great time walking around and seeing all the weirdos dressed up as cartoon characters.

This trip we decided to go into the Roosevelt Hotel. I always thought it would be off limits to go into the hotel and look around unless you were staying there, but it was the opposite! Everyone was really nice and they even told us some of the history. Apparently Marilyn Monroe lived in this hotel for a few months and this is where she did a famous photo shoot by the pool.

After our hotel history lesson we headed to the hard rock restaurant to have a drink.

We went to a few more bars for more drinks and dinner before we walked around Hollywood and Highland.

The night ended around 9pm with the train home.

Saturday

We decided that we wanted to get out of the house and visit my cousin Amanda at their new house.

They just moved so we were able to help with some of the set up and decor.

We ended up going out for dinner and a few drinks and had a lot of fun.

Grant and Keith (Amanda's Husband)

Amanda's friend Lindsey and Amanda (my cousin)

Our walk home was the most interesting part of the night!

Hope everyone else had a good weekend too!

Black Friday Progress Report

2011-11-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

Today is Black Friday in America, its where all these wild shoppers go out and spend all there money on things they probably don't need because they are caught up in all the sales that are going on in all the stores, turning the stores profits from red to black!

I am not one of these people lol.

I have decided that I am not going to buy much for people for Christmas mainly because I don't have much money and because I can't even think of anything that my family could need that they don't already have.

I in return am not expecting much =)

Yesterday we had a great Thanksgiving dinner made by my mom. It was super yummy!

All the trees are a lovely fall orange red color, that is just beautiful.

and finally a picture of Grant's van!

Grant is off to surf and I am off to partay in LA woo to the hoo!

Target!

2011-11-23T21:20:00.000-08:00

I can not get enough of these funny Target Commercials!
Whoever came up with this crazy black Friday Lady deserves an award.

And for the record, I will not be shopping on black Friday, I'll leave that for the seriously committed shoppers.

What WE Wore

2011-11-22T21:11:00.000-08:00

On the weekend I got really dressed up to go to Home Depot, lol.

I decided to try to rolled up boyfriend jeans and to be honest I don't really know it I pulled this look off.

And now presenting my NEW Model, GRANT!

Grant decided to model too, He is wearing a Voltron t-shirt from Target and Jeans and shoes from Kohl's!

This week I am doing 2 different giveaways of my art.

To enter either giveaway go to:

Chasing Davies

and

Donda Lee's

Linking up with:

GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-11-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Today I am doing a giveaway on the blog Chasing Davies.
I am giving away one print from my Etsy store, so head on over to Chasing Davies and join the fun!

New Sponsors

2011-11-19T09:02:00.000-08:00

I have two new sponsors as of yesterday and both blogs are really worth looking at!

My Side is Pinker... is a fashion blog with spunk!

Below is a quote from Meg,

"I have found that nothing is more awkward than me going around campus asking if I can take pictures of strangers. 'ahem...ahem....uh...so I have a fashion blog, and um, you look great. Can I take your picture for my campus stylized day?...oh and while you're at it, will you do the macarena too?'"

She is funny and stylish and really you can't ask for more.

A Beautiful Feather is a blog written by Jahnavi, and she live in Dubai!

"I'm a management graduate (hope one day I will start my own business), a photography enthusiast, Photography-oholic (oh yes it is addictive), I just love taking pictures and I enjoy travelling, reading, painting, drawing but mostly learning and trying new stuff. I can never stop creating and imagining."

Both blogs are very interesting and are defiantly worth checking out.

Friday Progress Report

2011-11-18T16:45:00.000-08:00

Wow time flys when you are doing nothing, hahhaha! That is actually not true, but time really is flying and I still don't have a job! Today I went on an employment agency interview, where I felt under qualified and stupid. Oh well, who cares if I only type 35 words a minute ahahhahahha. They offered to send me on a job interview in 2 weeks to a place that is an hour away from where I live and I would make $10.00 an hour.
So that means that I would make $80.00 dollars a day and pay $40.00 of it in gas every other day.
For some reason I am smart enough to realize that there is no way I can live off of 10 dollars an hour LOL.
If I sold 2 paintings a day or a few drawings a week I would make way more than that.

Anyways new topic!
I have been working on a lot of art for my Etsy store and I have a few commissioned projects that I have been asked to do for Christmas, so that is really good news.
I have also taken out a few ads on about four different blogs for my Art Store, so hopefully it takes off!

Last weekend Grant and I went and spent some time with my cousin Lacey and her husband Brandon. The guys went surfing and us girls hung out. Lacey has just found out that she is having a baby GIRL! I got so excited last night that I decided to make her something, but its a surprise till I give it to her.
I might do a blog post on how I made it (the surprise that is).

Grant has been working everyday, although he is so tired by the time he gets home he goes straight to bed sometimes without eating! I told him he is going to get too skinny, so I force him to eat LOL.

Sadly again I don't have any good progress pictures so I will leave you with a picture of our unripe Lemon tree in our backyard.

I see some margaritas in my near future!

Working on ART

2011-11-16T21:51:00.000-08:00

This week I have been working on a lot of art so I can really fill up my Etsy store. I feel like I should take advantage of the fact that I don't have a job yet and try to make and sell my art. Today I added four new works of art to my store and I am currently working on a few Christmas commissions! I have started a new series of paintings they are small, but they are originals rather than prints.

Do I Gnome you?

Freshen your breath with my mint painting?

You can see more of my art in my Etsy store.

ETSY

What I Wore ( I have no clothes)

2011-11-15T17:33:00.000-08:00

Don't worry when I get a job and leave the house everyday my weekly outfits will get way more interesting!

There was only one day this week where I actually got dressed cute, all the other days consisted of jeans and a t-shirt.

My dog Lili

Both of these pictures just point out how much I need a new camera jeez its bad!

The good thing is Christmas is right around the corner and I might just buy myself one ;)

Linking With:

Is it already Christmas?

2011-11-14T17:19:00.000-08:00

This weekend I worked on some art and we went and visited Lacey (my cousin) and Brandon.

Friday night we went out to dinner and while we waited for a table we decided to pose by the Christmas tree. The whole mall is already decorated!

Look... We have a kid! Just kidding this is my nephew.

My mom blends in perfect with the tree =)

This picture is the perfect proof that I need a new camera!

Hope everyone had a good weekend because its already Monday, the weeks are really flying by.

Progress Report

2011-11-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

Today is my first progress report of how we are doing since we have moved back to California.
Well we are doing good, not great, but good. I don't know what I was expecting but its been much harder than I thought it would be! I was thinking we would get here and magically I would find my perfect job, everything would go smoothly with immigration and that we would have our own place to live in HA HA, that is not what is happening!

As of right now we are still living with my parents and I am still looking for a job, to be honest I have only been looking for 2 weeks so I can't expect much but I guess I am an impatient person. We are slowly making progress, Grant is now the owner of a white Astro van, he calls it his Astro Racing Van and thinks he should wear a helmet when driving it, and he has been able to buy a lot of tools so he can now do any project that comes his way. Grant has also found some work as a finish carpenter/builder, the only draw back being that he has to drive pretty far to the job and home, leaving at 5:30am every morning and not getting home till around 7pm every night!

I have been able to work on a lot of art work and add lots of stuff for sale to my etsy store so hopefully that will take off and I will be able to be an artist for a living (in my dreams), in the mean time I have signed up to 3 job agencies and I am hoping that I will find some work through them.

As for pictures I am seriously lacking, my excuse being that on Halloween I forgot my camera at my aunt Lisa's house and just got it back the other day soooo I have included one picture from my birthday dinner and a few pictures from Halloween. ENJOY!

My birthday dinner, I am now 28!

Halloween

Lucky for me my eyes are naturally red in every picture!

Tune in next Friday for the second Progress Report =)

- Happy Friday

Custom Holiday Gift Special

2011-11-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

All day I worked on a commissioned drawing and on my Christmas/Holiday ad.

I am so excited to be able to offer affordable portraits in time for the holidays!

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-11-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

It is finally starting to really feel like Fall here in sunny southern California.

We have even had our heater on for the last few days!

When I moved back to Ca from New Zealand I had to give away most of my clothes because sadly they would just not fit in the luggage, so I have been shopping a few times and I am slowly building my wardrobe back up.

The sweater I got from TJ Maxx and the boots my mom found for $13.00 at Khols.

I love a good deal!

These were the few items that are warm that I was able to fit in my luggage from NZ.

I am happy now that I crammed so much in and actually wish I was able to bring back more.

Even though the weather is cool there are still a lot for pretty flowers in our back yard.

Many people... ok one person (Alina) asked that I do more blogging about what we are up to since we left New Zealand. Soooo I have decided to make every Friday (or most Fridays) a progress report day, where I will let everyone know how we are doing and what we get up to!

I guess that means I better start doing something interesting hahahaha.

Linking With:

Search Keywords

2011-11-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

In between searching for jobs and working on art I thought I would share with everyone the
"Search Keywords" That brought some people to this blog this week:

shannon olsen talks a lot

My last name is spelt wrong (as usual)

chanel framed image

A painting I did

sweating from jeans

A post I did a while back about how sweaty skinny jeans can be

bridal tea party hats

A post I did about my bridal shower

jerry foss photographer email

My wedding photographer

shannon olson blog

My name

smalll car

I am not sure how you get to my blog with this search word, but I had a small car in NZ

Ok back to the job search!

Job Search

2011-11-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

I am on the search for a job! So if anyone knows of anyone hiring, I am looking for something creative or something in the administration sector. I have signed up to a few agencies and interviewed for one job so far, I have a feeling there will be a lot more interviews in the future lol.

The funny thing is I only have one interview outfit! If I ever get called back to a second interview I will have to go shopping for some clothes.

Today I finally got the chance to finish my wedding scrap book album.

It was fun to do, but about half way through it became a lot of work!

I am happy with the way it turned out and now I have something to show people when they ask me about my wedding =)

Happy Friday!

Fall Decor

2011-11-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

Over on Young House Love they are having a Fall Pinterest Challenge!

The rules are you, find some pictures on pinterest that have inspired you and make a project from the inspiration!

I have found some Fall leaf art that is on Pinterest and from that I was inspired to do a Fall watercolor!

PINTEREST INSPIRATION

Source

My watercolor project!

They look great over our fire place!

I am offering them for sale in my Etsy store, in case anyone is interested!

Linking up with : Young House Love

Blue Cricket Design

Somewhat Simple

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

This year instead of carving my pumpkin I thought it might be just as fun, and less messy, to paint it!

The plus side to painting is you can make a different design on each side too.

Isn't that fun =)

This last Saturday we did go to a Halloween party and we got all dressed up and had a wonderful time, but I forgot my camera there sooooo I have no pictures from that night!

I guess I will have to just do a delayed costume post when I get the camera back.

For now I leave you with what I wore today...shorts, orange t-shirt, orange Halloween socks and I threw some bunny ears on (for fun).

There were so many great events that happened this month:

I got married
All our family were together for the wedding
Grant got a job
It was my birthday
And of course Halloween!

Looking forward to November and all the fun that will bring!

Linking :

Sponsor Introductions Part Three

2011-10-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to Introduce Grace from:

My name is Grace Fleming – insert “Lynne” when needed. Once December rolls around I’ll be graduating from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a B.A. in Communications. I’m from the outskirts of Nashville, TN and I couldn’t imagine calling anywhere else home.

Welcome!

Her Umbrella is just a collection of my life’s little decorations – whether it’s a love for sampling the world, empty candy wrappers, books filled with scribbled ideas or stupid people that keep showing up – they’ve all found a place underneath, adorning everyday with a little more sparkle.

A story every hour, every day or every week, is worth a listen, a read or a repeat.

Blog - FaceBook - Pinterest - Tumblr

Sponsor Introductions

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce all of you to Hannah from :

Hi! My name is Hannah and I am the girl behind A Cup of Subtle Tea. It is my little corner where I can share my adventures in a new city, recipes, DIY projects and my weekly feature Teal Tuesday. To say that I am obsessed with all shades of teal would be an understatement! I am just a crafter, baker, planner, diyer and all around sillypants enjoying life in a new city with my boyfriend and spending way to much time inside.

Blog - Twitter - Pinterest

My Birthday!

2011-10-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

I am now officially 28! Yesterday was my birthday.

I don't feel any different so that is good.

Grant got me a really nice gift. Three things! Imagine my excitement, I got a guess purse, a hot water bottle (it warms the bed by your feet and I left mine in NZ) and some Prada perfume!

My parents took us out to dinner to Buca, a yummy Italian restaurant.

It was a great birthday in my opinion =)

I made my own cake, and it tasted awesome!

Me and my new purse yippy!

-Happy Friday

Sponsor Introductions

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce all of you to one of my wonderful blog partners, she is a lovely person and writes a very interesting blog. I hope you all stop by and see Life After Marriage a blog by Katherine.

My blog is my life!! I started it as a way to document my life as I was planning my dream wedding. Now that I'm married, I'm also a part time wedding planner, a part time wedding blogger, and a full time housewife! I love blogging about our everyday life whether it be what I made for dinner that night or what we did that weekend! It's an awesome way to keep family and friends in the loop since I don't always have the time to keep in touch with all of them! You will also find me blogging about weddings, home decor, food, family, friends, pets...anything & everything that I find interesting!

Hopefully you stop by & find something interesting in there too!=)

Sweetie Events is my wedding planning site. I use it to document the weddings I coordinate along with wedding inspiration & tips. It gives me my wedding fill ;)

Lastly, this is my "work blog" where I a write weekly articles on what else....weddings!!!

Life After Marriage - Face Book - Pinterest - The Bridal District.com - Sweetie Events

California Hot Rod Reunion

2011-10-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

On Thursday last week I left for Bakersfield, for the 20th California Hot Rod Reunion.

I have been the portrait artist for the CHRR for the past nine years, each year they honor about 5 to 7 people who have been influential in the Hot Roding sport and I have been able to do a portrait of the honorees each year! This is the first year I have ever had a booth at the event selling my hot rod art and my portraits, and I must say I feel that it was a success!

Above I am talking to Art Chrisman, a pioneer in racing history!

Above I am taking a picture with Al Teague, a famous Bonneville racer, we are holding a painting and a drawing that I did of him and his cars.

Friday night was a banquet they have each year where they award the honorees with their portrait and a trophy. I am standing next to one of the drawings I did.

Here is what I wore while selling art. In the mornings it was cool so I was able to wear my "Fall" clothes, but come noon it was so hot, we all had to change back into summer clothes.

My manager and mom Kathy!

Here is my dad Carl and his friend Mike Kuhl's race car, My dad is the driver and Kuhl is the owner/engine guy. They were having a special start up and letting a New Zealand friend sit in the car.

Sadly the weekend did not end well for me.

Saturday night after a great dinner I went to sleep feeling fine and woke in the middle of the night violenly ill.

I have never felt so sick in my whole life! I was sick all day Sunday with a temp of 101, and now today is Tuesday and I am still feeling very weak. I am hoping by tomorrow I will be completely back to normal with all my strength back, especially because Thursday is my birthday!

Linking up with:

In case you are interested in knowing about the CHRR just click here

Halloween Costume Debate

2011-10-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you remember about 5 posts back I asked everyone what should I be for Halloween?
Well, after a lot of thinking I decided that I don't want to spend any money and I don't really want to be something that I have been before and that is when it hit me. Grant and I both have Mexican dancing costumes (don't ask me why) and we have never worn them!

So I asked my Aunt Lisa if she could do our make up and the answer was yes!
Long story short we are going to be Day of the Dead!

Here are a few pictures from my Pinterest of how we are going to look.

I am so excited, I really think it will be fun!

Have a great weekend!!!

(All image links can be found on my pinterest)

CHRR

2011-10-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

This whole week I have been getting ready for the CA Hot Rod Reunion, where I will have a booth and sell some of my art. I never knew it would be so much work to get ready to sell art.

The good thing about having everything ready is now I am ready for any art shows that may come up in the future.

This is how it looks when we are getting "organized" LOL

Well I am off the the show!

Wish me luck.

Sell Sell Sell!

Boot Paintings

2011-10-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

Before I left New Zealand in August my friend Mel asked me if I could do paintings of her little girls boots.

Of course with moving to CA and getting married I did not have time until now to work on the paintings.

So this week I buckled down and got er done!

I was really happy with the way they came out and I hope Mel is too!

Tonight we are working on getting all my art ready for the CA Hot Rod Reunion.

I really hope I sell something =)

Moon Eyes Art

2011-10-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

Today I started and finished a painting!

If I could do a painting a day and actually sell them then that could be my full time job and I would love it!

Of course that is not a reality lol.

This weekend I am going to have a booth with some of my automotive art for sale at the California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield. It will be my first time having a booth where I try to sell my art at a place where it has the possibility of actually selling. I guess we will see how it goes.

This is an acrylic painting I did of the Moon Eyes Bonneville Car, on a Moon disk (the cover that goes on the wheel). It is my first time ever trying this and I am really happy with the way it came out. =)

Zoom!

What I Wore..Is it FALL???

2011-10-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

It is Fall, but you would never know it where I live. One day last week it was a little cool in the morning so I was able to wear pants and a sweater, but literally the next day it was back into the hundreds.

I guess I will not be wearing any of my fall/winter clothes till it really gets cold which is fine by me because I love to wear shorts and t-shirts.

Until I get a job where I dress up and leave the house everyday I have a feeling that my outfit posts will be boring lol.

Please check out Sweetie Events, my friend Katherine has started her own wedding coordinating/planning business and her first post on her new blog is about my wedding that she coordinated!

Linking up with:

Think Pink!

2011-10-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

Check out my Etsy picks!

Chanel N 5

2011-10-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

I have just relisted my Chanel N 5 Print (found in my Etsy store) to include a frame!

A Little Chanel N 5

by Shannon Olson

This listing is for a high quality colorful print.
Printed from an original water color and ink painting.
The image is 5x7 inches and comes with a white matt and a black frame that is 8x10

Check it out you know you want to!

(or maybe you are bored and are looking to kill some time, either way)

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Halloween

2011-10-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

What should I be for Halloween????

I feel like I have been everything for Halloween!

From a Pumpkin to a Pincess to a Witch!

I want to be something different but what??

Should it be sexy or funny?

2007 to 2010 Costumes

2007 Play Boy Bunny (Girls next Door)

2008 Devil

2009

2009 Fairy

2010

2010 Pirate

As you can see I like to recycle outfits hahahh, that dress has been used 3 years straight!

2011? What should I be?

My First Week as a MRS.

2011-10-12T22:45:00.000-07:00

The next day after we got married we took off for a 2 day honeymoon to Oceanside.

We had the best time just relaxing and sitting on the deck drinking beers and eating.

We enjoyed many meals out and long walks down the Pier.

Our last night there we had a beautiful sunset.

After a quick trip home to unpack and repack we took off to Vegas to meet Grant's brother.

Adam flew in from San Francisco so he could have his first weekend in Vegas.

We had such a fun trip.

Our first night we went straight to Dick's Last Resort, we had so much fun there a few years ago that we decided we wanted to see it again.

We ended our first night out early and spent the next day wandering around the streets and going to the pool.

October is really too cool outside to get in the pool and lay out so we ended up getting ready early and going out to dinner.

After a long time of waiting at the door of some stupid NEW club with 50 other people with a door man that would not even let us know how long it would take to get in, we decided to head back to Dick's Last Resort where everyone knows how to have fun and there is no wait!

To tell you all the truth, I am over Vegas! I have had way too many trips there that have gone really wrong. You end up spending all your time waiting to get into clubs that end up being super lame once you are in them, or you end up walking up and down the strip looking for something to do while your feet start to bleed from your uncomfortable shoes. Is it just me? I really feel like I would rather spend my money on a more fun intelligent vacation where the whole goal is not to look hot and get drunk. Maybe this means I am getting old, and if so I think that is a good thing!

I have a feeling that was my last Vegas trip.

On our long drive home we stopped at Peggy Sue's diner for some burgers, fries, and chocolate shakes.

Upon our arrival home we were greeted with a fruit arrangement from my good friend Anna who lives in New Zealand. What a great wedding present, and so healthy too!

Thank you Anna we loved it!

Now its back to real life = Looking for a job!

My 1950's Wedding Decor

2011-10-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

A major part of our wedding planning was coming up with how we would decorate.

I found these cheap flamingos at a garden store.

I decided early on I didn't want to spend too much money on flowers.

Thankfully Katherine our wedding coordinator was able to come up with some inexpensive options for flowers that came out looking awesome!

If you are looking for a wedding planner/ coordinator I would suggest Katherine, she was a major help and really knew what she was doing!

She has a great blog called Life After Marriage, stop by and check her out.

I knew from the start that I wanted a candy/cake table with 1950's candy and also candy from New Zealand.

I found some super cute cake toppers in Olvera Street. They are actually salt and pepper shakers.

So now we can use them in our house.

I am so happy I went with the checkered dance floor because it really brought the whole 1950's theme together and added a lot of interest to the pictures.

Finally we wanted everyone to have fun so we had hula hoops for kids and adults to play with.

All of my photos were taken by Jerry Foss (jerry.foss@roadrunner.com) and Richard Wong (rwong@rwongphotography.com), the best photographers ever!

Honestly if you need photographers for your wedding, these guys are the best. They are both super easy to work with, very funny and cool. I am so happy with every photo they took, and I feel like without them I would not have even seen my own wedding!

Richard Wong (rwong@rwongphotography.com)

You can find a little clip about my blog over at Donda Lee's blog!

Click here

Wedding Part Three...The Party

2011-10-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

After the wedding it was time to PARTY!

We have a tradition in my family and that is we all flip off the camera lol.

Here we are signing the marriage licence to make it official!

This is my NZ family, they came out just for the wedding and it was great to have them there!

My dad started up his dragster and did a mini cackle fest.

It was such a great party that I didn't want it to end, but sadly everything must end at some point.

(all of my photos were taken by Jerry Foss and Richard Wong, the best photographers ever!)

Richard Wong (rwong@rwongphotography.com)

My Wedding Part Two

2011-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

I made my grand arrival to the wedding at 5:30 pm in a hot rod with my dad driving us.

We pulled up in the car and walked down the aisle while everyone else was already seated and waiting.

I was so nervous I was shaking!

Luckily I was able to laugh a few times to relieve some of my nervousness, if not I think I might have fainted!

Here we are exchanging the rings.

Finally we are a married couple.

Mr. and Mrs. Torrens!

At this moment it was so amazing to know that I am actually married and I no longer have to plan and worry about the wedding and everything going right.

All we had to do at this moment was have fun and we did!

Stay tuned for the next post all about the wedding party.

PART ONE - PART THREE - DECOR

(all of my photos were taken by Jerry Foss and Richard Wong, the best photographers ever!)

Richard Wong (rwong@rwongphotography.com)

My Wedding Part One

2011-10-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

On October 1, 2011, we got married.

My day started at 8am with getting my hair done, Grant and the rest of my family headed down to my Grandpa's shop to set up our 1950's themed wedding.

An hour before we had to leave for the wedding my cousins and my friend Andrea stopped by my room to say a little hello and wish me luck.

Me and Andrea

Me and Kristen, Lacey is in the background.

My parents both met me in my room so we could take some pictures before heading to the wedding venue. Of course I did not see Grant before the wedding because I wanted it to be a big surprise.

When we were done taking our pictures we went back up to the room so Grant and his mom and dad could come down and take their pictures and head over to the shop.

He is so good looking!

After these photos were taken they all went to the shop and my dad and I waited in the hotel room till it was time for our arrival.

Check in tomorrow for the ceremony!

PART 2 - PART 3 - WEDDING DECOR

(all of my photos were taken by Jerry Foss and Richard Wong, the best photographers ever!)

Richard Wong (rwong@rwongphotography.com)

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Wedding Rehearsal and Set Up

2011-10-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

On Friday September 30th, the day before my wedding we had our rehearsal.

The wedding took place at my Grandpa Roy's Race Car Shop.

At around 8am the tent company arrived and started putting the tent up and we started decorating.

Around 1pm we had our wedding walk through, where we practiced 2 times how I would make my entrance and how I would walk down the aisle.

The rehearsal went really well and we had just enough time to race home and have all of our out of town guests over for dinner.

Tomorrow I will post about the wedding day!

Going to the Chapel...

2011-10-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Guess what I did yesterday?

That's right, we got married!

We are going on our extremely short 2.5 day honey moon tomorrow.

When I return there will be a full post about all the fun wedding festivities, who knows there might even be several posts!

Retro Wedding Set Up

2011-09-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am getting Married!

Its a 50's themed wedding.

Here are a few pictures that I found on pinterest that I based my wedding decorations on.

We are going to have a unique cake topper and we will be having multi colored lanterns in the tent.

Our color theme is teal, pink, red, white, and black.

We will be having a super cute candy table with bags for guests to take some home.

Our dance floor will be checkered and I would like my hair to be styled like the above.

Today we are setting up the wedding so everything will be ready for tomorrow.

One day till the wedding!!!!

Family Day

2011-09-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we spent the day down by Manhattan Beach.

We picked up Grant's dad in the morning from the airport and his brother did not come in till the afternoon, so we ended up going to the beach and having lunch and coffee while we waited.

What I wore on my big driving day hahahahha!

Surprisingly it was pretty cool in the morning and the sun did not come out till around 3pm that day.

After lots of driving we ended up at Down Town Disney to meet up with my cousins and all of our good friends from New Zealand.

Below is Ruby (a NZ girl) and Dean (an American boy)

The two of them have a cute little romance going on, they just love each other, its so cute (in a shy awkward sort of way lol)!

2 Days till the Big Day

(the wedding that is)