woohooo olympics party!

what's better than the opening ceremonies of the olympics??

dressing up, eating yummy snacks and watching them with friends of course! :)

 yes there was an invitation... 

and a chalkboard welcome sign! :)

we had the opening ceremonies on, and set up kinect sports, but really, let's be real.

isn't it all about the food??

let's break down this snack situation:

what do you think of my janky oreo pops??

i'll be the first to admit that i am not a "pretty" baker.

i've tried to make cakeballs dozens of times,

and while they taste yummy,

they look absolutely terrible.

i think i am using the wrong type of chocolate coating...it takes forever to set and drips everywhere and is just a disaster.

any suggestions??

i filled mine with mini turkey pepperonis, cheese, sauce, and red and yellow bell peppers.

i may or may not have eaten an entire tray full.

p.s. you can find wonton wrappers in the produce section next to the tofu.

duh.

this was so yummy and tasted just like the real thing.

next time, i'll probably add strawberries to the mix.

horray for using wedding gifts! :)

 

a party isn't a party with out salsa and guac!

 do you guys have HEB grocery stores?

they have the best spicy guac on the planet.

i may or may not have eaten 1/2 a carton of guac for lunch saturday.

i'll never tell.

 

don't judge.

of course there were decorations!

bryce and i found the blue sparkly ring and usa stars in the clearance section at target.

definitely great planning to have the olympics fall a few weeks after the fourth of july.

watch out feddy....the real competition is coming your way! :)

loving the chastain women!

not quite to par with hostess with the mostess, but a step in the right direction! :)

p.s. after 2 months with my new iphone,

i realized that the plastic shield was still on my phone...which is why all of my iphone photos have been turning out so terribly.

 sooo smooth....

i'm seeing non-grainy, well lit photos in my future.

yay for friday!!!

i am so glad friday is finally here.

this week has been exceptionally terrible or rough, i just love friday.

dear bub-hub,
thanks for helping me decorate for the olympic's opening ceremonies. :) and i'm sorry i'm not sorry in advance for commendeering the tv for the next two weeks.
you're the best!

dear lion king and ladies night,

you were fabulous. just what i needed to push me over the mid-week hump.

my friend alison and i went to see the lion king at the hobby center downtown on wednesday night.

it was pretty much the most fantastic thing i've ever seen.

i was exhausted watching the dancers jump and prance and dance around like animals.

if i had 1/4 of the energy they had...man, that would be fantastic.

dear macaroni and trees,

way to be fabulous. :)

rachel ray would be proud.

dear accessory auction,

you are so fantastic, but so heartbreaking at the same time.

i love my tory burch inspired wrap bracelet.

and everything else you post on auction night.

have you heard of accessory auction??

be carefuly ladies...don't say i didn't warn you. :)

dear pure barre....you're kicking my booty and i love it!!
three weeks down, and i can feel the changes.
[if only i could kick my sweet-tooth...]
plus, how adorable are these bathroom signs....

dear opening ceremonies,
you're going to be fabulous. i'm so glad the olympics are finally here!

linking up with friday's letters and high five for friday.

holla!

     

christmas in july

i'm on a christmas kick.

for some reason,

95% of my pins from the last week revolve around christmas.

my bad.

i think 100degree weather and high humidity have me dreaming of cooler temperatures and santa's reindeer...153 days till christmas! :)

o. and most of these are sweets too.

my bad again.

these are so cute!

i'm a huge fan of peppermint, marshmallows and hot chocolate,

so i'm pretty sure me and these marshmallow stirring sticks are destined to be besties.

Source: bridgeywidgey.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

i'm not really sure if i'd be able to eat a cookie a cute as one of these,

but i probably would.

Source: bhg.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

peppermint whoopie pies anyone?

yes please! :)

mine probably wouldn't turn out quite as cute as these,

but i'm told treats that look "homemade" are charming.

Source: bhg.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

is it wrong that i don't have children and i still want to do this?

don't make fun,

but i still leave cookies for santa and carrots for his reindeer.

i feel terrible that i never thought about the elves.

i've got years of making up to do.

Source: unconfidentialcook.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

i've always wanted to make canned gifts,

and i think this might be my year.

peppermint stick hot chocolate in a cute jar.

yes please!

Source: myrecipes.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

i love advent calendars, and i love how interactive these are.

i've seen a few versions of these floating around on the internet,

but i love the scrapped look of this one.

Source: kimberlypetersen.typepad.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

am i the only one who is already excited for christmas?

i see many trips to hobby lobby in my near future!

sorry in advance, bub-hub! :)

linking up with michelle over at the vintage apple!

please push my button :)

well hello there!

as i mentioned on sunday, i've finally updated my blog header and have a blog button!

yay!

i've been working and fixing and re-doing and re-working and finally settled on something i loved.

now, i'm so excited to be able to swap buttons with other bloggers!

if you're interested in swapping buttons with me,

send me an email at

gracefullymadeblog[at]gmail.com

and we can make it happen!

 

 

peppy prints on a monday

the olympics countdown is officially in the single digits.

yayyyy!!

i was almost late to work because i was watching the special segments on the olympic athletes on the today show.

darn real life getting in the way of my favorite things.

i've been excited about the olympics for weeks and watching all of the olympic trials and special behind the scenes coverage and reading all of the insider blogs.

obsessed much?

 what can i say, i wanna be an insider.

and i wanna be best friends with an olympian.

and i wanna hang these prints up in my apartment.

etsy @ mrcityprinting

etsy @ loveonthehill

etsy @ 3279Press

i think these prints are so fun.

definitely getting me in the mood!

[go america!]



yummy roasted red potatoes

last week, a sweet lady at work brought in fresh rosemary she clipped from her garden, and i knew i had to use it! 

growing up, my mom had an herb garden in our backyard.

she had all sorts of fun plants and herbs growing, but one of my favorites was rosemary.

i think it was one of my favorites because she used it a lot in different recipes like focaccia bread or roasted potatoes. plus, being able to run out to the backyard and snip something from the garden makes it a little more special.

this recipe for roasted red potatoes is definitely a crowd pleaser. 

what you need:

2 small red potatoes per person

olive oil

fresh rosemary

salt and pepper

first, preheat the oven to 475degrees. (it drives the bub-hub nuts when i forget to preheat the oven...oops!)

second, wash and chop the potatoes.  

there's no need to peel the skins, just scrub the dirt off and cut out all of the bad sections. chop them pretty thin, and in small chunks. the thicker the chunks, the longer they will need to spend in the oven. once they are chopped, place in a baking dish or casserole pan.

third, drizzle a light layer of olive oil over the potatoes. it doesn't take much, there shouldn't been any puddles in the bottom of your pan. strip the rosemary from the stems and sprinkle on top.  add salt and pepper to taste.  toss everything together and spread the potatoes evenly in the pan.

fourth, stick them in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. take them out every fifteen minutes or so and stir them around and scrape them off the bottom of the pan.  they should start to shrink up and turn brown around the edges. depending on how big your batch of potatoes is, the time may be shorter or longer. helpful right??

fifth, pull 'em out and eat 'em up!

enjoy! :)

we had these tonight along with some salad with balsamic vinaigrette and garlic & brown-sugar baked chicken.
perfect dinner for the bachelorette season finale! :)

p.s. i updated my blog header and finally have a blog button! :)

what do you think??

two months of fabulousness.

today, bryce and i are celebrating two months of marriage.

how did that even happen?

our long-distance relationship lasted forever.

our engagement lasted forever...and ever and ever.

then, all of the sudden,

the wedding was here and over and we're two months in.

and what a fabulous, fun, time it has been.

i've learned so much over the past few weeks and am appreciating more and more all of the counseling and prayers we received over our engagement. i know without a doubt our marriage will be stronger because of all the wise counsel we received. 

but most of all, the greatest advice we received was to 

communicate about everything:

the good, the bad, and the silly.

even when i don't feel like talking,

or when the bub-hub just wants to watch sports center.

we have to communicate.

when you don't have tension, or anger, or frustrations, or worries clouding your mind, you're able to fully, 100%, enjoy each other's company. 

ugh, tension is the worst, honesty is the best.

i'm more in love with my bub-hub than ever.

people say that being married is like having a sleepover with your best friend every night.

how could anyone not love that??

i know that we are still in the honeymoon stage,

but who says you can't be happy and in love forever?

sure it will take work,

but are there any fabulous things in life that don't require a little work?

marry your best friend people.

all the cool kids are doing it! :) 

hey there birchbox!

monday evening, i came home to a lovely, hot pink surprise.

my july birchbox has arrived!

the theme: 5 senses

for those of you unfamiliar with birchbox,

it's a monthly sample subscription service.

you can sign up on their website here.
it's a great way to try out new products

my lovely new samples

[2: stainiac lip and cheek stain]

[3: eyeko skinny liquid liner]

 at first, i was really excited when i saw i got liquid eye liner....and then i saw that it was olive green.  i'm not sure how that will work for me, but maybe i'll try it out on a stay-at-home-saturday.

[4: earbug headphones!]

:) these are neon and fabulous!

it's as if birchbox new i just accidently stepped on mine and needed a new pair. fate in action folks.
[5: miss charming perfume by juliette has a gun]

this smells sooooo yummy. i am definitely adding it to my christmas list.

[6: suki skin care regimine] 

i'm pretty hesitant when it comes to skincare samples. you can't really tell how it will really effect you from 2-3 days, but i guess it's better than nothing!

[7: uber bar by larabar: roasted nut roll]

they also have a cherry cobbler flavor which i'm anxious to try, although i'm sure it will not be as yummy as the real thing. darn healthy foods.

i'll be the first to admit,

i'm not fantastic at using fabulous products or makeup.

but i'm hoping that birchbox will help me learn to appreciate the finer things in life! :)

did you receive a july birchbox?

any products you can recommend?

peppy prints on a monday

weekends are the best, 

but sunday nights are the worst.

it makes me so sad when i see the time going by on sundays,

because i know it means i'm just getting closer and closer to monday morning.

luckily,

i have a cup of coffee and cinnabon creamer to snap me out of my funk.

every day, i become less and less of a morning person,

and i learn to appreciate my coffee more and more.

oops. 

maybe if i had one of these prints hanging in my kitchen, i would be a bit more willing to welcome the morning. 

graphic anthology on etsy

texturedINK on etsy

noodle hug on etsy
this one makes me chuckle. :) 

what wakes you up in the morning?

the last thing i...

bought for myself

when the bestie was in town last weekend, she told me about a new workout class she was trying out in nashville called pure barre, and it sounded so great!  on monday morning, just like magic, a tidbit treat for the new pure barre studio appeared in my inbox.  i'm one week in and loving it!

if your in houston, you can get yours here: pure barre

got swayed into buying online

these cute little american flags from polka dot market.

i probably don't need them...but they were on-sale, and i think they will be a hit at my olympics opening ceremonies party!

pinned on pinterest
smores dip anyone?

Source: whatmegansmaking.com via Marie on Pinterest

loved doing
i've been LOVING my illustrator class from Nicole's Classes.  i'm learning so much, and i'm finally learning how to use my design software correctly...finally. :)

wiggled to

i love sean paul...especially his new-ish song, "back in time"

they play it in my pure barre class, and it pumps me up everytime.

read online

my favorite new blog is all about the olympics:
Today in London
it makes me feel like i'm an insider.
i am the olypmics #1 fan after all. :)

o how pinteresting: jewelry solutions

currently, all of my jewelry is hanging on this super cute white metal stand.

and as much as i love it,

it's starting to tarnish my jewelry.

so, i need to find another solution.

sorry it's blurry...my iphone and i don't function well before 9 am...

dun da da dunnnnnn!

pinterest to the rescue! :)

i really love this, but i'm not sure how i'd be able to execute it.

Source: ca.mc1136.mail.yahoo.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

or possibly this one, although it is a bit on the girly side.

 

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

this is my favorite so far:

Source: pinterest.com via Floyd on Pinterest

and then there is the natural approach,

just simply fabulous:

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

o la la...

Source: thesmallthingsblog.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

how do you store your jewelry?

check out all the fun pinterest posts over at the vintage apple! :)