High Five for Friday

I've had a delightful first week of vacation. It's hard to sum it up in just five things. I'm linking up with Lauren at FMGD for High Five for Friday.

One.
The glorious view I've been enjoying.

Two.
Daisies from the garden at the lake.

Three.
The view I wake up to in the morning at the lake.

Four.
Fireworks over the lake.

Five.
I have another week of vacation! Definitely a highlight of this week is knowing I have one week left! We won't be at the lake next week as Bill has to go back to work. So, I've decided to tackle some of the projects on my DIY and Yum! boards on Pinterest.

My Top 3 DIY Projects:

1. Key chain - found here

2. Paint the bathroom vanity -  found here

3. Make a Maxi Skirt/Dress - found here or here

Top 3 from the Yum! board

1. Chinese Cabbage Salad. Found here.

2. Protein shake that tastes like cake? Yes please. Found here.

3. Sweet Potato Blondie Bars. Found here.

 Have a great Friday!!

15 Day Challenge :: Day 1

I was reading Shell Bell (written by Michelle - she's hilarious and I insist you check her blog out) the other day. She mentioned that she signed up for the 15 Day Challenge  on Life of Love with Sarah. I checked it out and think it looks like a great idea! Basically it's a prompt for the next 15 days or whenever you need a prompt. It's a great way to get to know other bloggers like me! I guarantee I won't be doing this 15 days in a row - I like to mix it up a bit :)

{Challenge one} List 15 fun facts about yourself... where do I start?

1. My very first boyfriend is a kind of famous comedian. Meaning he's been on late night TV, had his own Comedy Central special, and has headlined at various comedy festivals.

2. I was a synchronized swimmer for eight years and I'm not ashamed to admit it. 

3. I'm left-handed and hate left-handed jokes. No, I'm not writing with the wrong hand!

4. I was accidentally dropped when I was a cheerleader in 9th grade and the medic guy insisted that I be taken off of the field on a stretcher in a neck brace and brought to the hospital in an ambulance!!! Talk about embarrassing! It was ridiculous. I just bruised my tailbone. I think it hurt my ego more than anything.

5. My first job was at a video rental store... do they even have those anymore?

6. I have read the Harry Potter books four times and will probably read them again. I'm hoping my husband surprises me with a trip to Harry Potter World in Florida someday!

7. My husband and I don't have kids and we are not planning to have any. You can read about it here.

8. I had a panic attack at my wedding. It was not pleasant. I actually got to the front of the church and told my husband "I don't want to do this today." You can read about it here.

9. My husband I and have had something go wrong every single time we fly. Uff da. You can read about one experience here.

10. I am a newly born sci-fi geek. I can't get enough of the Sci-Fi channel!

11. I wish the Gilmore Girls were my friends. I own the series and I may or may not have watched it several times.

12. I usually leave a portion of my meal on my plate to ensure there's room for dessert. I'd rather eat dessert than anything else.

13. I love going to bed early. I love sleep. I usually sleep for 12 to 13 hours on the weekends.

14. I never in a million years imagined that I could start an Etsy business and make it successful.

15. I love punctuation. I use it when it is not needed and often in inappropriate places and that's ok with me.

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I'm almost to 100 followers!! That means a giveaway :)

What I Wore Wednesday

Happy 4th of July!! I am currently enjoying a lovely view of a lake...from inside the air-conditioned house. Holy hotness outside! Anyway, I'm linking up with Lindsay from The Pleated Poppy. Last week my goal was to include my head in my outfit shots. Well, I think I believe I was brave enough to do just that. 

Outfit {1}

I can't believe I wore shorts in public! I hate wearing shorts but, it's been so hot and I needed to run errands for work the day I wore them.

cardi - Old Navy

top - TJ Maxx

shorts - Old Navy (last year)

Outfit {2}

Just another day at work - It's chilly in my office so I have to dress in layers or I'll roast when I get outside.

cardi - Express (old)

t-shirt - Gap Pure

jeans - Lucky (old)

belt - Target

Outfit {3}

Date night. Funny story. In preparation of our date I applied self-tanner so my legs weren't stark white against my black dress. After returning home and taking another look in the mirror I realized that my self-tanner DID NOT tan very well! In fact, my legs were so streaky I looked like a zebra. Lovely. I can't imagine what people were thinking. Note to self: do not apply self-tanner that you've never tried before on a date night.

excuse the awkward pose...

cardi - Old Navy (same as above)

dress - Old Navy (old)

shoes - Payless (old)

necklace - gift

So, there you go. Outfit pics with my head. Yay me! 

I hope you all enjoy a safe and fun filled holiday!!

Whidbey

CAUTION: Frivolous silly post.

Poses with Whidbey:

Part I

Yoga

Part II

 some original poses...

By the way, I'm loving vacation!

Miscellany Monday

It was CRAZY hot this weekend. I don't remember when we've had this many days in the 90's before. Luckily, I'm on vacation and heading to the lake! But, before I head out to the lake I thought I'd share some randomness with you!

 

I sent off an order for matching ScrappyBloom Clusters for two sisters who have matching dresses. I can't wait to get pictures from their mom!

I purchased new Revlon nail polish last week - Plum Seduction. Love it!

My flowers are looking beautiful. We've had perfect growing weather - hot and rainy. 

On Saturday night Bill and I had a date night planned. Dinner and a concert. Well, dinner was fabulous but before we left the house Bill checked the time of the show and unfortunately, it wasn't on Saturday night. It had been moved to September! Good thing we looked ;)

We went to the HoDo Lounge - it's Bill's favorite bar. It was fabulous. We both had the Elk Patty melts not gamey tasting at all with cherried onions, sharp white cheddar cheese and a garlic aioli on homemade sourdough bread. I had a homemade vanilla ice cream sundae with caramel and Bill had what was called the sorbet flight for dessert. His dessert was four sorbets that you eat in a certain order. So yummy. I wasn't a big fan of the cucumber tarragon but, the others were great! I never get photos of dessert. I guess I'm just too excited to eat it!

I hope to have my first giveaway sometime this week! I'm giving away 25 hair ties when I reach 100 followers. So, if this is your first time visiting. Take a look around. If you like what you see - become a follower :)

Happy Monday!

High Five for Friday

one.

large Poppy and Pippa boutique order 

complete

two.

how adorable is this match?

Target dress + matching hair bloom = an adorable one year old!

three.

my "helper" filling orders

four.

blogging outside

five.

went to the vet

he HATES riding in the car

but

100% healthy

Sorry about the super boring High Five - It was a busy week but, after work today I'm on

V A C A T I O N!

linking up.

There's nothing better than...

Right now (last night for those of you reading this in the morning) I am sitting on my deck enjoying a perfect night. It's 8:45pm and the sun hasn't quite gone down yet. There's a slight breeze in the air but no chill it's still about 75 degrees. It's perfectly perfect.

There's nothing better than a summer evening in Minnesota/North Dakota. I say both because while I grew up in Minnesota I currently live in North Dakota about a mile from the Minnesota border. I think my favorite place in the entire world is at a Minnesota lake. Luckily for me - I'll be spending the first week of my vacation at my in-laws lake house. This will be my view. I plan on enjoying every single second.

By the way I'm almost at 100 followers!! I'll be having a give away of the fabulous hair ties from Poppy and Pippa!  If you're not a follower you really should be...everyone's doing it. Or maybe about 90 other people so, it's not actually everyone but, you know what I mean. :)

Miscellany Monday

Hellooo friends, won't you join me for a little miscellany?

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I "met" the nicest gal through my Etsy shop. She recently sent me all of these beautiful fabrics to create hair accessories for her two girls. She had dresses made for the girls and sent me the scraps. I'm so excited to create for her!

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My blog is back to being called My Green Pen. While I feel really lucky and the title Lucky Me seemed perfect - after a week it didn't feel perfect to me. I started this blog on a whim. I don't typically do anything on a whim. I couldn't think of a name hence the title My Green Pen. I chose the title in a very uncreative way - my favorite color: green - what do you write with? a pen. Ta Da! There you have it. So, I'm back with my new blog design and old (perfect) name.

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Speaking of my blog design...I purchased a pre made template from Steph Anne at Yellow & Savvy Design on Etsy. I purchased pre made because the price was right and Steph Anne let me choose my own colors for an additional fee. Not only did she let me purchase my own colors for the blog but she has been INCREDIBLE to work with! I've been emailing her questions for about a week and she's been gracious enough to get back to me by the very next day! At the end of each of her emails she lets me know that I should contact her if I have any more questions. I can't believe she still writes that after all of the questions I've had. So, if you are thinking about a new blog design but aren't ready to pay big bucks on a custom design talk to Steph Anne. She's fantastic!

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I have to share a new favorite product with you. It's the Mr. Clean® Magic Eraser® Bathroom Cleaner. I used this to clean my tub/shower yesterday and it was fabulous! I mean it. It takes very little "elbow grease" to make your entire bathroom spic and span! The best part is the price. The box costs about $4 for 4 sponges. That's a dollar a time for cleaning your bathroom with no messy cleaners, buckets or rags! Love it!! (No, I haven't been compensated in any way by mentioning this).

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VACATION... coming soon. Only 5 days of work until my two week vacation!

Linking up with Carissa

Friday Five

This week has flown by! My short and sweet high five for Friday.

one.

my new camera!!

love it!

two.

dinner with friends.

we went out on a "double date" last

night to my favorite restaurant.

we ate outside on the patio

listening to great music,

three.

new items finally listed at

Poppy and Pippa.

four.

rain.

lots of rain.

I didn't have to water my

flowers once

this week.

yay!

five.

remember...

100 followers = giveaway!

25 hair ties from Poppy and Pippa!

linking up.

My New Camera

I am by no means a photographer. Sure, I took photography classes in high school and college...for an easy A. I don't use a dark room to develop or all of those nasty chemicals like I did in school. Now it's just the camera and my computer. So much easier.

About two weeks ago my trusty Canon PowerShot SD850 IS died with the lens open. I did what I could to get it to close but, the camera didn't budge. So I spend last week searching for a camera that takes great pictures but is easy to use. I wanted a DSLR but, decided I wasn't ready for that type of commitment or price. I needed something that would take great product shots and that's it. I have an iPhone for all my other photo needs. After LOTS of researching I ended up going back to the very first camera I looked at after mine died. A Canon G12. Love it! Actually, to be honest, I hated it the first day. I wanted it to be easy like my old camera. It wasn't. I had to read the directions. Ugh. There were so many different knobs and dials. (So glad I didn't jump into the DSLR pool!) After using it for a day I've grown to have a fondness for it. I hope it will grow into more. I know it will take time.

Here's a couple of photos I took with it last night. These photos weren't retouched in any way. They were transferred from my camera to the computer. That's it. Not bad, huh?

Wednesday :: Pinterest :: Helpful Hints

Let's Do This!

Helpful Hints 

they may not be pretty - but they are handy

use chalk to remove grease stains from clothes {via}

hang your ironing board behind a door with coat hooks for easy access {via}

another coat hook trick - hang it in your shower {via}

hanging space above the dryer {via}

my favorite helpful hint of all - 

use clear nail polish to secure threads on a loose button {via}

Remember - when I reach 100 followers I am giving away 25 Hair ties!

So, my new design is up and running - still working on a few layout issues. What do you think?

My Happy Place - ULTA

On Friday my sister and I took her daughter, my niece, to ULTA for her first time. (My sister and I love ULTA. It's our happy place. They have fantastic lighting!) Anyway, this little girl adores nail polish - which she calls Sparkles. She is always checking out toes and fingers to see their Sparkles. It's so cute how she asks to get her nails re-touched when they chip. Her daddy is getting very good at painting tiny toe nails. By the way, she is only two.

So many colors. So little time.

Mom and daughter on a mission to find ESSIE.

Which one? The Pink OPI from the Minnie Mouse collection

OR

the fabulous magenta ESSIE.

Happy girl! She got both polishes and a few princess Lip Smackers.

Overall, a very successful trip. She was such a happy girl.