To: You

I just saw you.

And though I know you'll never read this, never find this, won't even blink twice, I had to tell you.
I've tried to share, but it still doesn't really come out exactly the way I want it to.

It's beyond cliche, and yes, possibly a tinge over-dramatic. Well, way over-dramatic.

It's exactly the way I wish I didn't feel.

But I DO feel this way.
I know you like them, too.

 I had to tell you.

To: You

Come up to meet you
Tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart

Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
Running in circles; coming up tails
Heads on a silence apart

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science; science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart

Tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing our tails
Coming back as we are

Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start

The Thing About A Girl's Trip...

There's a lot to be said about a girl's weekend. It's not just a time to get away, but a time to celebrate. Celebrate with some sillies and some real "boo-hoo's". Cherishing the truly odd and the awesome. Finding out new things about each other, and in a quiet moment, more about yourself. A time not to be judged or snickered about, but a time to get your head on a little straighter. As you can see, I've thankfully come home with my head screwed on a bit tighter. And come home with the ability to catch a rainbow trout.

I hope you have a core group of friends- a group that will love you unconditionally. A group so sweet, so crazy, so.. so nuts, they leave you humbly thankful.

This is my group.

And I'm lucky.



Get to the River

Jeez, I'm really flaking. Sorry, you friends.

And to make my disappearance even longer, I'm off on a mini trip.

To the river we go!

With these loves.

A few glorious days of ice cold water, hiking, 4:00 catfish dinners with the blue-hair old ladies, art projects and staying up late. Bliss.

So, I'll see you guys in a few. I'm plugging my headphones up now...

Scenes From a Memorial Day Weekend

I spent most of my Memorial Day weekend at my parent's house. Drewsie-Cakes came to town with his girlfriend, Mel. And we all had great fun. Too-many-calories, lounging-on-the-couch, Miss-Janet-if-you're-nasty kinda fun.

 A special thanks to the men and women who serve our country everyday. I am forever grateful for the freedoms so many take for granted.

 

DIY Anthropologie Tribal Necklace

Hey friends.

I have a fun little summer project for us all.

I don't know about you, but I love a big statement necklace. They're a fun way to jazz up an outfit. Lately, I've been inspired by large, over-the-top, funky, tribal necklaces. Ones that are bright and colorful that I can just throw on, and go. Check out the necklaces of the men and women of the Massai tribes.

{via}

See what I mean? Simply beautiful.

So imagine my delight when I found the Navala Necklace the other night at Anthropologie.

{via}

Studying the necklace really got my gears turning. I rushed home and whipped up my own, using a lot of the things I had at home. For $15. Booyah.

 The goods:

*Friendship bracelet string (floss, I think its called?).

* Cording or rope of some kind. I used cording from Jo-Ann's. Mine is about around the same thickness of my pinkie. For three necklaces I got a little over 2 yards.

* Small amount of chain

*Lobster clasps

*Jump rings (they're a plain, metal ring in the jewelry section at the crafts store)

* Nuts and washers the same thickness as my cording. You will need 1 washer and one nut for EACH end of each necklace. 2 ends x 3 necklaces: 6 washers and 6 nuts. Grab a few extras if you want some extra embellishments.

Optional: beads or any extra bling.

Step 1:

Loop the cording around your neck at your desired length and cut. My strips are 22, 24, and 29 inches. Take an awkward picture if you need to get the position right.

Step 2:

Lay your strips out and tightly tape your ends, ensuring they won't unravel.

Step 3:

 Leaving an inch or two out, start wrapping your cording with your first floss color. You want to wrap evenly, but not too tightly. Every few inches scrunch down the wrappings- you don't want any gaps!

Want to change colors?

  Cut your first color and tie the end to your next color, hiding the tail as you wrap.

Step 4: Optional

I added a few extra bells and whistles to mine, but you don't have to. As you wrap, thread a bead, extra nut, or washer and continue to wrap.

Step 5:

Keep wrapping and changing colors, until you reach the end. Have fun with it! Remember to leave a few inches at the end.  Repeat for the other two pieces of cording.

Step 6:

Grab a nut and a washer, and carefully thread them on the ends of your necklaces.

Step 7:

Lay your chain out and decide how long you want it to be. You will be attaching some chain to each end. I cut my chain at 2 inches long. Repeat for all.

Step 8:

With the end pieces of floss, carefully tie it to one end of the chain. Also, trim down the leftover end of the cording,  Repeat for all.

Step 9:

(sorry no pic)

Here you have two options. You can either:

- make 3 separate necklaces

OR

- have 3 necklaces, strung together as one BIG necklace.

I chose the 2nd option, but both are easy. Grab and open 1 jump ring and one of the lobster clasps. The jump ring links the clasp and the chains of the actual necklace. Carefully open the jump ring and thread the ends of the chains. Now add in the little hoop of the clasp, and close the jump ring. Repeat on the other side. If you wanted to make separate necklaces, you will need a jump ring and 2 lobster clasps.

Step 10: Optional

I added a bit of super glue to each of the end nuts/washers and to the string on the chain. You know, just for durability. Let everything dry and trim up any loose ends.

Ta-da!

 You're done!