Lets Go Sunning

DIY: J. Crew Toothpick Jeans Hack

May 21

I have had little time for DIY projects. This one came out of necessity and might not be the most professional job, but I am so glad I made time for it. I have had my eye on J.Crew’s Toothpick jeans for a while now, but they just don’t fit me right. I’ve tried similar jeans and they look worse. It’s super irritating. So I improvised.

I like to clear out my closet on a regular basis. I like getting rid of thing I don’t wear so it’s easier to get dressed in the morning. My Gap Curvy Bootcut jeans didn’t make the cut this round, because I just never wear bootcut anymore. BUT they fit so well! I figured if I was going to get rid of them, I might as well see if I can make them into the pants I wanted.

I first found this amazing tutorial on how to tailor jeans from The Vault Files. I followed this very closely. The Toothpick jeans have a 26″ inseam and a 12″ leg opening so I kept that in mind when pinning and sewing. This I took the length up 7″ by doing something very similar to this tutorial by Sew Much Ado.

I am so glad I did this one! Not, only did I get the jeans with the fit I wanted, but I didn’t spend a dime, which is always pretty awesome. I was a little paranoid to wear them out, because my sewing capabilities aren’t at a crazy great level of awesomeness, but no one noticed and I even got compliments! Super excited!

Simple Almond Butter

May 20

I have been obsessing over green apples and peanut butter lately. It’s been a favorite go-to snack. BUT after I went through two jars of PB I figured it was time to change it up a bit. I have so many almonds in my house, I decided to make my own almond butter! It was about 15 minutes of self doubt, panic and satisfaction.

I threw about a cup of almonds in a food processer and just kept pulverizing the almonds until it turned into a yummy, creamy spread. However, it first turned into a powder, and the powder didn’t change much until about 10 minutes in when the oils started to spread. It was weird, really cool and super delish! The best part is that it was all natural!

Life In General

May 15

Right now, life is pretty freaking awesome. I started working with the amazing ladies at SweatGuru, tackled a daunting, yet entertaining special project, saw my favorite band play, took a mini vacation to Disneyland (my favorite place ever, as you probably know), saw an American Bald Eagle (in it’s natural habitat, not at a zoo), attended my first charity gala and turned a year older.

And it’s only been a few weeks!

I don’t want to bore you with details so here are some highlights.

I saw Metric live, and there were amazeballs.

I am working with some very talented people over at SweatGuru, I couldn’t be luckier!

Tom and I road tripped down the coast and stopped for a night in Solvag. It was adorable.

Tom and I got a little more than tipsy at Trader Sam’s and bought decided to buy a Lego set and finish it before passing out.

My sister, bestie and future brother in law met us at Disneyland for a day of fun.

That fun led to lots of mojitos, a jump rope game that I played for like 5 minutes that wasn’t even on and a damaged toe.

On an 11 mile canoeing adventure on the Russian River, we saw an American Bald Eagle.

On my birthday, I attended the Boy’s and Girls Club Gala and danced into the night. I also took a photo booth pic where I look exactly like Yoko Ono, like, now, not back in the day, it wasn’t on purpose.

The Glorification of Busy

May 14

It’s been a long time since I have been able to focus a bit of attention on my blog. Life happened and I got busy, something had to give. But after a few weeks of being slammed by multiple projects I think I have finally figure out how to use my time appropriately. Who’d have thought it would be so hard?

I’m not at all complaining. I’m the type of person who thrives when busy. I feel important, like my time isn’t being wasted because it’s producing results. In my moments of quiet, I always feel guilty, I feel I should be doing something. At my busiest, I long for just an hour to not focus on work. It’s a vicious cycle.

What I have been working on is learning how to manage my time. Working online can be hard, especially with social media, it can suck you in and all of a sudden what you thought was 3 minutes was 10. Add that up and you’ve lost a good chunk of your day!

I’ve learned to be hyper vigilant with my time. Calendars, to-do lists and spreadsheets are all apart of my life now. Though my weeks are less busy, I still find these tools have helped me realistically figure out what I can handle in a day. Everything else get delegated or pushed to a day that suits my schedule. I’m working on feeling less guilty, but that might take some conditioning.

Does any one else feel the pressure to always be busy?

Aloha Oe

Apr 19

I am currently planning a trip to Hawaii and I’m getting super antsy! I’ve actually never been to Hawaii without it being a family visit and while I really look forward to seeing my grandparents, I am looking forward to the new experience! I don’t know what it is about staying at a hotel, but it makes your whole trip feel more vacationy (Is that a word?).

Here is hoping my trip comes sooner than it feels! I need some sunshine, Lion Coffee, and a Dole Whip. Yum.

Clockwise from left:

Mound Desert Dreaming Dress/ Fine Straw Crochet Hat/ Marianna G Tribal Fiji Bikini/ Prime Meridian Flat/ Tribal Resin Bangles/ Wooden Tribal Earrings/ Animal Print Cat Eye Glasses