Renegade! (and the winner)

So, it would be impossible for me to try and describe how amazing this weekend was.  The experience was beyond words so I will mostly share pictures to give you an idea :)

Adam and I met Jenny and Johnny in Chicago Friday afternoon for a weekend of friendship, renegade fun, and hot dogs :)

Here we go (brace yourself for photo overload):

Friday

Friday morning Adam and I drove to Chicago

When we arrived, we checked into our amazing hotel room with an even more amazing view. (BTW- I  want to marry Chicago :)  After we checked in, he and I went for a walk in Millennium Park, saw "the Bean," and ate at the cutest outdoor cafe.  Later that evening we met Jenny and Johnny in the hotel where we chatted and ate fancy chocolates for hours....it was amazing :)

Saturday

Saturday was completely full of Renegade awesomeness all.day.long :)

The boys took a break at a local bar to watch the Michigan game and Jenny and I walked are little feet off.  We shopped, took our picture in the Renegade photo booth, ate macaroons, and a great best friend day :)  After Renegade, the boys stayed to finish the game and Jenny and I went on another little walking tour of downtown Chicago.  For dinner we all met up at the BEST pizza place ever.  looooved it.

Sunday

Sunday morning (this morning) we woke up early and met some friends for brunch at a really cute place near Wicker Park.  After breakfast, we headed over to Navy Pier for a super quick look.  Navy Pier was gorgeous but the heat had us keep our trip short and we headed back to the hotel for our final good byes :(

On a scale of 1-10, this weekend ranked 1,000 :)  I am soooooo blessed to have such amazing friends in my life.  It is hard to have a best friend who lives on the other side of the country but it makes it soooo much more magical when we get to hang out.  Vintage Johnny is so rad and he and Adam are BFF for life now too.  I love you guys!!  Thanks for a weekend that I will remember forever!

xo

janel

P.S.  Tomorrow, I will post about all of the gorgeous things I picked up at Renegade and post our too cute photobooth pics :) promises!

P.S.S  It is time for me to announce the winner from my giveaway!!

I used random.org :)

which was...

Yay Karisse!!  Email me so I get your print out to you asap!!  I hope you love it :)

xox

janel

a giveaway!

Today I am feeling giving :)

I was browsing Etsy (no surprise there) and stumbled upon these amazing prints from this adorable shop!!!

I am in love with them so much and I really wanted to order them all for myself but decided instead to give one away :)  One lucky reader will be able to chose one of the three prints above and I will have it shipped to them.  I love doing little surprise giveaways like this to show my readers how much I love them and appreciate them :)

So, here's the deal

You must be a "follower" of this blog.

and you must leave me a comment with your name and email and which of these prints you would chose if you won :)

Easy Peasy.
I will choose a winner on Sunday night when I get back in town!!

Have a great Wednesday friends.

xo

janel

P.S.  Chicago in TWO days!! Is anyone else going to be in Chicago this weekend for Renegade?  If so, let's meet up!!

deal?

tiny feet

You will not believe all of the cute foot wear out their for babies!!  I am dying over the cuteness :)  It's almost a good thing that I  have no idea as to how tiny my child's feet will be when we become a family.  Or else I would probably need all of these shoes ASAP.

Will I need newborn shoes?  Baby shoes? Toddler shoes?  I have no clue yet :)  In the mean time I will just browse and smile and dream of tiny feet!!!

How cute are all of these!?

here

here

here

here

here

here

here

And obviously, my child will be just like here mama and sport Tiny TOMS too :)  My baby girl will love a good cause :) xo

here

here

sigh....

I can't wait!!  Seriously, like can not wait to have little feet running through my house and little toes to paint and kiss. eeeeek!

Ok, enough gushing for today.

love you

xo

janel

twinklings

So cute right?

(image credit)

So I am on the last twilight book, breaking dawn, and I am trying to take it slow because when it's over, it's over.  I love getting sucked into a book series but Im always a little wistful when it's over.

To kill time, I decided to clean out one of the little "cabinets" of our dresser.  This cabinet is seriously just full of junk, stuff that gets shoved there when there is no other place shove it.  Yeah, it's that kind of cabinet.  Behind the magazines, DVD's, perfumes, hair clips, sunglasses, and cookie cutter (why?) I found a stack of some of my old journals from college.  

WOW. 

Isn't it silly, all of the stress that boys bring.  

I am like reading these pages, wanting to shake my past self :)  

Hello, these guys weren't even worth the ink. For reals.

It just makes me that much happier that I found Adam and that we will live happily ever after.

deal.

I also found this quote scribed into one corner of a page and I loved it....

"in the external scheme of things, shining moments are as brief as the twinkling of an eye, yet such twinklings are what eternity is made of-- moments when we human beings can say, 'i love you,' 'i am proud of you,' 'i forgive you,' 'i am grateful for you.'  That's what eternity is made of: invisible, imperishable, good stuff."

I'm in a great mood.  Today we have a "cook out" at my parent's house to celebrate Labor Day.  Fun times and delicious desserts are promised. 

Have a great holiday friends.

I love you.

I am proud of you.

I am so very grateful for you.

xo

janel

never think...

Are you ever so inspired that you just want to yell, or run outside and inhale the beauty of everything?  Sounds weird, but that is just how I felt today :) True story!

I have been listening to some new music and it is moving me, creatively. 

 I love that feeling!  I seriously need to search for new music more often.

Whatever. It's a great feeling :)

*  I've been painting...

*  I've been coming up with some really cute fall decor ideas and getting them ready :)

*  I made some ridiculously awesome rings that I am planning on putting in the shop (that I haven't taken photos of yet :)

*  I've been reading

*  I have been hanging out with my amazing family

* I have been falling more in love with Adam with each second that passes

*  I have been packing for Chicago :)

*  I have been scoring some amazing vintage treasures at garage sales today :)

**  this adorable little fawn family 

** and the three sweetest little ponies you ever did see

LOVE.

thank you God for every single thing.

xo

janel

teeny scissors :)

I am continually finding cuteness for Pita :)  There are soooooo many cute baby things out there and I love sharing them with all of you <3

1.  I am in love with these gorgeous hand-dyed burp clothes with some of my most favorite fabrics from Laundry Monster:)

 I also adore this little chenille bib from their as well... 

2.  I will have these hanging in Miss Pita's room in her colors fo sho :)

3.  These amazing prints from the amazing Ashley G would be so perfect too!

4. and mixed with these lovelies from persimmon and pink :)

5. and i love love love LOVE this Orla Kiely diaper bag :)

6. i pretty much need this little headband in every color available :)

I promise that each of the shops above are totally worth checking out :)

eeeeeek!

xo

janel

another kind friend.

Kami from this lovely blog, has come up with another sweet little fundraiser to help with Adam and I's adoption!

Here is what she writes:

``Dah-Duh's are named after my BFF's son Koan, who calls everything in sight a dah duh. On a family cabin trip one day he saw me drawing silly monster pictures, pointed at them and exclaimed (at the top of his lungs) DAH-DUH! And the idea was born! These little mini Dah-Duh`s are made from Eco-Felt, stuffed with 97% recycled polyfill, and are hand sewn by mois with much love. I can create them in nearly any color combination desired.``

Get your Dah-Duh's here

They will retail for $15 each, free shipping within Canada, and $5 from everyone will go to you darling!"

Aren't these cute!! 

They remind me of Twilight :)  You know, my new obsession!

Or little zombie friends :)

Please, check out Kami's adorable blog and read more about her cute creations!!

xo

janel

september 1

Happy September!! 

Time flies.

Here are some quick bullet points about today so far:

*  i am home from work today  because I am sick :(  When you have a job that you love, sick days are double no fun.

*  I finished Twilight last night.  And guess what...Adam is so much better than Edward :) It's true!

*  I am glad that I have a new book obsession to keep me occupied today.

*  My love is on his way to Starbucks to snag me a Caramel Apple Spice...very Septemberish :)

*  my laptop has been dropped too many times.  it takes me forever to do anything because it randomly moves into past sentences and messes up my typing. I have to put extra pressure on the top left hand corner on the bottom for it to even let me type :(  

*  If we weren't poor, I would buy a new laptop for sure!

*  I have decided to hold a HUGE giveaway when I reach 1100 blog followers.

*  I have the CUTEST september blog sponsors ------> check them out! I am obsessed with all of them now :)

*  I have gotten a TON of emails asking me if I can open up more spots for my "i heart fall" journal class.  It is really hard to say no, especially when the money is going to adopting our baby :) So, I have decided to open up a few more spots.

*  I seriously can NOT wait for that class to begin!!!

*  I will be back with my monthly goals check up later :)

* I need to go back to sleep now.

* sick is no fun :(

* I really love you a LOT!

xo

janel