PINTEREST Pinspiration YEAR In REVIEW

Pinterest is the GO TO place for ideas!! We all pin lots and lotsa stuff....some pins are things we dream about...some things we wanna eat....the fitness plan for the body we want....the make-up we think is FAB....and the PROJECTS we intend to do! Here is my top 9 projects of 2013

The FIRST pic is the ORIGINAL inspiration that can be found on my pinboards here http://www.pinterest.com/janaec/ and the SECOND pic is MINE

ORIGINAL

MY version 

(I had bags of black rocks lying around so I used those...I should intermix some natural colored stones)

ORIGINAL

MINE

(I don't have kids that play baseball and I HEART pearls, so I made a volleyball cuff with the same principal using a piece of an old volleyball)

ORIGINAL

MY version

(STILL haven't gotten around to intermixing black and white polka dot tassels)

ORIGINAL

MINE

I preferred the natural look of the cardboard so I peeled the label off and I store the excess brushes and combs inside

ORIGINAL

MINE

(I was disappointed it what SHOULD have been an easy project...my sequins didn't float SO I wonder if the original image user put glycerin in their water...AND it was a pain to get the sequins out...the project I would consider a fail)

MINE

DIY Shave lotion....works pretty good BUT by the time you buy all the ingredients you could've bought a can of shaving cream SO not really cost effective

ORIGINAL 

MINE 

(I ALWAYS ADORED the look of that gold scale frame...I was going to spray paint mine gold BUT in the end decided I liked the pop of color...deets to come soon...)

This was an OVER a year project in the making!!

ORIGINAL

MINE

(I thought the above idea was SO CLEVER BUT didn't wanna totally copy cat them so I wracked my brain for something along those lines to showcase the vintage buttons I have to sell and came up with THIS)

ORIGINAL

MINE

(hangs in my daughters room above her bed) 

I think this was ONE of the FIRST things I ever pinned...again another EASY project but sat in my pinboards for 2 years!! 

What was YOUR favorite project you pinned and did?!?!?

THE (not so ugly) CHRISTMAS Sweater

I KNOW it's after Christmas and I've been slow to post....retail has been keeping me BUSY this holiday season...One day while at Barnes and Noble I was flippin thru one of the foreign versions of mademoiselle or something like that....ANYWAY, I found this pic of CHRISTMAS sweaters and was REMINDED I have yet to wear the FAB vintage Andrew St. John sweater I found at the thrift last year 

 I spent the holidays in the city....while packing for the getaway I added my vintage sweater...that I dubbed the (ugly) Christmas sweater EVEN THOUGH I DON'T think it's ugly at all!! I secretly ADORE it and wish I had remembered earlier in the season!! HERE my FAB Christmas sweater is in ALL it's glory (and I went on a FIRST date in this sweater too!! THAT's ballsy my friends).

Outfit deets:
FAB Christmas Sweater - Vintage Andrew St. John
Purse - COACH
Leggings - Walmart
Grey Suede Boots - Target 2010

WHATCHA think...would YOU wear THIS sweater?!?!?

A day in the life...The week BEFORE CHRISTMAS

A day in the life is pics via my iphone from the week...these pics are from the week before Christmas and TOTALLY pic heavy!! 

The most GORGEOUS Coach purse ever....so CLASSY...at Macy's on State street of course!!

The Macy's tree....BEAUTIFUL....It's ALWAYS been my dream to have CHRISTMAS brunch here in the Walnut room...maybe next year....

Quintessential Marshall Fields Clock....CLASSIC Chicago

New ELF lip gloss...Yay or nay...

Cute lil project...stay tuned for deets on try it Thursday

I kinda ADORE this juvenille hat (I PROMISE it's a grown up hat...the tag says so) I'm trying to decide whether or not to keep it....whatcha think? fun and cute and ridiculous?!?!?

I put our name ornaments on the tree....I am finally SO happy  with the way my tree came out....

Every year the kids choose an ornament at Macy's (I am going to put them in a box and gift them to them when they move to their own nest - WAH). This year I spied this FAB CHICAGO ornament (I have the marshall fields clock and navy pier). This one is 2 sided....

Isn't it FAB?!?!? My daughter told me "you NEED that mommy...you should get it"

My lil guy adding his ornament of choice this year to his tree....

I am a retail manager and the holiday hours have me BURNT out....So by the time I get home I have NO IDEA what to make for dinner....simple english muffin pizza's (my son HATES pizza BUT if he makes it himself he LOVES it - it's a win win for everyone!!).

Snapshots of Christmas decor...

HAPPY HOLIDAY mail....Tasty treats and presents...thank you SANTA....I Love ya :)

Working furiously to catch up with December Daily....

Tasty treats - CHICAGO iconic - Fannie May...I remember as a kid my Grandma would give us a Trinidad egg every easter....Fannie May takes me back to my childhood...

Christmas sweaters....I'm TOTALLY sporting one Christmas Day...stay TUNED

When in the mall parking lot you KNOW who's a worker and who isn't! When you're there for 8 hours you flip your wipers up so they don't freeze....I couldn't get a better pic because it was so icy and I woulda broken my chops....it's funny a lady and her hubby walkin by said "why are all these wipers up" I shouted across the row of cars - "so they don't freeze"

See the pretty red box?!!?

SANTA brought me the EXACT purse I mentioned above...how'd he KNOW?!?!

 DELISH cocoa from the kit above....I ADORE the packaging

and the finished product....

Dear Mother Nature....the snow looks gorgeous BUT driving in it was a B!OT@H!!! At least I have cute boots!!

How's the week before Christmas been for you?!??!!

TRY IT THURSDAY.....STRIPED GOLD GLITTER taper candles

Every time I see taper candles cheap I pick them up...it's a sickness I think!! SO I decided to try an experiment with a pair of them...(as you can see the one on the right sat in the garage too long!). 

SO I knew I wanted to do gold glitter stripes...I taped the taper in even-ish increments...

I used a foam brush to paint elmers glue on and then sprinkled with glitter 

TA-DA!!! (Obvi you can tell this is a pic from before Thanksgiving!! I currently have them sitting in a clear vase....). What's YOUR fave glitter project!!

MACY's STATE STREET CHICAGO

For those of you who don't know - I was born and bread Chicago style! LOL! I grew up in the city, rode the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) bus 45 minutes to high school each day (and I couldn't even FATHOM letting my daughter do that now!!). I moved when I was 20 to Minnesota...and from then on I've been a bit of a gypsy....Something about the city is SO ALIVE!! I love visiting (although hate the driving downtown..people are CRAZY and rude!! BUT when in Rome....). I am now about an hour and 45 minutes from downtown Chicago....NOT too bad...but don't get down there as often! Anyway, yesterday I took the kids to see the holiday windows and tree at Macy's on State Street. We had a FAB day....very relaxing, laughed our butts off, indulged in Starbucks, chose our holiday ornaments for the year and FROZE!! Of course we go on a day it's only 17 degrees!! BUT it wasn't NEARLY as crowded as usual SO for that I was grateful! 

LOOK at the GORGEOUS tree in the Walnut Room...it's my DREAM to have a Christmas Brunch here....maybe one day....When I went on-line the tickets for Brunch were SOLD OUT :( I know better for next year!!

This is a FAB Macy's 8 floors of shopping goodness!! 

Fountain in the center of the store (ya know what's funny?!?! I've NEVER been here any other time of year BUT Christmas!!)

Wishin, Hopin and Prayin.....like wishing HARD (look at that determination!! and secretly hoping my penny didn't lop some bystander in the head)

 This display is UH-MAZING.....or as my son would say AMAZLING (amazing and dazzling). SO clever to use a Christmas tree as the mannequins skirt!! I have to admit - my DREAM job when I grow up is to do the Macy's holiday displays (I mean I know I would have to do all the other displays year round too)

 This is such a sweet lil image!! I ADORED it! Kinda what I try to emulate when I set up for the flea markets....selling an IMAGE, an idea....NOT JUST product!

Stepping off the escalator I COULDN'T resist!! 

I won't spoil the windows for those who haven't gone yet (maybe I will do a post AFTER the holidays)

 The quintessential MARSHALL FIELDS clock....

 My little's walking in the city....

City street lights, busy street lights, blink a bright red and green....