RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER + A LITTLE SPRING GIVEAWAY

What do you do when the first day of spring comes and goes, but it seems like there's no end in sight to the cold, windy days?  Drink a fruity drink and crank up your heat to trick yourself it's summertime, of course.

Last weekend, we were trapped inside again from the weather, so I decided to make a fruity drink, turn on the Bob Marley, and pretend I was on a beach somewhere.  I made the Lakeside Cooler I shared the recipe for last year, and it did just the trick.  I love how a song or certain drink can transfer you to some place else. 

When we went to Jamaica on our honeymoon years ago, they had Bob Marley playing everywhere, all the time.  I remember thinking how annoyed the resort workers must be having to hear the same songs over and over.  But every time I hear "Buffalo Soldier" come on the radio, even when I'm driving through 4 inches of snow and 2 layers of ice, I can almost smell the sunscreen and salty air. 

As if to tell me not to fear, that spring is on its way, the little clovers I planted last week have started to sprout. 

One little sprig has leapt defiantly into the world as a testament to the resilience of plants I take care of (I'm not the best at remembering to water them).  It's only a matter of time before the buds start to appear on the trees and the world shakes off its terribly ill fitting winter coat to let the sunshine in. 

It may have been a mixture of my fruity drink and seeing the clover start to grow, but I now have the feeling that spring is right around the corner. 

Do you have that same feeling that warm weather is fast approaching?  Have any trees or flowers started blooming where you are?

***Spring Giveaway***
As a way to say thank you to all my current readers and new followers, now until midnight April 1st, if you follow me on Bloglovin you'll be entered to win 1 of 10 single bobby pins handmade by me. 

Just leave a comment below with the name you follow me with on Bloglovin and that will serve as your entry. 

**Sorry--this offer is only available for people in the continental United States.  I hope to open this to others in the future.
**Only 1 bobby pin per follower.
**Color of actual bobby pin received may differ from picture above. 

HERE COMES THE SUN

A few weeks ago, we woke up to this--a bright blue sky and sun shine.  And surprisingly, it was warm enough to run around outside in shorts.  It was supposed to snow the next day or something, so we seized the day and stepped outside to let our sun-deprived skin see the light of day. 

Since our bikes were trapped in the abyss that is our garage, we settled on playing tennis.  Neither of us are fantastic, but we did have some pretty good rallies.  We played a long time and tried to serve as hard as we could (more on that later).

After our rousing game of tennis, Wade mentioned that he had never had a Slurpee.  I gasped in utter shock.  How had this tasty treat eluded a Midwestern boy?

Have you ever had a Slurpee?  I don't mean a variation of an icy cold treat, I mean a true Slurpee.  From 7-Eleven.  If you haven't had the pleasure of enjoying one while basking in the sun, then put that on your bucket list.  You might think it's like an Icee, snow cone, flavored ice, etc., but there is only one drink that perfectly combines crushed ice and liquid in my opinion (and I've done plenty of research).

I grew up on these things.  Every day after school my mom would take me to get a Slurpee as an afternoon treat.  Literally every day.  (I have the best mom.)  I haven't had one in years, though, so decided it was high time to reignite my passion and bring Wade in on the fun.

So a lot was accomplished on this day.  We got some vitamin D, revisited a favorite childhood treat, and I found these boxes and place mats.  There's just something about black and white polka dots and big colorful flowers.

It was a beautiful day.  The next day, though, was not as great.  Apparently we should have stretched more, or we're just getting old because we were SO sore from playing tennis.  Really sore.  I pulled my shoulder and inner thigh muscles so I was hobbling around and Wade's back hurt so bad he couldn't sleep.  I guess that's just some of the joys of getting older.  You can't pick up a tennis racket and try to hit the ball as hard as you possibly can without having a few repercussions.  Next time we'll be more careful.  

Now all this talk about Slurpees has made me thirsty:)

PEICD (PROJECTS EVEN I CAN DO): CHALKBOARD BOX LABELS

You may remember that I found some great chalkboard tile stickers and used them to make chalkboard labels for glasses so people would always know which drink is theirs at our parties.  I thought I was all out, but I found some more while I was cleaning this weekend.  Oh, the wonderful joys of finding things you thought were lost/all used up.

In the spirit of getting organized, I found these adorable boxes at Target.  You can't get organized without the proper tools, right?  Knowing me, though, I would quickly forget what I put in these boxes.  It would probably be years later before I remembered I already had enough ribbon to run circles around my house. 

So I put a chalkboard label on each box.  I like the versatility of the chalkboard so that I can change the name if I want to switch things up a bit and make the label as big as I need. 

This is probably the easiest DIY I've done yet, so I won't even bore you by writing out steps.  Here are the supplies I used:
--Chalkboard tile sticker (I found mine here)
--Cute box (I found mine at Target, but I couldn't find a link for them)
--Scissors
--Chalk

For the box that contains all my beads, I chose to just use a small, simple label that says "beads".  Pretty straightforward, huh?

For the box that contains all my product packaging supplies, though, I wanted to add more detail so I would know exactly what the box contains.  All too often, I rummage through a box and overlook what I'm searching for and spend hours looking for it.  It gets really frustrating, so I wanted to clearly specify the contents to try to save me time in the future.  I don't get orders all the time, so trying to find everything when I did was a mess.

Everything I need for packaging and shipping orders in one easy place. 

Besides the labels looking like a 5 year old wrote them (can anyone write well in chalk?), I think these are going to help keep me organized.  At least for week. 

How do you make sure you remember things you store in boxes?

SPRING OUTFIT IDEA

With spring-like days being sprinkled in to the last throes of winter, I find myself day dreaming about all the light, flowy dresses in my near future.  Being able to leave the house without my giant parka is becoming a closer reality every day, and it's about time.  Here's my idea of the perfect spring/summer outfit.  It's probably something more appropriate for late spring since Kansas can't make up its mind when it comes to the weather, but throw on a cardigan and you'd still be good to go.

1//With all the flowers that will be blooming, it would be fun to have some little buds for my ears, too.  These are just the cutest, and a pretty good deal.

2//This dress is really what made my spring fever hit an all time high.  I love the color and those buttons are just adorable.

3//I've been wanting to buy a panama hat since last year, but never found one I loved.  I'm going to need to ease in to my exposure to the sun since it's been a long winter and my skin isn't used to sunshine.  This one seems like it would be perfect.

4//Wade got me a beautiful vintage brooch for Valentine's Day. It has blue and amber rhinestones that would look perfect with this dress.  Here's another brooch that would look pretty cute, too.  When there's too much detail around the neck of a dress that a necklace wouldn't really work, I like the idea of wearing a brooch to still add a little something extra.

5//This purse screams spring time.

6//Does anyone else have Saltwater sandals?  I've seen them popping up over the years and have always heard good things about them.  Are they really as comfortable as everyone says?  I only wear super comfortable shoes:)

What is on your spring wish list?  

A few weeks ago, I took some pictures of my really good friend Jessica and her family.  I mean, how cute are they all?  Not only are they all super photogenic, but they are also the sweetest family.  My job wasn't difficult at all.  Jessica had the girls in the cutest matching outfits and the backdrop all set to go.  I just can't get enough of these sweet little faces:) 

This lady sure has the modeling thing down.  She's staring down the camera like it's her job.  Tyra would be proud. 

Wade and I had a lot of fun helping capture these memories.  Head over to Jessica's blog for more pics of her adorable family.

GROWING A LITTLE BIT O' LUCK

While cruising the dollar section at Target the other week, I threw this little nugget in my cart.  Only a dollar to grow a little bit of luck?  Sold. 

Whether you believe you make your own luck or not, it seemed like a wonderful thought that I could grow some luck to help me through those rainy days. 

The directions were easy enough.  Now to see if it will actually grow.  I put them in the window sill with my cacti, so I'll keep you posted if any luck sprouts in the next few weeks.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and wishing you a day fool of luck and good fortune!

FOCUS ON THAT PINK CACTUS

I had set out to write another post tonight, but it's been a long week and I'm tired.  Things are kind of like the picture above.  A little scattered and unkempt, but ok as long as you focus on that pretty pink cactus.

Speaking of cacti, I've been meaning to paint pots and plant these properly for months now.  I'm surprised they're still alive.  Luckily they are such a resilient type of plant.  I think there may be a little elf running around late at night keeping them watered.

I'm looking around the house now and thinking about all the projects and cleaning and organizing I want to do this weekend.  It's time to get stuff done.  More than anything, I just want everything to have a place.  I got an antique dresser last weekend and a couple of vintage metal carts to help out.  I know if I can just paint those carts and stuff them full of fabric and all that felt I ended up buying because I was afraid they would run out, everything will fall into place. 

Do you ever feel that way?  That all the organizing and cleaning depends on one crucial element?  If I can't get that to work, then I'll probably just throw up my hands and watch a movie:)

Weekends are always a tug of war, though.  I want to do the things I put off during the week, but then fun stuff comes along and I promise myself that I'll get to those more menial tasks during the week.  It's amazing how we can get ourselves to believe just about anything.  I guess time will tell if I'm really lying to myself tonight by how much I really get done this weekend.  I need a week off to just get everything done.  Ah, who am I kidding?  I would just end up making bigger messes and swear once my fun week was over I would get down to business:)

 Any fun plans for you this weekend? 

A HAPPY DAY

This weekend was beautiful.  We finally got some warm(er) weather and were actually able to leave the house.  My mom and I took full advantage of it and had a girl's day.  We did all those things that we'd have to beg and plead the guys to do and thoroughly enjoyed exploring new to us places in Kansas City.

We started off by going to lunch at the Teahouse and Coffeepot.  Since I'm such a creature of habit, it's nice to try out a new place when we have lunch together.  It's good to see where else I can get a turkey sandwich in this town. 

The place was really cute and clean.  It's in an old house, and I would definitely go here again.  If it would have been a little less windy, we probably would have eaten outside.  I can't wait for patio weather.

After lunch, we went to an antique store in Midtown, Urban Mining.  It's only open one weekend a month, and I was really impressed with everything they had.  The building was in an old Woolworth's and they had restored the old tin ceiling.

There was one display where my mom recognized everything.  Usually when I shop for  vintage stuff, I think about how cool it looks.  When my mom saw this old stove, though, it brought her back to when she was a girl.  These weren't just stories she heard about people having these things in their homes, these were her memories. 

We laughed about how she probably has a lot of these things in the basement still.  It's always hard to figure out what to keep and what to give away.  You never know when something will turn cool again.

An old book, vintage rhinestone necklace, and vintage rubber stamp sets that you can make into any saying you want rounded out the treasures I found during our visit.  I'm really excited to break out the stamps.  I just may have them strewn across our table right now. 

It was a much needed relaxing day.  A promise that sunshine-filled days are up ahead and that you can find pure joy in the simplest of days.  The best thing I took home all day, though, was spending the day with my mom.  That was the real treasure found. So sappy, but so true:)

 

TREAT YO' SELF THURSDAY

"Three words for you...Treat Yo' Self!  Clothes...treat yo' self.  Fragrances...treat yo' self.  Mimosas...treat yo' self.  Fine leather goods...treat yo' self."
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then go watch this clip of hilarity.  
For those of you have seen the Parks and Rec episode in which one glorious day is set aside each year to treat your self to whatever your heart desires, you know how this is the best idea.  Luckily for you, every Thursday is treat your self day at Treasure Tromp.
I'm co-hosting Nicole's awesome link-up party this week.  Read on below to "treat yo' self" to some fun new blogs to read and also share your latest post.  
What would you do if you had a whole day to follow your whims?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to Treat Yo' Self Thursday!

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    Let me introduce you to this week's co-hosts / awesome sponsors!   Kari from This, Too My blog chronicles my daily adventures in trying to make my life full of color, inspiration, and purpose. I've also got some really easy DIYs sprinkled in. Like really easy. So easy I can do them. 1 Adventure in 2014: Isn't actually going inside a Chipotle restaurant adventure enough? Well, an upcoming adventure in the more traditional sense of the word is that we're planning on visiting Panama City, FL for a friend's wedding and getting to soak up some sun. That sounds pretty good since it is unbelievably cold in Kansas City right now.   2 Posts You Need To Read: 1) Murder Mystery Party. 2) Painted Bead Necklace DIY.   3 Words to Describe This, too: Colorful Ordinary Adventures.   blog | bloglovin' | twitter | pinterest | instagram | etsy       Bri from Deliciously Active In my blog I mainly focus on topics that most interest me: health, fitness, and food! I do not believe in diets, I believe in living an active and balanced life. I also focus on traveling and seeing new places and learning about different cultures. 1 Adventure in 2014: My husband and I have been certified scuba divers for years and are planning another shark dive. Last time I had a shark swim up to my face less than a foot away. The bubbles I released as I exhaled scared him away and I was so disappointed!   2 Posts You Need To Read: 1) Running is the greatest workout of all time. 2) Kids suck the life out of you.   3 Words to Describe deliciously active: healthy, active life.   blog | bloglovin' | twitter | pinterest | instagram      

Last Week's Most Viewed Treat

Why I Love To Read Your Blog via ink + adventure

How to Treat Yo' Self:

1. Link up your most recent blog post.
2. Hope over and follow this week's co-hosts. They are awesome, I promise!
3. Grab a button or link back so that more people can join the fun.
4. Visit at least 2 other blogs and share the love.
5. Spread the word by using the hashtag #TreatYoSelfThursday and I'll retweet your link!

Treat Yo' Self!

An InLinkz Link-up

PRESENT MEETS PAST

The other weekend, we stopped at an estate sale and found these vintage champagne glasses and old magazines from the 70s.  We had been looking for this type of champagne glass for a while so were excited to be able to put them to good use, but the real treasure was found in the magazines. 

Flipping through Sphere, a Betty Crocker Magazine, it felt like reading through some of my favorite blogs.  DIY projects, thrifting ideas, and colorful staged parties filled the pages. 

It made me think about how each generation thinks they've come up with the next best thing and that what we're doing things so radically different than the past.  Really, though, a lot of things are quite similar.  Women still love doing projects and creating a world full of color.  We may get our ideas through electronic means now instead of having to wait each month for the mail, but the sharing of information remains the same.

Maybe we're not as crazy detailed as telling people how many days in advance to buy party supplies, though.

We may have changed the name of junking to thrifting, but breathing new life into old things is still going strong.  At least we gave it a more hip sounding name.  Thrifting vintage items sounds much cooler than "junking".  Maybe I'll be ultra hip, though, if I bring back the word "junking" into the main stream again.  Brainstorm!

The spread below has to be my favorite, though.  Matching sweaters for couples?  Yes, please.  Why did we stop doing this?  I better buy some sweaters for Wade and me:)

 



Adding bling to everything was still in style.

Exercise was at the forefront of women's minds.

And the thing I'm most glad hasn't changed?  Crafty women are here to stay.


I've always been pulled to the past.  Intrigued by how people lived, how they viewed life, and curious what they would think of the world now.  I want to believe that my story will go on, as I'm sure everyone else does, as well, and I think finding merit in the past means that someone someday may look back at my life and wonder the same things.

I am undecided how I feel about estate sales.  It was like visiting a museum.  I loved looking at everything, but I also felt sad knowing that the people who used these glasses, who read these magazines no longer lived here. 

If it were me, though, I would want someone to find new use for the things I once treasured.  Sometimes when I look at my favorite books carefully put in my bookshelf, I wonder if someone will one day read my copy and find the same meaning that I hold so dear.  I have a few old books that have the original owner's name in them.  I love that someone valued a book so much that they wanted to make sure people knew it was theirs.  I've added my name to the books I value, too, so that if someone picks one up, even years from now, they will know these words spoke to a girl who lived in Kansas.