Just old enough

A wise woman told me, you will always only be as old as you feel (Kathie Conway). As I get older I only find how much truth this simple statement really has. I think of this when I think of the tutus that I made and we wore for St. Patrick’s Day this year. Tutu’s are the new “it” wear for little girls. They are so cute, and come in such a variety and you will see these lil tots wearing them for every occasion. I used to smile and wish I could get away with such a thing.

I knew as soon as we decided we were going to make a day of the parade that I wanted to wear one. It was going to be this or Halloween that would provide me the opportunity to be able to wear something out of the norm for a 30 something year old. Weather is more permitting in March than October. Immediately I started looking on eBay, Etsy and on line in general. I wasn’t having much luck finding some for “big” girls to wear. When I did find one they would cost a little more than I really wanted to pay for some fun. I was so shocked when I told my girlfriends about my idea and how they responded with pure joy of wanting one for them to wear as all. The reaction made me smile. I bet there are a handful of “older” females having the same desire to wear a tutu. I often find that you may think you are the only one taking a nap in the bathroom stall during work, but in reality there are others doing  the same exact thing. The desire to wear a tutu at an adult age, not odd at all.

Jason suggested that I make the tutus. I laughed and instantly squashed the idea. I had no knowledge on how to do that or an idea where to begin. You must remember I am about as square as a box can get and creativity is not my forte. He then proceeded to remind me that I may not know how, but he was certain Pinterest would be able to show me. Oh yes there were a ton of ideas and he was so right. While I am on the subject of Pinterest, I also just recently learned that it is a great format to utilize in expanding your career portfolio. I made a point to go ahead and create me another board. Now when I read articles I have the option of adding them to my FB, Twitter and Pinterest account. Technology is pretty amazing and I was excited to see Pinterest getting so much rave.

Back to the topic on hand and moving right along. I got the supplies (with some extra help from Sam Mauldin), printed the how to off of Pinterest and went to being crafty. I was going to be making three of these creations of tulle.  They were so easy, quick to put together and probably cost about 10.00 a piece to make. If I may brag for just a moment they were beyond being just a hit. I have yet to ever get as many compliments as I did on this skirt. We had so much fun wearing them not to mention that fact I secretly got to full fill my wish of wanting to wear a tutu. Now when I see little girls in there bedazzled outskirts I just smile and think to myself how I now know how much fun they have prancing around in the fringe. I will share with you the pictures of my supplies and the girls that aren’t afraid to be only as old as they feel. Cheers to forever being a kid at heart. 

Killing a couple of birds with one stone

You may describe someone as a tree hugger, go green activist, recyclers, resourceful, humble, frugal or just down right smart. You may even have a better word to describe them based on certain actions. Whatever it may be you can certainly call me that. It was a few years back that I decided I could not trash my pickle jars. They just seem too durable of an item to use for something else. I was not sure what, but I was not going to discard them with items that suite the description of trash. I love pickles and think they go fabulous with every meal. There are so many different choices and I find that each brand that carry the same flavor has its own distinct touch as well.

I started off using them as drinking glasses. They clean easy and are hard to break. I wound up with more than enough drinking glasses, so I started to Google more uses for them. Pinterest was not so prevalent at this time. I did however find a few more around the house uses for them. I got to a point where I figured I had enough pickle jar accents floating around my 660 square foot den. I decided to just start stashing them away in the far back hard to reach cabinet area. They would come to use someday. Maybe I will host a party or give them as a gift. I was browsing Pinterest one day and came across a couple of ideas I decided to incorporate in one and finally get to utilize my jars. I think the pictures tell the story of how I got to use my pickle jars. I was able to give the girls in the office a gift for Valentine's Day. I got compliments and praise for them. I cleaned out my cabinet. I had fun and felt a little creative. This is a lot to get out of one project.