Where did 2013 go?  

Cannot believe 2014 is here. I mean I can...but I can't.

I remember being a kid and adults always saying that time would go 

even faster as you got older.  Who knew they were actually right?

Now I am the adult spouting this info to my kids.

Still makes me sad.  I kinda want time to slow down.  I am in no hurry.

Kids are always in a hurry. Not me.

2013 was a big change for my daughter. 

After 8 years at the same school and with only a few more months left

before highschool we made the decision to switch her schools. 
And school districts.

It was a scary move for her but it was the best decision.

Before she switched...I was wishing away the school year.

I am most certain she was as well.

We just wanted it to be over for her.  

Girls are mean. 
Kids can suck.
 She is awesome. 
They knew it.

So instead of taking it day by day and putting up with it...she switched.

If my foot could reach my head I would kick myself 

for not making the leap a year ago.

So now...she is back to just being a kid at school.  

Sometimes a fresh start is the answer.

And we don't have to wish away an entire school year.

Resolutions.

No thanks.

Ok maybe.

Don't we all make some sort of resolution?

Right after the holidays our houses are usually a mess so we say, 

"I'm going to organize my life this year...one room at a time".

 And we have probably eaten too much over the Christmas which leads us to, 

"I'm working out more and eating less".  

It's all good.  

Or stuff like this:

shop less

yell less

curse less

It's all less...ever notice that?  I guess we tend to do things in excess.

Myself...I need all of the above.

The whole lot of it.

So.  

Step 1:

new kicks.

Step 2:

New crops

Step 3:

A way to stay accountable.

Yes I have this and it is adorable.

Step 4:

My advocare spark drink...because I am addicted.

I also became an advocare distributor specifically so I could get a discount on the drink.

I love it so.
 It is the first thing I drink in the morning.

I ran out a couple weeks ago and the two days I did not have it...yaaaaa. Not pretty.

Step 5: a challenge

Have you heard of Dietbet?

It's another fun way of being held accountable for your progress.

Basically you buy in to the game.

Weigh in.

Have a month to lose 4% (totally doable after Christmas) of your weight.

And then the pot is split between between the winners.

It's fun.  

I have done it before. 

 I think I won my money + $35.

Cassey at Blogilates is doing another Dietbet starting today.

Still time for you to join.  The pot is up to $90,000.

I now have to go weigh in.  Blahhh.

So that's it for now.

I am going to post about my progress throughout the month:)

Possibly the year if all goes as planned!

If anyone wants to join me...comment your progress.

My real goals for 2014...blog more.

So far so good!

Happy New Year!

Hey! Guess who's back!

Well hello again.

It has been over a year since my last post.

It's been so long that I could not remember the web address of my page 

or my password.

Why am I back?  Not sure lol.

Do I have more time now to blog?  Not even close.

Do I have something new to say?  Nope.  (Did I ever??)

Am I back for good?  Your guess is as good as mine!

But for now...today. I'm back.

Since this was a spur of the moment thing I don't really have a plan for a post so...

I will post about last weeks Halloween Festivities!

Yes I am still addicted to Starbucks, so I did what any addict would do, 

I dressed my kid up as my favorite drink.

Vanilla Iced Chai!

Holy cute huh?

I got it on etsy from this seller.

Then her sister was a barista.

You may have seen other barista costumes out there but I must say...I think her's was pretty darn cute.

And holy cheap.

I bought the blank apron and hat off ebay for $2.50 each.

Then I put the glitter logo on the apron myself. 

I also found the patch for the hat on ebay and ironed it on.

Then just a pair of jeans and a black polo shirt and voila!

Her bucket is a paint bucket from the paint store.

I then wrapped craft paper around it and glued a logo printout.

The tray was my favorite part.

I asked our local starbucks for a couple sample cups.

Then I filled them with The Great Stuff foam sealer.

You need to only fill them half full as the foam expands...alot.

While still drying I put in the straws.

 Once fully dried,  I painted them white (as it dries yellow) 

and then used gold puffy paint for the "caramel". 

I am a firm believer in comfy Halloween costumes.

These were comfy.

The girls loved it.

The only problem was that people kept trying to grab a sample!

And there you have it.

Another Halloween success!

Ahhh...now see, that wasn't so hard! 

Hey...maybe just maybe I will post some Holiday gift ideas since 

I haven't forgotten how to shop either:)

Fall is in the ayyyyy-er

September is here.

Labor day is done.

Oh darn...I can't wear my white jeans anymore that I 

never wore because my thighs looked horrid in them.

Oh well.

It's still 100+ degrees here.

BUT...we still get all giddy when Sept hits.

Here are a few things that give me the warm fall fuzzies.

  For the record. I have never had a pumpkin spice latte.

I either have a vanilla iced chai or a hibiscus refresher HOWEVER

just the sign they put up for the pumpkin spice puts me in a fancy mood.

Next...I like my house to be all smelly.

Good smelly.

I don't even care that I then have to crank the A/C because the candles 

are warming everything up again.

 Fall candles at Bath and Body Works.

In my opinion...these are the best candles around.

The Slatkin and Co. candles.

 NOTE: burning these candles may make you extremely hungry 

and you may find yourself snacking non stop.

Burn at your own discretion.

The sugared donut smells exactly like a sugared donut from the fair.

Hang on...I gotta go get a snack.

Ok.  I'm back.

Next...I dream of these:

Or actually I dream of rain.

We get 7"'s a year here.

That is not enough to warrant a rainboot purchase.

BUT...I still love looking at them.

The best selection...Zappos.

 Then...a good pair of jeans to tuck into those boots.

A good place to look...the gap.

I tell you, the gap has impressed me over the last couple years in the denim dept.

Most of my jeans are Joe's jeans or Sevens...but I keep trying the gap and I kinda love them as well.

Boots in jeans is not that tough.

You can roll them.

 Or. You can just follow anything Rachel Bilson does as she rarely does wrong.

See how simple.

Jeans check.

Jeans with holes...double check.

Cozy sweater. Check.

Organic bag. Check.

Shades. Check.

Boots...check.

Voila.  

And there you have it. 

Warm fuzzies all over the place.

Now something else I wanted to share with you.

A customer of mine just stared a new venture.

Paizo Paper.

They do custom charcoal art.

Amazing artists.

They also have started "after the party" where they collect left over party supplies donated to them and they send them to childrens homes and orphanages.

How sweet is that!

This is Kamilla...my fabulous customer.

Check out their facebook page and keep them in mind next time you 

have left over supplies. I know I always have them and I would totally rather donate them

then be using birthday napkins and plates 3 months after the party!

I needed a little pick me up

I was needing some inspiration.

I have wanted to paint something in forever.

I am too lazy to move everything and paint the walls.

Not even kidding.

So instead, I painted the furniture!

Unfortunately I did not take before photos.

Sorry. Just take my word for it...my office was dreadful.

That desk was nice but it was not paperlili pink!

Annnd there was not a moose on the wall:)

 I simply painted the desk and added some Anthropologie draw pulls.

Now it makes me happy.

The pink is a great pink.

I think Betsy Johnson would approve.

Benjamin Moore Razzle Dazzle is the color.

Same with this desk.

It was a half day from me wheeling it to the sidewalk for some lucky DIY'er to have a field day.

I cannot remember the name of this paint.

It was also Benjamin Moore. I think it was something sunset. 

I have never been a yellow gal but it does make me smile.

Fully aware I am a crappy painter.

But...it works for me and this is where I ship my stuff from.

Then came the walls.

Since I already told you there was no way I was going to repaint the walls...

instead, I decorated them.

And in the process, I redesigned my logo.

It's amazing what one can do with some Martha Stewart Glitter.

Yes.  The paperlili cupcake is no more.

Well...it may pop up here and there however I never really knew why I picked a cupcake

for a logo.  I am not a baker.  I do love me some cupcakes but still.

I like my rainbow barcode much more.

Now the moose was not glittered when I got him.

I ordered him and some other fun items (purple bust of David...hello!)

from here.

I could be addicted to their stuff.

 

 Then the chalk board.

This giant piece of plywood has been leaning against the wall in my living room for a year.

I had used it for photos and I did not know what to do with it.

So glad I did not toss it as well.

I was going to wall paper the other side...then I decided that it may be cool just leaning 

against the wall in my office.

Again...the key to avoiding painting the walls is to cover up as much as you can!

And there you have it.

A simple redo.

OH...the fun garland is also an etsy find.

Everly Lane.  Beautiful garland.

Ever since I redid my office...everyone seems to like being in here more.

That's ok with me...I like visitors:)

Fingers and toes...fingers & toes

It is no secret if you know or read my blog.

 I love nail polish.

 This is really only a smidgen of the goods.

And I just redid my office so the "salon" that is usually set up needs a new space.

As you can imagine...my girls are very happy with their mother's addiction.

Polish wise. I will try about anything.

I am not loving that new caviar nail thing Sephora is pushing.

Nah.  That one's not for me.

Neither is the "fuzzy" nail stuff I am starting to see.

BUT...the magnetic stuff is kinda cool.

This one works very well. 

The colors are rich and thick and awesome.

I have tried the green, purple and grey.

Love them all like my children...equally:)

Glitter...I still like.

Although it is a pain in the booty to get off 

(much like gel but I'll get to that in a moment).

Seriously though...glitter has so many possibilities.

I like to just pain my ring finger.

I also like to make crazy combos that you would not expect.

Gold over pink.

Grey over green.

It all just seems to work.

Now nail art.

I suck at it.

However we just got this set at Nordstrom for the girls and it is pretty darn cool.

 It can be both a brush and then a little tip like a pen.

Perfect for making flowers and swirls and whatever the heck kids like these days;)

Brand wise...I don't usually buy cheap polish.

And if you asked me I would say I am partial to OPI...however when I organized the drawers...apparently I am more partial to Essie colors.

Who knew??? Not me.

The purple, green and pink are my current favorites.

I just bought the orange for "fall" thinking it would be awesome.

It's gross.  Hate it.

 There is however a blue from Essie...called Bikini so Teeny.  

Get it.  If you like blue polish.

It. Is. Perfect.

I have a couple Butter London Polishes.

Meh.  They're ok.  

I like the colors in the bottle.

Not totally down with how they come out.

I want to like them more.

Kinda like I wanted to like Butter's lip glosses and I keep trying

the pink I got on and every time I almost hurl from the smell.

Don't love the texture either.  

I think they need to keep working on their lipglosses.

I will take credit for not "working" the polishes better.

Sorry Butter.

And now gel polish.

I have not tried any store bought gel.

I did get my nails done in a salon with gel.

Loved it at first. All glittery pink and purdy.

Then it came off and OMG. 

My nails are $&%^ now. Serious ^$%&.

It has been off for over 2 weeks and still my nails are horrid.

I have buffed and polished and taken vitamins!

YUCK!

They don't even look right covered in polish so I had to opt for my favorite nail decals.

The only ones that I can make work perfectly.

Good old Sally Hanson.

She never let's me down:)

Sorry. I know I have horrid fingers.

You should see my Barney Rubble toes.

Not pretty.  But...they are always polished!

Let me know in the comments if you have any favorite colors, brands etc...or what your experience with gel polish was.  I am so bummed about that.

This could be a little scattered

So I have a million things going through my head.

I kept thinking I should blog something over the past couple days.

I had several different "themes" for a post.

But let's be honest.  I'm no writter.

I'm a talker. 

Not on the phone actually...I hate talking on the phone.

But in person...I talk alot.

Ramble I guess.

So...that's what you're going to get here. 

I will try to not jump around too much but here is what is going through my mind.

First.  

Miley Cyrus.

Yes.  She is going through my mind.

Why?  Because everyone is talking about her hair cute.

Her haircut that the first time I saw it I was like, "OHMAGAWDWHATDIDSHEDO!"

THEN...30 seconds later I thought.

Good for her! 

Yes. I will stand of for Miley. Not often. But for her hair.  You go Miley!

I think it's awesome.

In full disclosure I tried to rock the same 'do about 7 years ago.

I did not shave the side.  But it was a platinum pixie.

I WANTED it to work.

I WANTED to be able to be that cool chick that could have that hair do.

When I went shopping I would get compliments.

Basically I would get compliments by anyone that did not know me.

Which is exactly why it did not work for me.  It wasn't me:(

I tried.

I also just tried to find a cute photo of Miley and her new do.  

Couldn't find one to post.  Hmmm...maybe this isn't such a good idea.

WAIT.  I found the photo (I know, we have all seen it...but still)

 Um...upon viewing this one again...maybe it was a oops.

Because the first level of chopping was pretty darn cute and it makes me wanna chop and dye my hair tomorrow actually.

Am I wrong?  Because this (below) is pretty durn cute no?

I'm gonna do it.

As soon as I lose 10 lbs.

HA!  So basically that means...never.

NEXT up for business.  Transfers.

Yes.  If you are not following me on facebook then you probably do not know about my new transfers.

I am selling a good portion of my designs as "do it yourself iron on transfers".

If there is something you would like to purchase as a transfer from my site and I have not listed it yet...just email me customerservice@paperlili.com .

Otherwise you can see the current transfers for sale here.

For example you can purchase any grade rocks and iron it on anything you would like.

This is a great idea for teacher gifts...keeping the price down:)

I am also offering transfers to my wholesalers.

So basically if you are a wholesale store you can purchase the transfers 

and iron them on yourself for resale.  I am ok with this:)  

If you would like more information you can email me at customerservice@paperlili.com

THIS JUST IN:  I just got this email from one of the first customers to purchase a transfer.

Hi Cristy,

My husband and I just finished putting the transfers on my girls shirts!!  I am so excited!  They turned out amazing and I can't wait for them to wear them!  I think I might be addicted to your stuff now:)  Thanks again!

Amanda

I could not be more thrilled with this email.

Honestly.  This is exactly what I was hoping for.

I realize my tees are expensive. I realize they are special occasion tees.

But I do hope you realize the time and effort and care and supplies and work and love that goes into every single tee.  We have all seen rhinestone tees for less all over the internet...but you probably don't realize that those designs are quite likely mass produced in China and 

sold as transfers to anyone and everyone.

This is not the case with mine. Clearly.

These are my designs.  I could probably get them produced in China.

I don't want to.

My team and I have worked hours and hours making them perfect.

I do hope it shows.


 

Hello My Name is Cristy

Well hello there! 

You are probably wondering where I have been.

Um. I have no answer.  I have been right here.

So there you have it.

Truthfully I needed to make a new password months ago and I forgot it.

It was a PAIN to figure out what it was.

I did try.

Several times.

I figured it would eventually come to me.

Annnnd it finally did.

So now I am stuck trying to figure out where to pick up.

I could go backwards and update you on my life.

But you don't care what happened to me over the past 6 months.

Heck...I don't much care anymore.

So I have decided to just pick up like old friends and start from where I am today.

Sitting in my office waiting for the phone repair man 3-5 appointment that has now turned into 6:30.

Um.  Ya.  We have a birthday bbq we were supposed to be at 15 minutes ago.

Nice.

OH...and I decided to bring back the blog because my hives have returned.

If you read my blog years ago (3 years) you may remember my lovely bout with chronic hives.

Idiopathic Chronic Hives which basically mean they don't have a clue what the $#^% started them.

They being the allergist.

Now please, don't feel you need to give me the old rundown of "did you's"...as in, did you change your perfume, your fabric softener, your body wash.  

Trust me. Yes I probably did.  Many times in the past 3 glorious years of being hive free.

That does not mean that I am now allergic to any of that.

What happens when you have idiopathic, it means that there is no known reason why something is occuring.  And because it is hives...which is not life threatening 

(unless you count my thoughts of jumping out of my skin and off the roof!) it is not an emergency.

Or if your tongue starts to swell.

That would suck.

My tongue has not done that.  But my lips sure have.

So basically all "they" (allergists) can do is give you a pharmacy full of 

meds to try to control the itching.

When than doesn't work...they give you prednisone.

It always works.

So...20 days and 9 lbs heavier I am hive free...oh joy.

The kicker comes in about 5 days when I am prednisone free and if my skin attacks again or if it goes back into hibernation.

Apparently this could be something that comes and goes for the rest of my life.  

Whoo hoo.

I am actually not whining about it.

So please don't think I am. I am just writing in case anyone is googling around 

looking for someone else with their issues.  And trust me...there are alot of us.

Ok.  Enough about my hives. I can handle it.

I lived through it before. I can do it again.

I am a little pissed that I have gained 9 lbs...and I have the prednisone moon face.

But I am working on it. So whatever.  Again.  I realize you don't much care about that...it just sucks that when you are "sick" or dealing with issues...you look like crap too! 

The fun never stops!

Now.  Let's turn this post around and make it fun!

How about some fun back to school items since everyone is heading there.

My kids started last week.  Sniff sniff.

First...they need a back pack.

Unless you are like me and insist that if the one from last year still looks like it could hold books...why not give it one more go! 

Seriously. Those suckers are expensive.

They SHOULD last a year or two.

Last year we bought Dakine backpacks.

Awesome.

Padded shoulders. And the zippers have held up tremendously.

I think I will always buy Dakine.

Would totally have bought this one this year...shhh...don't tell my kids.

Or this one for a dude.

Ok...next...new sneakers.

Everyone loves a new pair of sneakers.

I totally want these myself.

or these

 Hmmm...interesting. As I type this the area around my left eye is getting numb.

This usually means some sort of swelling is trying to break the antihistamine barrier.

Time to remedicate.

Hmmm...I kinda love these.

It's the studs.

Love me some studs.

 Now.  Clothes.

Big puffy heart this dress.

Especially with the studded sneakers above!

Yes, I know...I'm a little bit rock n roll a little bit hippie.

Whatever. I own my weirdness.

How cute is this!

or 

this

he is sure to get on his science teachers good side from day one

I truly love Peek clothes.  Love them.

I know Amy who was one of the original owners/designs from Peek.

She's a genius with the best taste. I believe she worked at Lucky Brand and other fabulous places.

I am not sure who is in charge at Peek anymore but it is still awesome.

I just WISH they would make ladies clothes.

Honestly...they could literally make every one of their kids items in ladies sizes.

Same for the dudes.  There are lots of dads that would wear this Atom tee.

Their clothes are so kid appropriate but not "kiddie".  

Did that makes sense?

I know it did.  You totally get me;)

Next up.

Supplies.

First stop. The Pencil case.

Can you say...ohmagawd!

For these and other pencil cases you never knew you needed until right now...check them out here

on this mom finds back to school post.

Now time to stuff those cases.
If you are like me and a semi-germophobe
(I think I am personally creating a super bug with the amount of hand sanitizer I use)
you shudder at the thought of another kid touching your kids
pencils/pens/scissors/books/ clothesfaceipodphoneshoeshairewdon'ttouchmykidshair!/etc)
 then maybe just maybe
a case full of personalized pencils will stop little Hank from using Sophie's pencils!
Phew.  Need to go sanitize.

Oriental Trading Company to the rescue!

So.  This post has taken me forever.
It is now 2 hrs after I started.
Phone man is still not here.  He is over 2 hours late.
I have made and eaten dinner.
My benedryl has kicked in and my face is no longer numb (yay me)
and I will leave you with this...

Instagram.
If you don't have it...get it.
I compare it to facebook but without the status updates and junk:)
Just pretty pictures.
I am lenoaz if you want to follow me.

Here are a couple from this week I posted.

My beloved Erin Condren Life planner that is guaranteed to make my life sunshine and lollipops:)

and my sock bun
If you have never done a sock bun...you have missed out on a major hair evolution!
 I make mine with one of my husbands old socks.
I sometimes get two days wear out of one 5 minute hair do.
It usually looks better the second day on me.

Seriously...my bun is like a UFO landed on my head.
It was only a matter of time before someone actually started selling the sock for your bun.
I saw it the other day.  I can't remember where online.
If you google I am sure you can find it.
It is not necessary.
Instead, google sock bun...or youtube it and dive into your husband's sock drawer.

I kinda think a old baby legs legwarmer might work.
Someone try it and let me know.