Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

Sunday Lately, 14

I have a confession.  By this time (doing 11 weeks straight of Sunday Lately posts), I should be able to figure out the pattern of the prompt for the week.  Not true.  I still have to go to someone’s blog, scroll to last Sunday’s post, and copy the upcoming prompt.

Next time the “Forgetting” prompt rolls around, I’m writing “The prompt pattern each week.”  Because, I mean, it’s true.

What have you been up to lately? This is week 14 of Sunday Lately link up with Katy, Meghan, and Nicole!

Updating

My house.  Betcha thought I was going to say “this blog,” didn’tcha!?  Yeah, I haven’t forgotten about that. I just need a spare damn minute.

So, I’m still trying to move my things out of my father’s house, pack up some extraneous things for him, and clean out what I can.  The problem is, I don’t know the next step.  I know my plan, but not anyone else’s.  So I can do my own thing, but eventually I get sucked back in to what the rest if the family wants me to do.  I’m so bad at saying no, guys.

Reminding

Myself that it’s okay to say no.  I even wrote about why it’s good!  I’m also loving this list of things that Emily Cassel shared about her March life lessons (biggest takeaway: your brain is a muscle, it’s okay to give it a break!)

Needing

A spare damn minute!

Wearing

As I mentioned last Monday, I’m doing the #LipStockChallenge.  My friend, Marissa, gave me the idea to wear a different lipstick every day for a certain period of time.  I started doing this on Wednesday (it was no April Fool’s joke) and I’m going to try going until I run out if I can.

Join me if you’d like!  I’m tracking the hashtag on Instagram and Twitter!

Being

Relaxed after a night outside of Pittsburgh with Jonathan and his sister and brother-in-law.  We went to Columbus to eat a huge grilled cheese sandwich from Melt.  Oh, and to see a hockey game.

Bunny light bulb redo

Last year, I shared two projects for making decorations with light bulbs.  I had penguins and Grinches for Christmas and bunnies for Easter.  I’d love to make ducks, but I’m still trying to figure out the logistics of that.

If I do, y’all will be the first to know.

Super easy Easter craft making bunnies from old light bulbs! #upcycle #reuse #easter

Side note: I’m from Pittsburgh, I fully understand that my kind is supposed to say “yinz.”  I just can’t, so you get “y’all.”

Light bulb bunnies are a ridiculously easy craft and (I have no way to verify this as I don’t have children of my own) fun for kids!  Just keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t drop a poor light bulb bunny.

Super easy Easter craft making bunnies from old light bulbs! #upcycle #reuse #easter

What I love about this project is that the materials are so easy to find.

  • Old light bulbs (I don’t even bother to take the guts out, so no sharp pieces)
  • Red, white, and black paint
  • A Sharpie
  • Card stock or heavy paper
  • Cotton balls
  • Brushes, toilet paper rolls (to prop up drying bulbs), and a plate for paint mixing
  • Hot glue gun or other adhesive stuff

I’m guessing you have about 100% of these items in your house right now.

Super easy Easter craft making bunnies from old light bulbs! #upcycle #reuse #easter

Super easy Easter craft making bunnies from old light bulbs! #upcycle #reuse #easterSuper easy Easter craft making bunnies from old light bulbs! #upcycle #reuse #easterSuper easy Easter craft making bunnies from old light bulbs! #upcycle #reuse #easter

Are you ready to make your own?  Click here to see how I did it!

I’m off to boil some eggs for dying.  Pro tip: save the water!  Plants love the calcium that comes out of the shells!

What are your favorite Easter crafts?

April Fool’s Day! #PghGBE

It’s April Fool’s Day and the return of #PghGBE (that stands for Pittsburgh Great Blog Exchange).  Last year, I wrote a post for the fearless leader, Alex from everybody loves you, and Michael from Downtown Pittsburgh Living wrote for me.

This year, I’m writing a post for Beth at The Fashionable Eye all about the great places to find accessories in Pittsburgh.  I mean, you know me, you know my obsession with accessories, did you expect anything less?

If you’re up for it, do a tour of all of the participates (a total of 40 Pittsburgh bloggers!) or just take it bit by bit (I know I am).

Huge thanks to Alex for having me again this year and organizing this blowout.  I hope there are even more next year!

Do you do the pranks on April Fool’s Day or do you get pranked?

Creative Closet: Sassy Stripes

Sometimes, you nail every photo.  You can’t narrow down the awesome shots, so you include all the pics.  And other times, your camera won’t focus, it’s getting too dark and lightening them just makes them grainy, and you’re lucky you have four photos.

Guess which kind of week this is?

But I really like stripes and I love this dress from Express and I couldn’t not share a little something for The Creative Closet today.

Here’s a rough idea of the outfit:

The Creative Closet: Stripes are where it's at! I love this dress from Express layered with tights and sneakers for a casual look.

Chloe and Isabel Heirloom Chain + Pavé Convertible Necklace Stripes, polka dots, and Converse sneakers. Dressed down cuteness!

I’m still into mixing patterned / bold tights with patterned / bold dresses, so I thought this was the perfect combo.  Stripes, polka dots, and Converse sneakers.  Can’t get much better than this.  I wore it to work last week with my favorite tan booties, but I just wore them last week, so I dressed it down with sneakers.

Dress: Express
Necklace: Chloe and Isabel
Cuff bracelets: Studebaker Metals
Tights: I forget!
Shoes: Converse

How do you wear your stripes?

Spring clean: makeup organization

A few weeks ago, I spent ages (okay, a few hours) rounding up all of my makeup and sorting through it.  I have a problem hoarding all the makeup seeing and storing what I have.  I’ve been trying to do #365DaysofEmpties to lighten up my collection, but it’s still raging out of control, so I had to find a better way to sort and store things.

Easy secrets to sort through and organize makeup for a spring clean! Use these tips to organize and store your makeup using things you probably already have around the house.

To get rid of what I had:

It pained me so much, but I asked myself these five questions.  If it was old, I didn’t like it, and/or just hanging out for the sole purpose of hanging out, I did my best to get rid of it.

How old is it?

If you’re unsure if something is still good, check out this post to know when something is telling you, Hey, I expired.  Or just do a search on Pinterest for “makeup expiration;” all of the recommendations are mostly the same.

Do I have this already in a similar shade?

If so, the older one or the one I like least has to go!  If it’s a backup for a product I love and use, though, it’s definitely staying.

Could I give it to someone else?

If it’s a new product (or mostly new and has been cleaned properly) and I can give it to someone who will use it, I will!  Anyone want to do a blog makeup swap?

Is it hanging around because I don’t use it and I feel bad throwing something away?

I’m so guilty of this.  I can’t throw away something if it’s still usable, even if I don’t use it.

Is it half-finished and I just have to make a point to use the rest of it up?

Guilty of this, too.  I can’t throw something away if it’s usable AND I still have product left to use.

To store what I have left:

What will allow me to use this the most?

I’m so guilty of “Out of sight, out of mind.”  If I don’t see it, I’ll forget about it.  So I pulled out a few of my favorite lip sticks/glosses and have them in their own holder outside of the sorted boxes of lip balm, stick, stain, and gloss.  I just pick the color I want for the day and go without having to paw through endless boxes (or yesterday’s work bag).  Then I’ll swap/rotate out weekly to start playing favorite with others and as the seasons change.

Can I group/store this with similar products?

I have a Quirky Zen Cosmetics from Jonathan that I love and was going to use for eyeliner, but I know liquid eyeliner should be stored on its side and I have pots of gel liner that wouldn’t fit.  It doesn’t make sense to have eyeliner stored in different areas, so I use an empty Birchbox box to corral everything and the brushes stay in the Makeup Zen nice and neat.

Quirky Zen Cosmetics for holding brushes, eyeliner, lip liner, anything!

Group similar kinds of makeup together to make it easier to store. You use it more, too, because you can see it all!

Use what will work for you

Maybe you have an extensive collection and need more drawers/containers that I need.  Maybe you only need a three-drawer container with one drawer for eyes, another for lips, and a final for face (at one time I could fit everything into a small storage tower like that.  Oh the days).

Use these tips to organize and store your makeup using things you probably already have around the house!

Use what works for you.  If a large organization project makes you shake, don’t do it!  If you need clear drawers instead of closed boxes, go find them!

Try other sections of Target

I found a clear desk/mail sorter in the clearance stationery/desk supplies section.  I was going to try using it for brushes and corralling small items.  That didn’t work, so I figured out something else to do with it.

Store eye palettes in an office organizer so you can see them all and easily reach for them.

But my point here is to think in terms of other sections of the store.  If the makeup caddies aren’t what you’re looking for, maybe another organizational section will have something you like.  Or try a totally different store, like Marshall’s or even Staples.  There’s nothing a little spray paint can’t make prettier!

Take unused items out of the collection

Weed out the new items that are waiting to get opened (like mascara, lip gloss, etc) to lighten up what is in the visible places.  It also helps me to use up what is left in an old container before I move on to something new.  I have a bad habit of wanting to use something the second I buy it.  Even toothpaste.  I’m like, “Yes, I want to try that Wintergreen flavor now!”

Store extra makeup items in boxes that can easily stack away in a closet and you know where it is when you need it in the morning.

So by sorting unopened makeup into groups for eyes, lips, and face, I can take out exactly what I need (new blush? mascara?) without having to paw through everything and make a bigger mess.

Also, join me for the #LipStockChallenge – a different lipstick every day until I run out.  Post your photos with the hashtag to play along!

Those are my secrets for taming my makeup collection.  What are yours?

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