Fresh Haircut

Wacky Weather:  While I got a delayed opening on Monday, we experienced high 60-degree weather Wednesday.  Today, we were back to breezy and cold.  At least spring is around the corner!

At the office: I heard from the reviewer about the article that I submitted back in August.  Most of the comments were easy to fix, but some are going to require a little more thinking.  The editors want some measurable results.  How do you measure "awareness" or "increased interest"?  Fortunately, I have until March 1 to think of something.  My boss, who's actually on vacation in Florida, called me up this morning to talk about the article and comments.  I guess she wanted to prevent any premature panic.  I thought it was thoughtful, but I really think I could have held off on the panic until Monday when she's back.

Fresh haircut: I zipped out after lunch to get a haircut.  I was very impressed by the hair stylist because I basically showed her a picture of a haircut I got in March 2012 and asked her to duplicate it.  Yep, she did and got a nice tip.  Thank you, Hair Cuttery.

Winter Weather and New Chicken Dish

Delayed Opening: To prevent slipping and sliding, OPM decided to give federal workers (and those that follow the federal government schedules) a delayed opening.  I didn't have to be at work until noon.  This came in really handy because I was able to stay up late working on a card order so that it'd be ready to ship this morning.

Recipe #1 of 2013: I tried this baked chicken/green beans/potato dish that I saw on Pinterest.  I used olive oil instead of butter and added some parmesean cheese on top.  The dish baked in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes so that the potatoes would be tender.  Yum yum.  I vacuumed my house and scrubbed the kitchen sink while I waited.  Hooray for multi-tasking.

New Nails and Alexandria Restaurant Week

New Nails: I'll use any excuse to a) use a coupon and b) get new nail polish.  It's a fantastic extra bonus if the two are combined.  CVS was having a sale on these new CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss polishes (2/$10 and then take $3 off with a manufacturer's coupon and then you get a $1 coupon when you check out so it's really like getting these for 2/$6).  I wandered over to CVS after spin class this morning and bought two colors that I didn't have in another brand at home (I know, how is that even possible??): Wine to Five and Constant Caribbean.  Constant Caribbean, a teal-ish color, is the one that I put on today (2 coats).  It's very similar to the Hotski for Tchotchke Shallac manicure that I got in November for Robyn's birthday.  Now I can get the same manicure, but for a fraction of the Shellac price.

Alexandria Restaurant Week: Robyn, Meg, Maria and I went to The Wharf for dinner tonight to take advantage of the Restaurant Week menu.  They had a fixed menu that had a few options for appetizers, entrees, and dessert for $35 (not including tax and tip).  I went with the lobster crabcake, Maine Lobster-Scallop Au Gratin with mashed potatoes, and Mixed Berry Créme Brulee.  OMG, the food was amazing as usual.  Good thing I went to spin class this morning!

Song of the day: "Mermaid"- Train

New Office Order

A few days ago, I got an email from Human Resources for another card order.  This is going to be a big project (~100 cards).  They wanted me to make thank you cards that would be given to staff during Employee Appreciation Week in March.  The usual rules apply: gender neutral colors and minimal materials/cutting. This is the design that I came up with.  I thought that shapes and squiggles were pretty gender neutral.  I made a few today to get started, but then I decided to stop there and check with HR to make sure that they are okay with this design.  I didn't want to get to card #90 and find out it's not what the client wanted. 

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Warm Red, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre.  Stampin' Up- Elegant Eggplant
Stamp: Studio G (sentiment), K.I. Memories- Patterns (flower)
Punch:  EK Success Postage Stamp border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Other: Black Ultra Fine Point Sharpie

New Wall Decal

Weather: OMG, it's so freakin' cold today.  At least there was some snow to make the cold weather worth it.  It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to make traffic crazy on the way home, even though I left early.  My card skidded a little (nothing was hurt!) when I turned into my parking lot even though I must have been driving at 1 mph.  I was going to go to the library to return the Tangled DVD that I borrowed because it was due today, but I decided that I would just pay the fine.  The roads looked bad and I didn't want to risk anything.

Home Decor: One of my New Year's Resolutions was to finally decorate my bedroom.  My friend Steph gave me an Etsy gift card so I used it to buy a wall quote decal.  After shopping around, I settled on this Audrey Hepburn quote ("Happy girls are the prettiest.") from ALastingExpression.  The seller is in Alaska so it took a little while to get here, but the package arrived safely and unharmed today.  I was so happy to see it on my doorstep when I got home today.  Armed with some washi tape and a chair, I put it up tonight.

Heart Flag Card

Brrr!: I finally broke out my heavy winter coat today with a scarf today.  I don't think it got above the 20s today.  I wish it was snowing to make all the cold weather worth it.


Card: My goal for today's card was to a) use some of the items that I bought last week and b) some of my Stampin' Up ink pads that have been neglected lately.  I learned on some crafty YouTube video (it's been a while since I've seen it, so I can't remember which one specifically) to use a hole punch to punch a notch where floss will be wrapped around cardstock to ensure that it stays in place.  I wish I had learned that trick a while ago!

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan. Stampin' Up in Pool Party, Elegant Eggplant, Regal Rose
Stamp: Martha Stewart- Patterns (dots), Hero Arts- Year Round Sentiments (hearts), Studio G (heart flag)
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen
Baker's Twine: We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy Fancy Floss in Candy Stripe

Fall-To Layout #224

Lazy day: Today was definitely a relaxing day.  I went to spin class in the morning, stopped by to visit my parents, came home home to shower and work on Valentine's Day cards for an upcoming craft fair in February and then took a nice afternoon nap just because I could. 

Etsy shop: I love this time of year because my sales usually pick up as people start to buy Valentine's Day cards. I got 2 orders today and then I'm waiting for the custom order customer to purchase her order.  With the extra money in my pocket, I have my eye on some Lifestyle Crafts dies.

Card: Here's my take on Fall-To Layout #224.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Paper: Chatterbox
Stamp: Studio G
Embossing Folder: Sizzix/Basic Grey- Fleur Tile
Chipboard Pieces: American Crafts Sweethouse I Heart You
Punch: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Other: Black Ultra Fine Point Sharpie