Bestest, Most Easiest, Most Makes Me Smile Project Ever

I'm not super into jewelry. I tend to wear cheap silver hoops, my e-ring, and these other pieces almost every day. They are classic and easy and I love them.

 

Mine has an emerald though / Image via Tiffany and Co.

Links of London Sweetie Bracelet

But for the wedding, I was all confused. Do I go simple or bold? Classic or modern or funky? A whole slew of my friends told me I "didn't need a necklace" with my gown, which totally bummed me out (even though, as per usual, they are right). So...what to do, what to do?

I asked my cousin and aunt if they had any of my grandma's jewelry that might be appropriate, and they sent me a box with many pieces of beautiful and sentimental jewelry. It was so nice to look through the lovely pieces and remember my grandma wearing them on holidays or at church. 

 That sparkly broach in the middle caught my eye!

I decided to use a coupon and get some pearl beads from Michael's to see how a bracelet would look with the rhinestone broach. I was thinking a three strand bracelet, because I like wearing thick bracelets - they make me feel like a super hero. So I mocked it up and it looked like this:

And then I was stuck. Now what? (This happens frequently lately. I think I am all decision-ed out.)

My friend Beth suggested I go to The Bead Store. "After all," she said, "you don't want to have a Sex and the City situation going on." I knew, immediately and exactly, what she was thinking - when Samantha broke her bracelet and the beads went flying everywhere at Charlotte's wedding. Yeah, that would be bad.

So since I had no idea how to add a clasp to these strands or even what type of string to use (how about some striped twine?), and I wanted the bracelet to fit just right and not fly off my wrist, I took myself over to The Bead Store. The very helpful manager told me I could string it myself for seven dollars (cost of clasp and wire, plus finishing fee for her to add the clasp for me) or she could do the whole thing for about 25$. I told her I could do it myself if she helped me, and help she did!

Since the rhinestone piece was a broach with a sturdy pin intact, I just threaded the wire under the pin back and started stringing pearls.

 I made three strands, then adjusted it to fit my freakishly tiny wrists. Pro tip: You could do that from the beginning and just not string as much! (I know...my pro tips are freaking amazing.)

She added a fancy clasp that held each of the three pearl strands even and secure, and voila!

Seriously, this project took around twenty minutes, cost me about 10$ (for pearls, wire, clasp, and finishing help), and resulted in a beautiful and sentimental bracelet for me to rock on my wedding day - and my something old! 

Thanks to The Bead Store! I wish all wedding projects could be so painless. If you live in the Raleigh - Durham area, and need jewelry assistance in any way, I wholeheartedly recommend them. For reals.

I love my bracelet sooooooooo much. I keep showing it to unsuspecting people (like the UPS guy) who stop by my house: "Look what I [kinda] made!" 

Did you have an easy project that made your heart smile?

The Magic Plan

Last time I whined a lot about working out and how I don’t wanna miss this on television this week.

Image via Paid Content

This time, I’m getting serious. For real. I heard you guys loud and clear about drinking water and exercising in the living room during commercials, and I am taking it to heart (except True Blood...which just watching shirtless Eric is a workout, eeper, I totally agree!). The carbs thing, I shall consider...are garlic fries made of carbs?

 I’m hoping that by broadcasting my workout intentions to all of you, I will be pressured shamed guilted encouraged to actually following through with this plan I have imposed upon myself.

The plan is freaking awesome, y’all. It involves working out at least five days a week (I know, I got tried just typing those words), combining Couch to 5K (or C25K for y’all in the know) with yoga. Each day I do either C25K or yoga, I’ll also do some toning of my legs, arms, or abs. Here’s what this week looks like in The Magic Plan:

Sunday: The Day of Rest

Monday: C25K-Week One Day One +Legs

Tuesday: Yoga (1 hr)
Wednesday: C25K +Abs
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Yoga (1.5 hr) +Arms

Saturday: C25K-Week One Day Three +Legs

The Couch to 5K plan is great for me, because it is an interval plan that starts off with running one minute and walking one and a half minutes.

Image via C25kapp.com

The gradual pace means I’m less likely to get too sore, pass out, or get a migraine. Plus, I really like the idea of being a runner again. I used to run in high school, and could run 15 miles no problem. I would like to be able to run a 5K again without passing out or vomiting.

The yoga classes I go to are actually really great! I’ve gone to a variety of yoga classes before, and most of them were too quiet or boring and left me feeling restless and like I had just wasted my time. These classes, though, are awesome – the instructor is hilarious, always mixes things up, and doesn’t leave me feeling like I just said “om” for an hour straight… not that there’s anything wrong with that….

For legs, I do the leg press squat machine thingy, the outer thigh machine thingy, and the inner thigh machine thingy. And like, good old regular squats.

For arms, I do the assisted pull-up machine, assisted dip machine, and some free weight moves.

For abs…well, I don’t have a great routine here. Crunches…crunches to the side (technical, huh?)…crunches on a ball…planks…the hundreds, that crazy Pilates move. I’m not exactly sure about the efficacy of any of these exercises though. Some people say crunches are whack. But, it’s better than nothing, right?

The Hundred image via Planet Green

So far, I’ve done Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and half of Wednesday (I did the C25k, haven't gotten to the abs yet...) of this week. And I feel pretty good, although my appetite and laundry have both dramatically increased.


And since the motivation was really flowing from everyone yesterday, I'm asking...what's your favorite workout song? Mine is List of Demands (Reparations) by Saul Williams...I stole it straight from this Nike commercial:

Video via YouTube