Braided Back Tee

Over the last couple of months I have been posting a few posts that I did for the blog called I Love to Create. I wanted to have my projects here so you could find them easily.
This was a post I did last spring.
 I know it's cold outside right now but thoughts of warmer weather are swirling around in  my head
I have seen so many braided back shirts over the last year or so,

I thought it would make a great DIY.

Adding your own little saying on the front of your shirt is just another way

 to make the shirt personal just for you.

You could wear it as a beach cover up or wear it with a tank and jeans. 

Check out how I made this braided back, Stencil Tee.

Chevron Strapless Dress, DIY

Do you ever just need that quick dress that will go anywhere

 from day to a night out. 

Well I did  and I needed it in a hurry, so I made one out of two T-shirts. 

Then I dressed it up with a little Tulip Fabric Paint.

Thanksgiving Through Christmas Roundup.

The Holiday Season has come and gone so fast, and because  I was working so much I hardly had time to post anything on my Blog so I decided to do a little mash up of pictures that spanned from Thanksgiving until New Years Eve .

 I hope your holiday season was as wonderful as mine was.

here is a little sneak peek at all the fun.

Warning, lots of pictures ahead.

I got to dress up ( My favorite thing) for Thanksgiving.

I even wore my favorite fishnet tights.

Took a great Thanksgiving  Picture with my two amazing Children. So very thankful for them.

Love them to pieces

Wore a bunch of jeans, jackets and sweaters.  

 

Found the perfect Christmas tree that was 10 feet tall!

Placed it in my home with just some mild adjustments.:)

Covered this monster Tree with  1200 lights.

Decorated it just the way I like it, complete with my home made Angel that sits on the tippy top.

Wore some Dresses with sweaters and booties.

Made a few trips to Walt Disney World.

With one of my most Favorite Peoples.

Drooled over the French Pastry shop several times.

Saw some amazing Christmas decorations.

Lightened up my hair a little, more of that to come later.

Saw the perfect Christmas dress, so I had to buy it.

Lost another 5 pounds. Woot. More about that adventure on another post.

Went to a spectacular Dinner with this Stud and my siblings (wearing my brand new dress )

at the Columbia Restaurant in Celebration.

Cheers!

Watched Cola bear watch Kevin cooking every.....single....... day.

Isn't she the cutest thing ever.?

Shes my morning Coffee buddy.

Made some yummy treats.

Got my eyes checked and picked out some new glasses.

Donned another dress  for Christmas Day.

Complete with my favorite hat.

My Niece even joined in.

Again with another  Dress up opportunity 

New Years Eve.

Went to Dinner with my Family.

Then Posed for pictures with my Awesome Parents. 

What is funny about this is my mom doesn't even drink.

Then had the best selfie ever taken with the most wonderful person in the world

 my Amazing MOM, the most beautiful soul on earth.

All in All it was a wonderful Holiday Season filled with love, family and friends.

Looking forward to a New Year of more DIY's, Family and Fashion.

Love to you all

 and Wishing you all the very best year Ever.

XXOO!

Anne

Dark Chocolate, Power Bark.

 This Dark Chocolate power bark have been a godsend over this Holiday season.

I work in a very high stress, retail job

 and during the holiday season I sometimes work 15 hour days.

I was trying to create a quick snack I could eat that would satisfy  my cravings for sweets and also give me energy, without spoiling my low carb, no sugar,  lifestyle change that I have been pursuing over the last 7 months. I have lost 20 pounds on this lifestyle change.

These power bars are packed full of nuts, chia seeds, papitas, dried fruits and organic dark chocolate.

All the things I love in one bite sized  piece. 

Believe me it is delicious and a life savor when I needed a pic me up,

 not to mention super easy to make.

The Black Cat Shirt, DIY

 Tulip Color Shot Fabric paint is like spray paint for fabric.

Quick an easy to use.  It has quickly become one of my very favorite products when I do any kind of painting on material (and I do a lot of T-shirt DIY's ) 

This shirt idea came after my family and I took a trip to Epcot this past week.

Pairs is my favorite place to wonder around. Sometime I just sit in the gardens and watch people.

I have never been to Pairs, hopefully that will be a place I see someday soon.

XXOO

Little,Yarn, Bottle Brush Trees: DIY

Who doesn't love tiny,  little things.?

  Ever since I can remember tiny little objects always make me smile and say 

"Oh look how cute this little tiny thing is!"

 My obsession with these little yarn, bottle brush trees is no different.

 I sit down after a very long day, turn on an old movie and begin to decompress 

by making these cute little trees. 

But before I mastered the tree making frenzy,

 I did a little research on the internet. 

This tutorial is a combination of a few ideas I have come up with 

to make these cute little trees a little easier  to construct, 

you wont even need hot glue.

I am thinking pink and red little trees for  Valentine's Day would be so cute.  

I hope everyone is enjoying their weeks before Christmas. 

 I am most definitely enjoying them because 

I have made a deal with myself to take the time to enjoy this Holiday Season.

How am I going do this working about 50 plus hours a week?

Well First off, I have taken time for a trip once a week over to  Walt Disney World to enjoy it all dressed up for the Holidays. "We have Passes".

Watching a Christmas movie every night

(even if it is after a 13 hour work day and only for the ten minutes that I can stay awake.)

To eat something Christmasy. 

Make something Christmascy.

Give something Christmacy.

Get dressed up and go out and enjoy a Christmacy dinner

 somewhere beautiful three(3)... more times before Christmas.

*"I have three more Christmascy Dresses I want to wear.:)"

and Listen to something Christmacy.

Every Day.

If you are in the retail world or have a crazy paced life, 

sometimes you get so wrapped up in the crazy 

that you forget to enjoy Christmas.

I made a vow to myself this year that I would not let this season pass  without me enjoying it.  

So here is one of my "Make something Christmacy" promises to myself.

I hope all of you enjoy too.

Dark Chocolate, Almond, Coconut Bites.

 Here is another yummy, healthy snack you can munch on during this Holiday season.

When I decided to go Sugar and Carb Free, normal chocolate was off limits because of how high in carbs and sugar it is. I have always been a fan of dark chocolate but the 60% kind not the 80% kind. Now I love the 80% kind.  If you have ever given up sugar you understand that your taste buds change and the things you use to think were just sweet enough become too sweet, almost to the point of being unable to enjoy. When your brain finally says "Hey! Thank you for getting off the  Sugar/crack!" you start to enjoy the little sweet things you can eat. Dark chocolate is one of the best things for you.  HERE are 7 reasons why you should eat it. With that being said, all things need to be done in moderation. One should not sit down an eat 10 bars of dark Chocolate

 all at once that might prove to be quite bad for your stomach. 

Dark Chocolate is something to eat when you really crave that snickers bar or that Reese's cup.

I hope you all enjoy as much as I do.

Parmesan Cheese Crisps : Seasoned

Over the last 6 months I have changed the way I eat completely. Which has resulted in me losing 18 pounds.  "I am down one more pound since my last update."  

I have always been a healthy eater but I consumed way more sugar and foods that are full of chemicals than my body could handle.  This Lifestyle change started as a support system for my husband who was doing a low carb diet that was suggested to him by his doctor. This particular diet was what he wanted Kevin to to help monitor his cholesterol. My goal in life now is to never be on any medicine, so I want to eat the best way I can and maintain a healthy body weight.  Deciding on the weight you would like to be  is a personal choice.  When choosing what weight you would like to achieve, talk with your Doctor.  Also, If you are loosing more than 20 pounds please do not try to loose it in 2 weeks or even two months. Starving yourself  is just not at all healthy and the weight will come right back when you inevitably have to start eating again.

 I am talking about a change in how you think about food, detoxing off of sugar and chemicals and making your body function the way it should.When you go this route please don't do any fat free or sugar free foods.  Foods like this  are all modified and full of terrible chemicals that your body can not process. I also want to highly suggest if you are drinking any diet drinks or anything with aspartame in it please stop. It is just pure poison. 

Your body cannot process the chemical and it stays in your

 nervous system messing up everything.

But that is a whole other story. 

Let's talk about this crunchy, yummy snack that is low carb and delicious.

I crave crunchy salty things sometimes and Chips are out of the question for me, so I have a great alternative and it is these Parmesan cheese crisps. 

These crisps are super easy and can be made in big batches and eaten later. 

I have to stress that using the best ingredients is the key,

 the better the ingredients the better your food will taste.

 It might be a $1.00 or two more but  you are worth it.

 I never understood while people pay top dollar for makeup but eat the cheapest food to save money. This is the beginning of you looking and feeling better spend the extra money on your health.