Thrifty Tuesdays + Smiling 101

This week :: Thrifty vs. the Not-So-Thrifty -- Similar items, better prices!  (See, I can be thrifty.)

Left :: Neiman Marcus, Fendi 'Peekaboo Tote' for $2,250
Right :: Target, the 'Hollywood Intuition Patent Tote' for $22.99

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For those Twilightaholics out there (besides myself - DUH!) the Eclipse soundtrack is available for purchase TODAY.  I'll be making that purchase once I'm at home later and so should you & you can do that here.

On a completely different note, I recently starting doing the "Hip Hop Abs" workout DVD program.  One week down.  I've done the first workout video part called 'Fat Burning Cardio' almost 10 times now and I'm kinda irritated.  The videos are instructed by Shaun Thompson, he's awesome, but there is a girl named Tania who is in the majority of the workouts... long story short - she smiles.... and she smiles A LOT.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for smiling, but seriously... I don't care to see you smile while I'm suffering through it all...

(And it really does last the entire workout...blimey!)

So it got me thinking... maybe the workout would be better if I smiled... sooo, I smiled and it is better.

I'm here to attest to the power of smiling.  Smiles are contagious and smiling in a moment of irritation and/or suffering really does make it a little better.  So, smile and smile A LOT, y'all!

Happy Tuesday -- tell me about your summer plans so I can be jealous! :)

C

PS. As if I haven't already name-dropped enough in this post, head over here to see my most recent design blog-post, featuring :: The Duh Family, what a lovely bunch.

Thrifty Tuesdays

Has it seriously been a week already? It went by fast for me!

I've got a lot to update on, my Padre trip & my cousin's visit from California, but those will hold for now.

Here is this weeks installment of 'Thrifty Tuesdays'.

The items this week are a little more cost friendly than last.

Item #1: Found in the sale section of Modcloth.com. Only $4.49... what a steal! And item #2: a well-pieced photo book of pictures by photographer/illustrator/avid-blogger Todd Selby. Buy it here. I actually had the chance to familiarize myself with Mr. Selby's work for my photography class. He goes into the homes of other creative/"out-there" people (be it musicians, others artists, etc.) and takes pictures of them in their personal & creative environments. He also has a blog, where he got his start and where you can see a lot of his work and that is here.

Also, head over to my design blog soon, I'll be posting a pink-themed invitation freebie you're welcome to download and use!

Anywho, hope you're all just peachy. Happy Tuesday, be thrifty!

This time next week...

I sit here at work (JOY!)... surfing blogs, checking email, fixing my photo-design blog as best I can, listening to my Pandora radio station, basically doing anything to pass the time...

I'm super bored.

(If that wasn't clear.)

Tidbit: If you don't know much about Pandora. It's awesome. You start with a song name or a band/artist you like and it plays all tunes that are similar in that genre.

So I'm sitting here... time is passing oh-so-slowly, and 'Paradise City' comes on by Guns N' Roses setting me at ease that this time next week, I'll be sitting here again...

...in my very own paradise. INSTEAD of at work, thank you vacation time...

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Photo? Compliments of last year's trip.
And if you're feeling extra kind, please pray the thunderstorms away from my 5-day oasis... per Weather.com, t-storms all week. Ay-yi-yi. On an optimistic note, it's still going to be great to get away (from work, mainly).

Other update: Class is over for the semester! It's a bittersweet feeling.

Also, I'm available for photo AND design booking. Need an invitation or logo designed? Time to re-do family portraits? Still need graduation portraits done? Reach me here. Sorry, for the on-going plug.

If I can, I'll make a post from our 2nd Annual Padre Excursion... especially if it rains, I'll need something to do.

Hope you're all well... and who's ready for the weather to figure out it's time to be summer already?

C

10 random thoughts running thru my mind:

1. I love the rain, yet, I miss the sun. Solid blanket, white clouds aren't very picturesque.

2. I don't want to be at work anymore right now.

3. I LOVE my new camera; Go visit my new site: http://www.cl-photodesign.blogspot.com/, I hope to post new stuff as often as possible. Sorry, self promoting... ain't no shame.

4. I love my family and friends, like, A LOT.

5. I wish Rudy was still alive; I miss him.

6. I want to learn how to speak Italian; I want to move to the Tuscan countryside.

7. I wish it were May 17th, so I could be sitting on the beach in Padre for Matt & I's '2nd Annual Padre Excursion'. Roughly, 101 days away.

8. I want to go to Haiti and help with the earthquak relief, with Anderson Cooper, please.

9. I want you to download "Boy With A Coin" by Iron & Wine and be obsessed with me or turn on your speaker and listen here.

10. I really want to go to the Dallas World Aquarium, and soon!

Now post your 10 random thoughts! Entertain me during my last hour & a half at work.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

How amazing is the fall season? It's beautiful, and I love it! The trees are so picturesque... sure wish I had that SLR camera now! All in due time! :)

For the first time in three years I was here in Dallas for Thanksgiving... and I had to freaking WORK?!! Blimey, I know! lol so, this Sunday we're having my family's Thanksgiving instead and the missionaries are coming. I'm excited... mostly for the food (and of course, to spend time with the famdamily)! AND for the first time in the last two years, I didn't go Black Friday shopping, I feel kind of empty not having spent money on $2 movies and board-games at Walmart, like I dud the last two years in Pocatello with Sarah & her family. It's been a little weird spending Thanksgiving with my family this year, I know that's odd. lol

Now that they've already been sent out, I don't feel bad posting this, these are the wedding invites I did for miss Aly! :) It was fun doing them; being that it's the profession I have chosen, I guess that's good thing!

Well, not much else to update on! It's been a fun week seeing old friends coming home from school and such. I've missed them greatly! Here's a few pictures to distract you because I'm running out of things to say:

Being awesome at Alex's casa! :)

...Smatt and I, after the group "Lobo" event... the La Bo... the DEN!

I think it's funny the foreground (Matt & I) are blurry, but our friends in the back are perfectly clear, 30 feet away! lol PS-Matt's face in this, PRICELESS!

Aaanyways, current song obsession: ALL CHRISTMAS MUSIC, thank you, 103.7 KVIL for playing Christmas music REALLY early this year! I loooove it! :)

Ok bye now!

Sucker for chick flicks...

I LOVE CHICK-FLICKS, well, any great love story... just watched one of my favorites, w/ Keira Knightley and the handsome, James Mcavoy.  I'm basically a fan of anything James Mcavoy is in... except the first Narnia where he played some half goat-half man character... not a good look.  I'm severely bored, so I've listed some of my favorites below.

Atonement -- based on a novel by Ian McEwan.  VERY good.  Tastefully done.

The Holiday -- so good!  I could watch it everyday!  "I like corny, I'm looking for corny in my life." -Iris' character played by Kate Winslet

Garden State -- w/ Zach Braff and Natalie Portman... it's definitely a movie for acquired tastes, but it's weird and great.  I like Indie films.

Penelope -- another James Mcavoy favorite!  Very cute movie.

And not to forget... Twilight -- I pretty much DO watch it everyday, while I fall asleep.  Not to mention this is the greatest kiss of the whole movie, how stunning does Rob look here?  Nothing like a little Robert Pattinson to my make dreams amazing. ;)

Anyways... now that I've successfully wasted a good amount of time blogging about NOTHING... I think I'm actually tired enough to go to bed now.

I added a little Etsy-icon thing that you can view some of the stuff I'm selling at my Etsy store.  Keep going there for my new stuff... I'll be putting up some jewelry I made here in the next few days.  And you might have noticed my new header... it's my new logo... that I'll using in the future.  Cee Elle = CL... my initials!  Anyways, here's the link to my store again in case you're wanting to go to it.  Don't forget to tell your friends.  Click here to go to {Cee Elle Designs}.

Happy Monday everyone!  Only 13 more days until my trip to Padre!  Praying for decent weather!

Setting up shop!

I've opened my own store... online at Etsy.com!  I've always been a fan of browsing the site and have officially been inspired to finally get some of my own work out there.  Feel free to browse my stuff and please pass the word along.

Go here for my Etsy.com store:  {Cee Elle Designs}

If you'd like to tell your friends about me, send them this link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7287869

I just have some of my paintings up online right now, BUT add my store to your bookmarked websites to look forward to some of the following in the NEAR, NEAR future: jewelry, Twilight inspired jewelry, photography, shoe-lace charms, & handpainted frames (ALL handcrafted/original work).

Thanks everyone, and please, please enjoy! :)