Who knew...

These days I'm pretty exhausted at the end of the day. At least mentally and definitely creatively. So my blog and Etsy shop have been pretty much ignored.

I have officially had my big kid job for 1 year. It seems to have gone by so fast. Seriously, I don't know where the time has gone...wait what day is it? Seriously though, I ask that question at least once a day. I feel like now that I have the job that I was waiting for, my life is flashing before my eyes. One day I'm going to wake up and be 50 and have no clue where the time went.

I'm putting a lot on my plate this year and the stress may be getting to me. Or at least the boyfriend has pointed out that it is. It's almost 8:30 at night and I've been working up until starting to write this. But guess what? I wouldn't change it. I have learned so much over the past year and am even more convinced that this is where I belong. Some days I put my head on my desk and want to cry from the overwhelming to do list...but if my list weren't so long I wouldn't have a job. But I definitely need to find a way to de-stress. Developing a drinking problem isn't an option...kidding! I don't feel like I have time for anything else... But I need to make time. For yoga or sewing or running (EWW, I didn't say that). But something.

Help me out here...

Why I'm starting to dislike blogging/pinterest….

Does anyone else feel like doing domestic tasks were easier before blogging & Pinterest?

Sure Pinterest has a million and one ideas derived from blogging about how to clean that stubborn soap scum on your shower. Or here's fifty different schedules and templates to help keep your house clean. 

I've tried the home binder, I've tried the templates but guess what? 

Unless these pieces of paper are going to channel the home decor from Beauty & the Beast and come to life they aren't going to clean my house. All they do is make me feel guilty about not having a clean house or being the perfect housekeeper/cook/hostess. 

And I get it…these kind of systems work for other people. But they don't work for me. 

I mean who has time to complete like 10 different cleaning tasks daily while doing all the other stuff people have to do in a day? Let's be real and show more pictures of what our houses look like on the daily. If just to show people that even the domestic goddesses of Pinterest sometimes have more important priorities than cleaning their toilets with Coca-Cola or boiling orange peels and vinegar to make their own cleaning solution. 

And if you're an OCD cleaner whose house is ready for company on any given day of the week? 

I'm sorry we can't be friends. 

Totally kidding just don't judge me when you come over and get dog hair on your pants. 

What can I say? My dogs live here, you don't. 

Just because I love gifs…

You're only as old as you feel...

If that's true I feel like an old lady.

I'm going to be turning 25 this year but feel so much older than that.

I guess that's what happens when you settle down and buy a house when you're 20.

I absolutely have no regrets about that but I do feel like a pretty big stick in the mud sometimes.

What does an old lady living in a 25 year old's body look like you might ask?

Life is...

Life is pretty busy at the moment. 

My job takes up a lot of my time and you know you love it when you're staying almost an hour after every day and skipping lunch during the week.

It's been so long since I've blogged that my browser doesn't even remember One Crafty Cupcake...

Whaaa?

It's so hard to decide what kind of blogger you want to be. 

You try to be one way and it doesn't work then you try to be another and it still doesn't work.

Even as a blog reader my preferences have changed. I used to live for the DIY blogs. 

Now I love the lifestyle ones. 

Right now in particular, Mish from Mish Lovin' Life.

Also, Roo from Neon Fresh.

These ladies are hilarious check them out.

That's all I got. 

I love getting mail.

I love getting stuff in the mail…who doesn't?

These subscription boxes are getting pretty trendy seriously there's a ton to choose from now. 

I've been envying the PopSugar Must Have Box for awhile now but couldn't commit to $40/month.

I felt like I could spend that money so much more wisely.

Then I kept seeing all these awesome boxes popping up on instagram. I may have been looking for them.

One day I was so determined that I found a coupon code for a pretty good discount and bit the bullet.

I received my first box last week and all things considered I actually love it.

I can definitely use everything in this box. 

I received:

 A bag of Truffle Pipcorn (delicious mini popcorn)

The Juice Generation Book (we do have a juicer so this will go to use)

A Rifle Paper Co. Cities Desk Calendar

Jack & Lucy Tech Gloves (was considering buying a pair anyways)

Malin + Goetz Detox Mask (haven't tried it yet but I've used their moisturizer before and it's awesome)

Revlon Marchesa Nail Files (can always use more)

I'm too excited for next month! 

Here's a link to sign up: http://popsu.gr/phPk

Even better use the code VDAY10 to get $10 off your first box!

We're not there yet...

But I am so ready for 2013 to be over.

While it definitely had it's ups and downs I feel like I've had more bad luck then good. 

Thirteen is an unlucky number after all. 

I've been in 3 count them 3 car crashes this year! With one just being on Sunday.

The first one was probably 75% my fault. 

The second one was deemed 50% but I still believe I was just a victim.

The third and hopefully final I was 100% INNOCENT. 

If you're going to get in a crash I guess that's the kind you want to be in.

My poor little car is definitely taking a beating.

After 25 years my parents are getting divorced.

Yep.

Scary to share with the world (or all 36 of my followers) considering only 2 of my friends know.

But I like to keep it real so yeah. Divorce not fun no matter how old you are.

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer so moving on!

What good came of this year?

 I got a great job that I really like. 

For the first time since I started working at the young age of 15 I have no desire to look for another job.

It's pretty awesome. 

I guess that cancels out the 2 car crashes that were possibly partially my fault.

and just because I feel like this sometimes. 

Yeah I'm still here...

In case anyone was wondering I'm still here!

I was a bad blogger before, but now that I have the demanding big kid job I'm an even worse blogger!

It's funny now that I'm not trying to be creative for the sake of my blog I'm actually doing projects!

One thing you can count on? I'm still taking crappy iPhone pics of my projects. 

Barely whipped out the DSLR last week to shoot some engagement pictures for friends.

I've been scoring some great finds on craigslist as of late. 

Probably due to my constant cursing of people that live anywhere but here 

that find amazing things for cheap!

I've been on the hunt for a round pedestal table for a few months now.

But I didn't want to pay more than $100 for the table and I wanted it to be wood.

Of course I scoured craigslist, but only found $200 crap.

Until my stalking paid off.

I picked this baby up from some questionable cat owners.

It's solid wood and came with 4 chairs (not pictured). 

How much did I pay for the entire set?

$40!

So after about $25 in paint and stain.

Plus HOURS of my life. 

I have a new dining set for $65

I looooove the way it turned out. 

I know my curtains are crooked...I think some shrunk.

Redecorating is my next project. But we all know how I have project ADD. 

Just a touch of whimsy....

Sometimes I really wish I was a little more whimsical. 

Is that weird?

I would love to have a house decorated with randomness and be one of those super creative boho types.

You know the type. You've probably seen their blogs. Cause they all have blogs.

They're able to pull anything together be it a room or an outfit and make it look so effortless.

I feel like whimsy is something you're born with and you can't learn to be whimsical.

This is pretty random I know. 

Just my thoughts as I've stumbled upon yet another blogger with awesome whimsy.

99 Problems But Weight Ain't 1

Geez!

I feel like it's been forever since I last posted.

So much has happened! Not really...but it seems like it.

My birthday came and went. Grown-up birthdays suck!

I've been chugging along at my no longer new job. I'm still loving it!

I bought some furniture to refinish. Like any poor blogger I did not take before pictures.

GASP! I know, I know.

In other news I found this really cool site called DietBet. Well actually MishLovinLife introduced me.

It's a weight loss challenge but instead of just having 1 winner, everyone who meets goal wins!

The goal is to lose 4% of your body fat. Umm that's totally not a lot.

You put money in the pot lose your 4% and either walk away with the money you put in or some extra!

This really is a win-win situation. That is unless you don't meet goal.

I struggle with motivation. I really do. I know I should work out cause it's good for you blah blah blah.

But it's just so hard to get motivated. As I get older it's only going to get worse. So I need to get on this.

The game I joined is 99 Problems But Weight Ain't 1 hence the blog post title.

It's $30 and weigh in starts in a couple days. 

I'm going to do this. I don't want to just give someone $30 because they could do what I was to lazy to do.

I'm going to make this happen!

Wish me luck! If you want to join click here.

The more players the bigger the pot. The better chance you have of making some money!

Hello? Is it me you're looking for?

I finally got my laptop up and running! 

Yay! It's like 6 going on 7 years old and frustrates the heck out of me.

The boyfriend offered to buy us a new iMac... and I asked the question 

any only child would ask the week of their birthday.

This doesn't count as my birthday present, right?

I know! I'm a tad spoiled at times. 

Being an only child not to mention an only grandchild for 16 years will do that to you.

Moving on!

This weekend was a fun one. One of my oldest and greatest friends got married!

Yes I need a tan...but I'm deathly afraid of getting skin cancer.

It runs in my family and I've finally come to my senses about the risk.

Her new husband is British so she wanted to incorporate that.

I helped her out with some Union Jack garters.

Horrible cell phone pic.

Her moving to a different continent has made me realize how you can take your friends for granted.

When someone's been in your life so long you just expect that they will always be there. 

Even though we don't talk very often when we get together it's like nothings really changed.

Friends like that really don't come along that often and I'm lucky she's one of mine!

Are you there blog?

It's me Jessica!

It's been so long since I posted. A lot longer than usual. Has anyone missed me? Probably not. But I've missed you.

STUFF has been happening. Life if you will. 

Finished up my other job started the big girl one. Haven't had the ummm "free time" during the day to stay updated on this thing. Or even my Etsy shop. Good thing the orders have not been rolling in because I do not have a computer right now. Writing this from my iPad. It probably looks funny and you wish there were pictures. But that is just too complicated from the Blogger app. 

Moving on!

I had a week vacation before my last week (really 3 days at my previous job) then I dove right into my new job. 

If I could insert some cute GIF of someone dancing ridiculously or screaming and running around I would.

I LOVE my new job. (This could possibly be embarrassing as my bosses have looked at my blog) 

But I do. I LOVE it and I'm not even fully into it yet. I love that I get to be really passionate about what I actually went to school for. It's awesome. I highly recommend it. I have an office and my brain hurts from trying to think what to put in it. I finally decided that I want cupcake art. I don't know why that was so hard. 

I really have nothing else to say right now. Blogging from the blogger app is limiting my creativity.

I have a recipe to post but like I said pictures are not my friend in this app.

I can't even insert my cute cupcake signature... dammit. 

High Five for Friday!

So exciting things have been happening this week.

So remember here when I talked about waiting for the job to be excited about?

I finally got one!

Not going into any specifics because we all know I like to be vague.

It's in my degree field and I'm super stoked.

Do people still say stoked? Well I just did. 

Something similar to this might have happened when I got the offer.

Possible Sun Poisoning...

So the boyfriend and I are doing a huge overhaul of the backyard.

Two years ago we paid a great landscaping guy to come do the backyard...

We had beautiful grass and plants and it was awesome.

Until weeds took over everything because of some seed they laid down.

Then they came back and redid the grass. 

That's when they laid grass on top of our surrounding wood chips.

Not a great idea.

Grass started growing everywhere and wouldn't you know it the weeds came back.

Fast forward a year.

We decided to be kind generous people and save a dog from the rescue.

A dog who is pretty much Satan herself. 

Who had been neglected her whole life and freaks out if you even leave the room.

Well even putting her outside caused her to panic. 

Fast forward to last week. 

Two of our cypresses were destroyed by spider mites. 

About 5 plants were eaten by the aforementioned Satan dog.

The drip system became a tug of war toy.

The grass was killed on purpose by the boyfriend because "it was the only way to kill the weeds."

So today was spent getting rid of the surrounding woods chips because

1. They were grass ridden

2. They're birch and Ripley is HIGHLY ALLERGIC

3. They absorb everything and I mean everything 

It already looks so much better just without the wood chips. 

We then fixed the drip system so we can finally water our remaining plants.

This weekend will be spent taking the wood chips to the dump. 

They are piled on one side of our yard right now.

Laying down new felt. Possibly getting some rock. Possibly planting replacements.

I'm already super sunburned and was quite convinced after hour 6 that I was going to die. 

We'll see how it goes this weekend. 

Tuesday Topics: Seven Things About My Job

Seven things about my job...

Well I'm not currently in my "dream job"...

It pays the bills and I'm thankful to have a job when so many don't.

It's an office job and I surround myself with hello kitty things...

I work in a department of the university I graduated from.

This time of year is EXTREMELY BUSY and I'm ready for vacation.

I just got a brand new iMac to work on and it's amazing.

My job is pretty boring and sometimes soul sucking.

Eight Goals for This Month

We all know how I feel about goals?

Setting myself up for disaster! 

If I plan it out it's almost a guarantee it's not going to happen. 

But here are some things I would like to accomplish this month.

1. Put some miles on my new bike

Woo I'm at like 2 miles! lol

2. Plan a vacation for next summer

I'm thinking Myrtle Beach...

or maybe California...

3. Be more positive...
I have a problem with is and I definitely need to work on it.

4. Blog more

I don't feel the same pressure I used too... 

I feel like I'm leaning towards lifestyle blogging rather than crafty blogging.

I've also noticed I enjoy reading more lifestyle blogs than crafty blogs lately...

5. Enjoy my time off

I have a week off at the end of the month and I plan to be super lazy...

While catching up on everything I need to do around the house. 

6. Take my vitamins...

I've gotten really bad.

 I have a Vitamin D deficiency that causes swelling in my knees so I really need to get on this..

7. Fix Roxy's Harness

She ate pieces of it... that makes 3 collars/harness she's eaten.

8. Get on a workout schedule

Guess this goes with putting some more miles on my bike!

DIY Dog Treats

We all know I love my dogs like they're my children.

This is partly because one of my dogs is extremely high maintenance.

Ripley the studly german shepherd you see below is highly allergic to...pretty much to life.

I'm not kidding...

He's allergic to cats, carrots, grass, sagebrush, birch, pecans, soy, wheat, corn, cow's milk, yeast, pork, beef,  mosquitos, 

house dust, about ten more different weeds,  potatoes, HUMAN skin cells (so our love), and numerous other things. 

It's kind of exhausting. 

But not as exhausting for him. The above picture doesn't really look like him anymore.

His fur has gotten dry and itchy, his nose is always running, and his bottom lip is extremely swollen.

So what are we to do?

Spend hundreds of dollars on allergy testing? Check!

Spend hundreds of dollars on immunotherapy? Check!

Spend even more money on grain free/gluten free dog food free of most things he's allergic to? Check!

I'm getting off topic. 

Needless to say Ripley cannot have a lot of things out on the doggie market today. 

I'm waiting on some new treats to come in but in the mean time decided to make my own. 

He's allergic to potatoes but not sweet potatoes... I don't get it but oh well...

I spent about $1 on one sweet potato and got a nice sized bag of doggie treats. 

All I did was slice them up into strips and bake them in the oven for about 5 hours. 

The oven temp was 225.

I checked on them every couple hours to make sure they were getting crispy but not burnt.

The dogs LOVED them. 

Struggling...

I feel like I'm constantly being the debbie downer.

I really try to stay positive but sometimes it is just so hard.

I'm definitely not where I thought I would be right now.

I'm having one of those days where I just feel like it's hopeless. 

That I'm going to be stuck in this same rut forever. 

I'm struggling waiting for a job that I can be somewhat excited about.

Sometimes I just feel trapped underneath what feels like a mountain of student loan debt. 

Student loan debt that I have nothing to show for but a piece of paper.

Trying to be positive.

Positive positive positive.

Thoroughly Exhausted Thursday....

I'm literally so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.

It's one of those weeks where I have definitely not gotten enough sleep and
am just ready for the weekend so I can sleep for 12 hours. 

Working at a university during the summer is torture. 

I mean yes I have a lot of stuff I could be doing/catching up on.

But that requires motivation. 

Motivation that 4 hours of sleep does not provide. 

I'm making the wedding cake for my brother-in-law's wedding so sleep will not be had tonight.

Wedding's tomorrow at 10am. 

Which means I'll be up at like 7:00 am otherwise known as way to early on a day off.

Tuesday Topics: 10 things that make you happy

A new round of Tuesday Topics!

These are great because they keep me a somewhat consistent blogger.

I've been busy playing around on my brand new iMac at work.

I've also been glued to the Jodi Arias trial. I can't help it. I really just want it over already. 

So some peace for the families can be had.

But today's topic are 10 things that make me happy.

I'm gonna try and keep it light.

1. The boyfriend

He drives me crazy most of the time but I'm happiest with him.

2. My puppies

Especially today I went home and Roxy is always just so excited to welcome me home. 

3. Rain!

I really want to wear my new wellies and need some rain so I don't look crazy.

4. Good News

Huffington Post has an entire section that is just good news. 

I love reading it when I'm feeling disappointed in humanity.

5. Family

Especially my niece and nephew. I always love to see them.

6. Ladybugs

Or ladybug things to stash around my desk and house.

7. My new bike helmet.

Yes I'm aware I'm ridiculous

8. Online Shopping

I'm definitely not an instant gratification kind of girl. 

I'd rather scope out the best deal from the comfort of my couch.

9. Trenta Green Teas from Starbucks

Never ordered trenta before. It was a must today.

10. My Flowers

These babies have survived my black thumb. Apparently the boyfriend has been keeping them watered.

I just thought they were miracles. Even though it's weird none of the purple ones are blooming.

Mother's Day Gift...

So I'm kind of lame and still make my mom something for Mother's Day.

My mom is seriously so hard to shop for and 

she always says she appreciates something that takes some thought.

My mom also loves her Chihuahuas. 

I know most people hate them but for some reason my mom loves them.

So last year I made her a desk calendar with pictures of her dogs.

This year I decided to try out my embroidery skills and I made this:

via: Sublime Stitching Chi Chi Fever Pattern

She really liked it...or at least she said she did.

I really loved the sublime stitching pattern it was super easy to transfer and came with a color guide.

Best of all it was cheap and it comes with a bunch of images so you can design your own arrangement.

If you're wanting to get into embroidery and need fun unique patterns I would definitely recommend them.

p.s. Sublime Stitching has no idea who I am. 

I've just been really enjoying doing some embroidery. I need to learn more stitches!