eleventh month

 Last signs of fall clinging on after the storm.

Kind of blowing my mind right now that we're already in the second to last month of 2012. I feel like I'm shocked with each month change this year.. I just don't remember time ever passing this quickly. Oh yea, why am I so chatty this week when I was just sweating the notion of posting only twice a week? This is day four of having off for Sandy. Not that I'm complaining about the impromptu break, I just hope everything is okay with our school and the kiddos up there. I live about a half hour away from the school and that area was apparently hit a lot harder than mine. You wouldn't even know anything happened around here, but one neighborhood right across from my school had all of it's massive trees uprooted. Weird, the way storms hit and miss like that.

Anyhoo.. I want to bring back an old tradition I had before I fell off the planet. The one where I make a tiny list of goals and things I'm looking forward to for the new month, to sort of remind me and also make me hold myself accountable for my goals.


This month I'm looking forward to..
+  Ringing in my 25th birthday (this weekend!) with friends, family, and fun (Oh God, I'm feeling old.)
+  Taking on the final leg of my student teaching so I can enjoy December as I ease out of the lead teacher position
+  Cold weather finally arriving. Layers, here I come!

Mini goals of the month..
+  I know I sound like a broken record with this one, but I need to get back into yoga. The only reason I haven't been doing it lately is because of a ridiculous finger injury that has been taking it's sweet time getting gone. It involved a car door, a plastic surgeon, and lots of pain meds. Stupid. There's just way too many "on your hands" poses that I didn't want to drag out the healing any longer than it was taking on its own.
+  Cook more. I repinned a list of 20 crockpot recipes for some hearty cold weather meals and I'm dying to try them.
+  Ace my next three observations.
+  Try to blog at least twice a week like I said two posts ago.


I think that's all the ambition my schedule can handle right now. What are your goals and excitements for the month?

currently

Stopping in before I'm off to meet my partner to finish up our presentation for tonight. If all goes according to plan I'll have an interesting how-to for you tomorrow. Well I think it's interesting anyway. ;) So for now, I'm borrowing this meme I've seen on Lariats and Lavender and Sometimes Sweet just for funzies.

fruity fruity fish and glowing hair at a recent video shoot

 Currently.. 

Obsessing over..
Homemade iced coffee. It's that time of year again! It's oh so refreshing in the morning.

Working on..
My presentation for class tonight. I finished the first one yesterday and now I'm trying to wrap up the second one but I have to meet with my partner to do that. Yea, two presentations in one night. That is exactly why blogging is sparse at the moment. :/ This is the toughest class I've had all of grad school. And it's really just because of a project overload honestly. Some nights I have three things due at once. But I knew it was coming because I heard about this somewhat infamous class from everyone who had it before me so I'm trying really hard to remain calm and just push through it.

Thinking about..
All the things I want to do this summer! I want to have picnics, go to the beach, see my brother, dust off the ol' beach cruiser and go for bike rides, make more ice cream, read for enjoyment again, try new juicing combinations with summer fruit, go for walks, plant more herbs and veggies..

Anticipating..
The start of camp! I don't think I've mentioned this yet but I got a job this summer teaching classes at an art and design camp for girls! I couldn't be more excited. I've been planning projects like crazy and digging through my inspiration folders for ideas. I'll do a post sometime on the projects I'm planning on doing. They're pretty fun!

Listening to..
Supernatural on the telly. :)

Eating..
Leftovers from dinner last night. Broccoli and ziti with garlic and olive oil. Yum!

Wishing..
My allergies would go away. Far, far away! They've had me miserable for a month!


What are your currently's? :) Hope your week is going well!

ps A big thanks to everyone who wished my piggy well and sent some good thoughts. It made me feel a lot better to hear that other people have been through similar things and they turned out okay. Also glad to hear about other piggy mamas out there! I don't think some people truly understand just how awesome those little guys are. :) Also, Walnut's eye is looking AMAZING. I keep up with the meds and it's gone down to almost normal size!

six weeks

Check out my post over at Silly Grrl today! Sarah, who put together this whole shindig, asked me to give some tips on how I take food photos for recipe posts. I'm no photographer or anything, but through trial and error, and quite a bit of help from a certain photographer boyfriend, I've managed to find a few things that help improve my photos. Check it out if you're interested! Also click through the other posts! Some really talented ladies gave a lot of great advice over there!

Oh yea, by the way, remember me? The girl who used to blog here? Talk about life going from sitting in a rocker to fast paced in five seconds or less. I was enjoying my break from classes and planning on doing a ton of things for the blog that I could bank for later (aka now) when I got busier.

Then suddenly I'm a live-in vet for poor Walnut, I think because I put the meds on her eye the day we got them so it was like "well you're good at it, this is your job now". Not that I mind at all, I just think it's funny. A little update on that.. we're pretty sure she has glaucoma, which isn't the worst thing in the world for a guinea pig. She still has sight in one eye and her bad eye looks like it may be improving. She may not be able to see out of it again, but we just hope the swelling goes down and it's less.. well I don't want to be too graphic so let's just say less infected looking. She's still acting 100% normal though so we think she may be okay!

Besides all the piggy care, I was subbing at two different schools this week, had a quick emergency design project, and started the summer class from hell. Yea this semester is going to be interesting to say the least. It's six weeks long so I may be a little reclusive during it but I'll try to keep this ol' blog running. Just know that if posting is sparse, that's why. And six weeks isn't really that long. I mean look how fast these first five months flew by!

Well, I hope your Memorial Day weekend is great. Go barbecue, be outside, and have fun!

6 weeks to a better blog

I didn't intend to be so absent from the blog world and twitter this week, but shorty after I wrote my juice post I came down with something that rendered me half dead. I woke up that morning with a sore throat and by the afternoon I had full on chills, body aches, and the act of swallowing made me want to punch a dolphin. It was pretty bad. I'm finally getting back to normal with just some congestion today so I thought I'd pop in to let you know about an awesome series going on over at SillyGrrl blog.

Sarah from SillyGrrl is putting on an amazing series called "6 Weeks to a Better Blog". Here's what you can expect from the series..


"6 Weeks to a Better Blog is a series featuring advice and tips from 20 diverse and talented bloggers. Each week on SillyGrrl.com we'll share multiple posts to help you take your blog to the next level. Topics will include finding your blogging voice, connecting with your readers, taking high-quality photos, setting up sponsorships, getting that blog design in order, and much more! Everything kicks off on Monday, April 16!"

Sarah asked me to write a little post for the series on food photography. I was honored since I'm not really a photographer but I've picked up some tips and tricks from Charlie, who is a photographer, and also from my own trial and error. I wrote about what works for me and maybe some of it can work for you too!

So far, the posts that are up this week include..
Finding your blogging voice by Melissa of Bubby and Bean
Keeping your style consistent by Cassie from The Veda House
Connecting with your audience by Sarah from Yes and Yes

Stop on by if you need a little advice or just want to see what other ladies are doing to make their blog work for them! The series will be running for the next five weeks.

Hope you have a great weekend! :)

my lovely march sponsors

In all the craziness in this month full of praxis tests, practicum observations, and class in general, I completely forgot to ask for sponsor info in any timely fashion so I took a cue from some of my favorite blogs and decided to feature each sponsor by choosing one of their posts from this past month that I loved and wanted to share with you lovely readers. (Holy run-on Batman.) I've broken them into categories because that seemed like a good way to do it, so if you see something that strikes your fancy, give it a click and read on! You won't be disappointed. :)

crafty

+ There's a lovely post on Inflammatory Knit about her current knitting projects that makes me wish I was a little more talented with the needles!
+ Check out some beautiful watercolor and lettering projects over on Lovenotes by Lauryn. Two of my favorite things in one.
+ Megan at Megan Down the Rabbit Hole gushes about her love for microns which I totally understand. She also shows one of her incredible drawings in progress!

 diy

+ Sherry at Oh So Lovely shows a tutorial for prettying up one of those not-so-pretty necessities.. a trash bag canister! I'm sure you could use this for other plastic bags you want to reuse as well. 
+ Over on LDC Designs, Lindsay shows an amazing diy for a chevron chalkboard desk! Not only is it super cute, it's pretty practical too. You could leave someone a message without worrying about having a post-it handy!
+ Drew from Open Ended compiled some amazing diy projects that she has on her list for the spring. Really loving the inspiration board and magic decal diy's featured!

fashion

+ Charlene at A Toast to Wonderland shows off one of her many amazingly put together outfits, featuring a sweet polka-dot skirt and a colorful striped Coach laptop case.
+ Woodgrain and Gold's Candace collected inspiring outfits that mix and match bold patterns. There's some rooms in there too for those looking to mix up their interiors! Love it.
 

life + living

+ Allie from Kisses and Chaos gives smart (and humorous!) tips on how to deal with five things that really suck. Too good!
+ Kate over at Wake Up, Lovely talks about stepping away from technology and why she's feels that it's necessary. There's also some amazing and colorful photos of her taking out technology frustrations on an old laptop!
+ On The Lovely Hunter, Sofia talks about an issue I'm sure most bloggers have dealt with or are currently dealing with, and that's knowing when to stop writing about or seeking out awesome things, and actually start doing them instead. Definitely something to think about!
+ Over on Life is a Canvas, Caiti has been giving beautiful photographic tours of her and her husband's new temporary home- Ireland. Lucky! I chose the one of Dublin but you should check out the rest of the posts because she definitely showcases the beautiful country well.
+ Get to know Brittany from Brittany's Creative Threads with her "50 things you probably didn't know" post!

recipes

+ Erin from Eef Etcetera had one of her sponsors post an amazing drink recipe that includes - get this - thin mint cookies! I can't wait to try this one!
+ Over at Adventures of a Misfit Librarian, there's a recipe for Honey Cakes which sounds totally delicious. I bookmarked this one to try later!



So which method of sponsor spotlighting do you prefer, or are both fine? And I mean between this way or showing photos and bios of each sponsor. I think I almost prefer seeing these types because I feel more apt to click on a link that describes an interesting post, which may lead me to check out more of the blog. I'm not opposed to either, just wondering what you think! :)

Come back tomorrow for my featured sponsor, Sherry of Oh So Lovely's post! I love the answers she gave to the prompts! Definitely a good read. :)

eleven things

So I've been tagged by Lisa of Lala Faux Bois to do the "11 things" jam. Never one to turn down a good meme, here are my 11 things and all that goes with it!

There are five rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you’ve tagged them.

  Why? Because. :)

11 Random Things

1. I broke my pointer finger in 6th grade from running in the schoolyard (I can practically hear the "I told you so's" from every teacher ever) and because of where I broke it, I had a cast almost up to my elbow. To make it better, they wrapped my pointer and middle fingers together for support when they casted it so I had a permanent gun hand for months. I'll have to post a photo sometime. ;)

2. Bats are my favorite animal. My dream pet is a flying fox.

3. Spinach is the only vegetable that I don't like. With an exception for spinach dip. Love that, probably because of all the bad stuff in it.

 4. The sound of things dragging on carpet is my nails on a chalkboard. No one understands it and everyone likes to test me when I ask them to stop dragging their feet or something by doing it again. It makes my blood curdle, it's that annoying. It also makes me want to punch.

5. My first ever sewing project was a puppet of The Great Goblin from The Hobbit. In seventh grade we split into groups and made puppet shows for different chapters. My chapter had the scene where the goblin gets his head chopped off. So my goblin has a velcro-attached head for easy removal. :) Once again, I should post a photo of this one day.

6. I've never been to Disney World. You would not believe the faces I get when I say this. Unless you're making one now. ;)

7. Mine and Charlie's one year anniversary was on 7/7/07 which everyone everywhere kept saying was going to be such a lucky day. (Remember that?) We went out to dinner that night and just happened to choose a restaurant on the bay whose foundation collapsed just as we were waiting for the check to come. Because of the mad dash to evacuate, we got our seafood dinner for free! Luck comes in strange and scary packages.

8. I have four guinea pigs. We got two girls the summer before my senior year and by September, one of them (surprise!) had given birth to two wee little piggies. Baby piggies are the cutest thing. They look like tiny kangaroos because their feet are so big!

9. I really want to take swing dance lessons sometime soon.

10. I still want to get a tattoo someday. Not sure what or where but it will have to be someplace easily hidden due to my profession.

11. I'm a big time sleepwalker. I've woken up in different pajamas, I've eerily rearranged things in my room, and I sometimes wake up in different rooms altogether. The best is when people tell you the things you did on one of your rampages. It's like being black-out drunk without getting to attend the party.


Lisa's Questions

1. What was your favorite vacation?
Any vacation to the beach. Just give me hot sand, waves, and ice cream and I'm content!

2. What is your first childhood memory?
I have a brief memory of being in my walker. It's just like a view almost of looking up at the kitchen table from my low seat. But that's the first thing I remember that I know of.

3. Cats, Dogs, or both?
Both. I already know what kind of dog I want when I move out and what his name will be, but I would like to get a cat one day. They just fascinate me with their nonchalant-ness and their general independence and snobbery. :)

4. What was the first concert you ever went to?
Britney Spears. Ha!

5. What’s your favorite thing to cook/bake?
I like to cook and bake new things, so that's probably my favorite. I like eating new things and I also like trying to make the new recipes successfully. 

6. If you could time travel to any decade, what would you choose & why?
Tough. I'm torn between the 40's and the 20's. Or maybe even the Victorian era? That'd be a tough choice if I had to pick just one. But let's go with 40's then in that case, for the fashion, the music, the cars, and the dancing! I'm just fascinated by that time.

7. Describe your perfect day off.
It would start with getting up early. I have a crazy hard time with this part because it's so nice to sleep in, but I just enjoy the day more when I get up early. So after that I would want to get coffee and breakfast with Charlie, and then we'd spend the day walking/shopping/browsing through one of our favorite little towns. Then dinner outside because that's fun when the weather's nice. Then I'd finish it all off with ice cream!

8. What’s your dream job/career & what was it when you were a kid?
Absolute dream job is to own my own creative company.. some sort of designing, whether it's paper based, fabric, or other materials. When I was a kid I was pretty sure of what I wanted to do. I actually have two projects saved from when I was little and one says I wanted to be an artist and the other says teacher. Today I have my BA in graphic design and I'm going for my Master's in teaching. Following my 5 year old heart's desires yo.

9. What clothing item is your weakness & you can’t stop buying?
Sweaters and cardigans, without a doubt. Just thinking about it reminds me of all the colors and styles I still "need" to acquire.

10. What’s your favorite holiday?
Christmas, hands down. I actually go through a pretty intense withdraw all through January (and sometimes February) where I long for holiday foods, movies, music, and gatherings. Everything is so much prettier and more fun during the holidays! It usually takes a spell of warm weather for me to get over it. ;)

11. What’s your sign? :)
Scorpio!


Here's my questions..
1. What food do you typically crave?
2. Do you have any superstitions? Things that are lucky or unlucky to you? Explain!
3. Would you be friends with high school you? Why or why not?
4. What was your first pet?
5. What's one TV show you'll never get tired of?
6. What has been your favorite age so far?
7. What's one product you couldn't (or at least wouldn't want to) live without?
8. What is your favorite summer beverage?
9. Now that summer's on the brain, what is your favorite warm weather activity?
10. Is there a recent trend you just can't/couldn't get on board with? What is it?
11. What's your idea of the perfect night? (Out or in!)

Hopefully these people haven't done it already, but I'll tag Kate, Cosmia, Lauryn, Kait, and Megan.

Anyone else can do this too! I just don't even know who hasn't done it at this point!

Hope you're having a great week!

welcome february

{source - via}

This made me LOL literally so I had to share it. :)

It has certainly been one of those weeks, but in a humorous way - much like this sentiment.

I'd like to take a second to direct your attention to the right and check out this month's sponsors! Each and every one of their blogs is amazing so definitely pop over there if you get a chance. :)

I've been setting some mini goals each month and I'd like to keep up with that tradition so here goes..
1. Start exercising for serious.. my flexibility sucks these days. Which is why I might try out the sweet stretches from aerial ninja Sarah of Silly Grrl.
2. Rock my practicum. I'm right in the midst of it and doing well so far. I just want to get more comfortable and confident in my abilities this month!
3. Continue figuring out how to be a blogger and employed person. It's harder than I thought!

Things I am looking forward to this month..
*Going to Chicago for my brother's boot camp graduation. Haven't seen him since before Christmas!
*Having a happy, relaxed Valentine's Day and cooking at home with Charlie. :)
*My dad's birthday!
*Snow??? Please!! Screw spring until I get a snow day!

What things are you striving for/looking forward to this month? It's a leap year so we totally get an extra day to do ALL THE THINGS!

;)

Have you entered Megan's giveaway? One of her crazy awesome prints is up for grabs! Click to check it out!

giveaway: megandowntherabbithole

On Friday, I mentioned that one of my lovely sponsors would be doing a giveaway. Megan from megandowntherabbithole is going to give one lucky reader the choice of a print from her shop worth up to $35!

 

Some samples of her amazing kaleidoscope-like abstract prints are in the image above. Head on over to her shop to see them bigger because the amount of detail in each one is beyond amazing.

I think this one is my absolute favorite because it reminds me of a wintry snowfall.. something I've been obsessing over dreaming of all winter!

Love.

If you want to win one of these amazing prints, here's what to do:

The giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering!

Required:
Visit Megan's shop and leave a comment on this post telling me which print is your favorite.


Extra Entries: leave a separate comment for each entry
Follow Tenpenny Splendid
Follow Megan's blog
Tweet about this giveaway
Blog about this giveaway


And don't forget, she's still offering a 20% off coupon to all readers! Just use the code TENPENNY1 when you checkout!


This giveaway will run for a week.. I'll announce the randomly drawn winner next Monday - February 6th.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

january sponsors

I'm proud to introduce you to some of my very first sponsors here on Tenpenny Splendid. They are some seriously talented ladies with amazing blogs that you should absolutely check out! Here's a little intro from everyone, along with links to where you can find them.

Be sure to check out the bottom of this post where I have some details about an upcoming giveaway and coupon code from one of my awesome sponsors! :)

Hello! I'm Lisa and I blog over at lala faux bois. It's all about my life as a girl obsessed with travelling, vintage, and making stuff. Come by sometime and we can get crafty and share thrifting tales!

blog | twitter | shop

Hey! I'm Jessica, from My Love is Growing. I’m about 80 years old trapped inside a 25 year old body, and despite moving around a little bit, was mainly born and raised on the chilly Canadian Prairies. I love making unwanted things look pretty and functional again. Last August, my husband and I purchased our first house, an 84-year old charmer that needed a little bit of love. Right now we're working on renovating it into the perfect starter home. Follow us as we tear down walls, change out light fixtures, pick paint colours, install cabinets, well pretty much anything relating to a renovation... We're learning a lot as we go and love sharing our story with you!

blog | twitter | pinterest

My name is Caiti, and I'm a twenty-something girl living in a little condo in a sweet town just outside of Chicago with my husband and psycho kitty. On my blog, Life is a Canvas, I explore all the ways that we can celebrate creativity in our daily lives -- not only through artistic pursuits like art, graphic design, crafting and writing, but also by infusing creativity into everyday activities like cooking, interacting with friends, our jobs, where we choose to shop, and the way we present ourselves to the world. I am committed to the notion that we are the artists for our lives, and I know that I want to create a life full of color, vibrancy, passion, exploration, and authenticity.

blog | twitter | pinterest

Hey there, I'm Kate from the recently renamed Wake Up, Lovely! I blog daily about pretty things that inspire me, being content with yourself and your life and all the little things I love in life. Some of my regular features include Tattoo Tuesdays, interviews with my favourite etsy shops and Friday, I'm In Love. I hope you'll stop by and say hello sometime!

blog | twitter

Hello! I'm Sarah, a web designer and aerialist from metro Detroit. I spend my days glued to my computer, creating and coding websites for bloggers and small businesses, and my nights swinging from my trapeze and aerial silks with The Weird Sisters Circus. SillyGrrl.com is where I write about all my adventures. If your blog or website needs a makeover I'd love to work with you, so shoot me an email for custom work or check out my shop for premade templates!

blog | twitter | etsy

Hi, my name is Megan and I run an art and design blog called megandowntherabbithole, after my infatuation with all things Alice in Wonderland. I post about my art, design, photography, random thoughts, and intriguing things I find around the 'webs. Art is my passion, and I love experimenting with different color combinations and intricate geometric patterns in my work. Prints of my art are available in my Etsy shop megdowntherabbithole, and you can also contact me there about designing a custom piece of art in the colors of your choice. I hope you'll come check it out!

blog | twitter | shop | pinterest

Coupon + Giveaway

The lovely Megan of megandowntherabbithole was generous enough to offer my readers a special coupon for 20% off one of her beautiful art prints! Seriously, go check them out. Amazing. Just enter TENPENNY1 to get your discount! I will also be doing a giveaway with her on Monday so be sure to check back for the full details!

I hope you're all having a great week!

a year in review

I finally decided to do this after seeing it on many other blogs. I originally wasn't going to because I didn't feel like anything particularly earth shattering happened in 2011, but then I realized it was actually a great year for me. I have tons of good memories and actually did a lot of important things for myself last year. There are some years, well one really, that when I hear it I actually shudder because of how awful it was. So why not give props to a good year where they're due? That said, if you're not totally sick of these yet, here is my year in review. :)

In January I rang in the new year with close friends at a beautiful house in the mountains. We popped champagne and I brought along champagne cupcakes! I started grad school so that I could do a little 360 on the career path. It's been amazing so far and I am really happy with the decision. I also had the opportunity to read a book written by my great uncle, recounting his time as a POW in Korea.

In February we celebrated our fifth Valentine's Day and I made granny squares for the first time! Piles and piles of em. :)

In March we went to the Union home opener where, as you can see above, it was freezing, and we went for a walk on a gorgeous day and pretend house hunted in our favorite town. On a less happy note, we said goodbye to a beloved friend, Charlie's childhood dog that I had come to know and love, since I had never had a dog myself. 

In April I screen printed home studio style for the first time and made shirts for Charlie's work, and my family took a mini trip to the beach for Easter.

In May I went to Miami with Charlie's family for a mini vacation and made tons of food for our Memorial Day BBQ. I also passed my Praxis test!

In June I started my super intensive summer semester and consequently fell off the face of the earth for a while. But I did pop back to take my hair from dark brown to ginger red and attend a decade party for a few family members' milestone birthdays, dressed as a reject from Pretty in Pink.

In July I battled made cake pops for the first time for a 4th of July BBQ, went to Kutztown where I scored a blue Ball jar, a vintage movie camera for Charlie, and a honeycomb because why not? Also, Charlie and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. :)

In August I figured out how to make delicious iced coffee at home with my french press, and had a relaxing time at the beach before school started up again.

In September I took part in the Twitter Tea Party for which I made the above scones. It was good fun! I made angel food cake for the first time which is my one true weakness when it comes to baked goods, and did my first commissioned paintings of the famed Dublin Doors for a friend.

In October I celebrated my one year blogiversary with my first ever giveaway. We went on a little getaway to the mountains with people from Charlie's work where we had a very successful trip to a giant antique store. I scored some amazing Pyrex dishes to add to my collection. We also went apple picking which I was super excited about, and finished up the month with a trip to Gainesville for The Fest.

In November I celebrated my 24th birthday (eek!) and finally got a food processor which I was way too excited about. :) I had an awesome Thanksgiving with family and took a day trip to LBI with my dad and brother, so my brother could do a workout/physical test with other guys he would be seeing later on in boot camp.

In December my brother left for boot camp which was pretty tough right before Christmas. To try to keep things normal, I made tons off cookies, worked hard on my blog redesign, and started subbing for the first time. I had a great Christmas with family and ended the year with a trip to Atlantic City and a party with friends to ring in the new year.

What do you remember most about 2011? If you did a post like this leave a link so I can check it out!

new design for a new year

Here it is! The official unveiling of the new blog design I've been working on, tweaking, and obsessing over since my idea for it back in the beginning of December. It all started with a sketch of how I wanted my new banner to look and from there it just snowballed into what you see before you. I'll share my design process in a post later this week for those of you who may be considering a new look but aren't sure where to start. Starting has always been the most challenging part for me. It can be really tough to get what's in your head onto paper, and then from paper onto the screen, and from the screen to a working, functioning website. Whew!

Anyway, first let me note that with my new design I have sized my photos down a bit. For the past two months or so I had been making them significantly larger than before so now those two months worth of posts have photos that hang over into the sidebar. I am working on this but it is tedious so it's gonna take a hot minute. Just wanted to put that out there for anyone who goes back and sees that. :)

Now I'd like to bring your attention to a few new things. I have a brand new about me page up top if you'd like to see it, along with my newest endeavor, my sponsor info. And if you look to your right, you will see my very first, beautiful sponsors. I'll introduce them all later but you should definitely give them a visit when you have time!

If you're brand new here, I have a place for you to learn a little about the blog under my bio on the sidebar there. To make finding specific things easier, I made four different categories for you to scan through. They are the little sketches in the sidebar with the words recipes, crafts, fashion, and reads.

And before I forget, happy new year everyone! Please take a look around and let me know if anything looks out of place or wonky so I can make sure the new design runs smoothly! Thanks!

random tidbits

I saw this on Angie's blog and knew I needed to do it. I loved reading her answers and could imagine mine as I read along. It's especially good for a day like today when I didn't plan a post because I was supposed to be sending off my brother but he got delayed. Such is the navy apparently. So here's some fun, incredibly random facts about me for today and probably tomorrow since that's when he actually leaves. Let me know if you do it! I'd love to see your weird answers too!


#1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?
Jessie. Only family calls me that and anyone else who does, only does it once. ;) There's also Cece. My brother used to call me that when he was little because he couldn't say "Jessie". Every now and then someone whips that one out just for fun. :)

#2. What's a weird habit of yours?
This is the first thing that came to mind.. I always give my towels a good shake before I use them after showering. This is because of an experience I had quite a few years back, where I grabbed a towel and held it out it front of me getting ready to wrap it around my head. I suddenly noticed a rather large spider repelling down the side of it. I have never been the same since. I actually noticed recently that it has become such a habit that I don't even think about why I'm doing it anymore, I just do it. Damn spiders.

#3. What's a song you secretly LOVE to blast & belt out when you're alone?
What don't I love to blast and belt out when I'm alone? I totally don't sing in front of people. I get great pleasure from belting out some Muse.. hittin those high notes.. oh yea. X) That's why I don't sing in front of people!

#4. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?
I have to pick just one? There's sooooo many!! How about.. people who don't use their turn signals.. when merging, when changing lanes, when turning, when pulling over.. even if you're in a *turn lane* I don't care!! I don't trust you! I've been cut off by enough people shooting out of lanes that they didn't realize were "turn only" that I assume if you don't have your turn signal on, you have no idea where you are and you are going to screw up. Use it!! It's not hard!! /rant

#5. What's one of your nervous habits?
Biting the inside of my mouth. Like the cheek area. When I'm extremely nervous, I'll do it until it bleeds without even realizing. And then I'm in a ton of pain for a few days. It's a great habit. :(

#6. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Wall side if there is one. If not, then the side farthest from the door. Self preservation baby. Kidding. ;)

#7. What was your first stuffed animal & it's name?
Not sure what the actual *first* one was but the first and main one I had an attachment to was a Jammie Pie that I named Red Baby. Because he had a red hat. :) Not an animal, but it was stuffed. Sad story though - I lost it in my youth and now they sell on ebay for $200. Crazy right? I'd love to get it back but I don't know about that price. :S

#8. What's the drink you ALWAYS order at Starbucks?
Unless it's the holidays - ALWAYS an Iced Venti Vanilla Latte. Always.

#9. What's the beauty rule you preach.. but never ACTUALLY practice?
Probably to always wash your make-up off at night? I know it's terrible for your skin to leave your make-up on when you go to bed but sometimes I'm so tired I actually forget to wash it off. And when I do I'm usually reminded in morning by a cute little pimple.

#10. Which way do you face in the shower?
Away from the water. Unless I'm cold, then I find myself huddling under it, directly facing it like my life depends on it.

#11. Do you have any 'weird' body 'skills'?
Hmm, body skills.. not sure I even know what that means.. I can do that thing where you make a clover with your tongue.. and my thumbs are double jointed..

#12. What's your favorite 'comfort food'/food that's 'bad' but you love to eat it anyways?
Cheese fries. Such a guilty pleasure. And I indulge in them way too often.

#13. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?
Bullocks! I've been watching too much Coupling. ;)

#14. Time to sleep- what are you ACTUALLY wearing?
Usually a cami or tank top and long pants or shorts. Even in the dead of winter I can't wear long sleeves to bed. It makes me too hot. I need to be able to poke an arm out of my mountain of blankets when I get too warm!

p.s. Have you seen my call for sponsors? Pssst.. it's free!

new things for 2012

Hey there! Just taking a break from writing a paper for a final exam to pop in here an let you know about some things that will be coming soon from Tenpenny Splendid. :)

iPhone scenes from the past month..

My new blog design is just about finished. I just have a few minor touches to add and it will be ready to go! One of those touches is your ads! That's right, starting in January 2012, Tenpenny Splendid will be taking on sponsors. Since this is still a growing blog, I will be doing it on an exchange basis for now. I got this idea from some of my bloggy friends and I thought it'd be great to start doing on here!

{Edit: I changed the sizes so there are now three options.}

All you have to do is put up my ad on your blog and I'll put up an ad for your blog or shop over here! If you don't have a blog but still want to advertise, just email me and we'll work something out! I have three ad sizes.. 185x230 which is the featured spot. I'll have only one of those per month. The medium size is 185x160 and the small size is 185x80. If you are interested, please comment, tweet, or email me and we'll talk specifics! I can also make an ad for you for free if you don't already have one. I love the idea of supporting each others' creative endeavors and I think this is a great way to do it! :)

And a few more..

Another thing I'm working on is a "shop my closet" store. I've seen a lot of bloggers do this also and I think it's a great idea. It's a fun way to share clothes that may not be vintage or handmade so can't be put on Etsy, but are still fun and in great condition. I actually want to start off with some formal dresses I have. They're from different events, like weddings and dances, and were each worn only once. It'd be a shame for them to just go to waste so I'm going to sell them for about a third of the price that I bought them for.

I'm going to put the money from those sales directly toward opening my Etsy shop, which has been on permanent vacation since it's existence. I keep making it a goal to open it each month in hopes that it will actually happen, but with the financial constraints of an unemployed student, it has been really hard to fabricate my ideas. I'm hoping this will take the financial burden off of me a little bit and be enough to get me jump-started. If they sell, that is. ;)

That's all I wanted to say for now! Let me know if you are interested in trading ads. I also may be seeking out some of you who already have this system. :)

Have a great weekend!

sneaky peak

If you follow me on Twitter you may know that I've been hard at work on a major blog overhaul. I've been sharing some of my excitement over successful coding and having things work out right. If you've ever dealt with html or css you know how downright thrilling it is to have something work the way you wanted it to. With each reload I would hold my breath and then do a little happy clap whenever something moved into the position it was supposed to be in or did the appropriate thing on a hover, etc.

So here's a little sneaky peak of what I've been working on. No, I couldn't have made it any smaller. ;) I just don't want to give too much away before the big reveal.



I'm actually almost done, I just ran into a temporary setback this weekend. If you follow me on Twitter, you may also have seen this..


Has anyone ever seen this before? More importantly have you ever fixed it? It doesn't effect the layout of the blog whatsoever but it makes it damn near impossible to edit anything. I have a plan B if no one knows what to do with this but I wanted to see if there was a quick fix first.

The gadgets just got all jumbled and unmanageable in the page editor. :(

And just so you know what I already tried, I logged out of Blogger, cleared my cache, shut down firefox and reopened it, signed back in to Blogger, and it was still like this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. If not, on to plan B!

Hope everyone's week is going well! I have two finals left and then I'm done school for the semester. :)

last december (2010)

{snapshots from last December's posts}

I've been noticing that a bunch of my posts from Christmas time last year have been getting a lot of hits lately since people are searching the webs for Christmas inspiration, so I thought I'd do what I did in November. I made another little snapshot of what I was doing this time last year. Maybe I'll keep this up. It's fun for me to look back and see what was going on in my life a year ago. :)

The main posts that have been getting hits are..

Christmas Villages
I shared my family's own Christmas village that my dad has been carefully curating throughout the years. I also linked to some other Christmas village inspiration where you can see some other cute villages and also some resources for starting your own.

Letterpress Cookies
Technically a November post but since it's cookie time, a lot of people have been looking for these super cute cookie cutters. Charlie's mom got them for me last year and I think they're kind of the coolest thing ever. I just gave a little overview of how they work but this year I'll actually show the cookies that come from them! (Don't know why I didn't last year!) :)

Christmas Packages
Just a little collection of Christmas wrap I put together based on the trends I was loving last year (and still love!).

Doe Eyed
This one is a little stamp I carved with a tute of how to create your own envelopes and use the stamp for a little seasonal embellishment. :)


What were you doing this time last year? Have things changed much? They certainly have for me!

Happy weekend! :)

cozy style

30 Days Hath November
Day 18: What I wore today

I think this should probably go under the category of one of those what I really wore today posts that people do. Not that I don't love it but it's far from glamorous or styled. The focus today was comfy and warm. And I am. So I win. ;)

hoodie // american apparel
cammie // american eagle
leggings // newport news
slipper boots // urban

Today I am hiding out at Charlie's place because there's a major siding and window overhaul going on back home and it is loud. Yesterday I decided to hide out in my room with a giant cup of coffee and some Christmas movies while I watched the photo frames shake off my walls. After taking the remaining ones down, I got back to work on sketching designs for Christmas cards. It was pretty productive and I had a lot of fun doing some hand lettering which I haven't done since college days.

It's amazing how quickly you can fall behind in the blog world though, amiright? I just wanted to stop by here and give this little update but now I'm off to try and catch up on all the reading and commenting I've fallen behind on!

Have a great weekend! :)

What's your cozy style?

pride + a movie

{source}

I have tons of schoolwork I'm trying to get done today so that I can have a fun and productive week/weekend so I'm going to keep it short and sweet today with a 30 days update! But first, I will let you in on why I'm trying to clear up some space for this week. I have a few exciting things in the works!

1. A new blog design. It's almost completely finished! I just have to move from the design phase to the make-it-a-functioning-website phase. Which is the hardest part of course. I hope to unveil it by the end of the month!

2. Christmas card designs for the grand opening of my shop. I have single cards and box card designs in progress. :)

3. Jewelry and ornaments for the shop! I lump these together because the completion date is uncertain so I can't make any guarantees of what will be available this Christmas. But there shall be cards! ;)


And now for some..

30 Days Hath November

Day 13. Something I'm proud of
Speaking of school and schoolwork, that is what I am proud of. I'm proud that I'm on track with my projected graduation date and that I've been more dedicated to grad school than undergrad. Let's be honest, as an undergrad you'll skip as many classes as you can get away with. ;) I never even have the urge to skip my current classes. Of course, there's some nights I'd rather do something else, but overall I feel like I get so much out of every class that I don't want to miss any. Yep, I'm a school nerd now. ;)

Day 14. A favorite movie
Christmas movies keep popping into my head this time of year, but my favorite movie overall is Wristcutters: A Love Story. It's a hilarious and beautiful movie that Charlie and I could watch over and over without getting tired. We often quote it and talk to each other like Eugene because we are easily amused. ;) I definitely recommend giving it a watch if you haven't seen it yet.

Now back to the books! I hope you all have a great and productive week!

three deserving blogs

30 Days Hath November

I'm catching up on three days of this today but if you pay attention to anything, please look at day 12. I was actually super excited for this prompt because I immediately had three deserving blogs in my head to list. I list them because they are daily reads of mine yet I'm not sure all of my particular bloggy friends know about them yet. Maybe I'm lame and you do, I'm sorry. But go look at day 12 anyway and humor me. ;)

Day 10. What I love about my job
Technically right now I don't have a job. But I guess you could say my job is being a grad student. I'm also trying to make a job out of my art as well. So what I love about those jobs is a.) learning from some ridiculously amazing people about my future profession, and b.) getting to develop the things I love into something that some other people may love to take into their homes. ;)

Day 11. Something I've been craving
Waffles. Plain and simple. I won't even go into too much detail about this because all I want right now is a waffle slathered in butter. X)

Day 12. Three blogs I can't get enough of
The first blog I ever commented on because I related to it so much was Mrs Priss. The lovely Morgan who writes that blog is a mamma and freaking hilarious lady who will never fail to keep you interested. Whether she's telling you how to make a beautiful yarn wreath or recanting the tale of how she once cried in a grocer's arms, she will never fail to leave you entertained. If you haven't read her blog yet, GO. Immediately.

The next blog I will tell you to read is The Wannabe Country Girl. She already has me wanting to raise chickens but that's not the half of it. Her recipes are to die for and she does exactly what I love.. she has step by step photos of every part of her recipes. That way, you'll know if something doesn't look quite right or if something's not fully blended or you didn't cook it long enough. I cannot stress the importance of pictures when cooking something new. If you're a foodie in training or just looking for a great recipe - go there. Please.

The third blog that I insist you go to is Posie Gets Cozy. If you are not familiar with Alicia, she and her husband have been seeking adoption for over a year. Throughout that year+, she has been flawlessly sewing and knitting clothes for her future daughter and it has been amazing to observe. I once wrote about her in a post and have since had an overwhelming amount of traffic sources from people trying to look up whether she has adopted her baby yet or not. The community support around this woman is amazing and it is clear to see why it exists. She and her husband are both beautiful people and you can't help but be on their side. The due date of their adoptive child was 11/11/11 so many of her readers are now eagerly awaiting an announcement. It's so amazing that you can feel so much for someone you have never meant but my heart and soul goes out to Alicia Paulson and her husband at this amazing time in their lives.

That is all. Have a great weekend!! :)

christmas purchase

30 Days Hath November
Day 8. The last item I purchased


Perfect timing for the start of the season! The other day I had to bribe myself to get my disaster of a room together with Christmas music and hot chocolate. That's right. I can be bought with items that make me feel cozy. ;) Anyway, it was very successful. I pulled all my boots to the front of the closet and put all the flats towards the back. I wrangled my unruly sweater pile that was sort of climbing off of its shelf and now I can actually see what I have. And I finally found a way to store my ever growing supply of crafty things.

During all of this, I stumbled upon an iTunes gift card from about three Christmases ago that I still had not spent. Since I was in the Christmas-y mood, I decided to grab the She and Him Christmas album. I really liked how Zooey did "Baby it's Cold Outside" in Elf so I'm hoping this album will be just as good!

I know a lot of people have been buzzing about it lately.. have you listened to it? Thoughts?

And quickly so I can finish this project..

Day 9. A close up of my day

You'll get to see what this is all about in a post later today. ;) I felt like being ridiculous so here's a close up of what I'm working on today.

Hope you're having a great week! :)

3 years ago + a book

First, I want to say thank you thank you for the happy birthday wishes! :) I did have a great birthday, going out with some friends and having drinks, laughs, and a little dancing. Even the people who couldn't go out still want to celebrate at a later date, sort of extending the birth-day into a birth-month and I am a-okay with that. ;)

3o Days Hath November..

Day 5. Three Years Ago Today

(I kid you not when I say this is the only photo of myself I could find from fall 2008. My photos from that year seem to stop around February, when I had bleached blonde hair. I dyed my hair by May so I would've had dark hair like in this photo. Evidently this was not a year I wanted to remember.)

Upon counting back and realizing this was 2008 I kind of got a strange feeling. 2008 was a fairly crap year for me. Some of it was downright terrible and stressful, some of it was pretty good. To say that my life has vastly improved since then would be an understatement. But by November of that year, things were were certainly looking up.

A day before, I had just turned 21, which is always exciting. For me it was a little downplayed because I'm the second oldest of my friends and the next person in line to turn 21 didn't do so for a few months. So my roommate (who was a year older) and I went out and had a small celebration and I made my first purchase at a state store, where I did not get carded of course. Thinking about that also makes me feel weird because that roommate and I suffered from some irreconcilable differences and stopped talking to each other a few months before we moved out of our house. Awkward..

While thinking back to three years ago made me feel a little icky, it also made me extremely happy about where my life is at today. I have an amazing relationship, I only have friends who are a positive force in my life, and I have a new direction career-wise that is super exciting. I am a much happier me now than I was this time three years ago. :)


Day 6. A Book I am Reading


On a less serious note, I am currently reading Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon. If you read the summer reading post, you may remember that I read a book by her over the summer and absolutely loved it. I also mentioned that I love finding authors with more than one hit so I decided to read another one of her books since the last one had me up at night reading page after page, despite how creeped out I was. I just started this one but I have high hopes for a similarly shocking and enthralling experience.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! :)