fave font freebies

I do enjoy a good, legible and unique font. While I have a penchant for serifed fonts (like Georgia, Courier and a few others) I also enjoy some sans serif and cursive fonts. For those of you that have absolutely no idea what I just said here's a little, brief explanation of different font styles.

Fonts can literally make or break a piece of written/printed material. For example, look at the difference in these 3 sentences...

1. I have 72 pairs of shoes.

2. I have 72 pairs of shoes.

3. I have 72 pairs of shoes.

Is there one that appeals to you more than others? There definitely is for me.

Anywho, so I wanted to share with you a link to a free download of my current favorite font. It's called Homemade Apple and is offered here on Blogger but wasn't available to download for personal use until now. You can go here to view the font and follow the instructions to download it. It's free! It may not work for everything you want to do, but it definitely is legible enough for everyday use. :)

To install the font on your computer (PC only) you can just download the font and unzip (extract) the contents in the folder. (you download the zip file) Then just open up your Control Panel and drag the TT or OT file once it is extracted and drop it into the Fonts folder in the control panel.

Enjoy!!

impromptu photo shoot

About 2 weeks ago I expressed an interest in getting better at portrait (people) photography to my sister, Ashton, whom I live with. It was around 5:00 in the evening and perfect lighting so when she suggested to try it that day I jumped at the opportunity.

Here are a few of my favorites from that shoot.

Hopefully, I'll keep getting better and better with more practice!

what I wore wednesday

I recently stumbled upon a blog post series called "What I Wore Wednesday" on "The Pleated Poppy".
I really enjoyed looking at her outfits, so I thought why can't I occasionally post about what I wore on Wednesday?*

I love getting outfit ideas from Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy blog as well as from Kaelah over at Little Chief Honeybee. These posts encourage me to go into my own closet and create new outfits from what I already have. I've starting put stuff together that I never would have done before...and I LOVE it!

Here's what I'm wearing today (Wednesday).

Floral shirtdress from Old Navy. Dark-wash jeans from Target. Odell ballet flats from Target. Belt from Rue 21.

I may not post every Wednesday, but I like the idea of this post popping up from time-to-time on A Little of This and That. :)

*Note: This is assuming people care about what I wear. I don't intend to sound conceited or arrogant...I just hope to inspire your outfit choices like this blog post did for me.

spring desktop wallpaper freebies

Boredom is a wonderful thing, eh?

Boredom is what allowed me the time to create these cute, spring desktop wallpapers.

So, feel free to download to your computer (right click and either save-as or set as desktop background) to help spread the cheer of spring and all it brings!

Enjoy!!

sally hansen polish strips product test

Yesterday, I stopped in CVS to pick up a prescription and these caught my eye.

Sally Hansen's Nail Polish strips. They were on sale, buy one get one 50% off. You know I love a deal...

so I decided to give it a whirl last night. I tried the color called "Bling It On" which is a sparkly pink.



Verdict: I like them. I am pretty particular about doing my nails and I actually liked the results of these. They were a little tricky to put on at first, but ended up reminding me of a softer and more flexible form of those Lee Press-On nails from back in the day. You know what I'm talking about right? The very first nail I did was my left thumb nail (with me being right handed and just starting from the left). I had some trouble with the edges of it, at which time my boyfriend (who actually read the instructions) pointed out that it said to do my thumbnails last. Oh well. The rest were pretty easy to do. They even include an emory board and little cuticle stick to help adhere these things.

Pros: The included emory board and cuticle stick, no real "nail polish fumes", even color application and they seem to hold up well after lots of hand washings and hair washings (which is where my normal nail color will chip).

Cons: Some of the strips fit really well and others...not so well. I hear you're supposed to stretch them but I didn't do that enough on some nails, I guess. There is a little gap in between where the polish ends and the nail bed ends (on the sides). Also, the ends are a little ragged. I think some clear nail polish might help that. The other con is that you get 16 polish strips per pack. What a weird number! Not enough for two applications...unless you buy 2 packs then you'll have 12 (total) extra.

The more I use them, the better I'll probably get at the actual application. At $9.99 per pack these is a nice alternative to an actual manicure...which I never get...because I'm a cheapo. You get the professional looking polish job of a pro manicure (and let's face it...that's the best and most noticeable part) for a fraction of the price.

Here is a pic of my result! (please pardon the horrible picture quality...I took it with my phone)

shoes on sevens

Time for another edition of my Shoes on Sevens post.

Today's entry is a diversion from my normal shoe-attire for 3 reasons:
1. They are cowboy boots. I normally do not wear cowboy boots.
2. They are second-secondhand. I usually make it a point to not wear other people's shoes.
3. They are not ballet flats. Enough said.

However, paired with leggings, a spring dress and a denim jacket they make the outfit...or so I think. Thanks to my sister for giving me the boots. She got them from a used cowboy boots store a few years ago and then gave them to me when she got a new pair.

Photo creds go to my lovely boyfriend, Bob. :)

disney fashion inspiration III

Back by popular demand, (all 2 of you!) here is yet another Disney fashion inspiration post. This time I've dedicated the whole post to Cinderella as requested by one of my most regular readers, Amie.

So, here is Miss Cinderellie in her maid outfit...

And then the modern inspiration outfit...

Then, here is Miss Cinderella's famous blue gown.

And the modern, casual inspiration.



Gosh, I'm a sucker for seersucker. Ugh. I need that last outfit, like now.

Image credits: Cinderella Maid (tank: shakti activewear, bolero: womenssweaters.com, skirt: topshop, shoes: rocketdog, ring: forever 21) Cinderella Blue Dress (dress: american eagle, shoes: stuart weitzman, necklace: disney couture, clutch: amici)

beauty shots

I went out after work yesterday while the light was good and took a few shots of some of the blooming cherry trees in my neighborhood.

After a little tweaking on my favorite free photo software (Picnik) I had some pretty good results. Here are my two favorite shots.

Both of these are now for sale on my Etsy shop.

3 lists on 3/3

Today is 3/3. In honor of the day's triplicity (Is that a word? I was trying to make the triplet of duplicity) I'm publishing 3 lists of sorts.

On a side note, I love lists. I keep random lists for and of everything. So I will share 3 random ones of mine with all of blogosphere...

Five Things That Are Currently Making Me Happy:
1. Cherry trees
2. Cookout hamburgers
3. Odell ballet flats from Target
4. Bold-tipped ballpoint pens
5. Bob

Flavors of Ice Cream I Abhor:
1. Butter Pecan
2. Coffee
3. Toffee
4. Praline
5. Mocha
6. Almond
7. Cherry

Six Most Quotable Movies Ever (According to ME and in random order)
1. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
2. Step Brothers
3. Dumb & Dumber
4. School of Rock
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
6. Major Payne

What are some random lists you'd like to share?

diy fabric flowers

I'm a lover of the flowers. (in case you haven't noticed)

I'm also a lover of the crafts. (also in case you haven't noticed)

This combines the best of both worlds. I found this super-easy tutorial online after making my own at a stamping party. The tutorial I found uses heat from a votive candle and it's just as good as a heat gun...and way cheaper.

Here's the tutorial. (I'd copy and paste it but it's really detailed and has pictures!)
The author gives great tips to which I'd like to add the following:
- Keep the fabric moving or it's VERY easy to burn your fingers
-Tealights work best because the larger the candle, the hotter and larger the flame.
-Any "silky" or "netty" fabric works best. I've experimented with nylon, organza, rayon and polyester. Old polyester shirts from Goodwill or a thrift store are PERFECT!

Here are a few of my results!!



I added bobby pins and safety pins (brooch pins) to the back of mine but you could put them on headbands, ribbon (for bracelets) or even a bunch of them as a belt.

top 5 tuesday: spring loves

I've got spring fever something awful. Yesterday, I switched out my closet from winter clothes to summer/spring clothes. (Well, it WAS almost 80 degrees here yesterday, so it's not THAT bad...)

Anywho...I Love Spring. I really, really love spring-even though my allergies don't like it. But hey, that's why they make Zyrtec, right? Right. Because I can't get spring off my mind, today's Top 5 post will be about the things I love about spring.

It will be hard to narrow it down to JUST 5 things, but for the sake of brevity and in an effort to not lose both of my frequent readers, I'll just keep it to 5. :) Here we go!

1. Flowers. Flowers. Flowers. Really, all of the blooming flowers and blossoms are absolutely gorgeous. One of the streets in my neighborhood has all cherry trees, one has all pear trees. They are beautiful when in bloom. Definitely expect some pictures of those to pop up soon.

Like this?

2. Spring Cleaning. I know that I have a problem and a slightly weird addiction to cleaning. But, it excites me so much to really get into purging, cleaning and organizing my house. I especially love changing my bedding over to my warmer weather/spring set. L-O-V-E.

3. Longer Days. I am definitely a morning person, but waking up when it's dark outside is rough. I love waking up to daylight and having extra time in the evening for outdoor cooking, running, photography sessions, dog walks, etc!

4. Flip Flops. As a southern girl, I really cannot escape the power that wearing flip flops has on a positive attitude. I could literally live in flip flops and ballet flats 10 months out of the year. I can't wait to bust them out this year. Here is a pair that I purchased last year and absolutely love!

5. Warm Weather. This goes with the #4 reason, but specifies to include that I don't need to adorn a winter coat, hat, gloves and a scarf to take my dog outside to the bathroom. I love being able to wear a cardigan for chilly mornings and that's it! No big bulky sweaters and coats. Ahhh...