my february challenge

for those of you who aren't iPhone users, let me tell ya about a little app that i l.o.v.e.
it's called instagram.
i explain it to people as it basically being a facebook that's just for photos.
which is nice! because half the pictures i take i don't necessarily *want* to upload on facebook.
enter instagram!
you can follow other users, and vice versa.
you can "like" photos, and comment on them.
oh- and they have awesome editing tools on it, too.
so, you can see why i love it, right?
there's a web version of instagram that you can take a gander at if ya want. and it's called "webstagram" i thought it was fitting. the link to it is on the upper right of my blog. see it?

WELLLLLL there is a user on instagram that started a photo challenge back in january called "january photo a day". and it spread like wildfire. but i didn't participate in that. i did for february, though!
why not, right? it was fun at first but it kinda got to be a chore towards the end. so, i won't be doing anymore daily photo challenges for a few months. :) but i had to finish because i was determined to finish this little challenge.

 1. my view. driving around town and the gym.
 2. words.

3. hands.

4. stranger. can i just say how awkward it was to take a picture of a stranger! hahah i felt like such a creeper.

5. 10am. late church on sundays calls for sleeping in 'till 10. :)

4. dinner. veggies soup, broccoli, mushrooms, and pesto basil tilapia

7. button.

8. sun. i forgot the whole day until i realized the sun was past the hills...oopsie. sunflower it is! ;)

9. front door.

10. self portrait. 

11. something that makes you happy. a lot of things in life make me happy. but this man never fails to constantly make me happy as a clam. love him.

12. my closet. i share the other half with C. :)

13. blue. 

14. heart. my heart tattoo that my rebel 18 year old self got a few years back. still love it. 

15. phone.

16. something new. last month, i hypothetically asked charlie what he would get me if he were home for valentines, and i hinted that i needed perfume so he told me to go ahead and get some. [thanks, bayba!] i got one of his favorite scents on me- stella. by stella mcartney.

17. time. 

18. drink. my evening sleepy time tea in my angels mug. my daddy raised me right- not only am i a baseball girl. but an angels baseball girl. 

19. something i hate to do. make our bed. i only make it when charlie is home. haha!

20. handwriting.

21. favorite photo of you. i have a favorite picture from every stage of my life. but this one is the most recent favorite.

22. where i work. hard to take a picture of southern california, since i'm currently a traveling freelance cosmetologist thanks to deployment and the temporary move back home then moving out of state. i'm going to miss all my clients. :(

23. shoes.

24. inside my bathroom cabinet.

25. green. i love the bright green oregon moss. 

26. night.

27. something you ate. the heathy [well, healthier] dessert i made the night before warmed up with milk for breakfast. deeeeelish. cran-apple chia seed "cobbler". yummo.

28. money. my world traveling marine husband kept money from a few of the countries he's been to. we plan on adding to our 'round the world money collection throughout our lifetime. :)

29. something you're listening to. the sound of my veggies sizzlin'!

whew! there you have it! my february photo a day challenge. 

i'm so glad that's over with.

and i can't even tell you how thrilled i am that february [aka the longest month of my LIFE] is over! 

i've never been happier that march is here. [eeeeeeeeek! FINALLY!]

what i wore wednesdays.

HAPPY LEAP DAY!

sad that i haven't blogged about anything since last wednesday.
i even have an entire trip to oregon that i made this past week that i should write about.
eh, i'll do it eventually.
i don't have much energy due to the cold i got from the airplane. awwwesome.

so, thankfully i was using my noggin' yesterday and snapped a couple pictures of what i wore yesterday since today i'll be sporting husband's oversized shirt and sweats like i did when i was under the weather couple months ago. wah.

back to the point of this post..
this was my cute and simple outfit i wore yesterday.
but let's pretend it was today, mmkay?

white long sleeve: target. 

blue skinny jeans: NY&Co.

coral wedges: payless.

coral scarf: any guesses?? target! ha.

gold bangle bracelets: NY&Co.

turquoise bangle bracelets: forever 21.

if there's any of you out there that actually follow and pay attention, you might be starting to notice that i am the queen of wearing things multiple times. [mixing and matching is key!]

i remember when i was in high school, my older sister looked in my closet and was shocked at how little clothes i had.. [haha! some might beg to differ] anyways. she said that because she thought i had an overstuffed-with-clothes-closet because of the variety of my outfits. she liked how i can create that variety with not much to make it seem like i have a large amount of items in my closet to choose from. 

what she didn't know was that i learned a lot of that from her! [thanks, janelle!] she taught me to have a lot of staple clothing.

dark wash jeans? goes with [almost] everything. especially in the fall/winter!

light was jeans? goes with [almost] everything. especially in the spring/summer!

white top? goes with everything.

black top? goes with everything.

navy blue dress? goes with leggings, or patterned tops, or a cardigan...i could go on.

...see the patten?

that way when you have that awesome bold top, you can pull colors from that and wear a turquoise scarf or your neutral cowboy boots or under a summer dress.. 

a lot of you probably already know this. 

so from here on out, you can play the "i spy" game and notice that i rotate my clothing and accessories a lot. :)

what i wore wednesdays.

this is my go-to outfit lately when i don't want to "try" but still want to look cute. the only more comfy thing to wear out and about would be workout clothes. [which i am so guilty of. *hangs head in shame*] 

dress: ANGL.

undershirt: target.

necklaces: charming charlie.

gold & black beaded bracelet: was given as a gift to me.

gold bangle bracelets: NY&Co.

turquoise bangle bracelets: forever 21.

highlights of the (past two) weeks.

skipped last week. oopsies.

but i'll catch you guys up. no worries.

this baby came in the mail a couple weeks ago. 

world, here we come!

got the passport mainly for our [late] HONEYMOON CRUISE! 

here is my countdown. [which is now 78 days away! only the cool couples go on honeymoons 495 days after they're hitched. fyi.]

i'm only a little excited. 

our beautiful baby niece, madelyn, was blessed the other week at church. [for those of you who aren't of our faith, it's kind of like a baby being christened. learn more about it here.] wish we could have been there! 

go ahead and googoo-gaga over these precious pictures of her. 

we've been having perfect partly cloudy crisp days in california lately. which will only turn into hot days in no time. :( until then i'll soak it all up!

see? perfect.

our nephew has mastered the "cheese face" that his mother had down pat at his age, too. like mother like son!

is your heart melting yet? if not, be prepared. 

look what rowen sent his favorite auntie for valentines..

his little scribbles made me cry.

in a good way.

can't believe this little guy is already one and a half. 

and half my height. literally. 

speaking of valentines!

this was my mini chocolate treat on love day.

homemade chocolate pudding. mmmm.

didn't quite replace not having my yummy husband home to celebrate with me, but it was close enough. 

..not really. 

newly engaged best friend was in town the other day. 

so we had lunch. 

and talked wedding.

and took silly pictures. it's what we do best. 

love you li! ['bout time she's back into the blog world! follow liana's blog here.] 

deployment flowers #13 were delivered yesterday.

these just might be the most beautiful ones yet!

but, i say that every time.

i love my husband and his thoughtfulness.

i say that every time, too. [except more like everyday.. :)]

other blog worthy news that i didn't get a picture of..

-got a window of dates for charlie's homecoming! CAN'T. BE. MORE. EXCITED.

-my big buff marine had a VERY successful mission that was supposed to be 10 days but his company is so awesome that they got it done in 4. so proud. :) read about it here.

-we know SEVEN couples that have gotten engaged this past week and a half. so happy for all of them! love is in the air. ahhh :) ♥

aaaand that's all folks!

what i wore wednesdays.

looky who didn't forget to post what she wore today!
meeeee!
hey- it's still wednesday for another 46 minutes.
made it!

we finally had a cold and rainy day here in california.
it's been very dry this winter. looks like summer will be killer. yuck.
aaanyways!
i took full advantage of this yummy weather and wore sweats and uggs all day!
even while i did today's one and only client's hair earlier. [shhh it's okay, aunt becky doesn't mind if i look like a shlump :)]


black v-neck: target. 
gray 'love pink' sweats: victoria's secret.
black uggs: anywhere uggs are sold. ex: nordstroms. i think i got these at 'the walking company'??


i know what you're thinking: "wha! no accessories today?!" i know.. weird.


see ya'll next wednesday!

lesson two.

this past thursday was mine and my mama's second lesson at cake decorating.
we had a choice to either make a car or a fish bowl.
i chose the fish bowl and my mom chose the car.
i thought it was going to be way harder than it actually was.
it was pretty tedious and i think if i wasn't trying to finish in the two hour time limit of the class, the perfectionist in me would have spend at least another hour on it making it much more presentable.
but it still turned out pretty dang cute if i do say so myself!
[pay no attention to the ugly cat tablecloth. apparently one of the teachers is a crazy cat lady..]

ta-da!
we're learning how to do a lot of different flowers next week...stay tuned!

what i wore wednesdays. err...thursdays?

WHOOPS! totally dropped the ball on this week's "what i wore wednesdays".
so, this week it will be "what i wore thursdays".
not that anybody really cares that much. ha.

white v-neck undershirt: target. [after all my wiww's, what other store would you have suspected?]

blue blouse with white birds and braided leather belt: target. [seriously, target. i'm waiting for a little "thank you" for giving you free advertisement...]

blue skinny jeans: NY&Co.

boots: target. [here, i'll make it easier for you, target corporate office. you can reach me at: samanthaeosborne@aol.com any day...any time..] 

white watch: charming charlie.

faux gold and faux pearl bracelets: given to me as a bridesmaid gift last year. :)

let's hope i won't forget next wednesday.. :) 

highlights of the week.

not too much went on these past 7 days. which is a good thing. no one likes a hectic week, anyways. :)


scored this bruised and beat up beauty at the good will tuesday while looking for a [cheap] office desk. didn't luck out on the office desk but we DO need an end table. we always put our drinks on the floor...it's only a matter of time till we spill something that will stain [eek!] but not anymore! i transformed the table this week...after picture soon to come!

FINALLY got around to hanging up our USMC flag. right next to our American flag. long may they wave.. :)

i guess i was in a "diy" kind of mood this week. [and i STILL am. wish i had more supplies to craft right now...] anyways! a couple months ago i went to a house warming party at my adorable friend, katrina's house. during her tour, i pointed out that i LOVE how she put the first letters of her and her husband's name on each of their bedside tables. soo i copied her. hehe. [thanks for the idea, katrina! xo]

buuut since we don't have any black in our home, i had to whip out some spray paint.
here are the results. :)
can't wait until we're in our own home again and have our bedside tables back. until then, they'll still be on display- just not in their right places.

this past thursday was mine and my mom's first ever cake decorating class!
it's about time that we've signed up for one since it's only been ohhh....NINE years since i first told my mom i wanted to learn how. figured since we're hightailin' it outta here soon might as well start! [better late than ever, right?] three more classes until we graduate our first level.

it's not the prettiest cake, but it's a start!

after i learn the tricks of the trade, in a few years i'll be that mom that makes adorable cakes for her kids for every occasion. :)

and never again will there be another repeat of my poor husband's birthday cake last year...good thing it tasted yummy since i can bake. it just looked ugly. 

yesterday was flower delivery day #12. [that's when it hit me that charlie has been away for 24 weeks now. :( ]
but aren't they perdy?! not too many flower delivery days left! yaaaaay!

here's hoping this week flies by! my patience is wearing thin.
is it march yet?!

what i wore wednesdays.

keepin' it simple today. nothin' too fancy. just cute and comfy. :)

and i was lazy with my hair sooo big 'ol bun it is!

green cardigan: target.

periwinkle and white striped tank: target.

brown wedges with flower accents: target. [anyone seeing a trend here?..]

big star jeans: buckle. [big star jeans are my FAVORITE, by the way. for any girl with muscular thighs like mine, this brand will be your best friend.]

necklace: forever 21

i've come to the conclusion that i'm obsessed with target. 

they should really give me free stuff for all this promotion to their clothing. 

HAPPY FEBRUARY! YAAAAAAAY!