Showing posts with label Friday Favs. Show all posts
For today's Friday Fav I have a post from one of my FAV, happiest, spunkiest bloggers, Kelly at Southern Komfort- go check her out! Thanks, Kelly, for taking over while I hop on a plane to Milwaukee to celebrate one of my best friend's bachelorette parties!


Twine, twine, twine...
Oh the things we can do with twine. I love the idea of twine wrapped wine bottles. It’s such an easy, decorative DIY craft! After looking over different steps on how this can be done, I gathered my resources and began the process. 

  • Glass bottles - they can be any shape or size you so desire.
  • A roll of twine - the twine I purchased from Hobby Lobby is a pretty, hunter green color. The length was 208 feet (random, I know) and 3 ply.
**Note: Feel free to choose any length and thickness of the twine to your liking. Remember, the thinner the twine, the more you will need.
  • Elmer's Craft Bond Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive.
**You can pick up this little can of wonder at any local craft store and it goes A LONG WAY! In addition to not receiving near third-degree burns from a hot glue gun, I was able to continuously wrap my twine around the bottle without much hassle... But I'll explain that later.
  • Floral piece 


Here's how it's done: 
1) Using an old wine bottle, I removed any outer labels by running it under hot water and scraping it off.

2) Once the labels have been removed, dry the bottle thoroughly to make sure the spray adhesive works properly.

3) Working from the bottom up, spray the adhesive about an inch around the bottom of the bottle. Don't worry, it won't dry quickly!

**Note: It helps to have either wax or parchment paper down to keep the adhesive from getting on your countertops. Another smart thing to do... Don't have your phone nearby since you can easily get the adhesive on that as well...

4) Once you have sprayed some adhesive onto the bottle, start wrapping your twine. When you have reached the point where you are almost out of adhesive, spray about another inch above what you have wrapped thus far.

5) Continue to spray and wrap the twine until you reach the top of your bottle.

6) Once you have reached the lip of the bottle cut the twine, spray the inside of the lip of the bottle, and place the twine in there.

7) Add a decorative flower or any other artsy item and ta-da! You have a twine wrapped bottle!

Based on the size of my wine bottle, it only took me about 25 minutes to complete everything. To help get the sticky off of your fingers from handling the adhesive, you can use soap and hot water or pour some nail polish remover over your fingers and that should do the trick.

I hope this has helped inspire your creative juices to decorate your homes with twine wine bottles!








Southern Komfort Blog

Friday Favs: Southern Komfort Blog (guest post- How to Make a Twine Wrapped Bottle)

Friday, April 25, 2014


My favorite gifts to give (and receive of course) are the ones that also give back. We all know Toms and their "Buy One Give One" program, but here are some of my other favorite affordable stores that give back with each [trendy] purchase made- also, guys listen up, these make great Valentine's gifts! Especially if your someone-special is passionate about a certain cause. Really what better way is there to show you pay attention and care?

  1. The Animal Rescue Site: Each ITEM bought from The Animal Rescue Site funds at least 14 bowls of food for shelter animals in need. My sweet Andi came from Angel Dogs Rescue where the shelter workers constantly fund dog food from their own pockets due to lack of funding- not ok! This site has cool canvas shoes as well as mugs for dog and cat lovers, plus other sweet gifts (my mom gave me this doggie oven glove last year)- and OMG THESE SLIPPERS!!! This site also has links to gifts that give back to autism, literacy, breast cancer, hunger, veterans, diabetes and the rainforest.
  2. Ekata Designs: There are currently 10 million refugees in the world, the majority of which are women and children. These women and children face all kinds of challenges such as overcoming trauma from the past, learning a new language and culture, finding a job and becoming self-sufficient- a difficult process. Ekata Designs is an organization run by my little brother's friend in Memphis, TN who hires Nepalese refugee women and trains them to make jewelry which they sell in their Etsy Shop. The jewelry is beautiful (my brother gave me this necklace for Christmas) and really reasonably priced. I also love these earrings and this bracelet
  3. Soapbox Soaps: Did you know 3,000 children's lives could be saved every DAY with something as simple as clean water and soap?? With ever soap purchase Soapbox Soaps (headquartered right here in DC!) provides soap, vitamins and clean water to children right here in the US and internationally. Their liquid soaps make great host gifts, and these all-natural soaps and bodywashes are less expensive than typical name-brand and drug store soaps. My favorite is the Mandarin Bodywash. 
  4. Twice as Warm (also located here in DC) donates a clothing item to families in need for every item purchased. Unlike similar organizations, Twice as Warm donates the same high quality products to families as you are buying. I love their All American Ear Warmer (also a great gift for your favorite American patriot), DC Polar Bear T, and Classic Fleece Scarf.

What am I missing? Leave ideas in the comments if I've missed some good ones, I like lots of ideas!

Friday Favs: Gifts That Give Back (perfect Valentine's Gifts!)

Friday, January 31, 2014

Tis the season..
...to be completely anti-social and sit around and watch Netflix marathons all day and night!

Which is all I did as the subzero vortex came through DC. Up until this year I've always just had a Netflix subscription and no cable, but Sports Center and True Blood are non-negotiables for the BF so we pay an additional $120/month (which is an extra $1,500/year, do you have any idea how far I could stretch $1,500??) so he can have his two TV shows that he cannot live without. I still pretty much only watch Netflix just to prove a point- except of course the occasional Teen Mom marathons. ANYWAY Here are my favorite Netflix Movies and Netflix documentaries, as well as marathonable Netflix series:

  1. A Doula Story (documentary): Incredible story of a Doula (kind of like a midwife) who commits her life to supporting and fighting for pregnant teens in Chicago.
  2. The Woman Who Wasn't There (documentary): The INSANE story of a woman who posed as a 9/11 survivor, manipulated other victims, did all kinds of crazy ish...you have to see it to believe it.
  3. The Lifeguard (movie): Story of an almost-30-year-old going through a quarter-life crisis. Really who isn't going through that right now? Something about watching the amazing Kristen Bell go through it so un-glamorously makes it all feel ok.
  4. Being Elmo (documentary): The touching story of the soft-spoken puppeteer's journey to become Elmo. Bonus: tons of behind-the-scenes Sesame Street stuff.
  5. Cropsey (documentary): This doc digs into the urban legend of Cropsey, an escaped mental patient who haunts Staten Island. Don't watch this alone, it's REAL creepy.
  6. The L Word (TV Show): Sex & The City with lesbians. 
  7. Sons of Perdition (documentary): I know the whole escape-from-the-sisterwives thing is a little overdone thanks to TLC, but you can't help but get attached to the teens this doc follows as they struggle to adapt to life outside the LDS- and try to save their families.
  8. Blackfish (documentary): Look I've had a thing for orcas since my brother and I saved up our allowances for a Free Willy Club exclusive membership (anyone else wear that orca cord necklace religiously?), and this is insane. Interesting fact: Sea World trainers have no background in training or marine biology or anything like that. Annd I'm never going back to Sea World again. 
  9. Sherry Baby (movie): I search "Maggie Gyllenhal" and this is the first one to come up. I was not disappointed. Just released from prison, Sherry struggles to be a good mom and stay clean. It's Maggie Gyllenhall.
  10. House of Cards (TV Show): If you haven't seen this, you're late. If nothing else watch it so you can know what everyone is talking about on February 14th when season 2 comes out, and so you can have something to look forward to on dreaded Valentine's Day.
  11. What Maisie Knew (movie): Sweet story of a 6 year old girl caught between her selfish parents' divorce. It sounds sad but I promise, the end is worth it. Oh and Eric from True Blood is in it, and Julianne Moore, so..
  12. Prodigal Sons (documentary): A transgender woman returns home to rural Montana for her class reunion, a class in which she was Paul the high school all-star quarterback. During this time she attempts to re-connect with her estranged brother. So interesting.

Friday Favs: Best Netflix Movies, Netflix Documentaries, and Netflix Shows

Friday, January 10, 2014

A lot of great things happened this week- here's my roundup. In case your work blocks youtube I've posted the videos below (sneaky, I know): 

1. The world lost an incredible hero this week, and while there were a lot of touching tributes my favorite was Maya Angelou's His Day is Done: A Tribute Poem for Nelson Mandela. Girl gets me every time.

2. Everyone's favorite line from Home Alone is "Buzz your girlfriend- WOOF!" Well, now you can make your own Woof Gif with a picture of anyone you want. Amazing. Merry Merry Christmas indeed.

3. Pantene released a (sadly accurate) ad portraying the gender biases women face in the workplace. However it was a huge week of wins for women as the Kennedy Center made history appointing its first female president (Deborah F. Rutter is among only a few females running performing arts centers in the WORLD) and GMC appointed Mary Barra, the auto industry's first EVER female chief executive. Yaaass ladies makin us proud!

racial dating4. What Would You Do's video of a black man bringing his white girlfriend to a Harlem barbershop went viral overnight, and I want to be best friends with the last woman in the clip ("we all just need to H.U.G!"). While this was touching AYI released a study about how racist we are in online dating. While I understand the entire basis of this app is to judge people based on their looks, why is it that race plays such a big factor? Is it us? Is it how we were raised? Is it the media? As someone in an interracial relationship I can tell you first-hand: you are missing out by judging based on that factor.

5. Mayor Gray announced he's running for mayor of DC again (really??), got booed out of a debate, and someone made this website.  Sidenote: you may have nightmares after watching this.

6. I almost died when Buzzfeed posted the 23 Most Adorable Puppies of 2013. Then I clicked on the story of Xena the Warrior Puppy bringing her 8-year old autistic owner out of his shell and the waterworks really started. This Christmas consider giving a dog a Forever Home- petfinder.com links humans with their new best friends all over the country. If those sites aren't enough just look at dogs on their freedom rides. (My dog came from an amazing rescue group called Angel Dogs
whose dogs are on petfinder).

body_man7.  Soapbox  is an awesome movement- when you buy their soap bar they donate soap to a family in need, hand soap supplies a month worth of water to people in need, and ONE bottle of body wash provides A YEAR'S worth of vitamins to children in need. It's a great option for sensitive-skinnies like me as it's made with shea butter, aloe, jojoba oil, and natural essential oils. This makes a great stocking stuffer (for 2!), the high-quality soap is less expensive than name-brand body wash, and can be found online or at lots of retail locations.


8. My friends are getting engaged left and right and we talk a lot about the whole should-you-really-change-your-name-or-is-that-anti-woman situation. This site had me on the floor laughing at hyphenated names.


9. The BF and I saw Best Man Holiday this weekend and I cried my eyes out but we both loved it. Get in the spirit and remember what you're thankful for- life is short! On that note, check out David Steindl-Rast's TED Talk on the key to happiness: GRATEFULNESS. Really got me thinking. Have you taken time to "stop, listen, go" today?












Friday Favs

Friday, December 13, 2013