Here’s my week in a nutshell:

I started last Saturday off with a bang, hanging out with the AAA while he gave me a jump start. This is the fourth time in a year and a half that the AAA guy has paid me a visit. I’m thinking it may be time for a new ride.

My mom is pretty fabulous. I was thrilled to be able to spend Mother’s Day with her last Sunday.

I was ready to give up on my raspberry bushes. Three summers have come and gone with nary a berry produced. To my surprise and delight, the bushes are not only abundant with flowers (the prelude to berries), but have multiplied like crazy and are now taking over a huge space in my yard. 

Not much better than dinner out with my family (and a big glass of Blue Moon with my entree!).

Every year my husband puts the flowers in our window boxes as a gift to me. It’s a gift I get to appreciate all summer long as I watch them grow.

The basement is nearly complete – now it’s just last minute touches and furniture to finish the job. After several months of having random men in my house at any given moment of the day, I’m thrilled we’re in the final stages.

I am also thrilled to be getting rid of all our baby/little kid stuff. We also have a ton of furniture, clothing, and other treasures that just don’t work for us any more. We started yesterday with a neighborhood preview and have sold a LOT of stuff – and it hasn’t even made a dent in what we have yet!

Not much is better than ending on ice cream, right?

What were you up to this week?

Today I celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss to my favorite guy, and in honor of that this Fun Finds edition is filled with ooey gooey lovey dovey goodness.

Who doesn’t love a little Dr. Suess? For all his silliness, he makes all the sense in the world. If I was one to put up a wall decal in the house, this might just be the one.

Dr. Suess wall decal, initial you on etsy

Let me be clear – my husband would rather be hit in the head with a sledgehammer than go anywhere in love gloves attaching him to his wife. But they were cheesy enough to catch my eye. Would your significant other be up for wearing these?

Love Mittens, i sew naked on etsy

Though I generally go for earrings that are practically the size of my head, I couldn’t help but fall in love with these sweet hearts. And that minty color is high on my list right now.

Mint Green Heart Earrings, dariami on etsy

Nothing says “I love you” like writing it on your feet. Arguably one of the best known scriptures about love, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 spells out what true love really is. And now your shoes can too.

The Lovie, fruitful feel on etsy

Who is the child in the picture below? I hardly recognize her. Happy anniversary, my love – here’s to decades more together.

We never know what we’re going to find – some mystery person must be moving machinery in and out of the trees in the middle of the night. We have yet to see anyone back there, but every time we talk a walk we find something new.

The other day we came across this odd looking contraption. I have no clue what it’s purpose is – if you happen to know, I’d love to have you share your knowledge.

We climbed all over it, and of course I took a moment to take some outfit pictures on top of it.

And yeah – I went for a walk in the woods in 5 inch platforms. Doesn’t everybody?

blazer – swapped, tank and bracelets – JCrew, watch – Michele, jeans – Hudson, shoes – Report, sunnies – Target

I loved them when I was younger. They were the best – you could wear all the pieces in multiple ways. The shirts became skirts, the skirts became belts… I remember taking trips to Dayton’s in my youth to stock up on them.

Maybe that’s why I still take what I have in my closet, and wear it in ways not originally intended by the designer. Like this dress, which isn’t a dress at all, but a skirt.

I’m such a rebel.

skirt/dress – JCrew, belt – The Vintage Gypsy, shoes – Franco Sarto, necklace – Stella & Dot

Don’t forget to visit the Pleated Poppy today to see what everyone was wearing this week.

You’ve seen me wear my La Coco Stella & Dot chain before – I’ve worn it here and here, just to name a couple. And while I love the long length of it, sometimes I just wanna switch things up.

With a little ingenuity, and a pair of scissors, I took this necklace to new lengths, and gave it a makeover along the way. I’ll still be wearing it in its original form, but it’s fun to know I can give it new life.

Using an old shirt and a pair of scissors, I cut a long strip to make the new back of the necklace. You could use a ribbon in place of the cloth, but I like the contrast of the matte jersey with the shiny gold.

After twisting the necklace several times, I looped the strip through each end, tying it in the middle.

The result? A shorter chain length and a pretty bow tie in the back (not having had my camera girl on hand, you’ll have to imagine that pretty bow). It’d be fun to wear your hair up, with the ends hanging low in back – leaving people with a lasting impression as you walk away.

I’d love to hear your crafty ideas! What do you do to freshen up what you already have?

My glass is half full, my future is bright, and everything will turn out well in the end.

Even during the years I spent struggling to conceive, I never fully gave up hope that things would go the way I hoped and prayed they would.

Blogging was the first thing in my life that threatened to dull my shiny outlook to a certain extent. I started with high hopes, putting thought and time into what I’d say… the blog became a little extension of me; a project dear to my heart. I shared my vision with family and friends, and posted my links on Facebook.

And then I waited.

And I got my feelings hurt.

“Where is everybody?” I thought. I watched my home page on Facebook telling me friends were ‘liking’ everything under the sun, from Taco Bell to Taylor Swift, but not my page. “Seriously?” I thought. “Someone likes Taco Bell so much that they’ve gotta hear every latest piece of taco news, but there’s no interest in the goings on of Wild Ruffle?”

And later, as my little project grew in readership, I’d pour my heart into a particular post, and wait with bated breath after hitting that ‘publish’ button. “Surely this will connect with someone,” I’d think to myself. And the radio silence of a post with zero comments sounded incredibly loud to me.

To anyone out there operating under the assumption that starting a blog is a quick step away from quitting your day job, I assure you – it is not. It is a lot of work, and often times it comes without reward.

But lest you think that this is a total downer of a post, and I’m one step away from giving it all up – you can be sure that quite the opposite is true. Whereas it once felt personal when someone I knew hadn’t hit that ‘like’ button yet, I’m now thrilled to see that out of the 570 Wild Ruffle fans, only about 150 of them are also my Facebook friends. It tells me that the people in that community are people who really want to be there.

And though not every post here gets a ton of commentary, I know that you’re out there reading, and that makes me happy.

The success of the recent Spring Boutique was a great reminder to me of why I started this blog in the first place: to promote others, to support small businesses, and to begin to take steps toward one day owning a boutique of my own. I’m so thankful that you’re here on the journey with me! I’ve grown through this venture – and I’m looking forward to all that’s ahead of me.

jeans – Paper Denim & Cloth, shoes – Starlight, top – JCrew, bracelets – Stella & Dot and Premier Design, earrings – Premier Design, necklace – ekate designs

Except…

When the rain is pouring down so hard that your umbrella can’t bear up under the weight of it, it’s a photo shoot fail.

If you ever spot another umbrella in a future Wild Ruffle post, it won’t be this one. Cuz this one is now officially retired.

shorts and cardi – JCrew, tank and earrings – Len, belt – Von Maur, necklace – Stella & Dot

There’s just a couple days left to shop for Mother’s Day, and with the crazy busy way our calendar has looked lately, I’m not expecting a thing from the kids this year (other than some extra love and affection on Sunday).

But if they were so inclined as to purchase an item or two, I’ve conveniently gather a few lovelies together in one post that I wouldn’t return should they be gifted to me.

I’ve got a thing for scarves, and though I just purchased a pretty one from here the other night at the Spring Boutique, there’s plenty of room in my closet for another one – especially if it’s as cute as this. And $15?  That’s a steal.

Coral Anchor Scarf, cost plus world market

I’m not a huge wearer of rings other than my wedding ring, but I’d make an exception for this sweet thing.

Silver Bow Ring, art fire

I love the shape of this dress, and the color blocked pattern is right on trend. Oh, and it’s $8.71. Yeah, not a typo. Hurry up and get it before it’s gone. At this price it won’t be long.

Allegra K Colorblock Dress, amazon

Isn’t this the coolest? The shape of this shoe is so unusual that I can’t help but want to add it to my collection. And let’s be honest, I can never have too many shoes.

Paloma Barcelo ‘Sue’ Sandal, nordstrom

For some more heart felt ideas, check out these ideas from Faith Family Style for out of the box gifting. I found this questionnaire on Pinterest, and thought it looked like fun – kids always come up with cute answers.

Questionnaire via pinterest

What are you doing for Mother’s Day?

I also like to stay within a certain budget when putting together my looks, and this doesn’t always mesh well with my desire to constantly be changing it up.

In my quest to combine an easy DIY with something fun and new to wear, I came up with these glitter bracelets. The bonus? I already had all the materials to create them on hand – gotta love the cost of this one!

If you don’t already have the items below around your home, this will still be a wallet friendly project. Remember my glitter shoes tutorial? I used the same materials, swapping out fabric glue for some tacky glue. I grabbed a set of bangle bracelets I hadn’t worn in a long time (purchased on clearance at Target long ago), my paint brush, and some glitter.

I used a combination of copper and black glitter shades, mixing them in a bowl before I started.

Working in small sections, I painted the bracelet with the glue, then shook the glitter onto each section, tapping it back into the bowl to get rid of the loose pieces.

When I was done, I sprayed the bracelets with hairspray to hold the glitter on – but you know it’s bound to leave a little bit of a trail. Another option would be to paint it with a clear acrylic or even clear nail polish to keep the shine and not lose the sparkle.

And voila! Easy peasy. I was done with this project in less than 15 minutes. Now that’s my kind of DIY.

Have you done any fun DIY’s lately? I’d love to hear your ideas!

Happily, it’s getting there.

My house may still be filled with sawdust, but I see progress happening every day. And look at me – I’m standing in front of doors, and they have knobs! If that’s not progress… well, I don’t know what is!

Cardi, blouse, and pants – JCrew, watch – Coach, jewelry – Lois Hill, shoes – BCBG

Where have you seen progress in your own life lately?

Don’t forget to check out The Pleated Poppy today!