Nonetheless, I’ll have to write about making shoes later.

For now though, I’d like to talk about baby booties. You see, many women my age are just starting families. They’ve been married a few years and either just had or are about to have their first child. It’s a special time. One thing I’ve noticed from the baby showers I’ve attended and from flipping through photos in Facebook albums is that you basically get the same things at baby showers. A stroller, bedding, Pack-n-Plays, bottles, diapers and lots and lots of clothes. Now, mind you, these are all essential items.

Do you know what I rarely see? Do you know what is almost always missing?

Handmade items! And no, not the ‘I made this’ kind, the ‘I spent a long time planning this, and then working on it’ kind. And there is a difference between the two, although I’m pretty sure my description makes no sense at all.

Traditional crafts are less prevalent today than in previous years. By traditional, I mean embroidery, crochet, knitting and tatting…things like that.

For a wonderfully sentimental and meaningful baby shower gift, why not try your hand at crocheting baby booties? They take about 2 hours for a beginner from start to finish and believe it or not, they are a super manageable project.

Here are some booties I’ve recently made. I’ll be doing some embroidery work on them before actually gifting them. The thing to remember about these is that they will be keepsake items. The infant may never wear them, but I can pretty much guarantee that the mother will hang on to them for years to come.

This is the pattern I follow. You can find a bunch of patterns on the internet, and in books too, but this one that I can do from memory; which is why I like it.

Gauge: 3mm
Yarn: Embroidery Weight

Start by doing 8 double-crochets into a circle.
Cinch the circle nice and tight and then do a slip stitch into the top of the first double crochet.

Next round:
Do 2 double-crochets into each stitch. Then, do a slip stitch into the top of the first double-crochet. Chain 2. (This is a total of 16 stitches.)

Next round:
Follow this pattern all the way around- 1 double-crochet into a stitch, 2 double crochet into the next stitch. Slip stitch into the top of the first stitch in the round and chain 2. (This is a total of 24 stitches.)

Next round:
Follow this pattern all the way around – 1 double-crochet into a stitch, 1 double-crochet into the next, 2 double-crochet into the next. Slip stitch into the top of the first stitch in the round and chain 2. (This is a total of 32 stitches.)

Next round:
Double-crochet even all the way around (this means 1 double-crochet into each stitch)

Next round:
Double-crochet even all the way around (this means 1 double-crochet into each stitch). Chain 2. Turn.

Next round:
(Make sure you turned your piece so you are going back the way you came.) Double-crochet into the first 22 stitches leaving 10 by themselves. Chain 2, and turn.

Next 11 rounds:
Do the same thing over and over. You are going to build on those 22 stitches forming the bottom and sides of the shoe.

Next round:
Double-crochet into the first 10 stitches, then double-crochet the next 3 together. Double-crochet the remaining stitches.

Next:
Fold that back part in half, with the 3 stitches you double-crocheted together as the bottom of the fold. Just slip stitch the sides together.

You have a shoe! Woo!

To add a strap, just chain 7 across the shoe wherever you want it.

I love these two little dogs as I’m sure you love your pets.

I love how, on sunny mornings, they follow sunspots around the house. The sun carries them between their early-morning nap and their mid-morning nap; both of which generally take place on the bed.

When I get real close to their little faces, I wonder what they are thinking about. They sit completely still, the sun fully shining on them, occasionally blinking. What are they pondering?

And then I catch a moment like this…..

…and I feel their happiness.

Simplicity Embellished | Simple Daily Makeup Routine from Simplicity Embellished on Vimeo.

This is Cole’s tried-and-true daily makeup routine. Developed after years and years of mistakes, mishaps and mooching off of other makeup mavens.

Mmmmmm!

This is my normal, everyday makeup routine. I debated on whether or not to post a video of it for you, but so far, the feedback has been positive.

If you have any questions about anything I mentioned in the video, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

We were all sitting in the living room Monday afternoon, just chatting and talking, and my MIL got up and said “I have something for you, Cole.”

For me?

She reappeared in the living room with the following:

Now, you’ll be able to see some smudges in these photos. I haven’t had time to drop these off at the jeweler for a good cleaning due to a very annoying snowstorm that has blanketed Cincinnati.

But how beautiful is this? The center stone is Aquamarine with two garnets on either side. My mother-in-law and her sister saved up for this ring to give to my husband’s grandmother many years ago.

And now it belongs to me.

It is putting it mildly to say I will cherish it forever.

Now look at this. My mother-in-law received this for a gift at one point from another family member and she gave it to me. It’s set with garnets (her birthstone).

I’ve never seen another ring like it.

And look at this:

She gave me earrings and a drop for a necklace to match. Those are garnet and diamonds.

Just beautiful. I am so honored to have these pieces in my possession.

Thanks MIL!

Here’s to it being a lucky one for you and yours.

My sister gave me these little fishies for a holiday gift this year. I just love them. They are kitsch. They are gaudy. They are flashy. They are perfect.

I believe these are said to be some sort of good luck talisman and are manufactured (or maybe they’re handmade?) in the China Towns of the world.

I made them into earrings and had Ruby model them. She thinks I should add some amethyst, lavender, midnight blue and crimson Swarovski crystals to them.

I like her style.

These sure would brighten any outfit.

I love the coloring. And the vibrancy of the gold.

Purple and gold are lovely colors.

In fact, I’ve been told those are my personal colors.

And so I plan to ride off into the sunrise of our brand new year with my lucky fish earrings dangling from my lobes, lookin’ fabulous.

Here’s to a new year together.

I just love her.

Light. Candles. Brightness.

Perhaps that sounds sappy, but seriously, let’s look at some of the holidays.

Christmas
+ Christmas Lights
+ Lots of songs about stars
+ For those that attend Church or services, many sects of Christianity use a special candle on Christmas

Chanukah
+ Menorah!

Bohdi Day
+ celbration of enlightenment by Buddhists

Winter Solstice
+ celebration on the shortest day of the year and more daylight to come

And, whether you’re celebrating a holiday or the new year, light is perhaps a perfect representation of them all.

I spent an evening making this card out of paper scraps and embroidery floss and I do believe I’m going to have to make a few more. The front of the card features candles—a wonderful symbol for the season that all can identify with.

What did you choose for your cards this year?

Anyway, I am sitting here and I realized that such an important piece to anyone’s puzzle is having your own space, your own places. Everyone needs a place to go now and again outside of the home because jeebus knows we all just have to get away sometimes.
Or maybe just to meet someone for lunch.
Or maybe just to be somewhere that people know you.
Or someplace you can go where you don’t even have to look at the menu to know what you want. No hassle. No fuss.

Those places are hard to find, aren’t they?

Do I know how to help you find one?
Nope.

I just know it’s worth the search.

This is my ‘place,’ Essencha Tea House in Cincinnati:

+ Gold Bond Lotion

+ Nivea Silky Shimmer Lotion

+ Eucerin Day and Night Lotion for Sensitive Skin

+ Sponge Rollers

+ Mint Julep Mask

+ Sea Sponge

+ Cuticle Oil

+ Round Barrel Brush

I think the fight against purse-junk build-up is one of the great battles of womanhood.

Have you ever bought a new purse primarily because the one before wasn’t working? Why wasn’t it working? Did it hold too much? Or not enough?

Here’s my purse:

Yes, this is my everyday purse. I use this, well, all the time. As you can clearly tell, it goes from day to night pretty easily.

And no, I don’t have kids. I’m pretty sure if I had a few gremlins hanging off my arms, this purse would likely not work.

But get this: it fits charmingly inside a larger purse. If it needs it to. Just sayin’

I keep this stuff inside of it:
+ fountain pen
+ wallet
+ business cards
+ little notebook (a Moleskine)
+ iPhone
+ perfume vial

Can you believe it? That’s not very much stuff. In days gone by, I used to keep a much bigger purse on my shoulder, but I realized the vast, vast majority of what I was carrying around never got used. So, to keep myself chilled out, I figured out what I could keep around without having to carry a big purse.

When I was still carrying a bigger purse, I bought one of those interior purse organizers with a light attached. It seems like when I started using that, I only added more to my purse. Like tissues, makeup samples, Q-tips, moist wipes….stuff that really makes no sense to have on you all the time.

So, to keep that stuff at hand without it literally being by my side all the time:

+ I keep Vaseline in my car in a little compartment [I use Vaseline instead of lip gloss]
+ I keep a brush and a sticky wheel [to remove dog hair and lint] in the car
+ I stopped wearing foundation and my skin evened out and so now I don’t even need power anymore

What else do you really need? Seriously?

I found that by not having tissues on me all the time, I didn’t need them. And if I did, it happened when I was out [like at the mall or a restaurant, where a bathroom or napkin pile was always close by.] And, if you’re afraid you’ll need a tissue when you’re in the car; then keep a box in the car.

And, if you need something like Advil, well, just ask a lady-friend carrying a massive purse and she probably has some.

How to keep less in your purse:

Part I: Evaluation

+ What do you use every day?
+ OK, now of those items, what can you leave in your desk and/or car?
+ What does that leave for your purse?

Part II: Adjustments

+ Is your purse massive?
+ Do you understand that if your purse is big, you will fill it up? Or are you in denial about this fact?
+ If you are not in denial, then downsize your purse.
+ Make sure your desk and car have the items they need in them that your purse no longer does (tissues, lint roller, lip gloss, medication, etc.)

Part III: Live The Small-Purse Life

+ Once you’ve downsized and made sure additional needs are met by your car or desk, take your new, smaller purse out.
+ At the end of the week, sit for a minute and recall any time that you didn’t have something that you needed.
+ Evaluate whether or not that ruined your day.
+ Evaluate whether or not you were able to find the item somewhere else.

If you give this a try, even for a day; let me know how it goes!

And when I find a pair I love, I wear them to death. I wear them so much that they get all beat up and grody, but I just can’t stop wearing them.

This pair is in good shape.

My golden flip flops look OK. What a steal at $5.

These guys, which I wrote about previously on Simplicity Embellished, these guys are, well, they’ve seen better days.

First, this is the purse I use every single day. Every single day.

It’s 6.5″ x 3.5″ x  1.75″ so it’s not very big.

Here’s what I keep inside:
That’s everything. I promise that I did not remove any receipts, candy wrappers or anything else.

I have to tell you, life with a small purse is pretty good. Once I got over the whole I might need my {insert item here} thing, I quickly found out that I nearly never needed my {insert item here}. I mean it. I found that my friends had it in their giant purses if I ever needed something.

My life is simple without a giant purse. I carry less, I need less. Life is good.

See how it all fits so perfectly? There’s no room for anything else, which means I don’t put anything else in it. It keeps things more streamlined. But I have to be honest, this has only been my reality for about 18 months. I am a former giant-purse-carrier.

Be honest with me; could you carry a purse this small? Have you ever tried?

Options, options, options.

Here’s where I keep some of my most frequently worn earrings.

Oooooo. Look how it sparkles……

I love the darts on this pair. I think they’re so interesting; a bit art deco too.

And these bright blue baubles top off the art deco darts. I think perfectly. These are probably my favorite earrings right now. I’ve been wearing them a lot lately.

These were given to me as a gift from a friend several years ago. They are from the 1950s and seriously go with everything. They’re about the size of the top of my thumb.

Airplanes! I found these for fifty cents at a flea market in Milton, West Virginia. I really love wearing these earrings.

These are my all-time favorites. You can tell I’ve worn the heck out of ‘em. The green stuff is, I actually have no idea, but it rubs off on a jewelry polishing cloth. And one of my stones fell out of the one on the right. What a bummer. The Fleur De Lis is a wonderful shape for jewelry to take; they seem to work with any style.

Lime green! These are fun earrings to wear. I wear these a lot during big important meetings. A pair of my pearl earrings are next to them; I got those for my high school graduation from my parents.

These are about the best every day earrings I own. Understated, simple and classic.

Which ones am I going to wear tomorrow?

PS: The earrings featured are vintage finds, Lenora Dame, Maximal Art or Swarovski.

For me, it’s a certain pair of gold shoes.

These ratty, beat up gold shoes, actually.

These puppies are my wonder woman shoes. I bought them at Target in 2006 and have yet to encounter anything worthy of replacement. And don’t bother showing me alternatives; these are my shoes; my LBD.

And look at this; I’ve never seen this in another shoe before. The sole is, well, it’s ripping. That pretty copper sole is ripping away.

And look at this unattractive blemish. Special thanks goes out to a certain beagle who is responsible for this; a certain beagle named Hairy.

And yes, that very same beagle did this to the heel. To my very favorite shoes.

Do you know where these shoes have been? They’ve walked me down the aisle. They’ve accompanied me to awards banquets, holiday parties and just to the store. I love these shoes.

Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson
I found this one at Half Price Books when I was still in high school, and although my version was about 15 years out-of-date when I bought it; it still was very accurate and helpful. This is an excellent book that focuses on something that women often overlook or forget about; color. This book features color tables for each season (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) so when you figure out what season you are, you’ll know what colors to stick with and to eliminate.

Bobbi Brown Beauty by Bobbi Brown
This is a really good makeup primer. If you are someone looking to learn or brush up on how to do daily makeup that’s not overdone and natural, this book will be a good choice for you. It even has tips on how to groom your eyebrows properly (e.g. without overdoing it) and how to wash your face. This is also a really good gift for a teenager just embarking into the land of makeup and extended bathroom time because it outlines what products you need and don’t need, from the bathroom counter to your makeup brushes. I wish I had had this book when I was 15 and succumbed to my best friend’s tweezer set….I could have saved a lot of eyebrow hairs.

Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me by Paula Begoun
Paula is the cosmetics cop. You will learn a great deal about ingredients in cosmetics from this woman; namely what’s not needed (it seems most of what’s in cosmetics today really isn’t necesary at all.) The book is about 1,000 pages and is an ingredient dictionary with a few chapters on how makeup is made. The bulk of the book is dedicated to makeup reviews. Yes, an entire book on makeup reviews. The reviews are very thorough and accurate and feature a 5-star rating system. I learned a lot from this book and found some really, really good drugstore cosmetics (like Wet’N'Wild products…..these are so cheap because they have so few ingredients….this is, for the most part, a good, basic line.) This is a wonderful book. Be sure to check her website for free tips. www.cosmeticscop.com

Daily Candy A to Z: An Insiders Guide to the Sweet Life by Daily Candy
This little tome is a fun and functional book. Many of the pages contain great lists and how-tos; which I love. I have given this book as a gift many times (Ok, about three times) and it always went over well. I love this book

Here’s how I put on mascara. I learned this from my days as a ballerina [the community-recital ballerina days nonetheless, but someone's Mother was a former model and she taught me this].

First; get a feel for the job at hand. This is my before shot.

Second; apply the mascara to your upper lashes first but apply it on the tops of your lashes by pulling the brush in a downward motion. Most people don’t even consider putting them on the top, but it does wonders.

[This photo is blurry, but it was the only one that came out in an 'action' type shot. I'm putting it in anyway.]

Third; brush upward to finish off the top lashes.
{I love how you can see the camera and hands snapping the photo in my pupil}

Fourth; coat your lower lashes, paying particular attention to the ones at the corners.

Voila! Here’s your after shot.

PS: I love L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara; that’s what I’m using in these photos. I also used eyeshadow by IsaDora and Shiseido.

This is a new model, out only since September 2009, but it’s a great little fountain pen. Cross’ fountain pens have vastly improved over the years and Pelikan makes some of their nibs.

He uses a fine nib.

And he keeps it stocked with Diamine Saddle Brown ink.

A man who uses a fountain pen is incredibly sexy. A man who uses a fountain pen and keeps it stocked with a signature color is even sexier. Don’t you think?

The Moleskine Volant is a recent discovery of mine. I have a bunch of other Moleskines, but I think the Volant is my new favorite, mainly because it comes in a bunch of colors and sizes.

I have the pink ones right now, and I’m going to get the green when I fill these up.

I really love how closely the darker pink Volant matches the LAMY Safari in magenta.

For me, the Moleskine Volant is a nice signature notebook. There’s no brand name plastered loudly anywhere, the colors are nice and fresh and they’re very portable. The paper is smooth and has just a touch of ’scratch.’ My inks don’t bleed through and there’s enough pages inside but not so much that you feel like it will be impossible to fill it all the way up.

Do you have a signature notebook? What do you journal in? What do you write in?

I use a few inks by Diamine, a British ink manufacturer.

Here’s what the Pumpkin looks like:

For some reason my LAMY Safari in magenta dribbles ink out the front. It doesn’t bother me, but I imagine that would irritate many fountain pen users.

This ink writes really well, doesn’t seem to smear under normal use and is nice and bold. It looks lovely on a white page and I do believe some artists would enjoy drawing in this color.

Here’s what the Damson looks like:
I know, the pen is dirty. I write with it a lot so whatevs.

This is such a nice shade of purple. If you are someone that doesn’t like to use colored ink, this might be a nice option for you because it’s so subtle. This is certainly a more masculine shade of purple. I would love to see a man use this ink as his signature color. I envision he would be tall, dark, handsome and confident. But that’s just me.

Here’s the Ruby:

This is a red you can write with. It’s really and truly lovely. If you need a red-red, one that is like, red pen red, then go with Diamine’s Poppy.

Here’s the Saddle Brown:

Gosh I love this color. Brown is my favorite color after all.
Saddle Brown is my husband’s favorite ink.

What is your favorite fountain pen ink? How about your favorite color of ink?

But do you ever really write anything? When’s the last time you did?

Better yet, do you write well?

This is one of my favorite books: Wiliam Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style.

It’s a small book and is only about 80 pages long. It’s more of a reference book really and it will help improve your writing. This book was a requirement when I was in journalism school, and it’s one of the few books that continues to teach me lessons even though college is long over.

Like this:

Among. Between. [see page 40]
When more than two things or persons are involved, among is usually called for: “The money was divided among the four player.” When, however, more than two are involved but each is considered individually, between is preferred: “an agreement between the six heirs.”

Man. I know I mess that up a lot, but it’s stuff like this that makes sense. And it’s things like this that make you smart and sexy.

Have you read Elements of Style?