Weekend Adventure

Chandra and I went on a little girls trip to Louisville, KY this past weekend.  What a fun town!  I had no idea what to expect, I was just excited and happy to go along for the ride.  We ended up finding our way to an area called The Highlands.  First thing on our agenda was FOOD!  **Side bar: Am I the only one that seems to plan my vacations around eating out at new fab restaurants?**  We found ourself smack in the middle of Irish Pub Alley.  I kid you not, from where we stood on the street we could see at least 6 Pubs.  Now this is totally fine by me, I love fish and chips, add some malt vinegar and yummy!  As we were walking to our pub of choice,  we happen to look up and see this in the middle of Irish Pub row.  What?!?

Oh yeah!  Gourmet Grilled Cheese!  In our small town that is just not something you see everyday.  Lil Cheezers won by a landslide.  My Caprese sandwich was super yum. Chandra ate the Fancy Pants and enjoyed the combo of Brie, granny smith apples and walnuts.   I wish I could go back and try another from the menu, but alas,  I will just have to make do with my Big Kid Grilled Cheese from Panera instead.  BTW, if you haven't had Panera's big kid grilled cheese and tomato soup you really should!

After having full bellies we walked Baxter and Bardstown streets and explored all the cool local shops. Some of our favorites were thirteen thirteen, Attic Treasures, Inc, and Discoveries.  We had a fun afternoon of walking through town and found some big pieces that may have come home with us if we wouldn't have taken a cab there ;)

We ended our evening with a yummy dinner at Gordon Biersch Brewery and entertainment on Fourth Street Live at Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano place, which are always a ton of fun.  We had a great trip and would recommend that you guys pop into Louisville for a visit too.  Those of you in the area, what did we miss out on that we should make to see next time?  

Our trip has inspired us to curate an Etsy treasury, make sure to take a look at all of the cool Louisville inspired Etsy items we found.  They will get you in the Louisville state of mind

Happy Birthday!!!

Today we are celebrating our 2nd Birthday!  So much has happened the past two years for our little company and we are thrilled (and still in a bit of shock) with how far we have come. We have loved every minute of our Embellished Living adventure and can't wait to see where this next year take us!  To celebrate this exciting day we are offering all of our readers a 20% discount on any purchase on our Etsy shop! We don't offer this large of a discount often so make sure you take advantage if you have been eyeing something ;)  Just type in coupon code 2YEAR20 at checkout
A huge THANK YOU to all of you for your continued support through the years, words cannot express how grateful we are to all of you!

Early Spring

Since Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early Spring, I thought you might enjoy a quick and easy project   with rain boots.  I bought this pair on clearance at Old Navy for about $10.  They weren't very cute, but they were the right price.  Along with the boots, I bought a roll of 2" grosgrain ribbon in a bright color and rummaged through my Goodwill pile for an old sweater.

I also needed scissors, FrayCheck, a ruler and an exacto knife.  Once all that was assembled, I used a ruler to mark two inch marks around the top of the boots, and then cut following the marks with my exacto knife.  I worked from the center of the front of each boot, measured an inch in either direction, drew my line, then measured one inch, drew a line, then two inches, then one inch until I'd worked my way to the back.    I cut the ribbon (approximately two yards per boot) and sealed the ends to prevent fraying.  I used Fraycheck, but you could use a lighter and singe the ends if you don't have any other sealant on hand.  Then I threaded the ribbon through each boot, with the ribbon threaded behind each of the one inch sections,  and tied a bow in the back.

 The final step was cutting the arms off an old sweater to add a cuff.  I didn't attach them, because I don't always want a cuff with the boots.  I didn't sew the cuffs at all, and they've withstood me pulling them on and off with a minimal amount of unraveling.

 The whole project was less than $15, took about 30 minutes and every time I wear them I get compliments.  Best part, the ribbon isn't attached, so it can be pulled out when dirty or when you want match the ribbon to your outfit.

Have fun embellishing your own boots!