New Year, New You!

 

If your new year's resolution is to lose weight, tone up, or simply to continue your fitness routine, then these gym essentials are just for you! 

1.  First things first, make sure you have a GREAT sports bra.  If you find yourself "double bra-ing" then make sure you invest in a fitted sports bra.  I personally love all Nike sports bras.  They hold up when doing serious cardio, and are incredibly comfortable.  

2.  One of my many obsessions are Norts (Nike tempo shorts).  I basically live in these!  They come in all kinds of different colors and designs, and even have built in underwear.  These are definitely a 2013 gym essential!

3.  Pick up your favorite magazine and head to the gym.  Having something to read can make your gym sesh fly by!

4.  Make sure you have your favorite tumbler or water bottle to keep hydrated!  

5.  Having the right gym shoes can be essential in preventing injuries.  I have a pair of brooks running shoes that I am in love with!  I picked them up after going running on a treadmill at my local fitness store.  The video playback showed I slightly roll one of my ankles when I run (which was causing me lots of leg pain after running).  They helped me find a shoe that worked perfectly for me.  So having the right shoe can really make all the difference!

6.  Use a cute wristlet like this Lilly Pulitzer one to hold all of your credit cards, id's, etc. 

Nike sports bra
finishline.com

NFL 24-Ounce Colts Tervis Tumbler
bedbathandbeyond.com

Nike Girls' Tempo 3" Running Shorts
dickssportinggoods.com

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13 women's running shoe with Brooks DNA -...
brooksrunning.com

Carded ID Wristlet Canvas
lillypulitzer.com

DIY: flannel knot blanket!

My husband has been obsessed with my COLTS blanket, and has been begging me to make him one too! These blankets are SO easy and cheap to make, and are a great gift idea for the upcoming holiday season!  So I thought it would be fun to show how easy it is to make one of these for yourself or for that special someone.  

Even though the Colts are obviously the best NFL team, I made this Jets one for my husband.  (Go COLTS!)

What you'll need:
Scissors: Fabric scissors work best
2 yards of a flannel top fabric (Jets Fabric)
2 yards of flannel bottom fabric (Dark Green Fabric)
*I used an NFL theme, but ideas for these blankets are endless! Check out online fabric stores, JoAnns, or any local fabric store to find tons of flannel options!

Step One: Lay out both fabric layers

First, lay out the bottom fabric, make sure to smooth out any wrinkles. Next lay out your top layer of fabric directly on top of your bottom layer.  Make sure that you have placed them evenly on top of each other, and smoothed out any wrinkles.

Step Two: Cut any excess fabric along the edges (skip this step if your fabrics line up evenly)

 Step Three: Measure 4x4 squares on each corner of your blanket. 

ignore my chipped nail polish :)

tip: make a small cut to mark where your 4x4 square is.

 Step Four: Cut your 4x4 squares

Step Five: Cut Fringes

 

Starting from one of your corners, cut fringes around the entire blanket.  I did about 1.25 inches for the width, for each individual fringe.  Honestly this does not have to be perfect, and you can play around with the width if you would like thicker fringes.  Just make sure you cut about 4 inches up (match the height of your cut out square).

Step Six: Tie Fringes

Tie each individual fringe together.  I double knot each of my fringes, just be careful to not tie your knots TOO tight. 

Step Seven: YAY enjoy your warm blanket!

NEW FABRIC!

So I wanted to show some off some of the new fabrics I picked up last week!

All of these fabrics can be used for the circle monogram! The brown and teal chevron fabric is my absolute favorite! The black and white chevron print has been my most popular fabric, and I always believe you can never have TOO much chevron print in your life :)

Monogrammed Sweatshirt

Happy Monday! 

The past few weeks people have been loving the Crewneck Monogrammed Sweatshirt  and I'm loving it too!

My favorite thing about this item is that everyone can look adorable, even while wearing a sweatshirt!

OPEN SESAME

 

October 1st was the official opening of my shop, CEA monograms and gifts!  I've always been the creative type, but it has been so rewarding finally being able to share this passion of mine with others.  The past two weeks have been beyond what I even expected.  I am so thankful to those who have supported me along this journey in opening my shop! (thank you hubby and Megan)  I am so excited to expand my shop and the items that are offered in it.  

I will be using this blog to provide my customers with my shops latest SALES and fabric choices.  Also, I will be blogging about my personal favorite shops, monograms, and everything CUTE!