Feline Friday//New Years Eve!

Hello, and Happy New Years Eve to you!! This shall be my final Feline Friday post of the year.

Farewell Two-Thousand-and-Ten...

Bento Box with Girl on Bike and her Kitty, so cute!

Pretty Kitty Dish Towel.

Te quiero [this shirt] mucho!
Designer: Gemma Correll 

Cats in Sweaters!!
(found via Kaylah & The Dainty Squid)

 

Click here for more!!

Haha, I think I NEED to crochet a sweater for April.
I will love to see her hate to wear it :)

On another note, I've been adding some new goodies to the online shop...go see whats new!!

I hope everyone has a very safe and Happy New Years Eve!!
Tomorrow is a brand new year. I can't wait to see what 2011 holds for myself and Butter Toast...I feel like it's going to be a BIG year filled with great things!!

Lots of Love.
xo. Traci

Festivities

I read through everyone’s most recent blogs last night and it looks like you all had a great Christmas and got goodies galore! I had a great time at Panto, Julian Clary was hilarious, and we had a lovely meal in the Hippodrome restaurant (me a mini meal).

My Cute Knitted Elephant From My Mum. He was bought From a Lovely Lady at the Bicycle Basket Bazaar.

I usually spend Christmas at my aunt’s but Lily is more at home with my mum’s dogs than my aunt’s so we went there and had a lovely time. We watched Christmas TV, did a jigsaw, filled out our new diaries etc. I received lots of lovely presents and so many more than I’d anticipated. My best present was from my mum; over 150 vintage Woman’s Illustrated magazines, which I collect. I’d spotted them on eBay a few months ago as a job lot and mum strongly advised me not to bid on them as ‘it’s a waste of money’. I put a bid in anyway, although quite a low one, and since the bidding was private I didn’t know that I was in fact bidding against mum for them. She did really well to keep them a secret because she’s a bit like me with presents and gets so excited that she wants to give them early, but she held out. When I asked what the large box was in the living room she said it was a paint brush cleaning machine for my step dad. I believed her right up to the last minute when she said ‘that’s not really Tony’s present, it’s yours’, and I wondered why on earth she’d bought me a paint brush cleaner until I opened it!

Woman's Illustrated

The magazines kept me busy all day as I not only flicked through them but catalogued them in my little system. I catalogue all the issues and dates etc so that when browsing eBay for more to add to my collection I know which ones I already have. Funnily enough when I phoned people to thank them for my presents nearly all of them said, ‘I thought it would keep you quiet for the day’. Hmmm. My Where’s Wally set of books, vintage magazines, and Christmas sticker book suitable for a four year old certainly kept me quiet, as did cuddling up with the dogs and eating chocolate. Yes, the diet slipped a bit over Christmas but I still ate nowhere near the amount I usually would so when I nervously weighted myself today I had still lost weight. Yay! I’ve now lost exactly a stone and I’m very much back on the diet.

My New Tape Measure From My Bestest

I decided to be sensible with my Christmas money and rather than waste it on clothes that won’t fit me in a few months I bought the shelving system I’d been wanting from Ikea to keep all my stock tidy. My cousin helped me put it up yesterday and my spare room looks so much tidier. I can’t wait to head off to the carboot sale on Sunday and fill it with more goodies. I haven’t been to a carboot sale for ages and I’m very excited. My leopard print shopping trolley is at the ready and by pounds, fifties and twenties are all bagged up ready to be spent. Apologies for the lack of festive pics in this post, I’ve totally veged out over Christmas and neglected to take any pics of presents and the like before putting them all away. Right, I’m off to carry on my January sortathon. Hope you all have a lovely evening!

New Years Eve Eve.

Hey there. Merry New Years Eve Eve. I can't believe 2010 is almost over. I wish I was in a more goal oriented mood today...but I'm in an awful funk. I don't know what prompted it, but I'm feeling more self-conscious than ever, and it's freezing 'round these parts lately... so that doesn't help.  The wind is absolutely nuts downtown right now, I can hear it howling all around the shop right now. Being an AZ native, I can't handle the cold very well...I'm a total baby about it. Blah.

Ok, enough about my negativity. In hopes to change my bummy mood, I've been gazing at lovelies online a bit today. A few things I've fallen in love with:

Ohh, and this lovely room!!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Now, If only I had the extra cash to buy these lovelies!! 

I'm going to try to perk up now. Is there anything that helps you get through bummy moods? I'd love to hear your secrets.

xo. Traci.

New Loves v.12

'Ello. I'm back for New Loves Tuesday. (Sorry I missed last week). I apologize in advance, for this will be a quickie, but with the holidays I haven't had much time for creative research.

I, of course, found this artist on Etsy. Her name is Eva Juliet, an art director and graphic designer from Quebec, a French province of Canada. My dear late grandma (mentioned yesterday) was born and raised in Quebec, so I thought that little detail was worth adding. Eva Juliet incorporates positive messages into her prints which I really love. As we head into a new year, I think positive reminders are a lovely thing to have around. Don't you?

(My very favorite, for the inner granny in me)

 

 

All images were sourced from Eva Juliet.

I hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday!!

Ta ta!

xo. Traci

Handmade Holiday.

Hey there. Merry Monday! I ran out of time to post this yesterday, but here's a little looksy at the handmade gifts I made this year...beer cozies!

The morning I snapped these quick photos, the light was shining in the room in the most artsy way, teehee.

After I made cozies for my best friends, I decided the mister and I needed one too :). Then on Christmas I brought our cozies to my Aunt's to use (and kinda show off) and now my newly 21 year-old sister wants one, my mum, and one of my cousins. Woot! Everyone was talking about how much I remind them of my late grandmother. It was truly a compliment for me, because we were very very close when she was living, and she is still my biggest idol. Granny-love ♥.

I'm starting to pack up all the holiday goodies in our house...man-o-man Christmas can be messy. We left a bunch of wrapping paper on the floor so our kitties could enjoy it, and now it's alllll over the place in itty bitty pieces, because April, the terrorist, just loves to make momma clean, hahah.

On a Butter Toast note: Jasmine, my business partner, loved the cozy I made her....I think I may start making them for the shop...I'd love to get some feedback from our shoppers..
1.) good idea/bad idea?
2.) colors? men and women?
3.) how much would you pay?

Let me know!!
xo. Traci

Boxing Day Greetings & Haul!

I can't believe its almost over for another 365 days! The most wonderful day of the year- Christmas!

I just thought I'd share with you a little haul of some goodies that I have very luckily got over this wonderful festive period.

These are all my "blog" related things; things that no doubt you will be seeing or hearing of in future posts.

Pictured Above..

Gold Mini Casio

River Island Black Platform Heels

Xen Tan Dark Lotion

MAC Studio Fix Fluid

Topshop Camel leggings & cami

H&M Floral and Black blouses

My most fantastic present to ever receive is a "bits-a-box"- mainly because I love stuff.

When I was younger; I'd receive these full of fab things such as glitter, celotape, stickers coloured paper and 'Now' Cassettes.

Now, I get a box full of my favourite things..My family clearly know me very well!

Soap & Glory, John Frieda, Phil Smith, Body Shop, MAC, Fake Bake, Tanning things, Underwear, Brushes, Hot water bottles, Cupcake and Baking goodies, Jelly Belly & Yankee Candles and lots of Chocolates and Sweeties!

I also got a gorilla pod! I love it. It literally twists and turns onto everything- my photos will never be the same again!

I got this Topshop Satchel in the sale. SO happy! £50 down to £25. Super, super!

I got really far too spoilt with money and Topshop vouchers to spend further in the sales and I can't wait.

I attempted them today but it was pretty much a sale fail! There was far too many crowds and I just wanted to get home to my family, eat lots and watch some good tv!

I've got a few suprises coming up soon, which I am very excited about! I'll let you know as and when!

I'm really so grateful for everything I have got and can't wait to get using it all.

Once again, I hope you all have had a fantastic Christmas time- enjoy every remaining moment of it!

xx

Holiday Recap.

Happy Day after Christmas!! I really wanted to keep up on posts over the holiday, but as I'm sure most people understand...it got busy. My mister and I had a lovely holiday together...our 3rd Christmas together!! Time flies when you're in love.

On Christmas Eve I went around to some thrift shops in search of cheap retro holiday decor...and I certainly scored. I found so many great ornaments, it prompted me to put up a tree last minute to display my new/old treasures. But before our Christmas Eve tree, Brad and I had some fun making scenes with the ornaments. A few photos from our playtime:

 After we played I ventured over to my hometown of Mesa...Reason #1- to visit my favorite thrift shops on the eastside, #2- to help my momma cook a little for Christmas. 

Man-o-man, my very favorite thrift shop did not let me down!! Check out this load of vintage Christmas ornaments I scored!!

Since I had found such great holiday ornaments/decor all day, I grabbed my mini Christmas tree from my mum's to set up at home. When I plugged it in at home I was disappointed to remember that only a few of the pre-strung lights worked...boo. But that wasn't going to ruin my Christmas Eve! I had thrifted some red poinsettia lights that I wrapped around the top of my non-working tree...it turned out a bit hodge-podge..but I'm fully a fan of perfectly imperfect. 

A crappy phone photo of my last minute tree:

Although it's quite imperfect, it was so great to have a tree to look at on Christmas morning. 

I'm planning on stocking up on Christmas decor today since hopefully everything will be on sale. I will post later today about my handmade holiday gifts. They ended up being a hit with my family, I have three requests to make more!!

Merry Sunday!

xo. Traci

What I'm Wearing- Christmas Eve

Its Christmas!!

I hope you've all had an absolutely great day, I have. I love Christmas- I'm very much a family orientated girl so this time of the year is just perfect for me. Plus Santa spoilt me lots.

Last night I went out with friends to a local club and this is what I wore..

-As intended, my Black faux leather shorts from Topshop £38

-My Mink lace-ish long sleeve top from Topshop £18

-A Primark basic vest £1.50

-Black River Island platform heel shoes £50

-Pauls Boutique clutch handbag

On my face I wore..

-Xen Tan Dark Lotion

-Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

-MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC35

-Studio Finish concealer NC35

-Benefit Hoola bronzer

-MAC Bronzing powder (slight shimmer)

-No7 Eyebrow Pencil

-Eyeshadows from a Ruby & Mille palette (Sorry no named shades)

-Benefit Eye Bright

-MAC Black Funk eyeliner

-Covergirl Lash Blast

-Eylure natural individuals all over the eye

-Sleek Havana corner lashes on top

-MAC St Germaine

Eek! Quite alot, but it did stay put though a rather eventful drunken Christmas Eve!

I made my hair stay put with Umberto Giannini Glam Hair Backcomb In A Bottle and as per usual it worked a treat.

On my nails I used the Nailene Natural Nails, I was pleasantly surprised with these wonders but I'll leave them to a seperate post.

(Please excuse the in-the-toilet-drunken-mirror-pose)

xx

Christmas Belles

12 Bloggers blogging..

11 Bakers baking..

10 Tweeters tweeting..

9 Bronzed girls tanning..

8 Lips are pouting..

7 Lashes fluttering..

6 Cameras flashing..

5 GHD's..

4 Studio Fix's..

3 Xen Tans..

2 St Germaines

and

Fairy lights all over the tree..

Have a fabulous Christmas time dolls

xx

Holiday Rush!

Hi there! Ahh, I've been a bit absent lately, haven't I? 

I've been under the weather for a few days and between recuperating and hustling to finish some handmade holiday gifts, I've barely had time for the internet, or anything else for that matter. I'm not much of a plan-ahead-er, so of course this past week has felt like quite the holiday rush. But alas, I did get to finish some handmade gifts for some of my closest friends. I can't wait to share photos, but of course I don't want to post them before the big day. 

As I've mentioned, this is my first festive holiday in quite some time. My cheery mood came a little late, so I didn't get to make a lot of the cute holiday projects I've come across recently...boohoo. This coming year, I'm going to work on holiday projects year round to be ultra prepared for next year's holiday season! I really want to send my mister's mother a 'Christmas in July' package full of handmade and retro holiday cheer. She is quite the lover of Christmas, and I know how much she would love more Holiday decor. These are a few more project ideas I've come across I want to make happen for next year.

Sources: 1 (unknown), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

I can't wait to make next year extra special and festive with handmade lovelies!
I'll be sure to share posts about my progress, and any how-to's I come across.

I'd love to hear about your handmade holiday ideas!
xo. Traci

What I'm Wearing

Girls I did it, I finally budged from NC40..I wanted to lighten up a little bit so I tried a sample on NC35 Studio Fix Fluid and I'm loving it. I'm definately going to purchase it! This may seem very trivial as its only 2 shades difference? But to me this is huge. What do you think?

I dyed my hair last night- Nice & Easy "medium brown".. I'm don't quite know what happened. First off it was visibly darker, then my entire family said it was lighter, then it looked a bit red and today how its pictured above. I'm not a happy bunny! I didn't want to really go dark dark again, but now it looks as if I'm going to have to in order to cover this mess. Any tips girls?

I'm wearing eye shadow from a LO'real quad set, I got it a while back and its in a little bit of a state now, so I thought I'd use it before I bin it. The colours are very similar to the ones in the Colour Appeal Star Secrets trio though?

The only other new product I'm wearing is some Avon bronzing pearls, there really really light in colour and very shimmery so I have just used them as a slight highlighter above my cheekbones.

The rest is my standard "normal" make up.

Hoola.

no7 Eyebrow pencil

Myth

Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion

2 Eylure individual lashes in the corner of each eye

Happy Christmas!

I don't know why but I find snow or any really bad weather actually, a really good excuse to do absolutely nothing and just sit and read. I'm not really a person who reads a bit each night before I go to bed, because once I start a book I have to finish it within a day or so. I suppose I could read a book each night instead of wasting time watching TV but I'm not sure that would feel the same, probably because watching TV requires minimum effort and attention and when I'm watching TV I tend to almost switch off mentally, unless it’s a really good program that I've been following. I think this is why I tend to watch things like 'Paramedics' 'Real Rescues' and the like. They're require total minimum effort to watch.

So anyway, this weather has given me a really good excuse to cuddle up with a candlewick and read. I read The Wasp Factory yesterday as I've been wanting to read it for ages, and to be honest I'm not sure what I thought of it. It was intriguing enough to keep me reading but it's not something I'd want to read again. So yesterday night I started my second book and chose something I knew I'd enjoy. I bought a full set of Agatha Christie Miss Marple books from a carboot sale months ago and have been waiting to get reading them all, in chronological order of course. I read Agatha's first Miss Marple, Murder at the Vicarage, while at Uni and loved it so started The Thirteen Problems and love it already. It's so clever how she's set 13 short narratives within another narrative. I'd definitely recommend it. I'm sure there's an actual word for setting a narrative within a narrative that I learnt at uni, but I have the worst memory ever and I'm sure my education has been totally wasted by the fact that I can only half remember that I learnt something about 'something' but can't fully recall it. It drives me mad and I’m going to blame it on my dyslexia related limited memory.

I’d love to be one of these people that can recall all sorts of stuff because I do find what I have learnt genuinely interesting, I just can’t blooming remember any of it. My cousin finds uni really easy because he remembers so much information, so once he’s read something it’s permanently stored and he doesn’t have to keep reading over the same stuff again or relearning things. Super handy for exams. I used to remember 3 key points then ‘brain dump’ them onto the exam paper the minute I turned it over and then elaborate on them.

I’ve seen from the news and everyone’s blogs that the snow has hit everywhere this time. I do love the snow; although I’m not sure that feeling will last when I need to go out tomorrow. I think I may have to dig the car out. Lily absolutely loves it and though it was very exciting that she had to dig her giant tennis ball out of the snow. Here she is wearing her lovely new colour that her Nan bought her from Pene. It’s so pretty and is covered in East of India Union Jack ribbon. Pene has a little dog too, a cute little westie girl called Daisy.

This will be my last post until after Christmas so I hope everybody has a lovely time and eats lots of yummy food and has lots of lovely company xxx