I just can't sit still.

Ever since graduating, I'm slowly but surely starting to realize just how much time I used to devote to school. These days, even with re-starting up the blog, working 40+ hours a week, volunteering and actually having a decent social life (gasp!)... I'm still finding myself bored.

I had forgotten what bored felt like.

Lucky for me, boredom doesn't last long when one has a garage full of craft supplies and a 2 hour break between morning shift and night shift!

While in Italy, my girlfriends and I went sight seeing, drank wine, ate fantastic food, drank wine, met some really wonderful people, drank some really wonderful wine oh, and did I mention we tried some Italian wine?

When in Rome... ;-)


So after a few days I started asking everyone t save their wine corks. I had no idea what I would do with them and up until a few days ago, they remained in the very same bag I brought them all home in almost a year ago. Then, inspiration via boredom!

First, gather together your supplies:

• 1 dark colored 4x6 frame (incase there are any gaps in between your corks)
• Approximately 14 wine corks (try and stick to the real cork ones, they tend to absorb less of the glue and stick better than the synthetic plastic ones)
• Quick drying glue
• The sharpest knife you can find

1. Score the cork by cutting horizontally about 1/4 of the way through 
2. Insert the point of the knife into the center of the scored line and push it all the way through until you begin to see the point coming out of the other side of the cork.
3. With a little muscle (and possibly the help of a not-at-all-sharp butter knife) you can now pry the cork apart into 2 even halves!
4. Mix up the corks so that it creates the illusion of 28 whole corks rather than just 14 halves
5. Starting from one corner of the frame and working your way around, lay out your corks to fill the frame
6. Line up the edges of the corks so they are flush with the picture opening (It's ok for the corks to be uneven around the outside, but you don't want them obscuring the photo)
7. One by one, pick up each cork and place a dab of glue on the frame (this creates less mess, trust me)
8. Allow to dry and put in a picture of your choosing!

You can choose to save the corks from a special occasion and frame a memory from it like I did or purchase the corks in bulk if you just can't wait! Makes for a great gift or a neat addition to any gallery wall!

7 Questions with Gentri Lee

Today I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, Gentri Lee for her week 12 of "7 Questions"! Join the fun! I always love reading everyone else's answers!

1. What's your favorite style for home decor? (eclectic, modern, shabby chic, etc.)

I'm a homemade-vintage-modern kind of girl! My dream house is covered in gallery walls with everything from family photos to my latest Pinterest discovery, recovered vintage furniture and a stainless steel Ikea kitchen!

Via

2. What is the best trip you have EVER been on?

Well, if we aren't including my Study Abroad in Florence (which was hands down my favorite), I'd have o say the week I spent in Portland, OR last October.

3. If you could have an exotic pet, what would it be and why?

I'm fairly certain a corgi puppy is about as much "exotic" as I can handle!

4. Do you snore? (you can be honest, we're all friends here.)

I can honestly say I do not! I do however... talk, wiggle around A LOT and occasionally sleep-walk. I'm pretty sure Nick would prefer I snorred!

5. Your car breaks down on the side of the road, what do you do?

My wonderful Grandmother loves me and knows my luck with cars well enough that I have had a Triple A subscription for about 5 years now.

6. What's one item that has been on your wishlist lately?

This super cool dopamine molecule necklace has been on my wishlist for as long as I can remember. I really should just break down and buy it already!

7. It's almost Summer (or winter if you live in the Southern Hemisphere), what are you looking forward to most?

Now this question just couldn't be easier! I leave for Tokyo in a little under 3 weeks :-)

"Macaroons are the new cupcake."

Is matter-of-factly what I told my mother yesterday right before sprinting into a little shop in the upscale area of Downtown Orlando called Le Macaroon. These cute, puffy little treats that come in an entire rainbow of both natural and unnatural colors, that I have seen all over the blogosphere as of late, but have yet to actually try.

Honestly, I sort of thought they were a real big city thing. And maybe this sounds silly but, I never really have thought of Orlando as a real big city. More of a pseudo city that sprung up based on the need for hotels and restaurants to surround Disney. A lot of stuff, but not a lot of character.

Little by little though, O-town has been surprising me! From fantastic little BBQ restaurants and auction houses to the cupcake shop that USA Today named one of the top 10 cupcake stops in the country!

And now... Macaroons!!!

They weren't exactly what I was expecting... more meringue and less cookie. But after the initial shock and a bite of one called Madagascar Vanilla Bean and Cassis, I was hooked.

So well played, blogosphere. Well played!