She's ALLLIIIIVE! (IMG Heavy)

Hey there! So... summer has come and gone, and I neglected all of you the whole time. If it makes you feel any better, I have actually been busy! Living a life worth blogging about...even though I blogged NOTHING! Gasp. As I was mentally outlining this post I started getting mad at myself for not blogging at least a little bit, because really, they deserve their own individual detailed posts. Oh well! Here is my summer in a nut shell - accompanied with pictures.

My little sister had a fun performing job at Six Flags Great America, I went to see her perform many times! 

The P.C. way to say it is, my sister was "friends" with Lola Bunny, but really she was Lola Bunny. Shhh, I didn't tell you that. Above is my dad and I dancing with Lola on Fathers Day.

I also took my sister and her best friend to audition for American Idol in Milwaukee. Ryan Secrest and Danny Goeky made an appearance. After a 12 hour day, neither of them made it, but we all had a great time. They both sounded fantastic! I think I was more nervous than them. Haha.

My best friend hosted a craft night every week, I went to a lot of those! :)

I went a Brewers game with one of my best friends.

I walked (and danced) with the Undead.

I went to my family cottage and drove a boat.

I did a lot of fun things with this handsome boy! (My best friends son) He calls me "Auntie Madelyn".

And I ended it all with a trip to New York. It was an amazing summer and I am so glad I took the time to enjoy it. I promise to get back to my regular scheduled blogging. If you do want me to expand on anything mentioned here, I will! Time to adjust to the coming Fall.

5 X 10 sounded bigger.

Well, I have moved! Pictured above is my life in a [very small] storage unit - minus my clothes. I ended up giving my couches and desk to the local goodwill, no room in the unit. I am still getting settled. Sorry I have been neglecting you, I will get back in the groove soon! I really have not been very good at updating anyone... not even my twitter! SHOCK. So it isn't you, it's me. I will do my best to get back on track. Thanks for being patient!

...7 Years Bad Luck.

Life is a little chaotic right now. I move on Saturday so I have been packing packing packing (with a lot to go yet, who would of thought I could fit this much stuff in a studio apartment?) and getting all my ducks in a row. The picture above pretty much sums up how it is going so far. I will do my best to update here, but internet access will be limited for a couple days.

If you still want to see what is going on with me (because my life is oh so interesting) you can find me on twitter! I update there, probably too much for my own good.

Dear So and So

Texas Monkey is a blog I read and every Tuesday Shayna posts a Dear So and So. I love these, and this week I have been inspired to write my own.

Dear Upstairs Neighbor,

I want to thank you for giving me so many life lessons this past year. You have exposed me to many different types of music, it was so soothing when I was trying to go to bed early. The sweet vibration throughout my whole apartment was a nice touch. I also want to thank you for making me feel less alone, I think your surround sound was a great addition, and now I know you love action movies. It was like I was right there watching it with you. Those helicopters and explosions sound so real!

You have also taught me effective communication. I have noticed that when you yell at the top of your lungs every one listens... that is how you get a message across! You have also made this non smoker appreciate smoking. I never realized that cigarette butts and ashes made such nice patio decor. No worries, though I made note of it for my next apartment, we all know it will all be in the next Home and Garden.

Lastly, I could tell you really cared because you would make sure I wasn't late for work by jumping up and down and slamming doors and making my whole apartment shake. I am actually not really sure what technology you are using to do this, but I am impressed! Sign me up!

So thanks for the great year. I am so sad I will never see you again after the next two weeks. It has been GREAT!

Love,
Your appreciative downstairs neighbor.

New Obstacles.

I graduated exactly one year ago as of yesterday. Two weeks after graduation I moved here, to the Twin Cities, on Memorial Day weekend. I am moving home after a solid year here. No less, no more. It feels odd.

The year went by fast, as a whole, but the months were slow. It was full of trails and tribulations, but this isn't the end. I am starting a whole new experience, a whole new set obstacles to overcome. I am entering the job market again, just to compete with new graduates. Hopefully my year of experience in the workplace will help me get the upper hand.

Let's hope I come out successful.

More exciting posts will come eventually, just a lot going on right now!

Making Decisions.

So here's the deal...

As I mentioned in my last post I had big news to share today.

I am moving back to Wisconsin.

This has been in the works for a while but I obviously couldn't share with you until I had given my two weeks notice to my work place. And I did just that on Thursday.

I was SO nervous. I don't like letting people down, and since I was working for my uncle's company, I felt like I was letting him down, but I know I did the right thing.

I had been going back and forth with the idea. Should I stay? Should I go? Am I giving up? Will I be happier? I made the choice I knew was best for me. I am going back to live with my mom and sister and I have no job lined up. As bad as that sounds, it is better than staying here. I can honestly say I was lonely for the last year.I don't think I have ever been legitimately lonely ever in my life, until this year.

I can say that I have grown as a person. I have learned a lot about myself and have a new found independence, confidence, and all around peace of mind.

That is really all I have to say about the whole moving home thing for now. I will keep you updated on how the work place is. I haven't felt the repercussions yet, as no one but my boss knows. I have a feeling it will come up at our Monday morning meeting. We will see!

Remember me?

Hey guys, long time no see.

There is a lot going on in the world of Madelyn. I will give you a better update with some exciting information on Friday.

I have also been occupying my time with a NEW BLOG! It is titled "Fashion on a curve". It's a blog about plus size fashion. I am really excited about it, and my long term hopes are for the blog to become a reference place for plus size fahionistas.

It is still in the "baby stages" but it is getting there. If you are interested please follow, or share with your plus size comrades.

So, check it out! Fashion on a curve.

Thanks, thanks, and more thanks :)

Etsy Seller Feature: Ark's Endeavors

A friend of mine, who is still in school, asked me a couple questions about a mutual friend's Etsy shop for a project she is working on. The mutual friend happens to be my best friend of 23 years so of course I was willing and happy to answer a few questions! I think this could become a fun thing to do every once in a while for other Etsy sellers. So if you are interested, I will feature you on my blog (FREE ADVERTISING). Just email me, or leave a comment - and I will contact you about details :) Of course it will take time to smooth out the details, but think of it as an adventure!

Ark's Endeavors is run by Amanda, her shop is an Eco-Friendly shop that features indie fashion and vintage items. To quote her shop description: Welcome to Ark's Endeavors! I strive to make top quality items and keep them at an affordable price. I try to be as eco friendly as possible. Most of my clothing and accessories are made from reclaimed materials. Some are made from new materials bought from local small businesses. I try to incorporate recycling into my plugs and often use recycled materials while making them. I'm always exploring different arts and will have a large variety of items so be sure to stop by often. Any questions just ask!

How do you feel about her eco-friendly stance?

Being Eco- Friendly is a huge appeal to the Ark’s Endeavors products. It is a comfort as a customer to know that she isn’t producing more “stuff”, but is reinventing unwanted materials into highly desirable fashion! In addition, she tries to give you the biggest bang for your buck by making skirts and plugs reversible, two items in one and eco friendly. And let’s be honest, being green is the new black.

Also, from a business perspective and a fellow crafter being eco friendly and green is the smartest way to go. By buying recycled items, you are able to sell your items at a lower, more customer friendly cost.

Do you have anything of hers?

I actually have quite a few items from Ark’s Endeavors. I have two of her crocheted hats, a white jersey cowl, a high waist yellow plaid skirt, handmade soap, and her resin sprinkle stud earrings. I love all of them!

What do you think your favorite thing is or most innovative?

All of Ark’s Endeavors items are appropriate for so many different events; it is hard to pick a favorite. I love the resin stud earrings, because they are perfect for everyday wear. The cowls are fantastic because they can be worn all year round and can be worn so many different ways. But, her reversible skirts are by far the most innovative. Two skirts in one, dressed up or down, and made of recycled linens! Nothing gets better.

I am having formatting issues (blah) so I can't hyperlink the pictures,but the link to her shop still works, so go check out all of the featured items and more! Maybe next time around I could ask the seller a few questions - or just do my feed back. Whatever the seller wants! I hope I can do this again! So seriously, let me know! It's an offer you can't turn down :)

Don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there

As you know, I went to St, Louis last week. I chaperoned my sister's high school choir trip. I was looking forward to the vacation, but not the whole being surrounded by high schoolers thing. It was about a 5 hour bus ride. You would think a bunch of kids that have to get on a bus at 5 am would sleep the whole ride...not these kids. They sang the WHOLE ride. I should have expected that, after all it was a CHOIR trip.

Day One: We arrived 2 hours early so everyone broke into groups and explored. My group just walked and explored around the city and we found a local art gallery.



After exploring we all had to meet up to see the top of the arch. We were 630 ft up. It was a beautiful view.

We then were scheduled for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory - Yummm!

Finally our day was done! It was a very long day, but all the kids still had enough energy to swim until the pool at the hotel closed. They did this almost every night. The chaperons had a routine of sitting at one of the poolside tables together while the kids swam....chaperons don't swim, I guess.

Day Two: This day was the day of their competition. I attempted to record their performances, so no pictures. Fail. They had three different entries. Show choir, Jazz Choir, and Concert Choir. Show choir received a silver, Jazz silver also, and Concert got the gold! After the competition we all went to a Mystery Dinner Theater. I had high hopes for this, that weren't quite matched. It was a lot of fun and all the kids had a blast but I just expected more.

My sister and I took a picture with the actress form the mystery dinner. You can see my name tag, everyone got a character name... I was "Nurse Ready" haha. There was also "Nurse Willing" and "Nurse Able" and a lot of other fun names. My favorite was a pregnant woman whose character name was "I.M. Hungry". Too funny. And then we went back to the hotel for more swimming...well, watching in my case.

Day 3: This was probably the worst day of the trip. We were planned to spend the whole day at Six Flags because the awards ceremony was there that night. No one was excited about Six Flags because it was something they all went to regularly back home and it was forecasted to rain ALL day. And it did. We ended up leaving the park early and skipping the award ceremony. There was lightning and thunder and sideways rain, followed by tornadoes. All of the kids were miserable. So we all came back to the hotel and the kids hoped in the pool and the chaperons watched. Crazy kids.Oh, and here is a picture with some of the kids, myself, and a fellow chaperon wearing capes.

Day 4: We had a fancy brunch at the top of the Millennium Tower. It SPINS! So we got a 360 view of the city, so pretty. And the food was delicious.


These were my girls for the trip. We called a group T-Rex (Team Rex-Their Choice). I really tried to keep it fun for them, but still make sure they knew I was an authority figure for the trip. After Brunch we went shopping! We first went to The Union Station Mall. There really wasn't much shopping, something everyone was looking forward to.

It was an interesting mall, but not what everyone wanted, so we went to a bigger more popular mall and everyone got some shopping done. We ended out trip with dinner at the Hard Rock cafe. And went back to the hotel.

Day 5: We left!

Overall, it was an interesting experience. If my sister wants me to, I will probably chaperon next year too.

I can sleep anywhere.

You name it I have probably slept there: couches, chairs, floors, desks, bowling alley's, planes, trains, and automobiles.

My point is, I don't need to be comfortable to sleep. If I am tired, I make it work.

But let me tell you something... there is nothing like returning to your bed after a 2 week trip.

I love my pillows. I love my blankets. I love my bed.

Blog coming soon about my trip... I am SURE you all missed me :)

Zombie Zunday!

Grab your shot guns, baseball bats, and boards with nails... the zombie apocalypse is on the rise.

They are bloody.

They are in groups.

They want your BRAAAAINNNS!

They may look like the mom next door... but don't be fooled... they will eat your babies!

Bloggity Blog

Heeeeeey youuuuuu guuuuuuuuys..... (the Goonies anyone? eh?)

The blogging has thinned this week, and for that I am extremely sorry.

This has been a crazy-crazy week in the working world for me. And as you know, that is rare...I do most of my blogging at work meaning I obviously have the time.

But this week was different. I have been getting trained gradually that last two weeks in Accounts Payable and Quick Books and all that jazz (Chicago, anyone?) because our Accounts Payable gal is in ITALY! Jealous.

So I have been dealing with the bills, bills, bills (Destiny's Child? Eh?)

And today we have our annual audit with is stressful and time consuming in itself - but I have found time to write a quick blog!

I am excited because tomorrow evening I am leaving on a jet plane (Peter, Paul, and Mary). And heading HOME for a couple days and then you can meet me in St Louis (Eh? Eh?) for a couple days and then back here to the cities.

So you may be thinking be my blogging is slow now, but it can only get worse before it gets better. I will be back in full blogging swing by May at the latest.

ps. I don't know what came over me with all the music/movie references. Just enjoy it while you can :) You love it.

Thrifting Success! 4.10.10

Time for another thrifting review!! My mosaic doesn't look quite as nice this time...I need to work on my camera skills. Buuuut it is still exciting!! A few things pictured were bought previously and just not posted.

1. Woven brown shoes.
I have been looking for woven shoes for a while, these are perfect.
2. Samsonite long strap bag.
This was a steal! Perfect size for an airplane carry on or overnight bag. I will be using it this upcoming weekend when I fly home.
3. Vintage Egg holders.
These were too cute to pass up. You may have seen them already in this post.
4. More vintage TV trays.
These ones are smaller. I have different ideas for them...maybe another chalkboard for one :)
5. Vintage Heart Chair.
Originally from a Minneapolis Coffee Shop. This is my new desk chair.
6. Vintage Brown Clutch.
Lots of pockets on the inside. Wouldn't this look cute paired with the brown shoes?
7. Vintage Shoe Tote.
Love the pattern, I use it to hold my fabric scarps :)
8. Black Shoes.
I have been looking for Oxfords and this is the closest I have gotten so far, but I think they are super cute... I already have an outfit planned! haha
9. Samsonite Train Case.
Has the key included! I have a thing for Samsonite, okay? So sue me.

Ahhhhhhhh!

Do you ever get to the point where just being in the general vicinity of someone is annoying. They may not being doing anything, but everything they do makes you want to bring fist to face?

I am about there with my work place...and all of my superiors and co-workers and everyone else, excluding maybe 3 people.

My biggest pet peeve is being able to hear someone chew/swallow/slurp/crunch/whatever. They are incapable of having eating manners - and they are ALWAYS eating. My parents taught me how to have table manners...what did their parents teach them? The only sound I want to here come from your mouth is talking...if you are lucky.

I don't want to here their jokes/whistles/songs/hockey games on the computer/nothing.

I think my tolerance is all used up.

I keep getting this urge to hit my head against the wall, repeatedly.

Oh well, the weekend is almost here. Two days to recoup and then feel the same way next Thursday...or Wednesday... or Monday.

Thank you for the rant. No heads/hands/faces/or computers were harmed in the writing of this blog.

Rocks Rock.

This is my last Easter related post, and by Easter related I mean- this is what I did during my Easter weekend but has actually nothing to do with Easter.

My sister was planning a "spontaneous" hiking trip. She planned it but no know else knew about it. I love doing spontaneous things but I am a planner, especially when it comes to packing. I did not pack tennis shoes. I had ballet flats and heels. This was a dilemma because I'm broke/cheap. I have appropriate shoes in my closet, but they were not in my suitcase and I didn't want to buy a new pair of shoes when I didn't NEED them. Then my mind drifted to thrifting (as usual) and I remembered there was a thrift store in the town with a good selection of shoes, so I hopped in the car and 10 min later I had a pair of sneakers for $1.50. Success!

And we were on our way!

Going up was a tougher task than going down, not just because of the natural force of gravity, but because we had to deal with a lot of rocks and steep inclines and whatever else.

But to our surprise going down was just a gravel road - still steep, but easier. We were much happier that we went the way we did. We may have been disappointed if we started out with a gravel road but we were thankful for it by the time we started our decent.

The best part was the view. Every time we got to a clearing we had to stop and check it out. Even though we were getting tired we continued to go out of our way, climb those extra rocks just to see the beautiful view.

We all enjoyed our selves so much, we plan on doing this again - maybe a new trail. I am not in any of the pictures as I was behind the camera, but I am anxious to see the pictures my sister took. If there are any good ones I will be sure to share!

Alright, I am done with my Easter posts, I would love to hear about your Easter weekends!

The obligatory Easter egg post.

I saw a blog with a Rubber Cement trick for dying eggs - I can't find it now to link for credit, but if you know the blog I am talking about (bold colors and rubber cement is really all I remember) please share the link!

Anyway, once I saw it I knew I had to do it. As I mentioned in yesterday's post I went to my dads house and while he was gone picking up my sister I recruited his gf to dye eggs with me, of course we reluctently and impatiently saved some for my sister and dad. We canvased the small town for last minute supplies and got to work. Below is how it went... told with some not so perfect pictures.


Doesn't that look exciting?? I loved it. We all had a blast and tried different things: mixing colors, using the crayon, the rubber cement, we got a little silly and starting dying eggs to look like each other. The one my sister made of me sadly broke it's noggin' but you can see the one I made of my sister. She is 16 so I gave her egg the swoosh, peace sign, and awkward smirk. Nothing artistic, but we had tooooo many laughs :) Below are some of my favorites.


We started out with 2 dozen eggs but between my sister being hungry and the dog being hungry and a few cracked ones, our final stash looked a little small. Haha I hadn't dyed eggs in years, this was a ton of fun.

At least one more post coming this week about my Easter weekend. I hope everyone's Monday went well!

Happy Easter!

I had a fun filled Easter weekend in central Wisconsin. My dad lives half way between where I live and where my mom lives so I did Easter there, and my sister came too! There will be more detailed blogs coming throughout the week. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!


There is nothing like flying a kite to say Spring is here, even if they are the plastic superhero ones from the Family Dollar.

April Showers...

My favorite season is here! Thunderstorm Season! Today officially marks my first Thunderstorm of the year. I love waking up to the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning. I picked out a few of my favorite Etsy items that I think would be a great addition to my season preparation. I encourage you to check out these items and the shops!

Read from Left to Right

1. Orange Umbrella

2. Umbrella Coffee Cozy

3. Yellow Rain Shoes

4. Art Deco Umbrella Stand

5. 1895 Lightning Photographs

6. "Thunderstorms are Amazing" button

7. Rainy London Day Bag

8. Lightning Bolt Necklace

9. Twiggy Style Orange Raincoat

PS: I started this blog March 31st, but posted it on April 13th. Ughhh I would have much rather have it come up as April 13th... If you have any tips on how to change it - let me know! Thanks.

Revenge of the Monday's

Yes I know today is Tuesday, but yesterday was a Monday and boy was it rough.

Let me start by saying that I am emotional being. I always have been and always will be. When I am sad, I cry. When I am happy, I cry. When I get hurt, I cry. When I'm angry, I cry, and when I am frustrated, I cry. There are probably even more emotions to explain how much I cry, but I think you get the picture.

To be stereotypical for a second- when it comes to crying, I am such a girl.

And you know how sometimes you can feel a cry coming, not the shake in the voice, say one more word and I am going to cry feeling, but the I have a lot going on and if I have another crazy day I may just let it out kind of feeling. Well when I feel that happening I purposely watch the Lifetime channel or some sad movie to get the cry out so to avoid public humiliation.

Well, I guess I waited too long this time. Yesterday, while at work, I got mad/frustrated/angry and a little anxious....oh no. I cried. I cried in front of my 2 bosses and two co-workers. They don't know me well enough to know that I cry, it's what I do. They continued to discuss things with me while I was crying, making the crying worse. Finally I ended the conversation and went to my cubicle and continued to cry. This time crying because I had cried in front of them. (I told you I cry for many reasons).

Anyways, the day is over and today is another day. I felt the situation was blog worthy because this is a documentation of my life after college and the first work cry is important. Haha

Thrifting Awesomeness: 3.26.10

Some of these items are from a few weeks ago that I didn't get pictures of, but today was so nice I kept trying to find more things to take pictures of for the excuse to sit in the sun.

Read from left to right.
1. Yellow UV Sun Lamp - Neat!
2. Large Light Brown Drivers Gloves. ( I have been looking for these on Etsy and got lucky at my local thrift store!)
3. 8mm Reel Projector - WOW! Now searching for vintage home movie reels.
4. Red Eyeglass case.
5. Blue Leather Purse, over the body. As soon as I bought it I transferred purses.
6. Vintage video camera. I am hoping I can make this work, but it is unlikely.
7. Large Dark Brown Drivers gloves.
8. Some weird ceramic bird, I had a coupon, so it was one of the things I got for free. I like it.
9. Potted plant. An elderly volunteer at the thrift store brought a bunch in, I was the first buyer, I love the ceramic pot it is in. You can never have enough plants!

DIY: Chalkboard

As per usual, I was browsing the thrift store and came across this vintage TV Tray. There is one identical to it at our family cottage so I immediately had a fondness for it. I had seen so many projects with chalkboard paint and I thought this would be a great candidate for a chalkboard project of my own.

I know the flowers are very pretty, but they had to go!


The snow was great to do the spray painting, the mess just melts away!


Tada! I love it. Since the tray was metal it is also magnetic; perfect for my fridge!

Linked at Someday Crafts

Just a whole lotta awkward.

The movie Running with Scissors came in my mail yesterday, courtesy of Netflix, and I loved it - loved it the sense that it was totally awkward, and I love awkward.

There is a scene where Hope Finch (Gwyneth Paltrow) plays a "game" where you ask The Bible a question and open it and point to a section of the page and the word your finger lands on is the answer. Very "Magic 8-Ball" if you ask me, and who doesn't love those??

For example, in the movies they wanted to know if they should have fish sticks for dinner, I know - weird. The finger pointed to the word "awakening", therefore Hope translated it to an awakening of taste buds; so they should have fish sticks for dinner.

As weird and far out as that sounds I feel like I do similar "rituals" to get answers. For example, when ever I turn on my iPod I always go to "shuffle songs" because that shuffle will determine how my day is going to be, depending on what songs play. And of course I will pull a "Hope Finch" and twist the translation so it means what I want it to mean - which really defeats the purpose.

Anyway, just one of my weird quirks. Are there any weird tendencies of your own you feel like sharing? Or, any good movies, while we are on the topic?