The Boys of Summer

"I'm at the Beach Week" post #2:

Here's a list of my most frequently played music by male artists this summer - I have a bizarrely wide variety of taste in music! When I hear these songs a decade from now, I will automatically be taken back to the summer of 2010:

Usher - "O.M.G."  (the song of the summer!)
Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives (album)
Vampire Weekend - "Giving up the Gun"
Drake - "Find Your Love"
Erik Hassle - "Hurtful" (I can't wait to hear what's next from this guy)
B.O.B. - "Airplanes" (the sound of hip-hop is really changing!)
Eminem - Recovery (album) (I'm predicting a Grammy win)
Brandon Flowers - "Crossfire" (the Killers' leading frontman has gone solo!)
Kanye West - "Power" (love him or hate him, he's back!)
Michael Bolton - One World, One Love (album)  (Go ahead and laugh!  I've loved Michael ever since I was a little girl and I always will! haha...)

Hope you all are having a super awesome, sunny August day!  I would like to welcome everyone stopping by from Tuesday Tag-a-long, Tuesday Following, and Follow Me Back Tuesday! I always show my love for blog hops - just visit my blog hops page to see where I'm at each day of the week!

I'll be back tomorrow with another pre-scheduled blog post - I apologize for the simplicity of these things, but a girl's gotta vacation a little! :D  I will keep up with my new followers all week, so sit tight - I will visit your blogs as soon as I can! :)

As always, thanks for reading!
I'm linking up at Follow me Back Tuesday, Tagalong Tuesday, and Tuesday Following!

Post-it Note Tuesday

It's my first "Post-it Note Tuesday"!  I've been wanting to do this for awhile now!

  

 

I hope everyone's having a great week!

It's been pretty uneventful in my neck of the woods - just getting ready for next week's little getaway to Myrtle!  I'm trying to work ahead on some autoposts for the time that I'm gone.  I'll be checking blogger & my email, but I'm going to give my little brain a break from actually composing a half decent post with images and what not. (I will be twittering!)  All of my posts will be summer themed... I need to enjoy the season while it lasts, because when my beach trip is over, I'll be wishing away August and wishing for football/Fall!

  

Yankee Candle teased me with their new fall scents this past weekend:

I smelled them all in-store, and Maple Pancakes is my absolute favorite!  I can't wait to light it on those warm, lazy, football-filled Saturday afternoons! (See, I'm rushing time away already! I'm basically tapping my foot impatiently to light a fall scented candle. How sad... maybe I should just kill the anticipation and light it now!)

 

If you're stopping in from Tag Along or Follow Me Back Tuesday,

 HELLO and WELCOME!

 

I hope you like the babble you're reading and decide to stay awhile.  Maybe I can bribe you into following with my upcoming "summer's not over yet" giveaway - it will be posted around mid-late August :)  Just a taste:

Have a great day!  And remember, it could be worse:

You could be a CPR Dummy face soaking in bleachwater.

"Love is Sweet" and a bloghoppin Frenzy

"Love is Sweet"

A close friend recently asked me to create a sign for the candy bar at her wedding reception.  The wedding colors are lavender & gray, and the decor has a bit of a vintage tone; the tags that will be tied around each jar are printed in black ink on a cream cardstock, using a template from Martha Stewart weddings.  So... off I went!

1. I started out with a 10"x3" board, painted with my favorite chocolate brown basecoat and sanded down a bit around the edges & corners. I created a larger version of the Martha Stewart template, laid it on top of the board, and etched the design in.  And then... the painting began. (It's definitely a challenge to mix paint and achieve the perfect color!)

2. After painting the lavender "label shape", I added a thin black border around it for some definition.  I later sanded the painted design to help blend in the sharp edges of the black border and create a slighly aged look.

3. Text came next! Painted in Ceramcoat Antique White, classic Times New Roman Font.

4. I still wasn't quite feeling the sharp, black borders - so I added small antique white dots all around the frame using the plastic rounded end of my paintbrush.

5. Small floral accents with lavender dots were added to the corners, to mimic the candy jar label template and help pull everything together.

6. What would a Stephanie sign be without whirly-gigs?  I twisted cream and black wire around my paintbrush handle a bazillion times, twisted some heart shapes into the mix, drilled a hole and stuck them through and out the back of the sign, to ensure they're secure.  My friend can tie ribbon into the wire, or if she doesn't like the wiring, can replace it with a small ribbon/bow that compliments the rest of her decor - I've kind of left that up to her! 

¡Es completo!

Finally... it's a Tuesday full of bloghops, so click the buttons below to head over to the host sites, get the rules, play along, and meet some new bloggers! 

If you're stopping by from Tuesday Tagalong, Follow me back Tuesday, or Tuesday Following,

welcome and thanks for visiting! 

I love new followers, and I love following your blogs, too!

My first blog award! (and Tagalong Tuesday!)

I want to get this Tuesday party started by thanking Kelly over @ Kelly's Avenue for my

VERY FIRST BLOG AWARD! 

I think this award suits my blog perfectly.  Thanks Kelly!

The conditions of this award are:

1 - thank the person (Check!)

2 - Share 7 things about yourself

3 - Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs

4 - Let the award winners know!

7 Things About Me:

I love sports! NBA/NFL/NCAA fball & bball are my faves. (p.s.Tom Brady is my boyfriend.)

I listen to hip-hop. and Michael Bolton.

I can draw a seriously awesome Wile E. Coyote!

I'm in love with Jonathan Rhys Meyers as King Henry VIII on Showtime's The Tudors.

Even though I have so many celebrity boyfriends, my husband is my favorite man in the whole world!

I have a horrible looking tan line on my back (serious sunblock mishap); it looks like i've been branded with a cursive letter "J".

I'm a spiritual person, and I respect all religious traditions! Love one another! :)

And now for the next 15 Versatile Blog Award nominees:

Crazy Shenanigans

Confessions of a Dr. Mom

The Answer is Chocolate

Diary of a Chocoholic

Just Me and My Life

Kendra Diaries

Life as Eye See It

My Carnival Ride

My Lifesong

Rainy Saturday

Simply Simonsons

Thanks for that Info, Aimee!

The Crazy Life of LT

The Katherine Wheel

Unexpected Surprises

Thanks again for the award, Kelly!

In addition to the award, here's some other little tidbits floating around in my mind on this lovely Tuesday:

• 
  
  Where Oh Where will Lebron James go?  The fine people of Ohio are waiting... not patiently, either.
• 
  
  It's seriously hot in Athens - as well as the rest of the country. It's been and will continue to be in the mid-90s with 1200% humidity.  The forecase for today says, "Blazing hot and sunny".  BLAZING?!? We aren't used to this up in Athens!
• 
  
  Did anyone catch the Jake/Vienna Bachelor break-up special last night?  BAHAHAHAHAHA
• 
  
  Starbucks is currently selling a special summer blend specifically grounded for iced coffee.  So who is going to get me a bag of that, a can of Starbucks' mocha powder, some of that yummy caramel sauce, and a nice new iced coffee on-the-go tumbler?  (come one... there's gotta be someone reeeeally generous out there, reading...)
• 
  
  Christmas Open House in July celebration over @The Answer is Chocolate on July 16th! Yep, I'm one of those Christmas crazies, too!
• 
  
  GO REDS!!!  The Cincinnati Reds are still kickin' it WINNING STYLE... amazing.

Finally... it's Tuesday Tagalong, hosted by Twee Poppets.  So head over there to get the rules and play along! 

If you're stopping by from Tuesday Tagalong,

welcome and thanks for visiting! 

I love new followers, and following others as well!

Have a terrific Day!