Life.
Guys, it’s FRIDAY!!!
I can’t believe Friday is actually here!!! I thought this week was going to dragggg. BUT, it flew. And tonight, Lisa is picking me up after dinner and we are making the 6 hour drive to Sunny Anaheim, CA for 2 glorious days in DISNEYLAND! Yes. I’m so ready. I haven’t been in about 5 years and I miss it. I hope Lisa can handle my tears, because as soon as I hit Main Street USA in the evening and it’s all lit up, I cry. Every time without fail, I tear up. It makes me so happy to be in that place. It really is the happiest place on earth. Is it 8 yet? I’m ready to hit the road.
This week has been great. I Love having something BIG to look forward to. I got a good amount of work done this week. I kept myself fairly busy.I Love when life gets exciting and fast paced. Running around to get everything set. Packing, errands, what not. The good stress, the build up to something awesome, I Love it. I Love even more that, that part is over and now it’s almost time to leave.
I might just be talking crazy now… So, I apologize. I will be back Monday, hopefully with a collection of pictures with Disneyland covered in Halloween decor!
Top: Forever 21 (supposed to be a dress…? I have about 4 inches folded up only. I wish Forever 21 realized that not everyone is short!!!! Make things longer, people can hem them if needed, right? )
Jeans: Vigoss
Scarf: Forever 21
Flats: BDG via Urban Outfitters
Bag: KRUST
Things I can’t wait to do in Disneyland: Walk down Main Street! Look for a few hidden Mickeys, Ride Indiana Jones!!!! See CAPTAIN EO (never seen it) Ride the new Star Tours, ride Halloween themed Space Mountain, and Haunted Mansion, All the Fantasyland rides, especially Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Go on Tower of Terror like 10 times in a row. Wave hello to Pirates of the Carribean (Sadly, it will be closed this weekend, but we won’t let it get us down!!!!). There is so much more I want to do, OBVIOUSLY. Those are just my high priorities 
Have you ever been to Disneyland?! What’s your favorite part about it?
For a special little lady.
My niece, Sawyer is very much a lady. Homegirl LOVES shoes. like a lot. She puts on anyone and every ones shoes. Even when you are wearing them. I’ve seen her try to remove other peoples shoes to try them on. She shouts “shooooz, shooz!!” It’s the cutest thing ever. She also loves carrying her plastic keys (or her mother’s real keys) around with a toy mirror and fake dollar. She walks about the house like she’s got places to go! She has a toy purse, but she doesn’t really use it. It’s kind of odd shaped, has a face, plays music and well, it’s not very stylish. I really think she’s hip to it. So, yesterday I finally set out to put a mini Krust bag together for her as her mother requested a while ago. Here is the result!
It’s a tiny version of the angle clutch but made into a cross body with custom colors for this little mama on the go.
I think she likes it <3
Week(s) in iPhone #16
So, I have been pretty absent on here lately. After the move, I just haven’t really felt much like posting. Mostly because I didn’t feel like I had much to post for whatever reason. But, tonight I decided to update, finally.
Life has been great since the move. I LOVE our house and I LOVE living with my brother and his family. I Love having Emily with me most days of the week while I’m working on stuff or to run errands with. And seeing my Niece and Nephews everyday. We have been having a lot of fun. Playing in our backyard, going on walks or bike rides, having family dinners, having friends over to just chill, watching all the new fall TV shows together, playing video games, and board games, decorating! painting our nails, drinking tea, and eating sweets and making Starbucks runs at 10pm. I am loving our commune living and hope we can ride it out as long as possible until it absolutely doesn’t work for us anymore. Because, life is good here.
And with that, here is a little iPhone photo update from the last month or more!!!!
Since moving into the new house, I have been very excited at the idea of making my Brother and Sister in laws, 2 dogs sleep with me in my bed. They love to burrow under the covers and it’s pretty cute. Well, Blue, the older one slept with me once, but he insists on sleeping with Mommy and Daddy otherwise. Coco, however, has spent most night in bed with me, and I love it. She is lying next to me as I type this like a little person, exactly as shown in the photo above. Her paws and head out of the covers. <3 the Coco.
I have been doing a bit of sewing. I attempted to make 2 dresses, but only 1 really came out :/ can’t win them all right?
I recently finished the photo collage on my bedroom wall. I am in love with. I’ll post better photos later! It’s lots of fun.
I get to see my Dad a lot more these days since he lives closer to me now. He comes over a couple times a week. It makes me so happy to see him so much more often now. He recently played Darth Vader for the kids and it was pretty awesome.
My sister and I babysat my niece and nephews one afternoon while my Brother and sister in law went to a Giants game, and Sawyer and Truman “helped” me to my laundry. They mostly sat in the laundry basket and put on all the clothes. Adorable.
So, we live across the street from the bay line. It’s pretty awesome. We have a really neat view out our living room window, and can zip across the street to walk, ride or whatever along a paved path the runs all along it. We discovered a couple little beaches close by along the path, that have made for a lot of fun walks.
The baby squirrel I could not resist getting pics of! I probably got closer than I should have, but I wasn’t messing with him, I promise. I just love his sweet face! And he was such a good sport, eating his discovered tomato skin and posing for pics. Don’t you love him? <3
I plan to be back to regular blogging again, now. I finally started taking pictures again last week, and I have some ideas and I’m ready to get back into the swing of things. I have a few sewing projects to share with you. And I am working on a few new color combos and bags to add to the shop soon!
Thanks to anyone who’s stuck around.
Week in iPhone #15
I realize how incredibly absent I have been. I wish I were a better everyday blogger. But, I am not. Here is a little iPhone photo update of my last couple weeks.
Just before moving, I started working a new bag line for the fall. The last few weeks have been spent packing, cleaning, developing new bags, and babysitting. There was a little fun int here too, of course…
The above photos are a mish-mash and in no order at all. Working on my favorite bag in the new line with a homemade iced coffee at my side . My new work space in my new house! A Love Letter for an amazing lady. Lots of thread! My gorgeous nephew, Truman rockin his hat to the back. Cleaning out my work space, found a good chunk of bent pins. Someone on instagram commented that it was a sign of hard work. That made me feel better, I thought I just had issues. Getting my hair did. Relaxing after some serious packing and saying goodbye to a really great bedroom!
Well, I’m mostly settled here in my new place, so I will be more regular here on the blog. AND, I have a lot of fun, exciting things coming up! Like a NEW bag line. Hope you haven’t forgotten about me. <3
it’s time to move on, time to get going…
It’s official, the deposit has been paid, and my 30 days to vacate has been submitted. I am moving.
I have been ready and wanting to move back to the Peninsula for quite some time now, and I’m really excited now to actually be getting up there! My Sister and I are teaming up with my Brother, Sister in law and kiddos. We found a large 4 bedroom house and are going to commune (or as we are calling it, Brandtmune) it up. I am pretty excited. I spend all of my free time at my Brother’s as it is. So this just makes thing simpler. There are many nights that I find myself hanging out with my Sister in Law so late doing lord knows what, that my poor Brother will end falling asleep on the couch while we are monopolizing the bedroom. I always feel so bad. But, I think this house will remedy that. There are plenty of hang out spots!
Brandtmune family album.
Some of my happiest times spent with my new Roomies!!!
I do have to say I am totally going to miss my apartment. I do love this place. I have been so proud of it since I first saw my unit for the first time. This place really was a gem. They were in the middle of basically flipping an older building. For the first time I got to move into a place with NEW floors, all NEW kitchen appliances, NEW toilet, my own, new washer and dryer, and new gorgeous black granite counter tops. Living in the sorts of rentals I had previously lived in, this was QUITE the treat! I moved in with my boyfriend at the time with a pretty killer deal. I was just getting off being unemployed and was able to make it work. I was even able to keep things going while living here alone for a bit until I lost my job again and my sister saved me by moving into my dining area! Since then, it’s been a little different, but we’ve made it work and I still love my place. I’ve had a lot of fun here. I have felt my most independent here. This was the first place I did live on my own, even if only for a few months. I even ambitiously bought a 9 foot Christmas tree because I was so excited to have my own place to decorate at Christmas. (Turns out, Christmas isn’t so fun to celebrate alone, though. Go figure )
I LOVE my pool and my closet. I do not like the 30 minute drive to everything I want to do. So, I am ready to say goodbye now. I get to be with some of the most important people in my life, everyday. I get to see my Father and my Aunt a lot more! I get a work space that no one will have to sleep in! My sister will have a bedroom again, which I can only imagine, she must be stoked about. Although, she’s never complained once about her makeshift bedroom. She’s a trooper. I get to share a work space with one my biggest supporters and biggest motivators and my go to for anything business related. I really think having an office space with Emily is going to be amazing for me. She’s always got the answer to just about anything and I feel like she can untangle any mess I have inside my head. I always appreciate having her around so, I’m extra excited that she won’t be able to escape me, now!
So, that is my update for now. Really, really can’t wait. I am 1 week (or less) away from moving day right now. eeeeek!
Week(s) in iPhone #14
Some photos from over the last two weeks, about.
I painted my nails a lot! Thank you, Pinterest for the constant inspiration! I worked on drawing up NEW bag designs (which I am SOOO excited for), with the help from my nephew. Keep an eye out! Seriously. Emily and I put some fun colors in our hair. I made new hang tags for bags heading out. I worked on an order for some Bridesmaids!!!! I ate leftover BDay ice cream (note: I need to go back to Hagen-Dazs for more). I put my feet in the sprinklers while babysitting. I watched on while my AMAZING brother replaced my squeaking brake pads, so I could drive safely to Lake Tahoe! Oh, and then I went to LAKE TAHOE!
I spent 2 quick days in beautiful Incline Village with Lisa and her family. I had my own bedroom and got to breath the fresh mountain air and sit by the lake for a nice quick, cheap vacation. Just what I needed right now. I wish I could have stayed longer. But, there’s always next time. I hope :)
I got back home late Tuesday night last week, and have been so busy since! Working on getting out bag orders! and lot’s of babysitting. I’m trying to make all the money I can right since I am moving in TWO WEEKS!!!! More on that later…. 
Oh hey, how about some links!
Have you seen this outfit post from Elsie! My heart was pounding so fast when I checked my reader and saw that <333
I really want this dress, but in another color… Thinking about recreating my own!
Totally want to do this zig-zag shorts DIY, minus the studs.
I very much NEED to replicate my sewing machine with Legos. I think my family will agree.
(Birthday) Week in iPhone #13
Just a late iPhone photo update.
Last week I painted my nails a lot. I have really been trying to not bite them and the only way I won’t bit them is if they looks nice. So I have to keep them well manicured. And since I am either sewing all day for work or chasing kids around for work, my polish doesn’t usually last too long. So, I have been painting my nails almost every other day to keep up the pretty. It’s been fun experimenting new manicures!
Last week I turned 29! yikes. It sounds so old. I do not feel 29. I am not sure what is up with that. So, I will continue to completely disregard my age. On my Birthday ( Thursday) I sat by the pool, played in the pool as if I were 10 years old. I participated in synchronized diving, synchronized underwater handstands and flips, dove for coins and rocks on the bottom of the pool for literally hours! It was a good time. After a day in the sun and splashing around in the pool, Stephanie and I hopped in the car and headed to one of our favorite malls. We did some Birthday shopping at Forever 21 and H&M, and grabbed some Wetzel bits on the way out. Again, a good time. The rest of the evening I spent sewing a bit for the Car show I was selling some bags at. My sister also baked me a cake!!! Awesome. Double yellow cake with chocolate frosting almost all to myself. Birthday win. I had a lovely day!
My Birthday celebrations continued with a night out with my friends for Sushi on Friday night, and an AWESOME early BBQ dinner at my Aunts on Saturday. Again, I played like a 10 year old, this time with my niece and nephews on the lawn. Cartwheels, and somersaults, and just chasing the rascals around. I Love being a kid. I think I’m done with this growing up nonsense. Where is Peter Pan when you need him?
Another BIG part of my week was preparing and setting up a booth to sell some bags at in a Vendor spot at a Car show. I spent a lot of time creating a 40 bag inventory and planning how to set up my spot. It was so fun!!! And although, I did not sell anything, I am so happy I did it. I have attended this car show with my girlfriend Laura for years now and it’s just a really fun show to hang out at. While I will continue to attend this event for years to come. I know that my bags may not have a place in it. And that’s okay. You gotta just try things out, right? This is still new to me and I am not going to know how and when I will do good right away. I had NO idea I would get 17 bag orders when I went to meet my Aunt and her workout friends for coffee morning, just like I did not know that I’d prepare quite vigorously for an event I would not sell one item at. There is some trial and error, and that’s okay with me. I am stoked to have the inventory and the NEW bags I now have for the shop or future potential events that I am applying to.
Part of why I am so happy I did do this event is that it really pushed me to work extra hard in the weeks following up to it. I took it as a chance to really belt out a solid line of bags to represent my shop and my style. It is a cohesive line now. where as before I was just putting out a bit of a mish-mash of items as I was building my shop inventory. So, with that said… Look forward to a bit of a shop makeover with NEW bags!!!
What I <3 Wednesday.
Pinterest really is one of the most inspiring (and ironically, time consuming) websites ever. A lot of the time I find that inspiring sayings and words are some of my favorite pins. I Love a little daily motivation or re affirmation of some sort. Of just something that makes me smile and think, “yup!” So, today I thought I’d share a few of my very favorite photos of inspiring, motivational and just happy words and sayings. I really want to get some fun prints of some of these. TO be able to see them in my home everyday would be lovely.
images: Live what you love. Pressure. Little things. Goodbye, hello. All you need is tea. The best.
” The Pressure is good for you” is so true. I have always been the kind of person who works better under some sort of pressure, or excitement. I used to work in a busy retail store, and my favorite nights were the nights we stayed in the store until 4 am making sure everything was folded perfectly. I find that I tend to really work well under pressure for whatever reason…
I have always been a firm believer in really paying attention to the little things. One of my most prized fortune cookie fortunes that I keep on my dresser reads “The greatest things are made of little things”. It’s so true and really makes me smile. The little things are what really matters.
And, my love for tea had to make it’s way in. One day when I was a young teenager, experiencing new uncomfortable changes. I was having a really crummy moment, and had gotten all worked up about something. I remember my Father coming to my room and telling me he was going to make me some tea. He said something along the lines of that he always made my Mom tea when she was having a bad day, and that a cup of tea can fix just about anything. It always stuck with me. And, it is another strong belief of mine. When some days feel so dark and gloomy, I get my tea and relax, and smile and remember that. And the warm socks definitely help, especially when they are brand new!
Week in iPhone #12
More like WEAK in iPhone or RANDOM photo post. I don’t have a lot to show as far as what’s on my iPhone.
It was a busy week. But, I did use the Canon to document some stuff.
I worked pretty hard all week. Finished my 16 bag order and delivered them all!!!! WEEEEEEEEE! More on that later.
But, after I delivered on Friday, I really enjoyed the weekend! I spent time with my niece and nephews. I spent time with my family and friends! I went to the county fair and watched The Godfather in it’s entirety for the first time.
To juice up this post, I thought I’d include a few photos I took at the fair with my real camera!
We had so much fun! As we always do. The county fair has become a tradition. We go with my Father EVERY year. This year was exceptionally fun. I feel like the fair was just set up really well this year, and felt almost cleaner than usual. I dunno, how to explain it. But, it was pretty great. We rode rides, took my nephew Hudson on a ride. We ate delicious, huge corn dogs! and soft serve ice cream dipped in chocolate.
We met up with friends! Family friends! I can say that now, right? My Brother had worked with the father of this family for YEARS, I can’t even say when they became friends but is has been some time. They now each run their own plumbing companies, and live about a block away from each other. His wife, Laurette and my Sister in law have also been great friends for some time now too. And, I have recently wedged my way into their family friend dynamic and become regular part time nanny/babysitter to their 3 children. So, we got to meet up with them, and it was really fun to all hang out together. I got a little sappy when my Dad was holding the little 1 year old boy that I watch every week, while we were all on a ride. It was just fun to all be together. I really love moments like that. When 2 of your normally separate worlds collide. It’s pretty warm and fuzzy.
Also notable… I held a SCORPION at the fair. And thankfully Laurette, captured it.
It took some coaxing… Like, the handler telling me that these guys are basically the wimpiest of all scorpions and that if and when they do sting it’s less painful than a bee sting. Not sure how it worked. Because thinking about it, a bee sting still totally freaks me out! And I usually hate anything bug like and creepy crawly. But, it worked. I had fun. I was nervous at first, but I think by the end of it I had a fondness for that creepy thing. I think I sort of want one now….
Week in iPhone #11
Mostly weekend in iPhone…
Most pictures are from hanging with my Brother and his family on memorial day, and very few snippets of the rest of the week. I recently downloaded like all of the Hipstapaks there are available. So, I played a tad. More to come… OH! anddddd full post on my NEW sewing machine coming this week! (Ain’t she a beaut!?!)
