the goon

hello lovely,

we participated in the 54hr film festival a few weeks ago. it was the first time most of our team had ever done a film festival. we got lucky and drew the genre we wanted first pick: film noir. i got to live out my dream of being the femme fatale. we won 4 awards: best score, best wardrobe, best production design, & best use of prop.  the elements we had to use were :

prop: floss

action: flip

line of dialogue: 

"what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

hope you enjoyed it! we had a great time. i think we will do it again.

xoxo,

alyssa rene 

springtime dreaming

hello lovely,
sorry for the radio silence these days. i'm currently working on two series at the same time. it is proving to be doable, but tiring. i come home and all i want to do is cuddle up on my couch, watch the wire, and mindlessly surf the internet. the perk of all this is i've been working on my spring inspirations. i am over the cold. i think that is another reason why i'm so lazy these days. its always so dark and cold when i come home. doesn't exactly make me want do any projects. this spring i have a few goals for myself. these are some inspirations to help me get motivated.

by the way, i've missed this. promise to do better

1. paint and decorate the screened in porch

striped pillows

navy, green, white, & tan

shabby cabinet turned bar 

2. build up our fire pit

natural look

classic stone

3. build a hall tree

bench built into old door. add some hooks for coats

add a mirror or a shelf

4. repaint my guest bedroom furniture

white outside, colored drawers

ombre drawers

i may have a few too many projects for one spring

**all images found on pinterest

the future

happy 2013!

I feel like I'm in the future.
I have a robot vacum, I can video-chat from my phone, and my 70 year old
grandmother sends me text messages on the regular. 

The future I say!

I've set a few goals for myself this year:

1. Finish a book.

I always start books and I never finish them. This year is already off to a better start, the first day of the new year I laid by the pool all day long and read The Perks of Being a Wallflower from cover to cover. 

BOOM. Goal met. 

(or maybe I'll try to keep the streak going)

2. Work in the back yard.

My yard is un-manicured and pretty darn ugly. I'd like to fix that. I have a fire pit to finish, a screened in porch to paint and decorate, and a doghouse to purchase. 

3. Spend more time in the craft room.

I want to make that space feel more like my own. I have all my stuff in it, but I don't spend enough time in there. I have the space, I should be sewing! I want to work on a machine quilt. I've got embroidery down pretty well, let's see how quilting goes.

4. Make more time for the people I love the most.

I tend to stretch myself pretty thin. I have trouble saying that two letter word "no." 

You would think it would be easier to say than it is. 

This year I want to say no when I need to, so I can say yes when it counts. 

Sorry for the long gap in posts. I had some issue with space that I haven't figured out yet. But blogger seems to be working for me now so here I am

Good luck keeping up your goals this year!

**note the picture above is a little embroidery I made the husband for Christmas

my favorite movies

gone with the wind

the curious case of benjamin button

to kill a mocking bird

forrest gump

a little princess

beauty and the beast

saving private ryan

the wizard of oz

the royal tenenbaums 

charade

singin' in the rain

the muppet movie

super 8

a visit to okolona

this weekend we went to church where my grandma grew up. we go there every few years to visit family and pay respects to those who've passed away. a bitter sweet time in recent years. 

 

my grandma was raised in this little bitty farmhouse. she grew up to live in the beautiful home by the lake where we got married. she is living proof of the power of hard work and education. i'm proud as punch to be her granddaughter 

holiday wish list

I updated my Amazon Wish list a few weeks ago and it makes me happy just looking at it. Obviously I'm in to oxfords this season. There is a good mix of pretty things for the home and wardrobe, crafting tools, and household gadgets. Here are just a few of them. It was so hard to pick which ones to share! 

1. A nifty collapsable salad spinner from Bed Bath & Beyond, 2. some cute bow flats from Nordstroms, 3. A fun crafty large circle hole punch, 4. Away too expensive for right now but would love to have flash 5. These Chelsea Crew oxfords I've wanted for over a year but are also too pricey for me to justify buying myself

Just for fun I thought I'd share this fun travel book. Take a look inside! Super cute book with weekend trip plans. Would love to travel through this book with the husband some day. 

Have fun making your wish list this year. 

blog-stagram

hello lovely,
as most of you already know, i'm a blog-aholic. my google reader is filled with great fashion, crafting, & family blogs. i've taken my blogging to the next level by following some of my favorite blogs on instagram. my husband things this is stalking, but hey, they share it! so i guess you can decide for yourself. here are a few of my favorite blogger's instagram feeds. be sure to check out their blogs too. also, i have been lacking in the blogging department and i apologize. i'm going to do better. promise.
xoxo,
alyssa renee

@thiswildidea is one of my favorite feeds i love maddie the coonhound! he travels the country taking awesome photos of his adorable dog balancing on things. she is a pretty amazing dog.

@danamadeit is a wonderfully crafty instagram feed from MADE. dana is an amazing seamstress and mom who shares many free sewing patterns on her blog. she also has three adorable children who model her work.

@elsiecake is elsie larson of a beautiful mess' instagram feed. elsie and her sister (@emmaredvelvet) blog daily and have so many amazing DIY projects to share. i love their instagram feed. they share pics of their adorable dogs interior design, and what is coming up on the blog

and of course...

i follow @bleubird because bleubird vintage is my most favorite blog. miss james is an amazing mom, blogger, and fashion icon. check her out!

I also just started following @thepioneerwoman. not sure how great hers is yet, but i'll let you know.

do you have any other great instagram feeds you can suggest?