Happy 1st B-day Blog + Giveaway

Wow, where has the year gone? Happy first birthday to this little blog of mine! When I started this blog last June, I had absolutely no idea that it would quickly become such a big part of my life. I realized early on how kind, supportive, and loving the blogging community is and can’t imagine my life without this as such an integral part.

When I started this blog one year ago:

+I was looking for something new and fresh; a place where I could write and share little tid-bits of my life.

Now, for a trip down memory lane over the past year:

Here I am, one year later – a twenty-something back to being single on the East Coast! I had no idea one year ago that my life would be changing so drastically so soon. But you know what? So many GREAT and POSITIVE changes have also occurred. Losing my Mom in February has pushed me to work as hard as I can to make my dreams a reality. Life is far too short to settle. I’ve started my own Etsy jewelry business and recently signed myself up for classes to start training again in the Arts (my passion.) Two things that I probably would have otherwise put off.

I have gained some of the best friends I ever could have asked for through blogging. These friends were there through the loss of my Mom. So many of YOU were there for me. Helping me stay strong, helping me see the light to get through to the next day.

So, as a huge “thank you” to every one of you, my readers – I’m giving away one of my bracelets from After Sunset. The winner gets to pick any bracelet their little heart desires :) If you see one you like and want to swap out the gold chain for silver or vice versa [if there isn’t already one in the shop] just let me know!

Here are just a few of the jewels you could snatch up! For more, check out the store.

Now, let’s get started, shall we?

To enter:

[Mandatory. Leave ONE comment]

+Follow Life is a Sunset via Google Friend Connect

+Visit After Sunset on Etsy and decide which bracelet you’d most want to rock if you win! Then, let me know in your comment which one you'd choose!

[Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not already on your Blogger profile]

Extra Entries:

[Each represented by a separate comment]

+Pin up to 3 separate items from my shop onto one of your Pinterest boards [leave a separate comment for each pin]

+Follow me on Pinterest

+Tweet about this giveaway

+Follow me on Twitter [@LifeisaSunset]

That’s 7 possible entries!

You have until next Wednesday, June 13th to enter! A winner will be chosen via random.org and announced next Thursday!

Best of luck to you all and thanks again for being so wonderful! I appreciate you all more than you know :)

Also, today is an extra special day because I am guest posting over at my good friend Shayna's blog. I just love her! She has truly been such a gem for me throughout the past few difficult months and I'm so grateful to have her as a friend!

Be sure to go say "hi" to Shayna! You won't be disappointed... she is SUPER sweet!

Thanks again, everyone for making this whole blogging experience so wonderful and good luck to those who enter! :)

Journey Forward {4}

[Before we get started, today I am guest posting over on my dear bloggy friend’s blog Keep Calm & Carry On. Katie asked me to write about something that is very near and dear to both of our hearts and it would mean the world to have your support over there today.]

Today for Journey Forward, we'll be making a list of goals for this year - Goals that will help us get closer to and eventually achieve our word. For me, since my word is "become," my goals revolve around what I want to become during this year. There are certainly things that I want to accomplish in order to be that woman.

Here are my goals for 2012, in no particular order:

1. I have two particular career goals that I want to accomplish. One of them is already underway and the second one is in its early stages. These career goals are quite personal to me so, until they're more developed, I'll be keeping them on the down-low :)

2. Decide where I want to live. Just over two years ago, I packed everything into my car and moved to Salt Lake City. Now, here I am, back in the DC area. While this will always be home, the longer I stay here, the more I realize it's just not for me. I know... everyone who was so glad to have me back in the area probably has steam coming out of their ears now. I've been researching new areas that would encompass many of the things I look for in a home and place to settle down. My goal now is to decide.

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3. Treat myself to a MacBook. This is probably the first goal to be checked off the list. As of next weekend, I will be the proud owner of a MacBook Pro. This is something I've been wanting for years and, finally, I'm making it happen!

4. Build my savings. I love my savings accounts. I really do. However, for the past year or so they've been a bit stagnant so, this is the year to watch them grow! Budget & discipline :)

5. Continue finding the positive. Throughout the past few months, I’ve really been making a point to see the positive instead of focusing on the negative. Not only has it helped me get through the tough moments, but it’s also helped me grow as a person. I want to keep that positivity with me everywhere I go from now on.

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6. Grow in the areas of my life where I have a lot of potential. There are a number of things that I think I could be really good at and succeed in doing if I put more time/energy/learning into them. Examples: Decorating, cooking, photography, video editing. In a sense, I’ve kind of cut myself short of really developing a talent for those things. It’s time to turn that around.

7. Stop planning. Start doing. With my background in event planning, I am certainly a planner [almost to a fault.] I get so wrapped up and consumed in the planning stages that the actually execution of something scares me. It’s time to start doing.

Those are seven of my goals thus far. As I get deeper into my journey, I might add a few more or fine-tune some of the above.
These goals mean even more to me now than when I started this link-up just over a month ago because now, I can accomplish these goals not only for myself but in honor of my Mom.
I’m excited. I’m excited to see these goals start getting checked off the list. Better yet, I’m excited to start feeling the joy when I accomplish them!

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Prompt for next week:

Describe yourself.
While, we’re still in the early stages of this link-up and it would obviously be fun to learn more about each other, I want this prompt to be something you benefit from. So, take some time. Think about yourself. Really think and, in your own words, describe who you are.

Guest Post: Ashley from Diary of a Reporter

A new week is here and I sure am happy for that! I made it safely to Virginia just hours before the rain from Hurricane Irene started coming down! It is so great to be back in my familiar hometown among many of my loved ones and years of precious memories. I have tons of pictures and stories to tell from my cross-country trip so be sure to check for those this week!

However, today I'll be spending a good portion of my time unpacking and settling in. Fun, fun! While I'm away doing those things, sweet Ashley from Diary of a Reporter will be taking over my blog for the day. As soon as I found Ashley's blog, I couldn't stop reading it. Plus, I just loved the conversations that we started having. Ashley is such a genuine and down-to-earth person with the warmest heart. She makes me laugh through her adorable vlogs, and sometimes tear up through her inspiring posts about life. She's a beautiful woman on the inside and out with many wonderful things to share and I'm so happy to have her here today with such a fun post for all of you!

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Hey girls! I'm Ashley from Diary of a Reporter and I'm so excited to be guest posting for Chelsea today!

Something that is making me pretty happy right now: braids are everywhere. Are you all as obsessed as I am?

Source: summertimeandamericanhoney.tumblr.com via Dana on Pinterest

Source: imgfave.com via *consonant on Pinterest

Source: lovelydisco.wordpress.com via Avalon on Pinterest

I thought so. Gorgeous, right?

Since my braiding skills are novice at best, I have rounded up my favorite braid tutorials from around the web. And now I'm sharing them with you :)

{One} Waterfall braid.

{Two) Super easy side fish tail up do.

{Three} French braid up do. And another, here.

{Four} Pretty cool rope braid.

{Five} French braid head band.

Braiding tips:

- practice while sitting on a low back chair/sofa as you can then rest your elbows on the back; easier to braid.

- keep your hands against your scalp as you braid which gives a tighter braid

- a little product, such as a hair spray or light volumizing spray, gives the hair 'grip' so it won't slide around while you braid

tips via.

Thanks, Chelsea, for letting me take over your blog for a day! Hope you girls found this helpful. Have a great day!

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Okay, these braids are all too cool. Who's coming over to do my hair for me? Once my hair is longer, you know I will be trying that rope braid!! Which one is your favorite?

Speaking of hair, Ashley just recently got the cutest haircut {she did it all by herself - yup, told you she's amazing} and it looks fabulous on her! Hop on over to her blog to see for yourself, and while you're there, say hi and check out her art, stories about life, and fun vlogs! I'm sure you'll love her right away too :) Thanks so much, Ashley for the adorable hair ideas!! I think many of us will be brushing up on our braiding skills now ;)

Guest Post: Katie from Keep Calm & Carry On

You know when you meet someone and they’re so genuine and you feel like you’ve practically been friends forever? Well, that’s how it is for me with Katie from Keep Calm & Carry On. Although we haven’t met in real life yet, we’ve gotten to know each other through this little blog world and I can already tell how great of a friend she is. So, Katie if and WHEN I come to Columbus, we are going to have a blast :) Her blog is a definite daily read of mine – each day is something different and new whether it’s a delicious recipe, DIY idea, fashion find, or a story about her latest outing with her adorable pup and husband. Anyway, I’m going to let her take over from here because she has a ton of awesome stuff to share with you :)

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Hey, hey, hey beautiful bloggers!

My name is Katie and I have a little lifestyle blog called Keep Calm & Carry On!

I know that most guest bloggers typically start out by saying how excited they are to be guest blogging, but I REALLY do mean it! Chelsea and I have formed such a wonderful friendship over a short period of time and I'm honored she asked little ole' me to guest post for her.

You are excited too, right?!

Don't answer that.

Are you excited now?

Chocolate always makes me excited and I just wanted to share that I am currently indulging in this chocolate bar, in hopes that it will give me energy for a super awesome guest post.

I guarantee it will be g-o-n-e by the time I'm finished here....

When Chelsea asked me to guest post, she basically gave me free reign on what to write about {is she insane? ;}}, which could be bad thing. You see, if you come visit my blog or already follow my blog, then you know I enjoy SO many different things that it's hard for me to pick a topic!

So, I decided today I'm going to narrow down my list and give you a glimpse into what makes me.... ME.

{and if you continue reading, I have one of my favorite recipes to share!}

The *3* F's you could say....

Fitness. Fashion. Food.

{in no particular order..I love them all the same}

1. Fitness

Fitness is extremely important to me. Endorphins and I are like bff's.

My favorite form of exercise is running, but spinning is a close second.

Have any of you heard of, or even better, tried Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred?

It kicks my trash!

I first heard of Jillian from one of my favorite shows The Biggest Loser. I knew after seeing her train the contestants on the show, that I had to get one of her workout DVD's. When I can't make it to the gym, I pop this DVD in and sweat some serious bullets. It's really great for your abs & strengthens your core!

TRY IT.

2. Fashion

Fall fashion to be exact.

I'm obsessed with fall clothes and my wallet is already starting to suffer from it {yes, it's not even the end of summer yet. yikes!}

Here are my 3 favorite fall items:

-Scarves

-Boots

-Blazers

I don't know about you guys, but I can't get enough of all of them. I love wearing layers and I can never seem to have enough boots.

What fall trends are you loving?!

3. Food

I'm a food junkie and not afraid to admit it.

Even after 7 years of being together, my husband just doesn't understand how/why I plan my days around what I'm going to eat. Silly hubby...

Food is so important to me..it's our FUEL that keeps us going everyday.

I have just recently hit the 6 month mark of being a pescatarian {a vegetarian who still eats fish} and also around that time I cleaned our kitchen pantry and switched to mostly organic items. I really enjoy eating healthy, but I also love to have some sweets treats every now and again {like today with the chocolate? I blame my monthly friend...}

Here is a simple and healthy but super delish recipe that I love making for friends or just to have around the house as a side dish.

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1 15.5 oz can black beans rinsed and drained {I use organic}

9 oz frozen corn, thawed

1 tomato, chopped

1 small hass avocado, diced

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1 scallion, chopped

1 lime, juice of

3 tbsp EVOO

1 tbls cilantro

salt and fresh pepper

PREPARATION:

Combine beans, corn, tomato, onion, scallion, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix with lime juice and EVOO. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 mins. Add avocado right before serving.

It's so YUMMY!

Enjoy :)

Well, that's all I've got for today. When you see this, I will be on my way to BOSTON where my husband and I will be celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary!

I probably could've mentioned my love for TRAVELING on this post..but maybe  if I don't completely scare all of you guys away, Chelsea will let me come guest post again! ;)

Please stop on over at my blog Keep Calm & Carry On and get to know me some more...I love meeting new people & making new friends!

I'm not against begging. hehe just kidding.

thank you Chelsea.

you are the best!

PS-The chocolate bar is gone. Damn you Hershey's. :)

xo.

Katie

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See, I told you. Not only is she GORGEOUS but she has some pretty fun and amazing stuff to write about too! I don’t know about you guys, but I am DEFINITELY trying that black bean dip ASAP! Be sure to head on over to Katie’s blog to say hi and impatiently await her pictures from Boston :)

Thanks so much, Katie!! I just love ya, girl :)

Guest Post: Lindsey aka The Bargain Blonde

I have a super, special treat for you today that I just know you’re going to LOVE! Lindsey {The Bargain Blonde} is here guest posting for moi! Can you believe it? Neither can I. I can’t even tell you how much I adore this girl and her blog! Not only does she manage to crack me up in every post {literally, every one}, but she’s a total beauty, and has the most GENIUS bargain finds! Sure, I consider myself pretty frugal and love a good steal, but this girl knows it all! She finds amazing deals/ideas for everything – I’m talking make-up, home decor, organization, recipes, fashion, you name it! Oh yeah, and she blogs about her lovely Dallas lifestyle…  she even just scored herself a stellar townhouse! It’s no wonder I live vicariously through her :) So, without further ado, take it away Lindsey!

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Hello Life is a Sunset fans!  I'm Lindsey aka The Bargain Blonde, and I blog about living the fab life on a budget.  Isn't Chelsea the sweetest and the prettiest?  She's definitely one of my faves out here in the ole blog-o-sphere, and so when she asked for a guest post, I couldn't wait to oblige. I'm actually a fairly new blogger, but in a few weeks I will celebrate my 1 year anniversary of blogging.  Yay!

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Unlike Chelsea, I got a really slow start blogging because I had no clue what I was doing.  Then I didn't get super serious about blogging until around January and that's when my addiction for blogging was born.  Chelsea is already doing a fabo job blogging, but I thought I'd offer a few tips that I've learned along the way. I don't consider myself a blogging expert by any means as I am still learning, these are just the top 5 things that have worked for me as I developed my little blog:

 

1. Find your voice.

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All of my "In Real Life" (IRL) friends who read my blog always tell me they love that when they read my blog because they can hear me when they read it. Biggest. Compliment. Ever.  Just be the best version of you, don't try to write like anyone else or be anyone else.

 

2. Build blogger relationships

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If you would have told me I'd meet the amazing girls I've met through blogging, I wouldn't have believed you.  These girls have changed my life and completely inspire me each and every day. Any blogger can attest to the amazing community we have.  Make sure you build and maintain your blogging relationships. 

 

3. Develop good content

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It takes a while to get rolling because you need good content.  This semi goes along with finding your voice, but when you first start out, write as though you're writing to a ton of readers.  And write stuff you'd want to read yourself. I always think would I want to read this?  If not, then I won't write it.

 

4. Write often

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Self-explanatory.  It's pretty crazy how much blog post ideas take over my thoughts. I'm always thinking up what new topics I can blog about. I recently bought a calendar from the Dollar Store that I plan my blog posts out on, which helps me stay on track. Any time I get an idea I write it down because if I don't, I'll forget.  I try my best to blog Monday through Friday, but that doesn't always happen.

 

5. Social Network Your Blog [via]

I didn't start Tweeting until a few months ago and I made a Facebook page just a few weeks ago.  Social networking helps build your brand, get in touch with those blog friends I mentioned already and promote yourself for free.  Do. It. And that concludes my top 5 blogging tips, thanks for having me Chels! I hope you ladies found them semi-useful and informative!  Whatever you do, if you love to blog then keep it up and do what makes you happy.  Eventually you'll find success.  Promise.  What are your top blogging tips for newbies starting out?

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Like I said, she’s a genius! You’re pretty much guaranteed to always learn something new in her posts. Lindsey is living proof that with a love for blogging and some hard work and dedication, you can go far! Thanks, Linds for all the awesome tips! I know I’ve definitely taken them all to heart {and I’m sure I’m not the only one!} :)

So, go do yourself a favor and head over to The Bargain Blonde if you haven’t already, and before you know it, you’ll be a bargainista too :)

The Stress of Bachelor Pad

Am I the only one who finds myself sometimes not breathing while watching Bachelor Pad 2? I admit, Brad’s second season of the Bachelor was the first season of anything Bachelor/Bachelorette-related that I have watched since Trista & Ryan. No joke. So, I’m still getting used to all the drama. Spoiler Alert: You may not want to read this if you have yet to watch last night’s episode!

But, when you combine love/hate relationships with Big Brother-esque challenges and a quarter of a million dollars, it’s pretty stressful!! About 95% of my stress comes from this one source:

 

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As if his shirt in this picture isn’t enough to make me cringe, his voice gives me the creeps. Can anyone tell me where his accent is from? And the constant batting of Vienna’s eyes needs to stop. I know producers only show us so much, but really, their display of character on this show has not been the best and I certainly wouldn’t want to surround myself with people like them. If I were on the show, I’d want them off {doesn’t that make sense since they’re the “power couple?”} So, in my opinion, people better start making some slick moves otherwise, our next Speidi couple will be winning Bachelor Pad 2.

On to more important things.

Blake is gorgeous.

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It’s too bad his game strategy is not. He’s definitely just in it for the money. Sad face.

I also LOVED Chris Harrison telling Vienna that she was free to walk out of the house. Total fist pump for you, Chris!

Oh, did I mention that I missed the first FORTY-FIVE minutes of the show? Yep. You see, I’m one of those old school people who doesn’t have TiVo so I depend on my handy-dandy TVguide.com to inform me when my shows are coming on. TV Guide LIED to me by telling me the show ran from 8-10. Lies, lies, lies. I was highly disappointed when I turned on the TV at 7:45 to find Melissa with a date card.

Lastly, Ames and Jackie. Need I say more? Ames is so GALLANT! Isn’t that a great word for him? I think I would have done the same thing had my significant other been voted off. Why bother staying if you’re in love? :) Gosh, I love Ames.

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Now, aside from Bachelor Pad I’m also talking about something a bit more serious over on my sweet friend Ashlyn’s blog My Unrehearsed Life. So, head on over there and say “hi” :)

Busy, Busy August

Happy Weekend, everyone! This month has been ridiculously busy! It seems like it’s been that way for many of you as well. I say this because of the number of guest posts I’ve been seeing {and writing!} Many people are moving, vacationing, schooling and whew, before we know it, Summer will be over!

But, if you DO get a free second, come visit me over on Alivia’s blog Brunch in April where I’m guest posting about one of my favorite {and dance-related} life lessons! It’s a good one. Promise :)

Source: anthropologie.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

 

PS - I want this swimsuit because I love that it’s sea foam, vintage-y, and has the cutest little cut-out!

I hope your weekends are all lovely :)

Fill in the Blank Friday {13}

First off, I have been having some SERIOUS issues with my posts being published but NOT showing up on the Reading List or in Google Reader for hours. So, in case you’re not seeing anything from me regularly, feel free to just click on my link and see if I’ve posted anything new, because chances are, I have. Hopefully this is only temporary!

Now, back to the fun things. Happy Friday! I’m doing my first EVER guest post today over on Mrs... T, Naturally! I’d love it if you headed on over to keep me some company and check out her awesome blog! :)

And, as always, I’m linking up with The Little Things We Do for Fill in the Blank Friday!

1.  My most favorite birthday was     my Barbie-themed birthday party! I don’t think it was on my actual birthday but, let me tell you, it was the place to be that Winter! Well, unless you were a guy. Every girl brought their favorite Barbie with them and everywhere you looked it was something Barbie-related. There was even a Barbie ON the cake. When I was about 4 years old I got the pink Barbie Corvette hot wheels and so my parents used the Corvette to hold all the presents as people walked in. Genius!

2.  My worst birthday was     in 1996. It was a big deal guys, because I was turning double digits. DOUBLE DIGITS! In case you don’t really remember, the Blizzard of ‘96 hit the Mid-Atlantic region one January day and we received the worst of it the night before my birthday. That part was pretty cool. However, my mom had been in Houston and ALL the airports were closed. My mom was unable to make it back for my birthday so I spent the whole first half of the day crying and crying. Two of my friends made me some big plate of goodies to try and cheer me up and we eventually just went out and played in the snow. It was still devastating to this little ten year old at the time, ha.

3.  My favorite birthday memory is      from my 21st birthday. I spent the first half of the day at my parents’ house where I opened amazing gifts and talked about how turning 21 is a big deal. Then, I headed back down to college where my boyfriend at the time had set up clues all around his house leading me from present to present. Then, we headed over to my house where my two roommates had decorated the house all in turquoise (my favorite color!) including a turquoise cake and a room FILLED with turquoise balloons! We went out for dinner and drinks that night. Most people were still out of town on Winter Break but just having a few of my favorite people with me was all I could ask for :)

 

4.  The best birthday present I've ever received was     being in San Diego with my family on my birthday. Late night In N Out as the clock struck midnight and then spending the day up in Laguna Beach followed by a night of fun at Joe’s Crab Shack. Perfection!

5.  The  best birthday present I've ever given was     a surprise dinner cruise around DC.

6.  Birthdays are     so special! I think sometimes I get more excited for people’s birthdays than they do haha. It really is that person’s special day so even if they are one of those non-birthday-ers who says it’s just any other day, I want to do whatever I can to make them feel special and important because that’s what they are to me!

7.  My favorite age so far has been     a tie between 21 and 22. I feel like I was truly living life to the fullest in those years. I was working hard, having fun, and had a great group of people around me whether I was at school, at home, or traveling the country for work. It was surreal and I’d love to go back to those years :) Those were the years when I felt most alive.

Oh, birthdays are so much fun! These blanks made me happy! What has your favorite age been so far?

Well, that’s it for now. Check back soon because I’m lucky enough to be doing some MORE guest posting these next few days for some lovely ladies and would love for you to go check them out as well! Have a safe and wonderful weekend. Soak up that Summer sun! :)