Christmas Came Early: DARLING STATE PRINT GIVEAWAY!

 

I have to admit I'm a little overly excited for today's giveaway, but that's only because it's from none other than my blonde bestie for life - Cute Apartment!  That's right, the CA herself has opened up the most adorable Etsy shop to sell these darling state prints!

Today, DaisyKate's Etsy Shop is giving away a 16x20 state print - your choice of color and state!

And how to prove I'm a real, die-hard fan of her work?

MY LIVING ROOM WALL!

So, if you want to be just like me and support DaisyKate's new venture by getting an awesome state print, enter via Rafflecopter below!

If you're looking for something that smells delightful, come back tomorrow for another giveaway!

Enter to win the Sponsorship Bundle HERE.
Enter to win the Vinyl Decals for Stand Mixer HERE. Enter to win Amber's Elyse earrings HERE. Enter to win the $10 Graphic Design Etsy Shop Credit HERE.    a Rafflecopter giveaway

No nonsense

I am a big leggings girl, and to be honest I'm not quite sure where I stand on the whole leggings as pants debate.  Spoiler alert: No nonsense leggings are quite thick, and can totally be worn as pants.  And tights?  Oh how I wish it got cooler here more often because I think a fun pair of tights can take an everyday outfit to a whole new level of adorable! 

No nonsense tights and leggings was kind enough to send me a pair of their corduroy leggings in a mustard-y beige color, and a pair of fashion tights in a beautiful purple shade.  If I’m being honest?  Corduroy is so not my thing.  I was really intimidated when I received these leggings in the mail, and so nervous to come up with an outfit.  I wouldn’t say I knocked it out of the park or anything, but I was pleasantly surprised with what I was able to throw together to complement these high-quality leggings!  The tights are by far my ultimate fave, and I see them as a long-term staple in Closet Stress Case!  No nonsense has many other fashion tight options that I can’t wait to order, also!

My casual leggings look!

Top: Forever 21 a long time ago

Leggings: No nonsense

Sandals: Love D

and, a more formal look:

Perfect for a cocktail party!

Dress is so old, I have not a clue where it came from,

but how freaking cute are these tights?

Unfortunately my camera blows, because the texture on these is to die for.

 

Find your pair of affordable No nonsense tights and leggings here. I was sponsored by No nonsense for this opportunity. All opinions are my own.

Christmas Came Early: $10 GRAPHIC DESIGN ETSY STORE CREDIT!

 

Back with another fantastic giveaway for you all today!  Paula and Gillian from Frog Prince Occasions are here to give away a $10 credit to their adorable Etsy store!  Paula and Gillian design printables for adult and children's birthday parties including invitations, favor tags, decor, and more!  They also happened to design the invitations for my own personal Housewarming Party!

Check of some of the darling invitations and goods Frog Prince Occasions has to offer the winner of this giveaway!

  Enter to win your $10 credit to Frog Prince Occasions below via Rafflecopter!  Check back tomorrow for a chance to win a state print by the one and only Cute Apartment! Enter to win the Sponsorship Bundle HERE. Enter to win the Vinyl Decals for Stand Mixer HERE. Enter to win Amber's Elyse earrings HERE.   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Came Early: GORGEOUS EARRINGS GIVEAWAY!

 

Amber from Brunch With Amber and I have got something sparkly for your ears today!  Amber recently opened an online jewelry boutique, and she was kind enough to offer to give away a pair of earrings to one lucky reader!

 

 

These stunners are the Elyse earrings, as seen in June's issue of Glamour!

 

You can find them and other beautiful pieces of jewlery at Amber's new online jewelry boutique HERE!

  Enter via Rafflecopter below! Tune in tomorrow when I've got a fantastic graphic designer from Etsy giving away a credit to their shop! Enter to win the Sponsorship Bundle HERE. Enter to win the Vinyl Decals for Stand Mixer HERE.   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Came Early: STAND MIXER DECAL GIVEAWAY!

 

Today, I have a fantastic giveaway for the baker in your life, or a great little add-on gift if you're gifting anyone a stand mixer this year for Christmas!  Or if you've got a mixer of your own, this is the perfect addition to take it from functional to functional and adorable!

 

Julie from the Etsy shop, Lil Punkin Creations is giving away the Swirls Vinyl Decal set for Stand Mixers!

 

 

Adorable, right?!  And look at all the gorgeous colors you can get your decal set made in:

 

 

Enter below via Rafflecopter!

And come back tomorrow for a chance to win something sparkly!

And fellow bloggers, don't forget to enter yesterday's Sponsorship Bundle Giveaway!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Came Early: SPONSORSHIP BUNDLE GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to the first day of my weeklong giveaway celebration here at Stress Case to kick off the holiday season!

Today, I've got a great giveaway for the blogger readers who are looking to get their blog out there next year!  A sponsorship bundle!

The winner of this giveaway will get one month of sponsorship for January 2013 at the following fabulous blogs:

      and even this little ole blog here,     For inquiring minds, I have no immediate plans of opening up to paid sponsors, but will happily be taking on the winner of this giveaway on as my sponsor in January - promise I'm a great host!   Please enter using below via Rafflecopter! And come back tomorrow where I'll be giving away a little something glam for your stand mixer! a Rafflecopter giveaway

CHRISTMAS IS COMING EARLY AT STRESS CASE!

See you here back tomorrow where Christmas is coming early! 

Things Thursday: Things I'm So Thankful For

1. This amazing wonderful man that I get to spend every single day with for the rest of my life:

 

2. My amazingly generous and supportive parents, whom I love and adore and can't imagine having to live without.

 

3. My sweet sisters who I miss more and more each day!

 

 

4. These little wonders that popped up on the shelves again in the past few weeks:

 

 

5. All of my extended family that I don't get to see nearly enough and miss every single day.

 

6. My job, that can be very stressful, but that I truly love and enjoy, which not everybody can say.

 

7. My Handsome Husband's scholarship for his law school education, which makes law school a much more enjoyable experience for my bank account.

 

8. All of my in-laws, who have always welcomed me into the family from day one and continue to do so as the years go on.

 

 

9. The Real Housewives franchise, without which, I would feel better about my finances and worse about my friendships.

 

10. My amazing friends, who always support me, never judge me (at least not to my face), praise me for my strengths and forgive me my weaknesses.

 

 

Adventures in Pinterest: A Birthday Chalkboard

This gift, y'all, this gift was a labor of love.  It was my Handsome Hub's sweet cousins' wife's good friend Tutor Girl's birthday this week, and I wanted to make her something she would love.  Granted, I got her a blouse as well, but I wanted to make something too!

And then I saw this:

Source: shanty-2-chic.com via Casey on Pinterest

And I knew she had to have it!  You see, Tutor Girl is a former teacher (or maybe Teacher is like a life-long title, and she's just taking a break?), and she runs an in-home daycare.  This little chalkboard seemed perfect for her - I thought she could use it as a menu board, for the daycare, who knows what else!

So off to Home Depot I went to buy a big ole piece of wood and have them cut it down (PS if anyone wants one of these darling guys, I've got enough wood for make about 42329 5 more).  I grabbed me some chalkboard spray paint, and the rest I had on hand.  Except the finials to detail the top.  Oh, these damn finials.  Would you believe me if I told you I went to four places looking for them.  These guys don't want to be found.  I finally found them (albeit a bit larger than I was looking for, but it worked) at Lowe's.  Home Depot doesn't carry them!  And this makes me mad at the HD.

Anyways the tutorial over at Shanty2Chic is super easy to follow, and my favorite part about the entire project?  I got to use my power tool!

For other thrilling moment to moment photo updates, follow me on Instagram - @stresscasey

Here's how mine turned out:

Totally would have blurred out her name to preserve anonymity, but you can find out her real name at her long lost blog anyways!

My handiwork with the chalk pen - these things are amazing!

The ulta hard to find finial at work.

 

Linking up with: The Vintage Apple, Something Swanky, Vintage Wanna Bee, Ginger Snap Crafts, Lil Luna, I {Heart} Nap Time, A Diamond in the Stuff, Live Laugh Rowe, 504 Main, Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Six Sisters' Stuff, C.R.A.F.T., Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, Positively Splendid, BEAUtiful Mess/Keep Calm and Carry On, Southern Lovely, Someday Crafts

Quotable Tuesdays

The 5 Whys

A few months back I took a class through my employer on Trust Building.  It was an interesting way to spend a couple hours of my day, and there were some really insightful thoughts brought up throughout the class.  One thing that really resonated with my was...

The 5 Whys

 

In the class, we were instructed to ask ourselves "Why?" 5 times before doing something, especially something not so smart.

 

An example:

 

This weekend I am going to drink a bottle of wine, call up an old boss of mine and tell her what I really thought of her.

 

Why?

Well, she was a total biatch!

 

Why?

She deserves it!

 

Why?

Maybe she will become a better boss because of it.

 

Why?

It will make me feel better!

 

Why?

Well, I'm all out of answers.

 

By the time you get to Why #5, you're usually out of good reasons to do or say what you were thinking of doing in the first place. 

 

Other times the 5 Whys might come in handy: thinking of calling your ex, going out drinking when you haven't eaten dinner, telling your Mother in Law what you really think of her, wearing 5-inch stilletos to a baseball game - the list really goes on and on.

 

So next time, before doing something ridiculous, ask yourself the 5 Whys and you might just save yourself some embarassment!



Scrubs GIVEAWAY!

When Dansko contacted me asking if I'd like to review a pair of their scrubs, I just about spit out my wine (what else would I be drinking?) in excitement!  Of course I emailed back, overly excited for my new work outfit.  I even got to choose between a few styles and colors - so much fun!

I finally settled on the Geri top in navy, with matching Gina pants in the matching navy color.  I chose navy because I don't have any navy scrubs, and I am a long time believer in the whole navy is a neutral debate (is this actually a debate?), and thought it would be a lovely addition to my ever-growing scrub collection!  I'm also a little boring, and love a good solid colored scrub set, so this was perfect!

In my hustle and bustle of moving, unpacking, planning a housewarming, and then trying to recover from the craziness that was August-October, these cute little scrubs just sat there waiting for me to try them on!

And finally I did - and I'm so glad!

 

These Dansko scrubs are so soft and comfortable (I may or may not be wearing them as I type this).  They are like wearing your most comfortable pair of pajamas (and everyone's second reason behind the whole saving lives and helping the world thing for becoming a nurse is wearing pajamas to work).  The navy is a really pretty dark shade, and will look adorbs with some of the print tops I have.

 

One thing to keep in mind:  these run a bit big.  I ordered both the pants and the top in a medium and I'm sort of swimming in the top (not usually a problem for me in tops if you know what I mean...who am I kidding, not usually a problem for me in clothes).  I did wash and heat dry the top, so I'm thinking it's just going to be a big comfy one - which is fine, but had I known, I may have ordered a Small, which would have been good for the fit and also for my self confidence cause God knows I don't get to wear a size small very often!

 

You can see Dansko's entire line of scrubs at Dansko.com/atwork if you or someone you know is lucky enough to get to wear pajamas scrubs to work on the daily!

 

Speaking of lucky, Dansko was kind enough to offer to give away a pair of their fantastic scrubs to one of my readers as well!  Enter below via Rafflecopter to grab a pair of these, and you know, with the holidays coming up, maybe there's someone you know who would love a pair of Dansko scrubs!  The winner will be able to select their own style and color of choice from Dansko.com/atwork.  Good luck!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Adventures in Pinterest: I Love You Because...

100% my favorite thing about getting our new place is doing all the projects I've pinned on Pinterest.  I'm slowly getting around to them (Christmas is putting a bit of a cramp in my style, but y'all can expect some homemade gifts coming out the  Stress Casey house this year, for sure!), and I am just loving the results!

I've seen a few versions of this guy floating around on Pinterest. 

From Life {Sweet} Life

Sarah, at Life {Sweet} Life, is amazing!  First of all she uses fleur de lis in her decor (enough to make us best friends already), and she shared multiple colors of the awesome printable she used for this project!  Totally sweet, right?

When I went to put this project together, I was confronted with the fact that I don't have all that much surface space.  Trying to cut down on clutter, and I just simply don't have much of it in my home.  So where better to put this inspirational little ongoing love note than the beating heart of the home - the refrigerator. 

So one could say I actually merged two Pins into one with this project.

Inspiration:

Source: vintageglamorous.blogspot.com via Casey on Pinterest

Source: lifesweetlifeblog.com via Casey on Pinterest

My Results:

True story, HH is up before me every single morning and crawling into bed hours after I've fallen asleep most nights.

Dying to know what's in that other frame?  Your wish = my command.

I love this little project, and I Think my favorite part is the chevron print.  I am thinking the frame could use just a little bit more oomph to really make my fridge look darling.  Maybe one of the burlap flowers sweet Stephanie added to her charger chalkboard?  Who knows! 



Linking up with: The Vintage Apple, Something Swanky, Vintage Wanna Bee, Ginger Snap Crafts, Lil Luna, I {Heart} Nap Time, A Diamond in the Stuff, Live Laugh Rowe, 504 Main, Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Six Sisters' Stuff, C.R.A.F.T., Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, Positively Splendid, BEAUtiful Mess/Keep Calm and Carry On

Eff You Letters

Eff You Cox Whole-Home DVR,

Eff you for not letting me record more than two shows at a time!  I mean what EFF is that?!  Also, eff you for totally sucking at life, and missing half my recordings.  You'll imagine my surprise when I realize I missed an episode of the ever insightly and thought-provoking Jersey Shore thanks to your incompetence!

Eff You Lakers,

I can't even pretend to be a fan anymore, because you're totally sucking it up out there.  I mean, Best Friend Fashionista just ordered purple and yellow running shoes for Christ's sake!  Now she is probably embarassed to even leave the house anymore!  (PS the only benefit of you sucking is my HH doesn't care so much about watching the games anymore...kudos and thanks for that one I guess.)

Eff You Control Freak Ex Boyfriend,

Eff you for happening to live in the town I fell in love with and bought a home in, so that every once in a while I am full on petrified of running into your crazy ass.  Thanks, however, for the memories of what a moron you are - still get some laughs out of some of those.

Eff You Weather,

Eff you for being 91 degrees last Monday and then pouring and 65 degrees on Thursday.  Eff you for not ever actually being cold cold at night - I want to freeze my booty off when I sleep!  We're talking three blankets, wake up in the middle of the night teeth chattering cold ... is that weird? 

Eff You Former Friend,

Eff you for not caring about our friendship half as much as you pretend to care about your turtle that you slowly let die in it's disgusting little excuse for a tank.  Eff you for calling my very sweet and kind husband names, and for putting me in a position no friend should ever put another friend.  Also, a really big eff you for making me hate half my wedding photos because your face is in them and you apparently shouldn't have even been invited.

Eff You Dust,

WHERE DO YOU COME FROM AND HOW DO YOU GET HERE SO FAST?  I could dust daily and still have my furniture look like it's been sitting in a freakin' dust cloud for days.  Not cool, dust, not cool.

Who are you wanting to write Eff You Letters to this week?

Quotable Tuesdays

A Day Date Gift Idea

Saturday we celebrated my Mother-in-Law's 25th birthday! 

Okay, truth be told we celebrated the big 5-0, but the woman looks so damn good you'd think she was 25!

 

 

My Handsome Husband's family all got together for brunch at Grandma Beach Bum's house to celebrate the birth of the one and only Mother-in-Law Red. 

 

 

I was totally stumped on what to get MIL Red for her birthday, because here's the thing.  MIL Red is always doing something, going somewhere, volunteering, heading off for the weekend - she's an active little lady!  So while I'm sure she would have adored a necklace, some perfume, or a sweater - I wanted to get her something more, something to do.

 

 

And then I saw an advertisement for THIS:

{Via}

Apparently it's called a hydrobike, and you ride it around the harbor in Newport Beach.  This screamed MIL Red to me!  She loves the beach, the water, and all things fun!  I thought this looked like such a blast, I nearly purchased myself a pass too!

 

 

But being the fantastic gift giver that I am, I couldn't just hand her over the voucher to ride around the harbor, oh no, presentation is key.

 

 

So, I present to you, my Day Date Gift Idea:

I had read that on these nifty little hydrobikes you could take a small ice chest with you, so I purchased one from Amazon and then made it my own (what would a gift from Stress Casey be without some added rhinestones?).  To add on to MIL Red's future day of fun (who I'm sure she can't wait to share with her beau!), I added some fun fruit sodas, some treats and a gift card to a restaurant walking distance from the Hydrobike location! 

 

 

I hope you have fun on your Day Date that I planned for you, MIL Red!  And I hope your 50th birthday was all you hoped it would be, and more!

Fill in the Blank Friday

{The Little Things We Do}

 

1. I like rhinestones on just about everything, my Husband, my home and The Voice.

 

2. A life goal of mine is to be someone who everyone misses when they aren't there, and to one day have my children (should I be so blessed) say I make the "best ever" something - you know, "Oh your Mom makes good chicken?  My Mom makes the best ever salsa chicken."

 

3. The last thing you would ever expect me to like (even though I secretly do) is shooting guns.  Granted, I'd like it just a leetle bit better if the gun was rhinestoned, but still.

4. Some wise words that I love are "I don't care about money, I just want to be wonderful" - Marilyn Monroe

 

5. Most mornings you will find me quite grumpy, until I've had plenty of good morning hugs and kisses from my best friend in the entire world, my Handsome Husband.

6. Right now I am super into politics...SYKE.  Right now I am super into everyone shutting the hell up about politics.  There was a good 24 hours of appropriate bitching, moaning and gloating time and that time, my friends, is ova. 

7. Right now I am super over Christina Aguilera's tatas.  Like, can I just watch one episode of The Voice without feeling like I'm at the Spearmint Rhino??

Lots of Link Love

My apologies for missing Lots of Link Love last week!  It was crazy around these parts prepping for our Housewarming Party - all the more reason for more link love this week! XOXO

Like Tara, I think it's important to emphasize the importance of community in the blog world and not only focusing on ourselves and our own blogs, but to spread lots of blog love to those who deserve it.  Every other Thursday, I will highlight the posts over the last two weeks that touched me, made me laugh, pulled at my heartstrings, and inspired me.

• Megan paid it forward by sharing an awesome Holiday Card deal! 

• Mama Laughlin wrote a very inspiring post on weight loss, and the new person you become afterwards.

• Aubrey gave us a sneak peak at her too-adorable-for-words Christmas cards for this year.

• Stephanie gave us the cutest tutorial for her linkup, Saw It Pinned It Did It, for burlap Christmas ornaments!

• Julie showed off her son Hudson's precious birth announcement.

• Ashley shared the sweetest video of her gender reveal for not just one baby, but TWINS!

What links are you loving this week? 

Dear America,

My lady parts thank you for making the right decision.

On another note, Twitter was a very ugly place last night.  If we can't respect people for their differing opinions, we are not a nation to be envied.  I think that the President deserves to be given respect, regardless of his political party (calling the President "evil" is sad and so clearly not true).  And more so, all of our fellow citizens deserve to be respected, regardless of their political views. If you can't respect me because of how I feel about politics, please feel free to not to follow this blog, follow me on twitter, or talk to me in person for that matter.  You certainly don't have to agree with me, but you sure as shoot have to give me respect.

Yours,

Stress Casey

PS.  This concludes the political chatter on this blog for the next four years or so.  Until next time (and you better believe I'm hoping for Clinton 2016!)

Quotable Tuesdays