Sisterly

On Saturday, I got my first tattoo that really has meaning behind it other than just being something I love. I always knew I wanted to get a tattoo for my sisters. There are five of us and we were all very close growing up. Despite stealing each other's clothes and makeup, and the inevitable drama, we were able to stay best friends into adulthood and it's so awesome to have five amazing women in my life (including my mom.) 

I had a hard time at first deciding what I could get tattooed that would represent my sisters. I wanted each thing to be unique, but was unsure on how to have multiple different pieces together in one. I finally came up with the idea of a bouquet. I asked each of my sisters what their favorite flower was, and luckily they were all very different. I also decided to have a flower for my mom in there even though I have another tattoo planned just for her in the future. 

I really love how the piece turned out, and I think a bouquet is the perfect way to represent five very different things that are beautiful on their own, and also beautiful all together (cheesy-alert!)

♥

Mocking Jay, Tucson and Tattoos

It took about a year and a half, but this past weekend, Joe and I finally made the trip down to Tucson to visit my best friend Katie. She's in the Air Force and has been stationed there for over a year, and we just went down to visit for the first time! We usually see her when she comes here because her family lives close to us, but we decided it would be fun to finally see her place. It's about a four hour drive from our house to hers, but it was well worth it. We had so much fun! We first met up at a movie theater to see Mocking Jay, so good! Then the next day she showed us her favorite cafe and took us to two of her favorite restaurants, and shopped around at her favorite little stores. I even got a tattoo while I was there, the Matryoshka Doll I've been wanting forever! We had a really great weekend and I'm so glad we decided to finally visit, I loved seeing where she's been living and I'm sure we'll be going there a lot more now!

I didn't get a ton of pictures, I always get too distracted having fun, but here are a few I managed to snap. As always, I'll post a better tattoo photo once it's all healed. I hope your weekend was wonderful!

Be Crafty and New Tattoos

This weekend has been filled with so many things that I love; new tattoos, crafts, hanging out with my mom, and of course, tons of time with my wonderful husband.

Friday at 4pm was the time of my tattoo appointment I've had for a couple months now. I was nervous but super excited for this one, it's the start to my sleeve, and what will end up being the main piece. If you can't tell from that photo, it's a hot air balloon carrying a heart locket. No special meaning necessarily, just thought it would be a beautiful and positive piece of art to wear. So far only the outlines and some shading has been done, and in a few weeks I'll have it colored. I absolutely love how it turned out and I cannot wait for it to be full of beautiful colors.

Then on Saturday, Joe and I (with a swollen, red arm) drove down to Phoenix for the Be Crafty Workshop. I was so happy to be able to go this year since I missed the last one. The whole place was set up so beautifully, and it was so neat to be able to meet so many women with similar interests as me (none of my friends IRL are into crafty-type things like this.) There were drinks and cupcakes and really cool crafts to create. Not to mention an amazing box of goodies we got to take home, full of stationery, prints, and fun, handmade things from people who sell on Etsy. I really loved being able to talk with people who also blog, and even met a couple ladies I've been following on Instagram for a while, which was really cool! I'm so happy I was able to make this one, it was a really great experience!

After the workshop (and after visiting a couple comic book stores) we headed out to my mom's house. She lives pretty far from us, about two and a half hours away, so we don't see her as much as we used to. But whenever we do, we always have a wonderful time. It was really fun getting dinner, and just catching up and laughing a ton. She showed us her new pool and we promised to be back soon to go for a swim, which I can't wait to do! We got home about 1 in the morning and just passed out from our busy and amazing day.

So now it's Sunday, and Joe and I are so tired and satisfied from our weekend, it was a good one! We're spending today just at home relaxing, which means him playing video games and reading comics, and me catching up on blogs and pen-pal letters. Weekends like this one are my absolute favorite and they leave me ready to take on another week! I hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Here are some photos I took at the Be Crafty Workshop (except the group photo was taken by a photographer)

Tattoo Time!

Yesterday I finally went into my appointment I booked two months ago and got my feet tattooed. This is something I've been wanting to do for a couple years now, especially after getting a pretty horrible little tattoo on my foot I've wanted to cover since I had it done. I kept putting it off though, a little worried that feet tattoos would be harder to cover up if needed, since I always wear shoes that would show them. Plus, I've heard feet tattoos are super painful and a pain to heal. But a couple months ago I decided it was time it needed to be done, so I made the appointment. 

I walked into the shop yesterday feeling so, so nervous. This tattoo was one I knew would show with almost everything, especially with warmer weather coming up. So I made sure they were completely perfect. I had him reline up the stencil three times! And then came the nerves for the pain, which now I understand why so many people say feet are the worst, it was by far the most painful tattoo I've gotten! Especially the outline, I was making weird faces throughout the whole thing! Thankfully, he got through the outlines rather quickly, so I was able to relax and just talk to him and Joe during the shading and coloring. 

For the tattoos, I decided to go with a yellow rose on each foot. Obviously, yellow is my favorite color, and I've always absolutely loved yellow roses. I remember in high school I used to collect them and had tons of them dried all over my room. They just have such a happy, cheerful feeling to them, and it made perfect sense to have a couple of them on my body. Plus, I knew I wanted something somewhat neutral so it didn't take too much away from my shoes, haha! 

So right now I'm sitting in bed with my feel elevated, trying to distract myself from the throbbing pain in my incredibly puffy feet. I know it's going to take a few weeks for them to heal completely, so I want to really take good care of them so they heal nicely. They hurt really bad, like I can barely walk, but I'm so excited to have them done, and can't wait until they're healed and I can show them off!

Tattoo Inspiration

A few photos of tattoos and tattooed people I find beautiful. 

All images found on Tumblr.

All About Tattoos

For being only twenty years old (twenty-one in April!) I have my fair share of tattoos. Three big pieces and three smaller ones to be exact. So I thought it only made sense to share a little bit of what I've learned about this big part of my life.

I never knew I wanted tattoos until I was seventeen. I didn't know anything about them actually since growing up in a small, pretty conservative town, I never really saw much of them. I'm not even sure what the reason was that I initially became interested in tattoos, no one in my family has any, but the moment I did I needed to have one right then in there. That was the first mistake I made. I went out one night around 9pm with my then boyfriend and my older sister's id, and we drove around until we found an open tattoo shop. I had done zero research on anything, and didn't know the first thing about tattoos, I just knew I wanted one. I went into the random shop downtown and told the man I wanted a quarter-sized tattoo of a sacred heart on my wrist. Don't ask me why I wanted that because I really don't know. I wasn't even really religious. I guess I just thought it'd look cool. He tattooed it on me and I was too excited to be "tattooed" to even notice the shaky lines or that it was completely tilted. Hiding it from my parents was easier than I'd thought, too. So it was all good. So good, that a couple months later I went back and got another little tattoo. The word lovely on the side of my foot. Again, didn't really think about it, just thought it'd look cool.

I think it was by the time I was eighteen and had moved into a bigger city for a while that I realized I wanted to be actually tattooed and not just have a couple dinky pieces on me. I got really nervous and thought I had messed up for good by starting out the way I did. So finally I did research on artists and tattoo styles, and decided what I actually wanted and not what would simply look cool. When I was nineteen I decided I was ready to get my first big tattoo, and got it done in a spot that wouldn't show in everything like my other two. I ended up loving it and was so glad I had spent a while thinking about it. I finally covered up the funny heart on my wrist with a real and beautiful piece that I love, and plan on covering up my foot one very soon!

So six tattoos later I have learned a lot about the whole thing, and put together a list of tips for anyone who is planning on getting tattooed, so hopefully you don't make the same mistakes I did!

• DO YOUR RESEARCH! All artists are not created equal. Take the time to find someone who knows what they're doing, and who also tattoos in a style you like. Look at portfolios and talk to a few different artists about what you want until you find someone who can fit your needs. Try not to get caught up in just being excited, take your time it'll be worth it.
• Don't get tattooed just to be cool or because you think everyone else is doing it. Tattoos are a life-long commitment, you really don't want to be stuck with something you got just because a friend got. Also, avoid getting a trendy piece. Don't completely copy something you find on Pinterest or Tumblr, make sure it's something you really love and not something that you just think is cool right now.
• Don't decide who you get tattooed by based on price. If the tattoo is cheap, it will look cheap. It's so worth it to spend a little more for a good quality tattoo. And don't ever let a friend with a tattoo machine tattoo you, even if it's free, it's a bad idea!
• Decide if you are really really ready for the commitment. Being tattooed comes with a lot of shit that can be a deal breaker for some people. For one, your older family members probably won't be a huge fan of them, and they probably won't keep their opinions to themselves. So every holiday and family dinner, get ready for lectures and eye rolls. Also, complete strangers won't be afraid to speak their mind either. They'll ask to see them, ask if they hurt, ask the meaning behind it, ask what you'll do when you're eighty years old, ask EVERYTHING. It does get old, trust me. I have gotten my feelings pretty hurt before when strangers and even family members have told me they look bad and I'll regret them. There are quite a few people out there that feel obligated to share their opinions on other peoples' lifestyle choices, even if they're offensive and rude, and it can get hurtful. Another big one is jobs. Work places have become more lenient about tattoos, but unfortunately there are still some out there that will make you cover your tattoos. Will you want to mess with wearing long sleeves every single day, even when it's really hot out?
• My final piece of advice if you're going to go for it would be to start in a more hidden spot. Get tattooed in a place that won't be shown very easily. It will give you a good idea of if you like being tattooed. When I got my first big one high up on the side of my thigh, I was always wishing it showed more and didn't want it hidden because skirts and shorts covered 90% of it. So that made me feel more comfortable about getting tattooed in more visible places.

I've been tattooed for a few years now and am positive I want a lot more. I absolutely love having beautiful, unique artwork on my skin that I get to wear forever. Being tattooed does have it's disadvantages for sure, but for me, and a lot of people, it's more than worth it. And don't worry, this generation is one full of tattooed people, so you won't be the only colorful eighty year old out there :)

My Weekend In Photos

This weekend was an eventful one. On Thursday, as planned, Joe and I went down to Phoenix and signed the contract and made the first payment for our wedding venue! It was so exciting to go over all the details and start making this official!

Later that afternoon we headed over for my cousin's wedding in Mesa. It was a really beautiful wedding and we had so much fun!

Then Friday was the day I got my arm tattooed. It is actually a coverup of something I got when I was 17 and didn't know anything about tattoos whatsoever. I was a little nervous to have a big piece on my arm that will mostly always be visible, but I really am happy with how it turned out!

Saturday I went over to my sister's house to do a few bridesmaid duties. We made some favors and stuffed envelopes for the Bridal Shower. So many wedding related things happened this weekend!

Joe's dad drove over his 1966 Corvette. Such a pretty car! Then last night we just hung out at home and played Headbandz with some friends. 

So it was a pretty good weekend for me! Hope you all had a great one, too!

Awesome Weekend

This weekend was a pretty good one for me. On Friday we drove down to Phoenix to get my tattoo finished up. I'm not going to lie I had a really hard time with this one.

 For some reason it hurt so so bad, when all of my other ones were easy. 

I'm just glad it's done though, and really happy with how it turned out.

Then today (Saturday) was my niece Ellie's second birthday party, so Joe, Cory and I went to that enjoyed some hotdogs and played with little kids. I completely adore my niece, but she is also a nice little reminder that I don't want kids for quite a while ;)

Finally tonight me and a group of friends decided it would be fun to dress up twenties style and go see The Great Gatsby in theaters. It was a really great movie, and we looked pretty roarin'!

 Here are some photos from my weekend.