influenster voxbox

hi all!

so if you follow me on youtube you probably know that i recently received an influenster box in the mail. what's influenster you ask? it's an online program that sends out boxes to qualifying individuals free of charge so that those lucky people can try out the products inside. the items in question can range from household materials, beauty, or weight loss. i was lucky enough to qualify for a box and received mine a few weeks ago after i moved into my new place. again-coolest part-completely free!

if you've watched my video where i unbox my good's you know that i got a slimfast smoothie drink. in the video all i do is go over what's inside. basically i got a strawberries 'n cream smoothie along with recipe's for all of slimfast's smoothie drinks that can be made to be alcoholic or not, and a martini glass to sip it out of! i unfortunately had nothing that went into my recipe so i popped my smoothie in the fridge and just recently drank it!

my first reaction... REMEMBER TO SHAKE. oh my goodness. when i first took a sip it was like there was a layer of powder on top. not exactly the first impression i was expecting to get from my "smoothie". i did like the taste for the most part, but i'll be honest and say i wasn't a huge fan of this drink. maybe it was the strawberry flavor and the chalky taste. i do think i would like some of the other drinks better. i tried some of my mom's chocolate slimfast drinks in the past and they were always pretty good. the recipe cards showed that there was a coffee drink and a chocolate drink, so maybe i'll have to try those sometime! i'll let you know if i do!

thanks for reading, i know this is a little off from what i usually blog about, but i was excited to share my experience with influenster. if you want to know more, i connected you to some links above! feel free to check them out!

chelsea

p.s. remember: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

living room

so part of moving for me has been trying to figure out where everything i have is going to go. i moved from an 850 square foot apartment with lots of closets to a 750 square foot house with pretty much no storage space on the main floor(it does have an unfinished basement but it smells and is dungeony with spiders, eek!). i have also come to realize that some of my furniture just does not fit with the space. my couch and a desk were the only pieces of furniture i purchased specifically because i knew that they would work with the house and how small it was. some of my furniture that were staples before are now proving to just not work with the space.

for example, let's talk about my living room.

i really like this space, and think it has a lot of potential. problems that i face with this room are that dang book shelf and the fireplace which takes up almost half of the largest wall-not to mention that little nook next to it that i just can't figure out what to do with.

 this book shelf was purchased at target years ago when i was in high school. i just needed a place for all my books(this isn't all of them, you should see my bed side table). it's worked just fine for it's purpose until now. that wall is the only one that is wide enough and doesn't have a vent behind it(i thought it didn't have a vent behind it... turns out it does). my grandma has shown some interest in it, so it will probably end up at her house. as for what would happen to my books once i hock it, i have lots of ideas(thanks pinterest!)

this little corner is my main focus. the only thing that's going on over there right now is that fabric basket where i keep my blankets. it's only downfall is that vent because it's the main source of AC in this room since my bookcase is blocking the other one(i guess that problem would be eliminated once i got rid of it though... i found a super cute shelf on urban outfitters that would work perfect for that corner because it would allow for air flow from the vent while still being able to hold all my books and fit in the space. it's only downfall is that at $169 it is at least triple the price of my current book shelf. 

my other idea would be to frame the walkway into the dining room with book shelves. depending on the type of wood and brackets that i bought to mount said shelves it could be a pricy endeavor. but according to pinterest that seems like the ideal way because the pictures i found are ADORABLE. go to pinterest and type in "over door shelving". you'll want to do it too. anyway, i am so conflicted on what the best option is. the fact that this is a rental deters me from installing shelving that could leave some big holes in these 1920's walls, but they're so cute and functional that i have a feeling my landlord might like the idea of reducing my rent for a month so he could keep them in the property after i leave. who knows.

what do you guys think? i would love your opinions-both about the shelves and decorating in general! let me know in the comments below!

changing things up!

hey all! so one of my obsessions since i moved last week (oh, i forgot to tell you about that? oops...) is going through pinterest and finding decorating ideas that would work well with my new space. i have found myself loving the look of vintage and want to start getting a little more artsy in my decorating by making my functional items a little easier on the eyes. as i get more items for this place and organize things in a new way i'm hoping that this blog will be a good place to document the evolution of my new little house! 

i'm excited to get back to blogging and documenting things on here as i get my creative juices flowing again. also, speaking if creative juices, i started a blog channel on youtube! just search for chelsea keeney and i should pop right up! 

hope you've had a good summer!

A-holes

My car got broken into this morning.

And I'm deciding to look at the bright side.

I originally planned on sleeping in indefinitely this morning but had made plans to meet someone at the Y at 9:30. If I hadn't I wouldn't have found my car with the window broken in until well into the afternoon/evening when I left for work. If that was the case there are lots more valuables that could've been taken besides my purse(which was basically empty) and my wallet(which had nothing of monetary value).

I am so blessed to have family that jumped to my aid immediately. My mom helped me call the insurance company and cancel my card, and brought over some trash bags and duct tape in case I couldn't get my window fixed right away.

My grandma is currently watching Carter while I'm waiting for my car to be cleaned and my window to be fixed.

And my dad let me know he'd teach the guys a lesson(considering they find the a-hole).

I'm blessed despite the crap that happened this morning. It hasn't even been 2 hours since I found my car and I already feel like everything is taken care of. I know there's lots more to worry about(new credit card, replace ID, etc), but for the time being, I'm so glad I have such an awesome family that can help me in times of need.

vlog!

Hello!

Just wanted to let you know...

1. I'm alive

2. I started a vlog! I experimented a little with iMovie and decided I'm going to try it out. 

Here's the LINK

Hope you like it!

Like, Subscribe, Comment

I'm still trying to figure out what direction I'm going with this vlog. 

Thanks!

here i am!

Oh golly, I always feel guilty when I don't blog for a long time. So here I am, blogging. Sorry it's been so long.

I have been living in my cute little apartment for almost 2 months now! Crazy how quickly time flies.

It's funny because back in January I was going stir crazy waiting for the semester to begin, and now it's almost spring break. Ridiculous.

I'll try to get some pictures after I clean up a bit. I'm still trying to find a place for everything. There's some stuff I have way too much of(yarn), and I just can't figure out a good place for it to go, so it's permanently living on counters, or on my closet floor. Not to mention I live with a toddler. So that's always interesting!

Also, I know I told you about my hair cut in my last blog, but it's been awhile, and I got sick of it quick. Honesty, it was kind of a weird haircut. It was short underneath so the sides fell funny, so I decided to chop it! The shortest my hair has ever been for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty thrilled with it!

Also, remember when I mentioned I started Alpha at Lutheran Church of Hope? Well since then I have felt like I really need to get connected, because my small group is just so great, and I love knowing people in the church! So, I decided to try out for the worship team and I made it! I'm so excited to start singing with other people with my same passion for singing/music. I have been so far from some of the things that I really prided myself on a couple years ago. Partly because I had a baby, and partly because I am so busy all the time, that the thought of adding one more thing was too daunting. But, I am so glad I tried out, and I am so excited to get started!

blah blah blah.

welllllllllll hey!

i have not been blogging, have you noticed? i haven't even been in school for a month and i feel like i'm too busy for anything other than homework, work, and child rearing(sp?).

i'm really enjoying my classes(except one, stupid math), although some of them are just hard to talk in simply because they are uncomfortable issues in our society(race, gender). also, i have 3 classes on m/w and they kill me. i am ravenous by the time i'm done. the people sitting next to me are lucky i'm not on bath salts or i'd probably eat their faces(too soon?).

anyway, things in the apartment are great! all boxes are unpacked and carter is in the process of weaning, so lots of growing up for both of us. the only downfalls of my humble abode are the third story location(my back has been killing me from carrying a mixture of carter, groceries and laundry up 2 flights), and the fact that it costs $3 to do a load of laundry which I refuse to pay(why would i when i can take it to my grandma's and do it for free?).

overall though, life is pretty good. having a routine again has been a life saver after a month of going stir crazy(did i mention how much i dislike climbing stairs?). hopefully things will keep going smoothly and the things that aren't going do smoothly will resolve themselves!

lots of changes

oh. em. gee.

these past few weeks have been crazy. i'm in my own apartment. i chopped my hair off. i started alpha at lutheran church of hope.

it's all so good and i am thrilled to finally be taking some steps in the right direction!

here's some pics of my place from when i first moved in, and my new hair!!

finally.

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!!

FINALLY!!
something is happening!

so much change in my life this week i can't even stand it.

1. my grandma is helping me get my own place. we went to have a second look at an apartment that caught my eye before christmas, and ended up signing a lease!! i will (hopefully) be moving in this week as long as everything is in order with the application and everything. i am so excited it's stupid!

2. i have an appointment with rick mosley this week and i am planning on chopping off my hair! most of my girl crushes have either buzzed their hair or chopped it into a pixie in the last few months. although i don't plan on going as extreme as some of them, i have decided that i really need some change. i've never done anything really crazy with my hair pretty much ever, especially because i needed to be able to put it into a ponytail for the majority of my life. but i'm feeling confident and ready for this change. i'll attach the picture that's been my motivation!

so excited for this week! aaaaahhhh!!!

long overdue.

there is so much i could talk about right now, but none of it is something i should really post on the internet right now.

you all know the things i have been excited for and frustrated about over the last few months, and part of the reason i haven't been posting is because nothing was changing. heck, i was annoying myself, i'm sure y'all just stopped reading.

things are starting to change now tho. i'm still not sure what direction my life will take in the next few months, but i plan to keep you updated on it. as of right now, the most exciting things going on are christmas shopping, friends coming into town, and apartment shopping. almost all of my christmas shopping happened on etsy(btw, i opened an etsy shop of my own! www.etsy.com/shop/ChelseaLoCreations ). my friends officially start arriving this week(like tomorrow). and after a few disappointments with some not-so-professional leasing agents near drake, i found one that i think i love nearer to home.

i don't promise that i won't suck at blogging anymore, but i do promise that i'll try!

oh, and by the way. carter is huge, and i'll try to post more about little developments with him. he's such a sweetie these days!

sorry for sucking.

hello!

sorry I suck at blogging.

life lately?? honestly... nothing new. i got new face wash... sooooo that's exciting, right?

oh! and this happened!! remember me telling you i was planning on getting it on my last photo dump? well, i got it sunday and it looks great! love it! now for my sleeve ;)




also, carty is still cute and is 16 months old now. you'd think he'd figure out how to kiss with his lips CLOSED by now!!
tehe


- Chelsea :)

photo dump: my life lately.

what i've been up to lately:

i did haven's make up


chloe and i facetimed from our bedrooms


this is happening soon


babies took a bath together! tehehe


i made scarlett a headband


and myself a hat! carter got a package full of hats and mittens from his aunt :)


my fiancé is hot and is making me miss him by posting pictures of himself looking like THIS


chloe got senior pics!


carty and i watched rachenda do her silly workout



we've been having lots of fun! sorry i've been absent around here. not much to blog about at the moment other than the fact that i miss jack(as usual) and that i want him to be done with school. i promise i'll try to blog more once i'm not so boring and so busy!

jack graduates. pt. 2

after we went to jack's graduation we hit the road again and headed up to my cabin in south dakota to celebrate some more. we met up with a bunch of jack's family and it was so fun! jack, carter and i didn't do much sight-seeing because we didn't think mr. man would really enjoy the scenic views. so we opted for family time instead while the rest of the family went to places like crazy horse and mount rushmore. however, we did go fishing and spend some time at a couple of the beautiful lakes near our cabin!

here's some of the stuff that happened:

fishin'

jack's "graduation" cake. yes, those are dolphins. 

the alternative was unicorns and heavy pink frosting.

we attempted engagement photos.

carter face-planted in the lake. 

mini-heath ledger(literally identical) gave carter a little too much love.

and we got old-time photos!

looking back on this trip makes me realize how much i am really looking forward to becoming a part of jack's family. everything we did was so great, even if it was just sitting around enjoying each other's company. it's all that i needed to enjoy myself. 

so school is back in session, and let me tell ya... it's totally different than last semester. i started off the year with my mom super sick right before she planned on leaving the country. only for her to be admitted to a hospital once she got there. then my grandma was moving right when i needed a babysitter.

long story short things did not go as planned! carter ended up starting day care last week(which we have been looking into) mainly because my grandma had too much on her plate as it was and didn't think she could move and watch a toddler. thankfully it has gone really well so far! the day care is in the church i grew up in, and there are a bunch of kids his age for him to play with! plus they feed him way better than i do(they promote a well balanced diet which i have a hard time doing since i'm so picky). also, i think it will be good for both of us because he is a total momma's boy and my heart can't help but melt when he cries 'momma!'. so we are both becoming a little more independent.

anyway.. school! as glad as i am to have a little change of pace, it is hard having all new teachers. some of them are very 'let the learners teach themselves', which is great, but not when i'm trying to understand math. i need structure when it comes to math cause i don't understand math textbooks-it's like reading a foreign language to me. luckily the rest of my classes are very interesting and i think i can pull off a 4.0 again(knock on wood).

chow's is going as expected. I have all new students minus a couple returning cheerleaders, and they are all doing great!! it's gonna stay busy around there for awhile thanks to gabby coming home with the gold, but that's just fine with me! the more the merrier!! plus my niece is one of the many new students starting this fall. i bought her a leotard for her birthday-seemed fitting ;).

overall everything has been going pretty ok around here. i'm still bummed i have to wait until december for jack to be here, but i think we'll be fine in the meantime(which reminds me, wedding plans are well underway and we have a date set-exciting!!!). also, i have lots more pictures from our trip to south dakota, so keep an eye out for some of those posts!

until then!

jack graduated.

so jack graduated last week. we drove to laramie and watched him walk across the stage as we cheered his name. 

i'm so proud of him, and i can't wait for him to officially be done with school*. he has been working so hard, and it has been so hard without him here. but it was so nice to be able to see him for a solid week before both of us head off to school. more posts to come-these are specifically from graduation!

carter and aunt maggie

do you see him!?

our little family :)

couldn't help myself!

*he tacked on four more months of schooling which apparently will add $5/hour to his pay check. not happy about it.