You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!

For regular readers of The Snugly Duckling, it is no surprise that I love Christmas. Yes, it's totally normal to start decorating on Halloween Day, totally normal to listen to Christmas music since September, totally normal to start making Christmas crafts over the weekend.. Right? Right.

In honor of early Christmas, I made (in my opinion) the cutest craft ever, and I didn't even have to use Pinterest! I feel like that's a much bigger feat than it probably is, but I'm super proud.

Anyways, the finished product to my craft, followed by a short tute:

What you need:

Lion Brand Fun Fur Yarn. I used a full one, and maybe an eighth of the second one.

(And if you have the Jo-Ann's app, you can usually find a 50% coupon!)

A foam wreath of any size. I think mine is 8 inches

Hot glue

Red felt/fleece

Cotton balls

Step 1: Add a tiny dab of hot glue to whichever side you designate the back of your wreath.

Step 2: Cut about 2-3 feet of yarn. Wrap, wrap wrap. Then secure the end with hot glue.

Pay no mind to the fact that it looks like a pumpkin here. It is still totally a Christmas craft. ;)

Step 3: Repeat.

Step 5: Repeat.

Step 6: Repeat. (This part usually takes about an hour and a half and can be very boring without company.)

Step 7: Once your wreath is fully wrapped, it's time to make your Santa hat! (I considered buying one, but Mr. Grinch would've been disappointed in me.)

Step 8: Cut out a hat shape. It can be a full triangle, kind of a half triangle with some edges, or however you want. I also think it'd be super fun to have a patterned print, like flannel or something Christmas-y.

Step 9: Attach your cotton balls using hot glue again, and bam! There's your Santa hat!

Step 10: Attaching the Santa hat. This part is no bueno. 

What worked best for me, was a foam paint brush, just because I had one lying around. Using a knife, I cut a slit in my wreath in a spot the yarn was a little sparse. I cut all the foam off the paint brush, and shoved the plastic piece in with SO much hot glue. From there, you just glue the hat onto the actual wreath, and the end of the paintbrush. I'm sure you could use wire, or an actual Santa hat to make it work a little easier.

I hope you enjoyed my tute. It was honestly such a fun craft, and I was mega stoked to see the end result. Let me know if anyone tries it! I'd love to see pictures or improvements!

PS. You can check out the other wreaths I've made here and here or in my Etsy shop.

High Five for Friday!

1. I got a new mattress this week. For like 50% off. Best thing ever. I no longer have to sleep on a silly, rock hard twin bed!

2. This cute necklace was $3.80!! I obviously had to have it.

3. Otterbox!! Ahh! ;) Sadly, my beautiful 5 is already super scratched.

4. I found these hilarious fatty pictures of me from my baby days and just had a huge laughing fit.

5. And last but not least, apple freaking cider. No one makes it like the far North, and my sweet mom brought some back from Ohio. Love that woman.

10 Random Facts About Myself

1. I love buying school supplies at the beginning of the year, but suck at keeping them organized.

2. I am almost always craving bagels.

3. I'm "supposed" to be cleaning right now. (My brand new bed needs somewhere to go when it gets here tomorrow!)

4. I've never been trick or treating.

5. I love Peanuts way too much.

Yep, I own this book.

6. I celebrate Christmas all year round. When people make fun of me, I say that it's never off season to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

7. My mom is singing Selena Gomez right now, but it's her birthday so I'm trying to be nice. ;)

8. I still own both of my high school prom dresses, but I'm pretty sure I'll never wear them again.

9. No matter how many times I've seen the episode, I will always cry when Jim and Pam say "I do."

10. Fall is my absolute favorite season. No questions asked.
Linking up with the cute Lena this week!

Happy Birthday to...

My Mom!

Mom, thank you so much for everything you've done for me in my past 21 years. You've taught me to grow up in the ways of God, and to always follow my heart. You've always been there to dry my tears. Sure, I might not have listened to your advice until the later years, and sure, we've had our differences. But in the end, I've always known that you've had my back! I love you, mom!

And since I know how much you like to laugh, here's a picture of a wet llama.

What's on My Heart

For those of you who missed my last post, I have officially decided to move back to my home town in North Carolina. It was a decision that I did NOT make lightly, but I had one huge "Yes, this is it" moment. We went to visit last weekend, and I was just praying the entire weekend that God would make His plan clear to me. The answer that He gave me minutes later was so powerful that I was moved to tears. After that moment, North Carolina was the only option available. We came home from our trip and started telling my family and close friends.
Before church today, I heard that someone who is very dear to me that we had told was not as supportive as I would have hoped. After I had gotten this clear, beautiful moment from God, I'll be honest, I was infuriated. I started crying because I was just so angry that this person couldn't see the plan that He had made so clear to me. It distracted me through most of worship, but in the last song, we sang about surrendering all. I told God then and there that I was sorry I let that distract me, and just prayed that He would soften the heart of those who didn't understand.
Then of course, our pastor spoke about faith. And one of his main points was, "Don't let others stop you from God's purpose for your life." I just felt a huge burden lifted from me, and knew then, that it doesn't matter what this person thinks of me. I'm doing something so amazing through God, and I can't be distracted from that. Not everyone will approve of my life choices. It can hurt and be hard, but I need to carry out God's will in my life and that was made so amazingly clear to me today.

High Five for Friday

Guys. Huge things were happening for me this week! And since I'm so super excited, I'm going to use ALL kinds of HTML and improper grammar to prove it.  ;)

First and foremost, in the bloggy world, I reached my one year blogaversary! I have been so blessed and honored to meet the sweet, sweet girls of the blogosphere and I seriously can't wait to meet more of you!

Second (and the one that's a little more important to me), I found the best living situation to move into. Ever. Without a doubt. Etc. These two girls/ my new roommates are huge in the pinning/craftosphere, they don't drink or do drugs, have two puppies, and they love Jesus. And the rent is only $375 a month for a 4 star apartment with a two car garage (I think?). It's literally a beyond perfect situation! Anddd, it's in North Carolina. Yep! I'm officially moving back!

Third, I got a good workout this weekend. Being back in North Carolina meant hills, and walking those hills. Let's just say that today is Friday, and I am still sore from the hills on Monday!!

Fourth, I know I already shared this with yall, but I am so excited that I got to go back to my home church this weekend. Seeing as I live 12 hours away, it's kinda hard to visit. Butttt I'm moving back, and I'm happy because then I'll be able to go every week again.

Fifth, I got a job! It's a crappy job that I've already had before, and I'm going to have to quit in 2 months, but it's full time and pays more than my other job, so I'm not complaining (too much ;)!

Thankful Thursdays

Hello cuties! Melissa from Your Perfect Peace has inspired me to start making thankful lists. I've been in a bit of a rut, and I think appreciating the small things will help tremendously. I feel like it's been forever since I've linked up with Sarah for Thankful Thursdays! You totally should too!

What I'm thankful for this week:
1. My sister! She's driven all over the city this past week to pick me up while my car is in the shop. BSF! (Best Sisters Forever. She and I came up with that a long time ago, and it's only slightly lame that we still use it. ;)
2. Buying my Christmas outfit, with employee discount of course! I thought this top would be so cute with some black tights underneath. It's way longer in real life than it is in the picture!

3. Rekindling old friendships. I had the best time in North Carolina this weekend, and got to see people I haven't seen in over a year! (And I got to go to Panera!) It was the perfect weekend.
4. Craft stores.
5. Staying up late watching The Office reruns with my Dad! I try so hard not to take that time for granted.

Weekend in Charlotte

Words cannot describe just how much I miss my home! For my newer followers, I'm originally from Charlotte, NC and am almost always considering moving back.

Uptown Charlotte, NC

 I moved to Louisiana for school, but when I decided to change my major, it turns out the school I've chosen was no longer my first choice. So this weekend in Charlotte was full of meetings with counselors, hanging out with old besties (including Your Perfect Peace!), walking around Uptown, trips to IKEA, and going to my home church. It was literally a sublime weekend. Here's some of my favorite pictures from the week! It was so hard choosing so few to share.

The beautiful flowers our host bought us!

Panera Bread! We sadly don't have one in Baton Rouge!

Why hello Ikea! It was nice to see you too!

Light rail tracks, on a quite dreary day!

My itty bitty school is finally getting football! We just had to sneak in the stadium to grab a few pictures.

Walking through the Botanical Gardens on campus made boyfriend look like The Lorax.

This pretty piece of art on campus was too awesome lit up!

Of course, there were a few friends in Charlotte that I didn't get to see this trip, but we still had such an amazing time. If things work out, there's a pretty strong chance I'll be back in just a few short months!

What about you followers, have you ever been to the beautiful city?

One Year Blogaversary!

Dear beautiful, fantastic, sweet, hilarious followers,
I would like to thank every single one of you that has taken the time to stop by my blog over the past year. I still can't believe it's already been a year since I've started my small blog.
You've been with me through weak and strong blogger moments, good and sometimes very bad posts, and I couldn't be more appreciative. I've made so many sweet friends through this opportunity, and I know there are seriously so many more cuties out there that I can't wait to come across!
I 100% can't wait to see what this next beautiful year has in store for The Snugly Duckling!

Those Funny eCards You Can't Refuse

Guys, this prompt was way too perfect for me to pass up today. Lena's prompt for this Tuesday 10 is your 10 favorite Some Ecards. I can't even tell you how much I love these things. Almost every one makes me fall in love and just laugh as loud as possible. So instead of picking my ten favorites, I just chose the last ten that I pinned. There's no way I'd have enough time to look through them all!

Seriously go link up with Lena for the most fun post ever!!

High Five for Friday!

1. I have 6 spots left for free blog design! Send me an email if you're interested!

2. I've had some pretty huge life decisions to make this week. I'd go into the details, but it's probably not all that interesting. Anyways, it led to some much needed alone time with me and God.

3. I'd say any week that involves Starbucks is pretty amazing. I finally tried the salted caramel mocha. Yum!

4. I took a basic sewing class! I've been kinda teaching myself, but this class helped so much with all the basics. It was great!

5. I got in a teeny tiny fender bender. And by fender bender, I mean that a lady backed her car right into me. This might not seem all that exciting, but sense it was her fault, I get to fix up my car a little bit for free. And of course I have to clean it and all before it goes into the shop. She'll be brand new!

Come link up with Lauren for High Five for Friday!

That Time the Drunken Idiot Ran His Truck into a Lake

Oh boy, do I have a story for you or what?!

Tonight a neighbor friend and I went to my sister's house for the evening. We had a good time, eating mint chocolate chip brownies (recipe coming soon) and watching Mean Girls. It's October 3rd, what do you expect? (At least it was when I started writing this post.) We drove back to our apartment complex only to discover that I had been locked out of my house. I waited in my car for a minute since my mom was right around the corner. All of a sudden, I see flashing police lights everywhere. My mom pulls up and we walk to the door where a little gathering is waiting opposite our home.

We decide to go see what the commotion is and find this. Bottom line of the story, there's a truck in the river. No one knows if anyone is in it. No one even sees the tire marks in the grass, and it's lying parallel to the riverbanks. People (including the firefighters!) start joking that a ghost dropped it in. Silly stuff. 

We start hearing a few different accounts. The first story we heard was that a soaking wet man had been pounding on people's doors in the complex. Apparently he couldn't find his apartment, was totally wasted, and talked about how he had gone "mudding." 

The second story that we heard was that a woman walking her dog had seen the truck in the water and called the police. 

Finally, they tell us the third story about the police officers finding him first, tasing him to the ground, and arresting him. (I kinda wish they had told us that story before people started assuming someone was still in the truck.)

So of course, we decide that we have to wait with this crowd. We were intrigued and wanted to see how they'd get the truck out! First they sent in a pair of police divers:

They assessed the situation, swam through the cab, made sure everything was safe and that everyone was for sure out. They attached a rope to the front bumper and tied it to an itty bitty sign. Seemed kind of pointless to me, but I digress. After this point, things got really slow. The police were just standing around talking, no one was telling us anything. A lot of people went home, ourselves included. We figured they'd wait until the morning before anything else could be done. 

Luckily, all of this can be seen and heard through our windows. We start settling in for the night, when we start hearing more vehicles come in. We look out and the tow truck had just arrived. So of course, our curiosity drug us back out of bed. (I apologize now for any poor quality nighttime pictures. Oops!)

Here's the divers going back in following the rope they originally tied. The hooked the truck up to the tow truck with a supposedly strong enough cable.

Here's it coming up and out of the water. This part was super fun (sarcasm) because the cable snapped! Luckily, it made its way to land and they had more cables. It was slightly drifting back into the water, but they were able to attach a new cable before it was totally submersed. And of course, the new cable snapped. These poor fellows probably just want to be home!

PS The tail lights aren't on in the picture. They went out after about five minutes once we had gotten there. Chevy strong! 

It probably took a total of 20-30 minutes to get the truck up on to the bed of the tow truck. And boy was a lot of water draining out of everything! I'm sure you could fully imagine.

Once on the tow truck, we were able to see that this poor truck had a temporary tag, and no plate. Meaning that this truck was probably brand, spanking new. I really just don't understand the actions that led to this incident, but I suppose some people are just dumb dumbs.

We are so close to the ending! Stick with me!

Once the truck is loaded, the tow truck attempts to start moving. However, it rained today. Yep, you guessed it. He was stuck. It took him about another half hour of digging and such jazz to get out. We went back inside for this part too, but he was honking like crazy and the few people left outside were cheering. Thank goodness I was still awake or I would've been cranky to wake up to that! ;)

10 Geeky Facts About Me

The sweet Lena has her Tuesday 10 this week for top 10 geeky things about you.  

I don't know about you, but I'm a huge geek. I know beyond doubt that I am a geek. But whenever I sat down to write about this, I couldn't think of many examples. The one that kept coming up was "old lady," because I'm an old lady in every shape and form. I'd call that pretty geeky. See for yourself!

1. I embroider, sew, cross stitch, and I have a class tonight to learn to knit.

2. I go to sleep by 10:30 every night. Last Friday, I got in bed at 9.

3. My friends lovingly call me "Mom." I'm the one making sure they don't get hurt.

4. I read in the tub at least once a week.

5. I work at a fabric store, and get along better with my white haired coworkers than with ones my own age.

6. "You wear a cardigan on top of another cardigan." I'm not yet at this point, but it's coming. Especially the ones with the elbow covers.

7. I had an Android for a week and couldn't figure out how to use it to its full extent. Instagram and texting were my two staples.

8. I think Hot in Cleveland is one of the funniest shows around.

9. I say things like "Geez Louise" and "Oh goodness!"

10. I am almost always in pain. That's a little sad, but my scoliosis makes me so old!