Berry Banana Dessert Smoothie

The reason I am calling this a dessert smoothie is because one of the ingredients is ice cream and I don't want you all thinking I am drinking this as a diet thing. Just a dessert smoothie. Fresh, creamy and yummy. Also, super easy to make. 

You'll need
1/4 cup raspberries
1/4 cup blackberries
1/2 of a banana
2 table spoons of greek yogurt
1/4 cup of vanilla ice cream

Heat the berries up in the microwave. This will soften them making them easier to blend and also add juices that helps with the blending process. Add the berries then all the rest of the ingredients and blend. Very easy. This recipe makes about 2, 8oz cups. Enjoy.
love, Carlee 

White blossoms

My little brother took these photos for me. He seems to know that every time I come home for the weekend we will at least be taking one set of outfit photos. The thing is he kind of likes it. He does a really good job and he is only 11!!! He said someday he wants to be a professional photographer. I have inspired someone. I think that he will be fricken awesome especially since he is starting so young. Anyways I love these photos and the background. Apple blossom time in Washington State is definitely not something you want to miss out on. Did I tell you, I grew up on an apple farm? 

-deep sigh- being an military girlfriend/fiancé/wife is stressful. I know I haven't experienced the wife part yet but soon enough. It is really hard to have your life in something else's hands (the army.) Things change and plans go wrong. Its just hard sometimes. So that's where I am at right now. I am just trying to take it one day at a time. That can be hard for me since I have always been a planner and my Type A personality likes to be in control of things. 

One thing that the army has taught me is to be patient and just go with the flow. But its hard. SUPER HARD sometimes. But at least I am learning to go with the flow and have faith. Silver lining. Well that is about as much as your going to here me complain about it. This is my life and I wouldn't want it any other way. But sometimes my head is spinning. 

love, Carlee 

Scarf-Old Navy

Shoes- REI

Jacket-Eddie Bauger

Shirt/Shorts-American Eagle

Living on a farm

365 photo project. 112-118

 Crate and Barrel catalog, getting wedding registry inspiration/ moccasins and sweat pants/a karate guy that is a 'stress ball'/ the stamp I ordered came in the mail/ my family got chicken/ apple blossoms/ and baseball.

I went home this weekend, that is why there are the photos of the apple blossoms, chickens, and baseball. It was nice to be home and see my family. And the blue sky doesn't hurt. Also look out for more post coming up. I know I was kind of a slacker this week but this coming month is going to be a good one! Happy Sunday.
love, Carlee

custom stamp / diy

I feel like I haven't been posting much and I think I feel that way because it is true. Well I am back today with a great DIY. This was a big tricky and time consuming as well. But if you have the patience and time it is worth it.

So the main reason I wanted to do this DIY was because I was thinking about buying my own Custom stamp for Little Sloth that I could stamp on packages and such. I was looking around and I saw they run about $45 to have a custom stamp made, the wood block type. I thought I better try it myself before I invested in a piece. I really love the results especially since this is my very first time ever making a stamp. I am now thinking about making one that says Handmade by Carlee or something. We will see. Anyways enjoy.

You'll need

Rubber carving block -I got a 4'x6' for $2.50

Carving tool -Mine was $1.99

Ink pad- $4.99

Tracing paper- $3.99

I spent about $14 dollars on this project total and have tons of left over rubber and tracing paper. So I thought it was a good investment. I will definitely be able to do more projects with the leftover material. 

1. Make your design. My logo is pretty simple. I designed it in photoshop, the way I wanted it to look once stamped. And printed it out on plain white paper. 

2. Trace your design as is on to tracing paper with a pencil.

3. Flip over the tracing paper on to the rubber block and press down so the pencil lines so up clearly.

4. Start to carve. Be patient. I actually had to take a break and come back because sometimes I can be impateint with things.

5. Test your stamp. I tested my a lot then when back and carved some more and tested again. It takes time and effort.

6. A product you are proud of. I am really excited to start using my stamp to put on shipping supplies.

After all the work and effort I put into making this, I can honestly say that buying one from a store on Etsy for $45+ is totally worth it. I think I will head on over there right now and buy one myself. It was fun though and if you are up for the challenge, I would definitely try it. Just remember patience is key! Enjoy
love, Carlee 

colorful mini hearts

365 project. 105-111

stamps/ the notice on Facebook from my dorm-janky!/ working out/ mini hearts/ custom stamp- diy coming soon/ Husky spring football game at the Seattle Center/ more bad weather in Seattle. 

Happy Sunday.
love, Carlee 

As of lately

Thank you all so much for the feedback on my last blog post. You can still give me feedback if you would like. So I can make this blog better for my readers. I will be recapping the information shortly and letting you guys know if there will be changes/ additions/ adaptions etc. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Not much going on as of lately just trying to finish my sophomore year up at the University of Washington and complete one of my goals for the year but having my GPA at a 3.5 or above. I am on track to accomplish that goal. So that is super exciting. I am excited for the next few weeks. My dad is coming into town this weekend and we are watching Husky spring football. Mostly, I am excited to see some family. Happy Wednesday.
love, Carlee

Shirt/Jeans: Old Navy

Vest: Thrifted

Boots: Target

Ice cream and other things

365 project. 98-104

Ice cream/ Clark graduated from AIT, I am so proud of my handsome solider/ cheeseburger at Red Robin/ my friend was prom dress shopping, I tried on a matching dress just for fun/ hailed like crazy in Seattle/ soccer/ card sales. 
love, Carlee

Dressed down peacock

Only one photo? Is this suppose to be an outfit post? I don't have the answers to these questions. All I know is that I wanted to style this dress again so I did. I dressed it way down and I love the completed look. On a different note, one of my really good friends took the plunge and got bangs recently and I am so jealous. I wish I had bangs. Then I don't. My hair is naturally curly/wavy and I don't know if I could handle them. Whenever I am fussing with my hair it just goes up, as pictured above. I am worried bangs will just give me lots of headaches compared to a few awesome times when I put effort into my hair. I just don't know if it is worth it.

But cartoon me says differently. See I look awesome with bangs.
love, Carlee

Dress: Forever 21

Shirt: American Eagle

Belt: Macys

Printed and Vintage

Lately I have been trying to eat healthier and I have also been logging what I eat every day on my phone with an app called My Fitness Planner. It is pretty handy just to have something right there to log your food and exercise with. I read somewhere that when people right down everything they eat, they are more likely to eat less then normal. These are not even people that are dieting. It just if you have to write everything down that you are eating you are more likely to eat less. So thats what I have been doing. 

This past weekend was a great one. My friend and I went to the gym each day, have a girls night/movie night and watched the movie Maid of Honor with Patrick Demsey. It was fitting since she is going to be my maid of honor. Anyways I am excited for this upcoming weekend. One of my really good friends from back home is coming to visit. 

love, Carlee 

Boots: Vintage

Jeans: Old Navy

Sweater: Macys

Belt: Target

Tank: American Eagle 

Branding Little Sloth

Branding Little Sloth.

Once I decided on Little Sloth for the name of my greeting card business. I then started to design logos. I first choose a color scheme. I wanted something that I would keep and would stick with the Little Sloth brand forever. I don't really know how I came up with the color scheme. But in the end it works. And I love it.

Opinions.
I got my families opinion and asked there thoughts on the looks. I am really glad I did because one of the fonts I was thinking about for the Sloth, my brother said the cursive S kind of looked like a G. I am glad he said something because if he was confused. My future costumers might be confused and I I didn't want that. I also wanted to stay consistent with design and branding because that is what makes for a good business. When you can take one look at a logo, ad, or feature and know what business you are looking at. That was my goal.

The design won't come overnight.
My design did not happen over night at all. I started thinking back in October about starting an Etsy card shop and once I came up with the name I started designing and redesigning. I wanted to be able to open my shop without hesitation about the look or design. So I took a while designing but in the end it was definitely worth it. Because now I have a product and a brand that I am proud of and is recognizable for my business Little Sloth. 

p.s. like Little Sloth's Facebook Page to keep up to date with what is going on in the shop, inside photos and exclusive discounts. 

View: Little Sloth: the business behind the nickname 

Blooming trees

365 project. 91-97

This is the end of the first week of spring quarter! At first I was kind of dreading spring quarter. I was ready to be done with the year all together. But this week was good and I am focused and ready to tackle the up coming weeks. I will probably change my tune but right now I am feeling good. Here are just some snaps from the past week. 

The cherry trees are in full bloom here at the UW. A belayed birthday dinner for one of my friends and the Seattle Troll. I also can't believe that stuff for the 4th of July is already out. What! It is only April. Anyways, it was a good week once I got the hang out it. I am also excited for the weather to be nicer but today it is raining.... 
love, Carlee