Today I have a super casual tank top and shorts look for you. During the summer I have a few go-to pairs of shorts and a rotation of t-shirts that I basically live in. This tank top is a pretty new addition to my closet from the store I’ve been running for my internship. I do e-commerce for a counter-human trafficking organization called The Exodus Road and I love the message of this shirt and that it supports rescue for people caught in modern slavery.
I don’t think I own a pair of shorts that didn’t start out as jeans or long pants. When I shop for shorts the fit is always awkward and they are either too short or too long. For the past couple of years, I’ve just been buying jeans at thrift stores and cut them into shorts that way I have total control over the length.
Top: The Exodus Road (black is sold out but they also have it in mint!)
What is your go to summer outfit? Tell me in the comments!
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
Happy Friday! I usually do a fashion post on Fridays. However, because the Rana Plaza anniversary fell at the beginning of the week I decided to switch my posts and today I’m sharing how to make your own cold brew coffee.
Some of you might have tried cold brew from Starbucks or another coffee shop and you might not have realized that it’s actually really easy to make yourself. It is super easy to make with supplies you probably have at home and is a great zero-waste and time-saving coffee option.
To start you need a jar with a lid, (I use a half-gallon canning jar but you definitely don’t have to make that much) and ground coffee. If you aren’t grinding your own coffee you don’t need to worry about this but if you are, set the grinder to the coarsest setting.
Using a 1-to-8 ratio, add your coffee grounds and water. You can use warm water (not hot!!) to make it brew faster but I just use lukewarm tap water.
Put your jar in the fridge for at least 48 hours.
When you are satisfied that your coffee has brewed long enough pull it out of the fridge to filter the coffee grounds out. You will need some kind of bowl, it’s easiest if it has a pour spout; and a filter, I usually just use a wire strainer like in the picture but this time I decided to try to use a paper coffee filter like for drip coffee. The paper filter ended up taking way longer but it filtered the coffee much more thoroughly.
Pour the coffee over the filter into the bowl. Dump the coffee grounds into another bowl to compost them. Pour the coffee back over the filter into the clean jar. Repeat that process one more time or until you don’t get any more coffee grounds in your filter. If you use the paper filter I recommend that you wait until the last time you filter it because it does take a while.
Make sure you end up with all the coffee back in the jar, pour yourself a glass, add your favorite milk/creamer/flavoring and enjoy!
Do you like cold brew coffee? Have you ever made it before? Tell me in the comments!
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
I just started my sophomore year of college and my first semester at a four-year college. I live really close to my school so I’m still living at home but I wanted to add some new touches to my room to still have some of the fun of decorating a dorm. It was almost more fun because I don’t have to share with anyone.
These prints from Printiki are aboslutely adorable. I love the look of polaroid photos but have never wanted to spend the money on a new camera and especially not on all the film. With Printiki I can print polaroid style photos that I’ve already taken with my phone and camera.
I decided to string some twine along some shelves I have and have the prints with some little silver clothespins this way it will be super easy to add new prints or change them out. I think it would also look really cute to arrange them on wall to make a sort of gallery wall.
I used little nails to hang my twine up but you could also use command hooks or a little bit of masking tape if you need something that won’t put holes in the wall.
If you decide to order the prints use the code CEJRQ9KW * to get free shipping if you are a first-time customer to printiki!
How did you decorate your dorm/room for the new school year? Let me know in the comments or tag me on Instagram, my username is amaizylifeblog
~Maizy
I received these prints for free in exchange for a review. Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month. I received these prints free in exchange for a review. All opinions and words are my own.
Is it just me or are sleep masks a lot of fun? They don’t usually stay on all night, either they come off while I’m sleeping or I get frustrated with them and take them off but when I am wearing they just feel so fun and a bit glamorous. In this post I’m going to show you how to make your own DIY lavender filled sleep mask! And yes, this is more plaid flannel I think I might have a problem.
You will need:
Soft fabric in a pattern you like (I used flannel) <1/2 yd
100% cotton batting <1/2 yd
ribbon, cord, or trim enough to wrap around the middle of your head and tie in a bow
dried lavender flowers or another herb you like with a relaxing smell
a sewing machine + thread + sewing pins
a pattern I googled “sleep mask pattern” and ended up using this one print it and cut it out
Cut out two eye mask shapes each of your fabric and batting.
Now it’s time to pin your fabric together so you can sew it. This took my a couple of tries so I’ll walk you through the layers. Start with both pieces of batting one on top of the other.
Put the first piece of your fabric on top of the batting.
Cut your ribbon, cord, or trim into two pieces and lay them on top of your fabric as shown in the photo. You want the ribbon to lay horizontally about in the middle let the ends extend past the edge of the fabric just a little to make sure they get sewn in securely.
Lay the second piece of fabric on top of the stack and pin everything in place making sure that nothing shifts and your ribbon only gets pinned down where it is supposed to be.
Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance sew from just above the ribbon around the bottom and stop just above the second piece of ribbon.
Turn the mask right sides out so that the fabric is on the outside and the ribbon is extending from each side of the mask as shown in the photo.
Pour approx. 1 Tablespoon of dried lavender flowers into the open part of your mask and shake the mask a bit so the flowers settle down away from the opening.
Tuck the raw edges along the top of the mask inside so that no raw edges are visible. Iron, pin in place and sew close to the edge of the fabric.
And you’re done! Enjoy and if you make it be sure to post a picture and use #amaizylife so I can see!
Halloween is coming up and if you are like me and often find yourself completely lost as to what your costume should be, this post should help!
I will be wearing both of these costumes for different halloween events this month. One of them is made of clothes that you can probably find in your closet and the other is a super easy DIY project that you could make in the course of an afternoon.
The first costume is a Captain America costume!
For the DIY you will need:
A navy blue long sleeve tshirt and pair of leggings
Red, White and Blue paint
Foam paint brushes
Cardboard, you will need a piece that will fit inside your shirt to keep the paint from soaking through and a piece cut into the shape of a circle for the shield.
Duck tape and masking tape
Newspaper to protect the surface you will be working on
Exceptional freehanding skills or a star shaped stencil (I just printed a star shape I liked from google images.)
I decided to do this tutorial as a video on YouTube instead of using photos. I felt super awkward recording the narration and I need to figure out how to fill the whole video with narration so you aren’t sitting there listening to me breathe lol. Tell me what you think, I had fun doing this so I start doing it more often!
The second costume is of Clara Oswald from Doctor Who! The costume is not from a particular episode but it is inspired by the look that Clara usually wears.
I paired an ivory blouse with a peter pan collar with a black pencil skirt, black tights, and black ballet flats. You can add a red fez, a sonic screwdriver, or some black sunglasses that can be the Doctor’s sonic glasses.
I liked the sonic glasses but I hope the Doctor gets his screwdriver back in the next season.What in the name of sanity have I got on my head?
Looks like the chameleon circuit is working again.
I hoped these ideas gave you some inspiration. If you use one of these ideas, or get inspiration from them, tag me on Instagram @amaizylifeblog so I can see!
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
I’m more of a fan of skinny jeans and pants than bootcut so recently I decided alter a pair of my khaki uniform pants so that they would have more of a skinny fit. Today I’m sharing with you how to change the cut of a pair of your pants.
For this refashion you will need:
A pair of pants you want to alter (obviously)
A sewing machine
The right needle for your fabric (jeans will need a bigger needle, khakis or something thinner will need a smaller one.)
A seam ripper
Thread to match the thread on your pants (This is especially important if your pants have topstitching.)
Start by taking out the hem of your pants about an inch on either side of each seam and the topstitching up to just a little higher than wherever you want to start taking in your pants.
Turn your pants right side out and pin where you want to take in each of the legs of the pants. CAREFULLY take off the pants and measure how far each of the pins are from the seams. Once you have an idea of where you should put your stitches, turn the pants back inside out and repin them according to the measurements you took.
This shows one of my first trials using a pair of skinny jeans I already own…It didn’t work out and I ended up using the method I’m outlining here.
3. Sew, try the pants on, rip out stitches and resew as needed.
4.Once you’re satisfied with how your pants fit, it’s time to finish them. If you have a serger, serge off the excess seam allowance you now have. If you’re like me and you don’t have a serger, trim the seam allowance off with a pair of scissors and keep the edges from fraying with a zig zag stitch right at the edge of the fabric. Refold your hem and stitch it back down. I was too lazy to do this part but if your pants had topstitching, iron your new seams and then follow your old top stitching down through the new seam.
5. Rock your new skinny jeans/khakis/whatever!
I wore these pants in Friday’s blog post. Here are a few pics from that post
Refashioning is a great way to practice slow fashion. Instead of buying new, or even thrift try to find a way to make do with what you do have.
Have you been working on any DIY 0r refashioning projects lately? Tell me in the comments!
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
My go-to nail look lately has been a super simple striped look with lots of negative space. It takes minutes to do and because there isn’t color on the whole nail, chips don’t show up as quickly. It can be bold or subtle depending on the color that you use.
Start by trimming and shaping your nails.
Use a cuticle oil or cream to moisturize your nails and cuticles. Wait a few minutes to allow it to soak in a bit and then use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to wipe the excess off of your nails.
Using a very small nail art brush, apply your polish in thin stripes, changing the direction of the stripes on each nail. I really like *this polish by Kiss that comes with a small brush already.
Allow to dry for at least an hour. I like to do my nails while I’m watching a movie so that I know once the movie is done my nails are dry enough to use.
What have you been wearing on your nails lately?
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
My dresser was a pretty ugly color. I think it used to be cream but it turned into a kind of yellow color. Besides the color, the dresser was still in pretty good condition and looked nice so I decided to repaint it.
BEFORESupplies:
Sand paper
A small block of wood
One gallon of white latex paint
A screw driver
A sponge roller
A small paint brush
Blue spray paint (optional, I used this to paint the hardware on the dresser but you can also use the hardware as is or buy new ones.)
Steps:
Cut the sand paper to fit your sanding block and sand down the whole dresser. The goal is not to take all of the paint off but to create a rough surface so that the new paint will stick. Really focus on any shiny surfaces. Make sure you don’t forget to also sand the drawers and really get into any tight spots on the dresser or the paint won’t stick.
Take the hardware off.
Using your brush, paint any small surfaces and spaces that your roller can’t reach, then, paint all of the large spaces with the roller.
Cover the dresser with several thin coats of paint rather than a few thick ones. Let the paint dry and then replace the hardware on the drawers, put the drawers back in the dresser and you’re done!
I spray painted my hardware blue, I’m not including a tutorial on how exactly I painted them because it was a lot of trial and error and they aren’t perfect. My only tip if you want to paint your hardware is make sure that you hold the can pretty far away. If you hold it too close when you are spraying the paint will run and be uneven.
Have a great day!
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great; you know I’m classier than that;). However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
