I have been DIY-ing and crafting a lot lately, so I thought that I would share one of my creations here. This DIY beaded key bracelet is super simple to make and I think that it looks adorable! You could make one for yourself or it would also make a really sweet and personalized gift. Joann’s, Micheal’s, and Hobby Lobby are my go-to stores for supplies. You can order supplies online from all three of them, but sometimes it is easier to take a trip to the store so that you can get a better idea of how colors and textures of different types of beads will look together. I…
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30 Things to do While Social Distancing
Most of us have been practicing social distancing for a few weeks now and it’s starting to get to that point where the stir-craziness might be setting in. I am an introvert by nature and I grew up in the country. Since I couldn’t walk to my friends’ house anytime I wanted to hang out on the weekends or in the summer, I got pretty good at entertaining myself. Honestly, for me, this social distancing order is a welcome change of pace from an otherwise pretty busy life. I know most people do not feel the way that I do and I think at least part of that is because…
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Hair Donation Options and What to Know Before Donating Your Hair
It seems like everyone else is buying fake hair and wearing extensions these days and here I am chopping all of mine off! And I honestly don’t regret it one bit! I hate needles and getting shots, so donating blood is out of the question for me. Growing my hair out, however, has always been something that comes fairly easily and naturally for me. It might seem trivial, but I figure that if donating my hair can help make another person’s life a little brighter, I might as well donate mine while I can. I have donated my hair three times so far! So, I wanted to round up the…
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At-Home Manicures That I am Loving
If you are anything like me, making time to go to the nail salon every two weeks is about as realistic as living on Mars. I’m not saying that it’s completely impossible, but the chances of it happening anytime in the near future are pretty slim. For me, the biggest issue is time (or lack thereof). There is a salon in my town that offers appointments, but the times that are realistic for me are always booked. The next nearest town is 20 minutes from me in either direction, so by the time I drive to and from the salon plus the time I spend at the salon, I am…
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Teeth Whitening for Sensitive Teeth (That Actually Works!)
I have always wondered how celebrities and musicians all seem to have such brilliantly stark white teeth. I’ve been to enough live shows to recognize that performers have just as gorgeous smiles in person as they do in magazine articles and on album covers. Based on that, I felt that it was safe to conclude that there was something that they must be doing to their teeth. It wasn’t just a good photoshop job in the printed publications. I figured based on their celebrity and status, they must know something that I didn’t about teeth whitening. I had tried on numerous occasions to lift stains from my teeth, but nothing…
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11 Do’s and Don’ts in Autsin, Texas
1. DO listen to the locals when they tell you that they prefer Rainey Street over 6th Street Two of the most popular nightlife districts in Austin, Texas are Rainey Street and 6th Street. Most locals that I spoke with while in Austin said that they preferred Rainey street over 6th Street. After experiencing both streets, I totally get it. If I were local to Austin, Rainey Street would definitely be more my scene. The bars and clubs on Rainey Street are a little chicer and more hip. The crowds tend to be more of the young professional type. However… 2. DON’T let the local’s opinion deter you from checking…
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How to Kill it at the Advocare Cleanse
I discovered AdvoCare a couple of years ago. A group of people that I worked with went on the cleanse together. Up until that point, I was very skeptical of any dietary cleanses and had no desire to participate. The first thing that flashed through my mind when I heard the words “dietary detox” was the scene in the first season of Orange is the New Black where Piper and Larry were attempting an all juice master cleanse. It went so poorly for them that Piper cheated by eating pork rinds and wound up cutting the cleanse short. After seeing that, no dietary cleanse was anything that sounded like something…
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Hygge – What is hygge and how to do it
* Precursor for anyone reading this who has not heard of the concept of hygge before: although it doesn’t look like it, the word is pronounced “hoo-gah.” It took me a little while to learn to pronounce it correctly, so I just wanted to share the correct pronunciation with you off the bat! I discovered the concept of hygge a couple of years back while working in a corporate retail setting. The book “The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living” by Meik Wiking had just been released and was quickly gaining popularity here in the US. For retailers, being the first to get behind an up and…
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Denver in December
About 4 years ago one of my brothers made the decision to move to Denver, Colorado. At the time, most of my family thought he was crazy. No one in our family had ever moved outside of our home state of Wisconsin, and he had no reason for leaving other than the fact that he just wanted to get out of our little nowhere town. It was a pretty difficult concept for most of our family to grasp. Since he moved, I have had the opportunity to visit him three times. The very first day of my very first trip to visit him in Denver, everything clicked in my brain…
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Behind the Blog: The Real Story Behind Small Town in Stilettos
It’s impossible to tell you about why I decided to start the Small Town in Stilettos blog without filling you in on a bit of my backstory, so I will start from the beginning and try to keep it brief! I grew up in a small Wisconsin town, but growing up I always knew that I had to get out of my hometown. So I did. After graduating high school I moved to Milwaukee to attend college. As fate would have it, after college I wound up finding a job in a corporate retail setting in downtown Milwaukee. I pursued a career in eCommerce merchandising and I enjoyed it!…
