Category: party

Five Things About Me

5 things about me

One of the issues I have whenever I try to start a blog is that I am not great at talking a lot about myself.  They say one of the keys to a good blog is the ability to be open and transparent, and that is really really hard for me.  (Does admitting that make me transparent??)

Well…in the spirit of attempting to be open, or at least on the road to openness, here are five things about me.  Probably not the most interesting of facts, but hopefully over time, I’ll get better at being an open book.

1)  I grew up in Charles County, Maryland.  This is why I have such a love of small towns and back roads.  I often look for the less-traveled route even if it is longer because I hate traffic and love the scenery.

2)  I am a cat mama.  My baby boy is about a 100 in cat years…if that’s such a thing…and 18 in human years.  I have owned him for 12 of those years and got him from a super sweet girl on craigslist when I was going through a break-up.  He’s my first pet, aside from a short stint with a goldfish when I was about five.   Since he’s been in my life, my cat Blake has been the most amazing, snobby, nonchalant, lazy, funny companion I could ever imagine.

3)  I have a boyfriend that I’ve been with for two years.  That in itself is a miracle.  But in addition to this, we have recently started co-habitating.  Also a miracle.  We are both in our 40s, and both are fairly set in our ways, so this merger has been quite an interesting yet rewarding challenge.

4)  I’m a cover band groupie.  If I walk into a bar and there’s a singer with a guitar, I’m planting myself right in front of them for the night.  Be it a solo act or a five-piece band, I will become your biggest fan in a matter of seconds if you play a few songs I know.  My boyfriend says musicians love me because I have no issue with being the only person dancing in a bar full of people.  My favorite cover band is called Lost in Paris, a band out of Philadelphia…but there are quite a few others that get honorable mention… 3AM Tokyo from Southern Maryland, Here’s to the Night out of the Baltimore area, and The Rockets also out of Philly.  If you see any of them on the schedule of your local bar or upcoming festival, check them out!

5)  I love being a local explorer.  Finding events and shops around town is one of my favorite things to do. DIY classes, festivals, expos, meetups, paint nights…those are my jam!  Why drive an hour away, or go all the way into the city, for something that I can do much closer to home?  That’s what prompted me to start this blog.  I figured I’d document some of my local shenannigans and discoveries and share them with the world.  LOL.

With that said…be on the lookout!  And if you’re in Maryland, please follow me on instagram @justa_mdgirl.

What are you up to this weekend?  And also, if you have any ideas for how to handle being transparent and open as a blogger, I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Have a wonderful weekend yall!

tata for now -m- (2)

justamarylandgirl

DIY Cake Stands

diy cake stands

I served as my agency’s campaign manager for our annual charity drive.  It was a big task, and one with high visibility at my job.  As you can imagine, there were some obstacles to the position, but I was honored to step up to the challenge.

One of our awareness events was a sweets tasting.  My fellow colleagues kindly stepped up to volunteer to bake and donate various sweets for the event, and I did the coordination and decor for the employee lounge.  While expectations are low for meetings and such at my particular agency, the fun and creative side of me wanted to “juj” it up a little bit.  I wanted banners and balloon clusters and tissue paper pom-poms.  And  I wanted cake stands and doilies for every item.  This is where I had to think outside the box a little bit.

My role as campaign manager did not come with a budget.  Everything was either donated or out of pocket.  With 20 people donating baked goods, it was not reasonable for me to spend $10-$15 each on 20 cake stands.  Think woman, think!  To the Google!

After some research on google and pinterest, I laid out my plan.  I saw DIY cake stands using affordable items, and decided to try using plates and candle holders from the dollar store.  So this is what I did.

Materials:

  • candle holders
  • plates
  • gorilla glue

Here are the items I used, all purchased from my local Dollar Tree store (except the Gorilla Glue):

img_20181125_160333
{glass candle holder}
img_20181125_160316
{glass plates}
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{grey geometric candle  holder}
img_20181125_160353
{grey ceramic plate}
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{gorilla glue}

Instructions: 

  • Dot the gorilla glue onto the top of the candle holders.  This doesn’t need to be excessive.

 

  • Press the glued side of the candle holder onto the bottom of the plates and hold in place according to the instructions on the glue bottle

 

  • Let the stands cure overnight upside down

img_20181125_162237

 

Here are my finished stands.  They totally looked awesome when I put doilies on top and delicious sweet treats on them for the event!

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I was ecstatic that I was able to execute my vision without breaking my bank!  And I got so many compliments on the presentation!  I wish I took better pics (bad blogger!!!)  In full disclosure, the glass stands made it exactly the length of the event before they toppled.  I’m not sure if they became unstable during the travel to the event or what.  The grey ones lasted and are still in tact months later.  So you may want to consider the fragility of the items that you select for your stand.  I could not have been happier with the outcome.

tata for now -m- (2)

 

justamarylandgirl