here goes nothing... again.

i am just a real girl with a real style. most days i wear jeans. its what my job calls for. i don't have tons of money to spend on brand name clothes but most days i try to look what most people would call "cute". i have decided to expand this blog even more and try to post more outfit pictures. i would like to call my sense of style boho mixed with country, sometimes sparkly and all things in between. 
most days i pull on a pair of jeans and a somewhat nice shirt and head out the door, but i am hoping this style journey will cause me to think twice about my outfits and try more and more to expand what little style variation i have.
loading horse feed at random times sure puts a damper on your outfit choices and i am always up for suggestions on how to switch up my clothing.

cardigan: GapOutlet// dress: TJ Maxx// shoes: Charlotte Russe

well, here goes nothing.  i am always open to advice, ideas, and suggestions on how to spice up my wardrobe. 

much love readers. much love.

CHRISTmas.

Source: Uploaded by user via Sarah on Pinterest

i realize i have been MIA for the past few days. i have had to make a lot of decisions recently and have had to take a short hiatus from posting. i have made those decisions and i am happy to say that my blogging will continue. however, it will not be until after Christmas. i want to take this time to enjoy the ones i love. i am working thru saturday and then will make the travels home to be with my family.  all of my decisions have caused me to be stronger in my faith and i am excited to celebrate the true REASON FOR THE SEASON this CHRISTmas. 
i look forward to catching up with you all after Christmas. wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays.

instagram... its an obsession

couldn't be more excited to co-host an instagram blog hop today with the lovely ladies below! this is perfect for me to co-host because as you can tell by the following, i am obsessed with instagram. i have included some of my most recent below.

so join us.

i love looking at all your pictures.

 

Welcome to the Instagram Blog Hop! This is a party where you link up your Instagram account, find and follow new Instagram friends, and be continually inspired by what you see in your Instagram feed! No need to have a blog, just an Instagram account!

How to PLAY:

1. Follow your HOSTS on Instagram:

Kimberly | @anightowlblog of A Night Owl 

Emily | @mrsemshhh of The Pink Elephant 

Angie | @angieali of Little Inspiration

2. Follow your CO-HOSTS on Instagram:

Vanessa | @craftyvanessa of See Vanessa Craft

You can find Vanessa here: 

Instagram :: Blog :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Pinterest

 ***

Montana | @saramontanasays of SaraMontana Says

You can find Montana here: 

Instagram :: Blog :: Etsy :: Twitter

3. Check out and follow a couple fellow IGers.

Tell folks you follow that you found them through the Hop!

4. Spread the word!

Tweet

Grab a button HERE for your sidebar!

5. Link up your Instagram Web Profile:

Just link up your new Instagram Web Profile (http://instagram.com/username) -OR- your web viewer of choice in the linky below! 

Note: this URL will not let you choose a profile pic from your feed, so be sure you have a picture you can upload from your computer if you use it! If you get a "Error: The requested URL returned error: 500" error that just means it can't find a picture to use NOT that your link is bad. Just click on "Direct Image URL" if you have one or "Upload from Computer".

Now, link up! Remember to link up your INSTAGRAM account, not your blog.

a picky tree picker

i spent pretty much all weekend with Andy, which was nice because i won't see him all week long. we got to do lots of Christmas's things and got a lot accomplished too. Saturday morning i worked like usual, the day was so pretty that i decided  to go on a quick run. running isn't my favorite of things but i do enjoy it most days and i was happy to have the time to do so. 

after my run, i got cleaned up and went to meet Andy so that we could go Christmas tree shopping. None of these trees were for us, but it was still fun to pick and find out yet another thing about my bf. he is picky. look at the form in the below photos. he took much more time than me to pick the "perfect" tree. but he did it. and needless to say, two people are going to be very happy with their trees this year.

we spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening decorating said trees and ended the night watch Duck Dynasty. yes, we have jumped on board with the beards. they are freakin hilarious. you should jump on board too.

Sunday was started with Sunday school and then we had a Sunday school Christmas party afterwards. there was quite the fussing over the white elephant gifting. (all the boys wanted the academy gift cards). we had a lot of fun and ate some good food too. after the party, we went back to my house and put together our homemade Christmas gifts. i am so excited about some of the items we are giving, and knowing that i wont break my budget by doing so (a more detailed post to come). 

all in all it was a great weekend, a short weekend, but a great weekend.

don't forget to enter the giveaway going on over here.

you could win a new blog design!! 

it's my first ever, so be dolls and enter!

my first ever...

i couldnt be more excited for today. even though its a monday. today is the first giveaway ever on SaraMontana Says... ever. did i say ever? ever. and boy did i start out with a great one.  see these pictures below? they are done by the oh so lovely maria over at FoxAndArrow Design. she has the most lovely of etsy shop and does custom blog designs, invites, business cards, etc. 
and today she is offering a custom blog design for FREE. yes FREE. she has been so kind throughout this process and very patient with me. wanna be the winner?? please enter by using the rafflecopter below and make sure you check out her shop.

she has also been so nice and offered a discount code to all my readers, yall can use the code "montana20" at check out to recieve 20% off any of her items in the shop. support handmade this year, do all of your Christmas shopping with a small business. we can all make a difference.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

a little about why...

SaraMontanas started as a way to push me past my comfort zone. a way that i could explore the creativity that i had lost in my current job. it has now become something that i love. i do struggle with the timing of it all, managing a everyday job working 6 days a week, working out(which has seemed to be on the back burner) and being the best girlfriend possible. the shop has been pushed towards the back. and so has this blog. for that i am sorry. i have made a commitment to myself once again this morning to do better. to do more. yes this may mean late nights, this may mean not sleeping as much, or catching up with the tv i rarely watch, but this life is short. this shop is something that i love, something i am passionate about. something that is mine. 

the basic idea behind this shop and what makes it different, are the materials that i use. everything that once was something else can be turned into something completely different. as of right now about 80% of all my materials are not newly bought. i may find them in someones closet, at the local thrift store, or donated to me because people don't know what to do with their items that they no longer need. 

from these scraps of fabric i create handmade items in my small home in madison, georgia. the sewing machine was a birthday gift from my mother 2 years ago and since then i have taught myself to use it. to sew a somewhat straight line, to put in a zipper, and to keep my fingers from out of the needle. i enjoy this time to myself. i enjoy seeing an item that i complete from start to finish and then putting the work into figuring out how to market and sell that item.

my next goal is to get up a larger inventory and not just have the time to fill custom orders. i want to have a database (you could call it) of clutches, pillows, etc that i can pull from. i want to have enough to set up a booth at a craft fair and try my hand at that. 

in all honesty i am not sure where this is all headed. not sure whether i will succeed or whether this will evolve into something completely different. but right now the best idea is for me to set short term goals and meet those. slowly but surely i will figure it all out. 

i am taking custom orders until this coming Wednesday to ensure delivery by Christmas. 

use the code "bloggybuyer" for 10% off your order from now until Christmas. 

also be sure to check out the sale page of my etsy shop.

decorating my space.

Source: thesocialitefamily.com via Montana on Pinterest

Source: farm6.static.flickr.com via Montana on Pinterest

Source: honestlywtf.com via Montana on Pinterest

Source: the-brick-house.com via Montana on Pinterest

Source: foxontherun.tumblr.com via Montana on Pinterest

Source: notjustahousewife.net via Montana on Pinterest

Source: plumprettysugar.tumblr.com via Montana on Pinterest

Source: brightbazaar.blogspot.com via Montana on Pinterest

i want to be inspired when i walk into my house everyday. i want it to feel lived in and loved. i want every piece to be something special. right now i seem to be going through the biggest struggle. trying to figure out the things i love, the things i hate, the things i have to have. renting a home is so annoying. i hate the wooden paneling in this little square box of a house and the ugly wooden cabinets are not any better. i want to paint everything, but it wouldn't be something i would get to enjoy. i have the best arrangement, with no lease, no security deposit, so i find even thinking about leaving hard. especially since i am unsure about where this life will take me. unsure if i will stay in this small town much longer. i want my home to reflect who i am. i guess it does, since what i am is a girl who can't commit to a couch, much less a career, a town, or even a hobby. 
i will figure it out. that is my only choice.
these pictures are somewhat what i desire my house to be. a blank canvas for the accessories that i might choose. a blank canvas where i can pick the colors that should be on the throws, art that inspires me, and antiques that make me smile.
do you have trouble decorating? as creative as i am in other areas, this seems to be the biggest area i struggle with. do any of you have any decorating secrets?

a vintage kind of Christmas

Currently I just can't get enough of looking at vintage Christmas decor. I really want to find some glass Christmas balls that I can start to use year after year. Right now my tree consists of ornaments that have been purchased in the past two years, ones that were cheap, or just matched the overall color scheme of my tree.  I LOVE the colors in all of the ones below, as I am much more of a blue/green/pink girl than all that red. Red just doesn't go well with all that I already have.  The following Etsy Shops have had the best ones so far, and  I just can't decide if I should buy some over the internet or look around and find some local. Grandma Gingers Closet An Unexpected Journey Market Fresh Vintage Retro Vintage Bazaar via via via via via What are your favorite Christmas decorations? Are you all about new? Do you like the old?? Be sure to go check out all of these Etsy shops.  I am trying more and more to buy from small businesses, because I have started my own.