Orange you glad it's Fall

Orange you glad it's Fall? I love Fall, not only because of the weather but because of the football, the fashion, the weather, the pumpkins, the important dates (our pup's birthday, our wedding anniversary, OSU Homecoming, Affair of the Heart, Thanksgiving, my birthday) and all of the Orange!  

So, in honor of OSU's Homecoming week, on the same day that the fountain on Library Lawn is dyed Orange, I'm sharing some of my favorite OSU Orange looks from the past few weeks.

ALL IN THE DETAILS:

Shirt: Lush Fashion Lounge | Jeans: Lush Fashion Lounge | Shoes: Sam Edelman - Becker | Sunnies: Ray-Ban - Clubmaster | Earrings: Kendra Scott Danielle - Orange | Bracelets: Lily & Laura, David Yurman | Ring: David Yurman

 

  ALL IN THE DETAILS:

Shirt: Lush Fashion Lounge | Jeans: Lush Fashion Lounge | Shoes: Toms Desert Wedge - Cheetah | Sunnies: Ray-Ban - Aviator | Earrings: Kendra Scott Danielle - Orange | Bracelets: Lily & Laura

 

  

ALL IN THE DETAILS:

Shirt: Old (love this one) | Vest: J.Crew (J.Crew Factory version here) | Earrings: Kendra Scott Danielle - Orange | Shoes not pictured: Toms Desert Wedge - Chestnut | Pistol Pete Yard Sign: Artistic Yard Creations by Jan Kuehn

OU Wreaths - We don't cheer for the Sooners.

We don't cheer for the Sooners, but a former co-worker and her family does! When she saw my OSU wreath, she asked if I would make her an OU one. And because I'm not too proud, I agreed!

But not without POKEing a little fun with the Sooners... 

That's how I should have glued down the letters, right? Of course I didn't. Hopefully the Patrick Family is enjoying their new wreath!

Thanks to Facebook, word spread and had another request for an OU Wreath. Now the Childers' family are showing their Sooner spirit on their front door!

Even though I don't cheer for the Sooners, I sure did enjoy putting these wreaths together for the girls! Go Pokes!

OSU Wreath - This house cheers for the OSU Cowboys!

Not only is my Alma-matter ranked #1 for the 2013 season... we're also currently winning Southern Living's Best Tailgate of the South. See, true OSU fans believe in the saying, "win or lose, we still booze!"

 

Because we're getting excited for Orange Fridays and Saturday Football, I decided it was time to make a new OSU wreath for our front door! I want it to be known that "this house cheers for the Cowboys"! I started out by painting paper mache letters, checkered of course. Then gathered up a hodge-podge mix of orange, black and white fabrics with burlap and leopard serving as the neutrals and started attempting to make my plan.

 

It took me a while to figure out placement and what to include there must have been 6 test ideas before I finally got to the final design. I cut, pinned, sewed and hot glued until my little heart was content.. and here's the final product! 

Monday, May 20th

Monday, May 20^th, 2013 was a day I already had my nerves stirred up for. Part of my big-girl job includes the role as the internship program coordinator and yesterday was the summer 2013 intern class’ first day. With orientation (including introducing the CEO & COO, yikes!), training and a meet & greet event scheduled for the day – my nerves get stirred up, hoping everything goes as planned.

We made it through orientation and training without a hitch. At about 2:30pm, when the view outside my window started looking eerie and thunder claps sounded more like bombs - I started receiving emails from intern supervisors worried about the weather and how it would affect our intern meet & greet scheduled for 4:30pm. At 2:41pm with the tornado sirens blaring, I called the downtown OKC bowling alley to see if we could reschedule our event. At 3:04pm shortly after the 2^nd round of tornado sirens I sent the cancellation for the event. By 4:15pm and after the 3^rd round of tornado sirens, devastation had hit just a few miles south of my office.

At 5:15pm I took this picture from my south-facing, downtown Oklahoma City office window. It looked calm, but all I could think about was the area just at the end of my view – Moore, OK.

I left the office feeling proud of my company as they immediately jumped into action; attempting to make contact with employees who live in the area to offer resources and support.

Going home to Edmond, north of the disaster area, I was finally able to watch the news. Of course feeling helpless, all I could do was get out the paint brush. Seems sometimes that painting is the best expression.

Praying for the Moore, OK Community. But also so proud of the state I live in and their response to the disaster – it’s amazing what those around this city have done to help already.

PS – I heard that Kevin Durant, OKC Thunder’s star has made a $1 Million donation to RedCross …. (love him, want to put him in my pocket!)

Project List? Whoops!

I realized that all of the sudden I have acquired quite the project list. Whoops. 

Here's what I've got going....


Bargain Mirrors:
I went to Dallas for my dear friend's wedding a week ago and came home with two, huge mirrors. My Mom spotted the steal of a deal in the Saturday paper - Weir's Furniture was advertising $549 mirrors for just $29. Because my Mom knows my style, when she went for the one found another and got a second one.

I have a few ideas up my sleeve for these mirrors, but will take me some time to put them to use. At 54" each,  it takes the perfect place to fit one of these bad boys in our small home.

Kitchen Update:
We're also looking to upgrade our kitchen from Formica to Granite!! This is a long awaited project, but looks like we're actually going to make it happen in the near future. Here's a seek peak of what we're working with.

Once we have everything picked out and installed, I will do a big before and after reveal!

The impulse purchase:
I went to a garage sale late Friday and made an impulse purchase. I scored this chest of drawers with a little bit of character for just $25. I really just couldn't say no. B wasn't impressed with my purchase, but at $25 I didn't want to regret not buying it. 

Sorry I'm not sorry about the project list. Be sure to check back for updates on my progress!

Let TEXAS fill my soul

Attempting to capture this picture is always a must!

It had been 8 weeks since my last Texas visit and 6 weeks since I last saw my parents… it was time for a fix. To add icing to the cake, I was invited to my dear friend, Meagan’s first bridal shower, which meant I would also get to see my best high school pals.

Come to find out, Dad was headed to meet my brother, Fen (who lives in Houston) in San Antonio to ride bikes. And by bikes, I mean motorcycles. Dad’s a Harley Davidson guy and Fen is a Crotch Rocket guy – his latest bike is a Ducati.

So, it was a girl’s weekend for me and Mom!

For the love of scarves. As you may have seen in my Instagram post, it’s obvious that Momma Swann and I have a love for scarves. Mom and I went to Target and to lunch at La Madeline before the Bridal shower, two places I'll never say no to.

Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft // Jeans: Ann Taylor Loft // Jacket: Target //
Scarf: Max & Olivia's on Facebook // Shoes: J.Crew Factory // Bag: Louis Vuitton //
Phone Case: J.Crew // Jewels: David Yurman

Swann for life. My last name may not be Swann anymore, but ever since I changed my name to McDaniel I've been drawn to anything with a swan. So, when I found this Fossil Swan Print Dress, I had to have it.  I was saving the dress for something and because it was a cold, spring day it seemed fitting to pair with a jacket and boots and wear to Meagan's shower. 

Dress: Fossil // Blazer: Lauren Conrad at Kohl's // Belt: Banana Republic Outlet // 

Boots: Vince Camuto at Dillard's // Lips: Laura Mercier - Mango // Jewels: David Yurman

The JLMS. That's what Jene, Meagan, Lauren and I have called our little group since high school. It's hard to believe it's been 10+ years that we've been friends. And even harder to believe we've manageed to stay connected as we've went our different directrions,  "grown up" and gotten married (or soon to be in Meagan's case)!

Jene, Meagan, Lauren and I at Meagan's Bridal Shower

Love Texas Shopping. Momma Swann and I went out and about Saturday after the shower and I scored a few bargains. Nordstrom Rack, Marshall's, TJ Maxx, World Market, Horchow Outlet are a few of my favorite Plano haunts. 

My favorite weekend find was this mint peplum top from Nordstrom Rack for just $18.95!

Girl's Night. After dinner at Campisi's with Momma Swann, I met the JLMS at Mercy Wine Bar in Addison. We didn't plan it, but you'll notice the polka-dot and stripe theme with our outfits. I love it, great minds think alike. 

 

 Blazer: Anthropologie // Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft // Jeans: Ann Taylor Loft //

Necklaces: Moon & Lola Monogram and Anthropologie 

I had such a great weekend in Texas. Sometimes seeing your Momma and best friends is just what a girl needs. 

 

Let's talk about the room I don't want to talk about (Yet)

Our master bedroom.

3 years later, I still don't have it figured out. But the good news is, we now have to make a point to figure it out because we just upgraded to a KING!  

 We currently have the bare essentials for bedding (and the room for that matter) but here's what we've got to work with. 

Duvet Cover Set: Pinched Pleat at Target. Bed Skirt: Threshold Gray Target. Euros TBD

Hand-me-down Nightstands from my Aunt: possibly paint? Lamps: TJ Maxx (Shades TBR (to be recovered)).

French Dresser: Painted with CeCe Caldwell Paints. Chest of Drawers: Brandon's Great Grandmother's

  

What are we wishing for in a bedroom? The perfect mixture of girly and manly with a dash of rustic, color and relaxed feel - my Bedroom board on Pinterest can better explain.

PB&J Stories Master Bedroom Redo Reveal 

The PB&J stories post is probably my go-to inspiration for Bedroom project. I fell in love with the "girly" pintucked bedding and the "manly' rustic headboard. Even though, yellow is not our thing - we definitely plan to pull some color in the room (obviously with a turquoise dresser) with a rug and throw pillows, etc.

Because I Like to Decorate's DIY Rustic Headboard Tutorial

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source Unknown but Pinned it anyways..

 

B likes rustic and dark decor so incorporating that into my love of color and whimsy can be difficult, but I didn't hesitate one bit when we came across the rustic headboard ideas. And luckily, B is pretty handy so am excited for him to tackle our headboard in the next couple weeks! 

As far as all of the other details on my wish list besides paint, a rug, updated night stands... are some adorable, personalized throw pillows. These Custom State Pillows by Marekalaine would be perfect. A Texas pillow for me and Oklahoma for B, please!

Marekalaine's Custom State Pillows on Etsy

Setting Sail with The Texas Okie

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I'm setting sail with a new blog today. Seems fitting for New Year's Day, right? So today starts a New Year, New Me, New Goals and New Blog.

First thing's first, let me introduce (or re-introduce) myself: Ashley Nicole (Swann) McDaniel

I’m Ashley,  a born & raised Texas girl who had no idea deciding to attend Oklahoma State University would lead me in a path to being an Okie.   I married my college sweetheart in 2010 and we own a cute little house in Edmond, Oklahoma (about 250 miles from my hometown of Plano, TX) and have a Maltese fur-child named Dixie Belle! Since graduating college, I've been working on the recruiting team for an OKC based oil & gas company while still making time to tap into my "creative juices."

Things that I <3: being busy, fashion, interior decorating, crafts projects of all types, accessories (home & fashion), art, fabric swatches, color, pictures, chips & dip and a good bargain!

TV Shows: Big Bang Theory, Revenge, Person of Interest and Duck Dynasty

Biggest Addictions: TJ Maxx, Instagram, Pinterest & GroopDealz

@’s: Twitter (McSwanny) Instagram (McSwann) Pinterest (McSwann)

Favorite Artsy Medium: Painting (acrylic). I’m an honors art class drop out – thanks to a jerk of a teacher who busted my bubble when he told me I had no talent (I also realize I’m no Picasso).

In 2013 I hope to: Begin and keep a Creative Journal, keep up with this blog, be more confident in myself, paint more things, have some fun and be as happy as a clam!