With my sister's wedding coming up in just two weeks, I'm starting to realize how much I'm going to miss making things!  I mean obviously I'll never stop crafting because it's clearly my hobby (haha) but crafting to display items has been so much fun.  Earlier this month, my mom and I threw my sister a Golden Bohemian themed Bridal Shower and I just knew a lot of floral arrangements would be required.  Something my sister requested was a 'bride' sign of some sort and after a few Pinterest pins, we found one we really liked.  The pin we found came with very basic instructions that you can find here but I'll go over what you need below!

You'll Need

Cardboard Letters

Fresh or Artificial Flowers 

Floral Foam

Glue Gun

Box Cutter

How To

1. Begin by puncturing the top of the letters with your box cutter.  You'll need to cut out only the top layer of cardboard but keep the walls in place since you'll be filling them in with flowers.

2. Next, start cutting an assortment of flowers making sure to leave about an inch of stem. 

3.  Cut out rectangular or square pieces of the floral foam to stuff the inner walls of the letters.  See the image below for an example.

4. After your foam is in place, start puncturing the flower stems into the foam.  This part will be completely up to your decorating taste.  I used big flowers first and then took smaller ones to cover the foam around them.

5. Finally, take your glue gun and glue down any loose leaves or flowers.

 Xo..Melissa Victoria

Trending Fall Accessories

Fall Accessories by brocadecloset featuring a fur hat

Hey hey!  I've been thinking a lot about brand new fall accessories and the only things I can think of are hats, beanies and turbans!  I'm super weird with headwear because I have a huge heart for them, I buy them, I end up wearing them but always take them off within a half an hour haha.  For example, I love headbands, but I feel like my head might be way too sensitive because anything wrapped around my head causes major headaches. I know, it's so annoying *rolling eyes*.  Thankfully, designers from heaven created other fun pieces to wear around my head like wide brim hats and stretchy knitwear.  Because I'm craving something new, I put together my list of super cute items I'm coveting at the moment.  If you're interested in any of the accessories, you can go ahead and shop them by clicking on their images just under the collage.  I'll talk to you guys super soon!

Xo..Brocade Closet

Women's NFL Style

Can I get a HALLELUJAH GO PACK GO!? The sport season of all season's is back and boy am I ready to violently scream at my poor tv again - yikes.  But seriously, this is the time of year where all civilness is thrown out the window and my poor sportsmanship kicks in lol.  I never played competitive sports when I was little, so I really never knew what it was like to be okay with losing.  Yeah I was in cheer and we didn't always place first, but it didn't really matter to me as much as it matters that my team wins every single game.  It's something about football that really gets my gears going!  Anyway, in honor of the 2016 NFL season, I put together my top NFL Shop picks for all my fellow football loving women looking for feminine sportswear to throw on every game day.  Obviously I only chose Packers clothing, but the online shop carries every team.  Bring on all the pizza, all the hot wings, all the guacamole, all the hot dogs and most importantly, bring on all the beer.  Happy NFL season to you all, may the best team win #GoPackGo!

xo..Melissa Victoria

Obviously you need a fitted jersey! This one comes in green, navy and white!

I love the versatility of this tank top.  It can be warn with jeans and sandals, or alternatively, with a jacket over during colder weather.

The v-neck of this hoodie is super cute!  All sizes are currently available.

Hurry, there's only a small left in this cute top!

Dooney and Bourke, you are killing me SO GOOD with this one!

Yes to team joggers!! I'll definitely put these to work during game days where I know I'm going to eat all the food I can haha WOOP WOOP!

Desert Dreams and Wanderlust Goals

This is going to sound so funny, but here it goes.  If you've been to California Adventure, you'll know the Soaring Over California ride is now Soaring Over The World.  Well, my coworkers and I checked out a YouTube video one time to see what the new ride looked like and after the video was over, I had this huge epiphany and realized I need to travel more!  Since I could remember, I've been so caught up with making a life and living that I've forgotten to take a step back and realize there's so much I would be sad I never got to do if I died tomorrow.  Sure I've accomplished a few pretty things at this age, but now it's my mission to see pretty things.  The thing is, there are pretty sites all over the world!  Like, this place I'm photographed in is called 7 Magic Mountains and is just right outside Las Vegas.  I would have never thought to go visit a cool monument like this and it happened so sporadically!  I'm counting all the weekends left in this year and hope to take a few weekend trips somewhere new super soon.  If you guys have any recommendations at all, let me know!  I'm all ears when it comes to traveling right now haha.  I'll check in with you guys again soon.

Xo..Melissa Victoria 

Turkey Albondiga Soup

You guys it's a little chilly outside and I really like it!  I made a quick trip to Trader Joes last night after work and the only thing my taste buds were craving was some sort of soup.  The real me wanted to grab a Top Ramen packet but the health freak in me opted for Turkey Albondiga.  I'm so happy I made this choice because this might be one of my favorite soups ever, not to mention it's really easy to make and basically just requires a little bit of prep and patience.  Let's go over all ingredients (purchased from Trader Joes) and steps!

You'll Need

1 Pack of Lean Ground Turkey

1 Quartz Organic Beef Broth

Small Bunch of Cilantro

4 Organic Red Potatoes

1 Organic Zucchini

1 Onion

2 Teaspoons of Olive Oil

Salt to Taste - I use Himalayan Pink Salt

Steps

1. Begin by mixing just a little bit of pink salt over your ground turkey and then start creating small to medium sized meatballs.

2.  Turn your heat up to medium high and pour in two teaspoons of olive oil. 

3. Once your oil heats up, drop your meatballs into the pot to start cooking.  Cook the meatballs until all sides are golden brown.

4. Meanwhile, start chopping up your vegetables however you'd like.  I chopped my onion and cilantro together and diced my potatoes and zucchini.

5. Drop the cilantro and onions directly over the meatballs followed by the potatoes and zucchini.  Let that simmer for about 30 seconds.

6. Finally, pour 3/4 of the beef broth carton into the pot and add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water to dilute the broth a bit.  If it tastes too watered down, you can definitely add salt to taste or more beef broth.  Totally up to your taste buds!  Lower the heat to medium and let it simmer for about 10 minutes making sure to check in every so often. 

That's all it takes!  I would say the whole prep and cook time takes about a half an hour, but the best part of making soup is you literally just have to toss all ingredients in and it basically cooks itself.  I like my Turkey Albondiga spicy, so I always add hot sauce into my bowl along with diced avocado.  Aside from these additions, you can also add white or brown rice for an extra filling taste.  Hope you guys like this soup, talk to you all later!

xo..Melissa Victoria

DIY | Kate Spade Pearl Place Inspired Wine Glasses

I bet you guys were wondering when my next DIY post would be up haha. Welllll, I photographed A LOT over the last month to share with you guys!  If you follow me on Instagram, you know it's been quite the exciting time full of bridal events.  I've said this many times before: my sister couldn't have given me a better job than to be her Maid of Honor and create several things for detail purposes.  When we invited 19 girls out to her bachelorette party, I knew I wanted to gift everyone a toasting glass that matched our color scheme.  I found super cute glasses everywhere with fun glitter, polka dot, rhinestoned and striped details...but get real, I wasn't gonna spend more than $10 on each glass because duh, multiply that times 19 plus all other gifts I wanted to provide.  I honestly saw that as an opportunity to entertain myself for a bit as well as challenge myself to a new craft session.  Needless to say, the total amount I spent on creating these Kate Spade inspired glasses cost me less than what I would have spent on just one #Winning!  Are you ready? Let's go over all the details!

You'll Need

Glass of Choice: I bought these at the Dollar Store

Gold Paint (or whatever color you're using): I used this one from Walmart

Foam Brush: I used a brush similar to these ones also from Walmart

How To 

Step 1: Clean your glass and dry it with a paper towel

Step 2: Pour your paint into a small dish (I just poured it into the cap of the paint tube)

Step 3: Starting from the bottom of the glass up, paint polka dots all around allowing space to not look too congested

Step 4: Once you're done, let the glasses dry and you're done!

Xo..Melissa Victoria