a few internet favorites.

Here are a few of my favorite internet finds lately….

Edens Garden essential oils.  The four thieves synergy blend is a blend of cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, rosemary and lemon.  It fights of virus's, coughs, and I even used it for cramps, and the were gone immediately.  ( I rubbed it on my abdomen)  This oil only costs $7.75 the are 100% pure therapudic grade oils.  edens garden   

Next is artifact uprising new signature prints.  These are just to die for!  Check out this company, I adore there work.

I love these tissue paper poms that pom love from easy

have.  They are inspired by Kelli Murray's nursery.  I would love to purchase these or learn how to make them for my studio.

I am loving putting together the boys' easter baskets this year, I got them each a bible storybook, or devotional, so they remember the real reason for Easter, and not just the jelly beans.  I found these two great books on Amazon.  The first is Jesus calling children's devotional, this was only $9, it was at the local bookstore and was selling for $16.99.

The next is the  jesus calling bible storybook  

This one was only $9.85.  The three boys and I love to read from a children's bible each night before bed, it relaxes them, and they hold me VERY accountable for reading it.  We keep getting a new one when the old is done, each one has different pictures, and different stories, or at least the stories are written differently.  I love this routine we are in, and hope to hang on to all of them so they can pass them down to their children.  

Bird feeders and garden markers

It is so beautiful outside, we are finally able to get fresh air in our lungs!  Yesterday, Landon and I made these adorable bird feeders out of twine and oranges.  I found the idea on pinterest, and thought it was too cute to pass up.  Check them out!

After feeding the birds, Landon wanted to clean up the garbage on the road so the birds wouldn't get sick, we collected a whole garbage bag full.  He felt so good, and I think it was such a great lesson for him, as I can't imagine he will EVER litter.  Now when we drive down other roads, he says, oh NO, we need to clean this one too!  Little angel.

We also painted some adorable little garden marker rocks.  We started many seedlings early this year, as we plan to have a huge garden.  I am hoping my hubby gets inspired to build me raised garden beds.  We shall wait and see… 

We are on our way outside to rake up a ton of leaves around the house.  There is still snow on the ground, but it will be 72 this afternoon.  

Lemon cookies and fresh salsa

Sunday was Minnesota's first 60 degree day in over 5 months!  We celebrated!  I made lemon cookies and fresh salsa.  The boys rode bike though mud puddles with mounds of snow next to them.  The snow was great as Landon felt uncomfortable with out his training wheels, I told him to crash into the snow bank, he went on to give it his all and did great!  Then the boys golfed in the driveway, hmmm wonder what's gonna happen to all them white golf balls….in the snow!?  They were upset they lost them all! 
                                           Here is the delicious recipe for the lemon cookies!  

You will need:

1 1/2 sticks butter softened

1 egg

1 cup almond flour

2 1/4 cups flour

2/3 cups sugar

1 tbls fresh lemon juice

4 small lemons

(combine all ingredients)

mix well, ball up 1 inch cookies and use a cup or jar to pouch them semi flat, 

baste with a heated egg, add super thin lemon slice, sprinkle sugar on top.  Bake at 350 for 6 minutes, then broil for 2-4 min, until golden brown.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

These were so delicious, just make sure the cut the lemons thin so the rhine softens!

The fresh salsa was delicious and even prettier to look at!

I can not wait to say all of this goodness came from my garden, for now the city center market will do.  I also planted over 100 seeds in starter biodegradable planters.  Last year I spent $75+ at the Green Barn garden center on something I could've started on my own.  It feels great to do it your self.  Hoping warm weather comes to all, as I just love the spirit of people when we have our first spring days!  Everyone is joyful and waiving, there is no road rage, we are all just feelin' good!  Bring it on.

Making something out of nothing

I woke up and felt like sewing, I am sure glad I did, because I love the few things I made all before noon.  The first thing I made was a library bag for Landon.  We started going once a week now, and he really loves it, this week was fun, because they had a preschool playtime, with story time, and a movie. For this project I used a cute dinosaur pillowcase that I recently found a thrift store.  It's great quality cotton because it was probably a $15 pillowcase at one time!  I cut it apart, and added handles, here it is;

isn't that adorable?!  He loved it.

My next project was a bag for me, I used a thrift store ankle length suede leather skirt, and a belt.  This project took 5 minutes!?  super cute for 5 minutes and about $4.  I'll use it for misc stuff I always have to haul around to sports!

It's hard for me to leave ugly leather things at thrift stores, because I see beauty in them, for example, a old leather coat could become a zipper pouch, clutch, bag, or even baby mocs.

I made a few little white 7 inch long zipper pouches out of an old calvin klein sheet, the cotton is just so much better than what the craft store sells.

I plan to make many large ones, to start storing printed photos in!  I thought it would be a great way to group them together, and I could label them with my alphabet stamps…

I also had to share this cute idea I came up with, old linen books, are usually hollow spined, so you can cut out the inside super easy, I used this teal one for a center piece on my table.  

I hope you have a great weekend, look twice at stuff, before considering it unusable!

Guest room makeover

Since winter is hanging around longer than normal, I have been super motivated to update parts of our home that severely need it!  We bought our dream home a year ago, and love so much about it, like my studio space, a huge entry way, and fireplace.  Unfortunately there was lots of wall paper, as well as blue and mauve bathrooms and bedrooms!  I will post photos of our master bedroom someday, as I worked on that in December, but today I'll show the progress our guest bedroom has made.  
                                               Before:

I wasn't lying about the blue!  The after picture still has the blue ceiling fan, we are going to take it down and paint it white, as I wanted this project to stay affordable, there is also blue carpet, but my hubby didn't want to put money into new flooring right now.  The only cost of this project was $30 for the white paint and supplies, and the cost of the new quilt from Urban Outfitters.

After:

I love that the quilt is reversible so I can change the look for the room by flipping it!  The chalkboard piece hanging above the bed was brass and outdated, it said live, laugh, love in maroon… errr, not my thing, but I knew it didn't need to be tossed, so I painted it, and am hoping to improve my chalkboard writing skills, and put some adorable quote or verse on it.  

I spend a lot of time in this room, folding laundry, and it is connected to our main bathroom, so redoing it has made me feel happy to walk through it instead of "blue".  If I want something done, I just DO IT!  I am thankful for that ambition in me.  {I'll thank my parents for that trait}.  Now all I have left to makeover, is the kitchen, laundry room, big living room, dining room and Logan's room! Ha, it's fun making things how you want, I just wish we didn't have such a big amount of square footage that needs new updated carpet, tile and wood!  Go give a room a makeover, you will LOVE it!

Crystal

Cucumber Herb Salad \\\ eating fresh

It's almost spring here in Minnesota, yet we had a blizzard this morning!  It's expected in March I guess, so no big deal, however I would be lying if I didn't say I am craving summer!  I know I can't have it right now, so I am starting to eat like it's summer.  I was inspired by this cucumber recipe I saw in a magazine, and decided to make it for lunch.  My littlest son Landon had a ham sandwich, as he still looks at me like I am crazy when I eat a pile of veggies. 

This takes less than 10 minutes to throw together, and it is so refreshing and healthy!   

what you'll need:

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon sugar

large pinch of salt

large pinch of pepper

1 chopped clove of garlic

2 medium cucumbers thinly sliced

1/4 red onion thinly sliced

mix the sauce together, and toss over garlic, cucumber and onion, then gently mix your herbs.  

Serve as a light lunch or a side with your dinner, either way, it will give you hope of fresh farmers markets, and sunshine!

For a colorful "summer" snack I cut up a fresh melon, pineapple and berries.  It's so pretty to photograph!  I tend to buy a lot of apples, bananas and oranges in the winter… kinda boring!  

{not so great cell phone pic, the fruit was cleared out by the time I could get my camera}

It is unfortunately costly to always eat everything fresh, but could you imagine how we would all feel if we did?  Imagine a diet of water, fresh fruit, fresh veggies, fresh fish… you get the point!  I think I may give this "diet" a whirl, because I always feel kind of sluggish, and I dislike diets where you can not eat.  I dream of feeling refreshed and energized, and fueling my body.  This is a goal for me.  Eat fresh! Let's do it together. 

Crafts big and small

Craft {an activity, involving skill and making things by hand}
Crafting is something I choose to do daily! 
I realize people think crafting takes a lot of time, and sometimes a lot of money, but this does not have to be true!  I am showing you a few examples of large and small crafts we've done in my home this week, the small craft costed $2 and the large $4.  

The target dollar section has these cute pom poms and wooden tacks right now for a $1 each!  I hot glued them together.  These would make an adorable gift in a small reused and glittered box!  I've also seen similar at Anthropoligie for a lot more money!

Next small craft;  Prayer containers

I used old oatmeal containers and covered them with a sheet of paper that I printed on.  Glittered the lids, and stuck a small $1 notebook inside.  These could be given away to a friend, or put out at a random place in the public.  I think they are super cute, and would love to fill them with prayers and/or good messages for others.  Total cost $2  the glitter tape was also found at the target dollar section for $1. (I may have an obsession with gold glitter… but it does make everything prettier!)

When I want larger crafts done, I usually need to have my hubby help!  I am NOT good with a saw, I've tried to use one once with my mom, and I closed my eyes!?  So if I pick up the materials I need, and give instructions, my husband will rock something out for me with in an evening! ( eeee I just LOVE him)   The wood for these 20 x 20 frames was less than $3 for both, then we used wood glue and old stain we had.  For hangers on the back, we screwed a few small screws in and used fishing line.  If you make these, I would recommend ordering your prints mounted on boards.  Almost everywhere offers board prints, but I love Nations Photo Lab.  I also painted these old deer antlers bronze, I love the rustic touch they added to my boys' room.

The next bigger project that just got finished, is my favorite.  I found this 7 foot tall ugly rack filled with baskets, I just wanted the baskets, and almost left the old rack behind.  When I got home Jeff commented on how ugly it was, then I looked at it with excitement and said, CUT IT IN HALF!  Oh boy…. he thinks I am crazy of course.  Well I went to Menards and bought some cheap wood, $3 a board.  I wanted to turn this into bedside tables, as we have been using T.V trays.

He used wood glue to attach the wood, sanded the edges, and stained it.  These are so one of a kind, but if you remember that junk isn't always junk, you can find something similar to work with!  These crafts were so cheap, they were almost free.  You could used reclaimed wood to make your projects free, and it would add a lot more character, but I live in MN and any reclaimed wood is covered by about 3 feet of snow!  Get crafting and have fun!

Crystal