mini journals

I use to LOVE miniature stuff. I am not sure why. It's just cute. I just found these cute little leather journal necklaces on Etsy and am admiring them. These came from AwakenJournaling.

list

I posted about how I am trying to plan out meals in advance so that grocery shopping is more efficient.. blah.. blah... blah.

Yesterday I spent a good 45 mins. to and hour looking for recipes and then carefully writing a grocery list. This wasn't just any grocery list. This list had categories such as Dairy, Produce, and even a Bath/Paper Goods section. This list was organized and easy to read. THIS LIST GOT LEFT BEHIND WITHOUT ME REALIZING IT! I was so peeved but somehow I think I managed to memorize it and in the end I think I did ok.

I bought myself my favorite Ben & Jerry's ice cream to help my angst. It helped.

Elegant Rose Boutique Give Away

I started using all natural soap several months ago and I love it. I thought I would have a hard time using bar soap again ,but I think I actually prefer it now. My skin isn't as dry as it was before when I used the gel. The fun part is picking out different scents. I found the Elegant Rose Boutique on Etsy a while back and have been using her soaps ever since. She is giving away a free product to a lucky person. See this blog for the details.

Grocery Shopping

For some this might be a no brainer but I just found a new way of grocery shopping that is blowing my mind.Well...I guess that is a little bit of an exaggeration.

I usually walk through the store and just buy whatever looks good. Not really considering exactly what I will make with the random items I buy. When I go to cook a randomly picked recipe I realize that I have about half of my ingredients and so I go back out and buy some more things. After years of doing this I end up with a lot of random stuff that doesn't get eaten especially vegetables. I mean I love vegetables but when you buy a bag of salad and never have a plan for when to eat it and with what I tend to eat something else and so it goes bad. I can't even begin to tell you how many bagged salads I have thrown away!

Ps-sorry for the over use of the word RANDOM

It sort of dawned on me to try and pick a few recipes and only buy what I really need along with a few extra items for snacks and lunch. The result-I am saving so much money. It does take a little bit of time to pick your recipes but for me I am finding it's worth the effort.

Just thought I would share this with you.

style

I love older women who stay vibrant and express themselves through their clothing. I recently found a blog called Advanced Style that documents just that.

the color purple

Today I came home from work and made homemade chocolate chip cookies and watched The Color Purple. I forgot how much I like this movie. It's so sad but there is also something very hopeful about it. Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah are really great in this. I am surprised that Oprah hasn't acted more than she has. She was REALLY good in this.
I like when Shug said "I think it p***** God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it."
Have a great weekend!

Etsy Finds

As I have said before on this blog-maybe too many times-I love Etsy! Even if I don't buy anything I love to see what people are making. I figured I would post a few things that are catching my eye this morning. Click on the name of the store or person who makes these to check out their other items.

Happy and Tiny Happy Hedgehogs with Blue Butterflies- By- appleandeve

Silver feather earrings- By EstelleDeParis

Vintage Silverware Garden Marker - Mint Basil Rosemary Thyme- By-monkeysalwayslook
tiny Envelope Necklace- By-LOOKAjewelry

Miku - teddy bear miniature collectible toy -By-knittingdreams

Friday

I love TN winters way better than the PA type I grew up with. However I am not digging all this rain we are having. The temp is pleasant-in the 50's-but it just keeps raining and raining. This would be a good day to lay around on the couch and watch movies. I think If I were home I would probably be watching these:

PS-Have you seen the Grey Gardens documentary? I am curious about the movie because I did see the documentary. Very strange is all I can say. Interesting though.
Hope you all are having a good Friday!

Kale Chips

I saw this idea here. and she saw it somewhere else. and somewhere else saw it somewhere else...

Kale Chips! Supposedly these are good and easy to make.

A little salt, lemon & olive oil, 20 minutes in the oven and whalla!

I don't know about you but this sounds so weird that I might actually try it. Have you ever bought kale before? I have put it in soups before but that is about it. I guess this is a tasty way to get your greens in.

enjoy!

YUM-my new fave ice cream flavor

Try this-you will not regret it. Well maybe you will when you look at the calories per serving..but don't do that! no seriously DON'T LOOK! You will cry but then you will smile because you have tasted a small piece of heaven.

Happiness

What makes you happy?

Here are a few for me-

sitting out in the sun

gardening-getting my hands dirty

watching movies

being around water-LOVE THE OCEAN

making crafts that I will actually use-(as oppose to the kind I usually make that sit in my closet or in a drawer for years)

laughing with my husband

getting my hair cut (oh I haven't had one in months! growing out hair is not fun!)

finishing a good book

fun

Me and my nieces (minus one) at Christmas time. I love their matching PJ's.

inspired

Lately I have been feeling inspired to make stuff. Here are a few things that I have whipped up in the past month.

Ministry/ Skate Video

From middle school till after high school I use to skateboard. I wasn't good at it. BUT-I had fun and I could at least ollie and do a kick flip..sort of.

I had a lot of friends who skated and bmx'd and even though I am probably too old to bring out my skateboard (I tried about 2 years ago and couldn't find another female adult to do it with) the love for it never went away. I enjoy watching the X games and skate videos when they are occasionally on tv.

Yesterday I was watching tv and because I don't have cable and only get one network channel with about a dozen Christian channels I started watching JC TV. They had what looked like a skate video on and so I watched it. They showed the usual tricks and had the same type of music running in the background but all of a sudden they interviewed this one skater-Brian Sumner- and he quoted some scripture and gave his personal testimony. Throughout the video they intermingled skate tricks and interviews with the skaters. I feel kind of embarrassed about this but I found myself getting emotional because the skate world that I encountered for so long had nothing to do with God. Actually it was quite the opposite. Kids often wore shirts with pentagrams and other evil pictures on them and were into drinking or drugs or both usually. They had little respect for authority figures or parents. I am not sure why the skate board culture is like that but for the most part it is...or was. To see these guys skating and praising God brought me to tears. It wasn't hokey or lame. It was powerful and moving and relevant to today. The testimonies of these guys blew me away.

Anyways, I encourage anyone who reads this who likes skating or knows some kid who does to watch this video,support their ministry. The video is called Foolishness and the website is http://www.skatebible.com/

Check out this video http://vimeo.com/8448362

Kitchen Tools

I got a stick blender(aka immersion blender) for Christmas as well as an awesome Kitchen Aid mixer. I haven't baked anything since I got the mixer mostly because baking involves sweets and I don't need any extra right now. I have however used my stick blender like 10 times in the past two days. I originally asked for it because I want to start making my own soap but I figured I would pull it out of the box since I don't have all the soap supplies I need yet. I have gone kind of crazy with it and have tried to find a reason to use it every time I cook. I made two kinds of soup-broccoli and then lentil soup. When I finished making the soup I took my handy tool and blended it a bit. The longer you do it the more blended it will become but I just did it enough to leave it a tiny bit chunky. I also made a fruit smoothie for breakfast and blended my spaghetti sauce with ground turkey in it. I never thought I would find the tool useful in the kitchen besides for making soap but this thing has proved me wrong.

Just thought I would share this because I don't even know anyone who has one...except me now. They are really not that expensive either. The one I have came from Target and is Kitchen Aid brand. It was about 50.00 but they also have cheaper versions down to like 10.00.

Happy Cooking!

The End of Christmas

Tonight I decided to take down our Christmas tree. It's fake so there is "taking down" involved.
It's kind of sad that this part of the year is over although the thought of a new year ahead is exciting I suppose.

If you haven't taken the plunge in taking down your tree and other holiday decorations than may I offer one piece of advice? Don't listen to the Swell Season while doing so! You will be forced to be sentimental about the past year and be reflecting on how you have to go back to work after being off for over a week. Well at least that is what it's doing to me.

I haven't had this much time off in quite a long time. It's been great. I have allowed myself to be lazy but I did some "work" around the house. I re-caulked around the bathtub, cleaned, cooked several new recipes(that was part fun too though), and continued to organize our new house(feels never ending!). I got to do lots of fun relaxing things also like- read Shanghai Girls by Lisa See(I highly recommend it), started reading Cold Mountain(I'm having a hard time getting into this one for some reason), saw Avatar in 3d, saw The Princess and the Frog, saw family and friends, went on a bike ride around my neighborhood, and got crafty by knitting and sewing a bit.

The thought of having to return to the daily grind tomorrow has me a bit depressed but because it's a new year I somehow feel hopeful and expectant to see what God has for us this new year. I feel like we were really blessed in 2009. We miraculously sold our house in 3 weeks in this yucky market, found an amazing house for a great price in a new town that I am loving, Christian was offered the position as Webmaster at Fellowship Bible Church, and I am continually blessed by being able to work part time at the church all the while having time to pursue extra hobbies and passions on the side. God is good. He is good even in the hard times as well and we have had some of that in 2009 too. Just a little though..thankfully.

I hope you all had a good year as well and here is to another good one!