On Gift Pacts and Christmas Tags.

This is our first married Christmas together, so we are having tons of fun coming up with our own traditions.

We made a gift pact, which basically goes a little like this: only buy gifts that don't hurt other people. This translates that we are trying to only buy from local artists and/or companies that are committed to treating their employees ethically. 

To make things even simpler, we decided to get each other four gifts: something you want, something you need, something you wear, something you read. 

I had so much fun choosing gifts for Adam, though I did have a moment where I semi-panicked that he wouldn't like one of his gifts. Then he sent me a direct link to that exact thing...so I guess that means he will like it. (He sent me lots of links, so maybe he won't be able to figure out what I'm talking about here...lol.)

People often complain that men are hard to shop for, but I find it to be the opposite with Adam. The problem I run into is limiting what I get him (or getting it for him before he gets it for himself!). 

I wrapped up his prezzies, and found myself in possession of zero gift tags. Luckily, I had reached the end of the wrapping paper roll...which was just thick brown paper and not a real roll. I cut little rectangles out and made my own tags. Add a sharpie and some ribbon and voila. Christmas magic.

Christmas Craftng: On Glitter and Glue Guns

Crazy news:

November 2013 (ie: last month) I had more page views than EVER before. Thanks for being faithful readers. I appreciate all your views, shares, likes, and reads. 

In other news, I went to craft night last week. I walked through the door and was actually transported to Pinterest-land. Oh, you didn't know it existed? Well, I know it does, because I went there. 

A friend of mine hosted a night for a bunch of ladies to do crafts, with stations, instructions, and materials all set up and ready to go. Everyone brought some supplies off the list to off-set the costs.

I love being creative, but "crafts" sometimes make me uneasy. However, the way this was set up was so perfect for non-crafters and seasoned-crafters alike. There were suggestions and instructions to follow if you were unsure, and there was tons of freedom to do your thing if you had another idea.

Also, there were cookies, so the kitchen was always a safe bet.

Here are my creations.

All I had to do for this one was use stencils to paint the letters. Others wrote "Merry & Bright" or "Peace on Earth" on theirs. I stole a line from my favorite Christmas song. It was Adam's brilliant idea to hang it over the coats at the entrance to our little home. We got those awesome faucet hangers on our honeymoon in the San Juan Islands.

I used glitter scrapbooking paper, the TR- section of an old encyclopedia (hence references to the TRinity and TRombones on my TRees, and burlap on my trees. I'm particularly fond of that old man that ended up on my tree (see below).

These are hymns taken from old church song books (hello, 50% off books at the thrift shop!), with a little glitter scrapbooking paper, and letters cut out in a huge font.

Have you done any crafting this Christmas? Does that question make you excited or uneasy? Would you rather eat Christmas cookies until your belly hurts than get tangled up in glue guns and glitter?

*disclosure: some links may be Amazon affiliate links.

On [a late fall] Healthy Breakfast.

The mornings have been cold here lately. We were recently given a huge bag of pears that need to be eaten quicker than we would normally consume them. This morning I whipped this up for breakfast while we sipped our hot coffee and waited for the heater to warm our little home.

Lightly toast steel cut oats with butter in a sauce pan.

Add water at 2:1 ratio.

Rolling boil until all water is gone.

Add pears, chopped dates, crushed walnuts, and a dash of pumpkin spice. Top with either honey or brown sugar, depending on your sweetness preference.

Enjoy. Obviously, I did before I was able to take a picture of the finished product!

On Blueberries, Blueberry Picking, and Blueberry [Lemonade] Cupcakes.

Adam and I were in Eugene on Saturday, so I decided we needed to pick blueberries. It was over 90-degrees out and the berry patch only had an hour until closing, but I NEEDED blueberries. Let's just say the heat was talking.

We both promptly removed our long-sleeved shirts! It was HOT!

We got to the blueberry farm and fell in LOVE! It was so cute and well-kept. The berries were just starting to pop, so there was a good mix of ripe berries and little baby green ones. Plus, picking your own saves you $2 a pound. Hello! I can handle 45 minutes in the sun to save $2/pound! 

Together we picked nine pounds, and probably sweat about that much too! The farm was remote enough that it was extremely quiet. We enjoyed the time together in peaceful nature. Plus, since it was almost closing time, we were the only ones picking! 

I found this recipe for Cherry Limeade cupcakes, and decided to modify it in order to use some of my fresh blueberries. So, I made Blueberry Lemonade cupcakes! They are just a tad too sweet, but the tartness of the blueberries and the sour lemon taste cup it down to almost perfection. They are a dense and intense dessert, so just one suffices. 

my breakfast yesterday. featuring fresh blueberries and my strawberry freezer jam.

I think about half the blueberries we picked will be eaten fresh, but I'm freezing the rest. We'll use those for smoothies, pancakes, crisps, cobblers, muffins, and maybe just for a little sweet snack. We have already devoured all of the strawberries I froze via smoothie. Yum!

Have you picked any berries this summer? What fruits are in season where you live? Do you have any good blueberry recipes?

On Strawberries, Strawberry Jam, and [SO MANY] Strawberries.

It's strawberry season in Oregon, and there was much rejoicing.

I joined some other cool people on an expedition to the strawberry patches on Monday. Together we picked dozens of buckets of strawberries. Dozens.

For hours on Tuesday morning I washed, hulled, froze, blended, and ate strawberries, because they were OH SO RIPE, and I didn't want to lose a single strawberry.

I used this recipe to make freezer jam using my kitchen aid (my seminary graduation present).

And for dessert on date night: Strawberry Short-tinis.

Do you pick berries or fruit where you live? Do you make anything with them, freeze them, or just gobble them all up while they're fresh?

On Socks, Soulmates, and [colorful] Signs.

See the "L" on sole? Yes, that's a sock. I can be so clever.

One of my pastors in college would do an annual series, "Soulmates," in which he would crush all hope in the hearts of the laides seeking, "The One." There is no such thing as, The One, he would tell us, until you're married...then your spouse is The One.

The idea of soulmates doesn't make sense logically to me. What if someone messed up and married your "One?" Then what? That would cause a domino effect of people marrying the wrong One. How tragic! And what about death or divorce or any other thing that could mess up the wheres and whys and hows of meeting and falling in love? 

Regardless, I love a good pun. I pinned this sign on Pinterest, and wanted to make my own for our laundry area. I decided it needed much more color though; I do have green walls, you know.

It's simply a piece of shelving painted with acrylic paints, a piece of twine strung between two holes, and baby clothespins. 

We also got some cute baskets for paper towels, cleaning supplies, and other miscellaneous items (like light bulbs and such). That little jar on the top right is for change found in the laundry. It was originally a part of a centerpiece ensemble from our wedding. Any ideas for what to do with all the change I collect from doing laundry? 

These knobs from Hobby Lobby were intended for our bathroom, but the screws weren't long enough to fit through the holes in the cabinet drawers.

p.s. NEVER pay full price for things at Hobby Lobby. You can always find at least a 40% coupon.

The knobs look fabulous on our laundry doors. I love when the doors are shut. It makes our little home look so clean and homey!

What simple updates or creative projects have you done to make your home unique? Have you tried re-creating anything you've pinned on Pinterest?

On [making our own] Colorful Throwing Rice.

During the wedding planning process, I stumbled upon and fell in love with an idea to throw sprinkles for the big post-reception getaway rather than rice, bird seed, bubbles, or sparklers. After reading reviews of said idea though, I became concerned about the sugary beads melting on people's hands, and clothes. I also found the bulk prices for sprinkles to be outrageous.

Then I found this post, where Stacy used food coloring and rubbing alcohol to dye rice rainbow colors for a toddler sensory bin. I don't have toddlers, but I definitely have use for colored rice!

The fun colors were what I loved about the sprinkles idea, so we decided we could make our own colored "sprinkles" for the price of rice (really cheap!).

Step 1: Measure out 2 cups of rice. (We only had white and brown rice mixed together, so we used that. White rice would probably make more vibrant colors, but our mixture actually made a fun gradient/ombre look.)

Step 2: Pour rice into a gallon size zip-lock bag. Add 4 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol and 1/2 tablespoon of desired food coloring. Zip baggie.


Step 3: Squish contents all around until color is evenly distributed.

Step 4: Pour the rice onto cookie sheets. Spread around using a spoon or spatula.

Step 5: Lay rice out in some sunshine for a few hours.

Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5 for each color you desire to include. When all rice is dry, mix all colors together in a large bowl.

Step 7: Cut squares of tulle (I got a roll of 80 yards at the Dollar Tree). Place a small handful of mixed rice in the tulle.

Step 8: Tie with a ribbon.

Expenses:

4 cups rice..............................................free (from our pantry)
Food coloring.........................................free (also in pantry)
8 T rubbing alcohol................................free (bathroom  cabinet)
One roll of tulle.......................................$1 (dollar tree)
Ribbon....................................................$2 (dollar tree)

total.........................................................$3

On [pins I deem worthy of] Pinning: Pinterest Round-Up Volume 2.1

This week, I started making a blogging calendar to help generate ideas and also to keep myself accountable to scheduled blogging. I realized that I stopped doing my weekly Pinterest round-up, and am decided to resurrect it.

Each Saturday, I'll feature my favorite finds on Pinterest in six categories:
1. food (I'll start with everyone's favorite!)
2. diy
3. decor
4. clothes (including shoes and accessories!)
5. inspirational quote
6. humor (because everyone loves a laugh!)

My only promise is that there will be no pictures of cuddly small animals. Unless they are rhinos, which I only have one picture of so I'll just post it now to get it out of the way.

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1. food
I seriously cannot WAIT to plan out dinners to make for/with my almost-hubs. This paella reminds me of living in France, because the family I lived with LOVED to eat paella.


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2. diy
Cluttered countertops are SO annoying in two places: the kitchen and the bathroom. Here is a simple way to clear those bathroom counters, while still having the essentials close at hand!



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3. decor
My little sister has an Etsy shop, and she's basically brilliant in the artistic abilities department. Here is a piece she recently made. It also just happens to be close to our wedding colors!

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4. clothes
I adore this bag. I wish the dimensions were a little larger so I could fit my laptop in it!

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5. inspirational quote
I just love this.

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6. humor
This is basically me. I need to get the story from my mom about how I tried ballet when I was a toddler, and basically decided I only liked to dance when I wanted, how I wanted.

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On [feeling so loved on] Valentine's Day.

Adam sent me the best package EVER for Valentine's Day. It was all full of love and goodness and thoughtfulness and creativity (including the jar above with M&M's counting down the days until I'm in Oregon)! 

Long-distance relationships can sometimes be are really hard, especially when trying to show love. I'm so thankful for his creativity, and the way he earnestly pursues me. I feel so loved and special! I can't wait for our Valentine's Skype date tomorrow night!!!

My boss also surprised Laurin and I with mugs full of candy, goodies, and teddy bears. A loving day, all around.

On [how we are] Distributing Chores.

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Part of the super enjoyable engagement period (can you sense my sarcasm there?), is discussing how household chores will be distributed.

Unless you are super wealthy (and the answer then is obviously, the person you hire), then the responsibility falls upon the couple to figure out how things will get done.

Thanks to the book I mentioned in last week's High Five for Friday, Adam and I found a list that helped us divvy up the responsibilities. Obviously, you don't have to do this along gender lines.

We started out by saying which household chore we personally hate most, and we both offered to do the chore the other hated. Then we distributed according to ability (helloooo, I know nothing about cars), and interest (Adam ADORES grocery shopping). From there, we just tried to be fair, and acknowledged that this is open to adjustment and change when needed.

The only alteration I would make to The Nest's list would be an option for "together," in addition to "him," "her," and "take turns." Most people's lives are busy, and if doing dishes together sometimes turns into a dance party, I'm not complaining.

On [mailing] Biscotti: Lime, Cranberry, Coconut, Walnut Edition.

I mentioned in yesterday's High Five for Friday that I mailed Adam some goodies.

Big REVEAL time: Lime Cranberry Coconut Walnut Biscotti!!!!

I was feeling particularly bake-y, and was craving biscotti! I also wanted to mail him something that had a semblance of healthy. So I found a recipe loaded with fiber-licious ingredients: cranberries and coconut! I added walnuts, because, who doesn't like walnuts!

I couldn't decide if this recipe was especially Christmasy (the red cranberries and green lime, with snowy coconut) or more summery (the fruity drink lime and tropical coconut). Either way, the combination was delicious!

Unfortunately, I had the brilliant idea to food coloring dye the glaze bright green (I was thinking lime), but it turned out looking like dried snot. Oh well, they still tasted delicious, especially with hot tea!

6 Steps to Saving [nearly] $500 on Wedding Invitations.

My GORGEOUS wedding invitations and response cards
personally designed by Emily at One Red Balloon.

Choosing wedding invitations seemed like a seriously daunting task, especially when trying to not spend a ridiculous amount of money. The wedding industry is insane, and if the word "wedding" is attached to anything, it seems to cost three times what it should. 

I also hated how BORING all the wedding invitations were that I found. So in the spirit of saving money, having an invitation that "looked" like Adam & I, and supporting my artist friends, the WIN WIN WIN way was born. 

1. Find an Etsy designer (I used Emily at One Red Balloon) to design custom invites for you. Words like "designer" and "custom" may sound expensive to you, but this will be cheaper than buying cookie cutter ones from a boutique or a printing site. I promise. Plus, it will be super personal AND you will be supporting an artist. WIN (financially), WIN (personally), WIN (supporting artists)! Yay. Make sure designer is selling you THE DESIGN (the electronic file) not the prints.

2. Work with your designer to create the look you want for your big day. Perusing other wedding invite websites for ideas and sending them along to your designer might be helpful.

3. Be watching Groupon and Living Social for Vistaprint deals. They have them every few months. Buy them. Have other people buy them for you. Look around on Vistaprint for the size you want for your invitations. I went with 5" x 7". Give your designer the specifications for the bleed and trim. These can be found by clicking "full upload specifications."

4. Once you have finalized, approved your design, and have the files from your designer. WAIT. Check Vistaprint EVERYDAY (or you may see an ad so you don't have to be constantly checking) until you find a percent-off deal. They will often do 10%, 25% or even 50% off certain items (like stationary).

5. Get everything printed in incremental orders so you can use all your Groupon and/or Living Social deals. Vistaprint will also sometimes throw in free shipping if you spend $50 above your Living Social deal.

6. At the same time, you can also order return address labels and business cards (to put your wedding website or registry information). You will also get FREE envelopes with your invitations.

COST BREAKDOWN THE "WIN WIN WIN" WAY
(figures from my personal experience)

Living Social Deals
$100 in Vistaprint product..................................$20

200 invitations w/ envelopes
(printed on premium linen stock)
Custom Design...................................................$25
Printed on Vistaprint...........................................$102

200 response cards w/ envelopes
Custom Design...................................................$25
Printed on Vistaprint...........................................$54.24

280 return address labels
Stock Design/Printed on Vistaprint....................$8.12

250 business cards (for guest information)
Plain design/blank reverse..................................$2.01

Shipping.............................................................free

total....................................................................$211.37

COST BREAKDOWN BOUTIQUE WAY

(figures from The Invitations Boutique)

200 invitations w/ envelopes
(printed on plain white stock)
Stock Design......................................................$300.70

200 response cards w/ envelopes
Stock Design......................................................$161.50

275 return address labels
Stock Design......................................................$68.50

250 business cards (for guest information)
Plain design/blank reverse..................................$176.10

Shipping.............................................................free

total....................................................................$706.80

TOTAL SAVINGS $495.43

On [making your own] Valentine's Candle Holder.

I was feeling crafty, and inspired by this post that I found on Pinterest, so I decided to make my own Valentine's-themed candle holder. It can also be used to hold bobby pins, buttons, or love. <3

The best part is: it's SUPER easy to make! Find a (clean) clear vessel, swirl around some mod podge and glitter (and confetti!) with a brush, turn it upside down and let dry.

When dry (give it a day or so), add a tea light and enjoy the love-filled ambiance.

PS: Yes, that glitter IS from my fingernail fun set when I was a kid in the 1990's. Yes, I DO keep everything.

On [making my own] Take-Out: Red Curry with Beef & Veggies.

Red Curry with Beef & Veggies
(adapted from back of the Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste bottle)
(makes 4 servings//390 calories per serving)

Bring 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk to simmer in large skillet
Stir in 2 tbsp. red curry paste and 1 tbsp. brown sugar
Bring to boil
Simmer 5 minutes
Stir in 1 pound meat (I chose beef, which I pre-browned)
Add some assorted cut-up vegetables (I chose 1 can water chestnuts, 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, 2 carrots, and a couple handfuls of spinach)
Cook until vegetables are "tender-crisp"

The original recipe calls for fish oil, which I didn't have on hand and didn't feel like buying (since I'm moving in 2 months). Instead, I added some salt and called it good.

Serve over jasmine rice.

For best results, watch while Skyping with your significant other. Enjoy with a tall glass of water.

Clear your palate with a piece of leftover Christmas chocolate (Fair Trade Organic dark chocolate from Trader Joe's).

On [the motivational] Power of Beauty.

My new desktop on my laptop!

The desktop on my laptop is usually super cluttered with saved pictures, random documents, and homeless files.

I stumbled upon some neat free downloads at Design Love Fest, and now my desktop is beautiful and functional.

I still need to go through some of those folders on the right ("desktop documents"? What does that even mean?). But at least it looks pretty, which is a step in the organizational motivation direction.

What tricks and tools do you use to motivate yourself to be more organized?

On [pins I deem worthy of] Pinning: Pinterest Round-Up, Round 7.

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend! I can't believe it is already DECEMBER!!! Tonight is my school's Christmas formal. I'm planning on wearing a dress I purchased in France, and I'm going with a friend of mine who I've gone with for the past two Christmas banquets. (Also, he's getting married a week from tomorrow, CRAZY!) The banquet will either be hilariously awkward or surprisingly fun. Either way, it's free food so...that's pretty exciting.

1. This is a brilliant idea! Take three of those $5 mirrors and a few lighting fixtures to make a dressing room quality getting-ready area.


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2. I want to crochet these for my baby [first cousin once removed] cousin. I made her a rhinoceros before she was born. She loves to read an animal book, and has all the stuffed animals except a hedgehog and a turtle.

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3. I'm trying to find a rehearsal/rehearsal dinner dress. I'm can't even decide what COLOR to wear to this thing! White, beige, champagne...or something more dramatic...red...or even multicolored sequins (gasp!). Any thoughts or suggestions? I generally loathe shopping...so finding a dress online sounds more appealing.
 

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4. Fun couples costumes for Halloween...next year!


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Sheldon and Amy Farrah Fowler. #truelove

5. I'm definitely NOT a morning person, but this article has inspired me to (attempt to) become less of a snooze button person. This summer in France, I found out how great it makes you feel when you can live an alarm clock-less life. My schedule now isn't condusive to that drastic of a change, but it would be nice if I could actually get up in the morning instead of fighting with my alarm clock and the urge to sleep five more minutes.

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Are you a morning person or a night person (or neither)? Which dress should I wear to my wedding rehearsal? Do you have another suggestion? How crazy is it that it is already December!??!?