it should be everyday that i find at least 1 thing that i'm thankful for, but i'd like to at least make an effort to post about it once a week. even when things are hard, there's always something to be thankful for. i try to think of things in that way, even though i don't always want to.
something i'm thankful for this week:
GOD NEVER GIVES UP ON US.
what a blessing. He teaches us, guides us, loves us and will teach us the same lesson over and over and over. if you're anything like me, then there are lessons He's been teaching you for years. some of them i have a harder time learning than others.
sometimes my mom will say (about a tough situation) "you better learn your lesson from this situation the first time so He doesn't have to try to teach you this one again!" :) since she first said that, i've repeated that to myself often.
i came across a journal the other day while organizing some of our things in the office, and read some of the entries i had written years ago. i am still struggling now with some of the same things i was then. finding my place, doing what the Lord has for me, being content regardless of what situation i find myself in -- when things are nothing like i pictured things or wanted them to be. thank goodness He knows what's best. and i find such comfort in knowing that He hasn't given up on me. i'm still learning and He's still willing to teach me. and the same is true for all of His children.
that's something i'm thankful for today... and everyday.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
wednesday words: stuff
the first in hopefully many wednesday posts about life lessons.
i'm sure if you're reading this blog, you probably know that since ben and i became mr. and mrs., we've moved. A LOT. (some of you are laughing, agreeing that this is an understatement!) we've moved more than most couples we know probably ever will).
we've lived in 3 different countries, 5 different homes, and 4 different places. we now consider ourselves pros at packing. :) while that definitely can be fun, it can also be pretty challenging, and sometimes hard to put down roots, never knowing how long we're going to be in one place.
one of the lessons i've definitely learned over the all our moves during the last 6 years is:
STUFF IS JUST STUFF
as you can imagine, we've gone through our share of "stuff" during all our moves. when we very first moved to japan, we could only bring about half of our stuff. wedding presents that we had just received stayed in boxes in my parents basement, knowing that we wouldn't have a very big place there, and we didn't want to bring too much.
as i packed for our first overseas move, i really had to ask myself "is this important to me? can i live without this for 3 years?"
stuff takes on a different feel when you have to look at it that way. there are many things that remained in storage for those 3 years that i didn't miss one little bit and that didn't make the next move with us. something that's been SO helpful is to remind myself that "stuff is just stuff". our stuff does not (and should not!) define who we are.
yes - we all have stuff that we love, stuff we hold onto, stuff we think we can't do without, but you'd be surprised what you really can do without. this last year in the bahamas, we packed the littlest amount of our stuff in all our moves to date, and our place was absolutely the smallest of any place we've had. it was basically the size of a hotel room. we did without most of our things, and whatever we brought with us was what could fit in a car. while that was certainly a challenge, it was also kind of freeing to not be tied to too much "stuff". something i've discovered is that friends that have lived in one place or who haven't left america don't always understand this mentality because i have observed that america is all about STUFF. how much or how big or how fancy your stuff is.
ever since i've met my husband, he has not been attached to stuff. when we moved him from maryland to my parents house for the month before our wedding, all the things he had to his name fit in the backseat of my car. i've always had more stuff than him (he would certainly agree, i'm sure) :) and he has taught me so much in regards to this issue too, and his perspective has helped me adopt the "stuff is just stuff" mentality.
basically, the lesson is this: stuff doesn't matter. it's just stuff. don't let it tie you down and don't let your worth be caught up in your stuff. it's not going to last past this life anyways. do your best to let go of things that you're holding on to a little too tightly and use your stuff to bless others as much as you can. (that's a whole other lesson for a different day).
i think that if we can adopt this mentality and focus more on the people around us rather than things, we'll all be a little better off. :)
i'm sure if you're reading this blog, you probably know that since ben and i became mr. and mrs., we've moved. A LOT. (some of you are laughing, agreeing that this is an understatement!) we've moved more than most couples we know probably ever will).
we've lived in 3 different countries, 5 different homes, and 4 different places. we now consider ourselves pros at packing. :) while that definitely can be fun, it can also be pretty challenging, and sometimes hard to put down roots, never knowing how long we're going to be in one place.
one of the lessons i've definitely learned over the all our moves during the last 6 years is:
STUFF IS JUST STUFF
as you can imagine, we've gone through our share of "stuff" during all our moves. when we very first moved to japan, we could only bring about half of our stuff. wedding presents that we had just received stayed in boxes in my parents basement, knowing that we wouldn't have a very big place there, and we didn't want to bring too much.
as i packed for our first overseas move, i really had to ask myself "is this important to me? can i live without this for 3 years?"
stuff takes on a different feel when you have to look at it that way. there are many things that remained in storage for those 3 years that i didn't miss one little bit and that didn't make the next move with us. something that's been SO helpful is to remind myself that "stuff is just stuff". our stuff does not (and should not!) define who we are.
yes - we all have stuff that we love, stuff we hold onto, stuff we think we can't do without, but you'd be surprised what you really can do without. this last year in the bahamas, we packed the littlest amount of our stuff in all our moves to date, and our place was absolutely the smallest of any place we've had. it was basically the size of a hotel room. we did without most of our things, and whatever we brought with us was what could fit in a car. while that was certainly a challenge, it was also kind of freeing to not be tied to too much "stuff". something i've discovered is that friends that have lived in one place or who haven't left america don't always understand this mentality because i have observed that america is all about STUFF. how much or how big or how fancy your stuff is.
ever since i've met my husband, he has not been attached to stuff. when we moved him from maryland to my parents house for the month before our wedding, all the things he had to his name fit in the backseat of my car. i've always had more stuff than him (he would certainly agree, i'm sure) :) and he has taught me so much in regards to this issue too, and his perspective has helped me adopt the "stuff is just stuff" mentality.
basically, the lesson is this: stuff doesn't matter. it's just stuff. don't let it tie you down and don't let your worth be caught up in your stuff. it's not going to last past this life anyways. do your best to let go of things that you're holding on to a little too tightly and use your stuff to bless others as much as you can. (that's a whole other lesson for a different day).
i think that if we can adopt this mentality and focus more on the people around us rather than things, we'll all be a little better off. :)
making a plan...
while i'm currently unemployed, i have more time on my hands (in case you couldn't tell from the baking and crafting i've been busy doing!) :)
i really want to get more consistent with blogging, and think i will try the following blog schedule:
MAKE IT MONDAYS:
i'll post a craft or project i'm working on
TUESDAY TREATS:
i'll post a recipe that i enjoy or want to try
WEDNESDAY WORDS:
i'll post a lesson that i've learned from all our moves and travels and experiences
THANKFUL THURSDAYS:
i'll post something i'm thankful for -- this is something i really want to get in the habit of doing way more often!
i'm not sure i'll be able to stay on top of posting so often, but i figured i can at least give it a try!
stay tuned!
and i just want to say THANK YOU to my sweet supportive husband who encourages me to try new things and to blog and just loves me in spite of me :)
i really want to get more consistent with blogging, and think i will try the following blog schedule:
MAKE IT MONDAYS:
i'll post a craft or project i'm working on
TUESDAY TREATS:
i'll post a recipe that i enjoy or want to try
WEDNESDAY WORDS:
i'll post a lesson that i've learned from all our moves and travels and experiences
THANKFUL THURSDAYS:
i'll post something i'm thankful for -- this is something i really want to get in the habit of doing way more often!
i'm not sure i'll be able to stay on top of posting so often, but i figured i can at least give it a try!
stay tuned!
and i just want to say THANK YOU to my sweet supportive husband who encourages me to try new things and to blog and just loves me in spite of me :)
rainbow goodness
yesterday i had a craving to bake cupcakes. normally i use a box mix since that's what i've used so many times for my cakepops, but i didn't have any box mixes, and have been thinking more about all the preservatives and not-good-for-you things that are in processed foods, so i decided to do some searching online and find a recipe to make my own! funfetti is for sure my favorite type of cake, so when i stumbled upon this recipe, i knew i had to try it :) (SOURCE)
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CUPCAKES
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
4 egg whites
1 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
2/3 cup salted butter, softened
1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles
FROSTING
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons milk
extra powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tin with baking cups.
2. Sift flour, sugar and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and then mix together on low.
3. In another bowl, stir egg whites, milk and vanilla together.
4. Add butter to the flour mixture and mix together. As it starts to combine, slowly pour the milk mixture in and mix until completely combined. Stir in rainbow sprinkles.
5. Fill baking cups a little more than halfway. Bake for about 16 minutes or until done. Remove and cool. Makes about 24 cupcakes.
6. For frosting, beat butter and vanilla together. Add sugar slowly and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and add milk. Mix until smooth and creamy. Note: Double the recipe if you will be frosting all 24 cupcakes like the pictures above, because you probably won't have enough unless you are lightly frosting them.
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*one side note: i used only butter for the frosting, no shortening
i decided to half the recipe for both the cupcakes and the frosting and ended up with 12 delicious cupcakes!!
if you're in the mood for some yummy funfetti cupcakes, you should definitely give this recipe a try!
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CUPCAKES
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
4 egg whites
1 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
2/3 cup salted butter, softened
1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles
FROSTING
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons milk
extra powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tin with baking cups.
2. Sift flour, sugar and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and then mix together on low.
3. In another bowl, stir egg whites, milk and vanilla together.
4. Add butter to the flour mixture and mix together. As it starts to combine, slowly pour the milk mixture in and mix until completely combined. Stir in rainbow sprinkles.
5. Fill baking cups a little more than halfway. Bake for about 16 minutes or until done. Remove and cool. Makes about 24 cupcakes.
6. For frosting, beat butter and vanilla together. Add sugar slowly and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and add milk. Mix until smooth and creamy. Note: Double the recipe if you will be frosting all 24 cupcakes like the pictures above, because you probably won't have enough unless you are lightly frosting them.
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*one side note: i used only butter for the frosting, no shortening
i decided to half the recipe for both the cupcakes and the frosting and ended up with 12 delicious cupcakes!!
if you're in the mood for some yummy funfetti cupcakes, you should definitely give this recipe a try!
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Monday, April 29, 2013
and we moved, once again...
i think most of you know by now that we spent the last year in the bahamas, and recently moved to Georgia. the first thing people say when they hear we lived in the bahamas is "why on earth did you move?" -- everyone pictures tiki huts, drinks with umbrellas and a beautiful resort. while we had an amazing beach, there were alot of things we didn't have. while things are still fresh in my mind, i wanted to jot down...
a few things i miss about living in the bahamas:
1. the BEACH! (i know, duh) :)
2. the simplicity of life
3. our golf cart -- and no traffic whatsoever!
4. nightly walks around the block with my man
5. letting our puppy go swimming in the ocean
a few things i don't miss about living in the bahamas:
1. our teeny tiny grocery store
2. not having a kitchen!
3. our 400 sq ft room
4. spotty/unreliable internet
5. drama!
it sure was an interesting year. we learned a lot, we swam a lot, we snorkeled a lot, and i got an awesome tan! ;) we enjoyed the simplicity of life, but there were definitely things we missed. now the goal is trying to hang on to some of that simplicity while also enjoying things that we didn't get to have (like more than 1 room) :)
the last 6 years have been full of so many adventures, and i hope to begin posting a few of the lessons we've learned along the way on here. so stay tuned :)
a few things i miss about living in the bahamas:
1. the BEACH! (i know, duh) :)
2. the simplicity of life
3. our golf cart -- and no traffic whatsoever!
4. nightly walks around the block with my man
5. letting our puppy go swimming in the ocean
a few things i don't miss about living in the bahamas:
1. our teeny tiny grocery store
2. not having a kitchen!
3. our 400 sq ft room
4. spotty/unreliable internet
5. drama!
it sure was an interesting year. we learned a lot, we swam a lot, we snorkeled a lot, and i got an awesome tan! ;) we enjoyed the simplicity of life, but there were definitely things we missed. now the goal is trying to hang on to some of that simplicity while also enjoying things that we didn't get to have (like more than 1 room) :)
the last 6 years have been full of so many adventures, and i hope to begin posting a few of the lessons we've learned along the way on here. so stay tuned :)
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
a chair here, a chair there
one of the other DIY projects i was able to do last week was to recover some chairs!
my sweet grandma emailed me last week and told me that her friend was having a garage sale, and she got to have a sneak peek of the goods before the sale :) she found 2 wood dining room chairs, and she knew that i was on the hunt for chairs to go with our newly acquired table, and wanted to know if i was interested in them!
her friend texted me a picture of the chairs, and when she told me we could get both for only $15 i said "yes!" it was so sweet of her to think of me and to find me such a great deal! we found out the chairs belonged to her friends family member who barely ever used them!
the chair: (before)
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the only real thing i didn't like about them was the seat cover, but thankfully that's a fairly easy fix. i say fairly because if you know me at all, you know that NOTHING is ever easy for me. i could write another entire post on that, but for now i'll just say even covering the chairs wasn't quite as easy as it should have been ;)
i found fabric that i liked at joann's that had fun teal flowers on them that go with our dishes and the dining room paint color that i picked (teal valspar paint called "gone fishing").
the fabric:
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usually you are supposed to be able to just unscrew the legs of the chair, pull off the cushion part and recover it with fabric. well these chairs were not put together in the usual way and there was no easy way to pull the cushion off, so i had to recover it still attached. it took a little figuring out to get it just right, but with a staple gun, some safety goggles and my mom's help, i was able to recover both chairs in a little over an hour! i love how they turned out.
always be safe when you're working with tools: ;)
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the finished product!
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all in all, the table was $35, the chairs were $15, and the materials to redo them both were about $50. not bad! i always love scoring a good deal and it was fun to make them look the way i wanted them to look. :) i'll be sure to post more pictures of projects as they come along!
my sweet grandma emailed me last week and told me that her friend was having a garage sale, and she got to have a sneak peek of the goods before the sale :) she found 2 wood dining room chairs, and she knew that i was on the hunt for chairs to go with our newly acquired table, and wanted to know if i was interested in them!
her friend texted me a picture of the chairs, and when she told me we could get both for only $15 i said "yes!" it was so sweet of her to think of me and to find me such a great deal! we found out the chairs belonged to her friends family member who barely ever used them!
the chair: (before)
.JPG)
the only real thing i didn't like about them was the seat cover, but thankfully that's a fairly easy fix. i say fairly because if you know me at all, you know that NOTHING is ever easy for me. i could write another entire post on that, but for now i'll just say even covering the chairs wasn't quite as easy as it should have been ;)
i found fabric that i liked at joann's that had fun teal flowers on them that go with our dishes and the dining room paint color that i picked (teal valspar paint called "gone fishing").
the fabric:
.JPG)
usually you are supposed to be able to just unscrew the legs of the chair, pull off the cushion part and recover it with fabric. well these chairs were not put together in the usual way and there was no easy way to pull the cushion off, so i had to recover it still attached. it took a little figuring out to get it just right, but with a staple gun, some safety goggles and my mom's help, i was able to recover both chairs in a little over an hour! i love how they turned out.
always be safe when you're working with tools: ;)
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the finished product!
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all in all, the table was $35, the chairs were $15, and the materials to redo them both were about $50. not bad! i always love scoring a good deal and it was fun to make them look the way i wanted them to look. :) i'll be sure to post more pictures of projects as they come along!
getting my DIY on...
anyone who knows me knows that i love to be crafty. after a year of living in a teeny tiny little room with not many chances to be crafty, i was itching to get my hands on a new project when we moved back to the US of A. :)
while we lived in the bahamas and i had downtime, i perused many home improvement, DIY blogs. 2 of my favorites are bower power (katie is actually an acquaintance of mine) and younghouselove (gotta love john and sherry!) i actually got the younghouselove book for christmas and it's great - you should check it out if you haven't already (click HERE)
all that to say, when ben and i moved back, i was itching to DIY something of my own. :)
in our new apartment, we have a dining room, but we had no table and no chairs. we started shopping around but didn't find anything we really loved (or if we did it was way out of our budget). one day we went into habitat for humanity re-store and wandered around, and stumbled upon this round table with 2 leaves for only 35 bucks! i looked up at my hubby and said "please! can this be my DIY project??" :) he reminded me how much work was going to go into it, but agreed and we left the store with the table in pieces in the back of our crv!
table in the store:
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my idea was to stain it a deeper brown color. even though i've never done something quite like this before, i looked up a few tutorials online (including a very helpful one from younghouselove), went to lowes to get my supplies, and started on one of the leaves for a trial run :) as soon as i began sanding, i realized that it was actually veneer! which made things a bit more tricky as you have to be very careful not to sand through the veneer. i sanded as much as i felt comfortable sanding, and did my first layer of stain. after various tries over about a weeks time, the stain just wasn't cutting it.
supplies:
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sanding:
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wiping off the stain:
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a little hard to see, but the stain just didn't soak in right:
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i was afraid to sand it further and ruin the veneer, and after hearing from a friend's husband who had looked at the pictures that i probably shouldn't keep trying to stain it, i decided to go the paint route instead.
i headed back to lowes (i think i went 3 times in 4 days!) :) and the very helpful paint department loaded me up with tinted primer and dark brown paint.
2 layers of primer (zinsser bullseye 1-2-3! it's amazing, covered everything so well!), 2 layers of paint (valspar signature primer+paint = low voc and great coverage as well) and then 2 layers of poly on top to protect it (minswax polycrylic).
primed:
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painted:
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after the poly, i let it cure for 2 full days before moving it to our apartment and setting it up! i did all of this while ben was away on a business trip and had it all ready in our apartment to surprise him! :)
all set up!
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even though it didn't turn out quite like i was hoping, i learned a ton and had fun with it! definitely am eager to keep trying DIY things! in fact, my next post will be about another DIY project i tackled while ben was away! stay tuned!
while we lived in the bahamas and i had downtime, i perused many home improvement, DIY blogs. 2 of my favorites are bower power (katie is actually an acquaintance of mine) and younghouselove (gotta love john and sherry!) i actually got the younghouselove book for christmas and it's great - you should check it out if you haven't already (click HERE)
all that to say, when ben and i moved back, i was itching to DIY something of my own. :)
in our new apartment, we have a dining room, but we had no table and no chairs. we started shopping around but didn't find anything we really loved (or if we did it was way out of our budget). one day we went into habitat for humanity re-store and wandered around, and stumbled upon this round table with 2 leaves for only 35 bucks! i looked up at my hubby and said "please! can this be my DIY project??" :) he reminded me how much work was going to go into it, but agreed and we left the store with the table in pieces in the back of our crv!
table in the store:
.jpeg)
my idea was to stain it a deeper brown color. even though i've never done something quite like this before, i looked up a few tutorials online (including a very helpful one from younghouselove), went to lowes to get my supplies, and started on one of the leaves for a trial run :) as soon as i began sanding, i realized that it was actually veneer! which made things a bit more tricky as you have to be very careful not to sand through the veneer. i sanded as much as i felt comfortable sanding, and did my first layer of stain. after various tries over about a weeks time, the stain just wasn't cutting it.
supplies:
.jpeg)
sanding:
.jpeg)
wiping off the stain:
.jpeg)
a little hard to see, but the stain just didn't soak in right:
.jpeg)
i was afraid to sand it further and ruin the veneer, and after hearing from a friend's husband who had looked at the pictures that i probably shouldn't keep trying to stain it, i decided to go the paint route instead.
i headed back to lowes (i think i went 3 times in 4 days!) :) and the very helpful paint department loaded me up with tinted primer and dark brown paint.
2 layers of primer (zinsser bullseye 1-2-3! it's amazing, covered everything so well!), 2 layers of paint (valspar signature primer+paint = low voc and great coverage as well) and then 2 layers of poly on top to protect it (minswax polycrylic).
primed:
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
painted:
.jpeg)
after the poly, i let it cure for 2 full days before moving it to our apartment and setting it up! i did all of this while ben was away on a business trip and had it all ready in our apartment to surprise him! :)
all set up!
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even though it didn't turn out quite like i was hoping, i learned a ton and had fun with it! definitely am eager to keep trying DIY things! in fact, my next post will be about another DIY project i tackled while ben was away! stay tuned!
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