Simplicity

I have been reading and loving the book 7:An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. Jen is an awesome Christian writer/speaker/blogger and if you don't know about her yet, you will love her!

Simplifying has been on my mind a lot lately, and 7 has been really inspirational. In this book, Jen chronicles her experiment with cutting back in 7 areas in her life and how it brings her closer to God and opens her eyes to helping others in new ways. In the first chapter, she chooses only 7 foods to eat for a month. In the next, it's 7 items of clothing. The third month, she and her family give away 7 possessions every day. And thats about all I've read so far...


My favorite thing about Jen and the book is that she's a suburban woman/wife/mom who realizes how much she and her family really have in the grand scheme of things. It's so easy to compare ourselves to the images of society or look at what others have and want it. But in reality, many of us are in the top 1% of the world financially. If you are reading this post, you're probably at least in the top 5%. And yet we aren't satisfied.

One quote that I love from 7 is: "If we raised others up instead of raising ourselves a little higher, there would be few needs left on earth."

I think that one way we can begin raising up others is to first simplify our own lives. If we let go of our love for material things, maybe it will free up more space for loving others. I am definitely no expert and love my "stuff" just as much as the next person, but here are just some ideas on how we can simplify:

• Food: I love food and think it would be really hard to choose just 7. But one thing we are working on in our house is cutting way back on processed foods. A lot of times I'll buy fresh produce trying to be healthy and then let it go to waste while we eat all the junk in the pantry. One way you can prevent this is to cut down on your grocery list. Only go to the grocery once for the week and get a few specific things. That way you'll have to use the fresh ingredients, they won't go bad, and you'll feel so much better and more satisfied. You could even use the money you saved on processed junk and get some things to donate to a local food pantry. 
• Clothes: Count the number of items in your closet. Wow. Are you as shocked as I was? What about the items in your drawers? Shoes? Purses? Find a good charity to donate everything you haven't worn in the last year. Look around at your newly-purged closet. Take a deep breath, soak  it in . Doesn't that feel good? Now to not go out and replace them...
• Stuff: That's what I like to call my possessions. Things that we want but don't really need. Things that we see, buy, and sit around until we finally throw away to make room for more stuff. What stuff could you give away to a new home that would appreciate it? This week I was out running errands and realized I had a few "wants" not "needs" in my cart. I decided to put them back & instead get a few items for my friend's ministry that is giving out baskets of household supplies to those in need this Easter. Another way to simplify is instead of going out and buying something new, what do you have that you could recycle into something new? Or what does someone you know have that they want to get rid of? 
• Budget: Simplifying and saving money kind of go hand in hand. By cutting back on what you buy, you will see your bank account grow. A budget plan is always a good idea and lets you see where your money is going. There are lots of good budgeting apps or you can do a budget binder like we do. I also get updates from Chase on my phone so I always know how much I have and what I've spent $ on.
• Precious Time: One of the most important things for me is simplifying what I do with my time. With Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin', etc. it's crazy how much of our time is spent on social media. I catch myself reaching for my phone out of boredom or habit constantly. By cutting back on things like this, you can free up time for the more important things in life that really bring you joy. For me: family, friends, reading, bible study, exercise, crafting. Doing the Paleo diet has forced me to spend more time on preparing meals, but it has been really good for us in that we appreciate the food more and spend time together enjoying it. What can you spend more of your time on that will make you happy in the long run? What about serving others? Could we cut out something else (shopping, facebooking, etc.) and spend just an hour of our week serving others? This is one of my goals for this year. 

Here are some things that help me simplify:

This budget binder helps us focus on where we're spending our money. You can get the free printables here.

Lara bars: Sometimes it's impossible to cook fresh & all-natural for every meal. For on-the-go clean eating, these are awesome because they have natural ingredients. They are even paleo-friendly!

This book I am reading with my Life Group girls. It takes you through the bible in chronological order, so much easier to understand! I am loving carving a little time out of my week to spend on the story, and then talking about it with girlfriends.

This planner by Emily Ley is amazing! They are all sold out of 2014 but the 2015 will be available to order in the Fall. :)

Coffee Table Books

One Kings Lane is having a great sale on coffee table books right now. Here are a few I would love to add to my collection:

Love the poster-art style illustrations and collages in this book! Who wouldn't wanna tour New York City from their living room?

This 20th anniversary celebration of Kate Spade represents the brand beautifully...so fun!

Anyone who knows me knows my obsession with the Kennedys. THIS BOOK...want.

Do you have A Passion for Blue and White?

I love mixing traditional and modern elements...this looks like a great design book.

Moss Easter Egg Tutorial

Project #2: moss Easter eggs to go with my Spring mantle:

Supplies: 

• plastic easter eggs
• hot glue gun
• moss (we used the kind in sheets)

This was a super simple project, but it did end up being really messy! First, we would cut a square of the moss sheet big enough to cover an egg. We covered the bottom half of the egg first and wrapped the moss around it, then stretched it over the rest of the egg & hot-glued as we went. Our method required a lot of cutting and fitting pieces in, so it might be easier to use the loose moss instead.

And here they are: sitting pretty in their little basket, waiting for more Springy decorations to join them. 

No craft session is complete without a little girl scout cookies & milk!

Zinc Letters & Moss Easter Egg Crafting

This weekend, I had the chance to go visit my parents for a fun & relaxing weekend. I always liked playing with paper dolls when I was little so my dad picked up these vintage ones to give me when I came home. How cute are these little outfits from the 1960s?

Saturday morning my mom & I went to Hobby Lobby for some craft supplies and ran across these beauties on sale. Even though our bar stools are pretty much brand new, I'm thinking they would be so cute (with a new rug under them).

 So anyway, here is what we ended up making. Project #1: faux zinc letters like these from Anthropologie. I wanted mine to be a lot bigger so that they would go above my cabinets in the kitchen.

You need:

• large wooden letters
• sponge paintbrush
• black acrylic paint
• pearl metallic paint

First, we painted the letters with a coat of black acrylic paint and let it dry. Then, we painted a coat of the pearl metallic paint over the black. It took a couple of coats to get the effect I wanted, because it was a little streaky at first.

 Here's the finished product (above my mom's retro kitchen stove & then my kitchen cabinets):

My husband wanted to know why I put the word FAT in our kitchen haha

Project #2: moss Easter eggs to go with my Spring mantle:

Supplies: 

• plastic easter eggs
• hot glue gun
• moss (we used the kind in sheets)

This was a super simple project, but it did end up being really messy! First, we would cut a square of the moss sheet big enough to cover an egg. We covered the bottom half of the egg first and wrapped the moss around it, then stretched it over the rest of the egg & hot-glued as we went. Our method required a lot of cutting and fitting pieces in, so it might be easier to use the loose moss instead.

And here they are: sitting pretty in their little basket, waiting for more Springy decorations to join them. 

These girl scout cookies & milk have been teasing me all weekend!

Offices I Love (and our office in progress)

We are starting to get our office together & these are some of the ones I've been drooling over:

Love the organization in this office... and the idea that it was created in a closet! You can do so much with small spaces.

Inspiring quotes :) 

This is an adorable office space for a family. 

Would love to work in this space...so open!

Color & styling

craft table awesomeness

 These two are so pretty & inspiring...love them!

How much could you get done on this huge workspace?

 More pretty spaces, love the colors!

 Chalkboard inspiration is always fun & vintagey:

chalkboard wall calendar decals & simplicity of black & white

striped walls

 Here is our office in progress: it's hard to show in the pics but the paint color is Silvermist by Sherwin Williams and we love it! Blake's desk is a built-in to the closet. We also have this neat little shelf at the top that I'm excited to decorate eventually (note the lonely decoration up there by itself).

my desk randomness

reading corner

Blake's messy desk area & my dumbbells...our office doubles as a workout room ;)

shelf up top

There are still a lot of things I want to do in there over the next few months:

1. a reading nook under the window

2. french doors

3. some type of bookshelf- may try to diy one of these ideas

Paleo update: grilled chicken w/ sauteed onions & spinach; strawberry blueberry salad w/ pecans & honey goat cheese

Blake trying yoga with me: priceless

Paleo 30 Day Challenge

So...this is my second time around trying the Paleo thing. If you know me, you know I have a tiny bit of a HUGE sweet tooth & a slight MAJOR obsession with Diet Coke. Hence, my TV-time snack last night.

Although I'd like to say I've been preparing healthy, home-cooked meals for my new husband the last 6 months, let's be honest...we've been eating a bunch of processed crap. Time to make some changes around here.

Blake is even doing it with me, partially to be more healthy but mostly because he would rather starve than grocery shop himself (he eats whatever I do)! We found this awesome blog to use as a guide for the 30 day challenge. She guides you through each day, telling you how much water to drink, when to drink it, what to eat for each meal, what exercise to do. She even has a grocery list for the week & links to the exercise videos...so she makes it super easy for you!

I'm hoping to use the power of prayer & accountability of friends to stay motivated. By being intentional about eating & exercise for a month, I feel like this will be a way to simplify & free up space from "foodie thoughts" in the future and just live a more healthy lifestyle.

Our kitchen is Paleo-ready!

First attempt at breakfast quiche