Fall Coupon Code

It may be fall, but here in central California, it still feels like summer. I thought offering my biggest coupon code ever might be a fun way to celebrate! Enjoy!

Distressed Beautiful on Etsy

For the Love of John Mayer

      Over the weekend, I got to go to LA and attend my fourth John Mayer concert. The first time I saw him in concert was almost 10 years ago. That sounds crazy. Some people don't like him because of the amount of girls he's dated publicly or the countless times he's put his foot in his mouth, but I don't care. I couldn't care less actually. His music is my music. His music has changed so much over the years, and I think his true fans have changed with him. Unlike the "young" girls sitting beside me (I'm only 31, but they were much younger than me) who kept waiting for him to "play something we know" or the 40-something wine-o's behind me that talked the ENTIRE time he was playing. Seriously, if you don't know any songs other than My Body Is a Wonderland, why are you here? If you and your four girlfriends want to drink wine and talk REALLY loudly over music, do it at a wine bar. Okay, enough of that.

    I on the other hand like to zone completely out of everything else but the music. The Hollywood Bowl is such a special venue. Tucked away in the hills, under the stars, and surrounded by walls of green trees and ivy, it's seriously wonderful. I only took three pictures, and one video, because I didn't want to be distracted.

 What's Montana good for? I can tell you one thing it's good for. John Mayer. I have never seen him, at least appear, to be in such a good place in his life. He seemed kind of...cheerful. Maybe it's because he can sing again, maybe he's really happy, I don't know. Do yourself a favor, download Paradise Valley. Listen to Wildfire first. Get over the fact that it's a little "bluegrass-y" and probably not what you're used to. Then push the back button and listen to it again. Try to sit still. You can't. His music has evolved with him. He doesn't keep making the same music over and over again.

I have only ever afforded nosebleed seats, but ONE DAY I will save up and spring for the pool circle tickets so I won't be distracted by the people just there for "something to do". During the break between Phillip Phillips and John, they had music playing really low as they changed the stage around. People were talking and getting up to go to the bathroom, but I just sat there. And guess what I heard, ever so quietly. I heard Black Water by the Doobie Brothers. In case you haven't read my blog before, this is my dad's music. My dad died a couple of years ago very unexpectedly. Whenever I am doing something I really love, or I'm at a special place, I hear the Doobie Brothers. Disneyland? Doobie Brothers. A&W? (my dad's favorite) Doobie Brothers. John Mayer Concert? Doobie Brothers. I love it.

You see, I was raised by two (very) ex-hippies. When they started having us kids, they left their party days behind, but kept the music. I was raised listening to music most 31 year old women never have. Saturday mornings were spent cleaning the house with their records or my dad's reel to reels blaring through his giant speakers through our two-story house. My mom recently sent me two of his hundreds of reel to reels just so that I could have them. They are so special to me. I can remember my dad, even as he was in his 50's, turning on the reel to reels and sitting in the basement with the volume ALL the way up, singing his heart out for HOURS. I could do that. I could waste an entire day listening to music and not wanting to be interrupted. I died of embarrassment when my best friend saw my dad sing Taking Care of Business at the top of his lungs. Now it is one of my favorite memories.

I was talking to my husband about music on the drive home from the concert. Since I grew up in Ohio, and he grew up in California, I asked him if they spent music class in middle school listening to Beatles music and analyzing the lyrics. Nope. We did, and I'm not sure if it's because I grew up an hour from the capital of rock and roll, or if my teacher was a hippie. I didn't fully appreciate it then. Do you ever wish you could go back and take a few of your interesting classes as an adult? We would learn about the reasons behind the songs, such as "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Music is supposed to have a purpose. Yes, sometimes the purpose is just to entertain, but I love that John's lyrics actually tell a story. They make sense. 

I'm the girl with the weird playlist. When I die, someone is going to look at my ipod and say, "what was she thinking?" I'm the girl whose playlist includes Ben E. King, Otis Redding, Bachman Turner Overdrive, The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, and Hall & Oates. I'm the girl who can call a Dream On cover off of one note.I'm the girl who knows all of the words to Linda Ronstadt's greatest hits album. I'm the girl whose 8 and 9 year old daugthers don't have a clue who One Direction is, could probably name only one Justin Beiber song, but can spot an AC/DC song a mile away. I'm the girl who listens to "Dear Marie", and when the last minute of the song arrives, closes her eyes, leans her head back, and is instantly transported back under a dark sky, tucked away in the Hollywood hills and my heart leaps as I sing, "oooooooooh, ooooooooh, oooooooooh."

Thank you, John. 

September Update

Well, time has kind of flown by since my last update, so I thought it was time for a new one. My photos get backlogged, and realize it's time to share before moving on. Here is a little snapshot of my life recently. 

I learned how to make this flower granny square garland (I'd never heard of the popcorn stitch) and now I just want to stare at it all day. It will be off in the mail soon, to my garland exchange partner. I'm participating in an adoption fundraiser over at It's Just Emmy. It's pretty cool. You pay $5 to sign up, and then you get sent a person that you will send a garland to. You get to know a few things about them, but that's it, it's a surprise. Super fun!

 So, I know raw chicken is not very appealing, but I made this last night and it was the BEST roasted chicken I've ever made. I like the ones from the store, but they all taste the same. I made a compound butter with fresh parsley, salt, pepper, and butter, and put it under the skin, and on top. It was the juiciest chicken ever!

 I recently remembered that I knew how to print on fabric! Duh! What took me so long?! I'm starting to add printed words onto my Etsy shop hoops (see the sidebar for link), and I love it!

 Fall has begun, and my decor is slowly switching over. I found this old catalog card in a thrift store book, titled, When Autumn Comes. I slid that puppy in front of my Atlas jar faster than you could say "fall". ;)

A couple more of my realization that I could print on fabric...

I updated my iPhone and then realized I couldn't really see the app words on my home screen because my background was too light. I didn't like any of the other backgrounds that I had, so I went to my Rhonna Designs App and discovered she has a chalkboard background! Now I use a blank chalkboard background for my wallpaper, and this as my lock screen. Basic and beautiful. Her app is probably the best one I've ever paid for.

I realized the other day, that Emma would make a perfect teacher. I snapped this photo of her (without her knowing it) while she was reading to Cami and I. I love the way she is holding the book.

Speaking of books! I also snuck up and snapped this photo of her. We were doing family dinner night at a relative's house and while we were all talking and watching football, she was in the study with the door closed, with her book and a bowl of ice cream. Yes, she's wearing a layer on top of her pjs, she'd just gotten out of the shower and hates getting her wet hair on her pajamas. ;)

This is a revelation! I made gluten free fried chicken AND gluten free waffles! And it was fabulous!! Healthy? No, but tasty for sure.

My hubby took the day off a couple of weeks ago, and went with Cami and I up to the children's hospital. She had two big appointments, which went very well! I loved that they had Sully in the GI department waiting room.

 Last, I also participated in the hoop exchange for It's Just Emmy. It dawned on me to use my light box to trace my letters to be embroidered by hand. I love the one I received even more than the one I sent.

Well, that's the update for now. It's been busy up here just keeping up with LIFE! :)

End of Summer Update

So, school has started and life has been BUSY! I officially decided I just don't have what it takes to keep up with this blog regularly. Home school is so incredibly time consuming, I just can't find the time. So I'm going back to my roots, a every-so-often family update and occasional thing I just have to share. Here is our recent update...

1.This is our new favorite meal to share with a crowd. Everything gets a drizzle of olive oil, and sprinkled with lemon zest and basil. Mix all of these flavors together and YOU WILL THANK ME!

2. I went to our local county surplus sale and found this metal drawer marked $4.00, but the checkout guy only charged me half that...yes!

 A fresh coat of mint green spray paint, and it's perfect for storing chapter books!

See!

 
3. Our nephew got married! We traveled to Temecula, which neither of us had ever been to, and got to witness their beautiful vows.

 Of course, I'm the guest that takes pictures of the decor. Shocked? I didn't think so.

 They had the COOLEST photo booth ever, where you control it! It had a touch screen and it gave you a countdown, then took three photos and showed you each one. Then you could walk over to the iPad and tap the ones you wanted to email to yourself!! What?! Instant gratification!

4. We woke up early the day after the wedding to make the hour (or so...WHATEVER stupid traffic) to make good use of our Disneyland passes. It was great, but I'm convinced you have never fully felt 94 degrees until you've been at Disneyland...in the sun...with no wind...in humidity...on concrete. And this is coming from a girl that has lived in the Central Valley (hello, 106 degrees) for the last 13 years.

5. Last week, I went back to the surplus store and found this rolling metal cart for $15, but again, the guy marked it down to $10.

 I painted it the same mint green (not the inside), and it is now storage for our big school books. The shelf at the bottom is currently holding our light board. I just wheel it over to my desk when it's time for school. I love that the books are now out of sight, and I'm not tripping over them. The lid lifts up and then slides down to stay open.

6. Every day after school this week I've been working on adding fall banners to my Etsy shop. I am in LOVE with these, especially this one! (The faux chalkboard printables are free over at Shanty 2 Chic!)

6. We are doing a mold experiment for science and it is GROSS. Enough said.

 7. A friend posted on Facebook that a local vending wholesaler sells the replacement rubber bands for the Rainbow Loom CHEAP. So we went and I may have bought a giant thing of gumballs as a school supply. ;)

 8. I have been dying for a big map. I finally saw them on zulily the other day and snagged one pretty cheap. It is HUGE and came laminated. It's fabulous! I hung it up above my desk and now I can just look up and daydream about what island I'd rather be on when we hit the afternoon brick wall on occasion. ;)

 9. Hobby Lobby has these stretched burlap "canvases" in a bunch of different sizes. They come pre-painted with a cream background and raw burlap edges. I used a half off coupon and made a fun stencil to go over the map. I'm really loving making our school room a bright, happy place.

Freeze Your Own Acai Juice For Smoothies & Acai Bowls

You may know that I've been eating gluten free for almost seven months now. I've found that the hardest meal of the day to eat gluten free is breakfast. Most of it involves bread of some form- toast, bagel, cereal, muffin, donut, pancake, waffle... you get the idea. I WISH I liked eggs, but I really have to force them down with bacon or sausage in the same bite. I recently got introduced to acai bowls, and I LOVE them! The problem is, all of the recipes I've found involve frozen acai smoothie packs. I went on a quest to find them, and the closest place I found to my home is 45 minutes away at a Whole Foods. The other thing is...they're expensive. It was $6.99 for FOUR little frozen packets.

I found fresh acai juice in my local grocery store (Savemart for locals), and tried making bowls with that. The problem was, they were really runny, really quickly because there was so much liquid. The other thing to think about is this large bottle of juice is $6.99, but has to be used within 7 days of opening it. Then one day I had a brainstorm! What if I froze the juice in ice cube trays, then dumped the cubes into a freezer bag to pull out when I needed them? Hello, genius! 

I'm happy to say, it worked!! One large bottle is enough to make 3 ice cube trays. I estimate that one big bottle should end up making about 10 smoothies or acai bowls, for the same price you would get FOUR at the store. I thought I'd give you the recipe I've ended up with after many trials and errors.

 First up, cut your fruit that will top it. It can be anything you want- strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, nectarines, bananas, whatever you'd like. You want to cut it first so that you are ready to assemble your bowl when the smoothie part is ready.

The toppings I use are my gluten free granola, sliced raw almonds, and hemp hearts. Hemp hearts sound weird, but they're really good for you, and when you are eating something with a lot of flavor, you really can't taste them.

 In your blender (just bought a Ninja last week and I LOVE it!), drop in 3-4 acai frozen cubes, half of a sliced frozen banana, 1/3 cup frozen raspberries, 1/3 cup frozen blueberries, 1 cup organic apple juice. I pulse it a few times, and then blend until smooth.

 This recipe makes 2 snack size bowls, or one BIG (meal size) bowl. When it's done it should look like this, see how it has almost a thick ice cream consistency? Yep, not runny anymore!

 Now is the fun part, just top it with your goodies! I spill on some granola, hemp hearts, and almonds.

 Then I top with the fresh fruit! This is SO super yummy, and acai is REALLY good for you! If I eat this, I am full for hours.

Enjoy! Let me know if you try freezing your own acai juice!

Home School Room Redo

Today I decided to tackle my mess in the school room. Yikes! I have been blinding my eyes when I have to walk through that room ever since the last day of school. If you home school, you know that the last thing you want to do after you have finally survived completed a school year, is even LOOK at the mess you've made throughout the year. All three of our desks were getting every-growing piles of junk on top of them.

Don't believe me? Look below...

 I should have taken pictures before I started the clean up. This is mid-organization. I stopped and took a break and was really tempted to throw up my hands. Our "room" is not really a room, but kind of a pathway to get to the kids' rooms and the main bathroom. It doesn't have a door, I guess it was originally planned as an office space? (Fast forward to years from now, and picture wall-to-wall built in cabinets with a couple of different workstations and granite counter tops. Craft room!)

 Ok, back to reality. See how BAD the above photo is?? No wonder I wanted to quit mid-clean up.

 Now on to the "afters". Above is my old turquoise table that I use as my desk. If you didn't already know that I am a color addict, it will become very clear in this blog post. ;) The easel to the left (Ikea) I folded up and pushed against the wall. We use it if we are doing a project together, but that's not too often anymore. I have smaller whiteboards on the turquoise shelf (Ikea), that I can pull out for us to use. It's just easier when you're dealing with small spaces to tuck it away if you don't use it every day.

I had fun organizing my new cart with all of our much-used goodies. I like to use clear glass containers and white milk glass to organize smaller items. Yes, I'm using a vintage Miracle Whip glass jar to house my dry erase markers and erasers. ;) 

 I picked up that globe today at a yard sale. Eventually I'd like to have a collection of globes, but I'm cheap so it will probably take awhile. When I bought the globe today, the man told me he hated to part with it because it was always in his dad's office his whole life. I told him I was going to put it in our school room and he was so happy that he clapped! It was cute, it made him feel so much better about selling it, knowing that it would have a new life in our home. The giant bookshelf is also Ikea, and once the school year begins, it will get filled with teacher editions.

Our room is oddly shaped, and you have to walk through it to get to the bathroom or Emma's room, so we can't put the desks just anywhere. They concentrate best if they aren't next to each other (poke, poke!), and I need to be able to reach both desks to hand them work. Our walls are obviously FILLED with charts, maps, calendars, etc. The teal paper rack was a magazine holder that I found at a thrift store years ago and painted.

 I started thinking today about HOW MUCH time we spend in this room during the year, and I really needed to make it a pretty place. I got some old windows for free a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it would be cute to hang it up with a colorful bunting banner. I also lined up my favorite Ball jars. I wish you could tell how BIG this window is, but the picture makes it look really small.

 I also had this window lying around, so I added a quick colorful pastel bunting.

Last is our art wall. Every so often I buy the kids a canvas or two to paint.They love it, and I think it's so important to let them create. I hate to say I have a favorite, but that cupboard door in the center that says "I will fly, chase the wind, and touch the sky" just KILLS me! Cami painted it when she was 7 years old and it is from a song in the movie Brave. 

I looked up our old school room, which is now Emma's bedroom. It's here if you'd like to take a look. It also shows how we used to keep track of the books they read when they were in the younger grades, and how our reward system worked. It worked wonderfully at that age, by the way!

The other thing we've done is "the happy heart box". We have a big wooden box, that is painted to look like a giant alphabet block, and it gets filled with candy and little toys. Every Monday, if they were good every day the previous week, they got to pick from the happy heart box. It could also work as a Friday afternoon treat with a week's worth of good behavior and completed work. We still use it now that they're older, but now they just choose two candies that they can eat while they are working on Monday afternoons instead of toys.

That's it! Hopefully it gives you some ideas, but mostly I'm just glad to get it done and not have Mt. Everest growing on my desk.