InstaCollage with Persnickety Prints

I have been wanting to print some of my Instagram photos for awhile now. I discovered Persnickety Prints (via Instagram, actually!) and ordered a bunch of the photos of my kids. The cool thing is that if you posted it on Instagram, it's probably something you want to remember, so it's easy to choose which photos to print. I ordered the 3x3 prints, but they also have other sizes. I was a bit tempted to order 2x2's and buy a big white poster frame to make a InstaCollage. 

 The things is, I have this really old frame that I bought for $2 that I totally LOVE. It's even better in person, because it has the faintest hint of having turquoise on it at some point in its life, and is smeared with gold. It didn't have glass, or a back, so I had to get creative.

First, I laid them out on a piece of cardboard to see if they fit. Then I went and bought a piece of black foam board and cut it to fit.

I spread out my options for attaching them to the board. I wanted to use white photo corners, but I had JUST enough room for the photos and the corners added too much space. If your frame is a different size, or if you're using less photos, I think the white photo corners would be super cute.

 I went with the double sided tape in all the corners so that I could put them right next to each other.

Now I can see all of the things my kids have done over the past year or two in one glance. It's pretty cool, huh? I love that with one look I can see: my daughter's reaction the day her first American Girl doll arrived, a bubble bath beard, a lost tooth, a day of kayaking in the bay with our girls, a photo snapped of the girls piled on daddy's back when he was on the floor, a birthday wish, tire swing fun at the park, their first trip to the bowling alley, etc. All sweet moments I want to remember.

Universe Juice

If you read my last post, you know WHY I finally decided to eat gluten free.  My goal is not to lose weight (although that it is happening), but my goal is health. I wanted to cool the fire of inflammation in my body. One of my favorite habits I've begun is starting our day with what my hubby calls Universe Juice. My husband calls me his Pepper Potts, he's my Tony Stark, and we start each day with universe juice. ;) Yes, we're Ironman fans. 

There are a million different ways to make a smoothie, but right now we've been making this same one. I cut up a few bananas, put them in a ziploc, and freeze them overnight. I do that every few days. In the morning I simply break a handful off (I actually take the bag out of the freezer, drink my coffee, THEN break off a handful because it's easier after they spend a few minutes out of the freezer), pour in a cup (I don't measure) of Vanilla Almond Milk, a tablespoon of peanut butter, and then fill it with baby spinach to the top. You can add ice, or not. Tony Stark likes his with ice, I guzzle mine up as is because the frozen bananas make it cold.

 If you google "green smoothie" or look it up on Pinterest, you'll find a million different combinations. In my opinion it tastes like a banana-peanut butter smoothie.

My Gluten Free "Why"

I've been putting off blogging about this for awhile now, but I feel like I am finally ready to put it out there. Some people might say (or at the very least, think) I'm crazy. I consider the words "whole wheat" my enemy.  I started eating gluten free at the end of December. On a Sunday evening was our annual girlfriend dinner. I had just ended a few weeks on a horrible dosage of steroids. I was chasing away my worst allergic reaction yet and they had to use three different steroids and epinephrine (and more benadryl than the average person will probably take in their whole life) to get it to go away. It. was. horrible. The steroids made me gain weight, the high dosage of benadryl made me retain water, and was SO bloated that I literally could not wear any of my jeans. I remember telling my friends not to tag me in any photos that night because I felt like if you stuck a pin in me, I'd burst.

The other important background information that I'll try to sum up quickly are the YEARS of pain and suffering I've endured with colon problems. I'm talking since 7th grade! I'm turning 31 next month so that's quite a few years. In my 20's I had to have two colonoscopies because my pain was so immense and my food would not digest. They would always say that it looked good, but then the biopsies would come back "moderate to focally severe chronic inflammation". They'd give me new meds. The meds wouldn't work. I finally gave up.

A friend posted an article about "reasons why you probably shouldn't eat wheat" and I thought, "it's time." After just a few days of eating gluten free, my bloating went waaay down. I've now been gluten free for almost three months and I've NEVER felt better! I no longer live as a slave to the nearest bathroom. My allergist did a celiac blood test a few days after I went gluten free (not ideal, but that was when my unrelated appointment happened to be), and it came back negative. That's great news, but it also tells me that you don't have to be allergic to something to be intolerant to it.

After going gluten free, I started buying all of the "gluten free" labeled stuff in the grocery store. THEN, I started reading Wheat Belly. It's quite interesting to find out how they have mutated the genes of what we know as wheat. The book also spells out the why I feel so much better after cutting out gluten. All the packaged stuff has just replaced flour with alternative gluten free flours. The further I read, the more I became in tune with how directly what I put in my body reflected how my body was going to feel. Your mama knew what she was talking about...you really are what you eat. After realizing that the packaged food wasn't actually "good" for me either, I stopped buying it. Most of my time at the grocery store is now spent in the pretty section, the produce! Most of what I eat now was at one time a living thing, or came from a living thing. Don't even get me started on all the chemicals in food!

The most wonderful things have happened since I've changed my lifestyle. I can actually FEEL the lack inflammation in my body. One other thing I forgot to say is that I have osteoarthritis. So bad, in fact, that I had to have a partial knee replacement in one knee that was bone-on-bone. My other knee is heading that way, but I'm putting off surgery until I can't walk on it. The amazing thing is that my knee that is waiting on surgery is actually HARDLY hurting anymore! Before I went gluten free it was terrible.

All of this was just the beginning of a wake up call for me. It's really made me see that we need to be peeling produce stickers off of what we eat instead of opening boxes and plastic packaging. Instead of a long list of ingredients, we should be eating things with a four digit code on them. Now we eat grilled salmon or chicken with mounds of grilled veggies or roasted asparagus. It's such a change for me. I've even started using my stationary bike about 4-5 times a week! That's huge for me. Putting good fuel in your body, makes your cells feel ALIVE, and you have energy to do things that you used to dread. I still don't enjoy exercise and I probably never will, but I know that I will get out of this body what I put into it. My years can be sleepy and achy, or they can be energetic and healthy. They can hold the hope of trying new things. My hubby and I are going on a zip line tour of the Santa Cruz Redwood Canopy next month! I kayaked for the first time in my life last month! That's a far cry from the girl who screamed bloody murder when her parents took her down a shallow river in a canoe as a child.

 I want to feel good enough to do the things I thought I'd never do. THIS is what I want: I want a life fully lived.

Woodland Spring Wreath

Last week I saw these itty bitty mushrooms for sale over at Shop Sweet Lulu and fell in love. They come in two different sizes. I seriously wanted to order some in every color, but I just chose four colors. Last year I did a bird nest and rosette wreath for spring, so I just pulled those pieces off and got to work!

I started by tearing off a few pieces of moss that I bought at Hobby Lobby, and hot gluing them on.

 After that, all I had to do was arrange some super cute mushrooms on the moss! They come with little "stem" pieces that you can easily stick right into the wreath.

 I had a moss covered "B" somewhere else in my house, so I used that and added a few mushrooms peeking out.

Hang it up with some cute chevron jute ribbon (from Hobby Lobby) and you're ready for a woodland-inspired spring! 

Reclaimed Wood Arrow Monogram

Today I finished a project that had taken over my mind and I HAD to get done! I wanted to make a arrow shaped reclaimed wood project. I am now itching to make more for my Etsy shop, and I have a few ideas to modify them to make them specifically for wedding decor. (think
i do" in lowercase letters) I want to perfect it first though. This one isn't perfect, but rustic isn't supposed to be perfect. 

 I started out just cutting some old wood and quickly decided I wanted some mint pieces mixed in with the old grey-ish wood.

I am IN LOVE!

Valentine's Day Shelf

Today I got around to putting together my Valentine's Day shelf. I don't have a fireplace/mantel so I use my big rustic shelf and old window frame as my backdrop for seasonal decor. 

 I used the pink rose ball that I made last year, and my old blocks from Target. My cream owl candle gets to be included in almost every holiday because I love it so much.

I used my black and natural chevron burlap that I found on a roll at Hobby Lobby. (It was near the wedding ribbon-wait till it's half off or use a coupon because it's not cheap!) I quickly cut out a stencil with my Silhouette and stenciled a board, and wrapped the top with red yarn. Voila! I kind of love it!

Crocheted Hearts Projects

It has been FOREVER since I blogged! I have been really consumed with homeschooling and just keeping up with normal life. Now it's Christmas break and I'm ready to get creative again! Hopefully it won't come to a screeching halt when school starts up again. ;) 

I learned something new and just had to blog about it. I watched a tutorial on YouTube on how to crochet a heart, and after watching, pausing, failing trying A LOT, I finally got it! I've added them to my Etsy shop and can't wait to make more! Find the hearts to make your own DIY wreath here.

I hot glued some hearts to a grapevine wreath for a cute addition to the front door.

I love these non-traditional colors together: cream, red, and gray. Find this garland here.

 I also made the traditional colors: light pink, pink, and red. Find it here. I'm curious to see which one sells more!

 I added the gray one to my pallet gallery in the dining room, and the photo on the bottom was just for listing purposes on Etsy. That one's all packaged up and ready to go to a new home. ;)

 This is now on a crate on my dining room table... I filled a blue ball jar with some epsom salt, added a few branches from the yard, and some hearts on strings for a cute little "tree".

 I have a lot of turquoise, teal, red, and mint in my house, so I thought I'd add a few turquoise hearts on my wreath to tie it in.

I'm totally obsessed. I've always seen people crocheting while waiting places and wanted to learn. My Grandma Doris taught me how when I was little, but I completely forgot how. She was the absolute best. I loved getting her zig zag blankets. She was ahead of her time with the chevron thing. ;) If you don't know how or don't have time to learn, all of these hearts and garlands are for sale in my Etsy shop, Distressed Beautiful.