Monday, April 10, 2017

5 Ways to Create a Space for Living Well

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TeaProudly #CollectiveBias

I drink tea everyday! I love how easy it is to incorporate tea into your daily beauty, fitness, and nighttime rountine to fuel your body with good for you ingredients. Here is my daily tea rountine, along with how to create a space for yourself to support well-being.

My Daily Tea Routine:

Bigelow Benefits is a new line consisting of 6 herbal teas and 1 green tea that is designed to support everyday wellness that fuel your body with good for you ingredients. Bigelow Tea’s have been delighting tea lovers for over 70 years with inspired combinations of herbs and spice ingredients that are non-GMO, gluten-free, blended and produced in the USA that are so imaginative with exceptional flavorful, you’ll want to enjoy them all day. Bigelow believes their Benefits teas, as part of your everyday routine, can help you define the life you want to live and support clean eating and a healthy balanced lifestyle. It’s perfect for the everyday person who is looking to do little things to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle just like me!

How to Create a Space for Well Being:

My outdoor gazebo space has been transformed into a place for meditation and relaxation (aka my Zen Garden). I’ve used bright colors and surrounded myself with an fresh herbs, motivational yoga space, and an inspiration journal. This space is the perfect place to enjoy a cup of tea and “disconnect and reconnect with life”. Creating an individual space that you can indulge in a Benefits tea will help you carve a path in living well everyday!

#1 Creative Colors

I went opposite of what I am normally drawn to. I have a muted color pallette within my home, so having bright bold colors in my creative thinking space was a way to inspire me. Oh and these papasan chairs I found…most comfortable things EVER.

#2 Fresh Surroundings

Fill your space with flowers, plants, or herbs. Having bright beautiful flowers always makes you smile. And growing something yourself in a special space will make you feel motivated and ready to try new things.

#3 Inspirational Quotes or Journal

I feel in love with this “disconnect and reconnect with life” journal because it was exactly what I wanted my well-being space to be used for. I also love the sound of chimes, so including one in my space was part of my inspiration.

#4 Meditation/Yoga Area

Now that the weather is nice again, I can’t wait to take yoga practice back outside. I enjoy doing some “homework” when I can’t make it to the studio and sometimes it’s just nice to have 5 minutes of stretching and quite time after a long day. If you do not enjoy yoga, just set a goal to have at least 30 seconds of your own mind meditation a day within your space. You can work up to longer durations, but start giving your mind a break!

#5 Have a Meal or Drink Alone

This is your space. Enjoy a cup of tea, glass of wine, or breakfast ALL alone. Having these alone moments are so important in our hectic environment. Set out a commitment to take yourself on a date every once in awhile. I try to take myself out once per week and it is such a treat!

I hope you are inspired to create your own LIVE WELL space. What would you include in your space? Share some ideas in the comments to help encourage each other to LIVE WELL. I also hope you try this fabulous new line of support tea. I found my Bigelow Benefits tea at my local Safeway. It is sold at numberous distributers, so it should be easy to find and enjoy!

Posted By 2 Comments
Thursday, April 6, 2017

Spring is Here!

Happy Thrift Thursday!

Who doesn’t love a spring morning? The crispness of the air, smells of trees and flowers blooming, and the sound of the birds rejoicing that it is finally warm. Last weekend we embraced the spring kick-off with a full revamp of our front porch area. I have wanted a new front door color since we bought the house in July. I went back and forth between doing a bright red, pale yellow or black. I finally settled on black because I thought it was a good neutral that worked well with the white house and black accents we already had. I painted the door with a bristle brush on the first layer, but realized that a foam brush was probably better. The black color shows everything, so trying to go with the grain while defensing a sneaky cat, rambunctious dog, and a curious toddler was a little challenging to say the least, but it turned out good and had no black paint spills (major success). Then it was off to the new wall lanterns. Ohhhhh these lanterns. I took a few years off Willie over these things because it was just one of those weekends were you have to go back-and-forth to the store a 100 times to get anything done. But…how amazing are they?!?! I thought they were going to be a bit large, but they are just fabulous statement pieces. We are going to replace the ones mounted on either side of the garage for extra drama. Then the new front door hardware. Again something that should normally be a quick change, wasn’t. So that remains on our living room floor until Willie’s blood pressure returns to normal.

I finished our front porch revamp by painting the white brick with a clearance $5 gallon of white brick paint which is super easy and made a huge change. I also spray painted the gold house numbers and doorbell to black. Then I used the $11 pots and got a bag of river rock to fill the bottom so they were more sturdy and filled with soil and an assortment of flowers. The same pots in the heavy clay were $45 each, so for half I got two plastic pots to use. For the spring wreath, I just used my grapevine wreath with two long floral stems and added a black and white bow to compliment the new door color. Attempting a 6 loop bow for the first time watching YouTube, was an experience 😉 Finally I weeded and mulched the front beds with Hartley wheelbarrow rides included. It was a loonnngg weekend, but I’m loving the spring overhaul and makes me excited of all the spring events to come!

Anyways…to the dress and shoes. The perfect spring look. A super soft lightweight stretch dress with fabulous heels. This dress was brand new from the thrift store for $7.99 and is Hawthron brand bought through Stitch Fix (I only know this because of the tags). The snakeskin Vince Camuto heels (similar) were brand new condition for $8.99. My amazing Chicos jacket is the same one I wore in this post which was only $5 from the thrift store. Luckily I have a fabulous friend help me snap some of these photos because my self-timer practice was not working. Spring in Washington DC is just stunning!

Happy Spring!

Posted By Leave a Comment
Thursday, March 23, 2017

5 Simple Tips for Hosting an Easter Egg Hunt

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SpringItOn #NestleKitchen #CollectiveBias

As a busy working mother, finding the time to embrace social events is hard when I consider my on-the-go lifestyle. I always have a to-do list playing over and over in my head that I just can never RELAX, let alone HOST an event. However, for 2017 I set the intention to enjoy the simple moments, and slow down once in a while to just hang out with family and friends. What’s better than finding time for fun, food-centered moments with our loved ones! Hosting a Simple Easter Egg Hunt using Nestlé products was the perfect way to embrace the fullness of the spring season and outdoor activities while making a party easy to do. Here are 5 Simple Tips for Hosting an Easter Egg Hunt at your house:

#1: Electronic Invite

Whichever method you choose, doing this not only saves you hours of invite design decision (why is decision making so hard!), but also paper waste. It is also a super convenient way to get RSVP notifications and a summary of responses that is easily accessible when you are on-the-go. When you are setting a time, think of a time that doesn’t require you to provide loads of food (lunch or dinner time), this will help in minimizing the workload for you. I choose 3-5pm because it’s the perfect in-between time that I don’t feel like people expect to load their plates, so you just need a few food options.

#2: Simple Menu

Letting someone else do the cooking is definitely the easiest way to go. No need to fuss in the kitchen! I used two fabulous Stouffer’s frozen party size entrees that I found at Walmart. First off, what kid doesn’t like Mac & Cheese? The Stouffer’s Mac & Cheese is made with ingredients just like the ones you use at home with freshly-made pasta in a 100% real cheddar cheese sauce. The Vegetable Lasagna is freshly made whole grain lasagna layered with a colorful medley of carrots, spinach, broccoli, and onions in a parmesan and romano cheese sauce. Both are perfect meatless options to serve your family and friends during the Lenten season. It is also super convenient if you dress-up  the tin baking pan with ribbon and at the end, just throw the entire disposable pan out. Less dishes are the best dishes! I also used an Asian salad mix with cooked shripm to create and easy salad.

I also made semi-homemade dessert. Using boxed brownies is the best thing ever…they just taste too delicious not to. The cupcakes I did boxed cake mix and icing, but dressed them up by making a strawberry jam and cream cheese frosting filling. I finished them off using the SweeTARTS Chicks, Ducks & Bunnies that are perfect for decorating and filling candy dishes! Made with no artificial flavors, SweeTARTS delivers the original flavor combination of delightfully sweet and delicately tart in the coolest springtime shapes. For more Nestlé inspiration and ways to use these cute treats as decoration on cakes, cookies and other delicious goodies, check out their Pinterest and Social Hub pages.

#3: Easy Décor

I just used $1 plates, napkins, and cutlery. I found some great baskets and eggs at the thrift store, which made 100 eggs super affordable. Also use items from around the house. Use baskets, serving trays, or anything that will spruce up your table. Get a great vase and add a pop of color with some spring flowers as well.

#4: Quick Egg Fillers

I used the Nestlé Easter candy which currently has a great Ibotta offer through Walmart. I also added a few empty ones, bouncy balls, Easter necklaces, chocolate, and eggs with nickels, dimes, quarters or $1 coins. I think having a good variety made every child happy with their find! You can also fill these all through the week so it’s not a huge lift the day of the party. Just start piling them all in a large bag so they are ready to be hidden.

#5: Set Boundaries, Hide Properly, Have Enough, and Recycle

We used our fenced backyard as our boundary for the kids. It was a little muddy, but having large amounts of patio and decking we were able to find enough spots to hide. We also had mostly toddlers, which let us make the hiding spots easier. If you have older kids coming, be creative and age appropriate. We tried to have about 15 eggs per child. It was enough to feel like they won good prizes, but not overwhelming or they felt like their basket couldn’t hold enough.  Oh and the best part…you are now a pro at hosting an Easter Egg Hunt, save all those fabulous plastic eggs and make it an annual event!

Nestlé makes it easier than ever to maximize the goodness of spring and the fun of Easter celebrations. Hope that even with your busy life, this inspires you to create more spring moments that matter. Have a great Easter!

Here are the locations in Walmart to find these fabulous products!

Posted By 4 Comments
Friday, March 17, 2017

Vintage Inspired Girl’s Room

I’m so excited to finally have this room DONE!

I wanted a whimsical vintage room with a splash of bohemian flair for my daughter, and I think I accomplished that. First change was the beautiful grey paint color which is Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray. Then the wallpaper…oh the highly debated, highly contentious wallpaper. I fell in LOVE with this botanical wallpaper and just thought it would bring such a fun unique touch to the room without a huge cost (keep an eye out for the price, I got it when it was $0.98/sq ft). We got it up but not without Willie saying about a 100 times “I hate this” and “wallpaper is stupid”. If there is one thing that can cause divorce, it may be putting up wallpaper together 😉 BUT we made it and he loves it now. This wallpaper was a pre-pasted roll that you spray on and let sit for a few minutes and then apply to the wall. I found the pre-pasted much harder to work with then the traditional gluing method I did in the bathroom. It wasn’t as manageable and wasn’t as sticky so it slid and the edges would not lay down. We have a few mistakes, but for not being pros, I think we did a fabulous job…and we are still married.

The furniture is the same as what we used in her nursery. Willie’s grandmother’s furniture set included a twin headboard, so I really wanted to incorporate all the pieces in her new room. It has such an amazing sentimental value and vintage look that just makes it perfect for her.  I got an organic bamboo mattress for her and stunning Target bedding. She is really going to sleep like a princess.

Oh the chandelier…gorgeous. We just happened to stumble across this $200 beauty and because our Lowes had it on clearance and then it was the only one left so we took the display, we got it for $80. Added a little ceiling medallion and my super handy husband got it wired for me. I always get the best shoulder workouts on fixture changes, because I get the gruntwork of holding the thing up while he wires…maybe I need to learn so he can hold!

The giraffe lamp was from Homegoods. The gold framed art was $5 from the thrift store (I am thinking of making into a button art piece or getting a friend to print out a stencil for me and painting the glass). The large pallet art is from Willie’s cousin that was a shower gift (if you haven’t checked her out on Etsy, you need to). And my favorite part, the amazing DIY dreamcathers. The rest of the décor are just some of her favorite books, leftover flowers, knickknacks from great-grandparents, grandparents and photos. I want to add a large laundry basket under corner floating shelves, but for now, it’s perfect.

This girl better get ready because she is about to get a HUGE surprise!

Posted By Leave a Comment