A Garden Party

Tags

birthday, Entertaining, garden, Gardening, Inspiration, party, Party Food

Last month Georgia turned one year old, it is hard to believe that she is walking and trying to talk!  Since we have such a great deck for entertaining, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to have a garden party.

Pink floral details were added where ever possible.  The rustic floral topped cake was made by my MIL, and the cake topper is actually just a wooden number one from the craft store that I spray painted and hot glued to a chopstick!

I made a few large paper flowers from this tutorial (minus the stems), and hung them along the pergola.

The pink party hats are some from target that I embellished with silk flowers.

Putting together this party for Georgia was a blast!  Nothing is sweeter in life to me than being a mom, and I treasured every moment this evening celebrating Georgia and all of the joy she has brought to our family this year!

House Progress, Paint in the Living and Dining Room

Tags

black and white interiors, dining room, eclectic, living room, my house

This past month has been jam packed with house projects (mostly painting) and painting commissions (these seem to really pick up when I have a million other things going on), and I am looking forward to the day when I can give my brush a break and really enjoy some of the progress we have made on the house.

Almost every part of the main house has been painted and is almost unrecognizable.  Remember how the living room looked before..

Now she is all bright white and airy.  I am planning on adding in artwork, some textiles, and accessories for a cozy and layered look.  I have a lot left to do around the other parts of the house too, but obviously I already think it is sooo much better than where we started!

Same thing for the dining/piano room.  Before it had the vibe of a Mexican restaurant..

Now it is all white.  I cannot believe how much the new paint has made the architectural details really stand out.

We have painted the kitchen walls, but have yet to paint the cabinets to make it the dream kitchen, but it is already much more livable.

We painted every inch of this ourselves.  Matt did most of it with a paint sprayer, but I have been slowly making my way through the rest of the house painting the trim and French doors.

Hopefully I will be back to report more progress soon!

Project Dream Kitchen Plans

Tags

decor, design, interiors, kitchen, my house

 

We are finally getting settled into our new place. The past week has been a whirlwind of painting, packing, moving and more painting. I am about this close to burnout, so much that the kitchen has been half painted for the past five days. That’s trivial though, the real pain about this move is having to clean our rental post move out. And I discovered our chihuahua, Lacy, has a thing for taking wine corks under the bed and tearing them into 967 pieces. It is almost enough to make me stop drinking wine all together, almost.

So you have seen the plan for the living room and dining room, so moving right along to the kitchen.  Here is what we are working with…

More arsenic washed walls, but I see a small glimmer of potential. The cabinets and appliances are fairly new, and are there to say, but there are a few changes in store to make it my dream kitchen.  I think one of the reasons that I have not been inspired to cook lately is because of our tiny galley kitchen in the old house. The new kitchen is wide open to the living room, so it has to be FABULOUS!

This is direction we are planning on going in..

-Images Via

The turquoise walls are getting a nice coat of crisp white paint as we speak. Hopefully those cabinets will be getting gussied up by going a dark and moody charcoal gray, topped off with some delicious new brass hardware.  A subway tile backsplash with contrasting gray grout is going to grace the spot where that huge and happy sun behind the stove is.  We went back and forth on whether to paint the uppers white, but in the end we decided that even though we like the look, painting all of the cabinets one color would look best in our kitchen, mostly because of we couldn’t figure out what color to paint those floor to top spots around the fridge and oven. We also nixed the idea of open shelving because I despise dusting, so I am not going to make any decision that requires more than I already have. A couple of the cabinets have picture frame glass, so I can show off some of my prized dish hoard.

I might add a runner to the space too a Kilim or Persian number, I am waiting for something to catch my eye and fit into my budget, which is basically about five dollars.

So that’s it, one dream kitchen in the works. Hopefully I will have some progress pics to come soon, but right now it looks like a tornado has just blown through here. I must go and paint, clean, catch up on 10 loads of laundry. Later taters!

 

 

Make Your Own Belly Butter

Tags

DIY, Natural Beauty, Pregnancy, Skincare

There are lots of different methods to avoiding stretch marks out there.  Everything from miracle creams to just not scratching your really itchy and rapidly expanding bump claim to keep stretch marks away.  I really wish that I could say that I have found some secret weapon against stretch marks. I would patent it and retire a rich lady, and finally everyone would go through pregnancy without nary a line.

Unfortunately that is not the case here (so sorry!).  The whole scratching thing is really just an old wives tale, and stretch marks are going to pop up on some pregnant bellies due to factors including heredity and the rate the belly expands no matter what products are used.  I guess I have been lucky so far to not have any stretch marks or scars yet.  I am sure I owe some of this to genetics, but I also try to pace my weight gain, and just take extra care of the skin on my belly by smoothing this homemade belly butter on after I hop out of the tub.  It makes my skin extra soft.

The main ingredients I use in my belly butter are coconut oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter, which are all great for moisturizing. I also add rosehip seed oil which contains both anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, making it great for stretch marks, scars, and eczema (read more about rosehip seed oil here).  My skin is extra sensitive and eczema prone, and I have fallen completely in love with my rosehip oil as a face moisturizer too.

If I do get a few stretch marks, I will remind myself that it is something to be proud of.  Pregnancy and the power of the body is a miracle in itself, and not to mention the little baby at the end that makes it totally worth any scars!

You will need:

• 4oz Coconut Oil
• 4oz Cocoa Butter
• 2oz Shea Butter
• 1oz Rosehip Seed Oil

Heat the coconut oil, cocoa butter, and shea butter together in a double broiler over medium heat.  As it is melting, gently break apart the large clumps and stir until everything is liquid and looks like this:

Remove the bowl from the top of the double broiler and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Add in the rosehip seed oil and whisk it all together for about least ten seconds. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to set over night.  Come back in the morning and give it a good whip with a hand blender or an electric mixer to whip it up.  Now the belly butter is ready to store in a jar or whatever container you have handy.

To use the belly butter, rub a small amount between your palms to melt and rub onto skin right after bathing.  Enjoy your glowing growing belly!

XX-Jenny

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So I Painted a Chair Cushion

Tags

decor, design, Painting, Upholstery

Hi Y’all!  I am recovering from a great weekend.  On Saturday afternoon I did my favorite thing in the world:  antique shopping.  Really the stores here have mostly junk and a few true antiques, but antiquing sounds much fancier!  I am especially excited about bringing home this beauty:

God I love it!  It did not look exactly like this when I bought it.  Here is how it looked when I got my paws on it:

The upholstery was ugly and stained.  The lines of the chair were great though.  It reminded me a lot of this hanging chair:

 via Emily Henderson

The way the chair went from eww to ooh-la-la, is the interesting thing.  The first thought I had when I saw the chair was “oh, I can just reupholster the seat cushion.” I knew that this chair was meant to be turquoise, and maybe tweed (which it already was).  Besides the stains, the upholstery was in good shape, not a tear or a rip in sight.   Then I remembered seeing something on Pinterest about painting a couch with latex paint. At the time I thought the idea was completely absurd, but I guess I kept it filed away in the back of my brain.

I already had some aqua latex paint on hand that I had used to paint my front door, it was like fate was calling me to paint the thing.  When my husband, Matt, saw the chair he was not impressed.  When I told him I was planning on painting the cushion with the front door paint, I think he thought I had lost my mind, and not to mention wasted $25 on a chair that I “could have bought a garage sale for $5.”  I was committed to the idea though, so I took the cushion into my studio and mixed up some paint and water in a 1:1 ratio.  I grabbed a paint brush and started slathering it on.  Boy does fabric soak up paint!

An hour later I was finished.  Another hour in the sun and the cushion was dry.  Matt was sooooo impressed with my creativity the he said I was “inspiring.” I know, Gasp!  We attached the cushion back to the chair and now it is gracing a previously uninteresting corner in my music room.

While I don’t think I would ever paint an entire couch, I am really happy with the way it turned out. Would you ever try this, or do you think it is just as easy to recover a cushion?

XX-Jenny

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My DIY Yarn Pendant

Tags

Decorate, DIY, Lighting, Renovate

Hi Y’all!  We moved into this old farmhouse in April, and let’s just say that it needed a little bit of TLC. We immediately pulled up the old carpet and found the original hardwood floors in decent shape (Yay!).  We will probably go back and refinish them in the future, but they are okay for now.  We also painted the 1970’s wood paneling in the living/dining room white.  Just those two things made a HUGE difference.

Now we are starting to get into doing the details which is much more fun.  Most of the lighting in the house was pretty ugly.  In our music room the only fixture was a cheap ceramic light socket.  I pinned this DIY Moooi Random String Pendant forever ago, and I knew that it was the perfect thing for this space.

1. Wallpaper Adhesive  2. Beach Ball  3. Vaseline  4. Pendant Socket  5. Yarn

Making the pendant only took me about an hour.  Just follow these easy steps to make your own:

1.  Blow up your beach ball and draw a circle with a sharpie anywhere on the ball about 4 inches in diameter (this is how you will change the light bulb). Coat the ball completely in Vaseline.
2.  Pour the wallpaper adhesive into a bucket.  Unravel a few feet of yarn (leave it on the roll) and place it in the bucket with the adhesive.
4.  Start wrapping the yarn around the ball, pulling it through the adhesive to coat it as you go (it is really important that the yarn is completely coated).  The wrapping should be totally random and avoid the area inside the circle.
5.  Continue on this until you are either out of adhesive or you are happy with the look of it.  When you are finished, cut the yarn and tuck in the loose end.
6.  Tie a piece of string around the part of the beach ball that you blow up and hang the whole thing up to dry for at least 2 days (I know it is hard, but just to be safe).
7.  After the yarn has had a couple of days to cure, deflate the beach ball.  Reach through the hole you avoided wrapping and pull the deflated ball out.  If it is too big, just grab some scissors and cut it into smaller pieces.
8.  Take your pendant socket and unscrew the bolt type piece that is on the outside of the socket. Separate some of the string just enough to wiggle the socket in.  Put the socket through and screw the bolt back on to hold the pendant in place.
9.  Now your pendant is ready to hang!  Follow the instructions on the box your pendant socket came in, or if you are scared of the electrical work, get an electrician to install it.

I love seeing it every time I walk through the front door!  Want to see more of my house inspiration?  Follow me on Pinterest too!

XX-Jenny

Natural Highlighting Solution

Tags

Hair Lightening, Natural Beauty

It has been scorching hot here this week.  I guess it should be expected, it is August in Texas afterall.  We adopted a new dog, a sweet chocolate lab named Beau.  Beau loves to play outside and splash around in the baby pool with the girls.  They love it too, so we have been spending the hot afternoons mostly outside.

It seems like the girls have developed these really amazing natural highlights over the summer, and while my hair had lightened a little, it was still darker than I wanted. I decided to help it along by whipping up a little natural hair lightening formula.  All of the ingredients are natural lighteners on their own, so mixing them together just made sense to me.  I have been spraying it on for the past few days before going outside in the afternoon, and my locks are already getting that sun kissed ombre look.

Get together:

2 Cups Water

2 bags chamomile tea

juice of 2 lemons

1/4 cup honey

Place the tea bags in the water and microwave for 2 minutes.  Remove from the microwave and cover.  Let sit 5 more minutes to brew the tea.  Add the honey and lemon juice and give it a quick stir.  Pour the tea into a spray bottle.  Spray liberally on hair before heading outside to enjoy the sunshine!

XX-Jenny

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DIY Lavender Tea Tree Castile Soap

In an effort to run a more safe and sustainable household, I am always on the hunt for natural homemade cleaning product recipes. I think that it is awesome that our generation is taking a stand against the chemical laden big name cleaners that we grew up around, and choosing a more natural way of cleaning everything from our homes to our children.   I find that most recipes from DIY laundry detergent to facial cleanser have one thing in common, castile soap as one of the main ingredients.  That got me thinking, since I am already putting in the effort to make my own laundry detergent, why not take it a step further and make the castile soap too.

I found a recipe online that used a crockpot method that looked pretty simple.  Although I did not follow the recipe, I used the technique.  I also used the lye calculator here to come up with my own formulation that was more like classic olive oil castile soap.

I was really intimidated at the thought of working with lye because I knew it could be really caustic.  I remember as a child, my grandparents would make lye soap, and my mom would always warn me that lye burns.  It really could not be easier though as long as you take the proper safety precautions.  I really wish that I had done this long ago.  The initial cost to gather all of the materials may seem like a lot, but when you consider how much soap you are getting, it is definitely a savings in the long run.  I purchased a crockpot and immersion blender just for this purpose at a local thrift store for under $10.  I did not make a huge batch since it was a new experiment, so I just used a loaf pan lined with parchment paper instead of the drawer trays that the website recommended,  and it worked perfectly.  The best part is that it took so little time to make.  I seriously only spent 15 minutes of hands on time total.

Lavender and Tea Tree Castile Soap

1 oz finely grated beeswax (by weight)

3 oz coconut oil (by weight)

24 oz olive oil (by volume)

10 oz distilled water (by volume)

3.6 oz of lye crystals (by weight)

25 drops of lavender tea tree essential oil

Step 1:  Using a digital scale, measure out the beeswax and coconut oil and place in a small saucepan over low heat to melt.

Step 2:  While the beeswax and coconut oil is melting, put the olive oil in the crockpot and turn on to the lowest heat setting

Step 3: Pour the melted coconut oil and beeswax into the crockpot

Step 4:  Measure out the water in a glass measuring cup

Step 5:  Weigh out the lye crystals

Step 6:  In a well ventilated area (like outside), while wearing protective goggles, gloves, and clothing, slowly add the lye crystals to the water.  Stir in the lye until it is dissolved.  Avoid touching the glass as it will get very hot.  Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Step 7:  After the Lye water mix has cooled, pour the mixture into the crockpot while stirring.  Stir for about 1 minute.

Step 8:  Take an immersion blender and blend until the mixture is the texture of pudding, about 5 minutes

Step 9:  Let cook for 1 hour

Step 10:  Pour into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and let cool for at least 24 hours before removing and cutting into bars.

This is what I ended up with, beautiful creamy white bars of soap that also smell divine.  I am so excited that I can use this handmade soap as the base for so many other things too.  And now that I have the confidence, I think I will experiment more with my soap making, using different oils and fragrances (rosemary mint?), so stay tuned…

XX-Jenny

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How to Make a Baby Wrap

Happy Friday!  I am so looking forward to the weekend, and spending some quality time with Matt and my two girls, Minda and Kaya.  Kaya is almost two months old, and she always wants to be held.  Since she was born I have been carrying her around in a traditional front baby carrier which is fine, but it kills my back after a couple of hours.  Matt’s cousin has had three babies and has always used a wrap that she makes herself, so when Matt’s mom gave me the specs on how to make one I thought I would give it a try just to have something extra around to put Kaya in.  I cannot believe I didn’t do this sooner.  It is so much more ergonomic, and really has taken the strain off of my back.  I also love that it does not have any clasps that can accidentally come undone, which has happened a time or two with the other carrier.  It is also much easier to stroke and soothe baby when she needs it, and if Matt needs to carry her, he does not have to readjust the straps.  The best part is it was quite possibly the easiest DIY ever.  There is no sewing involved.  If you can cut a fairly straight line then you can make this baby carrier.

For the wrap you will need 4-6 yards (depending on your size) of 100% cotton jersey knit interlocking fabric, a measuring tape, a pair of scissors, and a permanent marker.  Finding the right fabric was the hardest part of the project for me.  I really wanted a solid color, but the fabric store I went to only had polyester knit solids which is not breathable, so I would not recommend it for this purpose. You will be able to tell that it is an interlocking fabric by looking at the edges.  Edges on interlocking fabric roll and do not fray, so you do not have to sew the edges of the wrap.   After I finally found a fabric that I could live with, I had it cut to 4.5 yards (actually it was meters, but it is a pretty close conversion) because I am pretty small, and my wrap fits fine, but if you are in doubt about how much to get, I would suggest getting at least 5.5 to be sure.

Lay the fabric out on a flat surface, I did mine on the floor.  It looks like a ton of fabric, but don’t be intimidated.  Measure your fabric width.  If it is 60” across then simply fold it in half and cut along the fold.  If the fabric is a shorter width, then measure 30” and make a mark with the marker, do this the entire length of the fabric every 6 inches or so, so that you will have a pretty straight cut.  After cutting the fabric take the piece that is 30” wide (if you have two pieces this width or greater, congratulations, you have two wraps!) fold it in half length-wise.  Make a mark in the center so that you will be able to find it easily when you are ready to wrap it, or if you wanted to get fancy you could sew a button here. Now your wrap is ready, see I told you it was easy!   I found instructions online for how to wear the wrap here:  http://www.mobywrap.com/t-instructions.aspx.  Now your hands can be free to cook, or do whatever you love, and your baby will be happy to be next to you!

XX-Jenny

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