Home Inspiration: DIY

This is something I haven't been able to do much of and I have really missed being able to make things for our home. It's so hard to be a minimalist and crafty! With talks of moving, I've halted any kind of plans for decorating. Now, I'm thinking of more and more things we can get rid of/live without. But man, pinterest still has me dreaming. I'll keep pinning until someday we'll have another place of our own. Here are some fun DIY ideas that I've found recently.    Pallet benches, I love this little nook   Shelf ladder DIY dream catcher   knit pillows   lace contact paper for windows   easy DIY sign   source shell mobile   braided baskets    pallet table DIY dreamcatcher
*Note- I know a lot of these are made of "pallets". However, I don't encourage the use of these. Many are treated with loads of toxins & chemicals and may not be safe for your home. Please do research before using them.

Houston Love

I've been wanting to do a post of the other vendors that were at my pop up show. Sooo, herrrrre are a few of my favorites!  Santeria P.S. You're Lovely   Vida Antigua   Andrea Condara  
In leu of yesterday's post, I have to say that I hope you guys don't mind my rambling. When I first started sharing more of my personal life and thoughts here, I didn't know where I was going with it. As I have grown and changed, my blog changes with me. Lately, that has been a lot of thinking, speculation, and self-realizations. It just makes sense to share that here and sometimes it really helps for me to put what I feel into words. Like a journal. That's what my blog basically is, right? And I want to be able to share the good with the bad. Because my life isn't perfect. It's hard and I want to be able to look back and remember all the struggles and joys. Today was another hard day. I've been so frustrated because I don't know what we're going to do next. And every time I try to plan, it just gets harder and more frustrating. At first, all of our options are overwhelming but then I try to be realistic and turns out our options are insanely limited. Mostly because of money. Life is expensive. And it's really disheartening. Aghhh. I'm sorry, I'll stop now. I did have a really great weekend though. The cold from came through and was just wonderful. I'll be back with some pictures to share! So on a good note, enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Monday is coming up fast! 

A Few Things: Life Lately

Ahh, where do I start. Well first off, we are all back in school. For us, that means Eliza and I go to school Tuesdays and Thursdays and both Brandon and I take a few online courses. Things get a lot more hectic but it's kind of nice to get back in the routine. 

(Ugh, mommmm! No more pictures!!)

And it's nice to have that time on Tuesdays and Thursdays to have a break from Eliza and focus on school and work. 

(her new school gear, the backpack was a gift. Eliza & I picked out the hippo lunch box)

That doesn't happen often, even when I go to work and Brandon watches her, I can get kind of stressed out. I'm not sure why. I guess it's just pressure? Like I feel as if it's an inconvenience for him that he watches her while I work? I don't know. It's not the same.  As of today, I'm trying to incorporate naps back into our schedule. Eliza hasn't been napping for over a year but with waking up early, I think we're going to need them. And let's be real, I could use the peace and quiet to keep me sane and have a chance to clear my thoughts in the middle of the day. I find myself getting stressed out about work lately. Now that I don't have much time, I am kind of being stuck doing all the lame parts of my business and not getting enough time to do the fun parts (making clothes, getting supplies, planning photoshoots). So now, I kind of dread going to work. This is something I'm really struggling with. I hate that it has turned into "work" but with school taking up most of my free time, it's hard to fix.  But enough with the negativity. Something I am excited about is fall. God I can't wait until fall. It has been a heck of a summer. Thinking about fall clothes (for the shop) gets me so excited about cooler weather. But then I walk outside and the heat is just suffocating. Bleh. I hear there MAY be a cold front coming through this weekend, I'll be crossing my fingers!  Another recent change, a BIG change, has been our plans for the future. If you read my post to Brandon then you kind of have an idea of what we've been going through. It's been really exciting but really scary. Brandon wants to quit his job to follow his dreams which I am all for. However, this means we will have no security net. He pays most of the bills so this is kind of a big deal. And because my income is so undependable, it's hard to plan for.  This decision also means that we can make a lot of changes. For one, it will not hold us back from moving. Really, him having a job here is the only reason we have stayed for so long. School too but we will be done in the next semester or two. So with that in mind, we have been kind of thinking of moving back to our home town. This is something I thought I wouldn't like but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I love our hometown, it's so pretty and we will be around more people we know.  Something I have been desperately lacking here is nature. Where we grew up was basically a forest, now there are houses, schools and stores but it's still heavily wooded. This is something I'm looking forward to the most. I can take Eliza on walks, go to parks, all the places I used to love. It's strange, I feel like I'm being pulled back. Or maybe called? Does that sound weird? I just have this strong urge to go back. I think I will be much happier there. Majority of our family is up there and with all the extra help, life will be a lot less stressful. I just think that right now, it's the best move for us. We have to accomplish a lot in the next few years (like build our careers! and for Brandon, maybe going to a university?!) and we could use all the help we can get! However, this poses some difficulties. Right now, I work out of my dad's house. So I'll have to figure out a place to work from. We are thinking of moving in with my sister so I would have to find a place to work from. Brandon won't have a real job so getting our own place with an extra bedroom for a studio would be difficult. I'm not quite sure what we're going to do about that but I guess I have a while to figure it out. Whatever decision we make, we can't do anything until at least after Christmas. I won't be done with school until at least the spring semester so it might even have to wait until then. Ugh, waiting. I have this thing where once I get excited about a plan, it's reaaaaally hard to wait. I just want to do it NOW. This may be why I am getting so stressed out about our current situation. I just have to chill out and try to take it day by day. I want to work as much as I can to help out with bills but really, my priority needs to be school and finishing so we can get out of here!  I guess day to day life is what I need to focus on. Just doing the best I can everyday without driving myself crazy. My brain has been a jumble but I think that will settle down once the school routine sets in. I'm trying to find peace everyday in little ways. Trash talking with my sister in words with friends ;), making mini pies, cooking (you already know, I am loving cooking), squeezing in a few minutes to cuddle with Brandon before going to work, our nightly Star Trek episodes (we're addicted), Buffalo Wild Wings on thursdays (I know, it's bad), and the best of all, cuddling with Eliza every night (yay co-sleeping!). It's the little things right? 

Now Available: Floral Headbands!

I always get compliments when I where my floral headband and people always ask, "Where did you get it?!". When I reply that I made it myself, they always seemed so shocked. I have even gotten, "You should open up an Etsy store!". Sooo, here I am. Selling my floral headbands so that you guys too can walk around with all this loveliness and get compliments all day :) This is what I have so far and they're only $15!    Which one's your favorite??

Girlish Garb: Denim on Denim

If you guys follow me on instagram, you probably saw Brandon wearing this outfit. Yes. He's a weirdo. And the sad thing is, he can rock a pair of high waisted shorts.... Wow, moving on. I think this is my new favorite vest. I got this little pin from my sister (thanks Heather!) and together, they are the perfect match. I was feeling a bit tomboy this day so I threw on some shorts, my lucky boots and was off to work!  Outfit Details:  Vest- Thrifted/DIY  Shorts- Thrifted/DIY  Belt-Thrifted  Shoes- Gift from Brandon (Urban Outfitters?) This is kind of my farewell to summer outfit. Or my telling summer to f off outfit. It has been a hot one and I for one, can NOT wait until it starts too cool down around here. I've been trying to plan for fall (clothes and what not) but it is so hard when it's still 100+ degrees outside!! I hear there may be a cold front coming this weekend. We'll see about that!!  Also, remember the necklace from my last outfit post? I posted a tutorial over at Wanderlust for it, check it out here.  Annnnd something I'm super excited about, I got a tumblr!! You can check it out here. I signed up maybe three days ago and have spent way too much time filling it up. Just so much prettiness out there that needs to be blogged! So yes, check out my tumblr.  Have a great Friday everyone!!

Good Food We've Been Eating Lately

First off, let me proclaim my current love affair with pesto. Thank goodness my dad has about 30 basil plants growing to feed my addiction or I'd be in real trouble! It's so easy to make and can be used in so many ways!! Ahh, pesto.  I came upon this recipe from A Beautiful Mess, basic basil pesto. It was perfect. So simple.  The first thing I made with it was this, Pesto Potato Skillet Then I made a version of this, pesto pizza with roasted cherry tomatoes (another of my latest obsessions) And then I made this! Quinoa with pesto, corn, and roasted cherry tomatoes, sounds kind of weird but it was goood! Quinoa is quickly becoming a favorite around here.  That potato skillet is a version of this, homemade hashbrowns. I'm not sure that meal up there is cooked the same as this but I did! And then just added the pesto at the end. These are super easy to make and taste so yummy! The best thing is, you can change it up every morning! I personally liked it with green onions, goat cheese, and parm as well as a few other seasonings like oregano, salt, and rosemary.  Speaking of quinoa, here was the first dish I attempted to make with it, Heather's quinoa recipe. Mmmm mmm.  Looking at this picture is making me drool. Oooh my goodness, again with the roasted tomatoes! Plus avocado and spaghetti?! Perfection.  Avocado fettucine recipe This is actually really easy to whip up. I cut the recipe in half one day and made it for lunch for Eliza and I in about 20 minutes! She loves it, score!  This is something I saw on a blog I read and had to try it. They are chickpea patties loaded with veggies (anything you can find in your fridge!). This is a great way to use those veggies that are about to go bad.    This little guy comes with a funny story. I got really excited about the "hatch festival". I found a bunch of recipes and by the time I got around to trying to make something for dinner, they were all gone!! No hatch chiles in site! Total bummer. But I found some hatch chile salsa that I substituted and it worked out fine. These stuffed hatch chile burgers were delicious!  Now this is kind of a weird combo but surprisingly fantastic!!! Nectarine pizza with basil and balsamic And I just cooked these tonight, Honey Jalapeno Roasted Squash. I used butternut squash instead though and served them as a side with a salad.  And last, the dessert of the week. These were so good. Too good. I think I ate most of them... which is why I try not to make desserts!! White chocolate cookies. I actually left out the nuts the first time because I didn't have any and ended up liking them better! I made them a few days later for my family (with the nuts) and they were so-so.  I didn't take pictures of any of my meals but they are too good not to share! All these pictures are from the original sources. Actually, I think I'm going to add them to my recipe book now!!