print by print

just a few pieces i'm crushing on right now.from top to bottom, left to right:
1. tad carpenter is the genius behind the incredible yeah burger graphics and his prints are just as charming. i love this whale. silk screen printed on wood. there's a less pricey version here.2. peggy wolf is my kind of girl. her work, mixed media and collage, features the most stunning portraits such as this lovely lady. gorgeous. i discovered her through oh joy and her fabulous art wall.3. hannah turned me on to these adorable illustrations by claudia pearson. this plum ketchup print is my favorite and would look so great in my kitchen...4. this sailor man has my heart. i found out about ashley g from the ever-popular nie nie. i ended up ordering this print from her because it reminded me of me and sam!5. this sunshine print from freya art is so bright and cheery. reminds me of matilda.6. last but not least i am utterly enchanted by this eco-friendly feather print by groundwork. sigh.
i have been craiglisting like crazy and am down to just two lack shelves all in preparation for our new office desks that we will be picking up this weekend. "we" finished painting too! sam is really good at it and i'm really good at picking up wine and ice cream as a reward.

from left to right: 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6.

if you're like me you can feel kind of perplexed when it comes to choosing how to arrange your favorite pieces of art. these people in my humble opinion get the gallery wall right. it can go oh so wrong in a heart beat. my favorite art wall is that of the home of blogger oh joy who was featured on hgtv's secrets from a stylist with design star winner emily henderson. how freaking cute is she?! i am late on the emily train, but i just adore her and the show. new girl crush alert! i was pretty turned off by hgtv for a while, but now i'm back on. i just couldn't stomach one more bad makeover. knowwhatimean?

by the way, class was cancelled this week. have no fear i'll have lots of great info for you next week!

ps tomorrow i'm going to be sharing some favorite prints to hang on your art wall!

our bedroom

hope you all had a lovely weekend! we spent saturday night cuddling in our stripped down bedroom to the sounds of an amazing thunderstorm. i haven't heard a storm like that in a long time. so lovely and then sunday we spent the cloudy day indoors painting the office, making time to eat out with some of our favorite folks of course! matilda has started saying, "this is so fun" and "that's my favorite _ _ _ _." cracks me up and warms my heart!

how we stripped down our bedroom and took it from cluttered hot mess i'msostressedoutbytheseprojectsthatarestaringatmewhilei'mtryingtofallasleep to a relaxing retreat:

we dismantled the sewing nook (btw that it one of my all-time favorite pictures of my girl) and took down all of the art work off of the walls except for the large deer watercolor over our bed. i propped up the pig print as well as a prize winning embroidered bouquet (sewn by sam's mama) on the shelves for visual interest. we added some simple shelves to the corner where the nook was, along with some of our favorite books that i put in neat stacks. the goal has been to cut down on clutter and simplify. having our favorite books here clears our night stands and keeps them accessible.

we also hung these airy grey and white curtains and made them extra high for dramatic effect. they make the room feel so calm. the stereo has been carefully camouflaged behind the curtains, instead of out on display. my favorite thing to listen to right now is shrift pandora. dreamy.

when working on the vintage vignette i posted this and this to see what people liked better. the peasant was the definite favorite. lots of great tips on styling your home here.

searching for a better shade for that lamp. any great shade sources you care to share?

we are still in the process of moving a few other things around but i wanted to share with you our progress! makes me feel like things are moving along...

office space

1. bash, please's office featured in issue four or rue magazine, 2. kate spade in the selby, 3. great shelves spotted here, 4. great space, 5. tidy nook with big, bright windows (ps this awesome desk cost around $80 to make), 6. feminine minimalism at it's best

so, here's a little inspiration board for our massive office makeover. we decided to join forces (with sam kicking and screaming) and move my sewing + craft things into his man cave. my goal is to have an extremely organized room that we can spend time in together (versus being on opposite ends of the house). i wanted a place for my computer (versus besides the couch) as well as all of our office supplies. my goal is airy. i love how the ladies of bash, please described their "workstead" as a canvas: neutral, organic, and full of vintage touches as well as succulents (girls after my own heart). if i could copy every last detail of that space i would, but let's be realistic. we have a small space and limited budget.

we had already talked about making two identical desks that would line opposite walls. i love the desks with hairpin legs as well as sawhorses. brills!

i keep going back and forth on painting the walls white or a lovely mint green...

thoughts?

for now it's back to finishing up the rest of the house that i've ruffled about. happy weekend!

a while back i mentioned that commoncreativ had named me as one of their 50 most creative people in atlanta and i still can't believe it! there are so many talented people in the magazine and my friend osayi made me sound way cooler than i am. the issue is out now. while i never really consider myself a "fashion designer," i really love the title. feel free to make a joke about the salad picture. kate and ashley have already beat you to this.

i've been feeling really grump lately. this may have something to do with my entire family being sick for the last few days. lord knows i'm not the best nurse and my house is turned upside down.

speaking of my house, office inspiration coming tomorrow... now taking volunteers to help me execute the vision!

ps craigslist has been a total lifesaver. i sold everything i listed in a little more than two days. hizzah!

rebuilding your temple: week seven

this week my dear friend dr. jennifer conway (you may remember her from here) led a fabulous class on "your path to wellness" with a focus on inflammation, toxins, and allergies.

jen's main focus is on nutritional response testing, which we were able to watch her test two different people which was really interesting. she determines what toxins are causing problems in your body with a series of measuring responses to different stimuli which are in viles. she has been able to help so many people change their lives by determining what they need to eliminate from their diet, as well as their environment.

we talked about some of the pioneers of healthy living like weston a price. he was a dentist who founded the research section of the american dental association which he served on from 1914-1928, he determined through his travels that people in different countries were getting cavities once the western diet was introduced.

we discussed standard process which is one of the oldest manufacturers of vitamins and supplements. they use all organic ingredients.

we also talked about the importance of getting good vitamins that are all natural. a lot of the vitamins that you find in big box stores and drug stores are synthetic.

aluminum is one of the biggest toxins and cause for several cancers. aluminum is most commonly found in deodorant which is applied right next to several lymph nodes. i have found that after switching to an all natural deodorant that i don't have any issues with body aroma (the word b.o. grosses me out) or sweating. hmmm. i love tom's of maine's lavender deodorant with the salt.

reading:

nourishing traditions

going back to the basics of human health

alkaline sisters blog

deflame.com

scripture:

genesis 1:29

week one

week two

week three

week four

week five

week six

please share any successes or healthy changes you've made! got questions? leave them in the comment section and i'll do my best to answer them!

before

after

remember the weekend project i was working on? well here it is! as you can see, my poor garden furniture was in major need of a facelift. never underestimate the power of a can of spray paint.

garden furniture how-to:

i scrubbed and sanded the paint off of the iron furniture (fun times)

sprayed each chair with a spray paint primer and let dry

went back over the chairs with rust-oleum white spray paint

i recovered the cushions with waverly sun and shade fabric using this method (i was never happy with the red)

sam and i are butt-tired. between trying to re-do just about every room in our house and tending after a sick little girl who was also getting her two year molars, we're beat. we did manage to squeeze in some fun with the harts and fire-pit time with the neighbors (love). we are on a mission to check off a spring cleaning checklist which involves moving my sewing nook in to the office which we are redesigning. i'm excited!

in the garden

these bright blue skies are drawing me outdoors. i want nothing more than to have water-covered shoes and my hands in the dirt. i planted some seeds last weekend and can't wait for them to start growing. lots of swiss chard, bib lettuce, mustard greens, and kale in case you were wondering.

i'm also looking forward to finishing my "weekend project."

hope you all have a lovely time doing things that make you happy. something making me happy right now is homemade guacamole. i gotta say, it's the jam. what is guacamole not good with? the answer is nothing.

happy friday!

cupcakes from miss mamie's (i had the guinness), bikes, want this poster, my girl.

before everyone thinks i've gone off the deep end (coffee enemas anyone?) please know every day i strive to live a balanced life. the info in the rebuilding your temple series is not information i've generated to share, but what i am learning in class. i stand behind the information because i believe in it, but i take it all in stride. i really live an 80/20 philosophy (80% healthy, 20% fun). while i eat very healthy the majority of the time, i live for our vacation meals. once or twice a week sam and i will stuff our faces with whatever sounds good. we treat these meals with the upmost respect by going all out. lately i find myself dreaming of healthy treats because my taste buds have really changed. i truly crave things that are good for me (shocking i know). this has been my favorite splurge this week. so good!

how do you achieve balance in your life?

happy birthday to my pup guinness and happy st patrick's day. i'm proud to be irish!

garbanzo beans and greens

my friend jennifer sent this recipe to me and it sounded so perfect for a drizzly evening. i headed out to harry's and picked up a few things and braved making this for my family. sam is not the biggest kale fan. he's for sure a meaty meat man. i'm trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals in to our repetoir or atleast less meat-centric dishes. the bacon in this recipe helped scoot it past the radar. i got the thumbs up. super simple and fun to cook...

garbanzo beans and greens

adapted from cooking light

ingredients

3 slices of turkey bacon (make sure it is all natural and nitrate free)
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon redmond's real salt
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 1/2 cups organic chicken broth
1 cup water
2 (15-ounce) cans organic chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
4 cups chopped fresh kale
1/2 cup organic plain whole milk greek yogurt
4 lemon slices

preparation
1. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan using a slotted spoon, and crumble. Add 1 cup carrot and chopped onion to drippings in pan, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, tumeric, and red pepper; cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken broth, 1 cup water, and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add 4 cups kale to bean mixture. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until kale is tender, stirring occasionally. Ladle about 1 1/4 cups bean mixture into each of 4 bowls, and top each serving with 2 tablespoons yogurt. Sprinkle with bacon, and serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

rebuilding your temple: week six

photos: pico, coffee, juice

this week at class we watched the gerson miracle. for all of you that watched food matters (you watched it right?!) you will remember charlotte from that movie. charlotte is the daughter of max gerson. anyways, the gerson miracle is based on the migraine studies conducted by german physician max gerson. he cured himself of migraines eating a mostly raw vegetarian diet. he also did a test on 450 patients with tuberculosis who used the gerson therapy and 446 claimed to be healed. from there this study was used to treat all sorts of diseases, including cancer. he wrote a book called A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases where he chronicles his successes with the gerson therapy and cancer. this movie follows his legacy. his daughter charlotte explains how these practices are still used today to heal.

the gerson therapy is primarily drinking tons of juice. when you flood the body with organic juice, it goes to your blood stream almost as fast as alcohol. doing this will heal your body and bring about vibrant health.

one thing about the treatment that i thought was interesting was the use of coffee enemas. eek! although this sounds completely outside of my comfort zone, you better believe that if it was me or cancer that i'd be doing 'em.

it makes me so sad that this treatment isn't readily available for patients in the US because of legal issues. the gerson institute was founded in tijuana, mexico where it is today. lives are being changed everyday without the use of chemo. the problem with chemo is that it kills the bad cells, but also the good ones.

other notes of interest:

table salt is poison

ritalin causes permanent brain damage

homework:

watch the movie (forewarning, there are some pretty hokey moments, but also some great info)

week one

week two

week three

week four

week five

thank you all for your allergy advice. i'm pushing through and looking in to all of your solutions. sorry to hear that many of you suffer from them as well. i will become one with the neti-pot!

under pressure.

my little gardener/ all i've wanted to do since wednesday

good morning! hope you all had a cheery weekend where you didn't stress out yourself and everyone around you trying to get a massive to-do list checked off. oh wait, that's just me. this weekend was stunningly perfect and i was fortunate enough to be able to spend it with my family. we tried to start a million projects, thus they are all still a work-in-progress. i am not usually a diy-er but i'm excited to share a weekend makeover with you guys . it's not quite done yet, so that will have to wait. oh the suspense!

here's the thing. i am an allergy sufferer. big time friends. it kills me because i only have problems during the spring when my gardener soul is longing to be outside. i started feeling bad last week and finally got some of this to help me breathe and keep me from sneezing all over people. i feel guilty about this because i'm trying to live naturally and not rely on any medicines and then i go and spend $30 on neon green allergy pills. i looked up natural alternatives and it seems pretty bleak. netipot every night? it feels like water torture.

any words of wisdom?

a couple of things to share...

fun fact: did you know hydrangeas are super easy to propagate? i stuck a bunch of dried hydrangeas in my winter planter arrangement. i was inspired by this. as i was tidying up my beds over the weekend i went to pull them out and they had rooted! i was so excited. i did absolutely nothing!

faq: "when you're cooking with coconut oil, does it make everything taste like coconut?"

coconut oil does have a very subtle flavor. i actually really like the flavor, but it you spice your food well you won't even notice it. i don't like using coconut oil with eggs. for eggs i cook them with raw butter. reason being that butter and coconut oil can handle high temperatures, unlike olive oil which becomes unstable.

ps i am soooo excited about the bachelor finale. my vote is on emily. care to wager?

rebuilding your temple: week five

photos: lemonade. avocado.

i can't believe we are already on week five! this week's class was led by the awesome dr. jockers from exodus health center. i have learned so much from him already and would encourage you to sign up for his newsletters as they are chock full of all kinds of good stuff. i am a visual learner, so it helps me to design these posts in a way that i can remember the info. hope it helps some of you too.

we started this class with this video. not gonna lie, i've had to hold back the ugly cry both times that i've watched it.

we talked a lot about the healing diet:

• eliminate grains
• minimal fruit (berries only)
• moderate protein (15-25 g per meal)
• load up on high-fiber veggies
• eat lots of good fat (see above)
• utilize good salts
• HYDRATE

a healing diet is necessary when there is disease in your body, but also to make sure that everything is running smoothly and to cut back on inflammation which leads to disease.

we also talked about reading labels. this one is a tricky one. so many companies now have "trans fat free" on the outside of their packages. here's the thing, these mega companies change the serving size in order to get this stamped on the outside. do not be fooled. if you see any of the bad fats listed above on the ingredients list, it's a trans fat food. also look for hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oil (code for yougotit transfat).

here's a breakdown of what you should be getting in your diet:

• fruits 20%
• vegetables (the greener the better) 50-70%
• sprouted grains (like ezekial bread) 0-20%
• sweet potatoes and yams 10%

myths about saturated fat. when i tell people that i cook with coconut oil a common reaction is: "ooooh that's a saturated fat." somewhere along the road of the low-fat diet craze we were told that saturated fats are bad. in reality they are essential to our diet. that's right.

mary enig phd on saturated fats (avocado, coconut oil, nuts):

1. saturated fats play an essential role in calcium mineralization in to skeletal bone.

2. they provide a protective layer in the liver that guards it from alcohol and other toxins such as those found in non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

3. they also stimulate the immune system as well as metabolic and fat burning mechanisms.

bonus handout: 20 tips for healthy weightloss

scripture: matthew 19:26

homework:

make some lemonade (see recipe above) and drink it daily.

work on your fitness.

chart what you are eating to see where your percentages lie and then adjust them as necessary.

watch as many sunrises and sunsets as you can. it's good for the soul.

week one

week two

week three

week four

here are two dresses i made for an upcoming first birthday! cheers to that. i hope they are well loved, i have to say they are some of my favorites. spring colors speak to me. the sherbertier the better!
i'm putting together the rebuilding your temple post for this week and as always it can be a bit overwhelming to try and get the information to be as simple as possible...i noticed that after i posted last week's info that i lost a few subscribers. i don't want to come off as preachy, i am seriously sorry if i do. i just feel responsible in a way to share how my life has been altered in such a positive way through good nutrition! i am so grateful to all of you and would never want to offend you or seem pushy. just take what you can and i hope that some of you will end up feeling as passionate as i do about re-taking charge of our bodies.

recipe adapted from march's whole living
blend ingredients together and you've got yourself a homemade gift or a gift for yourself!
some of my oldest and dearest friends in the world threw me a bbq on sunday so i wanted to thank them and i thought dewy soft skin would be a nice way to do so! i was inspired to make this sugar scrub after receiving a costa rica-inspired one as a gift from my friend christy. i thought it made such a thoughtful gift and i fell in love with how great my skin felt afterwards. sugar scrubs smell heavenly too! i added the olive oil to help keep the coconut oil from hardening. i used lime and orange zest left over from the whole fruit margaritas (sans sugar) we had this weekend. win win.
other possible scent concoctions: rosemary mint, lavender, rose
i've been trying to healthify all areas of my life. slowly but surely i'm going green across the board.
daily challenge: 100 jumping jacks. feeltheburn.

photos for: seeds, yoga

for:

the time i spent with my family at the mountain. the light, the quiet, the image of matilda running through the tall grass.

planting season. starting to dream up what vegetables and herbs we'll plant in our garden this year.

time to sew. working on these party dresses for some cute-as-a-button twins!

signs of spring everywhere you turn.

my morning coffee. i wish it looked like this latte from octane.

yoga. i was able to go with my mom last night and i slept so hard.

last, but CERTAINLY not least. i will have been married to this handsome man for six years tomorrow!

what are you thankful for?

i am also extremely thankful for great friends who make a girl feel really special and for all of your encouraging comments! you're all the bees knees.

tamarindo costa rica travel guide: part 3

in the last part of my costa rica travel guide series, i wanted to tell you what we did and what we saw. costa rica is so beautiful. part of it's mystery and the experience is just observing the wild life. i felt like my dear friend jodi, always on the look out. we saw some amazing birds and i was able to find a family of howler monkeys with the help of the hotel's gardener. i was waking up really early every morning, so i would just go sit by the pool and one morning i heard this crazy howling sound and was able to sign my way through getting him to take me to see the monkeys (rosetta stone anyone?). we also saw iguanas all over the place, which reminded me of our friends abbey and jamie who had one growing up. i was so jealous that they got to have one!

we only did one excursion because most of them required a min of 2.5 hour drive time each way. because we were only staying for five days, we didn't want to waste a large portion of it traveling. i really wanted to see the arenal volcano or the monteverde cloud forest. next time. we did however take an atv tour to a canopy tour, which was really awesome and way more fun than i thought it would be. anyone who knows me knows that my grandparents have four-wheelers (as we call them) and i am pretty afraid of them. i was riding one when i was little and pushed the gas instead of the break and it turned in to a two-wheeler with me on my back. sam drove and it was a dusty wild ride to an amazing zip-lining course. i was pretty deathly afraid at first but after a while soaring over the incredible forest felt kind of normal and great. ok maybe not normal, but i did it! yay.

my favorite thing we did was just discover the beaches and watch the surfers. i could sit on the sand with a cold drink and watch surfers all day long. sam and erik took a surf lesson from pedro who they met walking around the city. he was so amazing. both of the boys got up and tore up some waves. they were exhausted after. sam really cut up his foot too so i was glad we saved the surfing for the last day. i had my little blue crush moment with the board. that was enough for me!

i feel a longing in my heart to be in costa rica right now, only this time with matilda. i wanted to share everything i saw with her. there were dogs everywhere, so chill with no collars. there were playgrounds at every restaurant and big hammock swings and i could just see her loving every second as much as we did!

now, where to go next...

rebuilding your temple: week four

i can't get enough of whole living. i made this salad yesterday and it was so great. i cooked the vegetables in coconut oil and replaced the romano with ubriaco del piave and left out the olives. this list of the "dirty dozen" are 12 fruits and vegetables that you should be buying organic. the thin skins allow the pesticides to sink far in to the fruit, thus making their way in to your body.

this week at my class we had a guest speaker: mrs. kimberly roberto from west cobb chiropractic. she is co-author of the maximized living nutrition plan book. she came armed with a shopping list and tons of information on living a "maximized" life. some of the information i was familiar with: cook with coconut oil, avoid trans fats, eat grass fed beef ect., but i learned so much more! i'm going to try to break it down for you in bite-sized chunks. as always feel free to ask questions in the comment section and i'll try to answer them the best i can. i also wanted to share with you all how my happiness has increased 10 fold making these changes in my own life. i also wanted to tell you that i'm seeing BIG changes in my body. potential TMI: i have always had irregular cycles, over the past several months they have become regular. i get chills thinking about my body performing how it should be.

something that dr. roberto said that really stuck out was, if you are going to make one change, change the meat you eat. if you are going to eat meat, make sure it is grass fed beef or free range organic chicken.

we also talked about cholesterol and how it is actually plays a very important role in our diet.

• helps balance hormones
• creates bile acids to digest fats
• repairs and protects cells
• creates proper neurological functions
• promotes healing

the oxidation of cholesterol is what causes problems.

good fat vs. bad fat:

• avoid all transfats
• stay away from canola oil, vegetable oil, margarine, soybean oil, hydrogenated oils
• use coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, raw butter

good fat-

• builds cell membranes
• absorbs vitamins
• cushions vital organs
• makes 70% of brain tissue

LOW FAT diets do NOT work. americans are the leaders in "low fat" dieting and we are also the most obese. what does this tell you?

type 2 diabetes can be reversed by cutting out grains and sugars. reversed!

something that really struck a cord with me was the overwhelming evidence that cancer feeds on sugar. i'm not going to sugar-coat (<---- see what i did there) that. it is so important to strip our diets of sugar and refined and processed grains. it makes me so sad that people are basically killing themselves with their diets. why aren't we taught this? why aren't doctors teaching their patients how to heal themselves with proper nutrition? tears are welling up in my eyes just typing this because i feel like we're being drugged to our death. our bodies are amazing machines that are capable of healing themselves.

in 1931 dr. otto h. warburg was given the nobel prize for finding the connection between sugar and cancer. 1931!

"Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause. Summarized in a few words, the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar." -- Dr. Otto H. Warburg in Lecture

scripture: romans 12:1

homework:

drink more water!

exercise at least 3 days a week.

make changes in your diet, i challenge you to cut out sugar for one week...

edit your media intake. ask yourself if what you're reading is helping you to make healthy/happy choices.

tell me any/all changes that you're making or want to make. let's encourage each other!

week one

week two

week three

tamarindo costa rica travel guide: part 2

we certainly did our fair share of eating in costa rica. isn't that the best part of vacation?! we had breakfast most mornings at our hotel. breakfast was brought out by the lovely coco: granola with bananas, watermelon, mango, and pineapple. it was served with a pitcher of milk and some of the best coffee i've ever had. just a little slice of heaven.
for lunch we sort of wandered through the streets and sought out what sounded good. we loved eating on the beach, but felt like some of the prices were a bit steep. we had the most fantastic tacos at nogui's sunset cafe. to.die.for. also, we had such a great time at eat at joe's at witch's rock that we went two nights for dinner. they have great sushi and awesome nachos. richard, the owner of arco iris recommended la baula pizza bar for dinner and it was awesome! the place was packed and the pizzas were perfect and woodfired. so good. erik got the sausage hot dog pizza which was hysterical. it was literally an oscar meyer hot dog chopped over a pizza:/
our hotel has one of the best restaurants in the city: seasons by schlomy. the atmosphere was so fun on the tiny patio by the pool. there was live music and on my birthday sam had the mariachis serenade me with a love song. such a sweet memory. speaking of my birthday, for lunch sam and i had a little date and took a taxi to barcolo playa langosta. what we didn't know is that the hotel is all-inclusive. we found this out when they asked for our wrist band. lunch was a $20 buffet for visitors. we didn't want to turn right back around (we were starving) so we stayed. the food... let's just say i ate a roll, some fruit, and a scoop of really generic neopaliton icecream. we weren't discouraged though. we had several glasses of water wine and beer to make the trip worth our while. we ended up walking back to the hotel on the beach and it is one of my favorite memories from the trip!




check out more restaurant reviews here.