Archives for March 2019

Truth and Lies

March 28, 2019 Leave a Comment

“The words I have spoken to you-they are full of the Spirit and life.”

As women, our minds can get us to some pretty crazy places. Our world constantly screams lies at us, and we have a tendency to believe them. You are not skinny enough. Pretty enough. Smart Enough. Your clothes aren’t new enough. Your hair isn’t falling just right. Your skin is pale. Your Insta isn’t interesting enough. You are not a good mom. You lose your cool too easily. You are a failure because you couldn’t breastfeed. You are a failure because you let your child sleep with you. You are a failure because you work. You are a failure because you stay at home. You are a failure because you let your kids watch TV and aren’t engaging them enough. Your body isn’t the same after having kids. Your husband doesn’t think you are attractive enough. You. are. not. enough.

Sweet friend, the Enemy wants you to believe these things, and more. I am not sure what lies he is telling you, but I can assure you that at least one of those resonates with you. He makes sure that we hear and see them often throughout the day. He wants you to live defeated. And a lot of the time, we tend to just go along with his plan to tear us down.

But here is a profound truth that my friend Lysa T. spoke into me this morning (via her devotional…but she’s “basically my friend!” hah).

“Toxic thoughts are so dangerous because they leave no room for truth to flourish. And in the absence of truth, lies reign.”

-Lysa TerKeurst – Embraced-

She goes on to ask a question that I have to remind myself often when I find myself stuck in these negative patterns. Have I been actively engaging with the truth lately? Have I been filling my heart and mind with the Word of God and His truths, or wallowing in the stink of self-pity? To be honest, sometimes we just want to feel sorry for ourselves. But we are not called to live defeated and to be honest, sister, it is not what God wants for you.

“We take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.”

– 2 Corinthians 10:5 –

He wants us to resist the Enemy and fill our minds and hearts with the truth instead. To take every thought captive and replace it with the truth of Christ. The best way to do this? Get in the Word and do it daily! I know, friend. It can be so hard when you have so many demands placed on you to find the time to sit down and study. I have had seasons in my life where I feel like I would go weeks without opening my bible. I promise you, once you start and you feel that nourishment coming into your starved soul, it gets easier. You start to miss the days when you don’t take time for your Father to fill your cup. (The First5 App is an amazing resource that you can download for free!)

Arm yourself with truths that you can repeat when you feel the Enemy’s lies coming in waves. Choose to push back. Don’t let him win. Choose to live loved!

Our Farmhouse Guest Room Makeover

March 27, 2019 Leave a Comment

This room (above) looks so light and airy, but it wasn’t always that way! See, when we bought our house, the previous owners had painted this room beige, but with an awful peachy undertone. Add in our super dark furniture, cords showing and a dated fan and you pretty much have a cave. Not light and definitely not airy. Not my style at all.

I had wanted to do something about it for a year or so before I actually worked up the courage to take it on! I had grabbed this gorgeous bedding set from Target, but it didn’t make the full impact that I had in mind. I really wanted a new light fixture and a shiplap feature wall, but neither of those were in our budget.

After much hunting around, I resorted to some DIY goodness! First, I painted the wall with a semi-gloss white that matches our trim. Next, I measured out “planks” and used a level to draw lines of varying thicknesses on the wall. You guys, I did this with a Sharpie! And you know what? No one who has walked into that room has ever noticed that it isn’t real shiplap until I point out to them that its faux! Maybe I need to do a tutorial on this… (I had the supplies on hand. So this gorgeous shiplap feature wall was FREE!)

This was the night I finished the walls. I painted the rest of the room a beautiful icy blue color. We also replaced the globes on that dated fan and spray painted the body and blades with oil rubbed bronze! Total, we spent about $20 to fully update that ugly fan and it makes a huge impact on the feel of the room!

My next logical step, of course, was a Hobby Lobby binge! So much farmhouse goodness!

I forgot to take a picture, but that ugly black nightstand from the before pictures got a facelift with some white chalk paint and new hardware. You will see below, it adds so much to the room now! A sweet friend of mine hand-made me that basket which makes it even more special!

Now that everything else in the room is bright and sunny, I don’t mind the contrast of the dark furniture!

Sometimes when you are making over a space, you just have to test the placement of your decor. I tried out these wooden boxes filled with greenery here, but ultimately they did not stay.

This little cubby area got a facelift too! I did another “sharpie-lap” wall here. We replaced some old “bachelor” looking shelves with gorgeous stained wood and corbels. The cabinet was a dark wood color, so it got a simple chalk paint overhaul as well!

I found this cute sign and knew I had to have it. I spent several years obsessed with the show Parenthood, and this sign gave me warm and fuzzies thinking about it. It is perfect for the space! And while we are looking at it, note the pretty wooden curtain rods! Michael helped me turn my vision into life by notching out corbels and mounting them for me. I love the way it turned out!

Here’s where those guys wound up! Someday I will go through and paint or switch out all of the mismatched/brass hardware in this house…

The very last, and one of the most impactful things I did was to stain those orange wooden doors a rich, dark brown to match the furniture. It took them from cheap to high-end and makes a statement in the room!

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed your little tour of where our guests lay their heads! It is our prayer that our home is a retreat to them while they are here.

Get the look:

Bedding HERE

Everything You Need to Know About Balloon Garlands

March 26, 2019 Leave a Comment

Okay so, I have a new crush. Balloon garland. I had been drooling over them on Pinterest for months while planning Addilyn’s first birthday party. Honestly, I had built them up in my head as this super complicated thing, but really it was incredibly easy! They add a huge wow factor for a very low price. The biggest investment you will make is a few hours of your time! I will show you how.

Here’s what you need:

Balloons in the colors of your choosing. I used about 160ish total for two garlands for Addilyn’s party. It really just depends on how long yours will be and how full you want it.
Balloon Garland strip. I loved this set because it gave me a ton of strip (you can totally reuse this too if you want) and it was cheap! Plus it came with glue dots to help with placement of the balloons to get the look I wanted.
Optional! I have lungs of steel over here (kidding), and I opted to save money and blow them all up myself over the course of a few days. If that’s not your style (or you don’t have time), you may want a pump. You can get this one one pretty cheap!

Okay so that really is it! First, you will want to inflate all of your balloons. We have a black dog that sheds like it’s her job, so I opted to fill up my huge garden tub with them. This was my balloon storage place as I worked. I would put a batch into the strip and then blow up enough to refill the tub. Make sure to fill your balloons to varying sizes and colors so that it isn’t super uniform!

Once you have some (or all) of your balloons filled, you literally just push them through these holes in the strip!

It will naturally curve a bit. Wiggle your balloons around some to get the look that you want, and if an area looks thin, you can totally pop a second balloon in each hole to add volume. It really helps to do this part with the strip at least partially in place. I was pretty fortunate that we have hooks under our windows from the previous owner, so I was able to hang it up and move it around as I went. For my garland in the entryway, I just pinned it up a little at a time and made my way across.

I opted to sort of cluster the balloons at the end to add a little drama. You can totally do this to suit whatever look you are going for!

Initially I was going to leave it straight across like this, but knowing that I was putting the highchair under that right corner, I chose to bring the balloons down a bit in a cluster like on the other side.

That’s it! I told you, it is incredibly easy and so fun! The look of wonder on Addie’s face when she saw it was totally worth the tax on my lungs! Have you tried one yet? Tell me how it went!

A Crown or a Cancer?

March 25, 2019 Leave a Comment

One of my sweetest friends invited myself and a few other ladies over to her home this weekend to watch a message (posted below) on the power of a respectful wife. To be honest, the entire message was a bit of a gut-punch, but very needed! See, I have a degree in marriage and family services. I have been in married small groups and done countless studies and books on this topic. But the truth is that in the hard pressing seasons, it is so easy to slip back into old habits and forget what you have learned. Marriage is not for the faint of heart, you guys.

It may come as a surprise to you all, but Michael and I both have very strong-willed natures. We both like to be right, have a bit of a temper and we have both had to learn a lot about conflicting well over the almost-9-years that we have been married. Another shocker– we still suck at this sometimes. We say the wrong things, we lose our tempers, we forget to fight fair and we hurt each other. Because we are two flawed individuals.

My biggest takeaway from this message was one simple question and challenge to the wives. “Are you a crown or a cancer in your husband’s life?” Ouch. I left this little get together with that question bouncing around in my mind and to be honest, in this current season of our lives I feel like I have been more of the latter and less of the former. I felt convicted and humbled, but also determined to put this all into practice and break the cycle.

And then in true Lysa TerKeurst fashion, she spoke directly to my heart on this topic in my devotional this morning. (The Lord uses this woman that I have never met to speak into my life literally every single day it seems like. Her Devotional is fantastic and I highly recommend it!).

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”

– 1 Peter 5:6-

The topic is how to handle tough relationships. Now hear me, my marriage is not always tough. But when we are out of sync with each other, because we are both strong-natured, it can be. I am always wanting to talk it out right that moment and bring resolution to the issue, when in reality sometimes it is best to just take a pause. These words really stuck out to me:

“Sometimes I try so hard to figure out just the right words to say and talk through a situation. While talking is good, sometimes the conversations start running in a circle, and there aren’t any productive words left to say. When this happens, it can make a girl feel like giving up. But before I give up, I’ve learned to hush up. Spending time getting quiet can be the best remedy for tangled situations. Taking a step back from all the emotion, frustration, and exhaustion to sit quietly with Jesus will do more to untangle a mess than anything else I’ve ever found.”

– Lysa TerKeurst, Embraced–

Now if you are my husband reading this, you are probably laughing. This is so not me. It is something that God is working on in me. See, when we choose to shut up and sit quietly with Jesus, He will help us to come to a more humble place. He will reveal the areas where we may have been wrong (because let’s face it, we all contribute to the problem when we argue) that we can’t see in the heat of the moment. He will help us to sort out our irrational thoughts and break the cycle of self-pity that we women can so easily work ourselves into. He helps to focus our hearts on working on ourselves rather than “fixing” the other person. And most importantly, if we are open to His voice, He will help us to see the truth that our real enemy is not our spouse (or whoever we are in conflict with).

“The truth is, we have an Enemy, and it’s not each other. Satan’s influence on me and the person offending me is the real culprit. I can’t realize that in the heat of the moment. But in the quiet, I become alert and can gain a strategy for acting and reacting in a more self-controlled manner.”

– Lysa TerKeurst, Embraced–

This has been the most revolutionary truth in my transformation into a respectful (and less reactive) wife. The simple realization that the harsh words or emotions that my husband is speaking to me, and the disrespectful words spewing out of my mouth are not from him at all, but rather are from the Enemy himself, has allowed me to step back and process things so differently. When we refocus our anger on the one that truly deserves it, it creates a lot more room for grace in our relationships.

This is an on-going process in my life and I am far from perfecting it. But it is an area that I am humbled and convicted about. I pray that this has spoken to someone’s heart today. And even if you think you have this whole “wife” thing down, you should check out the video below. I believe it is something we can all work on!

A Floral Nursery for my Beautiful Baby Girl

March 24, 2019 6 Comments

I have always had a strong love for interior design. Something about taking a space that is blah and boring and turning it into something beautiful just satisfies some deep part of me. I wanted a little girl SO badly when we found out we were pregnant, and I had these visions for a dreamy and airy nursery that she could come home to. Now that she is a year old, I am all in my feels remembering the days I spent painstakingly crafting a room just for her and I wanted to share it with you guys!

When we bought this house, there was a small bedroom right off of the living room that we knew we would someday make a nursery. But since we weren’t trying to get pregnant yet, it became “that room.” You know, the one that you shove everything you don’t really need into. All the stuff you don’t miss while its crammed in there and don’t really want to find a spot for. We sort of started cleaning it out the first time we got pregnant, but after we had our miscarriage I couldn’t bring myself to do much with it and it went back to it’s previous state.

A couple of months into our pregnancy with Addilyn, Michael and I cleaned this bad boy out. Her daddy painted the trim and we installed some fresh blinds. Here is my blank canvas. Not bad, but pretty boring!

I chose this beautiful bedding set from Target, and designed the nursery around that! It was perfect for my vision and I love all of the colors!

Her crib is the Serta Bethpage in white. I fell in love with the silhouette of it and the fact that it’s convertible is a huge plus! I am a fan of buying one quality piece of furniture that will last her for years.

For her name, I had looked into having a custom word cut but that was way pricey. I found these cute glitter letters at Hobby Lobby for like $2 each on sale and they are perfect! The flowers are my own (you can order a set or request a custom set at my Etsy shop!).

Her closet is the first thing you see when you enter the room, so I knew I wanted to make it super cute! It previously had a very 90’s set of mirrored doors on it. We took those down, and her daddy painted it a cheery contrasting pink! I painted the bars gold, put a cubby shelf and these bins in there to organize blankets, sheets, nursing supplies/bottles, and other odds and ends. I love that it hides some of the clutter but still looks cute! With her room being pretty small, I really needed to maximize my storage space!

Because I did flowers on the wall above her crib, I opted to put a mobile over the changing table. I am so glad that we did it this way, because I need the most help entertaining her while I am changing diapers now that she can roll! I hand made this with lots of love (you can get one here).

Target has the most amazing coordinating products for this nursery theme! The changing pad cover that matches is my favorite (we also have a solid pink one for easy switching after messes!). These small storage bins that coordinate with the cubes are perfect for holding all of the changing table essentials (wipes, diapers, lotion, sanitizer, diaper cream, etc.). I grabbed a few frames from Walmart, a mirror from TJ Maxx and my mother in law gifted us that pretty canvas from Hobby Lobby!

After creating her mobile, I decided that my little flower child needed her initial done to match it (you can oder one here) and balance out the room!

This boat was a TJ Maxx find, too! It creates the perfect spot to store her books, and she loves going over and choosing a few at bedtime.

This chair. Oh, the hours I have logged in this chair. It has seen me cry and laugh. I have rocked and slept and snuggled in it. I have watched my baby grow up before my eyes in it. And let me tell you, it is the best chair in our home, not only because of these memories. But you guys, it is so comfortable! Surprisingly, it has been really easy to keep from staining too (and Addie has tested that theory!). It’s the Baby Relax Addison recliner and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for the perfect chair for their nursery! It comes in several colors to coordinate with pretty much any theme.

I wanted to add some extra toy storage to her room, but also a place to keep my breastfeeding essentials within reach, so I chose to add this 6-cube organizer and more bins to her room too! Her aunties gifted her those sweet stuffed animals, and that frame on top I eventually filled with imprints of her little newborn feet. The tiny gold shoes (from PatPat) are one of my favorite little elements!

I found the sign at Hobby Lobby and fell in love with the message of it. I read it to her each night as I rock her before bed and pray that this truth is ingrained in the core of who she is. Her earthly Daddy and I love her so very much, but her Heavenly Daddy loves her even more!

Of course, I grabbed the lamp and nightlight from Target, too! Their baby registry is awesome, and the ease of coordinating everything was so nice! Plus they have fantastic registry perks (hello, discounted gear and free diapers!)

The layout of her windows makes curtains pretty much impossible, but I didn’t like the idea of leaving them totally bare. I had some leftover gold dot garland from her mobile, so I swagged that across the windows and it turned out to be perfect!

And seriously…Target for the win again with all of their coordination! I found a laundry hamper that matches all of the other bins in the room, too! My matchy-matchy mama heart is so happy!

I know you guys have seen these backpack diaper bags all over the internet, and I can honestly tell you…it is the best diaper bag! I got this exact one off of Amazon for like $25 (cheaper than a lot of sites!) and is has held up amazingly well! A year in and it still looks brand new. I love all of the pockets and compartments, and it holds a lot of stuff for the size! Plus, the hands-free aspect is fantastic when you are trying to juggle a car seat, stroller and a baby!

If you are breastfeeding, you absolutely need a Boppy! This one doesn’t technically “go” with the nursery set, but it matches perfectly! Heck, even if you aren’t nursing, it is great to help hold the baby (which you will be doing a lot of!)

That’s it! I hope that you have loved seeing a little glimpse into my favorite room in our house! Me and my girl spend lots of time in there, so it definitely helps that it’s beautiful!

The Royal Icing Recipe You’ve Been Searching For

March 23, 2019 18 Comments

Let’s be friends! Connect with me on Facebook, Instagramand Pinterest!

**A couple of updates! Since writing this post, I have pretty much become a professional cookier! I make dozens a week, and this recipe still holds up perfectly! My customers love it and I love working with it! (Check out more cookies I have done HERE!)

Also- When I was just a rookie learning the ropes, I used reusable bags with tips. Thrifty? Sure! But my gosh the time that I wasted washing those stupid bags out! And I felt like I had a hard time getting the precision that I wanted. I have since switched to THESE Bags and you guys, GAME CHANGER! I waste zero time washing things, and they are so cheap that I don’t feel bad going through them! Once I adjusted to doing most of my work with tipless bags, I actually like it so much better. I still use my tips for details such as florals (this Is a great set to get you going!)

Okay…On to the post!

Royal icing can be a super tricky thing. You have to get the recipe just right or else it comes out lumpy, cracks, or dries weird. When I decided to make “fancy cookies,” as we call them, for Addilyn’s First Birthday, I knew that I needed to try a few and create something that was just right! I started by testing out cookie recipes until I found the perfect one that made them firm enough to decorate but still chewy and delicious. Grab that recipe here.

Then it was on to the royal icing, which was honestly the one I was more nervous about. A few of my trials left me with icing that tasted good, but didn’t hold up or harden. Other attempts left me with a layer of stone (kidding) on my cookies that could chip a tooth. I took bits and pieces of all of these and combined them until I found one that was just right!

First off, I learned that it actually is best to use the paddle attachment on your mixer versus the whisk. I never would have thought to do it this way, but it supposedly helps keep the icing from separating if you don’t use it right away. Knowing that I would be decorating these in stages, that sounded like a good thing to me! So that’s what I did.

First, I rounded up my ingredients. You will need a 2lb bag of powdered sugar, vanilla extract (or you can add almond extract!), warm water and meringue powder. I like the Wilton Brand the best!

Next you will add your bag of sugar to your mixer bowl and then add the meringue powder to that. Mix on low until it is well combined. While that is stirring, I like to take about half of my warm water (maybe 1/2 cup total) and go ahead and add the extract to that. For this batch, I wanted it to be sweet! So I put 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

From here, you will want to slowly add your water mixture to the dry ingredients with the mixer on low-medium. Make sure you scrape the sides a bit so that there isn’t a lot of powder left. Your mixture should start to take on a thick, sticky appearance almost like honey. If it’s still not quite that texture, you can add up to another 1/4 of water. I wanted my icing a bit on the thick side (more on that below) so I didn’t add the full 3/4 cup. I totally forgot to take a picture of this step for you guys….fail! SO sorry!

Anyways, once you have that honey-like goop, turn that puppy up to medium-high and whip it for 2-3 minutes. It should look about like this when you are done.

From here, you can either use it right away or store it in an airtight container right on your counter top! I will add some further icing steps below, but here is the recipe for those of you who are just ready for me to get to the point!

(Check out more of my viral recipes and decorated cookies/cakes here!)

The Perfect Royal Icing

Time: 10 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients:

2lb bag of powdered sugar
5.5 Tablespoons Meringue Powder
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/2-3/4 cup warm water

Directions:

Add your sugar and meringue powder to your mixer and combine on low using the paddle attachment.
While the sugar is mixing, add your extract to 1/2 cup of warm water.
With the mixer on Low-Medium, gradually add your water, scraping the sides. You want the mixture to reach a honey-like consistency, and can add up to another 1/4 warm water to get it there. Make sure you don’t get it too runny!
Once your icing is goopy and honey-like, turn the mixer up to medium-high and whip it for 2-3 minutes!
Use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Okay now that I gave you what you came here for, here are a few other things I learned along the way!

First off, I tried to make thinner icing initially as my “base” icing. What I found was that when I added sugar to thicken it for details, it got crusty and lumpy. I was not a fan of that approach! So what I discovered from a few wise cookiers that I know was that it’s better to make your icing a little more on the thick side and then just add water to smaller batches to thin it for flooding your cookies

I also learned to do a “knife test” for the icing that I wanted to flood with. That means to thin down your icing and add any coloring that you want (gel coloring is best), and then run a butter knife through it. Once you run your knife through, count how many seconds it takes for your icing to come back together and make that line disappear. I found that the best flood consistency icing had about a 10-12 second delay.

You will want to allow an hour or two of dry time when doing sections that touch each other. For the banners below, I did the outer two sections and then once they were mostly dry, I went back and did the middle section. If you are going to use a stencil or anything that applies pressure, its best to let them dry overnight between layers. The plaques, for example, I went back and added detail to the next day.

If you want your icing to have a shiny surface (and not take 10 years to dry) its great to put them in front of a fan when you finish flooding them. I just use a couple of small tabletop fans like this one.

Here is an incredibly satisfying video (I could seriously watch it on repeat!) of the flood process! As you can see me do in the video, be sure to work quickly to get any dents and bubbles out! I just use a toothpick to work them out. If you don’t do this before your icing starts to crust over, it will make a mess. So be sure and work quickly!

Here are my finished cookies! They tasted and held up great! I just ate one a week after the party and it still tasted every bit as delicious as the day I made them!