Just an Update

Hello! We are having a blast in Arizona, but today is our last day. Wish we could stay longer, but we must get home so that we can unpack and then repack to leave Monday to go visit Des Moines and look for housing.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from our trip!

This is from San Xavier Mission

And this is when we visited Sabino canyon...we got stuck in a dust storm halfway down the mountain lol That was an adventure. Also, this is the lizard I found, he was rainbow colored, even though you can't tell here. 

Anyway, we are having lots of fun, and since I have been slacking on entries, I thought I'd give you this to check out :) Hope you have enjoyed!

Cheesy Rice and Beans

Well, Josh and I have really been enjoying our vacation to Arizona to visit his grandparents. We have done so much cool stuff!! I will post some pictures when we get back, if I remember because...we got the job in Des Moines!! That means we are on a whirlwind ride to move out there asap as soon as we return from our awesome vacay! We get back this weekend and leave again on Monday to go check out housing, so if you have any tips on living in Des Moines, please share them with me! We could definitely use them :) Anyway, today I am going to share a fun, quick recipe for you! It is one of my favorites and it is pretty low in fat and calories. I used this recipe a lot when I was working for a weightloss camp.

Ingredients
1/2 cup instant rice
1/2 can black beans
1/4 cup lowfat cheese (really any kind you want)
1/4 tsp chili powder

Directions

The first thing you need to do is follow the directions on your instant rice box, and get that started. Once you get the rice cooked, it is super easy! Which the rice is cooking I place the cheese at the bottom of the bowl, then once the rice is finished I pour it on top of the cheese so it melts. I then add the beans and chili powder on top and mix it all up. Super easy, right? Super delicious, cheap, and healthy too! 

Enjoy!

Flower Arranging 101

Hello! So, I decided it would be really fun to do a series on arranging flowers since spring/summer are coming up! There is no better time to know how to arrange a nice bouquet than right before flower season :) Let me just start out with the basics today, and then get on with the more exciting stuff in the weeks to come.

First of all, you might be wondering what my credentials are seeing as my degrees are in neuroscience and psychology and I currently work at a pet store (yeah, I know, looong story haha) Anyway, I don't have any crazy good credentials, but I did take a college course on flower arranging and learned A TON!! It was a lot of fun, so I will share the basics with you. Hopefully, this will brighten your home and cheer up your hearts!

Lets get started!

The first thing you have to do is have a vision. It is the same with any sort of project, you have to have a recipe or a pattern so that you can make what you need. So, here are the basic elements of flower design: form, line, space, texture, and color.  Forms for flower arranging are either open or closed, open arrangements have a lot of space between the flowers, where as the closed form does not. There are also geometric forms for flower arranging which include triangle, rectangle/cube, and circle. We will go over these in greater detail in the future as I show you more about flower arranging.

Line is the way the arrangement "moves." There is either static or dynamic lines in an arrangement: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and curved. These are pretty self explanatory, and you can probably think of examples of these, even if it is an odd arrangement you once saw at an office of something :)

Space is the area of the arrangement and the area around it. It encompasses positive space which is occupied by material (flowers, foliage, ribbons, etc.) Negative space is the empty area between the flowers, and voids are clean,distinct lines that connect the material to the rest of the design (stems, etc.)

Texture is the surface of the objects you are using. It is pretty self explanatory, a fresh flower is soft and smooth where as a dried arrangement is rough and brittle. You get the idea

The last is color. Color is really important because it can mean a lot of different things. In the flower world, different colored flowers "mean" different things. Also, warm colors move toward you when you look at an arrangement, whereas cool colored flowers fade into the background. If you have questions about the meaning of certain colors, I can answer those for you :) I will not go through them all here. I will probably mention them as I continue in the series explaining different arrangements. The other part about color is choosing a scheme, you can have a monochromatic scheme, with all similar colors, or contrasting colors which range in many different ways, all using the color wheel. For example, a split complementary is one hue and the two colors on each side of its direct complement (aka blue with orange-yellow and orange-red) Make sense? If it doesn't that's okay, you will figure it out as we go!

I will show you this full arrangement later, but we needed a little life in this long post :) Ok, so once you understand the basic principles, the fun stuff comes next!! Next we begin to think about the balance of the arrangement, do we want it balanced or asymmetrical? Do we want one major focal point or just lots of fun flowers all over? This is when the picture really starts to come together, the concept really starts to take shape! Once you answer those questions you must remember that the proportion must be good. This means when you choose a container, the arrangement should be at least 1/12 to 2 times taller or wider than that container. Otherwise, it looks way too huge and could fall over, or it looks so small it is ridiculous. 

There are quite a few other tiny details that you should think about when making an arrangement, but that is really for the professionals. This is just for fun, and if you want more info just let me know and I can help, but for now let's keep it light and fun for the home! 

The last thing I want to talk about today is caring for your flower once they are made. If you know how to properly take care of flowers they last much longer! First of all, when you get flowers you should always cut the stems at an angle underneath running water. The way the stem of a flower is designed, it sucks things into it, and if you do it in the air it sucks in the dirt and pollutants, whereas under water it will get just what it needs! The best preservative for your flowers at home is super easy to make. Just mix 2 cups of lemon-lime carbonated beverage with 2 cups of water. It's that easy! Another is 2 Tbl white vinegar, 2 Tbl sugar, 1/4 tsp bleach, with 1 quart water mixed together. Also easy, but I prefer the one with the pop :) Along with one of these great mixes, changing the water is important as well. This should really extend the life of your flowers. 

One other tip for caring for your flowers is to keep them away from ethylene which is basically aging hormone for plants. You can do this by keeping fresh fruits and vegetables away from the arrangements and keeping them in a fairly cool place because the warmer the flowers are, the sooner they will die. 

That is the basics! Check back next week for our first arrangement we will be learning about which is a triangle arrangement. It's the sneak peek above :) Let me know if you have ANY questions, I will hopefully be able to answer them! Enjoy!

Check out the rest of the series:

Triangle Arrangement

Homemade Bath Scrubs

When I was in graduate school, myself and a few other students were really interested in self care. Since we were in a psychology program, we understood the importance of taking care of yourself in order to be a good clinician and preached that to our clients often to help in their treatment for themselves. So, we started a program on the first Friday of each month to help with self care. Each Friday we would have a different wellness event where students and faculty could participate and learn about different forms of taking care of yourself. We did lots of different seminars including self defense, aromatherapy, massages, and the like. One of my favorite weeks was all natural bath and face scrubs. We met in the middle of the day and made little containers full of bath scrubs and relaxing bath mixes. So, I thought I'd share my three favorite mixes that I made. We basically laid out everything imaginable to add to a scrub including epsom salt, lavendar sprigs, oils, oatmeal, fruit, dried flowers, etc. I don't have pictures, but don't let that fool you, they are wonderful! Hopefully, I will be able to make some soon and then I can add pictures!

California Citrus Bath (b/c I made it in California for the bath, creative, right?)

Grated orange, lime, and lemon peels
1 cup oatmeal
5 lavendar sprigs

Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. Plaice in an air tight container and store in a cool, dry area (or use immediately to relax). When you're ready, throw them in a hot bath and relax for 20 minutes. It feel wonderful!

Oatmeal Exfoliating Scrub

1/2 c milk
oatmeal to make a paste
1 tsp honey

Now this one is great because I have SUPER sensitive skin, so I hate using all the chemically stuff. This didn't break out my skin or make it dry, itchy, red, or any of the above. I loved it! Anyway, just combine the ingredients into a paste, apply to face, gently press into skin and release. Leave it on until it dries, and feels like it's cracking. Rub off gently with a warm washcloth. Wait for a glorious, clean feeling on your face!

Exfoliating Body Scrub

1 c oatmeal
1 handful rose petals
1/2 c honey
1/2 cup epsom slats
1 Tbl warm milk
essential oil of choice ( I chose lavendar)

Blend ingredients in a bowl. Gently massage the mixture all over body. Draw a bath and soak in the tub for 20 minutes, allowing the mixture to dissolve from the body into the bath. Rinse any extra off, then moisturize. Get ready to feel great and relaxed!!

Now, I like to use these and especially the bath mix, with a nice candle and dim lighting. It just makes the experience so much more relaxing and enjoyable. Remember, you can mix it up a little and add things you enjoy to the mix for your own personal touches!

Flower Pattern

Today I'm giving you a new knitting pattern! I promised this one back on my headband page. This is the flower I use for my headbands, and it looks really cute. There are lots of flower patterns you can choose from, especially if you can knit and crochet (I don't yet know how to crochet), but this is one I got from my sister-in-law. She is an amazing knitter and taught me this flower pattern. It's really easy, and turns out really cute.

Let's get started.

Knit on size 8 knitting needles

Cast on 4 sts 

Row 1: (RS) Knit in front and back loop of first stitch (increasing one stitch), k3 (5sts).

Row 2: Knit in front and back loop of first stitch (increasing one stitch), p4 (6sts).

Row 3: Knit in front and back loop of first stitch (increasing one stitch), k5 (7sts).

Row 4: Knit in front and back loop of first stitch (increasing one stitch), p6 (8sts). 

Make 4 more petals (casting on the first four sts on the needle holding the prior petals).
Do not cut the yarn after making the fifth petal.

Row 5: Join petals by knitting 40sts. 

Row 6: (P2tog) across (20 sts).

Row 7: (K2tog) across (10 sts).

Row 8: (p2tog, p3 tog, p2tog, p3tog) (4 sts).

Cut yarn leaving a 5-inch tail. Thread yarn onto tapestry needle and run through the four sts. Pull tight and anchor thread. Fasten off and cut thread close to the flower.

Petals of flower may be lightly ironed or block them to flatten them a bit, but usually I am just adding it to a headband, so I sew it flat :)

Headband Pattern

Today I have decided to share my headband knitting pattern with you. Headbands are probably my favorite thing to knit, but I usually do them sort of free hand, so it took some time for me to actually sit down and figure out the pattern. Now, I get to share it with you! One other note: I do make my headbands with flowers, so that post will be up soon :) I have also done bows, buttons, feathers, and some other things. Basically whatever someone wants I attempt to do. This headband was the first one I ever made, and I made it for myself in case it didn't turn out well, but it did! It's black and gold for Purdue, of course, and I love it!

So, here it is!

Directions:

CO 9 st

Row 1 (RS): K1, P1 rib across

Row 2 (WS): P1, K1 across

Row 3: Repeat row 1
Row 4: Repeat row 2

Begin increase
Row 5: Work in rib until center stitch (on this row it is the 5th stitch), kfb center st, continue in rib to the end of the row
Row 6: Work in the rib knowing that you will have two purl stitches next to each other right in the very center of the row--this is fine as you will increase BETWEEN them on the next row. 

Row 7: Work in rib until the center, m1B, continue in rib to the end of the row.
Row 8: Work in the rib pattern

Row 9: Work in rib until center stitch, pfb, continue in rib to the end of the row
Row 10: Work in the rib knowing that you will have two knitl stitches next to each other right in the very center of the row--again, this is fine as you will increase BETWEEN them on the next row. 

Row 11: Work in rib until center stitch, m1F, continue in rib to the end of the row
Row 12: Work in the rib pattern

Repeat rows 5-12 until you have 19-21 stitches on your needle. 

Work in the rib pattern for 4” 

Begin the decrease

Row 1 of decrease (RS): (THIS ROW IS WORKED ASSUMING YOUR MIDDLE STITCH IS A KNIT STITCH AKA AN ODD NUMBER, IF IT'S A PURL STITCH, DO ROWS 5-8, THEN 1-4) Work in rib until 2 stitches before the center stitch, k2tog, pfb (this is the center stitch), k2tog, continue in the rib
Row 2: work in the basic rib pattern knowing that you will have two knit stitches next to each other in the very center of the row
Row 3: Work in rib until the two center stitches, p2tog, continue in the rib pattern
Row 4: Work in rib pattern
Row 5: Work in rib until 2 stitches before the center stitch, p2tog, kfb (this is the center stitch), p2tog, continue in the rib 

Row 6: work in the basic rib pattern knowing that you will have two purl stitches next to each other in the very center of the row--this is fine as you will knit the two of them together on the next row. 
Row 7: Work in rib until the two center stitches, k2tog, continue in the rib pattern
Row 8: Work in rib pattern

Work decrease rows 1-8 until you have 9 stitches on the needle. Then just bind off leaving a 4" tail on the end so that you can sew the ends of the headband together.

I then add a flower to the headband, which you can find here. I knit the flower, then sew it onto the headband wherever it fits well! 

Ask if you have questions.

 

Planning a Wedding, pt 5- Centerpieces

For my wedding, I wanted something vintage looking, but also something that displayed our personalities and interests. After browsing around pinterest and the internet I finally came up with something that I thought would do both of those things. The items I chose were books, old bottles, and lanterns. Now, the books in my mind needed to look old, with hard covers and minimal pictures and the bottles and lanterns needed to be old. As I continued in my journey of searching for ideas, I thought it would be fun to make the table names author names instead of number and try to match the books with the author names. Here is how they turned out!

These turned out exactly as I had hoped! They were old looking, simple, and reminded me of us. They were also very simple to do! (and cheap) The books were all borrowed from friends and family, with a few exception of books we thought looked cool at thrift/antique stores which are now used for decorating at our house. We basically spent less than $5 on the books. The lanterns were a little trickier because not many people have old looking lanterns, but we did find quite a few from friends and family and only have to buy about ten ourselves. We began perusing thrift/antique stores months before the wedding and found one here and there, and just made sure to stop and look each time we were near a store. We probably spent only $30 on lanterns all together, they are actually a pretty good deal at thrift stores ranging from $2-$10. Now the bottles were lots of fun, we had friends and family with lots of old bottles and mason jars which was extremely helpful and the rest we found at thrift stores like everything else. Glass bottles were a bit more expensive, but much easier to find. I had no idea when we began looking that bottles that they could be collector's items, so we had to be careful when looking not to pick out the expensive ones. All in all, I'd say we spent another $30 on the bottles as well. Doilies were the same way, except our families had them all. So, overall we spent under $100 on our centerpieces for 24 tables! That is a bargain, I must say :)

When choosing flowers, I told the florist to just give us stems of flowers matching the bouquets, and we would arrange them ourselves. I just wanted random arrangements of flowers, nothing super fancy because I like the more freshly picked, thrown in a bottle look, than an arranged look. 

So, once all that was planned and I had collected all my items. I arranged and rearranged everything I had into the centerpieces I liked, made the table names and tied them to random objects in the centerpieces. The last thing (and most helpful) I did was to take a picture of each arrangement and place the picture in a plastic bag with all the items necessary to create that centerpiece. That way, the day before the wedding when we went to set up, everyone could help. I also made a chart indicating where each table went. We literally set up all the tables, put water and flowers in all the bottles in less than two hours. It was so fun and quick, and no one got stressed out which was the best part!!

To see how people found their seats, check out my "escort cards" here.