Swaps are my thing

 

I'm hosting a swap this coming Saturday, Yippee! Anyone who knows me knows I love swaps. Free clothes and girlfriend time. Sign me up, I'll be there!

A few friends have asked the details of the infamous "swaps" so here's the way the swaps I've been to and host go down.

You go through your stuff and get rid of things you no longer love. Bring that stuff (clothing (all seasons)), shoes, jewelry, and other accessories to the swap, as well as a bottle of wine and or a yummy dish to share. I usually try to opt for something on the healthy/salty side, because there will be a ton of sweets, and balance is the name of the game, now isn't it?;)

You arrive and disperse your items as if you ran the shop. If I'm there I'll offer to do the job of going through your bag and setting up shop for you, so I can get first dibs on your cool stuff because I'll have already looked through the stuff that's there, of course. So you can get right into the shopping game. You can often try items on in the bathroom, but I usually just eye-ball it and if the piece doesn't work I'll swap it next go around.

We have no rules on how much you can bring or how much you can take with you. The leftover items are donated.

It's REALLY simple and super fun.

 I host a swap twice a year and get invited to a couple as well. Swapping saves us money, gives me some great free shopping endorphins, is a fun night with the gals and helps me clean out my closet! Win win all around! You should plan a swap soon!

My Charlie Brown Tree

 

I found these old dead tree branches in a field on our fall family shoot {I rescued them} I got them for a Thanksgiving "thankful tree" on which we hung circles of pretty paper with the things we're thankful for written on them. I've gotten attached to it. It was bare for a while and I liked the way it looked in our home. For Valentine's day I hung colorful heart cut outs, and for St. Patrick's day I cut out four leaf clovers to hang on it. Now, it has Easter eggs from the dollar tree, and paper circles my kiddos colored from a coloring book. It will be here until it starts to crumble...and then, I'm sure I'll hunt for another one. I'm diggin' the holiday tree idea! 

Cold Brewed Coffee

 

 
Happy Monday y'all! I'm blogging again. I've missed it. I've missed this fun community of the sharing types. I love being here with all of you. Thank you fellow bloggers that have emailed me and commented with concern. I'm here. Doing well. Excited about 2013.


Onto the title of this post...

 

I was introduced to  cold brewed coffee while we were visiting family over Christmas. My dear aunt uses the Coffee Toddy. Even though it's not very expensive, I thought I would see if I could find a way to make it without using the fancy contraption. So, after a short google search I cam across a post by Kimi on The Nourishing Gourmet.  Tried it, and  the Hubby and I loved it! Although, he still likes the traditional way too, I've made him several cups of the cold brewed stuff, and every time he tells me what a great cup of coffee it is. We won't be doing this way all the time, but it really is smooth! The smoothest cup of coffee you will ever taste. You coffee lovers try it and let me know if you agree.:)

Here's how I did it. Recipe taken off of The Nourishing Gourmet.

Cold Brew Coffee
1 1/3 cup of fresh finely ground coffee (Even cheap coffee tastes good using this method, but I recommend buying organic coffee beans, since coffee is a highly sprayed crop. I personally lean toward a medium roast bean)
4 cups of filtered water
1. Combine ground coffee and water in a mason jar or French press. Stir to combine well. Cover and leave for at least 8 hours, and up to 24 hours at room temperature.
2. Put a coffee filter in a fine sieve over a small mixing bowl or 4 cup measuring cup. Slowly pour coffee through the filter. (I used a little muslin bag) This is your coffee concentrate.
3. Keep refrigerated. To serve, dilute to preference. A one-to-three ratio is common (one-third coffee concentrate, two-thirds water). For a stronger cup of coffee, use a one-to-one ratio. I like to add a little almond milk. My husband likes to add a tablespoon or two of organic cream and just a little sweetener.
It will keep at least one week.
Yield: 4 cups of concentrate (makes at least 8 cups of coffee).

Life

 

Don't ya just love that? It's so true and so often we forget that everyone is dealing with some sort of struggle. My mom says, everyone is either going through tough time, just came out of a tough time, or they're about to go through a tough time. Life is hard. Full of ups and downs. We have to remind ourselves to breathe, relax and trust God. Man, that can be a challenge. I've been going though a really tough time myself. In fact August was HARD! Not going to share all of that right now, but I want to just say, if you're dealing with something hard in your life right now, know that God cares for you and LOVES YOU so much. That was one of the things that I held onto during this time. When you don't see your situation improving it's very easy to feel hopeless. But remembering that God loves me and will help me through this dark has been more than comforting. I encourage you to read your Bible. I love the Psalms when I feel discouraged. I just pick the date, so for Sept 19th, I read the 19th Psalm (something my parents taught me growing up.)

Also, a book that I'm still reading (I started it a year ago) is A Praying Life.  Hey, I'm a mom of three! Don't judge!;) It's amazing. The author is so humble and his stories are so encouraging. Plus, they really will help you believe in the power of prayer.

Another HUGE help was listening to encouraging music. K-luv radio in the car, Mercy Me radio on Pandora. I love Jeremy Camp's music. 

Let's hang in there people!  It's always the darkest before the dawn. 

And God is faithful, He will meet you exactly where you are!

new etsy ::coming soon::

 

Some of you may have noticed the "re-occur" tab at the top of my blog. well, that's my new etsy name! It's been a slow start. But I am really looking forward to getting back into making and creating. I miss my pretty- model- best pals in Maryland so much, but my pretty daughter will help me model and of course I'll take some self portraits, or maybe persuade my pretty gal pals here to model for me:)

My health issues have been holding me back and I'm tired of it.  So, I'm making a choice to get well and think positive thoughts. I'll let ya know how that goes.;)

I'm going to leave you with some awesome quotes by the  Swiss philosopher, Henri-Frédéric Amiel. 

Y'all  have a great weekend! We're gonna get caught up on some stuff and relax. Relax is the key word here!:)

"Learn to limit yourself, to content yourself with some definite thing, and some definite work; dare to be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not and to believe in your own individuality."

"Women wish to be loved not because they are pretty, or good, or well bred, or graceful, or intelligent, but because they are themselves".

baking soda

 

So much to tell you about.... But first, I have been meaning to share something from my "no-brainer" series. Yes, I have lots of those. They're things I do and find interesting, or at least worth sharing (in my opinion anyway) You may like it or you may say, yeah, that was of no use to me. Either way. here it is. I love baking soda. I love it in my homemade deodorant, I love it for cleaning fruits and veggies, water bottles and my kitchen sink. I used to never have it handy and would often forget I loved it so much. Until I found a way to have it at arms reach.:) I got a sugar shaker from the dollar tree, filled it with baking soda and keep it near my sink. So handy. Use it all the time. Sprinkle it on my veggies and fruits for cleaning, use it to clean out my sink, cast iron skillets, and water bottles. It's awesome. Hope you think so too!

  

new vintage threads and a tip for making them smell pretty too

 

I adore thrifting. Especially when I can find vintage numbers that are "in"- right now! I love a lot of vintage styles, but I don't have the space to store all my pretty finds that I might be holding onto for a few years. Okay, I have a couple pieces tucked away in hopes they return, and trust me. They will.

So, if you are a lover of vintage you know the smell that comes along with those old, but good threads.  Most of the time it's grody. But sometimes I like the smell. Ooo gross, I know. But it's kind of nostalgic, you're thinking nasty! yeah, I know. But you know the old book smell... if you like that smell then you know what I'm talking about. So, I like it for a min, but not to wear. I don't want my hubby smelling that musty vintage smell on me. no, sir. I hope he only smells my alfred sung.

ok.

Until this month's in style magazine I just let that smell wear off. It took a longtime, but now it's super fast. Just spritz that vintage pretty with some vodka and the next day it smells great! I wash mine before I wear it. I'm a lucky duck, both of those tops say machine washable. yippee!

Oh, and you don't have to use vanilla absolute, any cheap vodka will work! I just had that leftover and it's not that great in cocktails, so I'm happy I found a new purpose for it.:)