How to De-stress from a Stressed Woman.

From one of my recent posts, you may have gathered that it's been a bit of a rough patch for me this past month. It seems as though all that could be going wrong, is going wrong. And as I discussed in that post, it's God's way of bringing me back to Himself and helping me to refocus on the things that truly matter. If you want to read more about that, click here.

But this post isn't about reiterating that, instead I want to bounce off of that into ways that we can de-stress in the midst of hard things. I may not be an expert, but I am an independent, go-getter (AKA control freak) that goes and gets herself in over her head at times. I may be able to do five things at once, but I can't control my life. When I try, or things fall apart at the seams, I get stressed.

DIY Wedding #5: the Dress.

The past few weeks we've been talking about foundational things to consider such as the theme, venue, colors, & bridal party. But now it's time to consider "the dress." You may not need to be reminded, but it's easy to get caught up in the details and forget to take some time for you.

the Dress

What every girl dreams about in her wedding schemes, is the dress. I mean THE dress. It isn't just any dress, it's the ONE DAY ONLY dress that you'll say "I do" in and model in your $1,000 pictures. I don't say that to intimidate you, but these are the subconscious feelings that are ingrained in us ladies with the first Disney princess movie that we watch. It's a lot of pressure. How will you ever find that ONE dress?

Pins of the Week.

Believe or not, I actually wrote this post on Friday as intended, but apparently pushed "save" instead of "publish"--it makes all the difference! So sorry for the mishap--here are last week's favorite Pins!

Recipe

Some friends recently had us over for dinner and this was dessert. Oh man, was it tasty! It's a perfect "chilled" cake and super easy to make. Andrew was begging me for the recipe.

FREE Printables for your wall.

In loo of yesterday's post, I decided that it might be beneficial to make some encouraging reminders that look nice for the home.

I'm a lover of printables, especially if they're free. They work great with some cheap, painted frames from the thrift or Dollar store! So here are some of my favorite quotes and verses that help remind me that I live for a greater purpose than my own. 

Click on the pictures to snag the print link. Also, some of the PDF's may not fully show on the Google Doc, but if you download the picture it will print correctly. Enjoy!

What is the Point.

I've had this post sitting in my draft pile for over a month now. It's something that I've been processing through in the last few months, something I've been meaning to share, but haven't quite had the words to say. So it's been collecting dust. But yesterday, as I read the encouraging words that my good friend, Jacqueline at Raindrops on Roses, posted, it got me thinking.

It leads me to ask, "what is the point?"

I've always been a fan of transparency and so it's time to share some of my own. I don't mean to copy, maybe since we're both at similar stages of life--we think alike. But going off of what she said, with those same thoughts that have been tormenting me, I want to share with you the point.

DIY Wedding #4: What to Wear.

We left off last week with how to ask the people that you want to be in your wedding party. Now you're left with another mission to accomplish--choosing what everyone should wear.

Prior to engagement and even shortly after, I thought that I had this all figured out--but no, my friend, I didn't. Once I sat down and started looking--I realized that my initial plan wouldn't work or was too hard to achieve, I was also in love with several color palettes. Not to mention, halfway through the process--once everything has been sent out and purchased--I started to question the answers that I thought were so good in the beginning stages (but that was wedding stress--it ended up completely fine).

"Full of Sauce."

Last week I went to town on making my own variety of sauces and dressings. All in attempt to be frugal but primarily healthy. You make it, you know what goes in it. Granted not all of the following recipes are the most nutritious, but they taste delicious (and in our house are considered "weekend stuff").

Another perk of making your own sauce or dressing is that the recipes are considerate of your time and easy to make. These recipes call for things that you already have in your cupboards. So if you carve out an hour or so (including clean-up) on menu-planning day or baking day, or whatever day that you have, it's easy to include a little sauce in your life.

Most importantly, a good sauce or dressing is much needed in life. It adds flavor and substance to a good meal. And as Geoffrey Chaucer said,

"Woe to the cook whose sauce has no sting."

So, fellow cooks, allow me to share with you a few sauce recipes that possess sting.

DIY Wedding #3: the Wedding Party.

To define the wedding party, it's a combination of those people that are nearest to you, the best friends, sisters, and college roomies. They are the people that you know will keep you accountable in your marriage, the ones who will smile just as much as you--because you mean as much to them as they do to you, and those who, even if you haven't known since diapers, feel as though you do.

Pins of the Week.

(and just because I love Mr. Carson & Ms. Hughes) 

With Valentines Day on the horizon, I'm dedicating this week's favorite pins to this day o' love. As poor college students, we didn't make any elaborate plans--but that doesn't mean that it can't be special. Here's some ideas for you consider if you're on a tight budget this year, but have a special someone that you want to love up on. Whether you're crafty or not, I think you'll "love" these pins!

Free, Printable Valentines!

Hello all last minute card givers, penny-pinchers, and multi-taskers.

If you're like me, the concept of card giving for those sneaky holidays like Valentines, creep up before you even have a chance to think twice about it. Not to mention, most are a little expensive for those on a tight budget. And unless you have insane drawing skills, like Jacqueline over at Raindrops on Roses, you're left with nothing to give.

But wait, I have the solution! I searched Pinterest far and wide for good Valentines printables, and apart from kiddo central, there weren't any really cool ones that I would actually want to give. So, I made my own and I'm sharing them with you, for FREE.

Guest Post: Sarah Owen "How to Make Kick-Butt BBQ"

Cheryl and I go way back. I mean waaayyyy back to the years of awkward tween-ness that we would all rather forget. As much as we’ve changed over the years, though, she has always had a knack for art, writing, ingenuity and over-all craftiness. I’m privileged to be a guest on her blog and hope I can do it some justice. I hope you can glean something from my experience making one of the latest recipes I’ve discovered!

DIY: Light Box.

As a blogger, you find yourself taking lots of pictures--anything that you can blog about needs a good shot to go with it. I don't have the best camera out there, so I try to use good lighting and location to my advantage. Still, I don't prefer our speckled counter tops or tacky wood grain furniture to feature my latest creations for the blog. So I pursued other options, and there are many: fabric/paper backdrops hung from the ceiling, a unique surface like a wood cutting board, or just the all-natural.

DIY Wedding #2: What's your style?

 

We have already arrived at week #2 for the DIY Wedding Series, and as promised, it's all about the fun stuff! Generally speaking, how to pick and choose the fun details to make sure that your personality comes through on your wedding day. This is all about your style and how to represent that in your wedding's theme, colors, and venue.

Pins of the Week.

You may have thought that I eluded you this Friday (and in the midst of the craziness, I thought I might have to), but lo, and behold, a little chunk of time on Saturday night and I am making up for yesterday's missed post. So without further ado, here are my favorite Pins of the Week.

Printable

This particular printable has to be my absolute favorite. I am obsessed with this blog, French Press Mornings, and the stuff that she puts out. Each Wednesday, entitled, "Encouraging Wednesdays," she posts a new scripture printable, typically 4x6. Each one is uniquely different from the other, one more simplistic and another excessively artistic. I've already printed out each one available so far, and keep up every week. I use them in frames, particularly one large frame with no back, instead wire and clips to swap out new pieces, which hangs above my coffee bar. It's something to look forward to each week, and I love having a cute, artsy form of foundational truths hanging on my walls.