Why N Only Gets Chalk To Draw With

Those swirly lines are my son's art....on my chair and journal.  Chalk is a great investment.

P.s. so do you have a diary or a journal?

Yes Man...Okay Toddler

The other day Nolan was asking for some stickers.  Because I can just imagine stickers on everything I don't keep a stock but then I remembered! My magazines have those little sticker tags, and voila a happy little yes man. :)

You Say Tomato I say TomAto

For as long as I can remember I have not liked tomatoes raw.  The only exception being salsa.  I try them over and over and over again with different suggestions but I just could not get over the texture or when it came to grape tomatoes the explosion in your mouth.  But that was until today; this twenty sixth of July I have for the first time in my life enjoyed a tomato raw.

It started out as a test, a test of the new book I'm reading: French Women Don't Get Fat.
Pretty hefty statement if I do say so myself, but what the book focuses on is quality of food, freshness, savoring, portion control by distraction, and enjoyment.  It is the only weight loss book that suggests you find an exercise that you can do in your regular clothes!  She, Mrs. Guiliano, stresses that the plan if followed correctly will in fact be enjoyable and give you a deeper understanding of yourself, what you eat, and in the end a lifetime of pleasurable eating with a skinny waist.

Um, SOLD! Wait where is the catch?  Okay, here it is:
     1. You have to eat slow enough that your brain registers what you are eating, this is known to the European crowd as "savoring" your food.  If you have been eating crappy stuff you will start to notice. Stop eating crap and start eating quality food (p.s. most of all the fast food restaraunts serve crappy food, cook at home for the best food).
     2. You need to find your personal equilibrium when it comes to eating the weight gainers (i.e. sugar, bread, meat, fats, etc).  Really like dessert after dinner but already had a heavy lunch? Eat a light dessert and a light dinner (and yes she does give examples).
     3. Drink water, lots of it.

     4. Eat seasonally and eat more veggies and fruits.  Just like with my tomato, you need to try to buy food at it's peek, when it is it's best (no packaging or refridgeration for fruits).  This not only tastes better but is tons easier to prepare.  Take my tomato again, cut into cubes, sprinkled with salt, pepper, basil and a little olive oil, and then served with sourdough toast (not buttered) YUM!
And last but not least
     5. Try and find at least 20 min of walking or movement that you can do in regular clothes, every or every other day. If you prefer getting all sweaty for 30 min every other day, that's fine too.

So what do you think? Too good to be true, well lets try it out.  You read the book and I'll start on step one (making sure to right down everything that I eat and drink, and when and where I drink it). Then in two weeks we'll look over the findings.

Things to Savor

Unknown photographer

• Fruit and vegetables that have never seen a package or a refrigerator.
• A dog that is a lot like Nanny in Peter Pan. 
• Nap time.
• A good book on a long drive.
• Clean floors.
• Gardening in the early morning.
• A long run on a cool day.
• My son chasing butterflies and grasshoppers.
• My son loving his vegetables and fruit.
• Blues Clues and the games it inspires me to play with my son.
• Backyards. 
• A well crafted Latte.
• Throw blankets in automn.
• New cook books and the mouths they feed.
• Metor showers.
• Picnics in the living room. 
• Slow weekends.
• Fresh cut flowers
• Sharing stories with friends and family.
• Rainy days.

And so much more....

A peaceful heart

A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.  Prov 14:30 NLT

The Funky Forest

How cool is this! If ever I am in New York I will have to visit Moomah.  What a dream...

I love the stream or water that is on the floor.

For The Little Girl or Boy in your Life

A friend of mine found this site call A Happy Nest.  I love all the super cute play food ideas!
 P.S. She has a super cute studio as well.

KC Love!

I love the city I live in! My husband and I have stay-cationed at least twice and everytime we find new and wonderful things about Kansas City.  But I was thrilled to see that Design Sponge felt the same way!  Here is the wonderfully long travel for my wonderful city!

Closets & Thrift Stores

I hate it when you can't find anything to wear.  You try something on that looked great before but...it's too warm or doesn't seem to fitting the same (like that time of the month), or is suddenly out of style!  All of those reasons drive me crazy but none more than the last one.  Because suddenly you can't wear that shirt, pants, dress anymore in public! To avoid this I try and get the stylish basics, but I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping my clothing stock updated.  Working at a coffee shop and being a stay at home mom don't normally call for high fashion attire. 

I had felt like my closet was lacking in stylish clothes but it looked full.  It wasn't until one frustrating morning I decided to evicted my winter wardrobe.  "HOLY NO CLOTHES BATMAN!!"  Suddenly cardigans were a good half of the closet, a fourth was skirts and then another fourth t-shirts.  "Wow, I let myself go..."  But no more!  I was going to be stylish & fun!  AND under budget. :D

It is a well know fact that my sister and I rarely buy clothing full price.  Normally, we have a coupon, get it from the sales rack, or (and this is where we get the majority of our clothes) get it from a Thrift Store.  We are soo keen on Thrift store shopping that a $10 anything seems overpriced.

But before you go shopping there are a few things you need to do.
              1. Pray.    "And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing,  yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
    “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." Matt 6: 28-33
If you are like me your eyes rolled back into your head while your were reading this.  "Yeah, yeah the Bible is a great feel good book but seriously we are talking about SHOPPING!"  Also, my same thoughts...at first but I tell you what when God has his hand on my heart I feel the best and dress the best as well! Plus, who best to direct you to all the sales then the maker of the universe?!

        2. Do Some Research.    This helps you see what is in style and imagine what a shirt or skirt would look like as a piece of your wardrobe.  I like to look on sites like Pinterest or just save pictures of outfits that I really enjoy.  Others like to see what people around them are wearing, either way you need to get inspiration.

        3. Time.  Good thrift store shopping takes some time.  My last visit took a little over two hours in one store! The method is simple: go straight to the area where you need something.  (i.e. t-shirts, tanks, pants, etc.)  and go through that whole section as it pertains to your size.  I normally run from X-Small to Medium depending on the brand.  Don't over think your purchase just yet; if you like something on the rack throw it in the cart.  Once you have gone through all the areas of interest in the store, head to the fitting rooms.  Try on everything!  I knew a girl who refused to try on the clothes because she was a germ-a-phob and time after time things would not fit, lay right, the color was just wrong and she was stuck with it.

I know this sounds romantic but I want to fall in love with something before I purchase it.  It starts with the meeting, then you try it on.  I know I like something when I can think of tons of ways to wear it and I want to want to wear it over and over again, not just once to that one thing.  No my clothes are to have and to hold until the style changes or holes & stains set in. There have been times that I have looked at the $2 price tag and purchased something I didn't love and I just end up giving it away or back to the thrift store; what a waste of $2.  I can try on clothes at the mall for cheaper!

Here to come is the loot that I purchased from Jessy's and my last trip to the Thrift Store. But in the mean time this is a list of what I got:
Three pairs of  shoes
Two pairs of skinny jeans (one Delia's and the other Jeggings)
Two Pairs of Shorts (One Gap and the other Old Navy)
One Old Navy workout tank
One Alyn Paige dress
AND Eleven Tops ranging from Anne Taylor Loft to Bitten
For everything I spent $108.  (I still need to take all the pictures.)   My wardrobe has been revived and it is ten times easier to get ready in the morning and still look good!  I can't wait to share what I got and compare some of the looks to things @ JCrew! This is why I let God do the shopping!