around here.

^ i finally feel good about our gallery wall - it's finished!

^and this is my favorite part of the gallery wall. i found her thrifting one morning. isn't she lovely? scofield doesn't understand why we would have a woman we don't know on our wall. i always tease him and say "well, i could be related to her..." but really, she's a reminder. a reminder of feminine beauty, in all its curves and glory. she's natural, full, and beautiful. and then, of course, there's part of me that wishes i lived in that era and could wear extravagant gowns and have long, luscious hair like that.

^so many places in the world i'm dying to travel...maybe i'll get to visit them one day.

^my plant has seen better days, but hey, she's hangin in there.

i hope you're having a lovely week!

windy gap youth retreat

over the weekend, i had the privilege of leading a cabin of twelve middle school girls on our church's middle school retreat. [yes, i said twelve. and yes, i said middle school...] scofield spoke during our first session, friday night, and then made a few appearances in the skits throughout the weekend. it was really special to lead together, and to get to watch him in his element. 

^ i mean, this camp is beautiful...i grew up coming here with my family when my dad was on young life staff. i also came here as a camper in middle school and high school. it definitely brought back some nostalgic memories...like the time my husband and i really connected for the first time late high school at summer young life camp.

 ^sure, it was beautiful, sunny, and 60 degrees out...but some crazy kids decided to jump in the still ice-cold lake, go down the water slide, or do the zip lip into the lake. crazy, i tell ya.

^ one of my best friends from college is an intern at the camp, and she was there working the snack bar. eeeeek, it was the best getting to see her and hug her neck!

^ and what is a middle school retreat without playing crazy field games, like this "pass the kid on the mattress game"....

^...and this big group tug-of-war.

^ group picture - me and my cabin of girls! love every single one of them. thanks for a fun weekend, guys! you always keep me entertained!

healthy homemade granola

i've always loved trying new flavors of granola at the grocery store. but what's even better, i've had fun experimenting in the kitchen and making flavor combinations of my own. 

not only is homemade granola so easy to make, but i can control the amount of sugar and additives that go into it. i've slimmed down on the sugar with this recipe by adding just a touch of maple syrup and brown sugar. most of the sweetness comes from the dried fruit.

healthy homemade granola

ingredients:

• 3 cups rolled oats [not quick oats]
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, raw
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, raw
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, grade a
• 1/4 cup canola oil 
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup dried cherries
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried goji berries

preheat the oven to 350 F. line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl. in a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and sugar - maple syrup, vanilla extract, canola oil, and brown sugar. mix to fully incorporate. pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix to fully coat. pour the granola mixture onto the parchment paper and spread out across the cookie sheet. bake in the oven for 24 minutes, until golden brown. flip and stir half-way through the cooking.

remove and let cool. the granola will harden as it cools. once cooled, transfer to an airtight container and fold in all the dried fruit. enjoy!

clothes swapping party

over the weekend some girlfriends of mine hosted a 'girls night out [but really in] ' party. it was so great getting to meet some new faces from our community and getting to know others a little better. we ate, mingled, played some games, and 'shopped.' my favorite was the "get to know you game" where we went around in a circle and gave our name (yada, yada, yada) but then also gave our favorite youtube video. this conversation could have gone on for hours... oh, the fun of youtube. mine was definitely what does the fox say. it makes me laugh every.single.time. and i wouldn't be lying if i said my husband and i listened to it eight times on the way home from dinner last weekend. eight. and then we downloaded it on itunes and listened to it some more...

^check out all those goods. my favorite piece i brought home was a pleated black maxi skirt. i've been looking for one of those! score!

^ char and abby..the lovely hostesses.

 ^ char made soup for dinner, and every one else brought a side item to go along with it. i brought brownies...of course...

 ^ playing a game of heads up. have you tried it!? it's super fun [i mean, ellen degeneres made it up, how could it not be?] and you can download it straight to your phone. it's basically a game of charades, but on steroids. it's the best.

thanks char and abby for such a fun night! can't wait to do it again!

weekend things.

 ^relaxing in bed ... definitely wish there was more of this!

 ^ oh you know, always baking...

^some friends hosted a 'girls night in' clothes swap party. there's nothing like cleaning out your closet and then replenishing it with new goodies! and on the right...my husband took me to genghis grill to eat a stir fry dinner, and oh.my.gosh. so good. like explosion in your mouth, "i want to eat here for every meal every day" kind of good. found my new favorite hot spot.

^cauliflower fried rice [apparently i was in a stir fry mood this weekend?] yum!

 ^ and i've been working on some homemade granola. i shared this recipe on craft box girls, and i'll be sure to share another version here, soon!

hope your weekend was full of yummy moments!

vegetarian sloppy joes

i have this fond memory of eating sloppy joe's as a child. of course, this was before my vow to vegetarianism. but nevertheless, i loved them. we would always eat them at the beach for some reason. playing in the sand and water all day with my cousins, and then sloppy joe's for dinner. what more could a kid ask for? i'd always ask for seconds, which was super unusual for me [my parents couldn't get me to eat anything]. so now, here i am, 20 years later, taking another spin at these sloppy joe's...vegetarian style.

vegetarian sloppy joe's

serves 2 [double the recipe for larger families]

ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 block extra firm tofu, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 14 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes (from a can)
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• salt and pepper, to taste
• hamburger buns (i used udi's gluten free)

heat the olive oil on medium heat on the stove top. add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent and the garlic has a slight brown tint. add the mushrooms, tofu, kidney beans, and pepper and continue to cook. next, add the wet ingredients - ketchup, crushed tomatoes, vinegar, and soy sauce. stir to mix evenly, and continue to cook. finally, add the spices and the sugar. cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes with a wooden spoon. spoon directly on a hamburger bun and top with oregano [dried or fresh], if desired. 

serve with sweet potato fries or your favorite vegetable [broccoli for me!] for a full, balanced meal. and trust me, the meat eaters in your house won't even know the difference.

enjoy!

snow day

...but really it was more like snow days. last week, we had the biggest snow i've ever seen. tuesday through thursday it snowed and it was the most glorious thing. waking up and looking outside at all white was magical. we sat by the fire for three days straight, drank coffee, and worked from home. i couldn't have been happier! seriously...snow down here in the south is a huge treat. 

^all of our firewood, covered in snow!

^look at all that white - my favorite!

between the polar vortex earlier this winter, this snow storm, and the earthquake in sc that followed, this has been the craziest winter! i've loved every bit of it, but spring, i'm ready for ya!

happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day! my man and i are off to dinner to celebrate tonight. we've been cooped up in the house for three days with all this snow, so we are super excited. and i don't think i can think of a better thing to celebrate than love. it sure is a gift!

what are you valentine's day plans!?
xoxo

valentine's day gift guide

i love any reason to buy things for my husband, so you better believe i take full advantage of all 'holidays.' but as much as i love shopping for my man, it's always a bit of a challenge for me. i still don't understand why anyone would need five pocket knives or the whole james bond series. but hey...i'm learning. so i've put together a little practical valentine's gift guide 'for him' if you are stumped like i so often am. i know my husband can always use some extra shirts in his closet, and how about those "balls of steel" whiskey chillers - they chill your drinks without diluting them and a percentage of proceeds goes toward testicular cancer research. pretty awesome, right? and of course i can't leave out gifts 'for her.' i am absolutely loving the 'i love you' print and the gold chevron necklace. i also firmly believe you can never own too much pink lipstick...

for her: 1 - etsy print | 2 - gold chevron necklace | 3 - polaroid love notes | 4 - little black dress | 5 - lovin' spoonfuls set | 6 - mac 'candy yum yum' lipstick | 7 - minimalist teardrop earrings | 8 - hand painted greeting card

for him: 1 - antique map | 2 - leather pocket journal | 3 - vintage leather messenger bag | 4 - cherry gingham bow tie | 5 - beard oil | 6 - balls of steel whiskey chillers | 7 - ray-ban aviator sunglasses | 8 - heart boxers | 9 - leather fossil watch | 10 - vintage flannel shirts

diy oversized gold 'no sew' bow

for my recent valentine's dessert party, i made and wore an oversized gold bow, which you can see here. it went perfect with my color scheme - gold and pink. i've always had a thing for extra large hair pieces. just look at my wedding pictures and you can see this is true - all my bridesmaids had them in. and right now, i'm going through a serious gold phase. we recently bought a gold standing lamp and i'm trying to practice self control when it comes to gold spray paint [i want to paint everything]. so put those two together, and you've got yourself a giant gold bow.

there is no sewing involved with this bow, which is an added bonus for me. i would have no idea what to do with a sewing machine [although i would love to learn!]. the supplies are simple...all you need is: gold tulle fabric [you can get it from any craft store like michaels], scissors, glue sticks, a glue gun, and a hair clip, which can also be found at a craft store.

directions: 1. cut the tulle into a 20 x 15 inch square. 2. fold it into thirds by first folding the top side down to the middle, and 3. folding the bottom up over the top. you should now have a long rectangle. 4. fold each end of the rectangle into the middle so that the edges touch each other.

4. keeping everything carefully in place, flip the bow over and pinch it in the middle to make a bow shape. then, 5. pull out that glue gun and glue glue glue. you'll want to glue it where pinched so that it holds its shape when you let go. you might have to do a couple of rounds of glue, letting it dry in between.

6. next, cut a strand of tulle, about 6 x 2 inches, and wrap it around the center of the bow. wrap it tight to ensure the bow stays in place. the tulle stretches so you may be able to cut some off before glueing in place in the back. 7. once the strand is in place, grab the hair clip and hot glue it to the back of the bow.

there you have it! a huge statement bow for your valentine's day fun. enjoy!

'date night is' feature

date night is is an awesome website full of dating ideas for couples. it's a great asset if you are looking for fresh, creative, or local dates. they recently did an interview with scofield and i about our relationship and favorite dates, which you can find here. and if you don't have any plans for valentine's day yet, i'm sure you'll find tons of inspiration on the site. my favorite feature is that you can type in your city, and a list of date ideas in your area pops up!

thanks for the feature, date night is..!