Electrical Tape + Stripes

So I came across this creative DIY on Emily A. Clark's blog and I had to share it. Totally awesome idea! Camila at Effortless Style used electrical tape to make temporary stripes on her walls. She found 2 inch tape on Amazon.com. I am thinking could put a thinner 1/2 inch or 1 inch stripe on each side of the 2 inch as well to add more detail and variation. Fun idea for a temporary solution!

photo taken by Camila, found via her blog.

Check out Camila's blog and her post for the how-to with some great instructions/tips and photos!

Spicy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

One of my goals for 2012 is to photograph my cooking more and share it on the blog. I think I already told you that. Oh well, in case you didn't pay attention the last time. 


So, today I have my second attempt at soup in my entire liftetime. My first was chicken + rice soup. Well, I decided to try my hand at making Tortilla Soup and had found this recipe on pinterest. The recipe is by Laura Flowers and you can find her blog here. 


Spicy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons sweet paprika
(I didn't have this spice so I just omitted it. It still rocked!)
2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons light colored oil (I wasn't sure what this meant so I used canola oil)
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (4 ounce) can diced mild green chiles, drained
2 (10 ounce) cans RoTel Diced Tomatoes with Lime & Cilantro (my store didn't have these I just found some similar diced tomatoes)

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 (32 ounce) containers Swanson Organic Vegetable Broth (I used chicken for more flavor, but that would void the whole vegetarian thing if you care. Its also what I had on hand)

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of 1/2 a lime

1. In a small bowl mix together cumin, sweet paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, coriander, salt and black pepper. Set aside.

2. In a large pot heat the oil over medium high. Add the onions and bell peppers. Sauté until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the spices and garlic; cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add the green chile peppers, RoTel, corn and vegetable broth. Cook until warmed through. Add the black beans and cook for 2 minutes before serving. Squeeze in lime juice. Serve in bowls and garnish as desired.

Garnish Ideas

Tortilla chips

Shredded Cheddar, Mexican blend or Cotija cheese
Diced Avocado

Chopped cilantro

Sour Cream

Hot Sauce

Recipe and photograph by Laura Flowers.


* If you don't mind skipping the vegetarian part (I like it because there are more vegetables, but I add back in the meat) I also bought a rotisserie chicken and shredded the breasts and added that in to entice the hubby too. I think it helped. There are only a few things I've made that are vegetarian that he approves of, oh maybe just one (I haven't made too many) Black Bean + Feta Tacos, which I made this past week. He actually really loves them. He said he woke up the next morning thinking about them. I'll share that one soon! You can find it on my pinterest page too!


Here's my lame attempt at photographing my culinary skill with my iPhone. Oh and the fact that I forgot to photograph until the end (and actually the finished product in the bowl isn't from the original go, I was too hungry to fuss with details and a photo. I made an entire pot for well, me. Ryan IS NOT a soup fan at all. However, I begged him to at least try it so he did, and with his permission, he "thought it was tasty". That's pretty good for him. I even got G to eat it for dinner too so it must be good. I froze the rest of it (sans leftovers for a couple lunches) and then thawed it out today and had some for lunch. It was just as good 2 weeks later!

Doing its thing on the stove "warming"... This soup is so easy and seriously SO DELICIOUS!

This soup is all about the garnishing! Avocado, chips, sour cream, cheddar cheese, fresh lime juice, and cilantro!

Oh, and in case you aren't familiar with these chips, Juanita's Tortilla Chips are the MOST AMAZING tortilla chips out there and they are cheap too! Seriously guys, this is no joking matter. Try them and you won't ever buy another chip out there. They also happen to be manufactured in Oregon. Take that!


Here's a link to Laura's original post with the recipe. She offers a printable link too! I'll be checking out her cooking some more, you should too! You can find the recipe and link on pinterest too, click here.

"Creating" + Repurposing Clothes

So I've had some goals for 2012 on my mind. In fact, I wrote a lengthy post for the blog and still haven't published it. I guess I'm still trying to get a grasp on how this year might go. Wait, what do I know? 2011? Hello! Of course I have NO idea. Ok, I'll narrow down those goals soon, I guess I just need to figure out which will make the most difference for me and my family.


Well, the first I am definitely taking on has been in the works and is really a more broad goal. In 2012 I want to BE CREATIVE. I want to do more things to invoke and inspire my creative mind. Every time I step into the realm of "creating" I feel passion and excitement burn within me. I feel alive and I feel joy and happiness. I was reminded of this when reading a blog this morning. I came across this photo:

Lauren Moffatt (above) made her daughter’s dress from a women’s shirt from H&M.
photography by Kelly Stewart image via The Glow.

I have had that shirt. I bought it at H&M a while back and never wore it. I didn't try it on before I bought it mistake #1 especially because the closest store is 2+ hours away. Anyway, it didn't fit well and I'd have to wear a shirt underneath. It sat in my closet forever until I finally gave it to DI with the tags still attached (that doesn't happen very often). Well, then I saw this photo and I'm obviously kicking myself. How genius and cute! Well, at least it got me thinking. I ran to my room and started ravaging through my give away bag. I pulled out three pieces of clothing that have great prints and would be fun to turn in to adorable baby/girls clothing. It made me realize that I need to rethink and develop a more creative mind and look at how things can be repurposed instead of seeing their existence isolated to their current state. 

So, my desire to take sewing lessons and be able to do more than sew a straight stitch (which has limited me to making pillow covers). I love that it will feel like something new and it is definitely creative. As for what girl/baby will wear them, I don't know. I'll worry about that once I actually make some items. 

I plan on doing more "creating" in the kitchen this year! I'm still totally enamored with cooking and I want to get into it even more. I want to get more confident in my cooking skills and be able to move away from recipes and more into creative/thoughtful cooking. I want to be inventive and I think that will come with time and more experience in the kitchen. This dream/goal came a little late in life. I wish it had come before my Grandma passed away because she was a phenomenal cook and didn't need a recipe. I lost out on that gift from her, but maybe, just maybe she can teach me a thing or two from heaven. I hope my cooking makes her proud. 

I also want to continue trying my hand out with art. I want to learn more about acrylics and I want to start discovering watercolors. I absolutely love the creative zest that I feel when I paint! I'm not good at it yet, but I want to get to where I can create art I love for our home.

Other things I have on my mind to create in 2012: 

1. a baby, duh! 

2. a new beautiful home for our family using what we already have and only adding in some of the foundation pieces as we can afford them.

3. I want to create more musical opportunities for our family, to bring piano and music back into my life, maybe start teaching again if G and our family life permits it. I had to stop teaching piano this past fall because of G's needs/stage in life.

4. Lastly, I want to create more financial freedom for myself and my family. I have been praying to overcome my impulsive and emotional shopping problem and to free myself from that grasp I feel on me be spending and buying something because I like it and want it. I started out 2011 on a budget for these miscellaneous purchases and I did good for almost 3 months, but then Ryan left for his residency for 9 weeks and I caved and never got back to tracking my expenses and setting limits. 

p...p...pinterest

So, its the latest craze, pinterest. In blog land this week I read that its being compared to crack and its addictive powers. Hum... I'm not gonna try that one out, I'll take their word for it. He he! Funny how things come and go with technology. Remember that social networking site pre-Facebook? I was thinking back on it and couldn't remember what it was called. Oh ya...MySpace. I wonder if it still exists. LOL! I should find out and delete my profile, if I still remember the password, oh gosh and I don't have that email account any more.

What are you thoughts on the matter? Does it have you sucked in? I have my days, but generally I don't go out doing searches so I'm only seeing the pins of those boards I've subscribed to. I also like to add new content instead of just endlessly clicking "repin" although I don't have a problem with that either.

I really try to only pin images I intend to actually apply in the real life world here. I've done pretty good about actually using recipes from my "food" board. I have only yet to actually delete 2 pins because I didn't care to make that recipe a second time. Others have become part of our favorites and I've made 3+ times already.

Another category I actually revisit and that is helpful is my "style" and "face" boards. I pin outfit combos and ideas and actually have duplicated or used some of the as inspiration for my own wardrobe. I do, however, feel very unoriginal with pinterest around. I guess though I have never claimed to be an original and I'm glad that it is there to help spark creativity and more imagination and change into my lame unoriginal mind.

The category I haven't used much of yet, but obsess over are those relating to home, interior design and decorating. There are quite a few of them. I drool over those interiors, someday! I blame it on the eventual move and thus my lack of desire to make changes to the current state of things. I'm excited to get use out of that one as soon as we set foot in Oregon! I have used it as a resource for blog material here on the ol' blog, as you know.

I also am looking forward to using my "words" board as a jumping off point for our next home. Ryan loves inspirational quotes and I want to have more of them around the house.

Lastly, I've been thinking about primary and secondary sources and college research papers. Lame I know, but I've been thinking about copyright and plagiarism and how it plays out on the world wide web these days. I just read on Pinterest's Etiquette that you should site original sources. Hah that doesn't happen hardly ever. I pledge to do better, especially when I reference it here on the blog instead of being lazy and such.

So the big question of the day is:

Do you actually use any of the pins in your everyday life? Or are they just eye candy that you see once and never see again? What have been some of your favorite pins?

Are you totally ok with being "addicted" and wasting endless hours? I definitely find myself clicking that link at the top of my browser that takes me straight to pinterest land. Its just so purdy and idealistic isn't it! I'll leave it at that and be back soon with a spiritual take on this thing called pinterest, after I put myself to the test!! Oh boy!

Please, share your thoughts with me!

*pinterest logo used with permission.

decorating a rental: fabric + starch wallpaper method

Well, we are back home from Oregon with a sick little G. Poor dude. He has his first official fever. He slept the first 3 hours in his own bed and ended up in ours the rest of the night. Just hoping we can all avoid getting what he's got. I feel bad that he was with my family this weekend while R and I were in Oregon.

I can't help but check craigslist and google for rental listings. We came home with one prospect we are waiting to hear back on but not much else. Its got a few negatives but we both agreed it would meet our needs and has some good positives. We both feel hopeful that something is going to work out. I love that peace that comes, but then I hate just not knowing and having to be patient! I will be grateful for the peace and continue doing our best.

What we did come home realizing is that we need to get up to Oregon sooner than later for R's new job and so we have to kick our booties into gear! Looks like our goal is a start date of March 1st and thus moving the end of February. If we can't find the rental by then it will be pushed back, but that is the goal. So much to do, too much to do! I may have to stay behind with G and finish business here with the house.

Now, to go to the point of this post. Looking at rentals got me down, seriously down. It was as if you'd find one with a great interior and a great exterior, shoot we couldn't even find one with the goods going on inside and out. It was one or the other, or neither! Since every single one we looked at had a little eye sore going on somewhere, I thought I'd do some more research on fixing up rentals and those temporary ways to improve life. So here's what I came across when I searched temporary wallpaper on pinterest:

Source: remodelaholic.com via Stacy on Pinterest

Kitchen Backsplash fix using fabric + starch! The above photo is from Liz at The Chronology of Him and Me. This would be so inexpensive and you can customize the fabric choice! When I saw the above photo on pinterest, it reminded me that Jenny at Little Green Notebook had posted a while back on the same topic. Here is a link to the post with how-to details.You can search "fabric wallpaper" on her blog and there are several other photo examples too. She is a great inspiration for may DIY home projects. The starch method allows it to be temporary. Anyone actually have experience doing this and then taking it down? Any leftover evidence? I read starch attracts bugs, hum that could be a problem!

This solution could have come in handy with about a third of the houses we viewed.

What has your experience been with renting and walls? Did your landlord allow you to paint walls as long as you painted back to their original color when you moved? What about asking to paint over existing hideous paint jobs (without using that term obviously). Oh life's dilemmas!

Check out my previous post with ideas on temporary fixes and ways to decorate a rental here. More to come on that subject! Any great suggestions, send them my way!

Lovely Lines

Source: gorgeousshinythings.blogspot.com via Stacy on Pinterest

Does this photo remind you of another I posted recently? It got me all excited! Remember this one I included in my post on decorating a rental here with my thoughts on a DIY version this with tape as a temporary form of wallpaper?

Source: google.com via Stacy on Pinterest

I saw it posted on pinterest by Amber from Amber Interiors. She mentioned a DIY of the sofa but with gold instead of pink and I think that is a lovely suggestion! I absolutely love her blog and her style, check it out!

The top photo also reminds me of another fun DIY paint on upholstery that I've been mentally hanging onto via pinterest. What do you think? Flicking paint always sounds wonderful! We could all use a little more Jackson Pollock in our lives!!

Source: tphblog.com via Stacy on Pinterest

What have you been painting these days? Any fun DIY applications?

Eugene...Eugene!

Source: etsy.com via Stacy on Pinterest

We're visiting Oregon this weekend, Eugene to be more specific. Its crazy because its the first time we have been here and known that it will be our "home". It really hasn't set in. On the drive up here Ryan turns to me and said, "I'm homesick." Me too! We were only a mere 4 hours into the drive and ready to turn back (and we are only gone 3 days). Then there is the part of me that is excited! New city to discover, more services for G, more dining choices, closer proximity to shopping and schools, and most importantly, Ryan's new professional opportunities, the reason for the move. The traffic here is awesome! Even their 5 o'clock traffic is easily manageable. I haven't gotten my bearings straight yet, can't tell you which way is north and that is something I usually NEVER have a problem with. There are more freeways to figure out (2-3, versus 1) and honestly the most frustrating thing about this trip has been our darn GPS. We wrote down a list of homes to scout out and we seriously went all over the valley! It took us all over and through more back roads and away from freeways (the most direct route). I miss the good ol' days of maps, kind of.

After 3 unsuccessful stops we found a 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. It was my first time and I have to say I enjoyed it and actually think maybe the burger was better than In-n-Out's burger but nope, only because of the spread at In-n-Out. I am a spread/sauce freak so that won out. I did looooooove their fries and ate way too many, but then again they left me desiring my 2 packets of spread to dip those lovelies into. So, #1 NOT on the list of restaurants/stores in Eugene is In-n-Out. Boo hoo, sigh! Another reason to visit home though!

The trip only took us 6 hours. It could have been a little shorter sans the short stop to eat at Subway in Medford. It was, however, done without G in tow so that changes things but I'm hoping it won't really. With him it has often taken us 6 1/2 or 7 hours because we end up sitting down at a diner or little nicer place other than Subway, but I want to get good at quick stops. I also didn't need a potty break other than Medford so that was VERY exciting! Its amazing how your body can finally heal up and improve after childbirth when it get 3 years instead of cramming those babies in closer together. (Hey I've got to find the blessings in delayed babies somehow!)

Well, we are off to scour the rental scene, which is bleak and depressing. I had way to many disappointments and then some birthday shopping for my dad that in which I came out empty handed as well. I told Ryan that I don't take walking out of a place/store empty handed well. It is depressing. So, I insisted that we had to go to the mall. Did I mention I'm trying to break that shopping problem this year. Yep. Not good! Fortunately I felt very content as I walked through and perused the stores. I didn't have really any desire. Awesome! We'll see how long this lasts for. I'm having to pray my little heart out to resist, but I know the Lord will help me to focus more of my life on the things that really matter. I did, however, snatch up a little bright goodies at the MAC counter in Macy's.

Source: rosesarewild.tumblr.com via Stacy on Pinterest

I found this image on pinterest and its been on my mind ever since. I needed some orangey-red goodness! If only I would have felt more glamorous walking out of the department store if I didn't have fuzzy teeth from forgetting my toothbrush at home. Yuck! Thankfully we found one on clearance at Albertson's for 67 cents. Bargain! Oh and did I mention the high here finally got to like 48 degrees, but it stayed in the 30s for more of the morning/early afternoon? Sometime during the frigid hours I heard Ryan mumble something like, "Now I know how the pioneers felt!" I laughed and then we obviously reminded each other this was NOTHING like what they experienced, but when the average temps at home this January have been in the 70s, 40 degrees colder is brutal!