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On Weight Gain and Body Acceptance
Over the past few years, I’ve put on a lot of weight. It actually started with a medication that I had to take for bipolar disorder. One of the side effects was that I put on a few pounds. But it wasn’t until recently, when I got pregnant with my first child, that the weight really started to pile on. During my pregnancy, I was a bit overwhelmed at the rate at which I was gaining weight, and it was hard to prevent it from happening. I was constantly hungry, and as my pregnancy progressed, I replaced going to the gym with more leisurely walks because I was constantly winded…
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Reflections: My Difficult Yet Beautiful Journey Over the Past Few Years
It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog post. Lately, I haven’t had as strong of an urge to write. I used to constantly write blog posts and journal entries — it was how I processed my feelings as well as how I expressed myself to the world. Lately, my writing has just been the occasional journal entry after a major life event, to make sure that I remember important things and when they happened to me. I decided to give myself a bit of a push today and write about what I’ve been going through lately. In the past few years, I experienced a long series of…
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DIY Plate Collage
I adore the look of unique vintage plates. Some of them are so beautiful, they can stand alone as a work of art. Since I love plates so much, I decided to put my growing collection of them on display by creating a plate collage. A plate collage is a great way to add a unique and dimensional element to your space! Here are a few tips for designing your own: Lay out your plates in the desired pattern on the ground first. This gives you a chance to easily mix and match until you find the right look! Buy the right hardware for hanging your plates. I found mine…
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Furniture Flip: My Grandmother’s Vanity Makeover
When my grandmother passed away, I inherited her beautiful vintage vanity. I had always admired this piece, and was thrilled to have something lovely to remember her by. Unfortunately, during the time this vanity spent in her assisted living home it incurred some water damage on the surface. It was in need of some TLC. There were some serious cracks in the veneer on the top surface of the vanity. Fortunately, this was nothing a little Bondo couldn’t repair! I chose a pale turquoise blue for the paint color. Now my grandmom never would have painted this piece, preferring the look of natural wood. But the only way to mask…
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Thrifting and Decorating Require Vision
Here’s a common scenario for me: My husband and I are walking around on trash day. I’m distracted because I’m constantly looking at people’s trash for different items that I can salvage. A beat up dresser? Score! A coffee table with scratches all over the surface? Perfect! I’m often amazed at the things that people will label as “trash”, meanwhile other people are often amazed at the things that I’ll dig out of the trash and take home with me. Why is it that I’m able to look with such delight on something that looks forlorn and abandoned? When I look at a broken down piece of furniture, I’m not…
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Pink Lemonade Sangria
This delicious sweet and sour sangria is the perfect pink drink for a girl’s night in. I typically stir up a batch of this as a crowd pleaser when I’m having female friends over. Be forewarned: I like my drinks strong! This version packs quite a punch, so if you don’t like your drink quite so strong, switch the measurements to 1 oz of lemoncello and 1/3 cup lemon juice. Ingredients Directions Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker and pour over a glass with ice. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, grab two glasses, make your drink in one of them, and then pour from one glass to the…
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Finding Purpose in the Ordinary
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you. Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering.” Romans 12:1 The Message I read this passage a few days ago, and since then it has been the meditation of my heart. It really stuck out to me because lately, I’ve been experiencing a bit of boredom with my life. About two years ago, I was blessed with a new car, a new job, and then a new house and a great husband. As I enjoyed decorating my home and learning more about the man I…
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Experiencing the Abundance of God in Times of Pain
Some people don’t believe that I am an abundant God. They don’t understand the fullness of the relationship that I offer them. They don’t believe that material or spiritual blessings are for them. They live in fear of what pain they might endure in this life rather than the abundance I desire to give them. The truth is, I am an abundant God. As much as I can, I pour myself out to those who will allow me to do so. Sometimes this looks like material and relational blessings here on earth. You were created to be loved, and in a perfect world, love involves relationships and gifts and total…
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4 Compelling Reasons to Shop Secondhand
Anyone who knows me knows about my obsession with thrift store shopping. I’ve blogged about it many a time, and I can be found in a thrift store at least twice a week hunting down the latest fashion bargain. My mantra to find the best pieces is “shop often, buy seldom,” so I don’t always leave the store having made a purchase. This is how I can justify spending so much time in these stores — I only buy things that I absolutely love, but in order to find them I really need to invest time in looking for them. Thrift store shopping is more than just a fun hobby — shopping…
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Mango Lime Sangria
This past 4th of July weekend, I concocted a beverage that may be the best sangria I’ve ever made. That’s saying a lot, especially since this is made with white wine and I typically prefer to drink a flavorful red. The inspiration came from the fresh mangoes and excessive amount of limes that we had on stock in our fridge. The resulting beverage is light and refreshing — and tastes deceptively like fruit juice. Ingredients Note: For this recipe, I used fresh squeezed lime juice, and I purchased the mango juice and lemon juice in the bottle. I don’t have a juicer so fresh mango juice would’ve been a huge amount…