Goodbye

It's been fun, but I've decided I'm done with blogging, at least for now.

Why?

-I originally started blogging to keep in touch with friends and family. We lived far away from most of our loved ones, and I was really lonely. After moving in November, we are just minutes away from Marshall's family and an hour away from mine. We are blessed to see them on a regular basis, and I no longer feel the need to keep them updated on our lives via blogging.

-In 10 months, I've had over 31,000 views but very few comments on blog posts. Even if we hadn't moved closer to friends and family, blogging wasn't really helping me connect to anyone. It was as if I was putting all kinds of time into posts that were being sent out into a void. The comments I do receive are usually from spammers... major letdown!

-After posting a few DIY projects, I could see that those posts were getting a lot more attention. I changed my focus from keeping up with family to putting out content that people wanted to see. I would have been doing these projects anyway, but it takes hours to take pictures along the way, edit them, write up a post, etc. That results in keeping up with all kinds of people who I don't know and not having the time to keep up with my family. Sounds kind of backwards, right?

-I don't want to go through life always on the hunt for new blog post material. While we were on vacation, I found myself thinking about what my next post would be or which pictures would be blog worthy. And then I thought, "What is wrong with me? I should just be enjoying this for what it is right now!"

I will not be shutting down the blog. I realize that there are a lot of tutorials that have gone crazy on pinterest, and I want to keep the blog up so that people can always find the information they need. At the moment, I'm not planning to post anything new. But who knows, maybe I'll get the itch someday.

Thank you to everyone who subscribed and for those who did leave comments! It always put a smile on my face to see that we had a new follower or someone who was interested in a project. I'll still be able to receive e-mails and comments, so if you have a question about an old project, don't be afraid to ask away!

IKEA Magazine File Knock Off

Do you ever refrain from buying something that you don't need and then end up needing it almost as soon as you walk out of the store? That seems to be the story of my life.

I spotted some fabric covered magazine files last year at IKEA that I really liked, but I didn't need them at the time. I do get a few magazines in the mail, but I don't hang onto them for long and didn't need the extra storage.

About two weeks after that trip to IKEA, Marshall accepted his position here as a pastor, and we moved to our current home. Do you know how much mail a pastor gets?! And how many magazines?! I kept thinking to myself that I wished I would have bought those magazine files when I had the chance.

We don't have an IKEA nearby, and even if I did, the magazine files I had my eye on have been discontinued. I was able to find a picture of them on the internet, though, so I decided to make my own.

The inspiration:

IKEA's Kvarnvik Magazine File

We recently ordered some photobooks from MyPublisher (I highly recommend them- much better quality than other photobooks we've ordered!), and the boxes they came in were the perfect size.

I started by cutting the boxes to the shape I wanted.

Then, I laid the box down over some burlap. I cut out around the outline of the box, leaving about an inch extra all the way around.

I hot glued the burlap to the sides of the box and then doubled the edge over and hot glued it to the inside of the box. That gave it a nice, finished look.

And the final product:

So much for discontinued!

Kefir Mint Julep

Ok, so we are those people...



... you know...



...the kind that soak their grains, drink non-dairy milk, avoid the "dirty dozen," and have water kefir culturing on the kitchen counter.

Yes, we thought only weird people did those things, but after doing lots of research, well.... We think it's weirder not to at least try to eat the healthiest food possible. Bring on the kefir!

Confession: Water kefir does not have a pleasant taste.

Marshall likes it, but I have to disguise it to make it palatable. We make water kefir by the quart, and I like to make mine into Kefir Mint Julep. I've never actually tasted alcoholic Mint Julep before, so I'm using my imagination here. Humor me.

Kefir Mint Julep
1 quart finished kefir water
1 mint tea bag
1/4 C bottled lemon juice
1/4 C stevia

Place tea bag in a coffee mug and add just enough boiling water to cover it (about 1/3 C). Steep for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add lemon juice and stevia to the kefir water.

Add the concentrated tea, and mix well.

Sometimes we skip the mint tea and just make kefir "lemonade." It's pretty tasty, too. If you have any kefir recipes, I'd love for you to share them in the comment section below!

Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Do you remember my Key Lime Cupcakes? They were a party in my mouth.

As I was enjoying one of my cupcakes, the thought occurred to me that I could try it with lemon.

And strawberry filling.

And Strawberry Lemonade Cake was born. Mmmmmmm! I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate finishing up my spring cleaning.


Strawberry Lemonade Cake
{click to print}


2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
2/3 cup bottled lemon juice
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
strawberry jam (for filling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.

Add the eggs, oil, lime juice, and yogurt. Mix until well blended.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool on wire racks. Using a rubber spatula, remove cakes carefully from the pans. Set the bottom cake layer on your cake plate or stand. Spread half of the jam evenly over the cake. Add another layer of cake, and spread the remaining jam on top. Add the top cake layer, and frost.

Lemonade Frosting
1 C butter, softened
4 C powdered sugar
2 t vanilla extract
4 T bottled lemon juice
yellow food coloring, optional


Cream the butter until smooth.

Add one cup of powdered sugar and mix well.

Mix in vanilla, lemon juice, and food coloring.

Add remaining powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Beat until smooth.

Singin' in the Rain Printables

I noticed quite a bit of rain when I checked the forecast last week, and do you know what? After all the snow we got this winter, it's kind of a relief. Here is a fun, free printable that just might give you a lift on a rainy day.

{click to print}

And here's another one, because you can never have too many matching printables!

{click to print}

Let's just hope all this rain brings May flowers...

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