Snow Place Like Home

Snow Day

I LOVE snow... no, seriously! I can't even recall the number of sleepless nights spent in anticipation since my childhood. Growing up in the south, you learn to really appreciate the stuff, even if it is only a dusting. I can remember many groggy mornings spent in front of the television waiting for the weatherman to announce school closings. 

You would think that as I've grown up, I would have learned to complain about it like 90% of the population. Not the case! My inner child still forces me to check my phone constantly for wintry updates. So it's no surprise that my relationship with snow can easily be summed up in a single quote (which is consequently painted on a canvas that is currently hanging in my entryway) from my all-time favorite television show Gilmore Girls.

"Flakes, flurries, swirls, crystals, 

whatever form it comes in, I'll take it." 

-Lorelai Gilmore 

Getting On With It

So now that you have the backstory, you can see why I am thrilled to be sitting in my house, coffee in hand, and blinds pulled up, watching the snowflakes silently fall outside of my window. 

There are so many beautiful results of snow and growing up it was a tradition in our house on snow days to make SNOW CREAM! Our love for this delicious snow-day dessert was so dedicated, that the minute we saw flakes falling, we placed a bowl in the yard to gather the snow for us. (Obviously, you can just scoop it into a bowl with a spoon, but where's the fun in that?).

Fast forward to college where I had a roommate from New York who had never heard of the stuff! I just couldn't believe that a person from a state that typically gets snow every year had never had the opportunity of enjoying one of the best parts of snow.

I decided that it was my duty to introduce her to that simple joy. However, I did not have this revelation until we were already snowed into our dorm room. I definitely wasn't going to walk to Wal-Mart to pick up the typical ingredients: sugar, vanilla, and evaporated milk, which obviously as a college student I didn't have on hand in my dorm. I was forced to improvise, and you know what, it was AWESOME! I'll give you the secret to cheating your way to snow cream perfection... coffee creamer! 

That's right, it may sound silly but it totally works, and the best part is, you can use whatever you have on hand. If you want to get fancy, purchase different flavors to make several types while you're snowed in. 

The Recipe

This recipe is beautiful because of its sheer simplicity. For a decent two-person serving size, you'll need eight cups of fresh snow (not the refrozen stuff), and a cup and a quarter of your favorite coffee creamer. I went with Coffee-Mate natural bliss vanilla because it is what I had on hand. Mix the snow and creamer together, and voila, you've got snow cream!

I've added before and after pictures and there's also a recipe card at the end for you to download.

And here is the finished product! The bowls pictured are one cup each, and you can see that the snow cream towers above. I'm calling this my "serving" size. 

Recipe Card (as promised)

I hope that you enjoy your snow (and snow cream). Please feel free to post a comment below and let me know how some of your flavor attempts turned out!

Food for Thought

New Year...New Resolutions

We're now two weeks into 2016, which is kind of hard to believe! This early in the year, we should still be on track with our resolutions. More times than not our resolutions involve dieting and exercise. Let's face it, most of our resolutions, like our holiday traditions, revolve around food, the difference is, this time of year we're trying NOT to stuff our faces. There is a type of indulging that is beneficial to the spiritual health of a Christian during the year and that is feasting on Scripture. 

Deeper hunger

Matthew 4:4 "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every good word that comes from the mouth of God".

This morning while studying Matthew, I read over the first part of this verse as I have so many times before, only today, the second portion jumped out at me. I've heard the first half of this verse more times than I can count, yet, I cannot recall the second half ever truly registering in my mind. This pushed me to want to do a little more research in order to better understand why Jesus said this.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary mentions two things about this passage. The first, which I was unaware of, is that Jesus was quoting scripture! In fact, he was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. Why is this important for us? He was setting an example, by showing us that memorizing the Word of God can bring truth to our minds when we are tempted. 

The second piece that MacArthur mentions is that the words of God are "a more important source of sustenance than food. Scripture nurtures our spiritual needs in a way that benefits us eternally, rather than merely providing temporal relief from physical hunger." The Word of God and the will of God are often referred to as food. 

"Taste and see that the Lord is good". Psalm 34:8

"My daily bread is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work". John 4:34

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled". Matthew 5:6

Think about the way that we feel when we've gone without eating for some time. The term hangry [hungry + angry, for those of you who need an explanation] comes to mind. The same thing happens to our attitudes when we take ourselves away from scripture, we become easily annoyed and snippy. We are hangry for the Word of God!

The Meal Plan

Just like any good weight loss goal, there has to be a good meal plan and exercise regimen. Scripture is the same way, it all starts with the meal plan: 

• Step 1: Find a good reading plan [the YouVersion Bible has tons of plans, and some versions have audio--it'll read to you! YouVersion reading plans]
• Step 2: Aim to read daily. 
• Step 3: Try to read in the morning [this can curb your appetite for the day, and help keep your attitude in check]
• Step 3: Meditate on your readings [remember...100 chews before you swallow]
• Step 3: Don't try to do it alone, get some accountability.
• Step 4: Exercise what you are learning! ["Be DOERS of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." James 1:22]

Don't wait to be fed at church, like a child waits for his mom to make his meals. Learn to dig into Scripture on your own and get to the meat instead of just the sweets. It can be difficult to get deeper things from the Bible during your first attempt at reading, but stick with it! I can promise you that you will find more spiritual nourishment each time you open its pages. 

I Celebrate the Day

It's Been a While!

Hi friends! It seems like forever since I had the chance to sit down and whip up a new blog post to share with you. I have been mentally filing away all of the awesome things that I've been working on in hopes of blogging about them in the future. It seems like every time I think things are going to slow down... BAM, life happens. I hope that this post finds you well. Keep a lookout for more to come through the end of the year, and the beginning of the next!

The Countdown is On...

If you are anything like me, the holiday season has crept up and you are scrambling to get those last minute gifts together in time for Christmas. I was shocked the first time that I ran to the store for groceries and saw a sign proclaiming, "Only 30 shopping days left!". Now we're down to just eight. That's barely over a week left to get those last minute gifts in! The roads and stores are flooded with all the crazies shoppers, as they frantically check to make sure that they get the perfect gift for everyone on their list. 

'Tis the Season

The hustle and bustle has not been lost on me either. I plead insanity on thinking I should make most of my gifts this year. It seems that I've been Christmas-ing since September, and somehow I still had gifts to purchase in December! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy this time of year tremendously. I love to find a gift that has meaning for the receiver and decorating is something that I enjoy as well. Plus, there are TONS of activities and parties happening, which keeps me on my toes.

Since Tom and I just moved to a new city in August, we still have loads of things to explore. With all of the new things to see and do, we've spent a lot of time forging new traditions. 

• Christmas tree lighting in the square...check. 
• Downtown Christmas parade... check. 
• Viewing the charity trees in the local hotel... check. 
• Driving around Christmas light hunting... triple check. 

Though it's been unseasonably warm in Virginia this year, we've still been sipping hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music to get into the holiday spirit. As fun as all of the exploring, decorating, and celebrating has been, I've found it easy to neglect my time focusing on what Christmas means to me as a Christian. 

Slow Down

When I was growing up, my parents did an excellent job balancing the birth of the Savior with secular traditions. We grew up knowing that Jesus' birth was what we were celebrating, but we also received gifts from Santa. "Happy Birthday Jesus" was performed annually by my sister and me on our church stage, and nativities were ever-present in our home. That being said, the only thing that I knew about advent growing up, was that the candy cane moved through the numbered pockets on Santa's beard. It was a countdown, simple as that!

Now as an adult, some of that still applies to the way that I think of advent. It is just a countdown to Christmas, but what does that really mean? Advent is broadly celebrated as a preparation for Christmas, similarly to how Lent is celebrated in preparation for Easter.

The incredible part of this countdown is that we all prepare and celebrate a little differently. My friend Camille mentioned to me that her family read a book together in the days preceding Christmas each year. My husband's family would purchase punch out calendars that contained candy for each day leading up to the holiday. As I mentioned before... we moved a candy cane through Santa's beard. Without the childlike wonder that Christmas used to bring to me, I've had to find new ways to navigate this time. This year I really wanted to focus on who I celebrate, and not just the party details. 

I realized, that I didn't want to let my "busyness" rob me of the deeper joy of the season, so I prayed that God would give me a desire to seek Him out in celebration of the gift of His Son. I began to search for a reading plan to guide me through the days leading up to Christmas. It was not as easy, as I had anticipated, to find a reading plan that didn't include more personal Christmas stories from the author than actual scripture. My search led me to a list of twenty-eight passages, one for each day of the four weeks of Advent. These passages span the Old and New Testaments to give the reader a fuller understanding of Christ's fulfillment of prophecy by coming to earth as an infant. You can find the list here: Advent Scriptures.

Start Now

Admittedly, I began my count down a little late this year. Why should you start this late in the game? There is still so much that you can learn about Jesus' birth before we celebrate on December 25th. Don't think "why should I bother?" just because you are a bit behind. Make sure that in this time of celebration, you don't forget to spend time with the one that you are celebrating. I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas and that you step into the New Year refreshed and renewed.

*side note: You can thank the band Relient K for the title of today's blog post. 

Last-Minute Scarecrow

Trick or Treat

If you're anything like me, you don't celebrate Halloween by getting hammered and wearing lingerie. However, you still enjoy dressing up, even if it's only to pass out candy to the neighborhood kids. If I'm being honest, I enjoy being cheap thrifty when it comes to Halloween costumes, and this is by far one of my most successful attempts. So if you haven't put together your costume ideas yet (Halloween is ONLY 10 days away mind you), then you've come to the right place.

Here's what you'll need

1. Straw hat 
2. Flannel shirt
3. Craft store raffia (I got mine from Michael's)
4. Jeans
5. Boots
6. Brown eyeliner
7. Orangey lipstick (the cheaper the better)
8. Bandanna 

I know, I know, it seems like a lot of things, but honestly, you probably have most of them in your closet! That is what makes this costume so appealing as a last-minute option. 

Perfecting your face

The most difficult part of prepping this look is the makeup.

As you can tell, my thought process was, the chunkier, the better. I had no problem committing to the drama of the look. 

Step 1: 

Use your brown eyeliner to create some chunky faux lower lashes. This gives a good whimsical feature to your eyes. 

Step 2: 

Continuing with the brown eyeliner, make some stitches coming off of each side of your mouth. This will give the illusion that your mouth has been sewn on. 

Step 3:

Get our your hideous glamorous orangey lipstick. You'll want to add two small circles to your face (one on each cheek). You can finish this stage off by adding some freckles to the cheeks with the aid of your trusty brown eyeliner. 

Step 4: 

You can do this step one of two ways:

1. Outline a triangle shape on the tip of your nose, with your brown eyeliner, adding "stitching" for effect. Then fill in the triangle with your lipstick. 
2. Draw a triangle on the tip of your nose with lipstick, and then trace around it with your brown eyeliner.

I prefer to do the eyeliner first so that you can get the shape that you'd like before adding the color. 

Step 5: 

Finish out your makeup by filling in your actual lips with the orangey lipstick. Voila! 

Finishing touches

After your makeup is complete, and your outfit is assembled, it's time to add the Raffia. As I mentioned above, I purchased the raffia for my outfit from Michaels. I didn't spend much on it, but it definitely completed the look!

Feel free to cram the raffia in any nook or cranny that you can find. My pockets [both on my shirt and in my jeans] worked perfectly and I even added a little in my boots!

Once you have the "straw" covered, consider adding a little ribbon or leaves to your hat. I obviously didn't have any on hand at the time, but it could really make the costume look great. 

Hair is also important! Pigtails, or braids would be adorable with this Scarecrow look. You can even add a little raffia to the mix!

Voila!

Once you've put it all together, you'll be fit to keep the crows away! Feel free to share some of your other last-minute DIY costumes in the comments section. 

Monogram Painted Pumpkin

Orange is the new orange

October is a month of cool weather, warm sweaters, and all of the creepy movies, spooky decor, and diabetus inducing sugar you can handle. Not to mention all of my fall favorites: apple picking, corn mazes, hayrides, cider donuts, and PUMPKINS!

If your decorating style doesn't involve bright orange hues, or you don't enjoy getting elbow-deep in pumpkin goop, then painting may be a good alternative for you.

Prepping your pumpkin

After taking the necessary time to rummage through the mediocre pumpkins to find your pride and joy, you'll want to make sure to wash it thoroughly. The best way to make your pumpkin last through Halloween is to clean it with a small amount of bleach diluted in water. About a tablespoon of bleach to a quart of water should be all you need. 

After you've given it a good scrub, dry the pumpkin well. If the pumpkin is still wet in any area, the paint will not stick. If you'd rather let it air dry, be sure to wash the pumpkin several hours before you want to begin the decorating process. 

Supplies

The beauty of this project is that there are SO many options! You can use nearly anything that you already have on hand. For my monogrammed pumpkin, I used:

*Krylon metallic spray paint in silver
*Tulip slick fabric paint in black (Acrylic paint would work great, I just didn't have any in black)
*Clear acrylic jewels

{Not pictured}

*Glue- any liquid glue will work

*Newspaper or plastic drop cloth

*Pencil (optional)

The fun part

When you get done with all of the prep work, you can finally ignite your creativity! I'm usually a planner, but once my creative juices are flowing, I tend to just go with it.

Step 1: Prepare the workspace

If you plan to paint your pumpkin outdoors, you may not need as much preparation, but if you're more of an indoor crafter, you'll want to make sure to protect your work surface. You will also want to make sure that you are in a WELL ventilated area. Once your vented and covered, proceed to step 2. 

Step 2: Spray your pumpkin

This step is seriously that simple! Make sure to spray an even coating of paint on your pumpkin. As long as the pumpkin is completely dry, you shouldn't have any issues with the paint sticking to the pumpkin. You may want to spray a second coat. My pumpkin only needed a single layer, but whether you choose to do one or two layers of paint, you'll still want to take a break to allow the paint to dry before moving on to step 3. 

**Depending on the size of your pumpkin, spraying it down shouldn't be too difficult. Cans of spray paint can, however, leave your fingers sore and sticky. If you, like me, hate having paint on your hands and a grouchy finger, you can buy an inexpensive but helpful tool. A spray gun will set you back around a buck fifty and can be found in any store that sells spray paint. 

Step 3: Monogram

Once your painted pumpkin is dry, it's time to start adding your monogram. You can use a stencil if you're more comfortable with a guide, but you can also freehand your lettering. I chose to freehand mine, but I used a pencil to draw it out several times before settling on the configuration above. Once you've gotten your letter exactly where you want it, paint away! BE SURE to shake your paint (fabric or acrylic) before applying it to your pumpkin. Paint tends to separate if left too long on the shelf, and separated paint won't stick to the spray-painted surface. If you're more comfortable using a brush, feel free to do so. 

Step 4: Add some sparkle

This is my FAVORITE part! If you know me at all, you likely know that glitter is my favorite color. Something about the added sparkle makes this craft (or anything for that matter) more magical. Use your paint to create cool patterns around the remainder of your blank canvas. Once your ready for some sparkle, just add some glue to the back of the jewels and place them wherever you please. Let your pumpkin dry (yes, again) and then it's ready to adorn your front porch!

El Fin

Once you've completed your masterpiece, revel in your one-of-a-kind decoration. THEN come back to post a picture of your finished work in the comments, I would love to see them! Happy Painting!