Grateful

Somebody once told me that the best way to get the most out of life is to be grateful.  At the time I was young and more or less brushed off their advice.  I may have written down the things I was grateful at that moment in one of my million notebooks only to forget about it and go about my everyday.  It wasn't until this past year that I really began to think about all the things I have to be grateful for, that I fully began to understand and appreciate this philosophy.

It is much too easy to get caught up in our own everyday lives and forget about all the things we have to appreciate.  Life can be stressful, frustrating, and mundane, but it can also be magical, beautiful, and wonderful all at the same time.  If you step back for a moment and really think about living a grateful life I am confident you will begin to recognize the good with the bad and appreciate the happy with the sad.  Life isn't about things being perfect and things don't always turn out the way you would like them too so it's important to start to recognize and appreciate more than just the negative.

I have so much to be grateful for but at the top of my list I have the hills that I hike, the air that I breathe, the love that I share, and the life that I live.  I hope you have a grateful day!

Happy 2014

It is hard to believe another year has past, but sure enough I find myself in 2014.  As most people do I use New Year's as a time of reflection - looking back while still moving forward.  This past year has been a crazy one, but as I think about it I realize almost every year is crazy but each for different reasons.  This past year was all about our house, while the year before that was all about being newlyweds, and before that was about planning our wedding.  Life continues to fly by and yet this year feels different.

I spent most of my 20's trying to figure out who I was and where I was going, but over this past year I began to feel more comfortable in my own skin and I realized I was finally home. Leaving San Francisco seemed terrifying just over a year ago and yet it has proved to be the best decision we have made thus far.  Settling into suburban life was much easier than expected and living back in Marin is surprisingly a dream come true.

I spent New Year's eve at home with my husband, our dog, and a movie.  The years of expensive New Year's social events followed by the never ending cab hunt in San Francisco may be a thing of the past, but I am beginning to accept this new reality and appreciate our more settled life in the suburbs.  We spent our morning walking around Tiburon with coffee and croissants instead of with a pounding headache and a hangover.  I spent the afternoon on a solo hike into the beautiful hills above our house and spent nearly an hour meditating on a rock overlooking Mt Tam.  All of these things I would not have imagined a year ago and yet it feels just right.  All of this has me looking forward to 2014 and even more self understanding and exploration.

Merry and Bright

The holidays are different this year with both of my brothers preparing for new additions and therefore not traveling home for the holidays.  We spent the past year remodeling and felt so fortunate for everything that we have that we decided to donate presents to those in need rather than buy gifts for each other. We worked with Adopt a Family of Marin and are already looking forward to donating again next year.  

I hope you and your family have a Merry and Bright Christmas!

DIY Wine Lover's Wreath

I have always enjoyed making gifts more than purchasing them.  There is something so rewarding about seeing the recipients joy when they realize the thought and time that went into a homemade gift. I happen to have grown up in a wine drinking family that refuses to throw away corks, rather than watch them endlessly pile up I decided I would put them to good use and make a cork wreath.

Supplies:
Lots of corks - if you don't have any piling up at your house you can buy both new and used corks online. I prefer the look of used corks to the new ones but it's personal preference.
Hot Glue Gun and Glue
Wreath Form - available at your local craft store.  I prefer the flat wood kind for this project, you could also cut your own form out of cardboard.

Directions:
Step One:  While the hot glue gun is warming play around with the corks on the wreath form to get comfortable with the process and to determine a "pattern"

Step Two:  Begin glueing the first layer of corks onto the wreath form.  If you prefer a more uniform look then you may want to glue all the corks the same direction (this is more difficult since the wreath curves and the corks are straight).  Otherwise just start glueing the corks onto the base with hot glue, the goal with the first layer is to simply cover the wreath form.  If you come to a curve that doesn't fit the whole cork turn it and either glue is on it's side or on the bottom sticking straight up.

Step Three:  Finish glueing a second layer of corks onto the base layer, but this time use less corks and try to layer them on top of each other.  The more random it is the easier it becomes and the better it looks in my opinion.

Step Four: Hang and enjoy! If you are using it for the holidays or gifting it tie a large bow around the top to use as a hanging device, otherwise just put a nail in the wall and hang the edge onto it.

DIY Hanging Planter

Supplies Needed:
Cotton or Nylon Rope
Scissors
Plastic or lightweight planter without irrigation hole
Plant and soil

Making the Most of Thanksgiving Leftovers

I cooked my very first Thanksgiving this year and decided to spend the weekend making the most of the leftovers.  I rarely eat Turkey so the idea of Turkey sandwiches for a week left me underwhelmed.  Instead I decided I would get creative in order to use all of our leftovers.  The result was way better than I ever expected and has me rethinking my previously limited turkey consumption. 

 I always make (and freeze) extra pie dough before the holidays which came in handy when I decided to make these mini pot pies.  I had more than enough filling so I put the remainder to good use in this Thanksgiving Casserole.

Do It Yourself Artwork

We finally finished remodeling and started to decorate our new house when we realized we would need a lot more art.  Our last apartment was 650 square feet and more than half the walls had windows, which means we owned very little art.  We had a few favorites which we immediately hung on our freshly painted white walls, but the majority of our house remainder bare.  As I scoured the internet for Art I realized it wasn't in our budget to purchase this much art and instead I went to the craft store and began making do it yourself art.  These are two of my favorites and can be easily customized to match the colors in your house.

Supplies Needed:
Black Acrylic Paint
Assorted Colorful Acrylic Paint - I used Craft Smart (Bright Red, Chrome Orange, Phthalo Red, Pink, Deep Yellow, and Chrome Yellow)
Foam Pouncers - this project is much easier if you have the same size pouncer for every color paint
Blue Painters Tape
Large Canvas or Poster Board - I used 21" x 36"canvas for the color block and regular poster board for the dots