Craft Time: Picture Frame

While looking for a picture frame that would hold multiple pictures, I came across one that was super cute: Just a frame with horizontal strings and the pictures were pinned in with tiny little clothes pins. I wanted a big frame that would hold all of my boyfriend's son's sporting pictures in and gift it to him for Father's Day. This was beyond perfect because not only did it hold a bunch of pictures regardless of size, it was so easy to exchange pictures out and put new ones in - perfect for fast growing kiddos!!

 

I flipped the frame over to check the price...$59.99!!!!

What??!!!??!

Ohhhhh heck no! I could make that easily I thought and after a quick glance around Pinterest I had a plan!

 

I knew that I could find little clothes pins and string at AC Moore; that was not problem. The frame took a little more creativity. First I considered making a frame, but that involved buying wood, nailing it together, making sure the corners were a perfect 90 degrees....then I though what if I just use two rods and connect them with string? That was the solution and then duh! There are these old mirrors that I bought years ago (probably around 18 when I first moved out on my own!) from Bed Bath & Beyond and had since painted a metallic silver, which didn't go with the décor my honey and I have going currently. I would pop out the mirror, paint the frame and voila!

 

gathered my supplies...

  

Commandment 5: She Moves her Body

Hey Hot Mommas!!

In honor of the next Commandment I thought I should put theory into practice and really get my juices flowing before writing about it! You got it! Number 5 is all about exercise and is truly relevant to any Healthy Lady including a Pre-Pregnancy Momma.

Benefits are basically everything!… and range from elevated & happy mood, improved circulation, weight control, strength, higher energy levels, better sex, improved sleep and regularity, if you know what I mean!

And these benefits can start to be seen even at the slightest increase of physical activity, like walking 10-20 a day. That's pretty amazing that all you have to do is start moving...make One Simple Change!

 

Commandment 5: She Moves her Body.

All the time we hear how good and necessarily it is to be active, I’m sure by now you get it.  The great thing is that there are only about a million ways to exercise…the secret is finding the one that works for you. That means the one that you enjoy, that’s doable, that you get results at, that suit your personality and so forth.  If you are extraverted than find things that you can do with other people like classes or be involved with your gym. For me, I am pretty introverted and I like exercising alone, which is why running is so perfect for me. It offers me alone time for emotion and stress release - plus I could just turn on my tunes and run for days. Finding what fits and consistency would be my two big tidbits of advice when creating a regular exercise practice; The more often that you do it, the easier it will be and your body will even start to crave it. Trust me, once you get into a routine, your body will not feel the same on the days you have off and you may even finding yourself giving up other less productive activities in order to make time to exercise.

Chocolate Birthday Cake & Truffles!!

Hey Yall!!

So tomorrow is my man's Birthday! well it will probably be yesterday by the time I post this - I'm writing it in parts as I do it...Real Time...Regardless, today I am baking him a Cake!! You will all soon come to know that I have a huge sweet tooth that never fully went away after changing my diet...that is to say that I cant handle decadent desserts like I used to - one bite using sends my stomach swirling - but I love baking, chocolate especially. Anyway I'm sort of famous for Healthy Desserts whether it's finding new ones or turning old favorites into clean treats.

 

Today I am making my very favorite Chocolate Cake with Black Beans and my honey's most loved Black Bean Truffles with Chocolate Complete...I didn't mean to go crazy with the black beans, but I guess they just make some of the best desserts so we're going with it. Chris really just wanted the Truffles but you've got to have a cake to blow out candles right?? Normally we wouldn't go all out but he is actually going to be able to see his son on his birthday so I'm going all out to make sure that it's extra special :)

 

Let's get baking!!!

 

 

 

First up: Black Bean Chocolate Cake! I have made this cake several times and it always comes out incredibly moist. Plus it's pretty full proof, whips up super quick and is loaded with Protein! I mean an entire can of Black Beans and 5 Eggs!! It's always fun to have picky eaters taste this first and then have them guess the secret ingredient lol - they never do!

Commandment 4: She Knows Her Body

Hey Beautiful!!

Following my Bare Skin Beauty Awakening I stopped using sunscreen because of all of the toxins in it.  In my mind I figured that I would rather let my body defend against damage from something natural (the Sun) rather than foreign chemicals.  Still, not using sun protection isn’t ideal.  Soooooooo I was super excited today to make homemade sunscreen until I realized that I needed to order a few things first.  I’m not sure what all I thought was in the ingredient list when I first decided to pick this activity for the day…but it’s more than I thought! Either way I found these great sunscreen bars and since I know you will want to immediately follow along when you see how great mine turn out (:P lol!) you will need:


My Red Nose!!
You can tell I need some good Sunscreen!!

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Shea Butter

Beeswax

Uncoated, Non-nano Zinc Oxide

 Changing topics a little today from getting the toxins out to Commandment Number 4 is A Pre-Pregnancy Momma knows her Body.  This has several components from being best friends with your cycle to learning the amazing and purposeful things that occur during Pregnancy.

 

I once heard Dr. Sears say during a presentation that most telling sign of how healthy someone is would be their waistline.  As woman, I believe we have an even more telling sign:  her monthly cycle.

Commandment 3: She Goes Bare

Hi Mommas!! I hope you don't mind but I'm just going to jump right in!!

This next commandment came naturally after buckling down on the toxins that I, as a Pre-Pregnancy Momma, wouldn’t allow in my body. The fact is that in today’s world, our bodies are constantly bombarded with foreign substances…..

Kay, wait…let me just break this down because I feel like it could start sounding like a lecture real quick. The way I see it, there are tons of things in the world that we live in that hurt us. Some things we don’t have control over – the air we breathe or damage from cell phones & electromagnetic fields; We just have to believe in our body’s ability to cleanse those poisons out of our system on a daily basis. However, some toxins we do have a say of whether or not they make their way into our body – the food we eat and what we put on our skin – so why not give our body a break instead of overwhelming it. If I can cut out some of the dangers entering my body, then not only do I become more efficient at eliminating the toxins that can’t be helped, but I also have enough energy and strength left over to heal, to protect, and to live more vibrantly.

Make sense?

If your body isn’t so consumed with detoxifying all the time, then it can use that energy to strengthen your immune system, preserve your gorgeous, youthful skin, even heal long term damage AND get prepared for baby!!

 

So after putting my foot down on what I will allow past my lips I began looking at what I put on my skin. I started to go Bare…and this is the process where I really felt myself grow spiritually. I mean it’s through this transition that I really felt my already hippie-self go super granola…