More exploring: we found the place to plant our garden

Explored our backyard more today during sunset. Not only was it nice to just spend some time with Luke, but we started planning out where the garden would go in the spring.

Here's the spot.

Underneath the hay is rich, dark, black soil. Perfect for a garden. So excited...but it will be a lot of work. More than I can probably comprehend right now since I've never had my own garden before.

We found some old pallets that had been left in the yard. Two are in fairly good condition...so I may do some sort of DIY with them in the future. We'll see. I'll have to make sure the wood isn't rotted through from being rained and snowed on.

Anyone have gardening tips for two people new to this sort of thing?

New home: new space: new storage

So, the place we moved into just a little over a week ago, feels like home. Not sure why it feels more like home. Maybe because it's a more permanent housing situation. It could be because we have more land. That way, we feel that we can go and explore when we need a little breathe of fresh air from life's busy, fast-paced lifestyle.

I also attribute feeling more nested to the fact that it is smaller than our last place. (Why would I be okay with that??) Well, it's more cozy. There's less stuff we can keep around so it feels less cluttered. And, it's our tiny, white house on top of the hill. Okay...a small hill.

Since we did downsize is storage space and amount of bedrooms, we had to figure out how to store our belongings in more creative and effective ways.

Meet our kitchen. It has limited counter space and half the amount of cupboards. Part of the storing dilemma was solved by parting with things we didn't really need.

Do we really need 30 coffee cups?
No.

The other part was finding a DIY, inexpensive way of expanding our storage space.

Here it is:

I found a wooden table top that's foldable at a garage sale for $10. Easy to transport or take down. Also it matched the color scheme to the kitchen quite well. Then, I deemed this as our refreshment table. It's where we make coffee in the morning, store tea and other household appliances as well as wine.

Next, these two baskets were found at Goodwill for $5 each. Absolutely love the color! Good for storing tea and coffee.

Then, the wine rack. This was a recent find. Only $4 and it just matched the design to our kitchen, plus we had a place to put our wine (and an excuse to buy more wine! :) ;) )

This was a fairly recent find as well - a wooden chalkboard. I have yet to buy chalk, but I thought it'd be a perfect way that Luke and I could write notes to each other. Or a good place to write the grocery list down so we don't lose it. Little bits of paper just never work. And if a magnet is on the fridge...I always knock it down.

Absolutely love the feel it's given my home so far and extra space to store things without it looking messy or tacky.

What ways have you found that works great for storage and is nice on appearance?

New house brings adventures

Finally took a walk around the property with Luke. We now have 10 acres that we are renting. It's not far from downtown either. It's like our little oasis in the city. :) Exploring near dusk is always fun and I've never taken photos in low light without some sort of artificial light to help. So, this was a new experience in many ways!

Please come visit us! :)

Homemade Taco Salad - with shells to match!

I'm stretching the connotation of crafting in this post to apply to cooking. In a sense cooking is a craft. It takes experience to master it (and i still have a long way to go!)

Cooking and I have never been good friends. About a year and a half ago, I could barely muster up a recipe. Baked barbecue chicken was my specialty - which consisted on turning on the overn to 350 degrees, smothering chicken in barbecue sauce, and waiting for it to bake all the way through in the oven. IT was tasty - but not very extravagant...and most likely not too healthy either!

Well, today, I realized I've grown in my cooking skills since then. I made taco salad ( much healthier option!) with homemade tortilla shells. Ok, ok, when I saw homemade tortilla shells I mean that I did buy the shells from Meijer, BUT I molded them to be nice and wavy and baked them in the oven.

THAT does take a little maneuvering. My co-worked told me a hint on how to make the shells nice and crisp and turn out wavy.

1. She said to place an empty can on a cooking tray. 
2. Put the tortilla upside-down on the can. 
3. Spray cooking spray on a piece of aluminum foil and put it over the tortilla. 
4. Then, scrunch the aluminum foil in several spots - this gives the shell that "wavy" look. 
5. When all that is done, place it in the oven for 6 minutes at 350 degrees (I actually had to bake it for more like 12 minutes to get it nice and crispy).

After these are nice and crispy, you can add whatever you wish inside to make a delicious taco salad. I chose to add romaine lettuce,  tomato, onion, black beans, and beef. So yummy!

Do what you dream, and you'll love where you work!

This is a little different from most of my thrifting and crafting posts. But, it ties into why I started this blog and why I took a different path than the one I was originally on.

New to the workforce

In June 2011, I landed my first full time job after graduating college. I was ecstatic. I loved the people I worked with and my place in that job. I got paid to research and write blogs, edit documents, and even attempt at graphic design (which I learned wasn't my forte! ;) )

But, something wasn't right. Although it was such a great opportunity and it was a job in my major...I wasn't happy with where I was.

I started getting really down and resentful. I blamed everyone around me for how I was feeling...when the person I should have been pointing the finger at was myself. This is when I learned that even though I had it good with where I was, I wasn't where I saw myself. I wasn't where I wanted to be and I had to make a choice.

Besides learning to change my attitude no matter where I was in life...I made a decision...

...I quit my full-time, secure job in search of what would make me happy in a profession.

I mean, if you aren't happy with the work you are doing, find something else, right? Especially since I had JUST graduated. The first job isn't always the best fit - no matter how great of an opportunity it is! 

Getting over the guilt

At first, I was very hard on myself. I felt guilty for turning away a good opportunity. I felt like a failure. Once I got over that initial guilt, I was able to pursue my dream job - photography and working with special needs children.

I work full time now, but it takes three jobs to add up to 40 hours a week. I gotta say, I LOVE it! Working small shifts at different jobs throughout the day keeps me happy.

New Work Schedule

I work in the early mornings and late afternoons as a special needs bus aide with an adorable girl. She inspires me to be more positive with her great attitude! Plus, she's a sweetheart - it's hard not to be happy after spending a moment with her.

Then from 9:30a-1:30p I work at a photography studio doing all sorts of things. I photo assist, do post-production, file papers, write and mail invoices, marketing, AND I brand and book sessions for my own photo company. It's the sister company to my boss's original photo company.

Here's just a brief peek at a day in the studio

My walk downtown to the studio is always nice in the early morning. :) 

My boss is pretty awesome too. Can't deny that.

We always have time to have fun and make weird faces. :P

One thing I've learned - keep an eye on my sandwiches. We have a sandwich swiper. Still in the works of figuring out just who's the culprit. ;)

Did I mention besides having a cat in the studio, there's also a dog? Part of my job now consists of giving the dog regular walks! Well, I sort of asked if I could do that! :)

How can you deny this lithe guy a walk?!

The other piece to the 40-hour a week puzzle is working as a community living support. Usually, I squeeze in some time on evenings and weekends to work one-on-one with an adorable 8-year-old boy with autism. Most people may not like the idea of working then - but let's face it, my husbands a teacher so he works evenings and weekends sometimes too! Not a big deal.

The other week, we went swimming! :)

Photo Courtesy of Kiri Salazar

Although, I was insecure at first about how unconventional my new route in the workforce was, I've realized it's the best fit for me right now. I love kids and taking pictures so what's so wrong in finding a way to do what I love? 

Sometimes I think about going to school part-time to get a teaching certificate. Maybe someday I will, but for now I'm content with where I'm at and excited to see where life takes me.

One word of encouragement: Be proud of the job you are in. YOU are a valuable employee wherever you are and there's a reason you were chosen for the position. Don't lose sight of that! But, if you aren't happy with where you are, don't feel guilty about looking for something else! YOU are your first priority - not the job!

Shoes, shoes and more shoes

I have a weakness - I love shoes.

See what I mean?

Ok, well I only picked my top 4 dress shoes, so it doesn't look that bad. But I have an assortment of shoes for every season.

The good thing is most of my shoes I've found at thrift stores. The low prices make me feel less guilty about having so many! ;)

Black, felt heels

Perfect go to for working at the office or business casual type settings.

Only $4.99

Purple, felt heels

I have only worn these a couple of times with some brown pants and a pink sweater top. Goes well together and totally worth the purchase even if I only wear them now and then.

Only $4.99

Red, satin heels

I have yet to bust these out! I feel like these are perfect for a wedding or to go with that red dress everyone should have in their closet! 

Only $3.99

Brown wedges

Love these and wear them often. Its the perfect summer go-to heel. 

Only $12.49 

(still had the originally store tag on so a little higher in price)

Happy shoe bargain shopping!! :)

Thrifting: Fall is approaching...

Welcome - fall is almost upon us. Honestly, I'm looking forward to cooler temperatures since we had such a hot summer! Plus, fall brings lots of great things - trips to the cider mill, corn mazes, trick-or-treating, and for all the sports fanatics (include myself sometimes), lots of tailgating and football games.

Well, in celebration of fall - I was for a walk in a maze...but not a corn maze. It's one at Blandford Nature Center - it's a path cut out through a field of wildflowers (Absolutely beautiful to walk in). I guess it's not technically a maze, but it is to me.

My latest thrift store finds are starting to pile up, so I'm finally writing about them all in one outfit.

This bright, turquoise skirt was purchased for only $5. It's silky fabric is perfect for fall temperatures - not too hot, not too cold.

 The blouse I'm wearing is light brown with lace across the collar - only $3.

Shoes were a little more expensive, but still a good deal at $12. Love these wedges, very cute and comfy to walk in.

The belt I am wearing was not a thrift find - it came with a shirt I bought at JC Penny awhile back. I use it with lots of different outfits though!

Total expense of this outfit: $20.