things that changed my life (at least minorly) this week...

1) a green/cream striped canvas tote. 

i've been eyeing a few at winners, but couldn't justify ~$40. this one for $15 from gap? perfect. 

2) stenciling on a table. and name that quote! 

hint: it's from hp. 

and i'm not sure if "anything's" is grammatically correct. methinks it's not. but maybe in england? 

regardless, i love. 

3) sour cream fruit dip.

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla 

combine. refrigerate. dip fruit. delicious. 

stick a fork in me

i am done.

it was a huge weekend. a looong weekend.

the school year is finally wrapped up and we're moving on to summer break! youth and children's wrapped up this weekend, and i finished small group with my middle school girls yesterday. there will still be things to think about and plan over the summer, but the weekly events are done for 10 weeks. yeah!

this was also the last weekend for the boss! it's bittersweet. we know he and his family are moving on to new and great adventures, but it's sad that they won't be part of our daily lives anymore. thankfully they aren't moving too far away. it's just good-bye for now.

now i'm on the couch. doing laundry. trying to dig out and clean up from a few days of barely being home. resting.

my latest rescue

i can't help it. i love old chairs. i hate seeing them homeless. 

 and yet i wonder why my house looks like a yard sale threw up in it? maybe because it did. 

taco taco burrito burrito

the less on my grocery list, the happier i am. and apparently that includes those packets of taco seasoning mix. so i make my own.

ingredients
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

mix it up. use it up. save yourself a buck when you want tacos. and you can scratch one more thing of your grocery list.

i usually make 6 batches at once and store it in a small jar. use 2 tablespoons for every 1 pound of ground beef with 1 cup of water. simmer for 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed/evaporated. if you don't like heat, nix the cayenne pepper.

source:
allrecipes.com

the chair i wasn't supposed to keep

i've had this chair sitting in the storage room for a while - sanded, cushions torn apart, waiting. usually the furniture will tell me what it wants (oh yes, the furniture talks), but this one was entirely uninspiring.   i thought about breaking it down for firewood and cut my three dollar loss, but since a friend and i are hosting a yard sale next weekend i decided to finish it using stuff i have and sell it.

with the zero dollar challenge, a less-than-full can of aqua blue spray paint, a dollop of green, half a yard of unbleached canvas, a lot of winging it and a little bit of luck later... i decided i liked it, a lot. it fits perfectly at the desk and it's just so bright and happy. 

and since i love numbers and typography and just discovered a sweet stencil in the basement at church  - the number 12. the number of months the chair sat unloved. the number of people in matt's family. the number of pieces i've painted in the last year. it fits. and for now, it stays. 

in honor of matt baking me brownies for dessert tonight...

i've been looking for art of the kitchen, but i'm picky. and cheap. so, with some inspiration, i made my own. nor perfect or finished yet, but for free prints, i'm happy!

camp

we went. we conquered. we came home. 

we had a fabulous time. 

it was damp and chilly (i would expect nothing less from the lower mainland), but we climbed walls and ran and played in the mud all the same. and by we, i mean the kids. i sat on the sidelines and cheered and took pictures. 

i love these kids. the weekend away reinforced just how awesome they are. i'm glad they are ours.