Friday Senses.

Making: Socks, his and hers.

Seeing: my parents! They are home from vacation!

Hearing: reruns of the office, our late night routine.

Smelling: doughnuts baking.

Tasting: Zucchini and black bean chili.

Feeling: still anxious.

Loving: a relaxing weekend, it was a busy work week for me. 

Reading: Any suggestions?

Praying: for peace in this anxious heart.

Simple Salad

Ingredients:

1lb Shrimp

2 14oz cans Butter Beans

1/4 of an onion minced

2 cloves of garlic minced

Mixed Greens

Rosemary

(a few teaspoons) Olive Oil

S&P

Lemon 

Recipe:

(adapted from gwen)

Combine onion, garlic, beans, olive oil, rosemary, salt & pepper.

Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

Wash greens and prepare shrimp, sautéing 2 minutes before serving, with olive oil, s&p and rosemary.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon and a touch of zest. 

We ate ours with pesto on crusty bread and sliced tomatoes.

Make:

Top: knit by sister, Jeans&shoes: AE, Jewelry: Thrifted

My sister made this top from quince&co's pattern and linen yarn. We knit up a lot of linen this summer. Well this is our new favorite top, we like the ease and that beautiful undyed color. Even though I didn't make this top, it still feels great to wear something handmade. A few years ago we were really skeptical about knitwear. Now, we are both knitting our first cardigans. Fall is right around the corner. 

What do you think about knitting? What are you working on?

The Waiting Game

Shirt: AE, Belt: H&M, Skirt: handmade by a friend, Boots: Blowfish, Jewelry: Thrifted

Waiting: I check my email every 5 minutes (for a month), I'm back to picking those split ends (now you know I'm seriously nervous), I have had several nightmares about the verdict and I can't focus.. I stopped knitting and blogging for a week. I'm losing this game. I feel like I lose every game that involves others having complete control. I wish to know now, go now, proceed now. Send that ball back now! Oh, who am I kidding, with this coordination...I couldn't catch if it anyway. Let's just make this easy for both of us, an email with words, I can do words. 

How do you survive waiting? So far my stratagy has been prayer, chocolate and ugly betty on netflix. 

Friday Senses.

Making: Socks, newest obsession.

Seeing: This stroller, I'm not trying to jump the gun, but isn't it perfect?

Hearing: my sister read facts about Ina Garten's life. She has accomplished a lot!

Smelling: Chocolate chip cookies baking.

Tasting: Whole-wheat bagels with pesto, roast chicken, and tomatoes.

Feeling: anxious, waiting, waiting.

Loving: a quiet morning at work.

Reading: Through the bible in a year.

Wishing: for more rain.

On repeat

Dress: Target, Shoes: AE, Jewelry: f21

This week looks like:

- olympics on demand

- knitting ugly yarn

- awaiting a package from Bear & Co

- dancing (always)

- drop dead diva on netflix

- seeking community and friendships

- misty edwards (always on His mind)

What's on repeat for you this week?

The Conference

Many of you may have heard of the Influence Conference by now. It's going to be a fantastic weekend hosted by Jessi, Hayley and Casey. There is even an amazing party. The ticket into the party? You have to wear stripes! Awesome huh? I can no longer go to this conference but I want you to have my ticket! I purchased at the early bird rate, so it's the best price you can pay! Email me at elisemdean@gmail.com for more info!

Backless

Dress: c/o sugarlips, Flower crown: DIY, Socks: Eddie Bauer, Jewelry: Etsy and f21, Shoes: Francesca's

Is anyone else as crazy about the backless trend as I am? I think it's so fun and I love it when a simple dress shocks you when you see it from the back! 

Trends I'm loving right now:

- Backless

- Chambray (everything)

- Flowers on my head

- Sock and Heels

So I put them all together in one outfit.. now if I could have just figured out how to add some stripes.

Friday Senses.

Top: Knit by me, Skirt&Belt: f21, Shoes: Francesca's

Making: Purl Bee's Cap-sleeve lattice sweater. Finished! Such a fun knit and really easy!

Seeing: School supplies at target, does that mean summer is almost over?

Hearing: Misty Edwards, on repeat.

Smelling: Rain! mmm...

Tasting: Green juice!

Feeling: Grateful and hopeful.

Loving: Thai food, more specifically chiang mai thai restaurant. 

Singapore noodles + really accommodating employees.

Reading: An Everlasting Meal.

Wishing: To travel, when am I not?

What are you feeling this week?

DIY Ombre Dress

  

My husband bought a beautiful dress from greenheart for my birthday. Their clothing is fair trade and this dress is made out of recycled flour sacks. I love it, but unfortunately when I washed it, all of the dye washed out. It was a beautiful sage color. The shop owners are wonderful and refunded us and let me keep the dress! So, I decided to try my hand at dyeing it and might as well go all in, let's try ombre!

Materials:

2 Packets of Dylon Dye

Salt

Water

Bucket 

Garment

Rubber Gloves

Pole

Directions:

Dissolve dye according to the package, I used two cups of hot water. Fill bucket with water and a few spoonfuls of salt and stir. Add the dye and mix throughly. Place entire dress in water and stir for 15 minutes. Then place straps on a pole, wooden dowel or broomstick so that 3/4 of the dress is still in the dye. I wrapped tape around the pole and taped it to a ladder. Stir occasionally for 15 minutes. Now raise the dress half way out of the dye, stir occasionally for 15 minutes. Raise the dress again, this time so just 1/4 of the dress is in the dye and stir for the final 15 minutes. Take dress out of dye and rinse until water runs clear. Wash in the washing machine on warm and hang to dry. 

It's an involved process but I love the way it turned out, and it's really not difficult!

Grilled Chicken and Peaches

Ingredients:

1c cooked Brown Rice

1c Green Beans

1lb Chicken

2 peaches, sliced

s&p

olive oil

4oz feta

Fresh thyme

Lightly brush chicken and peaches with some of the oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes, until no pink remains in chicken and peaches are tender and grill-marked.

Boil green beans for 5-7 minutes until cooked throughly.

In a large bowl combine rice, beans, grilled chicken and peaches and feta. Drizzle with remaining olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with thyme.

If you haven't tried grilled peaches, try them now! They are so yummy and sweet. They would be great with some honey or whipped cream too!

DIY Gold Indoor Watering Can

My husband was using an old coffee creamer container to water our flowers in our house. The shape was great, but it just looked silly, so I thought, might as well paint it gold! Now I keep it on my desk.

Materials:

Plastic Bottle (this is a coffee creamer bottle)

Gold Spray Paint

Newspaper

Directions:

Remove label from bottle and wash throughly. Spray a thin coat of paint around the outside, making sure to spray 6-8 inches from the bottle. Let dry and apply a second coat. Let dry and touch up, spray the bottom and inside of lid.

Cold.

I was sick last week, for almost the entire week. Yuck, husband cleaned up after me a lot! Whatta guy.

Now, I'm back to normal and it feels great. It feels weird being sick in the summer. Blankets, movies, hot tea, none of that appeals in the summer. Why don't germs understand that? I'll take my flip flops over slippers any day!