Renegade!

I have NEVER been able to go to Renegade. Tragic I know, but it always falls on a weekend I am out of town or working, but not this year! The benefit of a 9-5 desk job is know what days you will have off for the next 12 years. : )

Who's coming with me?!

Book Love

 I have read quite the collection of fantastic books lately and I would like to share them with you!

1. This I actually read last year, but it has remained one of my favs! For all you english nerds out there this one is for you. It is set in Spain and the whole feel of it is pretty dark and gothic, but it is beautifully written. A young boy is introduce to the cemetery of forgotten books by his father and he gets to choose a book to take home. As he grows up the characters from the book begin to unfold and become entangled in his own life. A mystery in Barcelona is unearthed and the character struggles to figure out fact and fiction. Read it.

2. This one Greg bought me as a gift, and I ended up falling in love with it. It is about a young African girl , Little Bee, who comes to America to find a woman she met once by horrific chance on a beach in Nigeria, a woman who made a decision that saved Little Bee's life. Little Bee arrives in the midst of a tragedy in the woman's life and each one struggles to free the other from past choices and mistakes.

3. This is my all time favorite book of all times. Did I mention that I love this book?! It is about a missionary family in the Belgium Congo in the 1950s. The story is told through the eyes of the women in the family. The mother and her four daughters. Their unrelenting and legalistic father bears down on them in a beautiful metaphor of the relationship between the Belgians and African during this time period. The story goes from when they first arrive to when they are all grown women. The story will tear you apart, I promise. 

4. This was a recent read. Judge me if you must by I love me some Jodi Piccoult. : ) This story is about a man who is on death row for killing a young girl and decides that as his last act of goodwill on this earth he will donate his heart to the young girls little sister who is dying. The story twists and turns until everything you thought was right is wrong and everyone you fell in love with and everyone you despised are turned upside down.

Hope you pick up one of these books and read it. I enjoyed them all, but I tried to pick different genre books  to suggest to appeal to anyone out there that is looking for their next read. Enjoy.

Love, Sav

Tin can lantern tutorial

What could be better than making a lantern out of trash. Literally an old tin can, some hemp, and a candle. 

Materials

1. Tin Cans (I got mine from the food service at the camp I work for. check pizza places or places with a salad bar, they will have those huge cans!)

2.Twine, hemp, jute, or string

3. Scissors

4. Sharpie marker

5.Hammer

6.Nail

7. Spray paint

First start out by marking a design in your can with your sharpie marker. It is ok if you mess up because you will just spray paint over it anyway.

Then start pounding away! I'm not going to lie this is where I got lazy! I was in a hurry to get this up so my designs aren't nearly as cool as the my inspirations, but I am going back now and spicing them up a bit.
**make sure to pound out two holes at the top for your string handle to go!**

 

Next up...spray paint that bad boy! I like the look of black for the lanterns, but I guess you can choose any color you want. 

 

Cut a piece of string/jute/hemp just long to be the size of a small handle and feed them through the holes you made at the top of them can.

 Now hang it up, put a candle in it and enjoy! Like I said my design is pretty lame, but you get the idea and now you can make your own and make it fabulous!I eventually want to finish 3 intricately designed ones to go on my tree outside. 

Love, Sav

These are a few of my favorite things...

Judge me if you must but watching Teen Mom 2 at the gym might be one of my favorite things.

...also as a side note, if the finisher's tee from the last half-marathon you ran is impossible to get on a little too tight, it's time to run another half-marathon...

...hence the gym...

Love, Sav

DIY window pane re-purpose

I am in the process of re-purposing an old window pane into a piece that is going to hang in either my living room or kitchen, I am not sure where yet. 

 I have some ideas on what to turn it in to but right now I am leaning towards making it into a bulletin/picture board of sorts.

 1-2-3 Primer is the best.

 

Here is a tip for you. When you are done painting for the day and want a clean and fresh brush to start with the next day, wash your brush out thoroughly with warm water, wrap it in a paper towel and leave it in the fridge. It won't stiffen and ready for the next use with no caked on paint!

Love, Sav

Bloglovin'

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Love, Sav

Etagere VS Me

I am too impatient to wait for Greg to do it for me a Do It Yourself  kind of girl so I though I would put together a bathroom "Etagere" (AKA shelf) all by myself last night. 

Assembly required? Right on. No screwdriver handy? No problem. No drill to be found? Oh who needs to REALLY mount it to the wall anyway.

And off I went.

 

You won't beat me you flimsy shelf!

My patience and perseverance are starting to fade...reaching for the phone to call Greg...

Victory.

ME: 1     ETAGERE: 0

Love, Sav

23rd birthday

I turned 23 on Thursday as you already know, with my 24 by 24 post..now here are some pics from the fabulous day. Sushi and thrifting with the girls, cooking class with my one and only, and starbucks from my momma. Couldn't get better.

Thanks mom. 

Next stop: Thrifting and sushi with the girls! So fun.

Cooking class at Sur La Table with Greg...SUCH and awesome gift!

Showing off our creation! We made stir fry pork with mandarin oranges, green onions, ginger, bok choy, and sweet and spicy sauce. So delicious! I learned how to properly use a WOK and Greg learned how to properly mince ginger. Other people in the class made chicken with vegetables, salmon with marinated red onions and a farrow, beet, and feta salad. We got to try everything and it was good, let me tell you what!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes, etc on facebook, texts, phone calls, cards, and presents. I felt extremely blessed and loved! Can't wait to see what this year has in store!

Ruth 1

Ruth

Me and a couple other girls are meeting bi-weekly to hang out, pray, read the bible, and usually eat yummy food. : ) The other day I had them over to my house for brunch and we read Ruth 1. In this chapter we learn about a woman named Naomi, her husband, 2 sons, and daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth. The husband and sons die and Naomi is left with her daughters in law trying to fend for themselves. They decide to go back to Judah where Naomi is from. Orpah turns back to Moab but Ruth sticks by Naomi's side. Naomi curses God and re-names herself "Mara" which mean "bitter". 

Naomi and Ruth take very different approaches to life at this point. Naomi is wrapped up in her circumstances and blames God for all her misfortune. When times are good she praises Him and when times are bad she curses Him. Ruth is just the opposite, she vows to be faithful to Naomi and to God unto death. Caring and remaining with Naomi means that this poor foriegner (a Moabites in Judah) will probably be shunned, remain unmarried and with no legacy of children. She is not dependent on her circumstances for happiness. She is faithful and obedient through good times and bad.

I  pray that I can be more Ruth like than Naomi like. How do you identify with more?

Love, Sav

Litte Dresses for Africa party

I heard of someone who had a party like this and I though "hey that would be so fun!" So I invited a couple ladies over and we sewed dresses to be sent over to Africa for little girls to enjoy! It was definitely a fun afternoon and the dresses turned out great! Little Dresses for Africa is a wonderful little organization that you should check out...and have a party of your own!

 

The living room was a mess...but we had a blast!

To have a party of your own all you need is:

Some drinks...

some yummy snacks!

Last but not least, have amazing friends who make adorable little dresses! (Sorry, Ivy, I couldn't find your pictures with your dress!! Or mine...)

Thanks ladies for such a fun time and great cause!

Love, Sav