Ultimate No Bake Cookies

 My friend Emily and her husband owned a coffee shop in Colorado where they had all sorts of healthy, delicious, homemade goodies and these cookies were one among all the other treats. Now, I have to be honest and say that I am not a huge fan of no bake desserts BUT these cookies completely changed my opinion on no bake sweets. They are packed with really healthy stuff like almond butter, oats, chia seeds and sweet honey. When Emily gave me the recipe I didn't have all the ingredients so I substituted some things but no worries I will give you both recipes because I made the original as well and it was simply divine. Here is my version:

Ultimate No Bake Cookies

1 cup oats

1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup coconut

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Mix, form into balls, & ENJOY! 

Emily's recipe:

1 cup oats

1/2 cup peanut butter 

1/4 cup coconut 

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons chia seeds

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips/cocoa nibs

Mix, form into balls, flatten & enjoy!

You can get really creative and use dried cranberries, cocoa powder, sprinkle of sea salt-- the list is endless. Give these little guys a try you will be SOLD!

Comotomo GIVEAWAY!

Happy Tuesday everyone! What better way to start off a Tuesday than with a giveaway! Comotomo has teamed up with me to bring you an awesome giveaway. If you haven't heard of the Comotomo bottles and teethers you have been missing out.

The bottles are one of a kind, squeezy silicone which are made to resemble a mother's breast. As soon as I tried the bottles I was sold. They are so light weight, very easy to clean, vents the air out, makes feedings run smoothly, and best of all they don't leak! 

The teether is also a winner and my little guy absolutely loves it. The ring makes is very easy for him to hold and grab and the simple design serves all the needs of a teether. This nifty toy is very soft to the touch and flexible so I know Luke isn't hurting himself while thrashing it all over the place.

One lucky winner will win a 5 oz and 8 oz bottle, pack of replacement nipples and a teether.

How to enter the giveaway 

1) Comment below on your favorite baby item

2) "Like" Comotomo on Facebook

3) "Like" Decoratemediana on Facebook

Giveaway ends September 5!

Easy Storage with Crates

 I'm a HUGE fan of pretty storage and lets be honest who isn't? One of the more challenging things to store is toillet paper, you can't just have a bunch of rolls hanging out without making them look like they actually belong there. I was wandering around Michaels the other day when I ran into a pile of unfinished crates, I thought "Oh my! The things I can do with these!" I grabbed one to start off with @ $8.06! Took it home and slapped 2 coats of stain on it and let it dry over night. The next morning I put together my new set up in the guest bathroom. I always say "This is easy" but seriously, this is REALLY easy. All you need is a wooden crate, stain, and a sponge.

Here are some more ideas where crates make pretty storage:

• Store towels, books, crafts
• Use as toy box
• Make a coffee table like this one
• Use as photo prop
• Store wine bottles
• Use as storage for fruits & veggies in the pantry

New Entryway

Since I have a baby that is starting to crawl everywhere I am having to slowly re-decorate my house into a more "kid-friendly" place. I wanted to keep things very simple yet still have nice decor around the house. One thing I have been working on was my entryway. My old set up was nice but I wasn't crazy about it and not to mention all the things that were in arms reach for my little guy to grab. For weeks I was trying to think of a way to make my entryway look nice and at the same time make good use of the space it provided, so this is what I came up with.

 

 

 What we changed:

added wainscoting to the walls

new mirror - Broyhill

new runner - Overstock.com

added the storage bench - handmade

hung "God's help is nearer than the door" sign - Garden Ridge

We don't have an entryway closet so, John built me this awesome bench where we can store shoes, purse, laptop bag, etc.

 And here is what it looked like before:

DIY Blue Tinted Mason Jars

 A few weeks ago we took a trip to the mid-west where we visited some family and while there, we drove to a small town that had all these cute old antique shops and thats where I fell in love with the blue mason jars. Now, let me just break it down in terms of $$$ as to why it's cheaper to make your own rather than going out and buying them. A blue tinted antique jar costs $10. I already had everything at home so I didn't have to spend any extra money on this project.. But if you are a crafty person you will most likely have these supplies on hand and if you don't it's probably going to cost you about $5 to make 1 or 2. You're probably thinking... How in the world do I tint glass? Well scroll down to find out.

 

Start by mixing about 4 Tablespoons of MP with a few drops of blue food coloring and 1 Tablespoon of water. 

** With the food coloring you can use as much or as little as you would like.**

  

Pour the mixture into the jar and swirl around till evenly distributed.

Flip the jar over a plastic cup for about 5 mintues.
After the 5 minutes is up, flip back up, place in a cold oven and turn it on to the lowest temperature. Bake for about 20 minutes. Take out and let them cool.

You can use these jars for so any different things, such as:

• Store cotton balls in the bathroom
• Pen, scissor, paint brush holder in the craft room
• Centerpieces for an even (I would not recommend using as a vase with water)
• Candle holder
• Store non-edible items

Have you entered my GIVEAWAY?

Maple Hill Farm + GIVEAWAY

I had the absolute pleasure of talking to a sweet lady named Tammy who together with her family owns Maple Hill Farm where they have all sorts of fresh meats, jams & jellies, eggs and so much more. Along with all the fresh produce they offer, Tammy hand makes Organic Sheep Milk Soap and Eco-friendly Soy Candles that I had the pleasure of trying out.

 

 

The Sheep Milk Soaps are made with, of course sheep milk from Tammy's sheep along with organic coconut oil and natural essential oils and botanicals-- who wouldn't want to have these goodies in their soap?!  Each bar is handcrafted in small batches to ensure high quality and allowed to cure for a minimum of 4 weeks before they are ready to sell.

Because I am pregnant my scent of smells are on crazy mode to the point where I had to replace a lot of my cosmetics, cleaning products etc. So I decided to go with the lemongrass scent and I'm not one bit sorry I chose that because it smells so fresh and invigorating that when I felt nauseous and used the soap, the nausea went away.  And to top off the great scent and the fact that it's all natural, it left my skin feeling so soft and moisturized. See what other scents Tammy has to offer at her Etsy store.

One thing you probably didn't know about me is that I absolutely love candles and I recently learned about Eco-friendly clean burning soy candles and after trying the Maple Hill Farm candles I was sold. What are the benefits of soy candles? They burn clean, which means soy candles don't increase the CO2 levels in the air like paraffin candles do, they burn longer, and they are non-toxic. My favorite part about Tammy's candles are the different and unique scents she offers like, Strawberry Sangria, Watermelon, Honeysuckle, Blueberry Cheesecake, Strawberry Shortcake-- just listing these is making me hungry. I went with the Mango Tangerine and let me tell you, it brought me back to a breeze day at the beach in Punta Cana where John and I spent our honeymoon. The scent of this candle is amazing, let's just take a moment to image how fresh squeezed orange juice smells like mixed with sweet ripe mango... Yeah, that's what I thought. Oh but the best part is, if Tammy doesn't have a fragrance you like in her store she will take special orders! I will for sure return to her store for some sweet smelling treats. 

Maple Hill Farm 

Giveaway! 

Because I absulutely love these products and because you guys are awesome! I decided to giveaway 2 candle jars and 2 soap bars to 4 lucky winners. 

Here are the simple rules

MUST DO AT LEAST 2 OF THE FOLLOWING:

1. Follow my blog

2. Like my Facebook page

3. Leave a comment bellow on your favorite candle scent  

** If you do all 3 you will have a higher chance of winning**

**Spammers will be blocked**

On August 8, 2013-- Using Random.org, I will take all my followers from my blog & Facebook page as well as all the comments left below to randomly select 4 winners. The first 2 winners will get to pick between the candle or soap and the remaining 2 will get whatever is left whether it's the candle or soap but all winners will be able to pick the fragrance of choice.

For a list of all the fragrances visit

 Maple Hill Farm etsy store.

ENDS 

AUGUST 8, 2013

June Highlights + BIG News!

Talk about MIA right!? I'm still alive!! June has been a CRAZY busy month to the point where I didn't even have time to grab my camera to snap pictures of the month. I'll update you guys are the more important happenings.

Let's start off with the biggest and most exciting that happened this past month and that is..... WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!!! We are really happy and excited. When I first found out, I was shocked and I'll admit I cried but not because I was mad or sad but because I was nervous and I mean, I just had a baby 7 MONTHS AGO!!! But I kept telling myself, "This is what the Lord has planned for us and he knows how much John and I can handle." 

Answers to questions I have been getting:

• Was this planned? No, not at all. But we are really excited and don't regret anything!

• When are you due? At the end of January

• How far apart will the kids be? 13 months

•  Do you want a boy or a girl? Honestly, I will be happy with either a boy or a girl... Boy because Luke will have a buddy to play with. Girl because I'll get to make all sorts of bows and have a sweet mama's girl.  

• C-section or VBAC? CS if baby goes to due date, will try a VBAC if the baby comes early.

•  How are you feeling? I have my good days and bad days... One day I don't even feel like I'm pregnant, and the next day won't be so hot. But I do feel MUCH better than I felt with baby #1. 

My garden is doing AWESOME! Right after I posted my May Highlights I planted more veggies. Here are some pictures of my garden.

I am so happy that I actually have a garden and whenever I need veggies or herbs I just go pick it from my backyard. I love doing that.

Veggies in my garden:

Tomatoes

Mini bell peppers

Jalapeno peppers

Yellow Tabasco peppers

Habanero Peppers

Cucumbers

Yellow Summer Squash

Eggplant

Basil

Dill

Parsley

Cilantro

Rosemary

We are hoping to get a lot of jalapenos so we can make pickled peppers.

House plans for July:

We are about to start working on our basement and hope to finish by the time baby #2 arrives. Our garage is linked to our basement, so we are going to close out the garage, and make it part of the basement. I am really excited but at the same time I am dreading it just because, well.. I honestly don't really have a good reason other than the fact that it's going to be a lot of work and I just want it finished! Don't worry everyone I won't be doing any heavy lifting or do anything that is harmful to preggy ladies or the sweet little baby in my belly. I will be posting pictures as we make progress.

We are also adding 2 windows in our living room to bring in more natural light and getting rid of the bookshelves. Any ideas of where to put the bass and receiver?

 We are also going to put an opening in this wall which is between the living room and the kitchen.

 So, that's it for the month of June. I'm sure July is going to be busy but I'll have tons of projects and updates along the way. 

Have a GREAT July!!