Have you seen our Etsy shop lately? We're having so much fun with our creative adventure! 

Here is a recently completed custom order. The customer asked that the rose be black or a very dark blood-red. We painted this one up with a base of black, and then added a layer of cherry red gloss. It's black at first glance, but when the light hits it you see shimmers of red. So pretty!

If you're wanting to receive a custom metal flower in time for Valentine's Day be sure to place your order before this Monday, February 6th! 

You can also check us out on Facebook to see what other projects we've been working on!   

About 1 month ago, we decided to really make an effort to eat better at home.  Because we don't have a lot of extra money, we agreed to use up what we still have in the fridge, freezer, and pantry, but decided that all new groceries would need to be fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, etc. We're even trying out some gluten free and dairy free products to see if it helps my health issues out at all. We were really worried that eating better would cost more. The very first time Joe stopped to pick up some smoothie supplies, he went a little bit over budget. We are used to just choosing something to put back and moving on. Well, this happened instead:

The person behind him in line covered the last $6.  I have to wonder if she would have done that if he was buying our usual frozen pizza and root beer.  ;)

The adventure continued on our first trip to Whole Foods.  I was so overwhelmed that we had to put our cart away and just walk the store first before attempting to shop.  I was so excited I kept pointing in every direction. I think at one point, Joe gently pulled my arm back down. hahahaha.  I love it there!

We got: sea salt, pecans, quinoa, agave, strawberry papaya, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar with the mother, and buckwheat honey. We have loved everything except the honey.  We prefer to buy local honey, but we tried this one because the flavor sounded interesting. Neither of us were fans.

We got all of our produce from Walmart.  I can't wait to try out the farmer's markets in the area though!

I braved putting spinach in my smoothie. I liked it. This picture is of our old crappy blender. My parents have since bought us a new Ninja Blender which we have used EVERY SINGLE DAY. Love it.

Pretty grapefruit.

Gory looking pomegranates. 

Homemade pomegranate juice.

Oh, I promise this 'whipped cream thing' only happened once. This is a transitional period!

We have tried so many new foods and made so many adjustments!  I love that Joe is on board!  He eats a bowl of oatmeal/fruit in the morning, takes two giant green smoothies to drink on the way to work (instead of coffee) and I pack him a HUGE salad, healthy homemade trail mix, celery and peanut butter, 2 apples, an orange, and usually some chopped up fruit like pineapple or mango. If its a class night he gets 2 huge salads and also leftovers from whatever we had for dinner the night before. It sounds like its not a lot of food, but he even brings home food untouched some days because he is so full! We've both seen a huge increase in our energy level, and positive changes in our health!  

We lax up on the weekends when we see my family, since we usually eat out. I told Joe that it felt like forever since we had eaten any pizza, and he reminded me that in actuality we have had pizza about 4 times since we started eating better. That averages out to once a week. I don't think i'll ever stop feeling deprived when it comes to pizza, but I am proud of the good things we have added into our diet! Hooray!  Try a green a smoothie, I promise you can't taste the spinach at all!!

Here is a screenshot of the grocery list app we use. This particular list is where we keep track of movies we want to see. It syncs with both of our phones so we update it regularly. I opened it up one day to discover that Joe took it upon himself to create subcategories (the grey lines).  All of my movies (regardless of genre) go in the "Lifetime" waterworks special category.

I am already making plans to rearrange them all, putting his movie choices into the "Boom-Explosion-No Plot Neccesary" category.

If you haven't checked out Goodreads--you should! I like it a lot! It's so nice to keep track of what I'm reading, what I want to read, book reviews, what friends are reading, etc.  Plus it makes me feel techy about my book reading (they have an app too) without having to give up having a real book in my hand and using funky bookmarks.

Isn't this such a Joe book? As if he doesn't measure enough stuff during the day, he likes to READ about measuring stuff too? haha. One of my favorite parts of going to the library is how excited we both get about our own books, and how utterly bored the other person is when we try to share our favorite parts. 

The library we've been going to lately has a random collection of IKEA furniture a super elite lounge area that we discovered back by the "Young Adult" section. The young adult vs. actual adult line is blurry, right?  If you ignore the fact that we're closer to 30 than 20 then I say the title still fits. Since no one is ever there we started reading our books in there. There may have been a "collapsed futon" incident but we won't talk about that.

What are you reading? I can always use more recommendations!  

Mantel update--featuring artwork by some of my favorite people!!

L to R: a doodle that says "M & J" (by Kate @ Wake Up Lovely), Goodwill glass with branches from last spring, abstract photograph of purple nail polish (by Jamie), pencil drawing of the tree of life (by Joe), wooden L (by Joe-available in our etsy shop!), pi symbol branded into wood block (by Joe), and pencil drawing of our wedding picture (by me).

Close up of the adorable M & J doodle.

I also switched our Christmas cards to paper hearts.

Introducing our newest feline family member--Newly!  Many of you know him already through my mom's blog. But for those who don't--he is a handsome 7 month old grey tabby. He rode up to Watering Hole Ranch in the underbelly of my mom's car. Before joining our family, he spent several months (under my sister's care) as the only cat at WHR, outnumbered by 8 dog rescues! 

You can read his full rescue story here.

Newly is such a sweet cuddler. We're used to Khloe who is too adventurous to sit still long enough for cuddle time. So we are soaking up all kinds of kitty love over here. 

At first we kept Newly and Khloe in separate rooms so they could get used to the idea of each other slowly. We let them trade places for a couple of hours each day so they could check out all the scents of the other cat. We tried once or twice to introduce them in the same room and it ended in bloodshed (ok, only mine. it was only rugburn on one knee and a tiny scratch, but I hope it scars so I can tell my dramatic story). After several days of pawing, hissing, and yowling through the door that separated them, these two finally calmed down enough to be in the same room without instantly brawling.

They still hiss and stalk each other, but its much milder. We put them in separate rooms when we leave the house. They each have their own window/food/fountain/litter/toys set up. Newly does the most hissing, but whenever Khloe puffs up at him, he immediately lays down. He's definitely letting her keep her rule. This picture was taken the first time they ever interacted without brawling. It perfectly portrays their body language--they must do this pose/dance 10 times a day. Pretty much whenever they cross paths.

And here's a video from that same moment. (sorry, I had just stripped the sheets off the bed!)

Last night was the first time they both slept in the bed with us at the same time.  I don't think they knew it though, haha.  Khloe was on Joe's side at his feet, and Newly was on my side by my pillow. We have a long ways to go, but I hope they become best buds. But for now...they're keepin an eye on each other. (can't a kitty eat in peace?!)  

Official crazy cat lady status yet?  

I've got nothing on my mom and all of her puppies...

Dear Uncle Joe, 

Drea wanted me to make sure you saw her (creepy-eyed) doll! She held it up to the camera just for you. I told her you really liked (creepy-eyed) dolls and that I would take a picture so you could see it.

Dear Uncle Joe,

Nik sent me this picture that JJ drew on his markerboard.  He said that he didn't know what it was but he thought he'd seen it before, and she said that she thought Uncle Joe would like it very much.

As a bonus, here is a picture of JJ making fun of that one curl that sticks straight out of your forehead:

Yay for family!

Do you use Redbox? We only do when we get free rental codes! One that works almost every time we try it is "DVDONME".

I like to spy on Joe while he picks up our movie.

I would feel more sneaky if I had tinted windows....

I found this tutorial on Pioneer Woman.

Here's how mine turned out:

I gave them to Teara and Keara for Christmas. 

Easy peasy and really cute.