Things I Love July

I always love reading lists of random things on other blogs, like Carly’s On My Radar and Diary posts and Mary Kate’s monthly favorites. So I’m going to give it a try as well!

Apple Pie | My old house had two apple trees. I absolutely loved picking fresh apples, but I soon had an overabundance of them! So I decided to learn how to make an apple pie. I found a recipe online, made some adjustments, and now my apple pie is kind of famous among people who’ve tried it. While I no longer have an apple tree, I often have a craving for apple pie--especially around the fourth of July! So of course I had to make one! I’m planning on making another one this weekend.

Walking to Work | One of the nice things about living half a mile from work is that I’m close enough to walk! When I have to work on Saturdays, Casey walks me to work then continues a few blocks to the farmers market where he picks me up a pastry for breakfast, then brings it back to me. I love those Saturday walks! This week I realized that I shouldn’t save walking to work for Saturdays, so I’m trying to get my act together and walk more often. I have no excuses! (Except for the notorious, daily South Louisiana rain, but that’s why I’ve got pink rain boots, right?) It’s a great opportunity to get some vitamin D and listen to an audiobook.

Audiobooks | Remember my book challenge? One of my challenges was to listen to an audiobook. I’ll have you know I finished two audiobooks and I’m on my third! I finally realized that I don’t like to listen to fiction--I want to read it myself--but I don’t mind listening to nonfiction. I’m currently listening to Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill. I listen to all my audiobooks free through my library. Almost all public libraries have a collection of audiobooks you can download to your phone for free via various apps, so go to your local library and see what kind of options they have!

Cookbooks | I’m turning into my aunt. I always picked on her because when we’d go on vacations, I’d have a stack of YA fiction books (or e-books, thanks again public library!) and she’d have a pile of cookbooks. She doesn’t cook a lot, but she loves to look at cookbooks, and now so do I! I love grabbing cookbooks from the library and came home with five the other day. Casey and I have been going through them and noting recipes we want to try.

EKWIP camp | Every year, our church hosts a kids camp called EKWIP, which stands for Equipping Kids With Individual Purpose. I couldn’t be there the whole time due to work, but was able to go a few times. It’s amazing to see how many people put so much work into it. Many people take a week of vacation time from work so they can serve at EKWIP. They look forward to it every year and consider it an investment in our kiddos. I’m so blessed to be a part of the Pentecostals of Lee Road! Our church is truly our second family!

Front Porch Sitting | We visited my family for the fourth of July, and I mentioned to my mom's husband that I was looking for an outdoor table and chairs for our porch. He's great at finding things on Facebook Marketplace, so I wanted to mention it to him in case he found something. He found EXACTLY what I was looking for! I've been having a cup of tea and reading my Bible on the porch the last few weeks, and it is bliss. Such a great way to start the day. Sometimes we also have dinner outside or I'll go out there to work or paint. I love spending more time outside!

My Fave Essential Oil Blends

Last year I began using essential oils and I’ve really been enjoying them! My favorite way to use them is in the diffuser. I love being able to change the smell every day depending on my mood. Here are a few of my recent fave diffuser blends!

Thieves and bergamot - This is called the “apple cider” blend and I’m so in love! It’s pretty much the only thing I diffused all winter! Sometimes I swap the Thieves for Eden’s Garden’s Guardian blend, which is basically the exact same thing.

Cedarwood and vanilla - I’m surprised that I love cedarwood so much because it’s described as being “earthy”. But it smells sweet to me! I love to diffuse it with vanilla, and sometimes I’ll add orange to it as well.

Lavender, cedarwood, and frankincense - This is a great calming blend. I also have a roller blend with these three oils that I rub on my wrists, neck, and over my heart some nights. (I have a few blends I switch between before bedtime.)

Orange, vanilla, and cassia - Oooh, this smells soooo delicious, like something sweet coming out of the kitchen. Cassia is strong, so I usually do one drop of that with a few drops each of vanilla and orange. This is my favorite “homey” blend.

Eden’s Garden - Good Morning - This is a blend from Eden’s Garden and I am OBSESSED. It has all my favorite scents in it--vanilla, orange, and peppermint. It smells so sweet and uplifting and I diffuse it all the time!

Making Old things NEW

One of the best things about learning to sew has been to see clothes differently. Thrifting will never be the same! Instead of passing on skirts that are a tad too big or too long, now I know I can fix them!

I've had this white dress for about a year now. My Gramma gave it to me. Here's a thing you should know: My Gramma is more stylish than me. She has a collection of cute dresses and when she's done with them, I'm on the list for hand-me-downs. It never fails that I get compliments on the dresses she gives me, and people always ask, "Where did you get that dress?" Then I admit that I got it from my Gramma.

Anyhoo, so this dress came from Gramma. I thought it was cute, but I never wore it because I felt like I was wearing a tent. It just felt too big. But a few weeks ago, I saw it and wanted to wear it. I thought, "Maybe I'll like it better if it's a few inches shorter." So I went to the sewing room (aka my craft room/library/office/painting room... whatever project I'm working on today), cut off a few inches, and hemmed it right back up. Now I love it!

Unfortunately I managed to get black sharpie all over it in kids church that night, so now I've got to treat the stains. I can't wait to get them out and wear it again!

Here's the before photo! It's amazing what taking off a few inches can do!