Skunkboy Blog

Skunkboy Creatures Are Back

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 03:38:00 +0000

Well, I don't really know how many years it has been since I last made any creatures (7ish?), but tomorrow I will be putting a handful of deer busts and ornaments in the shop! I honestly didn't see this coming, and I plan to take it very slow at first so I don't experience the same burnout I did in the past. If you're curious, that's not the only reason I took such a long break. Life got busy and I found myself so tied up all the time that I didn't have much space to just be a mom or see friends on top of our band gigs and whatnot. Anyway, I just didn't want to insinuate that I made so many animals that I ended up HATING it. I still love these little guys. Who knows, maybe I'll even start blogging a bit again. We did SO. MANY. home projects this year. Maybe I'll give some more details than an IG square. Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, let's focus on the shop update. It's tomorrow (12/10) and I'm sure at least a few people are here for the details.

*Animals will go live at 7pm CST over in my Big Cartel shop.

*This is quite a small offering, but I do hope to slowly release more. There aren't multiples of the deer busts, but there will be multiples of the ornaments.

*I will be adding a deposit option for 3 custom orders. I am so very excited to get back to customs. I have made some really special animals in the past bc of your requests. These special orders will not be ready before Christmas.

*It is looking like shipping will be a bit pricey this year. Shipping will cost you what it costs me. I will not price gauge on shipping, but I know for bigger items it seems quite expensive. Just typing in dimensions and weight, deer busts look to be anywhere from $30-$40 to ship. Ornaments will be much cheaper, as they will ship in padded envelopes.

Those are the bones of the update. If you have any questions that I didn't cover, please leave them in the comments and I will get to them as quickly as possible. Thank you all for being here! It feels good to be in this space again!

xo. Katie

Our Kitchen Renovation Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 17:34:00 +0000

I'm so excited to finally show you our (mostly) finished kitchen! Do you like how I keep throwing "mostly" in there? Are you ever really done dreaming in your spaces? Usually not. In the future we'd like to have a proper pantry built and maybe even take out part of the wall along our back staircase (it lives behind the coral hutch), but that's a whole lot of Phase 3 talk and I'm ready to take a break from kitchen projects for a bit. 😉

Okay, so getting back to the current state of the kitchen... I'm SO pleased with how everything came together! The counters, the flooring, the new colors: it all feels so fresh and pretty, and it also still feels like ME. Hey, I worry. What if you make big decisions and end up having major regrets? It's a real concern. Anyway, I'm happy to report that I have 0 regrets thus far. That's definitely something to celebrate!

If you remember from my Part 1 post, I partnered with Surplus Warehouse, a home improvement warehouse store that specializes in flooring and cabinetry, for a portion of this kitchen project. I think before I go any further, I should share a little bit of behind-the-scenes. I feel like a lot of times blogs seem to wave a magic wand and there's *poof* a before and after set of pics. Renovation isn't easy, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. We hired professionals to remove our old counters, install the new ones with a new sink and garbage disposal, lay the tile and grout, rehang and paint the cabinets, and it was still hard. Being without a kitchen for weeks is hard. The rest of the stuff you opt to do yourself to save money can be hard. Obviously it's worth it, but it's still hard. Let's get into our "before" and a glimpse at the process.

A lot of people on social media were encouraging us to keep the aqua paint color, but if you scroll up, you can see how the new flooring changed the tone of the blue. Always trust your decorating gut. You're the one who lives in the space, not a person on Instagram who thinks made the wrong choice. Because this used to be the A Beautiful Mess studio, I get a lot of push-back any time I decide to change something... even after all these years. I want my home to reflect me, not a sea of strangers with opinions. I don't love this expression, but in this case it's truly applicable: YOU DO YOU.

We chose to finish the kitchen DIYing anything we were qualified to do, which was basically just a lot of painting. The yellow barn door, the back door, the hutch, the new quarter round trim, and white walls all needed a fresh coat of paint. Can we just talk about white walls for a sec? They're so fresh and bright and make a space look clean, but the minute you touch up one part of your house, you realize how much EVERYTHING ELSE needs painted. 😂 The struggle is real.

It took us the better part of 2 weeks to finish painting all of those things because, ya know, work and life take top priority. We crested the finish line, though, and now I get to share a gallery of photos all shot by Janae Hardy.

I want to give a major shoutout to Arthur, the manager at Surplus Warehouse, before I wrap this up. We ended up having an issue with our grout and we couldn't find the same product anywhere in Springfield. He ended up driving to Rogers, AR to get us what we needed. That's a 4 hour round trip just to make sure we had the proper grout. So, as you can tell, it's been a pleasure working with Surplus Warehouse on our flooring. Major thanks to them.

We are SO pleased with our kitchen updates! It has all the elements I was going for: bright, colorful, eclectic with quality products. Oh, and the whole space feels so much bigger. Nailed it!

Now that the kitchen is done, I think I might take a breather from home projects for a bit. It's has been so lovely here in MO lately, I think it's time to get back to the garden. In the meantime, feel free to hit me with any questions you have about kitchen renovations!

Our Kitchen Renovation Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 16:32:00 +0000

Hey, friends! I'm excited to be sharing this big project we've been working on for months! If you remember, last year Johnny and I officially bought this lovely historic house we'd been renting for a couple of years. Our landlords were very gracious in what they let us do to the house as far as painting and wallpapering went, but as any renter knows, you don't pour the big bucks in until you own the home. That brings us to our first official home renovation: the kitchen! I do want to start out by saying that this was already the nicest kitchen in any house I've ever lived in, so it's not that there was anything "wrong" with it. Johnny and I wanted to change some things aesthetically, and in doing that, invest in quality products that would help increase the value of our house.

We knew we'd have to go in phases because kitchen updates are not always easy on the wallet. Phase 1 for us was having the old formica countertops ripped out and replaced with quartz. If you're curious about the old concrete skim coat, you can find that DIY here. It really was a clever project, we were just ready for something a little more classic.

After the counters went in and the tile backsplash repaired (we hired professionals for all of it), Surplus Warehouse, a home improvement warehouse store that specializes in flooring and cabinetry, reached out to me about working together. Could Phase 2 really happen so quickly? We went over to check out the selection since they are literally down the street from us, and were pleasantly surprised. When you walk in, they have a full, nice showroom. I was instantly excited, and honestly, it makes me so happy to be using a local company for our remodel!

We met with the store manager, Arthur, and he took us back to the warehouse and explained a bit about flooring, and let us ask a bunch of questions. For a person who sometimes gets overwhelmed in large home improvement warehouses, I felt surprisingly at ease in the aisles. Everything was clearly labeled so I knew what I was looking at. They even had signs that recommended what types of projects (backsplash, flooring, etc) to use specific types of tile for. That was a big help for me. I've never gotten to renovate a kitchen before and I was a little afraid of making a rookie mistake.

We took a couple of samples home to see how they felt in our kitchen. After spending way too many days looking at different penny tile design options on Pinterest, Johnny and I agreed on the marble hexagon tile. Ha! Sometimes you just have to really overthink something to come back around to the simpler option. Johnny placed our order with Arthur and we set up an installation date with our contractor! It was happening!

Here is our "before" photo. Again, I think this kitchen is great, we were just ready to personalize it and make it feel even more like "us". I can't wait to write out part 2 and show you the finished product. Soon, friends!

*Special thanks to Surplus Warehouse for working with us. We're so excited to have this opportunity!

Our Palm Springs Anniversary Trip

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 19:46:00 +0000

(Mural at the Ace Hotel and Swim Club but Laura Berger.)

Johnny and I recently celebrated our anniversary with a trip to Palm Springs. December is a busy month for us, so we rarely go "all out" with celebrating. This year I decided it was time to skip the overnight trip to Kansas City or St. Louis and go to where the sun would warm our faces.

We started the trip by missing our first afternoon/evening in PS because of flight delays. That part was tough. If you follow me on IG you probably know that Johnny has been dealing with a bulging disc in his lower back, so sleeping on the floor at the Denver airport was no bueno. We did make it through the night, though (obviously), and found ourselves in the warm sunshine a day later than expected.

We stayed at a quite little place called The Desert Star. It was precious and secluded, but still VERY close to the stuff we like do when visiting Palm Springs. We spent most of our first day recovering from lack of sleep, so it was a chill(y) day getting in the pool, napping, and sitting by the fire pit.

The next day we hit King's Highway for brunch and then headed the Cabazon Dinosaurs (my favorite!). We actually went specifically to the Ace Hotel to see the Laura Berger mural. I've been a fan of hers for a long time, so this was really fun to see in person!

After the dinos we did some shopping and sight seeing, and ate at Evzin for dinner. I don't have any pictures because I fully believe in finding the balance between being in the moment and having documented memories, but let me tell you- that was one of the best meals of my life. So, so good!

It was a short trip, but there's no one I'd rather spend it with. (And spend those long travel days with. 😉) We've been back for a week and a half and I still haven't unpacked, though. Why is unpacking simply the worst? Any crazy unpack-the-day-I-get-home folks out there? I (lovingly) think you're aliens. 😉

Broken Cameras and Big Button Dresses

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 21:58:00 +0000

I have no idea how this happened because this week feels insane, but I BLOGGED TWICE IN ONE WEEK! I feel like after typing that in all caps my computer is gonna bite the dust or something. 😂 Anyway, my friend, Mallory just released her new collection and I'm in love with this dress! The color! The buttons! The pockets! I I think it's going to be a main go-to for Fall!

Dress: Mallory // Shirt: Urban Outfitters // Tights: Target // Boots: Jeffrey Campbell

Fun story (big time sarcasm here): We took the girls on vacation to Destin, FL last month and I decided to throw my DSLR in my backpack so I could capture some beachy photos. One of my girls had been rifling around in my bag for sunglasses and hadn't zipped it back up all the way. My camera, sitting at the top of an over-stuffed backpack, pushed its way free and hit the pavement. Devastated, I grabbed the camera and just hoped, by some crazy amount of voodoo luck, that when I pushed the shutter button it would miraculously have gotten away unscathed. Nope. It was BUSTED. We reached the beach (we were literally across the street- there's almost no pavement!) and I sat and shed some tears under a beach umbrella for a quite a while, mourning the loss of my camera. It's one of those stupid moments when you're just so frustrated, but it's not really anyone's fault. Then I bought myself a piña colada and decided I wasn't going to let it wreck my entire day. 🤷🏼‍♀️
So yeah, I'm back to using my partially broken Canon 60D while my 7D is in the shop. Light a candle for her, won't ya? 😉 This also explains the double photo shoot locations. My 60D is a finicky girl.

Life happens, I suppose.

Oh, yeah- I've decided to scrap the "Weekly Wears" title since I haven't been keeping up with outfit posts. They can just be a happy spot when they actually happen. I love documenting cute outfits and getting to look back on them, though, so maybe I'll start doing it more frequently.

I hope you're having a great week so far. Be sure to check out Mallory's new collection if you get the chance!

Bits of Halloween Around the House

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 19:55:00 +0000

Have you heard me mourn the loss of my former mantle recently? 😂 Whenever I'm decorating for a holiday, I find myself missing my fireplace mantle so much! I've finally come to the realization that I can use my entryway table as I would a mantle. I WILL have a fireplace in my house again-- I have big plans for this, I'm just not quite there yet.

Anyway, here's a peek at some spooky things around our house! I'm getting to the point where I want to start decorating for every holiday, not just seasonally.

Do yourself a favor and buy some mini witch hats at your local craft store. You won't regret it! They are so cute on everything!

Do you decorate for Halloween? I didn't used to, but so many of my friends make their houses darling for Halloween and they've inspired me!

Leave me any links to fun Halloween decor in the comments! It can be your own home or just one you've seen around the internet! Happy Monday!

sources: Coraline doll 1, 2, 3, 4 // mini witch hats // glitter pumpkins // bison // silhouettes // entryway table (similar)

What Katie Cooks

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 19:31:00 +0000

Here's another small round up of some meals I've cooked recently. I typically like to make meals that are fast and easy, so these are some ideas to spark new food ventures in your life!

Okay, so the photo above-- what is it??

Hoisin Tofu with Veggies
*tofu sautéed in hoisin sauce
*onions, peppers, and mushrooms sautéed in olive oil
*steamed white rice
*cilantro
*veggie dumplings (store bought)

Keeping the veggies separate from the hoisin tofu kept this meal from tasting too hoinsin-y (the technical term). I just love veggie dumplings, so we pick them up from our local grocer pretty regularly. Tossing these in a pan with liquid aminos is so good! I like to serve them with ginger dressing on the side.

What is it?

Tomato Gouda Avocado Toast
*7 sprouted grains bread
*gouda cheese
*2 egg whites
*avocado
*tomatoes
*pepper

This meal was super simple and showed off just how beautiful and delicious my garden tomatoes have been. The gouda is smoky and gives the effect of bacon very nicely. I'm pretty sure I should make this for lunch today...

What is it?

Tofu Scramble with Cabbage Hash
*medium firm tofu with turmeric, salt, and pepper
*napa cabbage
*orange bell pepper
*fresh cilantro
*chives
*avocado
*wheat toast

This one isn't that photogenic, but it tasted so good! Johnny's been having some food allergies lately (we think eggs may be contributing) and I really wanted to try tofu as an egg substitute. It worked SO WELL and the turmeric even makes the tofu look like eggs. I used this method with meatless sausage and pico in a breakfast burrito this same week and it was amazing!

Like I've said before, I'm no food blogger and I'm certainly no food photographer, this is just a fun way to share some meal ideas that we've had in the past few weeks! Happy cooking!!

Happy Birthday, Hope!

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 19:18:00 +0000

For those of you who have been reading this ol' blog for a while, get ready to feel like we're living in an alternate universe. I'm a week late here, but Hope is officially 16. What??? It's true. We celebrated her 16th birthday last week and my mind is trying to figure out how time has gone so quickly. I guess it's true that the older you get the faster time goes. Or maybe we just keep ourselves so busy that life blows by? I don't know, but my "forever 7 in my mind" little girl is ready to start driving. Legally. On her own. 😳

We had an all-day celebration last Wednesday. We started the day with donuts and photos, the bookstore, and Mexican food. When Poesy got out of school, we headed an hourish south to Branson to jam in all the family fun we could handle.

We hit the sledding hill, went shopping, found a mirror maze, rode a rollercoaster, drove go-karts, and ate our weight in spaghetti. I'm serious when I say we crammed in as many things as humanly possible.

We spent 7:46, the time Hope was officially born, at the top of the ferris wheel. There are magical moments in life for sure, and this was definitely one of them. Happy birthday, Hope. We love you!

We Bought A House!

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 18:51:00 +0000

These are exciting days here in the Shelton household. This lovely place we've called home for the last 2 1/2 years (we've been renting) is officially ours! It's been a huge goal for us to buy a house for the last year or so, we just had to get ourselves in a position to do so. I get a lot of questions about our buying situation and why this is so big for us, so I thought I'd share more on our past ownership and how we got back here. I'll warn you though, if you're not interested in the backstory, feel free to skip the whole middle section. 😉

Johnny and I bought a home together a year after we were first married. It was definitely a "starter home" that we spent way more years owning than we had originally planned. At this time in our home-owning lives, Johnny worked as worship leader at our church and helped run our youth center (it was pretty cool), and I was a preschool teacher/turned stay-at-home-mom/turned blogger and Skunkboy Creatures handstitching extraordinaire. We weren't flush with cash, but we were mostly getting by and making our life together work, all while still chasing some sort of dream... well, more me than Johnny, but that's a deeper conversation.

As my Skunkboy Creatures dream was gaining traction and keeping me extremely busy, our church ended up going through a split and there wasn't enough money left to support Johnny's position. We were pretty tight on the monies as it was, so losing his job and stability was devastating for us. All around the same time this was happening, I was VERY pregnant and about to have Poesy. We made the decision to move out of our house and put renters in pretty soon after Poesy was born. Long story short (ish), the renters destroyed our house and we couldn't afford to get the house back up to a livable standard before the bank was going to take it. This is how we experienced our first (and hopefully ONLY) foreclosure. I was so embarrassed at the time and felt like such a failure. I had a partner and two children, but couldn't even afford to keep their safe space for living. It honestly took me several years to work through this. But again, that's a deeper conversation to be had.

After all of this sank in, we realized that there was nothing left for us in the town we had lived in for so many years. We actually knew this many years earlier, but after losing any anchor tying us there, it was time for us to find a community more appropriately suited for our young family. We decided that Springfield would be a good fit for us. We already had lots of friends here, since the norm at Lake of the Ozarks is to move away once you are college-age, and we knew the town pretty well since we would visit often. I found an adorable rental in a good neighborhood, and we made the plunge. I say "plunge" because Johnny was born and raised at the lake and I had lived there since I was in elementary school. A change of scenery was good. Very good. Life wasn't perfect, obviously, but we loved that house for 3 years until we found ourselves moving into this beautiful, historic home where we still reside today.

Now, if you're here for the part of the story where we got back on our feet and fixed our credit enough to buy a house, here it is! I feel especially proud of us for striving hard enough to get our things in order to buy the house we really wanted before the owners were ready to sell.

The first thing we did was SET OUR GOAL. We knew our timeline and what we had to make work, so mapping out how to get there was essential. (We are also NOT planners, so this was big for us. 😅) If you've gone through a foreclosure, there is a specific amount of years that have to pass before anyone is willing to approve a home loan. This was a key part of our specific timeline.

The next big thing was SAVE MONEY. Obviously, this is easier said than done, but we skipped a lot of trips/house upgrades/etc just to keep that money in the bank. This one can be quite a balancing act when you're working extra hard. Feeling like you're doing the overtime but depriving yourself so much that you question why can be tricky. If you're in this boat right now, first remind yourself of your dream and goals, and maybe buy yourself that extra latte if your tired brain needs it. Save the money, but also feed the mental sanity.

Something I didn't know about until I started talking with our lender was CREDIT REPAIR. As you can imagine, Johnny and I didn't have good credit AT ALL when we started this journey. We were scared of credit cards because we didn't want to overspend, and we had a foreclosure on our records. I got hooked up with a reputable credit law firm and they made a world of difference. The cost is a bit different for everyone, but we ended up spending less than $1,000 for the two of us combined and we have seen insane results. They even got our foreclosure removed on a couple of the reporting agencies! I highly recommend this if you're in a position to do so. (The link is to my specific credit law firm, so if you decide to look into them, be sure to ask for Jacquelyn!)

Going back to some of my past fears, my advice is to go ahead and GET A CREDIT CARD. My credit repair contact was the first to push me in this direction, but if the goal here is to build credit, you've got to show that you can spend responsibly and pay on time. This how you build the credit. I mean, we all kind of know that, but as a person who overspent on credit cards in the past, this was a big step for me. My opinion was always that I didn't need credit cards when I could just pay for things on the spot. If you want to build credit, it's essential.

Another thing that really helped me was to GET OBSESSIVE. Download Credit Karma or an app like it and watch your credit climb. It's a great way to stay motivated and feel proud of all your efforts. Honestly, I looked forward to paying my bills every month because I would get to see that number rise. It sounds dorky, but it was very satisfying.

Last but not least, if you're on a pretty tight deadline, it's okay to HAVE A BACKUP PLAN. Even if you go through all the work, it isn't guaranteed that everything will work out as planned. You'd better believe that I spent the last several months scoping out different homes in our area, just incase we encountered an unforeseen hiccup. Thankfully we didn't, but it isn't admitting defeat if you have an auxiliary plan in place. You've gotta take care of yourself and your specific situation/circumstances. 😊

(illustration by Rebecca Lynn Illustration)

Johnny and I closed on our house on July 26th and we're excited to A) own a home after all these years, and B) start planning the bigger projects you get to do when a home is YOURS!

If you're still waiting to get here, I am rooting for you! Sometimes the road can be a long one, but with hard work, it's possible! Whatever your current situation, don't wait to make your space feel like your own. We had especially great landlords that let us do a lot more than most would, but there are lots of ways to make a house feel like home... even if you're currently in limbo. 💛

Introducing A Little More Structure In Our Day-To-Day

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 20:24:00 +0000

I was looking around my house after a weekend of traveling for work, and I felt this sense of defeat wash over me. The table was covered in clutter. There were shoes in literally every room. The entryway looked like someone's messy closet. It's a bad feeling to live in such a lovely home and not want to be there because you don't feel like nagging at your kids for the billionth time. Sure it's summer so they're home more and using our spaces more, but this house was just spotless 2 weeks ago.

So. I let myself acknowledge exhaustion and I wallowed for what felt like an appropriate amount of time, and then I did what I always do: assess how I can address the problem and RALLY. So here we are. We are a family with daily checklists, and I'm pretty excited about it.

This was my first time ever trying out Adobe InDesign, so one day I may look back on these and cringe, but for my first attempt I feel pretty good about these checklists. I jotted down the things that I'm constantly reminding the girls to do (I'm not exaggerating by using the word "constantly") and then added a few things they could pitch in on. I put them in frames so they could be used daily with a dry-erase marker, that way I don't have to print out a batch every week!

I know some people may balk at the "bonus" boxes on their checklists, but we don't do weekly allowances and I thought it may be good motivation for them to earn some money and pitch in on things they usually groan about.

Hope has actually been doing a stellar job of keeping up with her own personal space, so her list was more about helping her maintain all the hard work she put into getting it there. Seriously, it was a month-long process to unearth her bedroom from all the junk she had let pile up and I've been really proud of her for keeping up with it.

When you peep her list you'll see 2 boxes for "clear table spot". That's because she often eats 3 meals a day at home and I want her table space clean at least by lunch and then after dinner. If you couldn't tell, keeping our dining table cleaned off is a huge struggle in our house.

These photos of Poesy's bedroom aren't current, but I think she can get back to this... AND do it on her own. I really want my girls to take ownership in their spaces and treat them with pride. We'll see how it goes. So far, Poesy has taken out the trash, recycling, and is waiting for a load of laundry to fold while I'm typing this. If nothing else, at least I know money talks with this girl. 😂

June Garden

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 20:24:00 +0000

It's been one month and my garden had grown SO MUCH. I think June will be the garden sweet-spot for us. Almost all of the plants have started producing but the lettuce and peas haven't entirely dried out yet. Next month there will be lots more peppers and tomatoes, though, so I definitely have more to look forward to! Here's a peek at where we started. Now, let's see how much the garden has grown!

Peas! Cucumbers! Squash! All of these things are producing now and I'm so excited! The beans I planted this year were all duds, but the peas popped up nicely. In addition to these things, I have tons of kale, one HUGE zucchini, and our arugula is still going strong. Oh yeah, and I have a baby pumpkin! Remember those pink pumpkin seeds I mentioned in the May post? One of my plants has a baby!

In my second box, I have tomatoes that are ripening, tons of hot banana and cubanelle peppers, some poblano and anaheim peppers, and small bell and jalapeño peppers. There's an asparagus plant that I haven't paid much attention to and the sweet potatoes and onions are doing great!

While I was out at the boxes today, I noticed that I have squash bugs. These pests are flat bugs (they look a lot like stink bugs) that inject a toxin into a plant and suck the sap out. They are super annoying and can really mess with squash/zucchini plants and pumpkins. I'll let you know how getting rid of them goes.

Otherwise, June was great to us! I look forward to seeing all that July holds. Now-- off to make some salsa!

What Katie Cooks

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 18:46:00 +0000

My favorite way to cook at home is to grab anything I have on hand and use my imagination to turn it into a delicious, cohesive meal. I mean, a wonderful meal doesn't have to be overly complicated and stressful. I've decided to start sharing some of our dinners here on the blog in a little series I've come up with called "What Katie Cooks". My goal is to help spark ideas for meals in your own home. You'll probably notice that we eat a vegetarian or pescatarian diet at home depending on the meal, but you can always sub whatever proteins you prefer.

Okay, so let's talk about the dish above. It's SO SIMPLE. But what is it?

*Sautéed kale in olive oil
*Fresh green beans cooked in a skillet with liquid aminos
*Crispy chickpeas with salt, pepper, a bit of yellow curry powder, and nutritional yeast
*Chilled rice noodles
*Cilantro, avocado yogurt dressing

I'm not all about heavy foods or overly hot meals in the summer, so the chilled noodles and cold dipping sauce make this dinner work for me. The sweetness and tanginess of the yogurt dressing compliments the saltiness of the chickpeas and green beans so nicely.

Oh, man- these stuffed peppers were something else. Plus, this is mostly a one skillet meal, so it's fast and easy!

What's in it?

*Cooked organic quinoa
*Black beans
*Corn
*Onions
*Kale
*Frozen pineapple
*Fresh cilantro

Put all of that in a skillet and throw in some garlic and cumin to taste. Once you like it, pull your roasted peppers out and stuff them full! We upped the meal by grabbing some amazing pico de gallo and fried guacamole from a Peruvian/Mexican fusion restaurant that's just right up the street from us. Oh, and hot sauce is always a bonus!

I'm a huge sucker for two things: roasted cauliflower and cilantro on/in everything. As I post recipes over the next few months, you'll probably see quite a bit of both.

What is it?

*Roasted cauliflower with a generous amount of pepper
*Sautéed red and green peppers and onions
*Black beans seasoned with garlic, pepper, and cumin
*Smashed avocado (hiding underneath- I find it helps the corn tortillas from breaking as quickly)
*Fresh cilantro
*Warm corn tortillas

The nice part about tacos is you can feed a family with varied tastes just by doing a taco bar and letting them choose. Sometimes we throw in veggie taco meat or turn this into a giant salad with salsa as the dressing. So many possibilities!

I hope something in this post inspires your dinner ideas! These are just iPhone photos I have taken over the last several weeks so I can keep a log for when I'm feeling stumped about dinner. I'm guessing that as I stick with this, I'll probably have to break out the big camera and embrace my inner wannabe food blogger. 😉

Vintage Swing Project

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 23:23:00 +0000

If you guys know one thing about me, it's that I love taking things that are worn or broken or ill-fitting and giving them a second life. My obsession with the plant clearance isle is proof of that. 😂 I recently had the bitter-sweet privilege of shopping my dear friend Rachel's yard/moving sale. I nabbed a bunch of great fabric and some vintage home decor (not that much because let's be honest... I'm bursting at the seams a little), but my excitement came from this old, beat-up rattan hanging chair. She told me she got it off the side of the road in a sea-salty town, and the wood really showed it. The seems were coming apart and the chair was brittle. Here's what I did to bring her back to life:

The two main things I used to revitalize the chair were this SunShield Wood Conditioner and leather cord. The SunShield was to condition the wood and hopefully allow some moisture to soak back in, and I used the leather cord to tie the unraveled spots on the chair back together.

This is the state of the wood as I was applying the conditioner. You can see the color difference in the photo, but what you can't see is how this dried out chair just sopped it up. It was pretty impressive.

Oh, and I did hang the chair before I started applying the conditioner because bending over for hours to condition the chair just seemed like a project I would never finish. These swing ties are hanging three of our swings now and holding up nicely.

After I used a cloth to rub all of the conditioner into the wood (don't be fooled by tidy DIY posts, this took two days), I used the leather to tie the joints back together. Honestly, it ended up creating a pretty cool look with the rattan and the leather. I'm into it.

I did, however, give myself many, many blisters the day before our band played 3 shows in two days. "And here we have ol' blister-fingers on the piano. Clap for her." 😳

My goal for this patio when we finally get it finished is a cozy boho vibe. We have ivy hanging down from the trees overhead, so this cushion cover I found on Amazon was pretty perfect.

One day when our fence is up (hopefully by the end of the summer) and we can put more furniture out, it will be so fun to have friends over to chat and relax in this setting. It's so dreamy at night already... I'm a little bit obsessed.

*Notes: there are affiliate links in this post.
My shirt is from Free People, skirt and shoes are vintage, and glasses are Quay

It's Summer Garden Time- May Edition

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 23 May 2018 17:56:00 +0000

It's finally that time of year again and I couldn't be happier! It's officially garden season! This year, I've moved my garden boxes from behind our house to the side of our house so they can get more sunshine. Spoiler: the plants are loving it. Here's a bit of a rundown of what I'm growing this year:

In this first box, I'm growing 4 different types of tomatoes (5 plants total) and lots of types of peppers! Johnny and I eat a lot of peppers in general between the two of us, so I decided to just really go for it this year. I have different varieties of bell, banana, serrano, poblano, jalapeño... well, you get it. It's going to be a delicious summer. A dozen pepper plants pretty much means we should be swimming in them during the peak of the season.

In addition to those plants, I also have onions, sweet potatoes, and radishes in the box. Don't ask me about the radishes quite get. I'm 100% new to growing those.

I have quite a lot happening in the second box. As you can see, I'm still going strong with my vertical gardening. The peas and beans from seeds are growing up nicely, as well as the squash and cucumbers. I came home with an accidental cantaloupe, so we'll see how that pans out, and a friend sent me some PINK pumpkin seeds. I'm extremely excited about those!

In the photo directly above, you can see that my salad greens from seed and my kale are popping up. I also have several strawberry plants that are producing like crazy so far, and some bee balm and marigolds to attract the good bugs (bees, butterflies, ladybugs) that eat and chase out the not-so great ones. I have quite a crop of marigolds blooming from seed, but I did go ahead and buy a few already-established plants from the garden store to get the party started.

Besides too little sunshine, another challenge I faced last year was lack of pollination in my squash flowers. I don't know if you remember this, but I even tried pollinating by hand! It didn't work for me, so I'm hoping a large crop of brightly colored flowers will attract all the bees this year!

So, that's where I am in my summer gardening adventures. I know, at least for me, gardening excitement pretty much comes in waves, and I feel super into it this year. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Altering Vintage Dresses

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 16 May 2018 20:11:00 +0000

If you're anything like me, your vintage dress obsession is still going strong, despite the fact that many of our purchases are anything but perfect in the fit department. It's great when you get to try a pretty piece on, but when you're on the hunt on sites like eBay, Whurl, and Etsy, getting something that fits like a glove doesn't always work out. So, how do we fix this? I've sworn off vintage before, but I always find myself coming back. Knowing your measurements is the first step in the right direction, but getting creative with alterations is another.

Take this dress for example: I bought it from a friend's closet sale and it's my absolute favorite color to wear in the summer. The problem came in when it arrived and I tried it on, only to find that the dress was made for a more petite woman and the zipper wanted to come high up the back... oh, and not stay zipped. Since it's usually not that cute to walk around with your dress half unzipped, I had two options: get creative or pass it on to the next vintage-loving friend. Here's what I did:

First, I put the dress on and zipped it to where it was comfortable. I had someone help me with marking where I wanted the zipper to stop and removed the garment.

Next, I took a piece of vintage silk ribbon that I had stashed away (my ribbon drawer is insane) and burned the edge and ironed it down. Then I pinned the ribbon in the desired position above the zipper stop and stitched it on.

You may notice that I left the original zipper completely intact. I did this for two reasons: A) The outer layer of this dress is pretty delicate and I liked having the extra weight there for when the bow is tied. I definitely don't want to rip this beauty! B) The existing zipper will be hidden by the bow. If I ever decide to pass this dress along, all I have to do is remove the bow and put the hook and eye closure back where it started.

After the bow was in place, I moved the hook and eye closure down to just above where I had the zipper stop marked. So easy!

Here is the dress all zipped and tied. You can't see any of the exposed zipper and the velvet ribbon adds a lovely peachy contrast. I adore it!

Obviously this specific alteration won't work on every vintage dress, but I hope it inspires you to get creative. Other options would have been to add a panel, add an exposed zipper instead of invisible, or to remove the zipper altogether and add bows or ties all the way down like this dress.

Alright, now who's ready to get out there and do some more vintage shopping?? xo.

Weekly Wears: View Master

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 18:46:00 +0000

Top & skirt: Forever 21 // Tights: Target // Shoes: Free People // Bag: Portland Leather Goods // Rings: Shop Wrenn // Lipstick: Beautycounter Red (my current favorite!) // Viewmaster: Mab Graves

If you follow along on Instagram, you know I've been working hard on the room directly behind me in the above photo. That room will house my closet, my sewing space, and Johnny's desk/work space. It's coming along nicely and I hope to share finished photos in the coming weeks! I can't tell you how nice it is to actually have a closet I can access again. Like, I can find things I'm looking for. WHAT?!

I'm slowly getting back into feeling like myself and feeling blogging again. I really appreciate those of you who have hung with me during the lulls. A combination of staying so busy I haven't been giving my creativity a chance to present itself, coupled with depression that has crept back in over the last several months, has made this space a bit quieter than intended. Anyway, please know I SO appreciate you and your comments and emails. 💛

Let's Celebrate Women!

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 03:30:00 +0000

(coats from Miss Patina)

Happy International Women's Day, friends! Women are so cool. Being a woman is so cool. I mean, I didn't always feel this way, but the journey has been worth it. Sometimes it just takes a little time to grow into who you want to be.

When I was younger, I was of the belief that women were catty and dramatic and mean. I guess some of us may know a person or two like that, but that's not the definition of being a female. I've had so many ladies in my life that have come around and loved me and changed my entire perception on feminism and relationships and the like. I'm thankful for that, because who knows where I'd be if it weren't for them. Let's back up a bit.

We all had terrible friends in high school at one point or another, I'm guessing. I basically decided in high school that I just preferred to hang out with guys and never really pursued relationships with females after that... until I met a gal who changed my mind. See, a pattern I've noticed in my life is that when you meet a super-awesome lady-friend, 1 or 10 more super-awesome lady-friends seem to follow. That growth happened over years for me, but I'm thankful now to be of the strong opinion that women are amazing and I try to surround myself with them whenever possible.

Okay, so above I mentioned the "f word" (feminism). If you would have asked me 6 or 7 years ago if I was a feminist, I probably would have told you no. *GASP* Feminism, in my former small town, was painted as angry women who didn't wear bras and hated men. Ugh. Such a weird, small-minded stereotype. Still, I didn't understand it and wasn't really interested in educating myself on the subject. My conservative Christian background didn't really help with making feminism interesting either, if I'm being honest. At the church where Johnny worked, women weren't allowed to be in leadership. As a young woman, I believed that woman weren't strong enough to be in authoritative roles besides school teachers. As I got a little older, I found myself questioning WHY about a lot of what I was brought up to believe. I started to become friends with women who were a bit more liberal. I started asking more questions. I guess if I'm being honest with myself, I started caring more. My feminism was birthed there.

I have two daughters now and I want them to be sensitive, caring, strong, smart, and inclusive. I want them to grow up seeing their mother as an empath who FIGHTS for others. When they are grown, hopefully they will follow in those footsteps. I want them to be proud to be a lady, not ashamed or feel lesser-than. Women's voices are important and all women deserve to believe that. I hope you do. xo.

My Birthday Trip to Memphis

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 03:54:00 +0000

Hi, friends! I finally have a bit of time to sit down and blog about our trip to Memphis, TN. We traveled to Memphis over my birthday weekend. It was a very quick trip, but we did get to do a little bit of exploring. I fell in love with the city and I can't wait to go back. Here's a peek at some of the fun things we got to do, all squeezed into one day!

The first place we hit in Memphis was The Beauty Shop Restaurant. You know those places that make you grin from ear to ear as soon as you walk in? This place is SPECIAL. My eyes started tearing up when we sat down because it's just so magical. No joke.

The food and drinks were absolutely delicious. Definitely a great kick-off to my birthday!

After brunch, we made our way through some cute local shops, two of my favorites being Red Velvet and Stock & Belle. We didn't do a ton of shopping because it was pretty cold, but I did enjoy popping in a few local boutiques and antique shops, and then grabbing coffee before heading back to our hotel.

On the way back to our hotel the girls conned me into going to the giant Bass Pro pyramid. We come from a city with a huge Bass Pro, so I wasn't super eager to go all the way to Memphis and find myself there. It ended up being fun, though. We took the elevator to the top part of the pyramid and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. (The first photo from this post was taken from up there as well.)

After I dropped my crew back at the hotel, I met my sweet friend, Natalie (of The Crybaby Club), at The Liquor Store for drinks and a snack. Let me tell you, the drinks and appetizers there are incredible.

How cute is their neon bathroom sign? In love.

It was wonderful getting to visit with her. We've been internet friends for quite a while now, so it was nice to finally meet up in the real world.

After I got back to our hotel, my sweet crew had birthday cake and presents waiting. They sang me "Happy Birthday" and we spent the remainder of the night just hanging out together. It was a lovely end to a special day.

(Find this pin here.)

Whew. Talk about squeezing everything we could into one day! It was a good trip and I'm so glad Hope's gymnastics competition took us there. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I would have spent the day curled up under blankets, hiding from the cold. 😂

You have our hearts, Memphis! xo.

Goals for 2018

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 23:20:00 +0000

So here we are. 2018. Part of me can't even wrap my brain around it. Another part of me is excited for some big changes in the months ahead. I mean, you can make big changes any time of year, but there's often a built-in motivator to a brand new year. That being said, I'm here to share a few of my goals with you! I've decided not to list out a whole bunch of things that I may or may not accomplish, but really be intentional with a set few.

Over the course of 2017, I started transitioning to safer beauty products. With so many friends into oils, chemical-free beauty routines, and no-animal testing makeups... well, it really hasn't been very hard. My biggest thing with "natural" beauty products is that they often don't work very well. You've gotta try to know though, right? The two best things I did for myself last year was try out Beautycounter (thanks, Jess!) and subscribe to the Oui Fresh monthly beauty box. Here are some of my favorite products:

The Beautycounter foundation and moisturizers above are my absolute favorite. (I'm also a Beautycounter consultant now, but please know this isn't a sales pitch. I just really love these products.) The face oil and face mist are also WONDERFUL for these extremely dry months. I found those in my Oui Fresh boxes. I've also started getting into oils, but I don't feel quite educated enough to share my favorites with you yet! I actually just placed my first big order and I can't wait until it gets here!

So what's the goal in all of this? My goal is to continue toward a healthier lifestyle in general. We've signed up for a monthly food subscription to hold me to cooking at least 3 times a week and really examine what I'm putting in my body. Don't get me wrong, there will still be ice cream parties and donut mornings, I just want to counter those with a lot less processed, fatty junk. You guys know I love my chips.

Our second big goal is to BUY THIS HOUSE. So, you may or may not know that we still rent this lovely place we call home, but over the last year I've been working hard to build my credit and we've been saving as much as possible. We really want to be able to call this place OURS. We have some big projects in mind for this home, but those upgrades don't really make any sense when we're pouring our dollars into someone else's property.

My third goal for the year is to travel for recreation more. We travel regionally a lot for The Mixtapes, but I want to make 2018 our year of seeing more and doing more. My milage credit card is definitely going to help out with that one! Our first big trip we have planned for the year is a New Orleans trip with some wonderful friends in April! I've never been before, so I'm completely excited to get a feel for the city. Also, if you guys have any recommendations of favorite places, please share!

Well, those are my big goals for 2018. Hopefully putting them down here helps hold me accountable. They are all things I really want for my life, so I'm sure I'll be working hard to see them come to fruition. Happy 2018, friends!

Christmas 2017

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 17:37:00 +0000

We had such a lovely Christmas at home with the girls this year. Our typical Christmas tradition is basically travel-travel-travel, but these last two years we've changed things up so we can enjoy Christmas morning at home. It's seriously so nice. Sometimes it can be hard for us to switch up traditions with family members because of hurt feelings and whatnot, but I honestly wish we had proposed this change years ago. Having Christmas as a relaxing and slow time instead of chaotic and stressful makes all the difference in fully taking it in.

You guys. Poesy's face just kills me in this one. Oh, to feel like that again. Being a kid at Christmas is just the best.

Poesy lost her voice this year, so listening to her high-pitched shrieks was pretty entertaining. She gets excited about EVERYTHING, so you can probably imagine all squeaking and honking.

This is the first year Hope hasn't really wanted any toys. I was nervous about navigating those waters, but it was actually the most fun year for me to shop for her. She likes clothes and jewelry and games. Her favorite gift was a pink Taco Bell hoodie that I found at Forever 21 earlier this year. It was the very first Christmas gift I bought-- that kid LOVES Taco Bell. Her big present was a Harry Potter overnight bag filled with gobs of smaller Harry Potter presents. (Clothes, Pop figures, DVDs, jewelry, etc.) It was also a win!

Poesy's school travels to a local church once a month to shop with points they've earned. There are clothes, toys... well, quite a variety of things. The church gifted the kids 20 extra points so they could shop for family members, and Poesy was thrilled to have her very own presents to give us. She picked a Springfield Cardinals hat for Johnny and I got a three pack of dollar store eyeshadow. 😂 It was precious and so very thoughtful.

The last 4 pictures are some of my favorite gifts from this year. Johnny's mom and dad braved auctions to find these beautiful head vases for me. I mean, I'm now the proud owner of a Lucille
Ball head vase. What?! She will go perfectly next to my Elizabeth Taylor vase.

The swan measuring cups were a sweet gift from Hope. She braved the mall days before Christmas and bought these with her own money. I love to see this thoughtfulness shining through her.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I know family stuff can be tough sometimes... I'm thankful for a year without any drama and a slow-paced, nap-filled Christmas. xo.

Champagne Tort is Here!

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 02:56:00 +0000

Today is the day that my "Skunkboy" frames come out in a new color: Champagne Tort! I love collaborating with BonLook, and this color scheme might be my new favorite! (Well, if I'm being honest, they're probably tied with the pink ones.)

Many of you have been asking about a restock of the other colors and I'm happy to announce that Twinkle Tort and Panda Pearl are back! Those of you wanting the pink or blue ones might be waiting a while, but hopefully there will be more fun colors coming in the near future. For now, you can visit the BonLook website if you're interested in some new specs!

Tom Petty Tribute (and video clip)

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 03:52:00 +0000

("and the days went by, like paper in the wind"-- To Find A Friend // Wildflowers)

Johnny and I finally finished this Tom Petty documentary yesterday. It was so good, but it was so long that we had started it so many times before actually making it to the end. After we finished it, I felt even more of a connection to his music and an all new level of respect for his songwriting. There aren't a lot of songwriters out there that stood the test of time like good ol' Tom, in my opinion.

After Tom Petty passed away, some of our friends got together to put on an epic tribute show. They pulled in a rotating cast of musicians from our area (Springfield is saturated with great musicians in the best possible way) and we all poured our hearts into celebrating his legacy. It was a wonderful night and we raised a bunch of money for Care to Learn, a charity that I love. Johnny and I were honored to be a small part of the show, and since Poesy's favorite song long before she could speak words has been "Free Fallin" we figured it would be so fun to let her join us onstage to help out. She's been around enough Tom Petty music to hold her own. ;) Here's a little video clip from that night:

She took her tambourine job very seriously. I hope to continue to encourage her dreams of being a musician and being onstage. Oh, and I'll just keep exposing her to as much golden music as she'll allow. :)

Happy Halloween 2017!

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 20:14:00 +0000

I hope you all had the best Halloween! This year was my easiest Halloween that I can remember. Most of the girls' costume pieces came from various stores, and there was little that I had to make. Poesy wanted to be a glittery witch, and Hope scraped together a fox costume the night before.

Poesy REALLY wanted to put our black cat, Teddy, in a harness and take him trick-or-treating with her, so Johnny bought a cat mask and surprised her by being her black cat. Teddy is an adventurous kitty and there is no way we could have taken him out of the house and into that chaos! He would've bolted for sure.

We enjoyed the Rountree parade like we have in years past, scored way too much candy, and scarfed pizza when we were too cold to trick-or-treat anymore. After we got home and finally wound down, Johnny and I binge-watch/finished the second half of Stranger Things 2. Don't worry- you won't get any spoilers from me. Honestly, I'm a little glad to be done with it so I might actually go to bed at a decent time tonight. Those dang suspenseful shows!

I really hope you all had a wonderful night! xo.

Weekly Wears: Vintage Scores

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 17:56:00 +0000

Happy Halloween, friends! I can't believe it's already here! The girls are pumped for trick-or-treating tonight and I'm pulling out my warmest clothes because it's supposed to be pretty chilly. Oh yeah, and I'm throwing chili in the crockpot so I can come home to warm comfort food.

Shirt: vintage from Maude Vintage // Dress: Whurl // Bow brooch: Color Theory // Shoes: Bali ELF

This outfit has nothing to do with spooky, scary things, but whatever. I'm sure tonight I'll find something to fit the theme for tonight. If you guys know of any great Halloween playlists, please leave me a link! I'm ready to celebrate!

DIY Fruit Bouquet

noreply@blogger.com (skunkboy) — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 18:19:00 +0000

Tick-tock, tick-tock... do you hear that? Halloween is getting SO CLOSE! I'm looking forward to the parties coming this weekend and the actual trick-or-treating next week. I'm also excited to be teaming up with Edible Arrangements® today to turn my little Poesy into a fruit bouquet just in time for Halloween! Making this costume was super easy and super fun, so let me take you through the steps!

First, I cut out felt shapes for the strawberries, honey dew, and chocolate covered strawberries, bats, and ghosts. Since I wanted an extra pop of color for the cantaloupe, I used a printed fabric and glued it onto some poster board so it would stay upright.

I used some craft glue and yarn to give the chocolate strawberries a little more dimension and detail. Once the glue dried I simply trimmed the edges.

When I finished cutting all of my shapes, I glued them together to make the arrangement. Once the glue dried for this step, I safety pinned the fruit to one of Poesy's tee shirts and threw together some adorable accessories (including a little felt cut-out for her strawberry hat) to complete this simple and fun costume!

Who could ask for a better costume model, right? Poesy had a blast dressing up and having her picture taken.

Edible Arrangements® is typically my favorite way to tell someone "thank you" or "I'm thinking of you" but their bouquets and arrangements are also great for parties... such as a Halloween get together! Check out their site to see all of the delicious things they offer!