Dreamer+Designer+Giveaway - Lindsay Sherbondy Posted by Unknown | Thursday, March 8

I have the privilege of featuring one of my dear friends and wonderfully talented designers Lindsay Sherbondy aka Lindsay Lang aka Lindsay Letters .  We met about 4 years ago now and it was an instant match!  In life there are people you just "connect" with as though kindred spirits. Well that is Lindsay... loyal, loving, giving, inspirational, supportive, and confident enough in her own gifts that she stops at nothing to promote the gifts in those around her.  A class act non the less. She has been creating and designing for many years now and with the launch of her company Lindsay Letters she is making her "stamp" on the design world!

Here is what she does!

lovely lettering for any event or application, event signage and pretty paper, invitation design, personal stationery design, and countless little extras to make all of life's parties even more special.

I was honored to have her design my logo and business cards for Heirbloom and of course she helped design my blog too!

One of her latest creations and our GIVEAWAY is something that was inspired from her newest love EVA LOVE, her beautiful 3 month old baby girl.

Lindsay says


"I was inspired by little Eva Love and had that part of scripture (part of 1 Corinthians 13:13) rolling around in my head so I designed a print."

It's 8.5 x 11 but it can be trimmed down to fit into an 8x10 frame nicely.

It's gold foil letterpressed onto slate colored cardstock from PaperSource.

She was so inspired in fact she added the phrase to her arm permanently!

So onto the GIVEAWAY...Of course I have one of these beautiful prints and here is it's home.

www.jonesdesigncompany.com

So how do you get one of these fab designs for your home?  Simply enter! 

1. Reply to this post by telling me where your print would find it's home in your house? 

2. Follow me by email or subscribe to my blog... I would love to have you part of the family! 

And that's it!

For extra entires:

Share link of Facebook and Twitter

Good Luck!  

Spray Paint DIY Anyone? Posted by Unknown | Wednesday, March 7

Ok so the "Pink Chair" created a buzz on "how to" use spray paint, what kind and why?  And luckily I just did a spray paint DIY project this week! I admittedly have an obsession with spray paint, and it is perfect for me because I am a Do It Now kind of person.  When I get an idea in my head, I have to execute or it drives me crazy.  Which means anytime I am getting tired of a room in my house or a piece of furniture, I have limitless options to change it up just by spray painting!  Whats even better is how inexpensive it is and companies are now producing "non toxic" options with low oder and quick drying times... like 15 min!

This Krylon H20 is a good one to use with lots of color options.

There are many options... here are a few 

This eco-conscious spray paint delivers a super premium finish and easy clean up.Contributes 55% less to smog pollution than most solvent-based spray paints.  Non-toxic; low odor; soap and water clean up' (Krylon), dries in 15 to 45 minutes


This is the boring brown table I wanted to liven up a little.  I literally just pulled it outside and spray painted the entire thing with 2 coats which was exactly 1 can.



I let it dry outside for 30 min before bringing it back in and here you have it. A lavender table! I do not like "perfection" so I don't mind if it is perfect or even or every little nook and cranny is covered.  I like seeing a little of the wood or metal giving it more of an aged appearance. This is simply preference so you can do it however you like.

Here are a few other "Paint" projects throughout my home



Aqua Frame and Pink Deer Antlers

Painting by my daughter Ainsley 

Metallic Silver on a once white bed frame

A DIY headboard I made for the girls room and hand painted the flowers to add some color 

Metallic end table in nursery 

Orange Mirror in my foyer

Whats On The Pink Chair? Posted by Unknown | Monday, March 5

My favorite thing in my closet is this pink chair.  The chair was a hand me down from my Yia Yia, who collected many pieces over the years.  It was originally white and I spray painted it pink, since I have an addiction to spray paint!

And who would have thought that now Anthropologie is carrying these in several colors for $250. I decided to be creative and show you a few things I am really loving right now.  As in "What's on the pink chair?" Most of these things will be "Steals" things I have picked up from Target, and TJ Maxx and the few stores I have time to pop into with 5 littles.  But then I may throw in a "Splurge" every now and then, a special find that may be worth a little bit more.

1. An Heirbloom I made for my baby shower!

2. Neon orange belt from Target $12.99 or 3 for $10

3. Purple nail polish from Ulta $6.00

4. Neon bobby pins - Target $2.50 

5. Nude paten leather flats - Target $14.99
6. Neon Orange Shirt with Black Zipper Back - Target Clearance $12.00
7. Nordstrom brown braided bracelet with gold insets - Gift 

8. Happiness Candle - Target $12.99

9. The Splurge... 

 I found these creations by Lenny and Eva Designs at Porch in Rockford IL.  I love Porch , it is an adorable boutique by my house and they do such a great job of carrying the most current trends and even the hidden secrets like this.

What's For Dinner - My Chicken Noodle Soup + Healing Chicken Stock Posted by Unknown | Sunday, March 4

Hi! My name is Ahndea May , a busy mom of 5 littles, including 1 year old twin girls, a Fit Mom's For Life and whole health advocate, and a million things in between, while trying to laugh as much as possible, create memories with my family, and continue to learn and dream while navigating everyday challenges. I hope to bring you some encouragement, tips, motivation and hopefully cheer, through my spattering of writings documenting this ride we call life! And of course it starts with food! My favorite thing! On these brisk winter days my family loves the warmth of soup! Chicken noodle is certainly at the top of the list.  Chicken broth or stock is one of the most healthy things you can eat.  In fact, it's known to build immunity and we certainly need that during flu season!  Now, I am a busy mom and appreciate the convenience of just grabbing the best looking picture on a can of soup at the store and still do it, but it would take a dictionary with words like "disodium guanylate" to know what your actually eating. Making homemade stock is super easy and the health benefits are worth it.  Sally Fallon writes in Broth is Beautiful "Good broth can resurrect the dead"  she tells us it is a cure-all in traditional households, a healer to sore throats and to the soul.


 I have come up with a super easy recipe for natural Chicken Noodle Soup and Chicken Stock.  You can make the soup with or without noodles.  After cooking you can freeze any unused stock for future recipes, or even if they don't, you can add it to your potatoes or use it to cook chicken, veggies etc. 

If you don't have a slow cooker I recommend getting one immediately!  It is such an essential item in our home and saves me tons of time. I can put any meat I want to make in the morning and by 4pm I have a wonderful base to work from. Makes my life much easier with 5 littles.

1 whole chicken - organic is best especially for the quality of stock

1 bag of carrots or chopped long carrots

1 large white onion

1 bag small celery stalks

A bunch of fresh dill chopped

A bunch of fresh parsley chopped

2 tbs of apple cider vinegar

Sea Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

8 cups of water or more enough to cover your chicken and veggies

*Egg noodles can be prepared and added to the slow cooker an hour before serving

*you can add a few slices of fresh lemon if you like citrus

*you can also split the water with organic chicken broth for added flavor 

Cook on low all day at least 8 hours.  Slowly cooking will get the best quality and nutrient filled stock. 

Once cooked remove the whole chicken with tongs and set into a baking dish.  The meat will practically fall right off the bone. I use the tongs to gently pull off all the meat and then place back into the soup.  If you are just making stock, you now have delicious chicken that can be used for sandwiches, wraps, salad etc. Once the chicken is added back into the soup, I then make the egg noodles separately and add those to the soup as well.  It tastes best if you let all of these marry together for another hour before serving.  

 

I am a huge bread fan, especially the dense grainy kind from Great Harvest Bread Co.  I also made a little butter spread with unsalted butter, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and sea salt.  This was a very yummy addition to our soup for sure!

Dreamer ... Tiffani May + 3 Savvy Sisters Posted by Unknown | Thursday, March 1

This weeks "Dreamer" is my friend Tiffani May. She is a busy homeschooling mom to 3 boys!  Ok that is enough for me but not Tiffani, she is also the owner of one of Georgia's top consignment sale shops.  Before her boys came along she was doing one of my many dream jobs, fashion merchandising in LA!  She has been to NY Fashion week too which is on my bucket list!  Ok ok I will let her talk now...

I remember meeting Ahndea and Nate May years ago when we all worked for Dr. John C. Maxwell in Atlanta, GA.  I felt an instant connection to them… Why? Because we share the same last name!  We just HAVE to be related right?!  Since those years ago these two May families have had kids and of course Ahndea and Nate are now in Illinois with their 5 beautiful kids!  My husband, Tony, and I got married in 1995 out in California where we were raised.  I went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles so that I could become a Buyer and someday own a retail boutique.  I had been working in retail since I was 15 and loved it. After I graduated from FIDM I became a Buyer for a small 17 store boutique chain in LA and adored shopping in the Mart and flying to NY for Fashion Week.  

Fast forward MANY years….. In 2002, we had our first son David.  2004, we had our second son Christian. 2006, we had - you guessed it – another son Tyler!  How could someone SO GIRLY as me have 3 boys??  But God knows best and I adore them with all I am!  Plus, I’m still Queen of the May house!  I never ever envisioned homeschooling, but God seems to have a sense of humor and often pushes us outside of our comfort zone.  I’m sure thankful He did because I really love it and so do the boys.  Don’t get me wrong, there are days when I am about ready to put them on the next bus that rolls by, but I am thankful that God’s mercy is new every moment – even every other minute some days!  Although right now I feel that my calling is to homeschooling them, I was still missing that other part of me that loves fashion and retail sales.  Even while working in retail, I have always been drawn to consignment.  I love the thought of getting that name brand at a steal – what a high that is for me! So when I got pregnant with my first son I started shopping at the many seasonal consignment sales out here in Georgia.   I always thought to myself “I could run one of these things”, but I didn’t really know how that would logically happen.  

3 Savvy Sisters

God again in His perfect humor and timing, put an opportunity in front of me to purchase a sale from another owner who was wanting to get out of the business. Tony and I were really excited and took a leap of faith and I opened 3 Savvy Sisters.  We had our first kid’s sale in spring 2010.  Within a week of our first sale being over I was thinking how it wasn’t fair that my kids always looked so cute in their Ralph Lauren, Gymboree, Gap, etc… (all consignment prices of course!)  and how I had on clothes that I quickly grabbed from Target on a quick trip in for toilet paper or hand me downs from my sisters and mom.  See, I was a mom of 3 little boys and there was no time for ME.  Well, I took action and within a month of that first spring kids sale I had my first spring ADULT sale!  It was awesome!!  Finally cute things for US!  J. Crew, Gap, Loft, Anthropologie, Seven, Coach, and other designers at prices starting as low as $2!  The 

 Adult sale carries womens, mens and teens clothing, shoes and accessories, home goods and children’s toys.  Our next one is actually coming up next week March 7-10.  We have 2 sales in the spring for kids and adults and 2 sales in the fall for kids and adults.  We consistently fill up over 4,000 square feet bursting at the seams with 20,000+ items. The seller enters their items into our user-friendly tagging system and receives 70% of the sold price.  Our sales only last for 1 week, so we rent spaces four times a year.  It has been a blessing to me to see the impact of moms selling their children’s name brand, gently worn clothes to help pay for the next season’s wardrobes, sports teams, vacation spending money, etc… It’s very empowering to be able to make some extra money selling the things you already have – great stewardship for the family! Life is busy, but I am so very thankful that I get to do things that I am passionate about – homeschooling my kids and owning a business that is fashion related.  I could not do all that I do without the help of dear friends, family and my biggest support, Tony.  Life has certainly had its bumps, but clinging to God is right where it’s at.  He will never leave you or forsake you and knows the big picture for your life.  You can trust that!  

Your Savvy Sister, Tiffani May

How awesome!  I wish I lived in GA, I would be scooping up all kinds of goodies for my 5!  Congratulations Tiffani for making it happen. I am so inspired.  

Take a peak at her website 3 Savvy Sisters