Front porch life.

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May 16, 2013
gardening, Nashville
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There’s lots of life on our new street, and the front porch has front row seats to all the action.  As I’m typing this, I’m listening to cantina music from a few houses over.

On Saturday, we finally had the chance to tend to our porch and the yard.  The grass was getting so tall, we were starting to look like terrible housekeepers!

photo 1We have been blessed with an adorable covered porch with built-in planters.  The planters now house geraniums and salvia, thanks to Katherine’s hard work.

Spending time outside seems to be the best way for us to meet our neighbors, so I was really excited to make the porch a place where Katherine and I could comfortably spend a lot of time.

Since we both have budgets to look after, we’ve been searching for the best deals we could find on seating.  Target finally had these bright, colorful adirondack chairs on sale and we were able to grab those bright blue cushions, too, which matched almost perfectly with a homeless blue ottoman that’s been floating around the house!  And of course, we love how the chairs match the salvia!

photo 2

Here’s to long summer nights and hot summer days spent ‘neath our overhang.

I’m a rose gardener now?

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May 13, 2013
gardening, Nashville
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Two weeks ago on my way out the door, I noticed that a bright pink flower had popped out from one of the small bushes in our front yard!  ROSES!

I quickly remembered our landlord had told us about the knockout bushes in front of the house.

I was so thrilled about our first bloom that I quickly posted a picture of our new friend to Facebook.

Katie DeCillo knockout roses
Isn’t it beautiful? I thought so, too, until someone pointed out that our lovely bush had some UGLY problems.  See all those holes in the leaves?  Japanese beetles have been chomping our plant!

The next day, our second bush bloomed. Light pink this time, and even more gorgeous than the first.

Katie DeCillo knockout rosesThankfully, that plant is a little healthier.  Still, I wanted to make sure we were doing everything we could to take care of these beauties.  My friend Lauren also has rose plant problems at her house, so we decided to investigate together.  I even found us a matching set of rose care books at McKay’s and we spent a whole lunch break learning about our flora.

IMG_3135After reading up and consulting many wise rose gardeners, it turns out the best way to treat a rose bush for pests and disease is a systemic treatment.  A whaa??  Exactly.

The treatment is absorbed by the rose plant and treats in internally.  Through its system.  Ohhhh…

Systemic treatment of roses Katie DeCillo

I finally had some time to treat the roses on Saturday and prune them a little bit (which was a scary feat after reading 5 examples of how NOT to prune your rose bush).  I can’t wait to see what they look like in a few weeks!

IMG_3192

Next on the gardening to-do list?  We’re waiting for our vegetable seeds to sprout and grow big and strong so we can plant a small raised bed!  Excited to have our own cucumber plants to feed our green juicing habits!

 

 

 

Katherine’s 5 Ingredient Homemade LARABARS

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May 11, 2013
Inspiration, Recipes
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As part of our quest to eat things that are good for us, my roommate Katherine has recently taken a liking to LARABARS. LARABARS are great and usually contain only 5 all-natural ingredients. They’re perfect for breakfast or a snack on the go. The bad part? They’ll cost you a pretty penny. About 129 pretty pennies to be exact. 5 ingredients? That seems easy enough.

Katherine’s favorite are the coconut cream pie bars. This is her recipe:

Katie DeCillo homemade larabars1/4 cup dates, pitted about 2 organic Madjool dates or 8 of the kind shown in the picture below which are already pitted

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup raw nuts, mixed we use cashews and almonds

1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

2 tablespoons shaved or finely chopped dark chocolate okay, so that’s totally my addition

Each batch makes approx. 3 bars.

Pit and chop dates and chocolate. Place dates into food processor with coconut and process.

Katie DeCillo homemade larabarsWe use a small hand food processor that does a surprisingly good job.

Katie DeCillo homemade larabars

Place date and coconut mixture in a bowl with chocolate and process nuts and coconut oil.

Katie DeCillo homemade larabars
Combine nut mixture with dates, coconut, and chocolate in bowl. Use your hands to form a tightly packed ball with the mixture.

Katie DeCillo LARABARS Katie DeCillo homemade larabars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place the ball between two sheets of wax paper and form into 1/2 inch thick square shape.

Katie DeCillo homemade LARABARS

Katie DeCillo homemade larabars

Wrap in wax paper and place in a container or sandwich bag and let sit in refrigerator overnight.

katie decillo homemade larabars
In the morning, cut into individual bars and enjoy! We like to cut them up into bars and place into snack-sized bags for on-the-go snacking! Keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy.

Cost of ingredients is about $20 up front. The dates will last you four batches but the nuts, coconut, and oil will last MUCH longer! I think it comes out to about 50 cents per bar after all is said and done.

Try it out and let us know what you think. The possibilities are really endless! Click here for nutritional information.

A cute and thrifty $4 plant project.

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May 5, 2013
Creativity, gardening, Inspiration
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Succulents are all the rage right now.  They’re equal parts unique, beautiful & adorable, and add just the right amount of green to any space.

I love seeing giant pots full of all different varieties but since I’m new to the world of succulent ownership, I decided to start small just to be safe.

I’m also a fan of colored glass, so when I spotted this perfectly turquoise glass at Goodwill for 99 cents, I knew it would be the perfect home for my first green baby.

Succulents $3 at Home Depot right now. This particular kind is called Echeveria.

photo 2

Potting a succulent can be a little nerve-wracking, but as long as you’re careful, you’ll be just fine. Be sure to handle the leaves gently.

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Isn’t it beautiful?  I’m trying to find it a safe home out of the reach of my curious Maebycat.

Spy vs. Guy — a new short film from Red Giant Software & director Seth Worley.

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April 24, 2013
Creativity, Inspiration, Nashville, Story
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I’m thrilled to share my friend Seth Worley‘s latest short film for Red Giant. Justin and I both got to be on the production crew and had such a fabulous time working with some seriously talented folks who just happen to be my friends.  You’ll definitely also want to check out the behind-the-scenes film.

 

 

A knock on the door.

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April 22, 2013
Faith, Nashville, Story
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My friend Leslie once told me she asked God to send someone to her door.  And He did.

That’s a pretty bold prayer if you ask me. But as the Lord continues to remind me of that so many face the reality of an eternity away from Him, He affirms what we already know He has called us to through Scripture.

When a scribe asked Jesus what the greatest of His commands are, He replied:

 “This is the most important,”[n] Jesus answered:

Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One.[o]30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.[p][q]

31 “The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself.[r] There is no other command greater than these.”

32 Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one else except Him. 33 And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding,[s] and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any longer.

Mark 12:29-24 (HCSB)

Katherine and I are still learning what it means to love our actual, physical neighbors as we love ourselves.

The day before we moved, I thought about the boldness of my friend Leslie.  I prayed a quick prayer — Lord, bring someone to our door.

I didn’t give God a timeframe because, well, I know He doesn’t work like that.  And sure enough, during the middle of moving day my mom informed me we had visitors.  That was quick.

When Katherine and I went to the door, we saw three beautiful brown faces staring up at us.  The next door neighbor kiddos had come to introduce themselves and welcome us to the neighborhood.

Can you remember the last time a neighbor came to your door just to say hello?  I don’t think I can.

Kids are so non-threatening, aren’t they?  I think it’s incredible when the Lord uses them to speak to us.  I’m excited to get to know Anna, Angie, and John.

I know you’ve been praying for us, too, as we become part of our new community.  Thank you.  We covet those prayers and they have not gone unanswered.

Journey of a red dresser.

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April 19, 2013
Creativity, Inspiration
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Now that we’ve moved and have had some time for the craziness to settle down, I want to share another dresser re-finish.

I acquired this red dresser (yep…two dressers) my sophomore year of college. It had been Justin’s childhood dresser that’d been passed to his family from someone else.  We’re pretty sure it began its life as a nursery dresser since it has a pull-out rack tiny enough for baby clothes in the cabinet!

photo 3

When I lived in Murray, it functioned as my primary dresser.  When I moved to Nashville, it lived in my HUGE walk-in closet (RIP) as a secondary source of storage.

Since my closet in the new house is, uh…also my bathroom… there wasn’t much room for it there.  But the thing has such a great history that I just didn’t want to part with it.  I mean… imagine pre-teen Justin Wylie scribbling this on his dresser drawer after 9/11.

photo 4

Who could part with that??

So the only option was to keep it.  But what to do with it?  Katherine and I decided it would make a lovely TV stand for our living room.  So approximately 12 hours before we were supposed to load the moving truck, it got a coat of paint along with the other living room furniture.  Call us crazy.

photo 5

The whole thing got a goat of white paint (minus the cabinet door which got a little chalkboard paint lovin’) and we removed the bottom drawer for a special project.

After we moved, Justin helped us drill holes for cables and we had a board cut at Home Depot to create a shelf for the cable box, DVD player and wireless modem/router.

TA-DA!  What do you think?  We are in love with the finished product!

floating bookshelves

And just like with the other dresser, sometimes all it takes is a little bit of paint to satisfy the “I NEED new furniture!” urge.  Much more budget-friendly than new furniture at a whopping $20-ish for paint and a board (Home Depot will cut boards for free!)

And incase you’re wondering…yes, “I hate Osama Bin Laden” is still scribbled on the third drawer.

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