My Favorites of the Senses

Have you ever walked by a garden and been overwhelmed by the sweet smell of roses? I absolutely love that feeling.

Fortunately, we have senses that allow us to experience little things like that on a day to day basis. Lately I have been really in tune with my senses. I notice things I didn’t used to notice and I appreciate the smaller things that life has to offer a lot more. All of the mindfulness blogs I have been reading may be getting to my head, but I’m thoroughly enjoying how nice of a feeling this has been.

Since I have been appreciating my senses more, I would like to share with you all my favorite things for each sense. 

SIGHT

I recently saw a documentary that changed the way I saw the world entirely. That documentary was Cowspiracy. 

It’s an incredible documentary that takes you through the world of animal agriculture and how awful it actually is for our environment. The host interviews several people; some agree that animal agriculture is aggressively destroying our environment and some try to cover up the facts by deflecting the questions completely. 

From this documentary I learned some heartbreaking facts about the impact of animal agriculture on Earth. For example, 1-2 acres of rainforest are destroyed every second to make room to support the increasing demand for what the business has to offer. Every second insane amounts of land have to be given up just to support what humans consume!

I also learned that it takes 660 gallons of water to produce one hamburger, which is the equivalent of showering for 2 months. This fact is mind blowing. California, the state I live in, is in a serious drought. We’ve had all sorts of regulations put on our water usage but we can afford to give up 660 gallons per hamburger?

I highly recommend you watch this documentary. Even if you aren’t ready to do a complete 180 and eliminate animal products from your life, it is so important to know the toll this is taking on our precious planet.

TASTE

I love when the holidays come around because I know my life will be filled with all sorts of desserts. I never really cared for cooking or baking but when I stumble across recipes that are so easy a grade school child could accomplish them, I’m on it! 

I came across this vegan pumpkin bread recipe from Sarah at Sarah Bakes Gluten Free and fell in love. Although I did use regular flour instead of her gluten free suggestion, the bread was still delicious. 

This recipe is so easy to follow and leads to an amazing pumpkin bread outcome. I highly recommend it!

HEAR

I’m a sucker for classic music. There is no comparison when it comes to most modern day stuff. 

Lately I’ve had Janis Joplin on repeat and she has definitely been my favorite of the moment. I’ve always had a spot in my heart for her awesome tunes but I forgot just how powerful her music is. She has those songs that make you want to just dance around your house and be in a damn good mood. That’s the kind of music I appreciate so much.

SMELL

I bet you’re expecting me to say a typical holiday scent like pumpkin, christmas tree something or other right? Haha.

Well, my scents must be a little off this season because I’m truly enjoying the smell of citrus. That summer scent made it’s way right into fall and winter for me. 

Something about the tangy smell of lemons and oranges really cheers me up and I’m loving it. I’ve heard that lemon and orange essential oils are a great way to get your day started and improve your mood. So if you’re looking for a mood boost, go ahead and join me in this citrus in winter craze!

FEEL

This ones a little different, but I really have been enjoying velvet all of a sudden. I never really cared for it until now. 

I bought a pair of velvet pants not too long ago and I have to say, they are so comfortable! It’s the most odd texture and maybe that’s why I never cared for it but it’s definitely grown on me. 

The texture also makes me think of cute little deer when they start getting their antlers and they’re all fuzzy and soft looking. So freakin’ cute!

TRY IT

Being more mindful of what your senses encounter is a wonderful thing. Try focusing more on what you're actually feeling when you smell flowers or see a beautiful scene. Awareness is an awesome thing!

What are your favorites of your senses lately? Let me know in the comments below or send me a quick email! You can find all of my contact information in the ABOUT tab at the top of the page.

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Kitchen Finds Ornament Tutorial

We have reached the final day of the Christmas ornament takeover week. It’s been so fun making all of these one of a kind ornaments. If you haven’t seen the ornaments I’ve been making this week, you can catch up by clicking on one of the links below.

Stamped Wood Ornaments

Marbled Clay Ornaments

Bohemian Arrow Ornaments

Mossy Pinecone Ornaments

I’ve mentioned in a couple of posts now that I thoroughly enjoy creating things out of materials that I already have on hand. So why wouldn’t I make a ornament using things that are found in my very own kitchen. Chances are you’ve got quite a few things in your kitchen or pantry that can be turned into ornaments no problem!

Seeing as I love citrus fruits and cinnamon, I figured it was very appropriate to turn both of these things into awesome ornaments for my Christmas tree!

Supplies:

  • Oranges & Lemons
  • Cinnamon Sticks
  • Twine

Dry 'em:

Since the citrus fruits are what’s going to take the most time during this tutorial, we’ll start with those! 

Cut your lemons and oranges into small centimeter thick slices. You can cut them a little thinner if you would like but try not to make them any thicker! The thicker they are, the longer they will take to dehydrate. 

Once your citrus is sliced, place them on the baking rack in your oven. You are going to want to bake these for about 2 hours at 220 degrees F.

You'll know they're done when they have little to no shine and look very, very dry!

Hang 'em:

Using your twine or festive ribbon tie a little knot around your orange and lemon slices. You may want to poke a small hole in the top of the fruit using the tip of a knife to make the process easier.

Hang the cinnamon:

Since we want our cinnamon sticks to stay in a little bundle, you may need a little hot glue for this next step. If you can't get your sticks to stay together long enough to tie them, place a small dot of hot glue on each cinnamon stick.

Place your sticks on a looped piece of twine or ribbon. Pull the loose ends through the little loop and tighten it. Double knot where your twine meets your cinnamon sticks. You can add a little more glue to the end of the knot for added security!

Design alternatives:

Like many of my other tutorials, the possibilities are endless with this one. Just look around to see what you already have on hand in your kitchen. Cut up that grapefruit or apple that you don't plan on eating. Maybe hang some whole cloves or star of anise on your tree. 

I hope you all really enjoyed some of the tutorials I have been sharing with you this week. They're all relatively easy and cost very little money (if any). Send me a quick email letting me know if you decide to try any of the ornament tutorials out! You can find my email address in the ABOUT tab at the top of the page.

Happy Holidays!

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Mossy Pinecone Ornament Tutorial

It is day four of the Christmas ornament takeover week. Is it just me or did this go by extremely quick? If you have yet to see my previous posts during this takeover week, you can find them by clicking below.

Stamped Wood Ornaments

Marbled Clay Ornaments

Bohemian Arrow Ornaments

Since yesterday's post involved a little more work than my previous two ornaments, I decided to take it very easy today. This post has minimal steps and minimal supply. 

I'm a huge fan of natural ornaments that look as if they actually belong on the Christmas tree. Although most Christmas trees are spruce trees, we're going to pretend mine is a pine tree. And what grows on pine trees? Pine cones! My fav! 

I have a large variety of pine cones throughout my home. Don't ask me why. I guess I just have a thing for them. 

So today's ornament tutorial is going to be so simple and is going to lead you though creating the most natural looking ornament I have made yet. 

Supplies:

  • Small pinecones
  • Faux moss (get from Michael's here)
  • Hot glue gun

Tie the knot:

Get a twine or ribbon if your choice, grab both ends and tie a knot (or double knot) at one end. Place a small drop of hot glue on your pinecone and attach the twine loop to the cone.

You definitely want to do this step before you apply the moss. If you try and do this after you’ll end up with a big ol’ knot glued to the tip top of your moss pile.

Attach the moss:

Your moss will come in relatively large chunks (if you bought a similar style moss to the one I have). Grab a large chunk and separate it into smaller bits. 

Apply a small dot of hot glue and apply your moss. Do this section by section so your moss doesn’t look chunky. Make sure to cover your knot completely. 

The amount of moss you apply is really up to you. I didn’t want mine too thick so I applied just enough to cover the top of the cone and the twine knot.

Add embellishments:

On one of my dollar store hauls I found these little holiday, glittery berry…things. I’m not really sure what they are but I liked them and thought they would finish off this ornament perfectly. 

They came on this big branch of them so I cut a little bundle off and used my hot glue to stick them to the corner of my mossy pinecone. Cute!

Hang your cones:

Didn't I tell you that this was going to be a very minimalistic ornament? But to be honest, these might be my favorite ones I have made so far. 

Something about how simple and delicate they are really gets to me. They look as if they really belong on my tree and I love that. 

If you don't have the little berries I have, try gluing small dried flowers to the side of your moss. That would also look adorable but still very natural. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I enjoyed creating it. Make sure to check back in tomorrow for the final day of my Christmas ornament takeover week!

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