365 Photo Challenge: Week 2.

I had a busy weekend, decorating a special room for a beloved baby-to be, so I didn't have a chance to post my pictures for Week 2 of the 365 Photo Project until now. Nothing too spectacular in my week... I am ready for June, the month of gray, to be over.

Day 11.

 Day 12.

Day 13.

Day 14.

Day 15.

Day 16.

Day 17.

Nursery Brainstorming.

So, over the last couple of weeks I've been surveying the internet to find fun yet cheap decorating ideas for a nursery. No, y'all, I'm not pregnant. But my lovely cousin Julie is! And she has asked for my help in decorating her nursery. I've been itching to decorate something lately, but all of the spaces in my current residence are already decorated, so I'm excited for the chance to help out.

Anyway, I'm not sure if we will use all of these ideas. I'm more of the "craft it myself" kind of girl, and Julie is more of the "let's buy it at Hobby Lobby" kind of girl. I'm sure we'll find a balance between our two tendencies. But I thought I'd share with you all of the cute nursery ideas I've come across. (Also, I just want a place to reference my ideas so when I go to Oklahoma City to help Julie decorate this weekend, they're easily accessible.) P.S. It's a girl and the theme is owls and trees, so that's why some of my ideas lean toward that.

So here I am. Making a list on a Friday. Just like all of those other cool bloggers out there. We'll call it:

Friday Favorites: Nursery Edition.

Tree mural. This isn't the one we're doing, but it gives you the idea. This will be our biggest project of the weekend.

Felt Garland. (I like the look above, but here is an actual diy how-to for the project.)

Ombre Embroidery Sampler.

Fabric in embroidery hoops. (I'm on an embroidery kick.)

Owl print from Etsy. (I'm a doer, not a buyer, so I want to make one of these on our own. Sorry, girl from Etsy, for stealing your idea and not paying you money for it.)

Owlphabet print from Etsy. (Once again, I want to be a copy cat on this one.)

Element Monogram. (Not sure why it's called that. Just a fancy name for "button initial.")

Quotes on Canvas.

Growing Animals.

Pennants. I don't think Julie loves pennants like I love pennants, but it's worth a shout out.

...ohhh the possibilities. I can't wait! It's going to be a great weekend. And no worries, I'm sure a before and after post of the room will be following soon...

365 Photo Challenge: Week 1.

Weekend at the lake.

It's been a busy week since I last posted. Wednesday night I met a friend for coffee, Thursday night I went to a softball game and to a friend's birthday party, and then I left right after work on Friday for a weekend away at the Lake of the Ozarks with my family. It was a great weekend... above is a picture that depicts it pretty well.

Moving on to the point of this post... last week I started this 365 Photo Project where I take a picture every day for a year, focusing on a different color every month. June is the month of gray. Gross, I know. But it's actually been a really fun challenge looking for beauty in gray things. Here are the pictures I've taken over the last week...

Day 4. 

Day 5.

 Day 6.

 Day 7.

 Day 8.

Day 9.

Day 10.

Try-It Tuesday: Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken (and Iced Coffee!)

I've got a thing for meals with rice. I don't even really love rice all that much on its own. But rice with chicken-y, spicy goodness... it's glorious. So, this week I gave my family two choices for Try-It Tuesday: Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken or Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken. Both sounded good to me, and sometimes I just want someone else to decide, so my brother Joel helped and the peanut chicken won out.

Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken.

It was good! It was cooked in a slow cooker, so I did pretty much all the preparation last night, so that was easy. (I leave for work at the crack of dawn everyday though (6:00 am), so my mom started it when she left for the day a few hours later. Thanks, Momma!) The chicken was nice and tender. The taste of the juice/marinade/whatever you want to call it was pretty well-rounded. It wasn't spicy at all so I think that part needs to be taken out of the name of the recipe. The verdict? My mom said, "I love this!" but my mom is my biggest fan, and says that every week, so you can take her compliments for whatever they're worth. I liked it, but kept on wanting it to be this (Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, probably my favorite recipe.) I'd say it was still a do-over though.

If you like easy. And chicken. And Thai-like meals. This is the recipe for you.

P.S. I tried this recipe for Mason Jar Iced Coffee last night. It was amazing! Coffee. Brown sugar. Cinnamon. Where can you go wrong?

(My before picture. Coffee. Brown sugar. Cinnamon. Mason Jar.)

(Their after picture. SO good.)

A new list.

Lately I've been craving a to do list. Not like a legit to do list like "Clean your room. Go through your closet and clean out your junk. Wash your car." I am pretty content without one of those lists, actually. (Although my messy room, closet, and car would disagree.) I'm looking for a fun list. Like the list I made last summer of things to do before I turned 24. Or the list of gratitude photos I took in the month of November. A friend of mine is also a fan of lists. Last year she decided to take a photo every day of the year, counting down to her 30th birthday (which is on Thursday, and she did it!) This same friend made a bucket list of fun things she'd like to do this summer like "Fly a kite. Go berry picking. Go to an outdoor movie." Lists are fun. I'm ready for a new list.

Positively Present's 365 Photo Project: you take a picture every day for a year and focus on a different color every month. Her pictures are pretty cool... so I think I'm going to do it. I'll probably update you every week or so on the pictures that I've been taking. And to keep them all in one place I've created a Flickr page for the project.

June 1st (today is actually June 3rd, but whatev) is kind of a funny day to start. But I think I like this idea, and I think I'm ready to go for it.... The month of June is gray... which is the most boring color ever, but hey, I can do it. Here are the first three pictures I've taken.

(Day 1.)

(Day 2.)

(Day 3.)

Talent.

(Probably my favorite Disney couple. Ariel and Eric.)

There are so many talented people out there... Like seriously talented. I'm really amazed at the different gifts that God hands out. Like the ability to draw... I can't draw. But this guy, Phillip Light, he can.

I randomly came across this guy's tumblr page tonight from a different blog that I read. Confession: I was drawn in because he drew pictures of Disney characters. When I look back on my childhood, I still have fond memories of Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, and other Disney Princesses. So when I saw his modern day drawings of these characters, I wanted to see more of his work. I really enjoyed looking through his stuff, and thought you might, too, so check him out...

The Art of Phillip Light.

 (Not sure what the inspiration for this was, but I like it.)

(His take on Katniss from The Hunger Games before seeing Jennifer Lawrence.)

Friday Favorite List of Friday Favorite Lists.

(Found this list on Flickr. It had baked goods, so I figured it was good enough for me.)

What? Did she just accidentally type the title of this blog post twice? No, folks, I meant to do that. You know what I love? How all of these bloggers out there make lists on Fridays of things they have seen and loved throughout the week. You know what I thought I'd do? Make a list of these bloggers that I love to read because of the lists they make on Fridays. Have I lost you yet?

All you need to know is that these blogs are great. If you like blogs. And like you lists. And you like beautiful things. And you like Fridays. These are for you.

Friday Favorite List of Friday Favorite Lists:

Iowa Girl Eats: I've mentioned her before, but I love her Friday Favorites list. She got me started on the hunt for other lists such as these.

Shutterbean: She calls it "I love lists, Fridays!" and I love that. I love lists, too.

Positively Present: Not such a creative name, Positively Present Picks... but great nonetheless. (Side note: I thought I liked Instagram too much. This girl LOVES Instagram.)

Oh So Lovely: I just came across this blog today, so I'm not sure if her Friday Favorites are any good. But so far, so good.

Glitter and Pearls: So... this blog's name is "Glitter and Pearls" which typically wouldn't be something that's very Abby-like, but she's got a Friday list, so we are at least compatible on some level. Check out her Friday Link Love lists.

Ok, that's all I've got for now. Hope you enjoy! Happy Friday! And Happy List Day!