Under a Blue Moon

Friday Favorites

Untitled ◊ The cat was created when the lion sneezed ◊ Liz Lisa x BtSSB ◊ Tiny flowers

I adore how light and fresh everything looks in Anine Bing's house. I need to redecorate…
It's been what? A hot minute since I had a candle recommendation? I just can't help myself. I bought this Vanilla Am ber candle in a mercury glass-esque jar and it smells heavenly. Much more amber than vanilla (so no artificial cupcake scent) and the throw is amazing. This pink one is really pretty too. Might have to check that one out in person…
What a pretty locket. I do love anything celestial
If you are into journalling (bullet or otherwise) check out Christine My Linh's YouTube channel and Instagram. Her style is more artistic than I usually go for but still very minimal. Just the perfect blend of clean and creative

We have company coming this weekend – my mother in law is coming to stay for a couple of nights. We are planning a day trip somewhere on Saturday but haven't figured out where just yet. The criteria is it be a nice drive, charming destination and a nice restaurant for lunch. A shop or two to browse in would be nice too.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Serendipity

I was doing a bit of online research for Valentine decor that wasn't too red and white and over the top hearts and I came across this blog post from last year that featured this metal wreath. Scroll down in the blog post to see how she incorporated it into her Valentine decor. The wreath has a vintage French feel to me. But yikes – $80 when I am on a strict no-buy made it a no go for me. I thought I would just pine for it.

However I went into Michael's for some glue (replacements for items I've used up is exempt from the no-buy….) and I saw a metal candle holder that looked EXACTLY like the wreath. Only in galvanized silver.

And it was 60% off! So much for no-buy. I made it until January 13th. A valiant effort.

I am never fussed about the color of something because I know my way around a spray paint can. I picked up a bronzy color and sprayed it then randomly went over it with some gold spray paint. I didn't want it too shiny – I wanted that aged effect.

I was trying to go for a romantic table setting so I pulled out some mismatched china and frothy linens.

Then I wondered exactly how romantic a table set for four was. Ha! Ah well it's still pretty.

I think I'm going to take the candle holder over to my Dad's house. He has a long dining room table and I think it will look pretty for for the Spring. We always do a big Sunday dinner over there every week so I'll get to enjoy it over there.

Low-carb Hot Chocolate

I'm trying live in the moment even though the moments these days are gloomy and cold. And as I said on Friday's post I fully intend to find a way to make this weird transition period between the holidays and Spring cozy and enjoyable instead of mooning about, waiting for warmer weather.

Hot chocolate is the very definition of cozy but it isn't very low-carb or keto friendly. I found a bunch of recipes for a low-carb version and this is my take on it. And I found a sugar-free whipped cream that tastes so good. You would never know it wasn't the real thing.

Low-carb Hot Chocolate (serves 2)

2 cups coconut milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder (unsweetened)
3 Tbsp. Erythritol (or other sugar substitute that measures the same as sugar i.e. 1 tbsp = 1 tbsp. I like Swerve)
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Warm coconut milk over medium heat until just simmering. Meanwhile mix the remaining ingredients. I found using a bullet type blender works really well for this. Pour warmed coconut milk into the blender and mix well. Pour into two mugs and top with Land O'Lakes Whipped Cream.

I hesitate to give out nutritional information because you never know if those dietary database are completely accurate but when I plug it into MyFitnessPal it calculates the carbs to be about 2 net carbs per serving.

One other note – I actually use less cocoa (about 2 tbsp. instead of 3) because I don't like things super chocolatey. I realize I am in the minority here so the recipe is meant for normal, chocolate loving folks. Feel free to add more or less but remember it will affect the carb count. You could also throw in a glug or two of whisky or rum if you want a boozy version. No carbs in either of those!

Friday Favorites

Cure for the Winter Blues ◊ flowers and wellies ◊ debee – 4 ◊ Pretty Inspiration

Love this tea mug
Sunny and bright Sausalito apartment – and it's only 500 sf! The homeowner's Instagram is pretty sweet too (via Monica Hibbs)
I would just love a stack of these delicate rings from Audrey Rose
They've made a movie about the Winchester Mystery House which I grew up near. Its history (and owner) has always fascinated me. And Helen Mirren!

How is everyone's January going so far? I know, weather wise, we have nothing to complain about. It has been a normal, on the dry side, winter here in the bay area. I just feel itchy for it to warm up so the garden perks up and we can start walking in the mornings again (that has more to do with how dark it is in the mornings).

January is always kind of blah feeling to me. The month has been spent organizing, being frugal and eating healthily. All good things but I want a leisurely al fresco lunch with a glass of Prosecco at a sunny seaside restaurant followed by a little afternoon shopping. And dessert.

Other than keeping up with fresh flowers in the house I'm stumped as how to infuse some energy and light around here. Any suggestions? I feel like I should be embracing the opportunity to hole up and be cozy yet I find I want fresh air and the scent of new things blooming. I'm going to work on finding the joy in Winter. That's my goal for the next few weeks. Let's see how I do. I find it so funny that around 7:45 pm Rick starts asking me if I getting ready to go to bed. No! Of course not! Okay maybe….

Shadow Box Valentine

Several years ago I came across this blog post on Bird Nest on the Ground and I loved the shadow box collages she had photographed at her friend's home. The oval one especially caught my eye and I pinned the photo for a future craft project.

I tend to collect little bits and bobs and I knew I could recreate the look fairly easily. I thought the trickier part would be finding an oval convex (or bubble glass) frame but I actually found two of them when I was doing a project for Rick for his birthday. He inherited all his dad's WW2 medals and I wanted a way to display them that would honor him and also fit in with our decor. I'm not a big fan of the regular shadow box offerings out there. I wanted something with a vintage look to it.

I used one for the medals and saved the other for this project.

The first thing I did was remove the backing and lay out my assorted objects and ephemera to get a feel for placement. The backing was too flimsy and rather warped so it wasn't usable as a backing for the collage. I had some foam board and used the backing as a template. I sprayed it with a strong, permanent bond adhesive and covered it in a dark maroon velvet scrap I had left over from the previous collage project.

I then laid out all the collage items onto the velvet without gluing them down. I wanted to take a picture first because I think you can get a better idea of how something looks when you look at a photo of it, rather than looking at the actual thing. If that makes sense. I did rearrange some of the larger pieces to get a better balance of color (as you can see in the finished project photo) and added some additional embellishments to fill in some gaps. I tend to collect hearts, it would seem.

Most of the pieces were just things I have picked up over the years but I wanted them to tell a story. I picture the woman in the photograph saving trinkets she had received from her husband over the course of their marriage. There is a picture of their sweet little baby and a few of her toys. The overall effect is a lovely valentine to their life together.

The four leaf clover was actually in a card Rick and I received when we got married. I thought it was a sweet thing to include (both in the card and in the collage). The mesh coin purse belonged to Rick's grandmother.

When I first started out I wondered how I was going to successfully fasten different materials to the velvet. I did a google search ("sticking things to velvet" haha…) and found a few discussion boards and one of them mentioned Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue. I'm telling you this stuff is a miracle. And I know my glues! Stop reading this blog and hop on over to Amazon or drive yourself to Michaels and get some. If you do any kind of crafting you will welcome this into your supplies. It is clear, dries fast, and sticks anything to anything. Some of the things I wanted to include in the collage are heavy yet the glue holds perfectly. Even that mesh coin purse. It doesn't do anything weird to the paper items (no warping or seepage) and it is acid free so hopefully that four-leaf clover won't fall apart over time.

I removed the glass to take pictures because I couldn't get a good one because of the glare. This project was much easier than I thought and as a bonus I don't feel guilty for hoarding saving all those little trinkets and bit of ephemera.

Bullet Journal Update

I spent New Year's Day setting up my bullet journals for the new year. I keep two journals going – one for my daily tasks, which I break down into weekly spreads and the other is for random spreads. I made a couple of changes this year (my third year of bullet journaling) in how I am using my random spread journal. I used to create a new one at the beginning of the year but I found so much of what I had in there duplicated each year. Other than adding new entries they never change so why copy it over every year? I also only have a handful so the rest of the journal is wasted.

I removed the few pages I had set up in 2017's random spread journal and set it up to be used as my weekly spread journal. I will run out of pages before the end of the year but that's okay – I'll just buy a new one and keep going. My journal of choice is the Kyokuto F.O.B. Coop W Ring Expedient Notebook in size B5 with dot grid. I love that it lies flat (lays flat? I'll never get that one straight…) and the size is perfect for my weekly spread. My weekly spread is mostly work related but I have a small section for each weekday for any personal appointments or reminders.

I thought I would try out a new weekly spread but after drawing it out I didn't like and went back to my tried and true layout with just a few minor tweaks in the size of the boxes. I also added a spot for a weekly quote or a bit of doodling. I do love a very minimal look to my spreads but wanted to have just a touch of creativity. We'll see how long it lasts because already it is annoying me. Perhaps if my handwriting was prettier.

I had a smaller dot grid notebook that I got at Muji that I am now utilizing for my random spreads. I'll show you a couple of them.

I have a list of birthdays that I want to keep track of. I can always add more as needed. Sad little birthday cake. Doodling is just not my strong suit. I need to keep to my minimalist ways.

I have a list of accounts which, for obvious reasons, I won't be sharing here. It has a column for the account name (bank, email, etc.), the login and a password clue. I don't list the actual password, again for obvious reasons.

I have a weight loss tracker that looks exactly like this one but with a sadly higher starting weight.

I have a new spread for books I want to read and the ones I have read. I thought about putting a column for notes but instead will just do a star rating. I can remember what I thought of a book and don't really need a reminder other than the rating. It will come in handy for when I do a book report here on the blog. And for remembering which books I've already read. Am I the only one that will be a 1/4 way through a book and then realize it all sounds so very familiar?

I would like to add a few more spreads. I am going to create a list of movies seen and to watch similar to the book spread. I can never remember the names of movies after they have come and gone from the movie theaters so it will be a great way to keep track.

I would also like to compile a list of go to dinner ideas to help with meal planning.

I want to do one to keep track of my pen pal correspondence. I was woefully bad at writing to my pen pal the second half of 2017 and I want to be better about it. I figure it will help keep me accountable and I can see how I am doing.

I do love bullet journaling. Honestly if something isn't working for me I ditch it and as I mentioned at the beginning this is my third year of bullet journaling so something is clicking with me.

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