In my Home Goals post, I mentioned wanted to do a major overhaul to Ezekiel's room. I have made some progress with my goals that I showed you in that post (which I'll tell you about another day), but I couldn't wait until I was completely done with my goals before started on Zeek's room. It was driving me nuts. I HATED his room. I hated being in his room. It just felt undone and not cozy at all.
When we were living in our little house, Zeek's room was part nursery, part music room, part sewing room. It was a mish-mash of everything. I just rolled with it and didn't give his room a theme - just hung some shelves on the wall and put random trinkety things all over the room. I liked it though - it was cozy and cute. A few months after Zeek was born and we found out we were moving to our new house, I hadn't thought of any different theme for his room and just handed my father-in-law a paint chip similar to what was in his room in the little house.
As soon as we moved in, I had painter's remorse. I hated the color. It was too candy apple. But Skyler said we were not going to repaint...so his room sat. I had no motivation to do anything to it. I threw a couple things on the wall that were in his old room, but I just hated it. I rearranged furniture about 6 times, hoping each time that all the sudden I would love his room. I did not. So finally 10 months later, I figured out what I want to do with the room. I have plans! It feels so good to have direction for the room. I want him to enjoy his space and feel cozy and comfortable in it. (Yet, I also had to keep in mind that I needed it to be gender neutral for future occupants, because he WILL be sharing his room with any future brother's or sister's until we buy our own house a few years from now.)
Well, wasn't that a short-story-long!? ;) All this to say, I made a new art piece for Zeek's new room! It's the first piece of his new room, and hopefully it will be "done" in the next month or so and I can show you the new space.
I already had most of the supplies, so all I had to buy was the embroidery thread and the nails. All I paid for this project was less than $4.
I had this bulletin board hanging in our office:
Originally I had painted it white and was going to use it in Zeek's old room. I had gotten white paint on the cork though, but was going to cover the cork with this blue fabric that matched the curtains in his room. Unfortunately, I didn't realized until afterwards that the back didn't remove from this board and I wasn't going to b able to recover it in a nice looking way...I thought I'd ruined it and was pretty bummed.
When I saw this project - I had an "ah ha!" moment, and realized it no longer was ruined!
I just painted the rest of it white. I searched Free Fonts for a nice cursive font and chose Annabel Script. It took me a couple of days to decide what word to use. I wanted something that was more meaningful than just "dream". I wanted something that described Ezekiel. I thought of "happy", which is always what people say about him, but I didn't like the way the word looked written out, which led me to the word "joyful". I love the way the word looked in cursive and even more love the meaning. I printed it out in 600 size font, one letter per page. I taped them together and placed them on my board where I wanted them, using double stick tape on the back to hold them in place.
I wanted a little less shiny, more industrial look, so I chose silver nails instead of the gold. It was about $1.50 for a pack of these at Lowe's. I bought 3 packs, not knowing how many I'd need. Would you believe I used exactly the amount of one package, not on purpose?! I thought, knowing me, I'd have to bust into one other pack just for like 5 more nails. :)
I pushed the nails in with my thumb, all the way around the word. About every letter or so, to give my thumb a break, I'd go around with a hammer and tap the nails in a little further (since this is hanging above Zeek's bed and I didn't want the chance of any falling out!)
After the nails are in, carefully peel the letters out of the nail lining.
Then the fun part! STRINGING! This was so enjoyable. I tied knots around the starting and ending nails for each color and added a dab of tacky glue to the knots to make sure they stayed tied tight.
As mentioned in the Honey & Fritz tutorial, overlap the colors a little bit to get a blended look.
And here it is, all finished and hanging up:
I love the way it looks in his room! It broke up the green wall and made me feel just that much better about the way his room feels. :) It's coming together.
*Hindsight: I should have painted two coats onto the cork...But I think I was too eager to start this to notice at the time after I painted. But it's okay, I've made my peace about it. :)
Red Curry, Coconut, & Ginger Infused Clams.
Except, because I can't follow recipes, I didn't add the coconut.
Because I hate coconut.
These were the bomb. I'm not kidding you.
Even the sauce was so good.
Next time (when we don't serve it for guests), I'll save the sauce for cooking something else in it.
Mine:
This was second-day left overs...so colors are not as vibrant in the cilantro and lime, but whatev. You get the idea. :) (Same as in the next "mine" picture)
Homemade Ice Cream. No ice maker, no rolling a tin.
Just heavy whipping cream, honey and a bit of vanilla extract.
And the freezer.
This recipe says that it takes 6 hours to freeze. I had it in there for over 7.
And it wasn't quite frozen. It was a little gritty and the bottom of the serving bowl wasn't frozen.
My friends Maria and Britney were sweet and said it was delicious.
I know that they were lying to make me feel good. (I have nice friends like that.).
But seriously, let it freeze over night and it's SO SO SO much better. It was way creamier the next day. It wasn't gritty and it tasted exactly like vanilla bean ice cream! Except it's gotta be healthier than commercial ice cream - right?! I ate pretty much the whole container myself, I'm not gonna lie.
Brit & Maria - try this, but let it freeze overnight, k? So much better than the way I served it to you! :)
Basically, I'm going to make this entire dinner again. I love when you love all of the recipes you try! Especially when you made your friends be the guinea pigs!
Skyler told me I took a gamble by making all new things for dinner for everyone.
I think it was a risk well worth it!
:)
Ok, as promised, here is that recipe for Homemade Bar Soap that Skyler uses. He's made a few batches so far, and for two people who are extremely eczema prone - it has done very well. Skyler in particular is very picky about the soap that he uses. For him, he's had too many bar soaps and body washes that just dry his skin out way too much. For me, I make do with whatever we have and just make sure to lather up in lotion afterwards. That said, this soap hasn't given either of us any complaints so far for the last 3-4 months we've used it.
Skyler bought a book called Smart Soapmaking by Anne L Watson, which is where we got the recipe and directions that we use. This recipe and directions are from the book and called "Anne's Shea Butter Supreme".
You'll need:
10.5 oz (298 g) coconut oil
10.5 oz (298 g) olive oil
9 oz (255 g) shea butter
8 oz (227 g) distilled water
4.2 oz (119 g) lye
Optional: scent - .6 oz
You'll also need a scale, aluminum free mixing bowls/utensils, wooden box or other soap form, digital "instant read" thermometer, saucepan, soup pot, 4 microwave safe bowls/glass measuring pitchers, small glass bowl for scent (if using), immersion blender,
1. Wear long sleeves, long pants, shoes (or protective outer layer). DON'T follow by example of my husband, who refuses to wear clothes at home.
2. Make sure you have a special work area for mixing the lye - you need good ventilation for mixing the lye solution! (We mix ours outside).
3. Set your scale to either ounces or grams (we used grams) and place an empty bowl on the scale, push the "tare" button to reset the scale to zero.
4. Do step 3 (all in separate bowls) for:
255 g Shea Butter
298 g Coconut Oil
298 g Olive Oil
227 g Distilled Water
119 g Lye
5. Do this for the scent if you are using one (.6 oz)
6. Melt the coconut oil and shea butter in the microwave until melted. Watch carefully and microwave them just until they are fully melted and no longer. You don't want them to burn or smoke.
Set the fats aside and move outside (or to your ventilated area) to mix the lye solution.
7. Put on your goggles and gloves! (Which Skyler DID do! Sorta.)
8. Set the saucepan of distilled water into a slightly larger bowl, so you can place ice cubes around the saucepan.
9. Gradually mix in the lye, little by little, constantly stirring. ALWAYS add the lye to the water, and never the opposite - NEVER add water to lye.
10. As the lye dissolves, the solution will get warm and give off fumes.
11. Keep the lye from forming a crust on the bottom - slowly stir it in so that it dissolves as it is added. The solution will be cloudy first and then get more clear.
12. Check the temperature of the lye solution with the instant read thermometer. Without letting the thermometer touch the bottom of the saucepan, the solution should have a temp between 90 and 110 degrees F.
Mixing everything together:
13. Pour the shea butter, coconut oil, and olive oil into the big soup pot.
14. Pour the lye solution into the fats solution in the soup pot.
15. Start mixing everything together with the immersion blender. Move it through the mixture so that it all gets mixed thoroughly. Be careful to keep the blade submersed or it will cause air to get mixed into the soap.
16. When the mixture begins looking thick and smooth, like eggnog or thin pudding, you can stop mixing.
17. Mix in any scent you might have at this point.
18. Pour the mixture into your mold, scraping the pan out with a spatula and set aside overnight.
19. Your soap should be solid in about 12 hours and ready to come out of the mold in 24 hours.
The next day. Proving to all you fine folk that he DOES know how to wear clothes.
20. Take soap out of the mold, slice into bars and ENJOY! :)
Anne suggests using a bowl of vinegar to rinse or soak spatulas/spoons/bowls that came in contact with the lye, before washing them.
She also suggests handwashing everything once before putting them into the dishwasher to prevent soap overflowing - we don't and haven't have a problem. But thought I'd throw it out there. :)
Lye burns. If you happen to touch it and get a burn, flush it with cold running water for at least 15 minutes, with any contaminated clothing removed. Lye manufacturers recommend that you call a doctor or poison control for further help.
Skyler made the wooden box/form. We've tried lining it with wax paper, and we've tried not lining it. We're not sure what way is easier to remove it from the box. With wax paper, you're picking paper out of crevasses and/or slicing sides off of soap. Without wax paper, you're using a metal spatula to pry it up off the wood, and slicing some of the sides if there's wood that sticks. Both are a little work... I'll update if we find a better remedy. :)
It suggests letting the soap "dry out" for a couple of weeks before using it, to let it solidify more and become milder.
This soap isn't necessarily "cheaper". It's definitely not cheaper than cheap soap. It's cheaper than other handmade soaps or specialty soaps that you would purchase, but shea butter is expensive, so be prepared for that. We don't chose to make this soap for the cost reasons. We chose it because we like the minimal ingredients nd it treats our dry-skinned bodies well!
We usually don't choose a fragrance. I like the mild coconut smell of the "fragrance-free" version. We did do peppermint oil this batch to see how we like it.
Make sure your shea butter is the real deal! The organic, raw, unrefined kind! Skyler saw some "good deals" online, but upon investigation, found that it wasn't 100% shea butter - so don't be fooled! :)
Hopefully those were clear enough directions! You could always purchase the book "Smart Soapmaking" if you wanted! There are some other recipes in there too which I think we will get around to trying. This recipe was the best starter soap, according to the book.
We love, love, love this soap. We packaged it up for our mother's for Christmas and even designed our own paper wrapping for them. We called these "S.K.A.B Soap Bars" (Skyler.Kayla.Anderson.Bars) for our mom's... partly because it's a knock off of S.L.A.B homemade soap, and partly because it's a funny/gross name for soap. :) Our good ol' Skab bars.
If you try this, let me know how it turns out!
P.S.
We had a very concerned one year old, while we were out mixing the lye solution. See for yourself.
Those few days after we started dating are a precious memory for me. I hope I'll always remember how the breeze blew my hair and the sun felt on my back that summer evening when Skyler and I sat under the big oak tree. We confided in each other that we both knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that we were each others' One. We were two halves. However, we knew we had to keep the depth of our relationship under wraps for a while. This was one of the hardest things ever, as all I really wanted to do was shout from the rooftops that we had found each other! I was leery, though. Leery of what others would think. I didn't want people to label me as the girl who was making a quick rebound from my divorce or being the crazy girl who talks about marrying the dude she met two weeks ago.
So we kept it secret. But we knew. We were confident. So we secretly started wedding planning - just a little bit. A wedding date was set for August 22nd, 2009 - exactly one year after we had met.
We spent all of our free time (almost every night) together, getting to know each other, spending time with our families, friends, helping serve at youth retreats together.
Finally in February 2009, 5 months after we met and started dating, we asked my parents to join us for dinner so we could talk about marriage. Instead of the traditional "man asking the girl's father" for her hand in marriage, I wanted my mom and myself to be a part of the conversation, since I was very much a part of the topic! We wanted to discuss all together our intentions for marriage with my parents.
I remember suggesting my favorite Chinese buffet. Skyler hadn't ever been there before - and as much as that guy can eat - he barely touched his plate. He told me later that he was too nervous to eat anything. The conversation with my parents went well and they gave us their blessing.
I told Skyler early into our relationship that I wanted at least 6 months to publicly plan the wedding. I am a planning type girl and wanted 6 months of time to do it in! After we had the talk with my parents in February, I thought Skyler had the green light to go ahead and ask me and make it official. I was pretty impatient when Valentine's Day rolled around and there was no sign of a ring. It'd been a week after we talked to my parents already, for goodness sake! What was the hold up?!
I honestly don't know how Skyler didn't call it off during that month and half between talking to my parents and actually proposing! ;) I'm not gonna lie - I was a downright brat about it. I threw a fit that he wasn't letting me have my 6 months to publicly plan - and I even threatened pushing the wedding back a whole year! (It wasn't my prettiest time. I'm not proud of it.)
And Skyler, bless his heart, was just waiting for a day with decent weather so that he could execute the most beautiful proposal that I could've ever asked for. He patiently put up with me and my impatient antics. He had a ring since December even - he wasn't waiting on anything but the sunshine. . . .
And then, the big day came around.
It was Thursday, March 26th, 2009 and I had just gotten off of work at 4:00 pm. Skyler had told me earlier in the day that he had gotten a big tip at work and wanted to take me out for dinner downtown. Right as I was starting to drive downtown, Skyler texted me and said that he had run into an old buddy and that he was at a coffee shop downtown, the Governor's Cup, waiting for me inside. I parked near the coffee shop and walked inside. I look all around and don't see him anywhere. The guy at the counter asks if he can help me, and I tell him, "No, I was looking for someone but I don't see him here", and start towards the door. I hear a faint "Excuse me?", but figure it's for someone else and don't turn around. Then a louder, "Excuse me, miss?" I turn around and a card is thrust into my hands. I look down and see 'Kayla Miller' on the envelope. I look back up and the guy who handed to me was no where to be seen. As I open the envelope and pull out the card, I see it has Skyler's handwriting on it. The card read: "This card should find you a bit confused; but don't worry, the adventure is about to begin. A short distance from here is a park. In this park contains a special bench that faces out towards the river. Go there now! (please)."
The envelope also had a puzzle piece in it, but I was instructed to not read it yet. I knew exactly what bench he was talking about; it was at the Riverfront park from the first day we really hung out and tossed a football around and we sat there and talked for a few hours before going to a pig roast with his family. I drove to the park and walked over to the bench. Sitting on the exact bench we had sat on was a plate covered by a bowl, another envelope with my name on it and a round river rock holding it down. I open the card and it read: "Here lies the place where we first started to get to know each other. It was a nice summer afternoon that day. I remember playing catch with a football with you and thinking you were a pretty cool girl. After about 30 minutes, we headed to this bench and sat down. As we continued to talk, I knew there was something special about you. After a while, I decided to ask you to the pig roast that evening. In memory of our kind of 1st date, I have here some bacon for you. I know it's not prepared the same way that the pig was prepared that night, but please eat a piece or two and pretend its warm! ....so after the pig roast was over, we returned back to the parking lot. Go there now! Use the key to get in, passenger side please! (Leave the platter, my people will take care of it.)"
Inside the envelope was another puzzle piece and a key to his car. I walked over to the parking lot, found his car and got in the passenger side. I opened up my next envelope, held under another river rock and of course with another puzzle piece. He had written, "Please take a seat and get comfortable. Notice that the driver's seat belt is buckled? I guess I was thinking we were going to call it a quick night but we soon realized that we were enjoying our conversation more and more (I hope you were, cause I know I was!) During that conversation with you, I really began to realize what an incredible person you were. I was amazed that the Lord had caused our paths to cross! Put the key into the ignition and turn it until you hear something. Do that now before you read any more."
I put in the key, turned it, and in a few moments music from my brother's band, Falling Up, started playing out of the speakers. I smiled and turned the card over to read the back of it. "No way! I can't believe your brother plays for one of my favorite bands! haha! How funny that was to find that out that night. Alright babe, from here I want you to head to the other park in which we have walked around in a lot! Go to the part of the grassy area where we laid down and stared into space."
Me in Bush Park, reading his note.
He was talking about the grassy field in Bush Park where he had laid down his jacket for me to lay on as we watched for shooting stars. I drove to the park and walked to the grassy field. There, where we had laid down in the field, was his jacket that he had laid out for me that night. I picked it up and underneath was a card, a portable CD player, and another river rock. I opened the envelope and read the card. "Can I offer you my jacket to lie on? Haha. We had some good walks in this park and will continue to have them. I really enjoyed those first Bush Park conversations as we were getting to know each other and talked until late. Push play on the CD player. Enjoy what you hear and keep listening as you make your way to the next destination. Walk down to the lower field where we sat underneath an oak tree."
I put on the headphones and started walking towards the oak tree. Soon, the sounds of a song by Thrice, called 'A Song for Milly Michaelson' started playing, which he had told me way early on was a song that made him think of me.
I listened joyfully as I walked down to the lower field.
There, hanging in the old oak tree was rope in the shape of a heart. Hanging in the middle was my next card. In this card, he told me the different qualities that he was always looking for in a woman, and that he saw them in me. This was the same old tree which we sat under, when I gave Skyler my list of 27 things I needed and wanted in a husband.
Then, he told me to head north to a park where he skipped stones (hence all the river rocks he had been leaving for me) at the river and we got in trouble by the park staff for being there after dark. He was talking about Keizer Rapids park, where we hung out the night we started dating.
I made my way all the way through the forest and down to the river. I stood on the bank where we had been, but didn't see anything immediately. I looked a little longer and noticed something floating in the river upstream a bit. I walked over and saw a basket floating, attached to a string on a stick which was stuck in the ground on the bank. I pulled the basket towards shore and in it was my next envelope. He told me to skip my rocks that he had gathered for me (I think that was a joke, because he knows I can't skip rocks. I can only 'kerplunk' them. . .) He also said that he enjoyed our walk there that night and he was sorry he couldn't accompany me back. He directed me to my next location: the elementary school where we went to lay under the stars, after we got kicked out of Keizer Rapids for being there after it closed at dusk.
As I drove up to the elementary school, I looked to the grassy spot where we had been laying and saw a blanket laying out. I smiled and made a bee line to the blanket. On it was my final envelope. He welcomed me to the place where our relationship had began and told me to go ahead and put together the puzzle, and finally read the back of the pieces and follow directions carefully. I put the puzzle together, which had our picture on one side of it. On the backside, he had written "I can't play footsie with you if your shoes are on!" (That night, laying on the blanket, he rubbed his foot against mine all night, but claims he doesn't remember doing that). "Take your shoes off, stand up, close your eyes and count to 15." I took my shoes off, stood up, and started counting silently.
Suddenly, I heard him running to me from behind. I turned around and we embraced and he covered me in kisses. He told me he was ready to spend the rest of his life with me, got on one knee and asked if I'd marry him. I said, "yes, of course!" and we hugged and hugged.
Of course, my proposal story is my favorite one. I just feel so lucky to have a guy that went all out for me to show me how he feels. Not only did he plan and execute the elaborate proposal perfectly, he also designed my ring for me! He designed and drew it out on paper, took it into a jeweler and had them create it. I had told him that I wanted his birth stone (aquamarine) instead of a diamond, so that I could think of how lucky I am that he is alive every time I look at it.
He added a couple diamonds to the sides, and the wedding band connects like a puzzle piece to the engagement ring. I think he did a superb job. :)
And there you have it. Our love story. There's none other like it - it is our own. And for that, I am thankful. I hope you've enjoyed reading our journey!
This part of the story ends with Skyler and I getting married as planned on August 22nd, 2009, back in that same field as where we had met exactly one year prior at our friends' wedding.
It was a beautiful and joyful day as we were joined as man and wife.
