font love friday

hello! happy friday!

today for font love friday i'm gonna share the entry way wall art i made recently. my entry way has been looking pretty cluttered lately and i have been feeling the need to simplify it. it previously had a charging station (that was not plugged in because there is no outlet on this wall, so it wasn't charging anything), random books that needed to be put away, a change jar, art work and posters from the kids that needed to be put away, "treasure's in heaven" treasure boxes where the kids earn marbles when doing an act of kindness, and some clothes or hair clips from friends that forgot them here. that's A LOT of stuff for such a small area. and since it's the first thing people see when they walk in, i wanted it to make a much different statement. 

the quote actually comes from lyrics of a Watermark (Christy Nockels band with her husband) song. i just love that it makes such a bold statement, that we desire Jesus to INVADE our home, with his truth and light. and we want to proclaim that to all who enter our home. 

Come, come in
Invade all You see of us
Any man, who'd walk Your road is welcomed here
And You're the only one

Chorus:
Jesus, come and walk the halls of this house
Tread this place and turn it inside out
With Your mercy...
Jesus, teach us the prayers that open these doors
Until Your light floods in and illuminates these floors
And let Your truth be on our steps and in these rooms
Jesus invade...

Reach, reach in
With the hand that heals all our suffering
Conquer all that is not of You
Bring Your spirit throught
As we fill these walls with Your praise

Chorus

Bridge:
I call for angels
I call for mercy
I call for freedom
In the name of Jesus
In the name of Jesus

to make this i spray painted a canvas with chalkboard paint, made lines across every 2.25" apart with regular chalk, then traced a Helvetica 2" stencil with a white chalk pen.

Helvetica is such a classic type, i love how this turned out. 

have a great weekend!

tara

what we wore

you're about to get some randomness. don't mind me. 

i am so tired lately. my routine is off and it's really starting to affect my day-to-day functioning. i have my coffee every morning, and as soon as it's done i wonder if i can have another. then again in the afternoon! i think it has to do with the fact that 3 days a week i'm waking up earlier than normal to do crossfit (at 5:30am!). 

i usually wake up between 6-6:30am, and take my showers at night, but on the days i work out i am waking up at 5am and showering after my work out. my body is out of rhythm! do any of you work out early some days? what do you do to keep your routine in check? should i just wake up at 5am everyday so i can feel normal again? that does not sound awesome, but i'm over being sleepy ALL THE TIME. 

{WHAT I WORE}

shirt gifted / jeans chor from Marshall's / sandals TJMaxx / what i did nothing exciting.. just a walk around the block so the kids could ride their vehicles

i am really starting to like my natural hair. this is the third time in a row i've styled it this way after washing it. i only wash it every 7 days, so i've been wearing it like this for a while. straight out of the shower i just comb it with a wide tooth comb, blow dry my roots with my head upside down, and while my ends are still moist i add a mixture of leave in conditioner and coconut oil. then i let it air dry. soooooooo EASY!

sidenote: my sweet boy is having bully trouble, and it's breaking my heart! there's a boy in his gymnastics class that has been punching him repeatedly while they wait for their turn to work on a skill.  we've only been to two classes, but it's already pretty concerning. we want to make sure we're teaching Big A how to respond in a biblical way, while protecting his confidence and tender heart. 

{Big A}

sunnies target dollar bin / shirt target / shorts hand-me-downs / shoes children's place gifted / what he did demonstrated his sweet scooter skills while "jumping" off the "ramp" he found (raised sidewalk crack)

he has his next gymnastics class tomorrow night, so we're praying over how to coach him for when it happens again. if you think about it, will you join us in prayer? thanks.

{little a}

dress old navy / jellies old navy / what she did figured out that she can ride super speed on her bike

i love these shoes, i wish i has some in my size.

little a is getting so big. she'll be 4 this summer. most of the time she seems 3 going on 4, in every shape and form... but sometimes, like in this picture, i still see glimpses of her from when she was a baby. (must be the cheeks) i miss that. i miss my babies. they're growing up too fast. 

i'm not sure that i'm ready for these guys to be dealing with hard concepts like bullies, and being physically capable of riding their bikes faster than i can run... but these are the things that we are being handed right now, and it is making my heart ache. 

i just want to make sure i'm capturing their innocence, and holding it closely to my heart. i want to never forget these stages, or the ones they've grown out of. 

second sidenote: holding your coffee in one hand and your camera in the other hand is not the wisest choice while your children are riding their bikes, because when they fall it's really awkward running with your hands that full... 

just saying. 

tara

paleo cereal

guys. if you know my family well you will know that cereal is our downfall. since my husband and i have been married (almost 9 years) we've probably had cereal EVERY NIGHT before bed. that is, until we started trying to eat healthier about 6 months ago. 

did you read that right... ? 6 months. no cereal. 

for reals. 

until last week. (!) my friend Glen is doing paleo and he took an instagram picture of some cereal he ordered, and after he listed the ingredients i thought, i could make that!!!

so off i went to trader joe's and filled up my basket with goodies. it did not disappoint. i'm so happy with how it turned out. 

{PALEO CEREAL} 

8 oz. raw pecan pieces

4 oz. raw almond slices

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup golden flax seeds

1.2 oz. freeze dried strawberries

1.2 oz. freeze dried raspberries

1.2 oz. freeze dried blue berries 

i topped mine with a drizzle of honey and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. 

amazing. 

i hope you try it and love it as much as i do!

kisses,

tara

p.s. beware: it's pretty pricey. and filling (thankfully). you'll want to eat one scoop at a time to make it last a little longer. no more giant bowls overflowing with captain crunch paleo cereal!

font love friday

i've stumbled upon some typography that just made me gasp! this is my favorite font of the week.

{INTRO}

ok, so i know it's Saturday... i meant to post this yesterday but got super busy. better late than never?

i love intro! such a fun font for a little boy. i knew it was perfect for the second in line of my bestie's kids, Ethan. he is such a sweet little ball of energy. he loves to be active and riding bikes is one of his favorite things, so i made sure to include one in this design. he also loves the color green so i went with a vibrant kelly green color. hopefully he likes the poster!

two down, two to go! Bekah, one of my best friends, has four kids and i'm working on a namesake poster for each one. such a fun project! 

what do you have going on today? i already did some crossfit and we're gonna take the kids to open gym to burn off some of their energy. it should be fun.

i hope you have a good saturday! 

xoxo,

tara

what we wore wednesday

purple jeans? mmmyes.

i recently swung by Plato's closet here in Fresno and found this pair of purple jeans. i was pretty unsure about how practical they were and what to wear them with and had to ask two of the people who worked there for advice (they happened to be indifferent young girls, next time i'm taking a friend shopping with me!). i love the colored jean look right now, and they fit really good, so i decided to go ahead and grab them. 

{WHAT I WORE}

top marshall's / cami marshall's / jeans piper & blue from plato's / shoes target, last summer / hair mexican / what i did still trying to embrace my messy natural mexican hair, ie: wavy only in the back. this is HARD for this perfectionist. but also really easy because of the wash and partially defusing styling process involved.  

i love the bright jeans pairs with the neutral top and shoes. but i think it would also look great paired with a red or coral shirt. 

{Big A}

shirt gifted / shorts target / flip flops rainbow's / what he did worked the ninja pose, below.

this guy needs to be in theater. he's so animated and makes the best faces. the only trouble is that he doesn't like attention. as soon as anyone cheers for him, he shuts down and won't do it anymore. we're still trying to figure out how to encourage him to work through it, without forcing him to be our little dancing monkey. 

{little a}

dress old navy / sandals target / what she did a trip to the library (where she did a GREAT job not throwing fits!)

yep. she's doing much better. sure, she still has her moments... she will always be strong willed. but i definitely see a heart change in her. we've succeeded in going to the library several times now without any fits, even after i ask her to turn the computer games off. this is a big deal. 

she asked me to give her two braids, tied together in the back. it was pretty challenging since her hair is so short right there. she didn't care, even though she had a little sprout poking out the back. 

she's a girl who knows what she wants. 

and it's my job to make her want Jesus. 

i'm trying.

love, tara

grain, nut, egg, and dairy free chocolate cupcakes

what? why? i know.

first off, let me tell how amazing these were. they were the most moist, chocolaty, and delicious chocolate cupcake i've ever had. it reminded me of the chocolate hostess cupcakes with the little white swirl on top... but that could just be me, i haven't had one in a LONG time. like, years. 

we had some special visitors this past weekend (my best friend and her 4 beautiful kids!!!), visitors with allergies to almost everything. and i wanted to make these extra special visitors feel extra special while they were here so i scoured the internet for recipes until i finally conjured up my own. 

if you combine all the allergies to food that her kids have to make one item it has to be grain, nut, egg, and dairy free. so i first googled egg replacer recipes, then googled cupcake recipes made with coconut flour. the inspiration for this recipe came from elana's pantry. her chocolate cupcake recipe is amazing.

i also used her vegan chocolate frosting recipe and garnished with fresh strawberries. 

here's my version:

{GRAIN, NUT, EGG, AND DAIRY FREE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES}

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

4 tbsp tapioca flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup + 2 tsp grape seed oil

1/2 cup agave nectar

No.1} in a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients.

No.2} in separate bowl mix all wet ingredients.

No.3} blend dry ingredients into dry ingredients thoroughly.

No.4} line cupcake pan with cupcake liners and fill 1/4 full with batter. 

No.5} bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes. 

No.6} frost with vegan chocolate frosting.

go make them. they'll make you happy.

love, 

tara

what we wore wednesday

oh man, its been a long time since i've posted anything on this little blog. it seems as though i've taken a little unplanned blogging hiatus. 

sometimes i get in a funk. i don't feel like writing. i don't feel like getting dressed in pretty clothes worthy of pictures. i don't feel like taking pictures of my food and then editing them. and i just wonder why i do any of that stuff. what's the point, really? is it for me? is it for you? do you care? why do i care that you care? haha. 

anyway. i guess i'm back. and i'll start by posting about some clothes. 

i went to Marshall's last night to peruse the clearance isles, and happened to snatch up a couple of pretty things. first off are these fabulous shoes! i first saw them earlier yesterday on Kendi Everyday's blog, and when they were marked down at Marshall's i had to search for my size. i found my size 8's in the 5 1/2 section (sorry if you were hiding them there for later, i snagged 'em!) and an extra bonus was that i found a pair of 6 1/2's that were marked $10 cheaper, and the store honored the lower price. 

uh-mazing. 

i also got this pretty shirt. with a neon yellow zipper down the back. such a fun detail. 

{ME}

shirt Marshall's / jacket old navy from days of yore / jean's levi's from Macy's / shoes Franco Sarto from Marshall's / what i did drove Big A to school today instead of walked so i wouldn't kill myself and could keep my shoes on

it must have been bright. welcome back to my kid's photography. 

i'm also trying to embrace my natural hair because i saw this poster on pinterest and i thought it would be a good idea. i also started working out at 5:30am (wha?!) two days a week and this style is a lot easier than straightening.

did you miss these little faces? i bet you did. i couldn't leave them out. 

{BIG A}

shirt hand-me-down / shorts Hurley hand-me-down / shoes chucks from Nordstrom Rack / what he did he's into ninjas now. so fickle. sorry super heroes, you got the boot. he has been asking me when daddy gets paid so we can go to the fabric store to buy blue fabric so i can make him a blue ninja costume. i said, "don't even trip, i can make you one from stuff in daddy's closet!" and then i did this. 

oh, hello blue ninja. 

{little a}

shirt target (too small, obvi) / skirt Carter's via TJMaxx / shoes target / what she did twirled, whirled, spinned, danced, and generally thought she really was a princess. 

welcome back. to me. to you in my life. what? i don't know. 

ok. 

tara