Three Weekend-y Things

It's Friday! Time for most of you to do a happy dance. Our weeks are a little backwards- since AJ works Saturday-Monday the middle of the week feels more like the weekend to us. I do try to get excited about the weekends by having a little DIY project for myself every weekend while AJ is at work. Sometimes that just means cleaning the bathroom really well...since technically that is a "do it yourself" project, right? Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share a little of what is inspiring me to create lately- hopefully it inspires you too!

This weekend I want to experiment with making gluten-free sandwich bread, since all of the store bought versions we've tried have been not great. I'm planning on starting with the Against All Grain recipe- I'm in LOVE with all of her recipes I've tried so far, so I have high hopes for this one. Do any of you have experience with good gluten-free bread? I'd love to hear tips!



I've also been dying for a huge, chunky throw blanket for either our living room or bedroom and since they're generally wayyyyy out of my price range, my mom and I decided to make a few! This crochet pattern for the blanket below looks really do-able and like something you could find in a store, so we are going to give it a shot! Wish us luck- this definitely won't be a one-weekend project.

I also saw this coffee mug DIY on Oh the Lovely Things, a blog I've found a lot of inspiration from, and thought it would be a fun way to spice up one of my plain travel mugs. Also, its hilarious and accurate.

 

Those are my little projects for myself this weekend- simple and fun. I'm adding cleaning the bathroom to the list too, of course. But I'll probably need a little bit more inspiration first before I tackle that. 

What do you all have planned for the weekend? Any fun projects to add to the list? 

And just for kicks, and because it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately, here's a little quote to start off your weekend.

 

Letter to Baby- 15 Weeks

To my tiniest love,

This week you are 15 weeks old. We've still got a long way to go, but trust me, you will be here before you know it!

You are about the size of an orange this week, which explains why my pants are having a hard time buttoning lately. My tummy is growing everyday and if I sit very, very still, sometimes I can feel you fluttering around in there. It gives me butterflies, not just because it feels literally like a butterfly, but because of how excited it makes me. Keep moving, little one!

You can already suck your thumb, and are practicing your breathing (even though its not oxygen yet). You can even hear things happening around you, so I'll try not to let Evie be TOOOO noisy. You'll probably just have to deal with it though- you are the 2nd child, after all ;)

I can't stop thinking (read: freaking out) about you. Sometimes it seems impossible that we will have another member in our family, but usually, it feels like there is a hole here just waiting for you to fill it. I'm starting to make a list of things I need to get done before you get here. Wow. I'm gonna be a busy momma trying to prepare for you.

We are so excited and wish you were here already. But take your time in there! Keep growing and moving, and giving me excitement butterflies.

I love you.

 Love,
Mommy

A Little Facelift + A Few Goals

Surprise! Things look a little bit different around here, don't they?

I've been wanting to redesign my blog for FOREVER, but I thought it would cost a fortune to pay someone to help me- and God knows I don't know the first thing about blog design, as evidenced by my last design. However, a friend referred me to Rita from Coffee Shop Blog Designs, and after I checked out her work, I was sold. She did such a fast, amazing job and at a much more affordable rate than anyone I've ever researched. It's kind of a dream come true for me, not gonna lie.

So here it is, the new and improved Simply Liv! What do you think??? I hope you love it as much as I do.

To go along with my fancy-schmancy new design, I thought I'd write a little bit about my goals for my blog for the year. Making things public has a way of holding me accountable, forcing me to follow through- otherwise I tend to procrastinate a little bit a lot.

1. Stay simple. I want to really stay true to the title and "theme", you could say, of my blog. More than just a lifestyle blog about our little mid-western journey, I want to write about the simple things in life. Whether it be a list of things that have been inspiring me lately, or a simple, healthy recipe I love, or photos of my growing baby belly, I want the focus always to be on life's little gems. As I said in my last post, those are the things that I believe make life the most beautiful and I want my blog to be a constant reminder of that for me and anyone who stops by. (I also wanted my redesign to reflect that theme, hence the classic, simple new site :)
2. Stay positive. There is enough negativity and heartbreak in the news, facebook and where ever else you look; I want this blog to be a breath of fresh air.
3. Get out of my comfort zone. One of my goals is to push myself as a writer, friend, mom, wife and blogger. I want to write about things that I generally wouldn't think of and try new things, sharing them here.
4. Write for myself and not just my audience. This is a little bit of a selfish goal, but as important as crafting beautiful sentences and taking interesting pictures are for a good blog, I don't want to lose one the biggest reasons I'm blogging in the first place. I want to be able to look back in the years to come and smile at the things I wrote here, the little memories I've recorded that I otherwise would have forgotten. This is kind of like my little online time capsule.
5. Post consistently. This is a no brainer, but if I want to grow my blog, I've got to actually post on it. Consistency has been a struggle in the past for me, but I feel like writing it here, for you all to see, will help keep me accountable.
6. Revisit my 2015 "word". I didn't just chose "hopeful journey" as my word to forget about it a month into the new year. I'm trying to brainstorm ways I can focus on that in my posts and therefore, in my life outside my blog as well. 

With that, I'll leave you with an inspiring quote for your weekend and a ginormous picture of my face. Happy Friday, friends!

Simply,

Liv

Simple Things for Simple Days

Lately I've been all about the little things. I mean, that is the title of my blog, so it should be an "in my face" reminder for me, but I think it is really when life gets slowwww and mundane and not exciting that I'm forced into noticing the littlest aspects of everyday that make them beautiful.
Real, true life is made up of teeny, tiny moments- not huge, life altering events (though those seem to be the times we focus on and remember the most) and so I want this blog to be a space where I can record those tiny moments and look back on them in years to come- maybe after a few more life-altering events- to reminisce and refocus. And maybe inspire a few of you to do the same in a space all your own.

My little things:

-My pregnant body is in the awkward phase. I look like I had one too many beers all. the. time. My pants are getting too tights and my tight shirts just make the "beer belly" more prominent. But I can feel the little pea moving around in there- like little butterfly flutters- and I'm so happy to have this pudgy belly.
-Whenever Evie does anything wrong, she will immediately apologize with a kiss. She just kissed the glass shower because I told her not to hit it with a bottle. I just love her tender heart.
-After Evie goes to bed for the night, I get to spend one on one time with my husband. It's kind of a foreign concept during the awake hours, and so I treasure the moments we are alone, even just to sleep next to each other.
- Our tiny kitchen has open shelving on one wall (which I LOVE). One shelf is entirely dedicated to coffee mugs.
- This morning I made the worst pancakes ever. But Evie didn't care and she ate them anyway.
- Skype dates with long distance friends this week made the distance seem much less. I love my friends.
- Also, cherry chocolate bordeaux ice cream.