baking and building.

My hubby is pretty talented. He's good at lots of things, like cooking, and building, and fixing my hair for weddings. 
So, my grandparents enlisted him for building a fence. Of course, he jumped at the opportunity. So while he spent the day building, I spent the day baking. 

The delicious, ooey gooey cookie cake I made with white chocolate, semi-sweet, and milk chocolate chips.
And sprinkles.

 Sprinkles make everything better.

I also made Cookies and Cream Rice Crispy Treats from the Picky Palate.  While the idea of these is great, they were waayyy too dry. Either mini marshmallows are bigger in California or they just like their rice crispy treats more crunchy out there. I was kind of confused about the ratio, seeing that it was different from any other recipe I had ever used, but I decided to follow it anyway. And then I noticed that all of the blogs that "reused" her recipe added marshmallows or lowered the amount of crispies, so they obviously had problems too. So, word to the wise, if you make these, just use the whole bag of marshmallows. Other than being really dry and not very marshmallowey, they were good! :)

I went outside to check on my manly man, and he was done! Just putting the final touches on the fence.

And looking good while he was doing it, I might add. Nothing like a man in tie-dye, am I right?

The best part about a new fence is old wood for me to build with!! Hoorayy!!

We plan on building a headboard for our bed. And I am sooo excited about it. Know of any other good things to build out of old fence wood?

A perfect day would involve both fro yo and snow cones.

Voltaire, hair...

So I kind of went through a headband making fury. I guess I just got tired of my hair being boring... And I am definitely not paying the kind of money people expect for headbands and clips these days, when I can just do it myself. Are you serious? So I made my own.

 These two have been permanently glued to headbands. I really like the pink and yellow one... but rarely find myself wearing pink or yellow. O well. I need to brighten up my wardrobe anyway.

The one above is probably my favorite. I just made it the same way we made the bow ties for the wedding. And I slid the headband through the little loop, so I can use the headband for multiple looks! woot!

For this one, I made the flower and added it to a stretchy headband my sister already had. True confession: I swiped it from her room. But she never wears them so I was pretty confident she wouldn't notice.

 I made these two out of old t-shirts, with a five-strand braid. I love how they stretch.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I made a few more flowers, but I have not worn them yet because I am unsure of how I like them.

Happy fourth of July! We will be up bright and early to see the parade in downtown Arlington tomorrow. Excited to celebrate with the hubster! Speaking of the hubster, he has turned off the light and crawled into bed. So now I am just sitting in the dark. Welp, guess that's my cue.

But one last thing: Isn't my cousin absolutely adorable? I think so. If I didn't think pageant children and their mothers were so creepy, I'd say "sign her up!"

Icee's Not So Deep Fried Okra

I love fried okra. I have always loved fried okra. If I can order fried okra at a restaurant, I will. Nick had never had it before he met me. He was shocked that I ordered okra and I was shocked he had never had it.
Anyway, my Icee and I have bought fresh okra a couple of times from the grocery store. Although I love okra, I had never cooked it myself. In fact, I don't know if I had ever actually noticed it at the store. True confession: I spend very little time in the produce section. But she took me right to where they were, and sure enough, you can buy okra at the grocery store! :)
I decided to document her "recipe," although she insists that there isn't one.  This is for me, for later on when I want to make fried okra, and for you, if you would like to try this yourself. Just keep in mind, that because there is not a recipe, there is a lot of eye balling instead of exact measurements. No sweat. Just go for it.

Icee's Not So Deep Fried Okra

Ingredients:

Fresh Okra

Olive Oil

Buttermilk

Cornmeal 

Flour

Desired Seasonings

1. Wash and chop the okra, like so:

2. Pour buttermilk over the okra until all of the okra is covered. Let it soak for at least 15 minutes.

3. Pour the olive oil on a skillet until the bottom of the skillet is covered. There should be about half an inch of oil in the pan. Heat the skillet. If you put a piece of okra in it and it sizzles, it's ready!

4. Pour a lot of cornmeal and a little flour in a separate pan and mix.

5. Scoop up some soaked okra, and coat with the cornmeal mixture. Then, add to the skillet.

You don't want to add more to the skillet than this at a time:

 6. When the breading has browned, take the okra off the skillet.

7. Repeat step 5 and 6 until all of the okra is cooked! You can season the okra as you take it off the skillet, or wait until it is all done. We use salt and Mrs. Dash's Garlic and Herbs, of course. Be sure not to under-season!

8. Dig in. Delish!

love wins.

Today, I finished this:

It was quite the team effort. First, I drew out the words on paper until I had them how I liked them. I cut them out, and traced them onto the wood.

 Then, my lovely hubby used the saw to cut out the words. It took a while. He is diligent.

 The word "love" took a little more effort. For the l, o, and e, Nick had to drill holes before he could get the saw into the letters to take out the middles.

Then I sanded them down. And went outside to take a picture.

 Oh hey, I turned around to see my manly man building a fence.

Anyway, I then proceeded to glue the words to a canvas. I used hot glue but there probably is a better way.
 

On a slight side note, I spotted this lovely tomato growing in my Icee's garden while I was outside. I want to have a garden!

I recruited the hubster to spray paint for me. He did a fabulous job.

And I was left with this. I'm a fan. 

The wedding: Paper

To start, I figured it would be appropriate to begin with the save the dates, invitations, programs, etc. We made a very conscious effort to make these things simple and personal. And also cheap.

Save The Dates

My roommate, Rachel, gave me her secret for save the dates, and I am so so grateful. We used vistaprint.com to create our save the date post cards. Vistaprint always has sales going on. And when I say always, I mean always. We got 200 postcards for free. All we had to pay was shipping! While I had always really liked the idea of magnet save the dates, I did not like the price. Not only were these free but still of good quality, but sending them out was cheaper too, since we only needed to buy post card stamps. I highly recommend this to any bride who is looking for a bargain. 

Wedding Invitations

 Invitations took a little more work. I had something envisioned, but was having trouble making it a reality. At first, I really wanted square invitations, but I decided against it, since it costs more to send square envelopes. I also really wanted these to be personal, not generic. I looked for packaged invitations, but never fell in love with any. So we decided to make our own.

My baby brother is an artist. He does lovely work, but is not too keen on drawing by request. So it took some bribing. He now has my iPod touch. But he did a lovely job. I created the invitation on Word, and then my lovely hubby to be printed them out on a cream/tan colored resume paper. And then we cropped. 

We decided to RSVP through email for a couple of reasons. First, it saves paper. Second, it saves money. 

I found some lovely envelopes at an office supply store that happened to be discounted. Oh my, was there much rejoicing that day. So finally we stuffed, sealed, stamped, and sent those suckers out. 

Bridesmaid Brunch Invitations

I asked my other little brother to create an invitation that I could send out to my wedding party for our Friday morning get together. He is talented, too. 

Rehearsal Coffee Invitations

I asked the same little brother to do a rehearsal invitation, as well. These were also printed onto cream resume paper and then cropped. (Personal addresses have been blurred... it didn't actually look like that. ha)

 Programs

Personally, I find programs to be a waste of paper. Most people don't save them, so hundreds of papers get thrown out after the wedding. So, I decided to do something different. Instead of handing out programs, we made a slideshow. Everyone involved, including musicians and photographers were included. I put their full names, how we knew them, their role in the wedding, and then a couple of pictures.  The slideshow ran on a loop for thirty minutes before the wedding actually began. I never saw it while it was going, but I heard it served its purpose. 

Well, I think that just about covers everything in this category. I wish we had kept all of the prices we spent on everything so I could know exactly, but we didn't. But for all paper products of this nature, I would say that we spent less than $200. Which isn't half bad.

The wedding: Introduction

I am going to start a series on our wedding! I am really excited about this, and I hope our lovely readers will enjoy reading about our day!

The entire wedding was basically a giant diy project, which was super fun and also super cheap. :) I hope that perhaps these "notes" can be a service to others planning weddings. Or, at least, it will be a nice way for me to look back on our wedding day.

As a preview, some pictures.

 (photo by Meredith Bacon)

 (photo by Meredith Bacon)

 (photo by Meredith Bacon)

 (photo by Meredith Bacon)

(photo by Meredith Bacon)

 (photo by Bryce Hamilton)

 (photo by Bryce Hamilton)

(photo by Bryce Hamilton)

Can't wait to share more!

free music? yes please!

 If you like Regina Spektor, you should go HERE and download Brooke Waggoner's album FO FREE!!! NoiseTrade is the best! And I am loving Brooke Waggoner's sound.

If you have never heard of Regina Spektor, then you should go HERE and download Brooke Waggoner's album FO FREE!! And then you should go HERE and introduce yourself to Regina Spektor and just eat your heart out because she is so lovely.

a jigsaw is a girl's best friend

We have been exploring the world of carpentry here at the Jensen/Purdy residence. It's been a pretty exciting time. Reason #3402 why I love my hubby: He is my partner in crime and crafting.

The other day, I had a strong urge to make some wooden letters. So, we got out the wood and the jigsaw.  I drew the letters out how I wanted them, and he cut them out with the saw.  Then I sanded them down and erased the pencil marks.

Nick did such a lovely job, I was so thrilled. He followed the lines exactly, which I think is so fun, because it looks like my handwriting! Then, I had to decide on a color... I tried out a couple on the back of the h. And then I painted.

I really like the color, I think they will go well in our living room. I wanted something happy and sunshiney.  I plan on adding some ribbon to the back to hang them later on.  I have also thought about picking out a stamp and making a pattern in a slightly darker yellow.  Any suggestions?

On a side note, I spotted this guy hanging out when I went out to take a picture of the painted letters. Bugs like this make me wonder what would happen if I touch them. Would it hurt? Or just feel fuzzy?

Peace, love, and jigsaws.

Because sometimes, I need this reminder...

"You are my shepherd in the wilderness, whom shall I fear? You are the God who goes before me, my rock and my shield. In trouble times, You will provide, and I shall not want..."

Pray for Southern Sudan

One of my dear friends and roommates is currently living in Southern Sudan with the International Mission Board Journeyman program. You can follow her adventure at alyssabrown1.blogspot.com.
She and her team have asked us to join with her in prayer this week for the people of Southern Sudan.  The team has sent out this message:

"On July 9th, Southern Sudan will celebrate its Independence Day. This is a history making event and one that can turn this country toward Christ. The Baptist Mission of Southern Sudan invites you to join us for 8 days of prayer, starting on July 3rd going through July 10th."

Watch this video and then join us in prayer during this crucial time!

Truffles!

Well, I have found some new recipes that I just have to try. This time, the category is TRUFFLES. Man, don't you just love truffles? So much goodness in such a small package. Of course, my favorite version of a truffle is a cake ball. A funfetti cake ball with rainbow chip icing and white chocolate bark. Yes please. But these all look pretty delicious too. If you get the chance to try them before I do, let me know how they turned out!

1. No Bake Vanilla Cake Batter Chocolate Truffles from Love, Veggies, and Yoga

Well, these just look delicious. First of all, vanilla. Second of all, cake batter. Third, sweetened condensed milk. Amen.

2. Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles from Eating Well

(Photo by The Girl Who Ate Everything)

If you want some great pictures of these truffles, check out How Sweet It Is and The Girl Who Ate Everything. The picture that caught my eye was by the latter. I mean, anytime you put chocolate, pretzels, and peanut butter together, you're going to have a hit. Am I right?

3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles from Love and Olive Oil

(photo by Love and Olive Oil)

Oh hi, you look amazing. Anything the words cookie and dough are used together and side by side, I am sold.

Welp, that's all I've got for now. But that's enough to keep anyone busy for at least one day.

3 blogs you should follow

I love blogs. When people share what they are passionate about, I can't help but smile. I especially love when someone's personality comes out in his or her blog. Today, I am going to share with you three blogs that make me happy. When my Google reader shows that there are unread stories on these blogs, I do a little dance. Mainly in my head. But still. I love them, and, most likely, you will too.

1. For Better or Bratwurst.

 This is a cooking blog created recently by my beautiful friend, Kaitlyn. Not only is Kaitlyn doing an excellent job coming up with tasty recipes to feed her "beast" of a husband, but she is so funny while she is doing it. I am so impressed with her ability to cook healthy, meaty food. Follow this blog for yummy food and a smile.

2. A Bicycle Built for Two

When I first found this blog a few weeks ago, the first thing I noticed was their last name. It is the same as ours! Then I sat there hoping that somehow we were related so we could have an excuse to meet and be friends. Because they seem like a newlywed couple I would like to be friends with! Name twin friends, if you will.  They share plenty of healthy recipes, and about life between meals.

3. Miss Mustard Seed

I was introduced to this blog pretty recently, and I have already learned so much about paint and refinishing furniture. I am so impressed with her stuff, and she gives pretty detailed instruction on how to do things.