current music favorites

april 8tracks playlist

neighborhood #1 (tunnels) - arcade fire

on paper - arkells

never gonna give you up - the black keys

little black submarines - the black keys

the girl - city and colour

in repair - john mayer

wild fire - john mayer

camera talk - local natives

airplanes - local natives

ribs - lorde

biting down - lorde

dead sea - the lumineers

the way i was - maroon 5

adore you - miley cyrus

think you can wait - the national

diane young - vampire weekend

everlasting arms - vampire weekend

carry on my wayward son - vitamin string quartet

what you know - two door cinema club

wake up - two door cinema club

the benefits of tea

I recently came to the realization that I have been drinking at least one cup of tea every single day for a year or so now. Although I've been drinking tea since I was a kid, I never drank it so regularly until now. I always assumed that tea wasn't the best daily drink option due to the caffeine, but I stumbled across a few articles such as this one that informed me otherwise. Apparently black, white, green, and herbal teas are full of all sorts of health benefits, differing depending on the type of tea. Tea is definitely my favorite morning, afternoon and evening go-to drink, and now I won't feel guilty since it's healthy after all!

a few of my favorite go-to teas:
PG Tips
Yorkshire: Black, Green
Tazo: Earl Grey, Calm

diy brown sugar & coconut oil body scrub

ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
• white sugar (optional)

If using hardened coconut oil, melt in glass bowl in the microwave in 5-10 second intervals. Mix in the brown sugar and/or white sugar, folding them over the melted oil. Place the finished product in jar and leave it inside your shower- It's that easy! This can be used as either a body scrub or an abrasive face scrub. Enjoy!

diy decoupage memory jar

Decoupage Memory Jar

Start out with an empty glass/mason jar. You can even reuse any type of empty food container that has been washed. Gather your decoupage supplies- cut out magazine clippings or other types of decorative paper that would like to use. Take a paintbrush (preferably a sponge-tip applicator) and coat the inside of the jar with Mod-Podge. I recommend beginning with a small area at a time and slowly working your way around the jar, adding more glue as you are ready to apply the paper (that way the glue won't dry before you've had time to reach that spot). Start out by gluing down the pieces you would like to be seen from the outside of the jar first, and layer the background pieces accordingly. Once you have glued everything down, wait for it to dry before applying an additional 1-2 coats of glue to the inside of the jar. This will create a seal along the inside of the jar so the paper won't bend or come loose, and the items you place in the jar won't ruin the decoupage effect. I also decided to decorate the cover to my jar using the same process as the inside of the jar, making sure to seal the cover with an extra couple coats of Mod-Podge. 

Fill up your jar with items of your choice! I decided to use mine as a memory jar for 2014. I cut out small pieces of paper and write down memories that stand out to me or small things I want to remember. At the end of the year, I will be able to look back and revisit all the things that made me happy throughout the year! My jar is also sprinkled with paper hearts, random fortunes from Chinese restaurants, mismatched/broken earrings, and other miscellaneous items. 

diy mini decorated clothes pins

Supplies:

• Plain Mini Clothes Pins 
• Decorative paper, magazine clippings, etc
• Mod-Podge
• Scissors
• Pencil/Pen
• Foam Brush

Start off with your plain clothes pins (I got mine in a pack of 20+ from the dollar store!). Next, decide how you want to decorate your pins. The possibilities here are pretty unlimited. I used different mediums to make mine - magazine clippings, lace tape, yarn, scrapbook paper, fabric, etc. (I think it would be interesting to try out glitter!) Trace the outline of your chosen medium to the shape of the clothes pin and cut out. For the paper materials (or if you decide to try this out with glitter) apply a coat of Mod-Podge to the clothes pin, stick material, and let dry. Apply another 1-2 coats of Mod-Podge to seal paper and create a glossy finish. And that's it! I used these to pin photos of family and friends along a string of photos above my bed!