exodus 35 creativity party #22

hello everyone, and happy wednesday! so many creative wonders that were linked up last week! thanks so much. here are the featured projects:

1. i can't pass up anything with maps! here's a map-covered notebook from silver boxes.
2. the colors of this desk re-do are perfect! from little house in the big d.
3. this whole outfit is made from recycled t-shirts! can you believe it? from domestic deadline.
4. check out how easy it can be to add ribbon to a pillow! from visual eye candy.

grab a button if you were featured!

<a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Let Birds Fly" src="http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l148/kha02a/bailey_feat.jpg" /></a>

  

now, let's party!

<a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Let Birds Fly" src="http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l148/kha02a/bailey_exodus.jpg" /></a>

why exodus 35, you ask? find out here.

  

guidelines:
- follow, subscribe to, or become a fan of let birds fly.
- link up your talent. crafts, paintings, tutorials, fashion, inspirational posts, etc. i want it!
- please don't link giveaways, shops, contests, reviews, or another link party.
- you must link back somewhere on your blog. grab my button or simply add a link.
- check out other links and leave comments.
- check back next week to party again and to see if you were featured!

kiwi green grape juice - day 14 of juice fast

today is day 14 of my juice fast!

i caught something last week, and was pretty sick on thursday and friday. and when i get sick, it isn't just a stuffy nose, sore throat, etc.

instead, because of my other health problems (like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue) my body feels completely dead when i get sick. while i usually hurt all over (because of fibromyalgia), when i'm sick, i hurt 100 times more, and the symptoms are 100 times worse. it sucks.

wow! that was a downer! there IS a good side to this, i promise.

usually, when i get sick, it lasts WEEKS. seriously. my body is so beat up that it takes forever to heal. but i was only sick this time for 2-3 days! that's a HUGE improvement. and i seriously think it's because i've been on this juice fast. for real.

i would wake up with my throat hurting SO bad, i would be so tired and achy, and i could barely move. but then i would juice. and right after i would drink my juice, i would seriously feel 10 times better. i'm so serious!

if you ever get sick, i recommend juicing. BUT be wary. remember when you were young and your mom would drown you in orange juice when you were sick? that's not necessarily a good thing. fruit is full of sugar, and when you're sick, tons of sugar will promote that sickness. so when you are sick, eat mostly VEGGIES. they have so many of the nutrients you need for your body to heal. so if you are juicing, do tons of veggies. the skins of fruit, especially citrus, is good for you too. basically, you need your fluids, but make sure what you're drinking is REAL. no additives, no sugar added, no high fructose corn syrup, and make sure it's fresh and not from concentrate.

okay, so on to the next juicing recipe! this juice is all fruit and no veggies, so totally against what i just ranted about! haha.

this is one of my favorite juices. it is sweet and tangy, and a perfect fix if you're craving something sweet. this juice separates easily (as you can see from the photo), so stir often.

Kiwi Green Grape Juice
4 kiwis, peeled
2 cups green grapes
1 gala apple, cored

juice all ingredients. pour over ice, whisk, and serve. separates easily, so stir often.


licking my lips,

my insta.week party #5

i've been kinda under the weather this past week. that's the reason you haven't seen me since wednesday. i pretty much slept all day thursday, friday, and saturday. i'm finally feeling better though. i'll let you know more about it when i post my next juicing recipe!

being sick was also the reason for my instagrams to be overloaded with my dog. my beloved quinn helped me through this rough time! :)  for real, he had me singing: "quinn is my strength when i am weak, quinn is the treasure that i seek..."

oh wait. that's a worship song. i mean JESUS. jesus is my strength when i am weak, not quinn. oops! i think god can forgive accidental blasphemy when i'm woozy because of being sick, right?

jk, jk. i don't blaspheme. that's just unforgivable! ;)

ANYWAY.... on to instagrams. here they are for the week!

1. he's the cutest. i love him so much!
2. aaannnddd...my blonde hair says bye-bye. :/  i need run more when the sun's out!
3. me: "what happened when the dog went to the flea circus?" quinn: "i dunno, mumma." me: "he stole the show!" quinn: "AHahahhaha that's funny, mumma!"

4. my sweet boy visiting his mama while she's sick and in bed.
5. this is the only work i did all week. just a little bit of editing.
6. back in bed, quinn comes in to hold my hand. he's worried about his sick mama.

7. dear lord, please use this juice to help me feel better. :)
8. it's just quinn making sure the mean old hair dryer isn't killing me.
9. quinn found a stick as big as HE is! (as you can tell, this is the only photo outside my home this week. i was feeling better, and took quinn to the dog park.)

follow me on instagram: @baileyklentzman

don't have instagram? follow me via followgram.

although this party is called my insta.week, you don't have to have instagram or even an iphone to participate. any camera phone photo will do! you can make a blog post dedicated to your week in instagrams, or you can link up a blog post with only one instagram photo. it doesn't matter! i just want those camera shots! also, you don't even have to have a blog to participate. link up from your flickr account or any other photo sharing site.

now grab the button and link up!

  

<br /> <a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff391/baileyklentzman/instaweek-party-button.png"/></a><br />

  

why a camera phone link party, you ask? click here!

guidelines:

- follow, subscribe to, or become a fan of let birds fly.

- link up your camera phone photos from the past week!

- link back to the party somewhere on your blog, using my button or just a text link.

- check out other links and leave comments.

- come back next week to party again!

exodus 35 creativity party #21

thanks for linking up, everyone! so many crafty brains out there. it was super hard to pick my 4 favorites for the featured list. so many good projects! but here they are, the four featured:

1. now we've all seen this happen before on easter, but who would've thought to do it on purpose as something fun for kids?! go check out these dinosaur eggs from polish the stars. megan's a genius! :)
2. check out these log moss gardens from hating martha. they are cheap, easy, and cute. plus, janel (the blog author) is hilarious!
3. this valentine embroidery hoop from casa de luna is so pretty and whimsical. i love it.
4. jennifer from laughter and grace shows us so many ways to decorate with books. she has such pretty examples, so go check it out!

grab a button if you were featured!

<a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Let Birds Fly" src="http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l148/kha02a/bailey_feat.jpg" /></a>

  

now, let's party!

<a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Let Birds Fly" src="http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l148/kha02a/bailey_exodus.jpg" /></a>

why exodus 35, you ask? find out here.

  

guidelines:
- follow, subscribe to, or become a fan of let birds fly.
- link up your talent. crafts, paintings, tutorials, fashion, inspirational posts, etc. i want it!
- please don't link giveaways, shops, contests, reviews, or another link party.
- you must link back somewhere on your blog. grab my button or simply add a link.
- check out other links and leave comments.
- check back next week to party again and to see if you were featured!

pineapple mango juice

hello everyone! it is day 6 of my juice fast. still going good.

i get hungry pretty quickly, but i just have to juice again! i'm really not getting tired of juicing, either, because there are so many possibilities.

so, i'm here to share another juice recipe with you. another orange one, but SO good. for me, it is a good breakfast juice.

ingredients:
1/4 pineapple
4 large carrots (or 2 small handfuls of baby carrots)
1 mango
1/2 inch ginger

directions:
1. peel mango and pineapple.
2. juice all ingredients.
3. pour over ice, whisk, and serve.

SO GOOD! hope you like!

my insta.week party #4

thanks again for linking up last week! i loved see what people did for valentine's day, and i'm sure there are more to come! here are my instagrams for the week:

1. my great dane crossing his legs...like a ladyyy. :)
2. my big boy protecting the place. good boy!
3. thankful for rain boots on a rainy day.

4. happy valentine's day to meeee! i love macarons. (this was my last hurrah before my juice fast began!)
5. valentine's day was a perfect day to explore hermann park in houston.
6. at hermann park with my loves. they like to get on top of things. ;)

7. found a new way to waste time! a new app called hubba hubba.
8. my juice fast started on wednesday. first juice was a pear-grape-cucumber-ginger that was fruity and wonderful.
9. i made soup from my juicer!!

10. oooh pretty. still in love with my juice fast! and this amazing juice.
11. big dog, little dog.
12. i love my mom's garden.

follow me on instagram: @baileyklentzman

don't have instagram? follow me via followgram.

although this party is called my insta.week, you don't have to have instagram or even an iphone to participate. any camera phone photo will do! you can make a blog post dedicated to your week in instagrams, or you can link up a blog post with only one instagram photo. it doesn't matter! i just want those camera shots! also, you don't even have to have a blog to participate. link up from your flickr account or any other photo sharing site.

now grab the button and link up!

  

<br /> <a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff391/baileyklentzman/instaweek-party-button.png"/></a><br />

  

why a camera phone link party, you ask? click here!

guidelines:

- follow, subscribe to, or become a fan of let birds fly.

- link up your camera phone photos from the past week!

- link back to the party somewhere on your blog, using my button or just a text link.

- check out other links and leave comments.

- come back next week to party again!

roasted tomato masala soup

yes, i DO have another soup for you! isn't it what you wanted?? :) this was the last soup i made before starting my juice fast, so now i'll share it with you.

again, i know i say this alllll the time, but i think THIS soup is now my favorite. the flavors go together so well. the hubs and i ate it so quickly. for lunch and dinner for 3 days straight. i made a lot.

this recipe makes a lot of soup, but i promise you will want leftovers. if you want to, you can cut the ingredients in half, of course. but you'll be sorrryyyy! ;)

ingredients:
5 lbs roma tomatoes, cut in half
2 small yellow onions, chopped into large pieces
1 whole garlic bulb
2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or other high heat oil)
2 cans coconut milk
4 cups veggie broth
2 cups water
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tsp garam masala
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper

directions:
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. place tomatoes cut-side up on foil-lined cookie sheet. on another foil-lined cookie sheet, place onions and drizzle them with olive oil, making sure they are coated.
3. to roast the garlic, cut off top of garlic bulb so each garlic clove is exposed. rub the exposed garlic with oil, then wrap whole bulb in foil. or just follow these steps on simply recipes.
4. put everything in oven to roast at same time. onions will take the shortest amount of time, about 30-40 minutes, or until edges are blackening. garlic will take 45-60 minutes. and tomatoes will take up to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
5. when veggies are done roasting, put roasted veggies into a large stockpot, squeezing out the garlic flesh from its skin. add coconut milk, broth, water, tomato paste, and spices. stir well.
6. bring to a boil, and then reduce. using either a blender or an immersion blender, blend the soup, keeping it chunky.
7. taste and add more seasonings to your taste.
8. garnish with cilantro, a sprinkle of extra coconut milk, or more garam masala.

hope you like!

introducing...recipage!

i am happy to announce that i now have a recipage! recipage is an amazing place for food bloggers to easily sort their recipes so they can be searchable and printable. i am beyond excited!

so now, my recipes are searchable based on many different categories, instead of just type of dish (how i previously categorized my recipe page). you can now search by type of dish, ingredient, cooking method, dietary needs (LOVE that one), type of cuisine, or just by keywords.

here's what the home page of my recipage looks like:

and when you get to the individual recipe page, you'll find links to print it, e-mail it, pin it, tweet it, and share it on facebook. also, if you still want to see the recipe in it's original blog post, just click on "full post" and it'll take you straight there!

here's what an individual recipe looks like:

the let birds fly recipe page in the main menu bar is all ready and updated to recipage! hopefully you like it, and it will be easier to search for what you want in a dish.

tell me what you think!

juice fast and a recipe - orange veggie juice

yesterday, i started a juice fast. i'm so excited about it, y'all. i've had fresh juices before, but i had never juiced on my own. so i bought a juicer this past weekend, finished some leftovers on monday and tuesday, and started the fast!

i'm not using this juice fast as a way to lose weight, but as a way to detox, to reboot, and to revitalize. i eat pretty doggone healthy all the time, but sometimes being gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, soy-free, corn-free, and (almost) vegetarian doesn't cut it (whew!).

i have TONS of health "problems" and have been diagnosed with numerous diseases and syndromes, but what kicks my butt the most is fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. so i'm trying to fight back!

the plan was to do this for 30 days, but we leave for a road trip on march 11. since juicing would kinda be hard on the road, i think this might be a 21-25 day juice fast for me. (plus, since i'm healthy already, i don't need to go for the long haul. and i need my fiber! hehe.)

i'm loving it so far. i got a breville juicer, and it is awesome! so easy to clean. maybe i'll do a product review post on here later! :)

i've been having fun experimenting with juicing recipes. SOO much fun. and i can't get over all the colors! god is really the ultimate creator. no color we create can compare to the colors he gave to us.

this juice is what i had for my 11:00 am meal. (so far, i'm drinking about six 12-oz servings a day.) isn't the color gorgeous?!

   

orange veggie juice

3 large oranges, peeled

3 large carrots, washed (or 2 handfuls of baby carrots)

1 orange bell pepper, washed and stem removed

1/2 inch knob of ginger, washed

  

juice all ingredients. pour over ice, whisk, and serve. yum!

feel free to e-mail or comment with any questions you might have about juicing. i would love to see a juice fast spreading around! 

exodus 35 creativity party #20

happy belated valentine's, everyone! i'm not that big into valentine's day, but i did have a good one! i had an appointment with my nutritionist, had a chiropractic adjustment, went to the farmer's market, went to the park with the hubs and my pup, and ate leftovers. that's MY kind of valentine's day. :)

i do, however, love valentine's crafts because i love love. it was great to see all of your crafty ideas for decorating for valentine's day! here are some of my favorites from last week:

1. i LOVE these plushy letters from about blogging time.
2. these mini wreaths and flags are so adorable! see more at homemade.
3. the different shapes of these hearts is what caught my eye at first, but i love how easy they are to make! find out how at kitchen counter chronicles.
4. go check out this teacup pincushion from casa de luna. makes me want to go drink tea and sew right now!

grab a button if you were featured!

<a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Let Birds Fly" src="http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l148/kha02a/bailey_feat.jpg" /></a>

  

now, let's party!

<a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Let Birds Fly" src="http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l148/kha02a/bailey_exodus.jpg" /></a>

why exodus 35, you ask? find out here.

  

guidelines:
- follow, subscribe to, or become a fan of let birds fly.
- link up your talent. crafts, paintings, tutorials, fashion, inspirational posts, etc. i want it!
- please don't link giveaways, shops, contests, reviews, or another link party.
- you must link back somewhere on your blog. grab my button or simply add a link.
- check out other links and leave comments.
- check back next week to party again and to see if you were featured!

my insta.week party #3

thanks so much for linking up! i loved seeing what everyone does throughout the week, through the eyes of their camera phone. here is my week in instagrams:

1. my cards for my new biz, Bailey K Photography, are amazing! and i designed them, so i am super proud. these cards came in a few weeks ago from moo.com.

2. my tuesdays are free now, so i went to a farmers market near my apartment.

3. carrots from the farmers market. prettyyyy.

1. i created a new smoothie with a few of the carrots i bought from the farmers market, a (healthy) "carrot cake" smoothie!

2. in texas, strawberry season starts in february. and these were the most delicious strawberries i have ever had.

3. i don't understand how this position is comfortable. but isn't he cute?!

1. my hair gets darker and darker the further away i get from last summer. i am ready for some sunshine!

2. my new hands-free leash for running is quite amazing. called a stunt puppy.

3. this trail, in hermann park, is quite possible my favorite running trail in houston.

1. sweet carrot soup and ezekiel bread with chimichurri. an awesome dinner.

2. quinn is the late sleeper in the family. he won't even get up for food! weirdo. :)

3. it was a bit too cold for me to have worn these shoes on sunday (28 degrees in HOUSTON).

follow me on instagram: @baileyklentzman

don't have instagram? follow me via followgram.

although this party is called my insta.week, you don't have to have instagram or even an iphone to participate. any camera phone photo will do! you can make a blog post dedicated to your week in instagrams, or you can link up a blog post with only one instagram photo. it doesn't matter! i just want those camera shots! also, you don't even have to have a blog to participate. link up from your flickr account or any other photo sharing site.

now grab the button and link up!

  

<br /> <a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff391/baileyklentzman/instaweek-party-button.png"/></a><br />

  

why a camera phone link party, you ask? click here!

guidelines:

- follow, subscribe to, or become a fan of let birds fly.

- link up your camera phone photos from the past week!

- link back to the party somewhere on your blog, using my button or just a text link.

- check out other links and leave comments.

- come back next week to party again!

sweet carrot soup

there was an abundance of carrots at the farmers market the other day. so all my recipes this week involved carrots! yay!

this soup is soo good. especially for a cold night. it's a sweet soup, because of the apple, but it also has a twang to it because of the ginger.

  
ingredients:
2 tbsp safflower oil (or other high-heat oil)
1 large yellow onion, diced (about 1.5 cups diced)
4 cloves garlic, diced
4 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and diced
3 lbs. carrots, peeled and shredded
2 sweet apples, peeled, cored, diced (i used fuji)
6 cups vegetable broth
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
  
directions:
1. saute onion, garlic, and ginger with the oil in large saucepan.
2. when onion is translucent, add carrot and cook for another minute or two, making sure the onion doesn't brown.
3. add apples and veggie broth, bring to a boil.
4. lower heat and then simmer for at least 30 minutes. soup is done when both carrots and apples are tender.
5. blend soup, using either an immersion blender, food processor, or blender.
6. add nutmeg and salt, tasting to see if more salt is needed.
7. serve with pumpkin seeds or more nutmeg.

hope you like!

exodus 35 creativity party #19

thanks for linking up last week! i love seeing everyone's amazing projects and ideas. we have such creative souls around the blog-land! :) here are the featured projects from last week:

1. i love this elbow patch from casa de luna. but you have to see the whole post! there are matching rosettes on her upcycled cardigan!
2. this faux metal-trimmed table from hating martha looks straight out of a magazine!
3. painting with veggies over at a couple of craft addicts. so fun! and a good reminder that God is the ultimate creator!
4. just look at these dino hoodies from vixenMade! i can't ever pass anything up that resembles a dino! :)

grab a button if you were featured!

<a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Let Birds Fly" src="http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l148/kha02a/bailey_feat.jpg" /></a>

  

now, let's party!

<a href="http://letbirdzfly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Let Birds Fly" src="http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l148/kha02a/bailey_exodus.jpg" /></a>

why exodus 35, you ask? find out here.

  

guidelines:
- follow, subscribe to, or become a fan of let birds fly.
- link up your talent. crafts, paintings, tutorials, fashion, inspirational posts, etc. i want it!
- please don't link giveaways, shops, contests, reviews, or another link party.
- you must link back somewhere on your blog. grab my button or simply add a link.
- check out other links and leave comments.
- check back next week to party again and to see if you were featured!

mr. quinn is funny sometimes

have a happy wednesday!

and

my travel map

so i bought this awesome US wall map. and i wanted to make it into a pin-your-travels map. but my mom got to it first, and did it for me as a christmas gift. (ain't she sweet?)

this map is framed without glass, and has a foamboard backing so i can stick my map pins in it. isn't it wonderful?!

i got the map from rand mcnally, the best map resource ever! i also have a world map in the same style, but we don't have enough room in our little apartment to hang that one up. plus, we've only been to a few places outside of the US. not enough to stick pins in yet!

i ordered the multi-colored map pins from office max.

and when they came in, the hubs and i had a date night consisting of sticking our pins in the places we've been together and reminiscing about those amazing destinations.

to pin, we had to remember that just driving through DOES NOT count! there are countless places we've been, but which places have we actually experienced? the map now reminds us of that! :)

as you can see, there are many different colored pins sticking in our travel map now. there are 5 different colors of pins, and each color represents a type of trip!

yellow pin = where we've lived
red pin = trips with friends or to visit friends
blue pin = trips with or to visit my side of the family
white pin = trips with or to visit the hubs' side of the family
green pin = trips with just me and the hubs

oh, and this map only highlights the places we've been together, as a couple. individually, we've been to many more places than this map portrays, but we only wanted it to show what we've done together.

where have you been lately?