Pacers Game

I am sorry for the lack of blogging the past week or so, friends. As you will find out with the next few posts, the Mister and I had a busy busy week. Fun things, though, so definitely no complaints here!

Last Thursday Jake and I went with Mom and Dad to see Game 3 of the Pacers/Heat Playoffs. All 18,000 of us were greeted with a gold shirt to wear to the game. It was pretty impressive to look out into the crowd and see a sea of gold!

I think the stars aligned to make this the greatest experience ever for my family. Gaither Vocal Band played the national anthem, to which Dad almost peed his pants (he's a huge GVB fan), the Pacers stomped the Heat and held Dwane Wade to four points, and Jake met IU basketball player Victor Oladipo. Holy moly, great night.

 

 No big deal, just hanging out with his friend Victor.

The Branches Need Your Help

If you read my blog with any consistency you know that Jake and I love Mike Mains and the Branches. Over the past year we have become friends with all four of them. They are the nicest, most sincere group of people you will ever meet. 

Unfortunately while in Texas this week their van was stolen, along with all of their gear and personal belongings. Think guitars, amps, Macbooks, clothes, wallets...everything.

The amazing part of this story is that they are still touring. They are borrowing equipment from other bands and are buying clothes and such along the way. Jake and I saw them on Friday in Cincinnati and their show was just as entertaining and enjoyable as usual, even if they aren't playing their own instruments.

They have set up a "store" where you can donate to help get them back on their feet. I encourage you to visit here to help them out any way you can.

Just to show you they still got it...

Banana Ice Cream

Wish me luck! I'm about to make these puppies into banana ice cream. I've never made it before, but this is a way healthier alternative to the regular kind. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

(See below for recipe)

 

Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients:
Frozen Bananas (approx 1 cup)
Coconut Milk (approx 1/2 cup)
Cinnamon & Nutmeg to taste

Directions:
Place above ingredients in a blender and blend until well combined. If ice cream is too thick add a little more coconut milk.

Update:
 It worked! And it was delicious. My advice would be to peel the banana before you put it into the freezer. It was not pretty trying to get the peel off while it was frozen.

Globally-Conscious Goods

I'm always looking for fun clothes, shoes, and accessories, much like any other twenty-something girl. I've found some products that I just love that do a lot of good as well. Most of them don't just give money to those in need around the word, but also give them a job making the product being sold. I really like that idea. It's the whole "catch a fish vs. teach them to fish" saying. I wanted to share a few of my current favorites!

Sseko Sandals.

I bought these last year and have loved them ever since. They are made by women in Uganda. The company helps them raise money for college with the hope that they will come back to the Sseko company in the profession they studied. How cool is that?

Toms Shoes

Most people know all about Toms, which is a great thing! For every pair of Toms shoes that you buy, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need. They now are doing the same thing with glasses, too.


Amazima Magazine Jewelry

I just found out about Amazima Ministries and the inspiring story of Katie Davis yesterday. Katie moved to Uganda to care for vulnerable children and is now mom to thirteen (13!) girls she met there. Did I mention that she is two years younger than me? I can never again complain about being busy. Anyway, this jewelry is made through Katie's ministry and employs Ugandan women to give them the skills to go start their own small business after working with Amazima. Doesn't hurt that these necklaces are super cute. Last I looked, they are sold out of items but they frequently restock.


Mend Bags

These are my newest favorite. They are made by women who were directly affected by the LRA conflict in Africa (which Invisible Children is currently raising awareness about). I wish I had a birthday or holiday coming up soon so I could ask for this!

Now go forth to shop and do good! :)

Super Heroes

My mom is absolutely wonderful. Her giving heart and daily sacrifices to those around her truly inspire me. I want to be like her one day. She is my super hero.

 

We take that kind of literally in our family.

Instax Photos of Michigan

I finally had a reason to bust out my Instax camera last month when Jake and I took a vacation to Michigan. Between Lake Michigan, vintage fudge shops, and tulips, our travels gave me plenty to shoot. I really liked how they turned out. They remind me of the photos I found in a shoebox of my parents when they were younger.

Marquee Sign Wall Art

Jake and I found the coolest antique store while in Grand Rapids, Michigan last month. While there, we found a huge bin of marquee letters. They're the letters you see on signs like this.

Hehe. Love that.

We bought enough of them to spell out a few phrases. I knew I wanted to do some type of wall art with them, but I just wasn't sure what. Here's what I finally came up with.

SUPER easy to create. Take a piece of string and use wooden clothes pins to attach the letters to the string. 

Because we are renting our house, I try my hardest not to put too many nail holes in the wall. Instead, I attached the string to the wall using thumb tacks. I didn't really like the look of the tacks, so I made a cover for them.

This is a cap to a 2-liter bottle. I cut fabric to the size of the cap and hot glued it on. Then, I hot glued the cap to the flat part of the thumb tack.

Start looking at Goodwill, thrift stores, and flea markets for marquee letters! They're a lot of fun to play with.