the pretty bits

I firmly believe in surrounding yourself with beautiful things that capture what you love about life. The things themselves aren't what matter, or how much they cost or where you got them, but what they represent. Here are some of the pretty things in my life.

Photos from my travels abroad. 

{Mom bought me the album and kindly encouraged me to get the photos printed, 

and I'm so glad I did!}

Earrings from my personal collection. 

A necklace I made using turquoise beads I bought in Italy and a vintage earring from the thrift store.

Print of one of my collages 

{More coming soon to Favoring Brave on Etsy! Consider this a preview of my new collection.}

More earrings from my collection. {I like my jewelry!}

Detail from our print of The School of Athens, a fresco by Raphael that John and I saw in Rome.

What beautiful things do you have in your life?

peace&love,

Jill

start today

What are you planning to do? And why are you waiting?

It's is the time for action, because the moment is now.

peace&love,

Jill

a key lime pie to die for

Love this key lime pie. At Easter I made it for husband for the first time and I had a can of sweetened condensed milk hanging around last weekend, so I made it again. Original recipe from the one and only Ree, the Pioneer Woman, here. I love all her step by step pictures.

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients:

• 18 whole Graham Crackers (the 4-section Large Pieces) 
• (Jill's note: I definitely used less than this... about 1/2 of what was called for.)
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 1/3 cup Butter, Melted
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Lime Zest
• 1/2 cup Lime Juice
• 2 whole Egg Yolks
• 1 can (14 Oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk

Preparation Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

For the crust:
Crush crackers in a food processor or Ziploc bag. Pour them into a bowl and stir in sugar and melted butter. Press into a pie pan and bake for 5 minutes or until golden and set. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

For the filling:
Mix lime zest, lime juice, and egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Add in condensed milk and mix on high until smooth and thick. Pour mixture into crust and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour—more if possible.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream and more grated lime zest.

SO delish.

peace&love,

Jill

paper leaves *tutorial*

Purple and light blue were unconventional wedding colors, absolutely, but the other colors we added in made it work, especially the green in the floral arrangements, courtesy of these cute little leaves. 

I found the original tutorial on Skram Mama, which is actually a German language blog, but handy Google realized I don't read German and translated it for me. It was intended for fall leaves, but it works just as well with summer ones :)

Here is my step by step tutorial, except for those steps during which I forgot to take pictures. Let me know if you get lost!


Step 1: Get yourself some green paper. I used scrapbooking paper.


Step 2: Cut it into perfect squares. Your finished leaf will be about half as long as the diagonal of your square, so plan accordingly. Then cut each square into two triangles, cutting along the diagonal. Set one triangle aside.

Step 3:

Fold your remaining triangle back and forth tightly like an accordion:

When you're all the way done it should look like this.

Step 4:

Keeping everything together with your fingers, fold the accordion in half so that the long sides are against each other:

Like so:

Step 5:

If you want to be able to connect your leaf to something on down the line, add a loop of wire through the middle of the fold. If you want to be all matchy-matchy, use green floral wire. If you are a fan of using whatever you have, do like I have done and use whatever you have.

Step 6:

Put a line of craft glue down one long side of the folded accordion. 

Press together and secure with a clothespin.

Step 7:

Resist the urge to play with it while it dries.

And that's it! You have a shiny new leaf to use! 

Let me know what you think and send me pictures if you make your own!

peace&love,

Jill

sunny

It is once again a bright summer day in Oklahoma.

And I was too impatient to wait until it was better lighting to take pictures.

And that is all.

peace&love,

Jill

grand opening

Summer Tea Earrings

I just opened my new shop on Etsy yesterday and I am so excited. I decided earlier this year to stop sales at my previous Etsy store and it has only been recently that I have considered getting things going again. Check out Favoring Brave and let me know what you think! 

peace&love,

Jill

words to remember

We bought this print on our honeymoon and now it hangs over my desk. 

Love it.

peace&love,

Jill