Happy & Healthy Link Party

Thank you for stopping by my first Happy & Healthy Link Party.  I'm hoping to do these about once/month so that we can inspire each other to be, you guessed it!, happy and healthy.

If you are here hoping to see some before and after projects or home decor ideas, don't worry.  With the kids starting school next week, I will have more time for projects and blogging.

I thought I would kick-off the party with a couple of recipes.  My doctor recommended that we try to eat at least 5 vegan meals per week, not a popular concept in my meat, seafood and potato loving family!  She also suggested we eat more quinoa.  Quinoa is a grain (really a seed) that is filled with protein and low in carbs.  It is so easy to prepare.  Just boil it with 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa for about 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is light and fluffy.  If you've cooked rice, you can cook quinoa...and it's so much healthier than rice.

Once your quinoa is cooked, you can eat it plain or add things to it.  It can be eaten either warm or cold.  Being a quinoa newbie, I was wary of just adding things willy-nilly, so I followed this recipe for Tomato Basil Quinoa from A Couple Cooks.

Source: acouplecooks.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

The recipe blends the familiar flavors of tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese.  I also added some sauteed mushrooms.  My husband and I loved the recipe.  My oldest daughter surprisingly liked it, but the younger two only tried a bite or two.  I served it warm for dinner and then ate the left-overs cold for lunch the next few days.  It was delicious either way.  I'm hooked and will be trying lots of new quinoa recipes in the near future!

While not vegetarian, another favorite healthy recipe is for Asian Lettuce Wraps from Our Best Bites.

Do you like to eat salads?  I like to eat them if somebody else prepares them, but I don't really like them if I have to make the salad myself.  Kind of weird, I know.  I came across this little cheat sheet from Food Your Way on how to build a good salad.  I know I will be referring to this to get out of my salad rut!

Source: food.yourway.net via Suzanne on Pinterest

OK...that's enough from me.  Now, I would love to hear from you.  Feel free to link up a post or make a comment on how you stay healthy, favorite healthy recipes, healthy tips, or any secrets of happiness you have discovered.   Thanks for playing!

Healthy and Happy and Link Party Announcement

It seems like I've been thinking a lot about my health lately.  This summer I've been feeling super-fatigued (that might explain the lack of projects lately).  I've been so tired that several times I've been afraid that I might fall asleep at the wheel in the middle of the day as I drive the girls around.  I've also gained a big amount of weight in a little amount of time.  I made an appointment with my doctor to get checked out.  I was kind of hoping something minor was wrong.  Nothing life-threatening, just something simple that could be fixed with popping a pill. 

Thankfully, all of the tests came back normal.  This led to my doctor (who I trust and highly respect) and I having a serious conversation about diet and lifestyle.  I'm at the point where I know I need to make changes to feel better.  She recommends eating at least 5 vegan meals per week and dramatically cutting back on sugars and gluten.  She recommended the books "The Blood Sugar Solution" by Mark Hyman and "Fast Track Detox" by Ann Louise Gittleman.   I've started both of the books and they are full of great information that I'm going to try to put into practice. 

 In order to keep myself accountable, share some healthy recipes, and so I can get great advice from all of YOU, I thought I would start a monthly link party called "Healthy and Happy."  The first party will be this Thursday.  I hope you will stop by and share some healthy tips with me!

In other health-related news....On Saturday, I had a BUSY day.  I started off the morning with a trail run with the dogs.  In the blazing 100 degree sun, we took a family hike.  I got to carry Mary for most of it.  Fun!!!

At least we got to see this cool lizard.  But then I started thinking about snakes and got freaked out.  I'm happy to report that no snakes were spotted.

To cap off the day, I played 2+ hours of tennis.  That night, I didn't feel so well.  I spent most of the night on the tile floor of the bathroom.  In the morning, I started mumbling nonsense about living in Cape Cod, fighting in World War II, and being killed by hitchhikers.  I couldn't keep down the tiniest ice chip or sip of water.  My husband decided it was time to take me to the hospital.

I got a few bags of IV fluid and antinausea medication and was sent home to recover.  Three days later and I'm FINALLY feeling better.  I was hoping some good might come from all of this misery.  Maybe I would at least lose a few pounds?  No such luck.  However, I did gain a true appreciation for my health. 

As women, we can be pretty critical of ourselves and especially our appearance.  I'm no stranger to complaining about being "too fat," "too lazy," "too short," etc.  Instead of focusing on these things, wouldn't it be wiser to focus on being grateful for what I have?  I am so thankful for my healthy body that has served me well for 37 years and hopefully for many more!

Thanks for making it through all of my rambling and I hope to see you back here on Thursday!

May's Project: Paint a Dresser

One of the things on my 2012 Home Goals list was to finish Chloe's room.  A few weekends ago, my  husband picked up this dresser at a yard sale for $30.  It also came with a large mirror.

Chloe's favorite color is yellow right now.  So, of course she wants in painted yellow.  I plan on picking up a free quart of paint at Ace tomorrow.   New knobs will also update this piece.

I'm thinking about maybe trying some homemade chalk paint, made by mixing my paint with unsanded grout.  Has anyone used this technique?  What did you think?

Source: bhg.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

I wasn't sure how I felt about yellow, since her room is aqua and bright pink right now.

This is a little sneak peak at what Chloe's room looks like right now.  I kind of forgot that she already has yellow in the chair fabric.


 I also like how Ange used yellow and aqua in her daughter's room.  I think it will good in Chloe's room too.

Of course, I had to check Pinterest for some more yellow, pink, and aqua combos.  There are some pretty pictures of this palette.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Suzanne on Pinterest

Source: blogs.babble.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

I'm linking up to Lisa's Before and After Party.

Color My World Link Party!!!

Thanks to everyone who has been following the Color My World Challenge!  We've reached the final week.  This is where we invite all of YOU to link up a post sharing how you challenged yourself to try a new color in your home.

The best thing about this party is that your link will show up on all 15+ Color My World challengers blogs.  Next Tuesday, we'll all feature a few of our favorite links.  So start linking at the bottom of this post!!!

In case you missed the last few weeks, I added navy to my living room. 

This challenge forced me to finish some projects that I've had lingering for a while.  Thanks Jessamie for dreaming this whole thing up!

It also gave me a good excuse to purchase some new chairs that I've had my eye on.

After I picked navy, I realized that I cheated a little bit.  I already had some navy in my living room, but the challenge encouraged me to add more!

I already had these navy banded curtains.

And these navy chevron chairs.  Wow, that's an old picture...I almost forgot I used to have that ugly carpet!  I must have blocked it out.

I promise I will show you pictures of the entire room soon.  I had ordered a jute rug from West Elm that came with some damage.  I had to ship it back and am waiting for the replacement.  West Elm has been great to work with through this process, by the way.  As soon as the new rug arrives, I'll show you some pictures.

I also have my eye on these pillows from World Market.  I love the colors.

I would like a throw for the couch to hide the drab olive green.  This one frome Serena & Lily is cute, but at over $200, I think I'll look for something a bit less expensive.

And the room won't be complete without the elusive fiddle leaf fig tree.  This tree doesn't seem to exist anywhere near me!

I don't think I have any "finished" rooms in my house.  They are all works in progress that are continually changing.  At least the living room is now on the right path!

Show us what you've got and link up!!! 

I know you want to see what the other challengers have been up to as well.

Ange - The Blooming Hydrangea
Anna - A Newfound Treasure
Carmel - Our 5th House
Cassie - Primitive and Proper
Jadyn - Dutch.British.Love
Jessamie - Bird and Branch Redesign
Julia - Black Tag Diaries
Julia - Pawley's Island Posh
Kristy - Hyphen Interiors
Lisa - Shine Your Light
Lisa - Trapped in North Jersey
Maury - Life on Mars
Shaunna - Perfectly Imperfect
Shelley - Crazy Wonderful
Suzy - Saved by Suzy
Tiffany - Living Savvy
Tiffany - Worthwhile Domicile
Vashti & Jamie - Like me Some...

Estate Sale Finds and Link Party Reminder

On Friday morning a friend texted me about an estate sale she saw in our area.  I hurried over and this is what I saw:

It was a little overwhelming, in a good way!  It looked like nothing had been thrown away in decades.  There were half-empty jars of Vaseline that looked like they were from the fifties.  There were numerous (at least 50!) complete sets of china and glassware galore.  Those sticks in the front of the picture above are all fishing rods.

There was so much stuff that it was piled on open trailers.  The lady hosting the sale said that they had to much more that they would be continuing to bring stuff out for at least two more weeks!

I got a couple of small things.

These plates would be fun for a tea party or to serve dessert.

Big K picked out this rocking chair.

I've been looking for a little table for my entryway.  As you know, I usually paint most of my furniture, but I kind of like this dark wood "as is."  The brass cranes were from the sale too.

I got a couple of mirrors.

This bookcase was only $3.  I'm thinking about painting it and putting it in one of the kid's rooms or maybe selling it.  All of this, including some books and another mirror came to $50!  I might have to see what they have next weekend.

Speaking of selling, I finished my first piece of furniture since last September.  As soon as I put it on Craigslist, it sold!  I'll show you some pictures later this week.

Did you get lucky finding any treasures at yard sales over the weekend?

Don't forget, tomorrow is the big linky party/blog hop for the end of the Color My World Challenge.  Link up a post showing how you incorporated a new color into your home.  Your post will show up on all of the Color My World participant's blogs and each one of us will be picking a few features.  Link up and YOU could be featured!!!

Suzy's House Party - What's going on?

Have you missed my House Party the last few weeks?  I have really missed hosting the party.

Unfortunately, I think I have to give up the party for a little while.  I  know we are all busy, but for some reason right now I feel like I'm not doing a good job handling everything.  I've been laying in bed awake all night feeling like I have a huge weight on my chest.  I think it's stress.  The stress is from doing a million things and not doing any of them well right now.  Being somewhat of a perfectionist, it's hard for me to handle when I don't do things as well as I should.  These things include being a wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, blogger, attorney, DIY-er, volunteer...etc.  I know you all do all of these things and more too!

Something has to give.  I obviously can't, and more importantly don't want, to stop being a mother and wife.  I also like my "real" job and blogging.  Hosting the party was lower down on my list of priorities, so it's the thing that has to go.

This has become our family motto recently:

I say this to my kids a lot, especially when they conquer or achieve something they didn't think they could do.  Rather than this being a venting post about my hard, busy life, I need to remind myself that I know we can all do hard things.  We're faced with them everyday, but by perservering and continuing to try, we can overcome in the end.

Here are a few other inspirational favorites:

Happy Friday friends!!!

Suzy's House Party #35 - Link Up!

Let's go right to the features from last week.  There were lots of great links.  Thank you!

You've seen this.  You love it and so do I.  Nice work Sam at The Junk House!

Lauren at West Furniture Revival made her own chalk paint to redo this cute little bookcase.  I like her collection of vintage cameras too.

If you want to see the sweetest little girl's room, you have to check out the woodland-themed room Cassie from Primitive & Proper created for her daughter.  It's filled with all kinds of DIY projects.  Two of my favorites are her chalkboard doors and toadstool table pictured here.

<div align="center"><a href="http://savedbysuzy.blogspot.com" title="Saved by Suzy"><img src="http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd408/lizzygal18/Savedbysuzypartyblogbuttonchevron-1.png" alt="Saved by Suzy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

•Link up your home decor project. Pretty much anything to do with you house is fine.

•Please provide a link back to my blog. A text link is fine, or feel free to grab my "Saved by Suzy" party button from the sidebar. The more people that know about the party and participate the better for all of us.

•Be sure to share the love and leave comments for others.

•That's it.

Suzy's House Party #34 - Link Up!

Has spring sprung in your neighborhood? My kids are on spring break this week and we have been enjoying beautiful weather. The girls thought it was warm enough to put on bathing suits and play in the sprinkler. I don't know if it was quite that warm!

We took a mini-vacation to a hotel with an indoor waterpark, where the kids had a blast.  Later this week, we are headed to Moab, Utah for some fun in the sun, hiking, and looking at ancient Indian rock art.  Moab is home to both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and spectacular scenery like this (and also one of my favorite Mexican restaurants!):

With all of this fun happening, not very many projects are getting completed at our casa!  Have you been doing anything fun this spring?

I know it's kind of crazy, but I'm featuring Samm from Little House in the Big D for the second week in a row.  Her stenciled desk is amazing, especially considering it started as a hunk of peeling veneer. She put it a lot of creativity and hard work to pull this off.

Speaking of hard work, Elizabeth from The Mustard Ceiling completed many projects in renovating her kitchen, including making countertops out of solid wood doors found at Habitat for Humanity.  The end result is fabulous.
Before:

After:

I know I'm not the only one to have featured Amy from the Salvage Collection's table, but I wanted to make sure that you didn't miss it.  It's so unique and I love that she took a risk and created something totally different and new.

<div align="center"><a href="http://savedbysuzy.blogspot.com" title="Saved by Suzy"><img src="http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd408/lizzygal18/Savedbysuzypartyblogbuttonchevron-1.png" alt="Saved by Suzy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

•Link up your home decor project. Pretty much anything to do with you house is fine.

•Please provide a link back to my blog. A text link is fine, or feel free to grab my "Saved by Suzy" party button from the sidebar. The more people that know about the party and participate the better for all of us.

•Be sure to share the love and leave comments for others.

•That's it.