Month: July 2012

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DIY – Garden Planter

Love this by Censational Girl. I like the muted natural tones of the rocks on the planter. Click HERE for more of her awesome projects!

Enjoy ~ Sarah xxx

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diy: rock covered bucket

SOURCE
Basic ingredients for a rock covered bucket: strong (not flimsy!) metal can or bucket that holds its shape when moved (I chose this trash can); 2 sheets 12” x 12” river rock mesh tile; thin set mortar; grout (sanded or nonsanded); putty knife, large sponge.

If you want to make it a planter, punch a few holes in the bottom with a hammer and a thick nail first for drainage.  To adhere the river rocks to the metal bucket, I followed the same basic steps as I did with this mosaic planter, first applying a thick layer of thin set mortar then cutting the mesh tile with a box cutter and layering the tile on the outside of the bucket.

apply thin set to bucket

I found it helped to turn the bucket upside down using the top rim as the base to hold the mesh tile to the bucket and allow the thin set mortar to dry.   You need to work in sections, mixing small amounts of thin set at a time and allowing each section to dry for about an hour, then allowing all of the thin set to dry for a full day.

I was a little skeptical at first (since in most circumstances thin set mortar isn’t designed for metal) but then delightfully surprised just how well the thin set and mesh river rock pebbles clung to the sturdy metal bucket once the thin set was dry.  I’m not convinced this idea would work with thin set if using individual pebbles or small river rocks – in that circumstance I’d choose an epoxy adhesive instead of thin set.  And if you use a flimsy container, the project just won’t work – it definitely needs to be a bucket that holds its shape or you risk cracking mortar and grout.

apply river rock tile to bucket

The next evening I mixed up some grout, added it with a putty knife, then removed excess with a sponge.

mix up grout

wipe off excess grout with sponge

I was nervous about the thin set not clinging to the metal, so I’ve been testing its durability for the last few weeks by moving it around a lot and getting water on it daily,  and it’s all stayed completely intact so I’m feeling confident it will last.
Click HERE to go to SOURCE    🙂

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Recipe: Choc Superfood Balls

Choc Superfood Balls

Choc Superfood Balls
SOURCE

I hope you enjoy Nikki’s recipe below from STYLINGYOU I think she is so clever. She lives on the Sunshine Coast like me. Nikki has fantastic advice on fashion and style her BLOG is a great place to visit! We don’t have to give ourselves or kids lots of sugar and junk we can make healthy “junk” food. I would definitely add some dark chocolate bits too. Cause I need chocolate to taste super chocolatey. I haven’t made them yet BUT I can’t wait to.
Have a great day! ~ Sarah

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Instagram and a few people asked for the recipe, so I’ve had a go at re-creating and writing it down but I must admit I did “free-ball” it a bit. Pun very much intended.

If you’re playing along at home don’t get too hung up on the quantities and go with your what dried fruit you have access to. Just add the water last so you know what’s needed for your batch.

Ingredients

20 fresh dates, pitted

50g Dr SuperFoods Antioxidant Super Berries

100g Real Food That Loves You Back Organic Dried Apricots

50g Organic Chia Power seeds

200g LSA mix (ground linseed, sunflower seed and almond)

100g Power Super Foods Maca & Cacao Power Blend (Maca is a vegetable from South America)

60g Unsweetened cocoa powder (I use home brand Coles or Woolies – no additives)

1/2 cup water (or as required)

Desiccated coconut

Method

1. Add everything except water to a Thermomix or food processor and blend until you have a fine texture. If you like your balls on the chunky side, feel free to not process so long.

2. Add water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, blend until you get a consistency that’s not too dry and not too moist.

3. Shape about a tablespoon of mixture into a ball and roll in coconut.

4. Store in the freezer for longevity – they won’t actually freeze through so you can grab as you need.

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Sara Groves – Painting Pictures Of Egypt (Video)

I just had to share this beautiful song from Sara Groves. Since our family started serving in Christian ministry we have moved around a lot. We have lived in different cities in the same country and yup also moved to different countries. Sometimes it is wonderful, sometimes it is hard and sometimes it is just what you gotta do. So far this year we lived in an apartment on the Sunshine Coast of Australia and now we live on a little farm in rural New Zealand. Will we be moving again? Perhaps, I don’t have all the answers, or know our future, but I do trust in my Lord and Saviour who does know.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

Hope you have a wonderful day today ~ Sarah xxx

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Recipe – The Best Sloppy Joes

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Love this recipe from HERE at Mel’s Kitchen! I sometimes will add a fried egg, slice of colby cheese, and pickled sliced beet root into my Sloppy Joey’s. Oh… and if you feel like adding bacon it really is super yummy. I know it is sounding like a heart attack on a plate. BUT this isn’t a every day kind of dish, it’s a yummy meal made at home and way better than getting take out, because you know what you have put in it. I have used half turkey half mince (ground beef) on flat GF bread and that is yummy too and quite healthy when you add a salad. For the BBQ sauce I love, absolutely LOVE the gluten free “Dad’s BBQ Source” it is second to none for flavour. This basic recipe is fab and doesn’t need all the extra’s but my family likes the added bits. Hope you enjoy it.
~ Sarah xxx

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*Freezable Meals: The leftover sloppy joes can be frozen. I store it in a freezer-safe container and then thaw in the refrigerator prior to serving. I reheat on medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove. To get to Mel click HERE

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Can Christian’s enjoy Yoga?

Just like many women I thought I would look at doing some exercise. I was interested in a few different idea’s. A Christian friend of mine was thinking of joining a yoga class and asked for my opinion. I always had an ick kind of feeling about the thought of joining a mystic type yoga class and the more I looked into it, the more I wanted to stay away from it. Hinduism and also New Ageism seems to be creeping it’s way into our modern culture and Yoga is becoming very popular in the west. I certainly don’t fully agree with everything said on this video but I certainly do believe in being cautious when it comes to spiritual matters. I don’t think all Yoga is a simple way to stretch and be healthy I feel there is a lot more to it than that. There are lots of different types of Yoga but it is essentially derived from Hinduism and in the very least at it’s core has a spiritual element. That spiritual element is not based on Jesus or in Christianity. Since I am a Christian I don’t believe that there are many different God’s or I am my own divine God or I will be reincarnated. I also don’t want to be meditating on anything but my Lord and Saviour. I don’t want to hum, meditate or pose my physical body to represent idols or false Deity’s. Really Yoga is not for me. As a Christian we don’t play “Christian” tennis or “Christian” baseball but none of those sports have a mystic or spiritual element. With everything it is good to research, test and look into things for yourself. Perhaps there maybe a way to do pure “Christian” Yoga? Although once you know the history of Yoga it might be tricky to get your head around it? So as far as yoga goes, I won’t be doing any yoga classes but I will have a look at biking, hiking and swimming (swimming if the weather ever gets warm enough?) Hmmmm… maybe Pilates but I will have to do a little research on that too. I hope you find this video interesting and thought provoking. Hope you are having a lovely day 🙂
~ Sarah xxx

Do you have any more questions regarding Yoga? Click HERE