On being super.

I recently had the opportunity to teach a lesson for the young women in my church.  It seems like whenever I teach, I'm the one that's learning.  It's all stuff that I've heard before when I was in the Young Women's program.  But it's so easy to forget the little things we learn in life isn't it?  Sometimes even the most basic stuff hits me like a wave, "Oh yeah!  I remember learning that!  Man, that totally applies to my life right now!"

The lesson was on Personal Purity and Self Discipline.  Or more, Personal Purity through Self Discipline.  Basically that we, our Spirits, are masters of our bodies, and we should be able to do whatever we set out to do, and be whoever we want to be, by conquering the weaknesses of our body.

It was a line of thought that had never occurred to me before.  

I loved this quote by Terrance D. Olson, 

"One of the false notions of our society is that we are victims of our appetites and passions.  But the truth is that the body is controlled by the spirit which inhabits it"

It goes on to point that there are a lot of easy things we can control about our bodies, such as our body movements, lifting, dancing, and bending.  The things that are harder to control are our thoughts and our appetites and our habits.  

The second quote I love was given by Richard L. Evans,

"... we can choose. ...We can break bad habits; we can acquire good habits; we can choose what we think by the sheer determination to do so"

I don't want to give you the whole lesson.  I just wanted to share the parts that hit my heart like an arrow.  I feel like I have so many goals, and so many things I want to be, and who's holding me back?  Me.  But I don't have to be discouraged by that!  Is it hard for me to wake up before 8:00am?  You betcha!  But how much more could I get done during the day if I had two extra hours?  It is something I battle with every day.  But eventually I know I'll be able to do it.  What about all the sweets I eat?  I don't think eating dessert every once in a while is really bad for you, but if I learned to manage them better I'd probably feel a whole lot better about myself.

If I learned to control my thoughts, instead of thinking, "I'll never be able to do that, they are so much better than me, look how much I fail," I could humble myself and let myself be happy with who I am, knowing that I can always be better, and it's not impossible.

I've noticed a trait that comes with many successful bloggers, business ppl, and basically people who get a lot done is their self discipline and ability to organize themselves.  It's something I struggle with, but something I know my Spirit is able to handle.  I know that we were made by a loving Father in Heaven, and that we have every capacity to become the most perfect women that we can be.  We just have to pray, try again and again, and lean on the Lord with the faith that He will make up for what we lack.

Footnote:  This lesson was provided by the Young Women Manual 1, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  For the full lesson, go here.

Easiest cupcake decorating ever...

Whenever I see a beautifully decorated cupcake online I think, 'Man, I could totally do that.'  I harbor the idea in my mind for a while, and then when the next opportunity to make cupcakes comes along, I relearn again and again that maybe fabulous cupcake decorating takes practice, because mine never look like the photo.

This week I made cupcakes to take to a Young Women's activity with my church.  I'll speak more on our activity in a few weeks, but I wanted to share this super duper easy technique of decorating cupcakes with you.  I've seen it on the internet several times before and there are quite a few tutorials out there, so I won't be sharing a tutorial with you today.  But here are a few that explain it pretty well.

The basic idea is that you pipe the flower petal shapes onto your frosting, and then use a paintbrush with warm water to brush the frosting inwards to the center of the flower.  It creates a sort of a messy 3D look.  Pretty difficult to mess up. 

Okay let me rephrase that, mine have a messy 3D look.  All of the ones I've seen done with fondant are delicate and beautiful.

box cake

Originally this is meant to be done on fondant or royal icing, but I opted for regular buttercream frosting to make my life a little easier.  I just waited for the it to dry on top and had no problem taking a paint brush to them.

To get the light sea foam color I used one drop of neon blue and one drop of regular green.

And there you have it!  A super fast way of making regular old cupcakes looking a little more floral.  And pretty :)

Do you have a favorite cupcake decorating technique?  Please share!

P.S.  If you're in the mood to win some washi tape, head on over to Bless This Mess.  My friend, Melissa, has some new and fun ideas on how to use it!  (To decorate food no less!)

love, Miss Bit

Well bloggy readers, I have a special treat for you today.  I recently asked my sister, Miss Bit, to participate in my blog by guest posting about once a week or so.  And so today I would like to introduce you to her formally.  Her name is Lydia Belle.  Dubbed Miss Bit because when she was little she was so itty bitty.  She is a 21 year old senior at BYU in Provo, UT.  She studies art history, women's studies, and humanities, and she is very passionate about them.  She is single, and she blogs over at Love Your Life.  And that's about all I can think you'll need to know!  Oh, and I adore her. 

So without further ado, I'll turn the time over to her.

...

Hello!  Welcome to my first post!  Today I want to talk about Becky. If you want to read more about me, stay tuned for more of my weekly guest posts, or check out my blog, here. But today I want to talk about the side of Becky that has never reached the blog world before. I know. Intriguing, right? As you know, Becky is a wonderful person. She has lots of great qualities. She plays the cello like a wizard. She cooks and bakes like a boss. She mothers like a queen. And she is an artist. However, sometimes I think she doesn’t always show the other side of her—the side that is absolutely hilarious. I just wanted to share a few experiences with you that may enlighten you about how fun of a person she is. Mind you, all of these happened within the short time I have been visiting with her. Just imagine how fun it would be to live with her.

The other day when she came back from running errands, and just as she is putting her shoes back in the closet, our two year old niece points out that Becky is wearing two very different flip flops. And Becky simply hadn’t noticed. The poor soul, not any of her friends that she ran into in the store even pointed it out!

And then there was the time when Becky and I were in deep conversation and she told me she “wasn’t the smartest chip off the block.” Yeah Becky. You are not the sharpest one either.

Or the other day I watched when Becky was making scrambled eggs for her kids. She got an egg out of the refrigerator, cracked it, and promptly poured it into the garbage can. After staring in the garbage for a minute she said casually “Oh. I need another egg.” Yeah… smoooooth.

Yesterday she was telling me about a dream she had in which her and an evil witch her dueling with wands. But all the wands were doing were squirting glitter at each other, and that wasn’t doing much. So Becky decided on a different game plan. Then, unfortunately, she woke up. But Becky wasn’t finished; so she decided to daydream the finish while she lay in bed. And the ending included Becky lifting up her hands into the air and calling “upon all the forces of good in the world” to change her into a little girl (a cunning disguise). Then she was able to trick the witch into eating her poisoned apple. Success!

So there you have it. My brilliant older sister. My best friend. My role model.

Working with stone

One of the mediums I love most to work with stone.  Turquoise, red rock, peach, yellow, you name it.  I love the way it looks near the face, near the hair.  It has it's own natural beauty.

I love how it can go with anything.  It can dress up a flannel shirt, or add color to a pretty black dress.  I wish I would see it around more often.

I think my favorite combination is the stone with copper.  Look at the colors!

Love it.

It's been sort of a slow blog week.  We were away for the weekend, and although I had photos ready so that I could think up something to post with them, I didn't want to melt you with dry posts.  I'm excited for this week though.  Some fun things are planned!

All of the above pieces can be found in my shop.

I wrote a short story.

When I was posting this picture a story sort of popped into my mind.  Then I thought maybe I shouldn't post it.  Then I thought maybe I would.  So... if you'd like to read the maybe/mayben't story that I wrote, read on:

Once upon a time there was a little girl dragon named Glorybelle.  Glorybelle grew up with a family of dorky ferocious dragons.  She sort of struggled with this, because sometimes she grew tired of stomping through the woods, breathing smoke, and unpicking bones that got stuck between her teeth.  

One day Glorybelle decided to prove to the other animals that she was actually a nice dragon, and not a mean one.  So she caught a bird and began teaching it croquet to be her friend.  

Sadly, that morning Glorybelle had eaten the crust of her little brother, Brutus', toast.  He was not happy with her.  Brutus was hopping thrashing through the forest when he saw Glorybelle with her new little bird prisoner friend.  He came up and devoured the bird scared it away.  Then he did a jig.  Poor poor Glorybelle.

Coming soon... (and a winner!)

I'm in the process of making my first batch of swaddle babies to sell in the shop.  I cannot tell you how excited I am about it!  I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to sewing items for sale, so it will be a few more days before they are ready to list.  I'll definitely keep you posted though!

...

And now for the winner of the BeccaMarie Designs earring giveaway!

I'm excited to say that the winner is...

Tonya, from Nearly Missed It!

I had SO much fun with this giveaway, thank you all so much for participating!  I'll be having another one soon!  (*think swaddle babies*)

Thanks for coming!

Waffles in the city.

 

My family and I met up with my brother and his wife at Bruges, in Salt Lake City.  I was introduced to this tiny waffle house last week by my sweet cousin, and it was the perfect relaxed space to meet up with friends and not worry about our kids disturbing anyone.

We had waffles with belgian chocolate sandwiched and melting between them, topped with vanilla ice cream.  Okay!

This really was on a pretty little street.  We stopped in at Tony Caputo's Market, browsed through and drooled all over a bike shop, and...

... pet Petunia :) 

Tuesday is the last day to enter the earring giveaway!  If you haven't entered, you should!  Even if your ears aren't pierced, they would be a lovely gift for a friend or sister :)

Almond Joy Sunday

I love learning something new from readers!  A reader commented yesterday on the 'How to Prepare a Coconut' post and said that her family likes to break their coconuts open by throwing them really hard onto the concrete.  This is an intriguing idea and I'm going to try it soon.  She also said that they don't use a drill to drain the coconut.  This prompted me and my husband to go to youtube and see how other people like to crack open their coconuts.  We found this video which was enlightening and fun.  The guy uses a baking method and teaches you how to shell and peel your coconut in a mere twenty minutes.  He also pointed out that of the three brown dots on the end of your coconut, two will be hard and one will be soft.  So if you poke something sharp into that soft one you should be able to drain it just fine.  I just learned something new!  I am up for trying all these new tricks, but I think we will be using a saw for a while since we are collecting our shells and kind of like the clean cut look.

Now on to the dessert!

Oy.

Once you have your fresh coconut flesh, it's fun to find ways to use it.  We are kind of suckers for chocolate and coconut.  Chocolate kisses and coconut.  Nutella and coconut.  All sorts of ways to put it together.

My favorite so far is simple.  To make this lovely Coconut Sunday you just top vanilla ice cream with nutella, coconut pieces, and chopped or whole almonds.  The coconut and almonds make it slightly crunchy while the nutella stays soft and amazing.

Oy.

This is something we wait until the kids are in bed for.  And I'd better quit writing or I think I may and go break that rule.

Anything you like to use coconut for?

Thanks for coming by!  Love ya!

How to Prepare a Coconut

Did you know that the coconut is a fruit, not a nut?  I was thinking it was a nut.  They seem a lot like almonds to me in how you have to go through several layers to get to the edible flesh part.  Alas, I'm glad I looked that one up before talking about the coconut.

I've never really been interested in coconuts.  They are one of those things that my eyes would skim over in the grocery store.  I think I picked one up once, realized that it was hard and heavy without any visible opening, and set it back down again.  Thankfully my husband is a little more adventurous than me.  He's brought home several of these, and although they are a bit of work to get to enjoy them, it has sort of become a fun family affair.

So, here's how you prepare a coconut.

Buy a coconut.  They also sell them with the outer white layer on.  We have found that purchasing them with the outer layer removed is a lot more enjoyable, and easier.

Next you'll want to drain your fruit.  These things are incredibly hard.  We used a large drill and put two holes into the bottom.  You'll want two holes so that air can fill the coconut as the milk is being drained.

Two holes.

Next, pour out the juice/milk/water stuff.  After having holes drill into it there will be tiny pieces of the brown shell in there, so use a strainer to strain out the unwanted specs.

Now you can drink your coconut milk!  Me and my kids don't actually like the taste, but my husband does.  I would recommend it chilled.  The fresher the better.

Once the coconut is drained, you can cut it open.  Again, this is a bit of a tough part.  Last time my husband pulled out his jigsaw and got it done quickly.  But because power tools make a bit of a mess, and not everyone has one, a hack saw will do just fine.

Cut, cut, cut. 

Now that it's cut open you can see the fun fleshy white part!  Just rinse it under some cold water.

We've found that the easiest way to get the flesh out is to cut strips and use the knife to pry it out.  Haha, I'm not making this sound easy.  It will take a while, but just turn on some music or a movie and enjoy it :)

And there you go!  Coconut ready for the eating!  We love it.

Tomorrow I'll show you how to make a tasty treat with this stuff.  See you soon!

Competitive Spirit

My sisters and I created a little video on competitiveness.

Some people are really into winning things.

Want to win some earrings?  Go here and check it out!

Linked up:  The Life of Jennifer Dawn, 733, Lil' Luna, Polkadots On Parade, Southern Lovely, Clean And Scentsible, Ginger Snap Crafts, Snap!, Rae Gun Ramblings, Oopsey Daisy, Trendy Treehouse, We Are that Family

Having a little giveaway...

This giveaway is now closed.

I haven't done one of these in a while.  So let's have a giveaway!

This is a pair of earrings I made from antique brass, resin and glass beads.  Sort of rustic but also sorta classy.  Fashioned after this pair.  

We'll make this easy, if you want to enter to win these little lovelies then just become a follower of BeccaMarie Designs by following with google friend connect.  Let me know you are a member by mentioning so in a comment.  If you would like additional entries, you may:

1.  'Like' BeccaMarie Designs on facebook.

2.  Tell a friend :)

For each entry, please leave a separate comment.

If your contact information is not automatically linked to your comment, please leave it in the comment :)  [Or I won't be able to find you!]

This giveaway ends Tuesday, August 21st at midnight.

And I'm sorry, but at this time I am unable to ship out of the USA, so please only enter if you are living in the US.

Thanks!

And good luck!

Linked up:  Women Living Well, Homemaker on a Dime, Oh So Savvy Mom, Potato Chip Cats, Banggamom Finds, Musings from a SAHM, A Renaissance Woman, Mama Dweeb, Out Numbered Mama, Rachel's Giveaways, A Heart Full of Love, A Hen's Nest, Outnumbered 3-1, Mommy Has to Work, Home Grown Families,

Forcing myself to grow.

I don't browse pinterest much, but a few weeks ago I did happen to be on there and I spotted this quote.  I wish I knew who it is from.  I searched and searched, but I got mixed results, so I'm afraid to assign it a name.  Just know that it wasn't from me.

I so often skip over quotes.  But when I read this one it really hit me.  I've said a few times on here how I'm hoping to really jump into my dreams with this blog and my etsy shop.  There are far reaching plans that I hope they can guide me to.  I feel a little vulnerable just broadcasting my personal dreams out there, but here it is.  I have a hope that one day I can invest in metalsmithing tools and learn to make jewelry from scratch.  Build my own studio and make my own designs with my own hands.  

But since we don't really have much of a budget for spending hundreds on whispy dreams, my goal with this blog and my etsy shop is to earn that money and set it aside.  

And yet I hit all these road blocks.  Like the branch that was ripped from my tree in the photo above.  I have about a million excused not to dive in head first.  I don't want to ignore my children while I blog.  I don't have time to sew.  I can't pull out all my jewelry supplies and make a mess on the table right now.

But I'm beginning to think:

If I don't make time for it, if I don't put forth the effort, then it is never going to happen.

So, heres from cant's into cans.

Here's from dreams into plans.

A toad, peoples!

My little sister and I have been watching my nieces and nephews for a few weeks.  They are, to put it bluntly, adorable children.  The eldest is all the way out fascinated by frogs.  He was completely devastated when his frog beanie baby was left at Granny's house.  So, how does one comfort a child who has lost his toy frog?

One buys them a real frog.

Or, in the case that pet frogs all of a sudden become 'all the rage' and the pet store is completely sold out of them, a toad might suffice.

Now I would like to clarify something for you peoples.  I do not like frogs.  I don't like to use the word hate, but I strongly strongly dislike frogs, frog stickers, frog pictures, etc.  The only way I consented to this was that for one, I did not have to care for the bugger, and two, he was leaving my home in a week.

This all just goes to show that when someone puts effort into taking care of someone, or something else, you might just soften into liking them the tiniest ittiest bit.  Because it turns out that I have had to feed him (LIVE CRICKETS!)  And I don't actually want him to die.  And I guess he's okay.

So there you have it.  

I still don't like frogs.

Or toads.

With the exception of Mr. Toady.

babies and onions

Sometimes I like it when my kids meddle with me.  Like when they notice I am cooking and they each come up and ask what I'm doing.  Then they ask if they can watch.  Then they ask if they can sit on the counter.  Then they ask if they can add the ingredients and then maybe stir the bowl for a while.  All the while I am insisting that I am in a hurry and that now is not the time.

But really, when is the time?

Truly, life would be easier without kids.  But that is not why I chose to have them, and that is not why I have given my heart to them.  So when things to get hurried and rushed I need to remind myself that it might just be okay if I'm ten minutes late if that means my child has one less memory of me brushing them aside.  I actually appreciate that they meddle and worm their ways onto my counter and into the bowl of eggs and salt and sugar.  And it makes me super happy inside when my daughter knows the difference between 'flour' and 'flower'.  

Anyways, one day they had both squirmed their way up next to me and were watching me cut up the vegetables.  I was shocked when both of them started crying without warning.  It took me a moment to notice that I was cutting an onion and that I was wearing contacts so I didn't notice, but they got the full effect of onion in the eyes.  It was just another fun 'new' thing I got to experience as a parent and them as little cooks :)

Linking this post to:

Casey Leigh

Branching Out

A dear cousin of mine is learning to make jewelry and we got together recently to make some earrings. She made the comment (in a nice way) that most of my jewelry was very conservative, and that I should try branching out a bit.  At least that's what I got from the conversation.  What the hey!  The above is my try at making more dangly and exotic earrings.  What do you think?  A little more on the dangerous side?

 I'm still transferring some items over from my old shop.  Here are a few that I've gotten over so far.

I'd also like to make a shout out for my friend Sheri from Hazel and Gold.  She is having a giveaway on her blog that ends tomorrow.  If you are in love with all things crochet head on over there!

I just realized... we like to dress up.

My parents live in the Philippines.  The location of so many flood waters right now.  Please pray for those affected by the floods.

They came home for a visit last month and while we were together we had a murder mystery dinner.  It was so much fun.  We can all really get into a part.  The whole dinner was planned by my mom in about a day.  Although it was rushed, it went off quite well.  She chose the theme of Nursery Rhyme Characters.  We were all sent invitations (like those above) introducing our character.  Because it was all spur of the moment not all of us were able to prepare costumes.  Luckily we were able to scrounge. Here's a few who came:

My handsome brother and his beautiful wife.

My Mom and Dad!

My fifteen year old sister.  Complete with bonnet and bloomers and all!

And me as Polly Flinders.  I've never heard this poem before in my life.  I got the gist that she was messy, slightly crazy, and afraid of her mother.

It turned out that the murderer was Little Bo Peep.  She killed Old Mother Hubbard's dog, MinMinns, with her bonnet straps.

Poor MinMinns :(

Growin' that garden yo

Have you tried these little yellow and orange pear tomatoes?  I'm not the biggest tomato lover, but when my mother in law gave us a bucket of these the first year we were married I love them so much I was convinced I needed to grow my own crop one day.  That's why I'm so happy in the photo.  We have two of these plants now and I was super giddy when my husband showed me there were two ripe ones.  (That red one is just a roma.  Still good though.)

I've had very little experience working in a yard in my lifetime.  I don't know much about anything really.  One of the only experiences I can recall of 'working the land' was when my parents dropped us off on a farm with my cousins when we were young so we could hoe beets.  Something about learning to work hard...  I'm still a very lazy person, but I did learn that if you want to get rid of a swarm of gnats you can walk up to a buddy, duck down when you are passing, and leave the swarm confused and sticking around the head of the new victim.   Either that or hold your hoe up really high and maybe the bugs will hang out above you if they are tricked into thinking the hoe is your head.  

But I have this seed deep deep inside of me that really yearns to learn more, and figure out how to enjoy that hard work.

Well, here was our chance.  In December we had a huge wind storm roll through and take out the three giant pine trees that walled the back of our yard.  The photo above shows what was left behind in their absence.  Lots of sticks, pine needles, and rocks.  We spent a few months collecting rocks and raking raking raking.  Finally in May we planted our little garden.  All those rocks came into lovely use as garden borders.

Then we watered.

And waited.  And watched.

And KAPOW!

Thinks grew!

Like this baby watermelon that I've taken a mother-like affection to.

But it isn't all perfect.

We obviously planted about a million and one too many plants into our tiny space than was necessary.  We just got over-eager with our different options and decided to choose them all.  That pumpkin vine has taken residence all the way across the garden and through the fence.  I guess it thought the only place to grow good pumpkins was not in our yard.  You live and you learn.

Do any of you know what would cause some tomatoes to do this?  They look burned I think.  But I'm guessing it's some sort of bug?

And are onions supposed to be this much out of the ground?  

So that's it!  From the wind-ruined back yard to over planted jungle.  Yay!

So are you guys planting gardens?  Or working on some other summer project?  Please let me see!