New Year's Eve!

So the New Year is quickly approaching. 2014 sped by with major highlights like watching Zooey grow from a 1 year old to a 2 year old, David graduating with his masters and starting his doctorate, being part of an engagement scheme (heehee), chopping my hair off only to grow it back out, running my first 10k trail run, opening up my Etsy shop MiddleCoast, getting pregnant with my 2nd, and I'm sure much much more!

I'm not sure what 2015 will have in store for me, but I can tell you this: we are welcoming a baby girl OR baby boy in April, I'm turning 30, and am going to be in a wedding (as a bridesmaid) next October. Some other things that may or may not happen is running a 15k or half marathon, reorganizing the house like mad, continuing to eat even healthier, add to my home gym, and dedicate more time to my Etsy shop and MiddleCoastMommy.

So welcome 2015, it'll be a great year, and so Happy New Year to you all!

XOXO, MiddleCoastMommy

Christmas Tree/Winter Landscape Craft

Kids Christmas Tree/Winter Landscape Craft

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not here is a fun wintery craft for kids! I call it a "Christmas
Tree/Winter Landscape" craft since it is up to the crafter as to what scene to create. It's also a great craft for young kids learning basic shapes, such as triangle, rectangle, and star. Older children can get as creative and detailed as they would like too. Hope you enjoy the craft!

Christmas Tree/Winter Landscape Craft How-To:

Supplies: Green, yellow, brown, white, and light or dark blue construction paper, scissors, liquid glue, glitter, colored pencils or crayons, and a pencil

Instructions:

1. Draw and cut 3 triangles out of green paper (small, medium, and large)
2. Draw and cut a rectangle out of brown paper (shape can be skinny or fat-depends on what tree trunk you'd like)
3. If creating a Christmas tree, draw and cut a star out of yellow paper. If creating a winter landscape draw, color, and cut a snowman
4. Draw and cut landscape out of white paper (can be a simple rectangle shape or you can add hills)
5. Glue landscape on blue paper followed by, tree trunk, large triangle, medium triangle, small triangle, and star or snowman
6. If creating a Christmas tree use liquid glue to create garland and/or ornament shapes on tree, and/or add dots to sky for nighttime stars if creating a winter landscape (or just because!)
7. Let dry and enjoy your lovely winter craft!

XOXO Happy Crafting!
MiddleCoastMommy

David Graduates!

David being hooded

This past Saturday, David graduated from Judson University with a Master of Education in Literacy.
It truly is a fantastic school and program. Not only is the methodology up and coming, but the teachers honestly care about every student that walks through their doors.

We are so proud of him finishing his masters, and excited that he is starting his doctorate!

I will say though, it is tough being a mom when your spouse works
full time and goes to school. So it is important to have family and friends by your side, and don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it!

Happy Graduation David!

Tunes for Toys

The Alder Path

This past Saturday I played a show at Blue Box Cafe, which was fundraising money for kids in need. One could either donate a toy or buy a raffle ticket. In total they raised over $1,000 with the event! We mainly played our own songs (we being "The Alder Path"), but we did throw in a few covers including a couple Christmas tunes! It was a lot of fun, and even Zooey enjoyed herself!

As a review, Blue Box Cafe is a delicious place to go in the Northwest Chicago suburbs. It is Doctor Who themed so it has a few memorabilia, blue walls, and art. The cafe has a variety of great sandwiches, soup, and baked goods. The coffee is Chicago-brewed Metropolis Coffee so it is always fresh. They also are active with events from music shows, COS play, game nights, etc. I highly recommend it if you're ever nearby.

Zooey turned TWO

Happy 2nd Birthday Zooey!

This year David and I hosted Thanksgiving. It turned out lovely (and here's hoping you all had a great one)!

Our little Zooey's birthday fell two days after Thanksgiving. We decided to switch things up a little bit from last year, and hold a Birthday Brunch for immediate family. Family started arriving around 10:30 and left around 1:30 just in time for Zooey's nap.

To make the brunch deliciously fun we set up coffee, juice, fruit, "top" your own waffles (toppings like strawberries, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, pumpkin spice, etc.), an egg casserole and a vanilla cake with chocolate icing! Everything was delicious, but we especially got a lot of compliments on the egg casserole and requests for the recipe. So I thought i'd share with you in case you're looking for an easy meal to feed many.

Simple Baked Egg Casserole

Ingredients: 
1 pound ground sausage
2 1/2 cups milk
10-12 eggs
2 peppers (green, orange, and/or yellow)
Dash of salt
Pepper to your liking


Instructions:
-Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
-Cook sausage in pan (unless you get precooked turkey)
-Heat peppers up on pan with sausage (once sausage is cooked)
-Beat eggs and milk
-Add sausage and peppers to egg mixture
-Put mixture in greased 9x13 inch pan
-Bake 40-45 minutes until done

**You can add 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese if desired
**If you're looking for a VEGAN option use faux eggs, faux sausage and unsweetened almond milk
**Feel free to add topping(s) after it's been baked, such as crushed red pepper and/or hot sauce

Enjoy!

xoxo, MiddleCoast

DIY Santa Advent Calendar

DIY Santa Advent Craft

Can you believe it? It's December 1st! Thus starts the season of advent calendars. If you're looking for a new, fun and cute spin on advent calendars that don't involve chocolate try making this DIY Santa Advent Calendar.



DIY Santa Advent Calendar Instructions:

Supplies: Red and white construction paper, pencil, colored pencils, scissors, glue, and cotton balls

How To:

Zooey loved the cotton ball step!

1. Draw a Santa hat on red paper
2. Draw fluffy hat parts on white paper
3. Cut out Santa hat and fluffy parts, glue together
4. Draw a long oval shape (width of the hat), this will be the face and beard
5. Draw eyes and nose (mine are simple yet cute so no need to get fancy)
6. Draw beard (connects to hat and include mustache under nose)
7. Color in the face (add rosy cheeks if you'd like)
8. Write numbers 1-25 anywhere you'd like on the fluffy hat parts, mustache, and beard
9. Glue Santa head to hat
10. Fluff out a cotton ball and glue on top of number to corresponding day

**It's a great craft to hang on the fridge :)

Hope you enjoy this cute and simple kids advent craft!

Cyber Monday at MiddleCoast

Dainty Emerald Green Bezeled Onyx Necklace

To all those Cyber Monday shoppers out there, keep handmade artists in mind by checking out Etsy or even better MiddleCoast on Etsy! With coupon code JOLLY you can take 15% off your purchase at MiddleCoast!

Happy shopping!

XOXO, MiddleCoastMommy

DIY Vintage-Inspired Christmas Music Ornament

Last month (October) my part time job (a children's librarian) wanted all staff to decorate pumpkins, which obviously was a lot of fun! This time around they asked us to decorate a provided, clear Christmas ornament. Such fun I had! 

My DIY Christmas Music Ornament

At first I considered making my ornament sparkly and playing around with doily's. Instead I created an ornament that meant something to me; which, is when I think of Christmas one of the first things that pop into my mind is music. I LOVE music! I grew up singing my heart out and rocking out on a piano. I especially love Christmas music, and one of my favorite songs is, "White Christmas."

Since I didn't have any vintage sheet music let alone sheet music, I decided to browse scanned images of Vintage sheet music online. I came across a rather tea-stained looking version of White Christmas, and so I printed out and thankfully the quality was gorgeous! That's how my project started!

DIY Vintage-Inspired Christmas Music Ornament How-To:

1. Tear real or faux vintage Christmas sheet music into strips, squares, and rounded shapes (the frayed edges look much more natural than cutting with scissors).

2. Use an adhesive like mod podge or create your own (mixture of white glue and water) to "decoupage" the sheet music onto the ornament. 

Tip: I prefer using a sponge brush. I coat the ornament, lay the sheet music, coat the sheet music, and smooth the sheet music and adhesive out with my fingers (yes, your fingers may get a little messy).

3. Once the ornament is fully covered in sheet music, sprinkle glitter into your adhesive and brush it on the ornament. Coat the ornament top with adhesive and sprinkle glitter on it directly. 

Tip: You may want to sprinkle some glitter on by hand if you want any extra emphasis.

4. While your ornament dries (a cup works well as a holder) create any final decoration, such as my "JOY" banner. I found the image, printed it, cut it out, and glued it on fabric (to create a sturdier and softer look). 

5. Once you finalize your last decorative piece, use thin hemp cord to tie a bow around the top, and glue your final extra (if you have one) to the ends of the bow. Trim the hemp cord if need be.

6. Allow to dry, spray an adhesive to coat the glitter once more-to hope it stays and let dry.

7. Once fully dry, hang and enjoy! :)

Hoping that this little DIY Christmas Ornament how-to will get you into the Christmas spirit!

XOXO, MiddleCoastMommy

Holiday Season at MiddleCoast

MiddleCoast has welcomed the cheery holiday season with some new additions of bracelets, holiday cards, and necklaces. And to wish everyone a merry Christmas season every item is holiday wrapped with free shipping in the U.S.

Amazonite Necklace

So far my new items include bezeled amazonite and freshwater pearls.

For the past couple years I have been a fan of amazonite stones with its beautiful and soft light blue
quality that actually represents strength and courage! I recently created a lovely amazonite necklace with amazonite beads that I think looks perfect for a dressy or party occasion.

One of my other favorites as you can guess are pearls. So I created a few different size multi-colored pearl necklaces and bracelets. They are more of a romantic minimalist approach to pearls rather than the typical

Pearl Necklace

strand of pearls. I think the pearl's end up being more of a dainty highlight.

I will keep adding to my MiddleCoast shop during the holiday season, and am hoping it treats me well! :)

xoxo, MiddleCoastMommy

Tie Yo Scarf ;)

So with colder weather on the way I found this lovely video that shows many fun and unique ways to tie yo scarf!

Enjoy! :)

XOXO, MiddleCoastMommy

MC Shop Getting Ready for Xmas!

This past week I started getting my MiddleCoast Etsy shop ready for the holiday season by watercoloring Christmas cards! Here's a sneak peak at some jolly seagulls :)

Belated Halloween

Happy Belated Halloween!! XOXO, MiddleCoast

Roscoe Village Halloween Parade

On Sunday in celebration of Halloween, we joined some of our Chicago friends at Roscoe Village's Halloween Parade. It was a cute little parade located on Roscoe where there was a local high school marching band, and a good group of kids and parents dressed to the "Halloween nines"! I was very impressed by how imaginative these kids and parents were: handmade Monopoly boy, strollers turned into pirate ships or fighter planes, dogs as county sheriffs, the singer from Led Zepplin, etc.  If I go next year I'll make sure I join the Halloween fun and dress up too. After the parade, the kids can trick or treat at the stores on Roscoe, take pictures at set up booths, and in general have fun! It's a Halloween event to keep in mind for following years. :)

XOXO, MiddleCoast

Apple River Canyon State Park

Apple River Canyon State Park 

The other weekend we were lucky enough to make a short road trip out to Apple River Canyon State Park. It's located in Apple River, Illinois which is nearby Galena, Illinois (a cute and very historic town on the border of Illinois and Iowa). Considering how close we were to Iowa we swung through Dubuque, Iowa.

Apple River state park was very beautiful this time of year! Most trees still had their colorful leaves although the trails were covered in golden or red fallen leaves. There are a few short trails that vary in terrain whether its smooth dirt or rocky. We brought our hiking pack to carry Zooey (she wouldn't have been able to walk the trails we were on), and a yummy picnic for afterwards. Zooey loved running around at the end, kicking the leaves around, making leaf piles, and watching the river. They also have an excellent campground that we will take advantage of in the future! Many campgrounds today seem to be overrun by RV's which make it uncomfortable for camping in a tent. Each spot for
camping seemed private with plenty of room, and is in a great location considering you have the fantastic trails and Galena nearby.

Zooey's Hiking Pack

After hiking we headed out to Galena where we mainly just window shopped, got drinks and a snack at Rendezvous Coffee & Tea, and a bottle of wine to save for post-baby from Galena Cellars. Galena, by the way, has many vineyards, bed and breakfasts, and resorts which would make for a very romantic getaway (David and I are keeping it in mind for later)! After Galena we swung through Dubuque, Iowa considering how close it is to Galena. We didn't do anything while we were there but drive around and get a feel for the town. Personally, I think the highlights would be visiting their art museum and their aquarium.

Zooey kicking the leaves

Overall, it was a fun fall road trip, and I look forward to making Midwest Living always has plenty of great ideas!
many more in the future!

3 1/2 Month Run

3 1/2 Month and Jogging

Inspired by the Chicago Marathon (and my friends who ran it) last Sunday, I decided to hit the trail for the first time in almost 4 months with David and Zooey. Since this was my first run in a while I decided to take it easy. I started out with light stretching that my body ached for, walked as a warm up (to the trail), and once we got there we started light jogging. I was rather surprised how quickly my lungs burned, but David reminded me that I haven't had to breathe so deeply in a while. The loop we did totaled a 5k mixed with jogging and walking. I ended with stretching and basic strength exercises for my hips, glutes, and quads. Overall I was proud of what I accomplished, and looking forward to future strides and still hoping for that November 5k!

The day after my run I had my monthly check up with my OB GYN and double checked that I'm approved for jogging. He seemed happy that I was feeling well enough to even consider the idea (haha), and said of course but to check my pulse every once and a while to make sure I don't go over 140 beats per minute. Good to know!

xoxo, MiddleCoast

Running for Two

Hello 2nd trimester! I'm at 14 weeks as of yesterday, and I'm still slowly starting to feel better. With my first, Zooey, I started feeling better around 14 weeks and felt a lot better by 16. So I keep telling myself, any day now... Any day now.

Recently, every morning when I wake up, my body is just aching to be stretched and used either by yoga or running. In fact the other night I had a dream about running, and it felt wonderful. Since then I've been daydreaming about ways I can use free weights and easy yoga and running sessions. Today, it struck me that my OB GYN has always said that exercise is great during pregnancy and that they encourage it, and since I am a runner, I can continue running as long as I feel comfortable. So I've been a little tempted to run a 5k event this fall before it gets too awkward feeling to run (not to mention the upcoming winter). I'll keep you posted if I do sign up and run a 5k!

In the mean time, I found a cute running mommy blog that is encouraging, and a cute maternity workout gear site for all kinds of pregnancy goodies! 

If any of my lovely readers has experience running while pregnant please share your experiences! I'd be happy to hear!

XOXO, MiddleCoast

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Yesterday my Aunt and parents were coming over to visit so I decided to try a new chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe. I followed the recipe from the wonderful cooking blog Sally's Baking Addiction, but for a couple minor adjustments. Instead of regular flour I switched it to whole wheat flour. Instead of using the full amount of vegetable oil, I did a splash of it and did a spoon of organic butter. Lastly, I sprinkled chocolate chips on the top as well. The bread came out perfectly moist, flavorful, and delicious. I know this recipe is a keeper!


Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think!

Happy Baking! xoxo MiddleCoastMommy

Art Space

Messy Arts Space

As some of you know, I have my MiddleCoast Etsy shop, and usually I do my main creations while Zooey is napping. After a while I realized how much time I spent just taking all my supplies out and putting them away. I can't just easily leave them out since I have a little toddler who loves to explore anything she can get her little hands onto.

So I decided to create two art stations. One located in the garage where I create any "messy" art, such as painting. The other station is inside at our nice wooden desk (now currently childproofed to help) and has a lovely art cubby right next to it.

Neat & Tidy Art Space

Each drawer and cubby is organized by needs. For example I have a drawer just for stamps, another just for stationary and envelopes, and another just for all those little jewelry extras like chains, jump rings, clasps, etc.

Now when I'm creating art it is more time efficient which is important when being a Mom there is already so much to do! Now... on to those dishes! Haha, jk, but really I do need to do dishes. BUT I do want to share that if you are a creative Mom I can't stress enough how important it is to create a space just for you so that you can create art with ease.

My next creative space goal is to create a cubby just for toddler crafts!

Happy Crafting! XOXOX MiddleCoast

Fall Babies

We're happy to announce that we're adding another pumpkin to our patch! :)

Zooey will be turning two at the end of November, and so now is a great time to add another lil' one! Zooey was a Thanksgiving baby, and our next will be an Easter baby! So i'll make sure that I keep all my lovely readers posted on everything baby and mommy including yummy nutrition and pep-boosting fitness!









We took our baby announcement pictures at an adorable countryside Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch. I cannot wait to bring Zooey and our lil' newbie year after year!

Perfect Autumn Cookies

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

In a couple days it will be the first day of Autumn, and to celebrate I decided to make some delicious fall cookies from scratch. Cookies you say? What kind you say? Well, I'll tell you... They are the most delicious pumpkin, oatmeal, cranberry, chocolate chip cookies I have ever had, and I think they are the perfect fall treat!

I found the recipe while I was browsing pinterest (my pinterest page), and made them literally a couple days after (that's how good they looked).

Since they are from scratch there is a bit of creating the cookies, but once they hit that oven, in no time you have delicious cookies. If you end up making them let me know how you enjoy them! ;)

XOXO, MiddleCoast

A Bride But Never A Bridesmaid

Sure you could say that being a junior bridesmaid when you're 8 years old counts, but for this blog's sake I say it doesn't fully count.

 In July my brother-in-law, Dustin, proposed to his girlfriend, Mandi, and she said YES! Not too long after, my husband, David, was asked to be the best man, my daughter, Zooey, to be the flower girl, and me a bridesmaid! I'm very excited to be part of their special day next fall (2015)! Never in my life have I been asked to be a bridesmaid (as an adult). Most of my friends are either boys or independent girls who just haven't "settled down" yet.

In the mean time, I decided that I have some hair growing to do! At the beginning of July I chopped my hair off into a pixie, and recently got a hair trim. Even though I've had many compliments on my hair, I am going to try my hardest to grow it out (so I can at least have some sort of fun style for the wedding)! I was inspired by this blogger "Maybe Matilda" for growing out a pixie in a year. Take a peak and enjoy!

xoxo, MiddleCoastKatie

An Open-Mic Proposal

Early in July, David and I found out that his brother was ready to propose and it came with a plan. He wanted to propose while singing a song at an open-mic night on an upcoming Friday. Luckily a nearby coffee shop was having an open mic-night in two weeks, and so we set the date. We contacted the coffee shop so that we had a set spot, and then started practicing. He picked the song "Pistol" by Dustin Kensrue, and we decided that David would sing verse 1, I sing verse 2, and Dustin sings verse 3 where there is a line, "Darling, will you please wear this ring."

While the music was coming together, my brother-in-law asked if I could get a manicure with his future wife (she had chipped red and blue nails from the 4th of July). Since I normally don't get manicures I thought i'd need to slip it with another activity so it'd seem like a full out girls night instead of just, "Hey. You need a manicure." So, I suggested that we have a night of movies and mani's. The movies worked but not the mani! I ended up getting her to come over to our house for the movie and mani, which in a way was even better because we also ended up getting thai food and baking cookies! I successfully gave her a beautiful manicure only to find out an hour before the proposal that she took it off, because it smudged. Whew, well at least it was better than chipping patriotic nails! ;)

The time of our set came. Prior to us were guitars, mandolins, ukelele's, and even a bongo. There was a lot of people there and not just for us. Since we had time for only 3 songs and one would be a cover, we decided to make them all covers. We opened with "Rivers and Roads" by The Head and the Heart leading into "Pistol" and in celebration finished with the song "Sea of Love" by Phil Phillips.  When we started singing Pistol everything seemed normal. David played guitar, his brother played bass, and I was singing, but then Dustin started singing. His future-wife's face was priceless. She had no idea what was happening, but was really wondering why in the world he was singing. And when he put down his bass, pulled out a small box and walked over to her she was in a speechless state of shock. He got down on one knee and proposed. Everyone in the coffee shop was cheering them on and probably in total shock too.

She said yes, and never lost that smile.

Here's a video of the big moment:

Post by Dustin Smith.

Big Foot 10k Trail Run

Zooey, David, & Me at the finish line!

For the past few years, I have dreamed about someday participating in Big Foot State Park's sprint tri. I knew I had the running down, I knew I had the biking, it really was just the swimming I wasn't sure that I had down. As I was daydreaming and looking at Big Foot's website, I noticed that for the first time they had a 5k/10k trail run! I immediately booked a spot, and I'm proud to say I completed my first 10k trail run in June (yes, I know this post is late...).

The 10k was a great day for a run too. It happened to be the day after my husband's last day of grad school! So we celebrated by me running and spending the day out and about in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (close by to Big Foot).

The run itself was challenging. It had been raining/sprinkling so it was sort of like a mud run in spots. There was grass, trail, dirt, mud, and hills.

Me & my girlfriends

The 5k was one loop and the 10k was two loops. Two of my girlfriends started the run with me. One was running the 5k (only one lap for her) and the other ran with her husband at one point. So I had split off from my friends, but I wanted to see how well I could do with my own pace. At one point a woman began running next to me. She greeted me and asked if it was ok if she runs with me (she thought I had a good pace). So we started running together and we both inspired each other. Sometimes I'd tell her that she's doing great and sometimes she'd tell me, "Come on! Keep up!" During the run, I found out that this was her first 10k trail run and she just turned 56 years old. What an inspiration! Right before the finish line was a big dirty mud covered hill that you just pushed through and sprinted to the line. As I was sprinting to the finish, I could hear my husband rooting for me and my little Zooey ringing a RAM Racing bell! I finished, I could breathe, and I was greeted with a friendly staff "good job" and a delicious bag of snacks and drink!

Looking back, this is a run that I'd like to race again. I'd also still like to someday participate in their sprint tri, but I'm simply happy that I finished my first 10k trail run! I'm hooked on trails now! :)

A Month of Many Hats

Looking back at this month, I realized that I've worn many hats. Besides being a wife, mother, children's librarian, and MiddleCoast artist; I've also been teaching art to kids at our local community college and a local art studio. The art teaching positions, however are/were just for the summer, and so I can get back to a more normal flow of life starting next Friday!

I'm hoping that after the classes are over I'll be able to keep up with my more normal MiddleCoastMommy posts!

Enjoy your July! XOXOX

A favorite photo of the month-Zooey sits in the middle

Free Shipping in U.S.

Sterling Silver Amazonite Necklaces

Wedding season is in full swing, so why not take a peek at MiddleCoast to see if there's that perfect wedding guest necklace or gift! Free shipping within the U.S., whether you're on the East, West, or Middle Coasts! 

A Year of Hairstyles

For the longest time people have always joked that every time they see me I have a different look or hairstyle. Yes, I do admit that I change my look or hairstyle quite often! I've always had fun switching up my looks whether it's color, cut, or style.

So just for fun here's a look at some styles I've done this past year! Do you have a favorite? :)

October 2013

December 2013

Late Winter 2014

March 2014

May 2014

Current (July 2014)

4th of July

Hope everyone had a lovely 4th of July filled with family, friends, good food and drinks!

Full Lotus

Full Lotus

Take a little time every day to relax and meditate even if it's a quick shower or walk around the block. Feel your breath travel through your body. Breathe starting from the crown of your head through your whole body and down to your toes. Let your breath wash through your body like a wave. Imagine the oxygen cleansing every inch of you, bringing purity and peace.

If you have time, the easy seated pose is a good start, and if you want more of a hip opening challenge try a half lotus or full lotus seating position.

Enjoy your TGIF yoga!

Namaste XOXO, MiddleCoastMommy

Double Post

Bahai Honda State Park (2009)

This week I attended a Literacy conference, so I've been a little behind on a few things. Thus the combo TBT and TGIF Yoga post!

Tomorrow is the first day of summer and it makes me think of the beach.

Dancer's Pose Work in 

While at the beach it may be easy to relax, but most time we aren't at the beach and face daily frustrations just like everyone else. Instead of using our frustrations in a negative manner let us try to focus on channeling that energy away in the most peaceful way possible. The balance and strength of the "dancers pose" is perfect for frustration. Not only are you grounding your feet, but you're also stretching out and channeling your energy, thoughts, prayers out and into this world.

Remember that yoga is "yogahhh" and not "yogouch." We're not perfect at life, and none of us are perfect at yoga. Even the ultimate yogi is not perfect. Listen to your body. Respect your body. And change the world.

Happy Father's Day!

June 2013 David and Zooey at Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago

Zooey was not even a year old when my husband started grad school. This week he is finishing grad school, and I could not be more proud! He has not only worked so hard teaching and being a grad student, but also being a husband and father. He is hardworking and dedicated to all aspects of his life. I am so glad that I'm part of his life, and that I get to share the journey of parenthood with him.

Happy Father's Day to my husband, David, and all Father's throughout the world!

<3MiddleCoastMommy

TGIF Wheel Pose

Let your surroundings inspire your yoga practice! :)

Wheel in Progress

TBT Pup

It's that time again! TBT this week is a picture from 2007. I was in college and just got a puppy named Pip. An adorable tiny poodle who is still filled with oodles of pep today! :)

TGIF YOGA

I decided that Fridays will become my weekly yoga post to encourage and inspire you and your lovely  yogi self! :)

Connect to the Earth with Tree Pose

Throw Back Thursday

DIY haircut

So thought I'd jump into the idea of posting a weekly "throw back thursday!"

My first I'd like to share is my haircut back in 2004/2005 that I actually cut and styled myself! :) Boy, I miss the pixie!

New(ish) Shoes!

Vegan Keen Shoes

A couple weeks ago I realized that the shoes I typically wear with dresses and skirts that I can walk miles in had seen their last day. So I searched and searched and came across a pair of Keen shoes on ebay that were simply adorable. The owner of the shoes claimed to have worn them only once, and the pictures looked legit so I jumped in and bought them. A couple days later my feet met the new(ish) shoes and couldn't be happier!

And why did I share this? Well, I think reusing clothes, shoes, bags, etc. can be fantastic. Not only can you find unique items, but also it cuts back on things ending up in landfills. Check out resale shops, thrift stores, garage sales, etc. There's a lucky item just waiting for you to take it home! ;)

<3MiddleCoastMommy

New MiddleCoast Wristlets

Cute Bird with Bead Wristlet

Excited to expand my MiddleCoast shop to include 100% Post Consumer Recycled Fiber Felt Wristlets!

Hand sewing is fun, and expect to see some more accessories like batiked fabric yoga head wraps!

Living Salad Bowl

I'm not sure how I hadn't heard or seen this before, but this morning my Mom dropped by with a

My Living Salad Bowl

"living salad bowl." She saw it and knew it'd be perfect for me (especially since I'm a frequent salad eater)! It was such a thoughtful gift, and got me really excited to start my "green thumb" in such a simple way.

The living salad bowl is watered daily and basks in a sunny spot. When you want a salad just trim the leaves and let them regrow. I was surprised at how little I had to take to get a decent sized salad greens. I can only imagine the delicious, homegrown salad eating summer ahead!

Yummy Fresh Greens

Check out this site for making your own living salad bowl.

Happy Gardening! XOXO MiddleCoastMommy