CMD On Facebook

I’ll be honest, I’m not great at social media. I’m pretty terrible at updating my twitter account and I tend to avoid my personal facebook page since it can (at times) feel like a constant high school reunion. However, I’m going to give it a shot and have set up a Changing My Destiny Facebook page.

The space is very bare right now as I figure things out, but I hope to begin adding project pictures, life updates, and use this space for more regular updates when I’m not able to blog about everything.

You can see the page here and even ‘like’ it if you’d…uh…like.

 

I’m curious, do you follow any other blogs on Facebook? What do you like to see on facebook that you don’t already see on the blog?

 

Also, on a somewhat related note…It has come to my attention that in the past few days people have lost the ability to pin most of my pictures from the blog. This makes me sad, but hopefully it’s just a temporary glitch. I’m working with Flickr to figure it out. However, if it continues I may need to look into a new picture hosting option.

 

Any suggestions on picture hosting?

A Weekend In Pictures

I’ve been bitten by the Instagram bug, now that it’s available for Android. I wish all weekends could be this fun/relaxing. I also wish Monday didn’t come so soon…but I’ll enjoy these last few hours while I have them. This weekend consisted of errands, family BBQ at my house, hitting the beach with my pup, driving along PCH with a sleepy puppy in the backseat with windows open and iPod blaring (I love this so much), reading, cleaning, and naps. Sigh…it was lovely. Here are just a few photos I snapped from the BBQ and doggie beach day.

I’m Feeling Inspired – Easter Eggs

Easter is tomorrow, and while my family doesn’t really celebrate the holiday, we are getting together for a little BBQ later today. Since we don’t have any young children in our family, I haven’t decorated Easter eggs in years, but Pinterest makes it so easy to find inspiration, especially for major holidays. Here are just a few of my favorites floating around the web. I love that some of these don’t require any dye and could be done as a fun decoration to a boiled egg throughout the year.

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Source: inspirebohemia.com via Malene on Pinterest

 

 

Happy Easter Weekend!

DIY: Portion Control Plates

A few weeks back I was browsing through Open Sky and came across this portion control plate. I actually really liked the idea for those times when I needed a little extra attention to my eating. However, they were charging $30 for 2 plates, plus whatever shipping happen to be that day. So I would probably be looking at about $40, and I just can’t justify paying $20 a plate.

Portion Control Glass Plate (OpenSky)

*This picture is from Opensky and it’s wrong since they placed the protein in the large section. I’m not sure how this got past someone, because I don’t know of a diet where that would be an acceptable vegetable serving.

The point is to use the frosted lines as a guide and fill half your plate with vegetables, a quarter of the plate with starch and the last quarter with a protein. Only I made my own for the cost of the plate since I already owned some etching cream.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• Simple Glass Plate
• Armour Etch
• Paint Brush
• Painter Tape
• Gloves/Eye Protection (The Armour Etch can cause burns so take proper precautions and be safe)

*Please be safe when using this product. I would not recommend letting kids use this product, this is definitely an adult project for safety reasons.

Step 2:

Using the painters tape, tape off the plate. Be sure to press down all edges of the tape to keep the Armour Etch seeping under the tape.

Step 3:

Apple a liberal layer of the etching cream and set aside. I let it set for about 20 minutes before taking the next step.

Step 4:

Carefully remove the tape and wash off the etching cream using lukewarm water. I wore a pair of dishwashing gloves for this step since I didn’t want to get the etching cream on my hands.

Let it dry and you’re done.

I haven’t used etching cream much, but it’s not difficult. I did get some on my hands and didn’t have any negative reaction, but I still think it’s incredibly important to wear gloves just in case. Since the etching is on the bottom of the glass, the top is food safe. I read somewhere the glass will still be dishwasher and microwave safe, but it doesn’t state this on the bottle.

Not bad for a $3 knock off of a $20 plate.

I tried it out last night and loved it. Yes, if you’re great at portion control you won’t need a plate with lines, but for those times when I need a little extra help the lines are a good guide. I think this will come in handy.

(Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi, Brown Rice, Sautéed Brussel Sprouts and Spinach) It was delicious!

 

Project Cost Breakdown:

Clear Glass Plate (World Market) = $3

Armor Etch (Already Owned) = $0 (Hobby Lobby sells this and with their 40% off coupon it would cost about $5 for a small bottle) 

Painters Tape/Brush/Gloves (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $3

CSA Box #1

This whole CSA thing is much more fun than it should be. I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed washing veggies and stocking my fridge as much as I did this past weekend. I didn’t get any pictures of the farmers market, but it was pretty impressive. Although I had a little trouble finding parking and the proper booth, next time I hope to arrive earlier and maybe even pick up a coffee and stroll around a bit more.

I’ve also realized that I need a much bigger fridge in my future home, this was A LOT of food.

Red and Green Leaf Lettuce.

Tomatoes

Radishes and some Strawberries that didn’t quite make the picture. I’m pretty sure that I will never buy Strawberries from the grocery store again, these were incredible. No sugar needed, they were delicious. In fact, next time I’m buying more than what comes in the box.

Cabbage, Sorrel, Swiss Chard, Bunching Onions, Lemons, Apples.

I found a recipe for a cabbage cheese bake as well as a Swiss Chard and Sausage stew. But I still don’t know what to do with Sorrel and those tomatoes. I’ve never seen tomatoes like that before, do you cook them? eat them raw?

I’m running out of room in my fridge with all this fresh food.

I also purchased a share of flowers to pick up each time I get a new CSA box. The bouquet was HUGE and really beautiful. In fact I broke it up and put them in two large vases. Well worth the $10 every two weeks. Hopefully they survive until my next delivery.

DIY: Chalkboard Plant Markers

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the yard lately, working on the garden and adding some vertical planters. I’ve finally gotten to a point where I have lots of different plants and I needed some way to distinguish between them. For the plants I bought at a nursery, I try to keep the tags with the plant. But I’ve been doing a lot of planting from seed and I needed a way to mark those as well.

…and I have this can of chalkboard paint lying around…

So I stopped past Michaels the other day and picked up some simple, wide style popsicle sticks. With the 40% coupon I scored a package of 75 for less than $2.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• Chalkboard Paint
• Painters Tape
• Wide Style Popsicle Sticks
• Foam Paint Brushes (don’t use the type shown in the picture)
• A large piece of cardboard
• Chalk

Step 2:

Roll a small piece of painters tape and stick it to the back of each popsicle stick.

Adhere the sticks to the cardboard. Taping the popsicle sticks to the board make it easier to paint them and keeps your hands clean. Less mess overall.

Step 3:

Paint one side of the sticks with two coats of chalkboard paint.

Step 4:

Once the first side is dry, flip them over and repeat the process.

The thin, cheap wood absorbs the paint quickly meaning your new chalkboard plant makers were done in no time.

Step 5:

Use chalk to add the plant names and you’re set to go.

Project Cost Breakdown:

Popsicle Sticks (Michael’s) = $2

Chalkboard Paint/Foam Brush/Painters Tape (already owned) = $0

Cardboard (already owned) = $0

Chalk (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $2

Eco Challenge – Evolve Rainfall Showerhead

Yes, it’s April and I said I would do the Eco challenge in March. Life happens and things fell off track so I’ll be continuing the eco challenges into April as well. My goal is to finish the 30 days and that’s what I plan to do.

This project actually allowed me to mark two different items of my To-Do list. I’ve been wanting to replace my standard showerhead with a rainfall version since the day I moved in, but I also wanted something that was environmentally conscious. I found the perfect items sold by a company called Evolve. Their technology shuts down the water to a trickle once it gets hot, meaning that I no longer waste tons of water running down the drain while I wait for the temp to heat up.

I’ve never done any type of plumbing or bathroom repair and at first I was worried I wouldn’t be able to figure it out. However, it ended up being incredibly easy to install and took less than 15 minutes start to finish.

First up, I removed the basic showerhead that came with the house. Using a wrench it came off very easily.

The tape was in bad shape so I used a blade to score it and removed as much as I could from the threads.

The new showerhead came with enough new tape to wrap the threads. Nice to know the kit came with everything except the wrench used to remove the original.

Once the tape is on, I just screwed on the new showerhead. Seriously easy.

Here’s a look at how it works. I turned on the water to warm, like I always do, and walked away.

A few moments later once the temp had gotten hot enough, it slowed to a trickle.

Once you get into the shower, pull the string and the water will return to full force.

I purchased this showerhead in particular through Amazon, although they do have several styles. With shipping, it cost me $37 and they shipped very quickly.  The version I purchased has 3 different spay patterns, but I love the rainfall feature. It reminds me of a tropical shower, and if I close my eyes I can pretend I’m in paradise and almost, ALMOST hear the sound of the ocean in the distance.

If you happen to love your current showerhead, Evolve also has an adapter you can use.

*This post was not sponsored by Evolve in any way, they don’t know I exist. I just happen to really like this product.

I’m Feeling Inspired – Spring

With such a mild winter this year, it’s been hard to distinguish between the seasons. I still don’t know what happened to Autumn, and Winter was kind of blah…but spring, oh it’s here, and I’m loving it! I’m ready to shake out the frosty mornings and replace it with warm breezy nights. Here’s a few things that make me smile right now.

 

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I don’t do April Fools…so Happy April 1st! I’m seriously grateful to all of you for stopping by my little world, no joke!