You can purchase this print at Vol25.
We will officially be home owners in 8 days!
We bought a sweet little 4 bedroom home here in Hamilton and I am so excited to have our own house! We have been staying with Phil's folks and this will be our first place together since we have been married.
We have lots of plans for the place and plan to replace the carpet as the first thing we do. We have lots of seedlings that we started growing and will transplant the veggie garden as soon as we move in! Also, we're getting a cat. Yay!!!!
I can't wait to take pictures and show you all! Start the countdown!
We're moving in SOON!
xoxo
Talia Christine
It's official!
We've purchased my plane tickets for me to visit the States in January! I can't wait to see my family, friends, and my beautiful San Antonio. The reason for my visit is my sister Jaime Lynn and her hubby are having their first baby! Yay! I can't wait to meet little baby Dylan and give him some cuddles and kisses.
I've been writing lists of the places I want to eat while I'm there during my three week visit. There is so much American food that I miss.
- Chik Fila
- Carl's Jr.
- Las Palapas
- Jasmine Thai / Thai Taste
- Pei Wei
- Sushi (With my sister!)
- Papa Johns (pleeeeeease!)
- Rudy's BBQ
- Wing Stop
- Magnolia Pancake Haus
Don't judge me that most of the list is made up of fast food. A girl's gotta have her burgers and cheap Mexican food. Ahhhh the Mexican food!!! That's what I'm looking forward to the most. Oh and family and friends. I'm looking forward to you guys too. ;)
Soo... anyone want to grab lunch with me?
xoxo
Talia Christine
This Saturday the mister took me to Ngatea to shop the town's annual monster markets. Basically the whole town sets up stalls and has yard sales. It's incredible. There was so much stuff it was overwhelming. We found some amazing stuff at incredible prices and I can't wait to go next year!!
We got these gorgeous school atlases dated from around 1940. We plan to keep them for our coffee table. They have such character and are fun to look through.
They belonged to a Richard and Albert Dick. I assume they were brothers. We purchased the pair for $2.50. Not bad!
We scored two grocery bags full of leather scraps of different sizes and colors for 5 bucks. I plan to try my hand at making some leather wallets, cuffs, and moccasins. I can't wait!
I found this gorgeous vintage sheet for a dollar. I plan to either cut it up for quilting squares or use it as a backing for a quilt. It's sooo so soft. I love how it feels.
One of my absolutely favorite finds are these two vintage tins with cats on them. AHH!! They are soooo funny! They make me giggle so much.
We paid $5.00 for the pair which is a lot compared to what we spent on the other things but they are my favorite! So worth it. Me and Phil call them the "Cattins". I have no idea what I'm going to do with them yet, other than love them to pieces.
We also managed to snag an entire junior's bookset (17 books in all I think?) for $2.00. I love that all the books match in the same theme. There are a lot of classics in the mix and a few I'm not familiar with.
I love how they smell. It was a great find!
And now, here is my find of the century. We found a gorgeous handmade New Zealand spinning wheel for... get this... 20 dollars! It's in excellent condition! AHH!!
We did a little googling and found that the wheel is worth around $250-$300. The bobbins are gigantic and are easily 3x the size of my Ashford traditional bobbins. YAY! It's really a little beauty. I can't believe we found her and at such a great price. Also, the seller threw in a bag of wool from their own sheep. It's really great stuff too! Sigh.
Lastly we got a brand new still-in-the-box juicer for $25.00. The box still had a price sticker of $165.00.
Phil started juicing as soon as we got home. He's been dying to see if you can juice kiwifruit. The answer is yes, you totally can. We had to water down the juice a bit because it was a bit intense, but after that it was really yum!
We also purchased some tools for Phil: a sander, a skill saw, and a chain saw (Not pictured, because I was distracted by my new spinning wheel and forgot to photograph them.)
Yes, we made like bandits. Like I said, I can't wait for next year!!
xoxo
Talia Christine
Image Source: Weheartit
Hey guys,
I've been feeling a bit under the weather but I will be back soon to show you our spoils we got from the Ngatea Monster Markets. Basically the whole town sets up and has garage sales. It's incredible. Best garage saleing ever.
xoxo
Talia Christine
Making your own taco seasoning is simple, super yummy, and best of all there is no MSG. It's good to know exactly what is going into your meals.
My recipe for taco seasoning hails from my dad who makes killer tacos. He never measures stuff so I decided to add some measurements into the mix. This taco seasoning works as a great base and you can add more or less of the spices to tweak it to your liking.
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Cumin
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
Mix it all up and use immediately or place it in an air-proof container for later use.
Notes: I would normally add 1 Tablespoon of onion powder, but I couldn't find any anywhere and fresh chopped onion would work fine as well.
If you like the taco seasoning less spicy, lessen the amount of cayenne or omit it all together. I personally like less spicyness and more garlic powder and more cumin in my taco seasoning.
To use the taco seasoning to make taco meat:
Brown 2 pounds of ground beef and drain off the excess fat. I would throw in some chopped onions in as well, but if you're an onion hater you and skip this step. Stir in 3-4 tablespoons of the taco seasoning over the meat to taste.
Yum. Let me know if you have any questions!
xoxo
Talia Christine
The new Avalanche City album Our New Life Above The Ground is out and available free for download. I don't know how long it will be available free for download so hurry hurry!
New Zealand's Dave Baxter is the artist behind Avalanche City. The music is simple, thoughtful and well recorded. This is road trip music. This is day dreaming music. These are songs you could fall in love with.
I could listen to the song "Drive On" for ages.
Guys and gals, this music is good stuff. Check it out for yourself!
Download the full album here:
http://avalanchecity.com/downloads.html
xoxo
Talia Christine
I'm going to start a series of artist spotlights. Every now and then I will share an artist that inspires me, an interview with the artist and share some of their work that I love. I'm so excited for this series!
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I'm so so pleased to have Ashley Rogers of Artsy Ashley Sole Reflections on the blog today.
Ashley creates these incredible, one-of-a-kind, custom painted shoes. It's beautiful art for your feet! She partners with TOMS shoes and works with her customers to create something special for them. It's really an amazing process!
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a stay at home mommy with a heart for youth, art and seeing change. My husband, Taylor, and I have two marvelous kiddos- Abigael who is 2 and a spunky half, and Nathanael who just turned a snuggly one. I taught middle school art for a couple of years and poured into youth ministry with my hubby. I spend most of my time taking care of my little ones at home and in my (not-so) spare time, work on my Sole Reflections company. My favorite thing is working in the sunshine.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Apart from creating things I... well maybe I should say, apart from being a fully time mommy and wife I create things! I think that my whole being revolves somewhat around creativity. Even though I can't create all the time, I think I get creative outlets in the little daily things- like cutting hair, or cooking, or sewing a patch on my husbands jeans! God made me to create, so I almost feel like I don't have an, "apart from creating".
What first made you want to become an artist?
I have wanted to be an artist my entire life. From kindergarten on, I did not miss a year of art in school until two years ago when I stopped teaching. My high school art teacher was incredible and fostered a passion, not only for God's creative process, but also to teach. I wasn't even that I wanted to become an artist, but rather I couldn't imagine doing anything else.
Please describe your creative process.
As far as painting custom shoes, one day I went to a "TOMS: Style Your Sole" party where I was asked to be a featured artist to help paint shoes. After a day of painting on miniature wearable canvases, I feel in love with the process. because I am a mommy and constantly having to keep paint and glue away from my kids- painting and creating is difficult, but in creating these custom shoes, I not only was able to work on them at the table while my kids play, they are also the perfect size to finish quicker than a large canvas. My favorite is when I get a customer that says, "I want _____ theme- go for it!" I love as much creative freedom as possible. My prayer is that in creating this company, I can also one day use it to benefit one of my deepest passions.
How did you get into your craft?
I have long had a heart to help stop sex trafficking- a sickening amount of women and children are daily used for this multibillion dollar industry. Once Sole Reflections grows to a healthy point, I want to donate 50% to help build safe homes for the victims taken out of this horrible life. I am inspired by the lives of others, by the beauty in the trees, by the unique qualities we each possess. I want to create wearable works of art that can tell the world who we are. I want to create shoes that become reflections of the soul.
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This girl is as sweet as pie. I want to dunk her in my tea, put her in my pocket, and keep her forever (I realize that last bit about the tea makes no sense). She is my sister's husband's sister (whoa) and even though she isn't technically my sister in law, I like to tell people she is. If you knew her, you would fight for her to be in your family too. She is such an incredible woman and an inspiration to me. Before me and Phil were married and off to New Zealand, she would have me over for girl nights and good talking. I love her.
Also, she gives great hugs and makes you feel really special.
Check out more of her incredible work here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/solereflections
http://www.artsyashley.net
xoxo
Talia Christine
I am going to start a few series on the blog where I share my favorites with you. In this series, What I Wore, I'll share a few of my daily outfits and tell you where I found the pieces to put the outfit together.
Today I'm wearing my favorite blue dress. I started hunting for a blue dress after watching 500 Days of Summer and falling in love with Summer's predominately blue wardrobe.
I wanted something casual and feminine and solid so that it could easily be matched with different accessories or leggings in cooler weather. I was able to find exactly what I was looking for!
Dress: $5.99 - Ross
Shoes: Urban Outfitters
Bag: Target
Confession: I also found the exact same dress in brown and I got that one too. I love love love it!
What are you wearing this season change?
xoxo
Talia Christine
