Spring has sprung!

Well, not really if you live in the midwest!  It snowed all day yesterday.  Last week, we'd gotten a little preview of spring with warmer temperatures and the winter's snow melting.  But, here in the heartland, spring usually doesn't come for good until April...no matter what the calendar says.  The snow from yesterday still hasn't melted, but today is nevertheless a beautiful day.  The sky is crystal clear, and if you ignore the white stuff on the ground, you'd think it was 60 degrees outside.  The sunshine is making me eager to garden.  Usually we plant various vegetables outside in our yard...lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and green beans.  If it doesn't warm up soon, though, I'm going to have to start an indoor garden!  

 I do plan on growing some herbs indoors, but I don't always like the looks of typical terra-cotta pots.  So, I decided to spruce one up!  

I started out with a pot, some ribbon, a hot glue gun, and a scissors.

Next, I glued my larger ribbon around the rim of the pot.  Why the rim?  Well, it is the flattest part of the pot, and without some intricate adjustments to the ribbon, this was the easiest spot to place my ribbon.  Then I added my second, smaller ribbon on top of the first ribbon.

I decided to cover up my back seams by adding a bow.  To make the bow, I started by creating the tails on one piece of ribbon, and then folding a smaller piece and gluing it together for the "bunny ears."

Then, I added a tiny pice to cover up where the bunny ears were glued in half.

I then glued the "ear" piece on top of the tails.

I finished up by gluing the completed bow on top of the seam to hide it.  Now I've got a pretty pot to plant some herbs in!

You could also do this with an old coffee-can to rePurpose something you'd normally recycle or throw away!

mmm...peamutt butter!

Well, in my neck of the woods, today was a dreary day.  It rained pretty much all day, and the sky was so gray and cloudy it felt like living in a pot...(my description is not nearly as poetic as Mr. Steinbeck's).

Anyway, I wanted to blog about rePurposing plant potters, or at least sprucing them up...but it just wasn't the day for that.  Instead, I decided I'd write a bit about peamutt butter!


That's right PeaMUTT butter bones are dog treats that I make from The Doggy Bone Cookbook!

I really love my dogs...maybe too much, and I like the idea of knowing what's in their treats.  Plus, it's a huge money saver, and that's always good!


Now, I struggled with this post because I can't really put the recipe right here online, but I can tell you that you can make your own dog treats from simple ingredients that are probably already in your cupboard.  To make these particular treats, all you need is:

 Peanut butter
 Oatmeal
 Whole Wheat Flour
 Vegetable Oil
 and...Water


I won't give you the measurements, since I didn't come up with the recipe, but I would definitely recommend that anyone who has a dog check out this book!  There are over a dozen other recipes and my pups have loved every batch I've made.  Plus, the book comes with the dog bone cutout, so no extra purchases there :-)


Enjoy, and hopefully soon the weather here improves and I can share some fun outdoor projects!

What is the point?

In my first post, I wrote about how I wanted this blog to not only show people how they can simplify their lives and re-purpose common household items, but that it was also a journey to meaning and fulfillment...and who doesn't want that?


Well, I've decided that on Sundays I'm going to post something along the lines of the latter.

One of the greatest, wealthiest kings to ever live was king Solomon. Even if you're not a bible reader, history tells us that he amassed wealth far above anything that most of us could ever imagine. Look at Versailles...the gilded mirrors, chandeliers of pure gold, expensive paintings...and multiply that wealth by 20 (probably more)! So, given what we're raised to believe in America, shouldn't Solomon have been one of the happiest people on earth? Even if he realized that "things" don't bring happiness, wouldn't just the security of NEVER having to worry about money bring peace? It didn't.

In Ecclisiastes Solomon wrote, "Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" The wealthy king was having a moment. If you've never had this moment, just wait...you will. It's the moment where you realize that even though you may have everything you want, eventually, you'll die...and what will have been the point of it all?


I've had these moments. Usually, they come when I'm extremely happy about something. I'm not saying that God is a kill-joy. Actually, I'd say the opposite. He wants us to live a life of abundant joy. But, I think He uses these moments to keep me in check. To remind me of where I'm finding my happiness. I'll give you an example. I bought this book a couple of days ago at Borders. They're going out of business...it was $14.00. I was super excited because this book contained all of these great IDEAS about redecorating and throwing brunches and whatnot (I told you all how I love ideas)! Anyway, we were driving back to our hotel from the book store and the thought just struck me..."what's the point? Who cares if I redecorate my house? Who cares if I live in the most beautiful house ever? Who cares if I throw a great dinner party? None of it really matters in the grand scheme of things..."


That might sound depressing...but really, it's not. It's not depressing because, as king Solomon eventually concluded, everything isn't completely meaningless. There are things that DO matter.


As a Christian, my life has been rePurposed. The whole point of my life isn't to accumulate things, or to get married, or to have kids. Don't get me wrong. Family is very important to me. I happen to be married, and I would like to have kids someday. But, ultimately, the purpose of my life is to know God and to make Him known. It would take a lot of typing and several posts to get into what I think that looks like, and I'm not a theologian. If you want to email me, I'd be glad to go further into my story, and tell you how real God has been to me, and how he literally has saved me...but for now, I want to stick to my main point. How I do have a purpose, how life is not meaningless.


The things that will remain long after we're gone have to do with other people and with God. Not with things we buy, or the house we live in, or what we do for a career. I'm still excited about my book! Only, as I said before, I think that these thoughts keep me in check. They remind me to find my true happiness in my relationship with Christ, and in knowing that yes, someday I will die, but that won't be the end. There are things I will have done in this life, good and bad, that will echo in eternity...only I have this great hope that "as far as the east is from the west, so far He has removed my transgressions." I can live with the purpose of getting to know God more every day, and also enjoying the relationships he's given me here on earth...and little things like books about redecorating ;-)


So, like I said...Sundays you may find posts along this line, a rePurposed life...but I'm still going to be posting throughout the week about rePurposing "items." Since I'm a fitness instructor, I have a passion for helping others live well, so I may throw in a few posts about health as well. Hope you'll stop back soon :-)

Save your money, save your boots...

I wanted to post a quick note on how to save money AND reuse a common household item...magazines.

No one likes saggy, crinkled boots. If you invest money in a pair of nice leather boots, of course you’re going to want to keep them nice for as long as possible. That’s where boot forms come into play; however, they also cost money.

Most people would say that $10.00 (the cost of most boot forms) is a small price to pay to keep your investment lasting as long as possible, but did you know you can make your own boot forms for free? All you need are a few magazines.

Simply roll up a magazine and stick inside each boot. If you find that the magazine isn’t thick enough to keep the form of the boot, simply add one or two more inside each. The magazines will unroll inside to match the width of the boot.

That’s it for today, but stay tuned for more great rePurposing ideas!

how to be happy

It goes without saying that most people want to be happy. I won't be the first to point out that our consumer-driven society is designed to give people the illusion of happiness...but the problem is, once the novelty of that new gadget, book, shoe, etc., wears off, we're often left with that same empty feeling that we started out with. We're often left wondering...."what's the point?"

Well, that's a deep question, and I don't think one blog entry could answer it. But, I do know for sure that buying "things" won't provide any sense of purpose...they will only serve to quiet our minds and numb us until that all too irritating question pops up again, and then we buy something else...and the cycle continues.

So what do I think does matter? Well, of course...relationships. With family...with friends...with God...

and ideas. Inspiration. Edith Wharton (a great author whose work you should check out if you get a chance) once said, "the air of ideas is the only air worth breathing."

These are the things that drive me, and the things I want to pass along to others. I hope this blog will be a way for others to find inspiration and ideas for living outside of the materialistic society we live in in America, and find true purpose and happiness. I titled this blog "rePURPOSE" because I want to find new ways to use old things, and in the process, simplify my life, enjoy more time with family and friends, and discover meaning.

Don't worry....I'm not advocating wearing clothes that you weave yourself on your own loom (although if you like that sort of thing, great)! I'm simply hoping to break out of that vicious cycle of consumerism and have some fun at the same time!

RePurpose those old mason jars by creating some mood lighting...

...don’t worry, you don’t have to hang these from a ladder (although if you’ve got an outdoor arbor or pergola, adding some water and floating votives would make for great evening lighting). You can fill these jars with your own homemade candles or again with water and votives and tie a couple of colorful ribbons around the base. Arrange different sized jars on your coffee table or dining room table for a unique centerpiece that’s sure to liven up any room!

Props go to Sarah and Paul (our wonderful wedding photography clients) for the above gorgeous mason jar display.

Check in tomorrow...I'll show you a great idea for re-purposing a common household item ;-)