Meaning of my blog name

Today I am going to tell you about the meaning behind my blog name 

and why I chose to call it Make It Lively.

I started brainstorming ideas of what to call it and after a few days I had 

quite a long list of words. I narrowed my list down to one word, lively. 

The meaning of lively just kept standing out to me which made me keep 

going back to it. Here are some of the definition descriptions 

I found when searching.. 

Lively ; 

1) full of life; energy

2) very active; outgoing

3) invigorating; refreshing

4) effervescent; sparkling

5) keen; brisk

I wanted to keep this blog very fun, active, energetic, and full of life. I want to 

post about a number of things, so there is a refreshing change each week. 

I wanted to have tutorials that were simple yet beautiful in my eyes, so you 

could do them and make a little sparkle in your home. Though I will try to blog 

roughly 1-3 times a week, I want to keep this brisk so I can still enjoy my life 

with the ones I love. Everything I had hoped for this blog, fit exactly with 

the definition of lively. My mind was completely made up.

Enjoy, xoxo.

Taco Bean Soup

Ok guys, let’s talk about this amazing Taco Bean Soup. 

Me, Brayden, and a couple of our friends were going out camping at Yuba Lake one weekend. We usually always split up the meals, and this time we were in charge of Friday night’s dinner. I knew it would be hard to make something elaborate as we would already be getting there late, and hey were camping – it’s okay to be a little more laid back for meals. 

Throughout the week I was brainstorming ideas when I remembered this amazing Taco Bean Soup Brayden's mom has made for us a handful of times. It is fast, simple, and tastes like a million bucks – can’t beat that! I asked his sweet mom for her recipe, and after making it 3 times now, I am still awed everytime.

Now… It’s your turn to make it!

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 7-8 servings

2 pounds ground beef

1/4-1/3 onion, chopped very fine

2-3 (15 ounce) cans Hunts tomato sauce - I typically use about 2 - 2 1/2 cans depending on how thick I want it

1-2 (15 ounce) cans white kidney beans (drained)

1 (15 ounce) can butter beans (drained)

1-2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn (drained) – I typically do 1.5 cans, but you can do more-less depending on preference

1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes - I prefer original over the Italian or Mexican version

1 (15 ounce) can peeled/diced tomatoes (optional)

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers (optional)

(sometime’s I will even blend up my peeled/diced tomatoes and green chili peppers if I have picky eaters that don’t want chunks – me haha!)

taco seasoning mix to taste – I typically do about 1-2 ounces

Directions for medium/large pot

1.    In a medium/large pot, add the onions and the ground beef. Cook until the hamburger is browned over medium ish heat. Make sure you put salt/pepper on your hamburger. Once the hamburger is fully cooked you will want to drain it, and put it back in your pot.

2.    Place the white kidney beans, butter beans, corn, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, peeled/diced tomatoes, green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix into the pot. Mix to blend, and cook on very low setting for 30 minutes to an hour.

Directions for slow cooker

1.    In a small/medium pan, add the onions and the ground beef. Cook until the hamburger is browned over medium ish heat. Make sure you put salt/pepper on your hamburger. Once the hamburger is fully cooked you will want to drain it, and put it inside the slow cooker.

2.    Place the white kidney beans, butter beans, corn, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, peeled/diced tomatoes, green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker. Mix to blend, and cook on Low setting for 8 hours.

 (My blended stewed tomatoes, peeled/diced tomatoes, and green chili's)

 (Browned  ground beef and onions)

 (Dump all the cans in and stir)

(Taco seasoning) 

Viola, its finished!

           Enjoy, xoxo.

DIY - Stencil Table

I recently started going through a phase where I would watch KSL everyday for cheap furniture I could redo. Not that I have a cute little house to put them in yet or anything, just for fun and experience. Typically all of my projects just go into my storage unit. Haha! This one day I came across a table and a set of four matching chairs. Since it was only $65 for the set and I did not have a dinning set yet I was all over it. My boyfriend and I went and picked it up from the lady that same day and I was already brainstorming what I was going to do. I was searching through Pinterest all night and came across a stenciled table. I completely fell in love and thought I would give it a try! Here is a tutorial on how I did mine…

Sanding completely sucks, but it MUST be done. This table had some sort of laminate over the top and you have to make sure to get it all off or else the paint will not stick on the wood. I sanded with multiple different grits, high to low of course. I even sanded the bottom of the table as there were marks from the previous owners children. In the photo below notice the far left looking shiny (laminate) and the far right being not shiny at all.

After searching through many different sites for stencils that didn’t cost $80+ I came across a company called iStencil. They have multiple different stencils, some cute some not so much. I found the one I liked and decided on going with a 11x11. It only ended up costing me $15 which was a steal compared to the others sites I had looked at. The entire stencil is 11x11 but the design is only 9.5 at the widest points. I would recommend the 11x11 if you want it smaller like mine, but I also the think 16x16/18x18 would have been cute as well. I think it really depends on the stencil and how busy it is.

I went to home depot and picked out all of my colors I wanted and the tools I would need. I decided to go with the BEHR Eggshell Cream for the stencil/legs to counteract the dark stain. I applied it on the stencil/legs with the 4” foam roller brush, and a small 1” foam stick for edges/touch ups. I used a gel stain for the top of the table, which I have never used before. It was similar yet very different than regular stain. With regular stain you can apply it and wipe off the excess to achieve your desired color, with the gel stain it coats on similar to a coat of paint. Because of that I did use a liquid stain I had leftover in my garage from a different project for the distressing on the legs. The gel stain was very difficult to get on even and a turned out a little too dark, so if I were to do it again I would probably go with the liquid stain for all of it. In the pictures below you can see how it went on really dark. I lightly sanded it down with 600 grit sand paper (very very fine grit). On the legs I did 3 coats of the Eggshell Cream because they were a little bit lighter than I wanted. Once they were completely dry I antiqued the edges by using a 450 grit piece of sand paper to rub on the edges and some of the flat parts.

Once I received my stencil I practiced on a piece of wood to get the hang of it before doing it on the real table. The stencil comes with grooves on the outside of the cut out parts to help you line it up. I measured it out so I started right in the middle with the first stencil. After the first strip was done I would connect the stencil edge grooves and start the next row. For mine I did 3 rows and ½’s on the side. The stencil would get paint on the bottom and the grooves would get covered every three or so squares so I would frequently wash it completely and keep going. Let me warn you now… The edges suck! (as you can probably tell from the picture above). I had many mess ups and had to keep sanding them off and trying again. Practice makes perfect!

Once the top was completely dry I applied the gel stain with a “all paints” bristle brush pictured above. Again since it was darker than I wanted I lightly sanded it with 600 grit sand paper.  You will want to make sure the stain is completely dry or it will get lumpy when sanding. I wiped the table down with a cloth frequently when sanding to avoid the dust getting sanded back into the table.

Once the sanding was done I applied 4 thick coats of Polyurethane with a 4” foam stick brush. You will want to make sure you do not forget to apply it to the sides as well. I applied mine a little bit thicker on the sides due to them being roughed up easier, that just personal preference though. After that was completely dried I was done! Here is the finished product! Now time for the chairs, that’s going to be a whole other project I am not quite sure I am ready for. (;

Enjoy, xoxo.

Best Dry Shampoo

Okay guys, if you are like me you would way rather sleep in 30 more minutes than have to get up to shower and do your hair. I absolutely hate doing my hair, unless I have an event I am going to. With that being said, I always try to extend the amount of days I can go without washing my hair with it still looking good. I hate greasy hair and think it is so nasty, so I am really picky about it being good enough to go another day or not. Typically I would wash my hair every other day, which was not only tiring - it was damaging to my already damaged hair. One day my sweet mother said to throw some baby powder in it, which helped a ton but always gave me a white/grey look in my blonde hair which I did not like. A few months later my sister introduced me and told me about dry shampoo. I was skeptical at first, but than I was totally won over. I use this on the 2nd or 3rd day and every other day until I was my hair next. With dry shampoo I can go much longer, sometimes even a week without washing my hair. Periodically I might just spot wash my front bangs by my face though, as they get a little dirtier from product and touching them a lot. Since I have not been washing my hair as much lately my hair has gotten much healthier and my breakage has gone down a ton. My hair feels so much healthier, and I feel goes better when it is 'dirty'. I have tried many brands of dry shampoo from the cheap ones to the expensive ones, so here are a few of my favorites!

My all time favorite is from Suave. It has a nice lemon smell to it, it doesn't leave white marks where I spray it, you can get it at almost any drug store, and it costs less than $5 (from Walmart in Utah). Can you beat really beat that?!

Another favorite of mine is Bed Head's Rockaholic. This one can be found at most beauty supply stores such as Sallys, Ulta, and even Nordstom Rack sometimes. This one has a slight orange/fruity smell to it, but is very minimal. This once costs anywhere from $15-22. 

You can also get tinted dry shampoo to match your specific hair color if you would like. I have heard the tinted helps hide roots, grey hairs, and still works the same as the non-tinted dry shampoo's do. From my family and friends  I have heard that the brand Batiste is the one they like the best. They have a range of colors such as Light/Blonde, Medium/Brunette, Dark/Deep Brown, etc. This brand costs anywhere from $8-12, the color you choose does not usually effect the cost either.

Here is my hair on day 5 of not washing, and even day 2 of curls. I used dry shampoo on day 3, 4, and 5 - and re-curled a couple pieces around my face that had gone funny from sleeping. Ride out that dirty hair and two/three day curls, it really makes a difference on how healthy your hair is!

Enjoy, xoxo.