Polaroid Picture Frame

DIY- POLAROID PHOTO FRAME

I love that pictures freeze moments in time and allow you to relive them again and again. Pictures are a physical memory since we can’t always rely on our mind memories (mind memories…totally a thing) to recall a special occasion, or remember exactly what that moment looked like. I toted a Polaroid camera along with me for Linz’s bachelorette party in Vegas last month, and asked that everyone take photos of the weekend and then give the Polaroids to me for a gift we’d make for her. This is what I did with all the photos, a Polaroid photo frame! Thank you Pinterest!!!!!! When in DIY doubt, Pinterest out!!!

polaroid photo frame
For this you’ll need:

  • a frame of your choice
  • sturdy string or wire
  • mini clothes pins or metal clips
  • your photos
  • scissors
  • hot glue gun and glue
  • measuring tape

polaroid frame prep
Method:

  • You’ll remove the back cardboard and glass from the frame so that you’re just left with the frame body
  • line up your photos so that you know how many columns you’ll have and how many rows
  • use the tape measure to figure out where you’re laying down your string or wire so that your rows are evenly distributed
  • lay down a dollop of hot glue into the nook of the frame to hold the string in place on one side than line up the other side and do the same
  • allow the glue to dry and then hang your photos onto the string with the mini clips and walaaaa!

polaroid frame

All of your memories in a cute lil DIY frame, handmade by you, with love…and a few burned fingers 😉 I hope you enjoyed this DIY post, I love doing home decor, especially at a level that my skills or lack there of are able to grasp! haha!

polaroid frame

Let me know what other home decor/DIY things you’d like to see, and I hope your weekend is awesome!!!

Hugsssss!

 

Jess

SPRUCING UP YOUR HOME FOR SPRINGTIME – ON A DIME!!!

SPRUCING UP YOUR HOME FOR SPRINGTIME – You’d be so proud! I’ve been a DIY queen over here because DIY-not am I right?! Ahem, that is in reference to my series on YouTube where I take a Pinterest idea and do it my way. ‘My way’ usually means that things end up pretty janky, yet surprisingly fun and functional! This week has been all about revamping my space, from my bedroom to my kitchen and the spaces in between. I gave myself a $200 budget, put Pinterest on repeat, and behold, here is the magic that was created!

I combined my favorite color schemes to refresh my bedroom, my vanity area, my kitchen, and my dining room table. I kind of sprinkled pops of color around each nook of mine and put lights on just about anything I could get my hands on! Pastels, yellows, blues, pinks, oranges, you name it, it’s here! And guess what?! I also built a headboard WITH MY OWN HANDS. Yes slightly burned with hot glue hands, but with these bare hands of mine nonetheless! If I can do it, trust me, anyone can! So here’s the sitch …

MY VANITY


I’ve always wanted a space in my bedroom that I could get ready at, film at, and decorate in a way that made me feel organized … ya know, like a real adult! Since I’m borderline hoarder-status over here, my vanity up until this point has always been covered with product and spritzes and sprays, and I never really got a chance to use it. I kind of just sat on the floor NEXT to my vanity and got ready each day. Joe got this set for me a few years ago and I’m happy to say that it is finally being used for all its intended purposes!


Organized chaos, that’s what this is! I kind of sectioned out all of my foundations, liners, perfumes, and palettes. I love this place mat that I got from Marshalls because it’s bright and colorful and fits in perfectly with the rest of my color scheme. If you haven’t noticed, I’m all about that bright, poppy, happy kind of feel!

So in  a fit of creativity I ran out to TJ Maxx and picked up the double sided area rug, 2 makeup trays, a 3-tiered shelf organizer, and the hanging jewelry display. Marshall’s, just down the street is my go-to for accessories! The candle, photo frame, and planter were all on sale for less than $7 each! Also, IKEA is pretty great for DIY home projects, and from there I purchased the chair, pillow, blanket, shelf, and white planter. I thought the planter was so pretty with it’s lace detail that I used it as a makeup brush holder and filled the inside with beads to hold my brushes in place. You can get the shelf and lights at IKEA or even at Home Depot depending on your location.

MY BED


Why yes, this IS a homemade headboard put together by yours truly! I watched YouTube OF COURSE and made this headboard from two poster boards … a BUTT LOAD of tape and all of my hot glue! You can check out the video I followed for this headboard here! I doubled the stuffing to really give the buttons that ‘pierced’ look. From $500 to $50, this headboard is the way to go! The fairy lights I got from Amazon and the pillows came from both World Market and Marshalls. Any chance I get to add color or lights, I’m all over it! Also, thank you Corrine for letting me steal your foliage, it really completed my whole ‘bo-ho’ theme!

MY KITCHEN


Moving out of the bedroom and in to my kitchen, this space was my favorite to spice up! Yo check out my play on words! *I think I’m so funny sometimes! I hope we’re still friends* Everything here was on sale at Michael’s, 40% off to be exact, and the candles, tea pot, and mason jars were also on sale, at World Market. It’s incredible the things you can find when you sift. Head to the back, it’s the last place people will rummage!


Some paper straws from the Dollar Store, placements of color from one end to the other, and you have a kitchen that’s ready for company! I love hosting dinners and cooking for Corrine’s friends and my kitchen is completely ready now!

There’s something about these bright colors and pastel combinations that make me so so happy. I’m a complete product of my environment and if I’m having a bad day you’ll know it, black is my favorite color but not for home decor. It feels bigger in my kitchen some how, brighter, and more inviting.

If you’re really into DIY, you could probably make this sectioned shelf and paint it whatever color you like. I really loved this distressed vintage blue color and Corrine helped me pick out the tiny arrangements for it. I think with each season I will switch up the items that it holds, and paint it a chalky white so that it’s universal no matter what theme I choose.


MY DINING ROOM TABLE


Last but not least, our dining room table. I have a video and blog post coming soon where I paint this wooden table a white-chalk and distress it with sandpaper and tape. Until then, I decided I wanted a pastel pink runner and I couldn’t pass on these air plants from Trader Joe’s. They were only $2.99 each and I was told that I CAN’T kill these, no matter what! Water them once every two weeks, I think I can handle that!


Sunflowers make me smile and this tray from Marshalls was a nice separation from the plants and the table runner. See how I came full circle with the pastels and color combinations again? … Poor Joe, he gets a corner. ONE corner. Haha!

I’ve never been great at interior design, it takes time and money. It also takes patience and knowing what you want and where to get them without breaking the bank, home improvements can be costly and we’re saving for a wedding over here! Besides the excitement over Spring and all things color pop, a driving force behind all of these modifications was that I didn’t feel confident about my space.

I love hosting parties but when you aren’t happy with how things look it detours you from inviting people in. At least for me. See, I like everything, and I love color and I love print, so we really didn’t have a cohesive theme in our apartment and I was okay with that. Until Pinterest happened! Then I got all motivated to do our ‘Pinterest DIY-not’ series and it pushed me to try some DIY projects for myself to see how expensive or inexpensive these kinds of ventures would be.

I’m happy to say that you can take on these tasks and complete them in an affordable way. If you set a budget for yourself you can do just about anything within those boarders. What once gave me grief and seemed to be an eye sore I am now most proud of. I kind of just sit back these days and stare at each room the way a five year old stares at a bouncy house … with excitement and awe. Sounds crazy because it’s just an addition of color here or an accessory there, but for me, I’m so proud of these changes and this kind of thing is necessary. It makes me feel so refreshed.

Do you have any particular plans for your home and this next season? What are your favorite color schemes and where are your go-to places to find the things you create with?

I love updating our areas surrounding the different seasons of the year and I can’t wait to show you what I have in mind for Summer! Thank you for indulging my DIY side and all things bright, blinding, and beautiful!

Aura Photography – What Your Colors Say About You

I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself the most spiritual person. I mean, for the life of me I can’t sit still during yoga, I’ve tried and failed many times at meditation, and I can’t tell when any planet is in retrograde, ever. Also, I know that I’m an Aries but I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, except that I’m spontaneous and apparently talk too much lolz true.

My daughter Corrine however, is so in tune with herself and her energy and all the things I find mysterious that it honestly inspires me to be all in tune too. Even if I don’t know what the hell that looks like or what I’m doing. Lucky for me though she keeps me all cool and informed by sharing with me the things that bring her balance, and they in turn help me to feel more balanced also. After all, don’t we just want to find the balance in life? One glass of wine, one lunge, repeat. Nailed it.

So a few days ago Corrine came over and sat next to me while I was figuring out what stickers I wanted to use in my planner (yes this is her life y’all) and told me that Junior High was holding aura photography sessions and that we should do it together. Okay, first I thought we’d be going to a school in the valley and then I thought, “well what do I wear to have my aura photographed”? Real priorities over here.

Come to find out, Junior High is actually a really awesome space in Hollywood that communally promotes art and education. And really, any place that has any Bob Ross anything, I fully support. Also, it didn’t matter what we wore for the aura photography because it had nothing to do with our clothes and everything to do with what was going on internally.

This is a photograph of Corrine and my combined energies- the colors of our auras. How freaking cool is that?! So Halo Auragraphic are the wonderful folks that came out and set up their rad looking space tent to photograph people for the day. After a long exposure (about 5-8 seconds), no blinking, and a quick minute of developing, we had this gem right here.

So our combined energies look like this: indigo, blue, crystal, lavender, and magenta. They explain to you what this all means but we were also given an auragraphic color wheel, if you will, and the corresponding meanings to those colors were this:

Indigo- wise, intuitive, belief in higher ideals + principles, peaceful, creative, non judgmental, spiritually gifted (that’s the Corriney part), sensitive, enlightened consciousness
Blue- loving, nurturing, compassionate, sensitive, forgiving, loyal, spiritual, emotional depth, teaching, caretakers of people + the planet
Crystal- gifted healer, highly spiritual, quiet, sensitive, one with nature, adaptable, highly intuitive, loves simplicity, meditative, calming
Lavender- enchanting, daydreamer, fragile, sensitive, imaginative, creative, intelligent, gentle, intuitive, loves to change directions
Magenta- non-conformist, creative, intelligent, free spirited, eccentric, original, likes to be the center of attention (M E), strong willed, unique, innovative

Freaking. Cool! After having experienced this and being told what your energy is, I swear I was like yup that’s totally me and that’s absolutely Corrine! It was so fun to see what our energies, our auras looked like in color. It was even more fun to do it with Corrine, my flower child, my center, because she’s my true balance tbh.

Whatever your beliefs and practices are though, I personally think you’d love having your aura photographed. Check Halo Auragraphic out to see where they’ll be poppin up next and go get in on that. I’m interested to see what colors you are!

Have you ever heard of aura photography? Are you a spiritual like Corrine or do you kind of just go with the flow like me? 

 

 

 

 

HOW TO BEAT THE SUMMER BREAK BOREDOM!

Have you ever felt pressure to have plans made for your time off, that ‘breaks’ during the year feel more like time on and less like time off? First it was Spring break, now we have Summer break approaching, and if you have little ones at home I almost feel like it’s easier for you to occupy your time. With my little one in college she isn’t little any more, so now Summer breaks just feel like really long weekends! ha

So today I’ve compiled my favorite things to do to beat the summer break boredom! Lets face it, you’ve probably already hiked that hike 893 times and visited that secret getaway spot enough times to know that it isn’t secret any more.

  1. Explore more – instead of googling the best places to visit, just pull up Groupon or Living Social and explore their many travel and ‘things to do’ tabs! You’ll be surprised by how spontaneous you are to go indoor sky diving on a Tuesday 😉
  2. Blaze new trails– try playing “hike roulette”, or ‘blind picnic picking’ which require only an app on your phone and a packed lunch! The way we do it is we pull up Yelp on our phones, we pick an area we want to explore and a number! Whatever number of whatever hiking trail or park corresponds with one another, we go for it! Love or hate it, you’ll be outside and enjoying new views! *Pro-tip: Geocache while you’re at it, just don’t forget to bring an item you can leave behind
  3. Take some you time – it’s totally okay to do nothing with your time off and reinvest in your own health, especially your mental health, after all it IS your time off. Take some time to be still in the morning, light some incense, do some yoga, and before you know it your routing will not only refill your personal well, but it’ll prepare you for that long awaited yoga retreat!
  4. Vacation, staycation, shmaycation – oldie but goodie, getaways are the quickest ways to put a long lasting smile on your face. You’ll reflect on what the sand felt like and what the air smelled like wherever you went to just get away. You’ll remember what your favorite meal of the trip was and how it brought you and your family closer, and you closer to feeling more positive and less weighed down by the every day mook. Shmaycation … I’m all for it
  5. Feed your inner kid – literally and figuratively! If that means pizza and movie night, paint night at home or at your favorite art shop, popcorn making and Jenga, rolling down a hill and then jumping into a strangers pool (don’t get arrested I can’t bail you out), or building a fort in your living room equipped with flashlights and finger foods, DO IT! Do all of it! It’s incredible how freeing and FREE it is to just be silly, and laugh, and be you

Summer break is only a few weeks away, what do you have planned to beat the summer boredom blues?!

 

 

 

 

TOP 10 FREE THINGS TO DO WITH THE FAMILY!

I had a really nostalgic moment today, I was remembering that as a kid, each weekend my family and I would drive over to the local Blockbuster to hand-pick movies for the weekend. If you’re lucky enough to remember those good ol’ days than this will spark some fun memories, and if you were born after Blockbuster and MC Hammer pants, than just imagine this: My sister, brother, and I would walk up and down the aisles reading the synopsis on the backs of each VHS (yes VHS days) or DVD, beg our parents for popcorn and candy, and then we’d decide which movies we’d rent . . . as a family. I mean, it DID depend on if it were a $2.99 or $4.99 rental and IF you could have it for two days or FOUR, but it really was just some good ol’ clean family bonding times. Gahhh can we bring back some of that!

I thought today I’d share with you my favorite things to do with my Corriney and Joe, not to mention they’re practically free! So here are my top 10 free (almost) things to do with the family!

PAINT NIGHT – places like Color Me Mine can be a bit pricey especially if you have more than 1 child, so why not head over to Michael’s (or the DOLLAR STORE woot!) pick up some paints and craft paper and boom, paint night at home! Ahem for you parents out there, this is also a wonderful time to bust out a bottle of wine and crank up some paint night tunes!

PICNIC – best thing is eating your favorite food, outside, on a blanket, listening to the birds chirp. Picnics are easy I promise! For this particular day we went to Trader Joe’s and spent under $10 for a baguette and cheese, threw some fruit and drinks into our picnic basket and enjoyed our fancy shmancy picnic outside. Pro tip: when you’ve forgotten to pack cutlery just simply eat with your hands! Also, watermelon eaten with your hands will get sticky. Also also, farmers markets make for the best treats and have home made PIE (featured below is caramel pecan for your viewing pleasure)!




HIKE – get out and get movin’! Pointing things out in nature, identifying plants and animals while you’re with the kiddos, and then picnicking at the end of it . . . leads straight into my next favorite thing!

HIKE ANNND PICNIC – okay okay this is me cheating by combining my two faves but for realizies! If you hike to the top of that mountain or stroll to the other side of that park and then add in a PICNIC, it’s the best thing ever! Go ahead, enjoy that refreshing sticky watermelon with your hands!

BOARD GAMES – you guys my family and I used to play Dungeons And Dragons, like the board game version! Oh yes, we were supes popular in school LOL I legit think a wonderful team building activity is a board game or arts and crafts. You learn how to NOT be a sore loser *me* and how to appreciate a night in with board games and crafting. And remember when crafting, “God don’t make no junk”- 100 points to whomever can guess where that’s from! LOL

MUSEUMS – or art exhibits even! These are fun, free (mostly), AND you’ll all learn something along the way. Fun fact, I got really into the stars and constellations as a child and even wanted to be an astronaut. Visiting museums absolutely contributed to that dream! Can you tell from this list so far that I’m a HUGE nerd?! I love nerds <3

COOK TOGETHER – how fun to teach the kids (and your significant other) how to cook! The stirring, the spices, the creativity of it all, it’s one of my favorite things to do even when we do nothing but make mac n cheese together while noshing on snacks in the kitchen. It’s fun to ‘Pinterest pluck’ and just make a recipe you wouldn’t usually make, get cookin!

MOVIE NIGHT – reminiscent of Blockbuster night, movie night is the best way to snuggle up with your babes and make popcorn the old fashioned way! Toss all of the pillows and blankets onto the floor and just have one big ol’ slumber party – onesies highly encouraged!

TALENT SHOW – how fun right? Lets put on a talent show for one another! Sing, dance, put on a play, it’s just so fun to be silly and encouraging. Also, this is how those blooper reels from America’s Got Talent are created so lets also be real with one another mkayyy! 😉

GO FOR A DRIVE – alright, so this is gonna sound super cheesy but one of my favorite things in life ever, is to just pack up the car, my family, and puppy Luna and drive. Drive to another city, explore another town, anything, but ya gotta do it! The open road is full of new adventures … and new places to eat teehee 😀

 

I hope you enjoyed this list of fun and almost free things to do with your loved ones, you could even refer to this for fun date night ideas!

Are there any other things that you love to do that we can add to this list? Share! <333

 

 

 

 

 

EASY VALENTINE’S DAY DIY – INCENSE HOLDERS! LOVE, CORRINE

Happy Valentine’s Day! If you’re a last minute gift giver . . . ahem it’s TODAY, than this DIY will not only save you time and money, but it’s also personalized and super unique! AKA it will cover up your last-minute-DAY OF-gift-giving tendencies LOL! All will be forgiven!

So whether you’re making it for your special one or with your ladies for Galentine’s Day festivities, it’s a lot of fun and super minimal. Don’t be afraid to get messy and make some mistakes, that’s where all the fun is at! All you’ll need is the polymer clay of your choice, an x-acto knife or mold, and gold paint. Before you begin, set the mood with this Valentine’s playlist I created just for you!

Directions:

1. Roll your polymer clay into a ball. I used beige because it resembled more of a light pink to me. Once you’ve rolled it into a ball, flatten it out with a rolling pin (can also be done with a cup or jar! )

2. Now that it’s flattened out, use your x-acto knife and/or mold to shape your clay. (For the circle, I used the rim of a candleholder) Don’t be afraid to get creative and make all kinds of wacky shapes!


3. Now that you have the shape you want, poke a hole in the middle of the clay with an incense stick, just enough so that it can wiggle around a bit.

4. It’s time to bake! Preset your oven to 275°F and let your creations bake for 15 minutes.


5. Once they are done baking, let them cool. When finished cooling, grab your gold paint and begin painting the sides and around the outer rim. Imperfections and uneven lines will make it look even more authentic and effortless, so have fun with it! You can also paint the entire thing gold or create a pattern on it. You’ll most likely have some extra clay sitting around, so you can make more to give to your friends and loved ones. ?

Altogether, the supplies for this tutorial cost me a grand total of $10 and I made almost a dozen holders! They’re the perfect gift for your bestie, room decor, or housewarming present and are super sweet!


I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and high five for saving the day <3

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Love, C

 

MERCADO SEGRADO – ARTISANS AND EATS!

The perks of raising the world’s most perfect flower child is that she knows when anything zen-y and cool is happening in our area! Mercado Segrado in Topanga Canyon is an artisan goods and healthy eats event that happens annually and we’ve turned it into a family tradition.  Full of organic food options, art, and hand crafted goods, if you love festivals than you’ll love this one. We especially love supporting local artists and eating from locally sourced venues!




This year, the background for the event was the grounds of Paramount Ranch in Agoura. It’s an old western set, with open spaces, barns, and buildings that look like they came straight out of a John Wayne film. The festival in past years have been held in Topanga Canyon but each year it becomes larger and this location didn’t disappoint!

We had a few favorite vendors that we kept popping our heads into to check out, Earth + Element being one of them! She makes some of the most beautiful ceramics you’ve ever seen, a ’boutique with a conscience’ <3 Their Moon Mugs are out of this world beautiful, check them out if you love ceramics like we do. And DL Skateboards– we couldn’t get over the craftsmanship and admired their boards throughout the day.

Each skateboard is handcrafted from a single piece of solid oak wood, they’re gripped with sand from Topanga Canyon, and the wheels and hardware are all made with parts from right here in California. How awesome is that?! If that weren’t convincing enough for you to go check them out, you should know that they also believe in the bartering system! Yes, you can barter for a board lol that’s the damn best! If I had a military issue canvas tent (ahem dad send me one from your basement!) to barter with, it’d be for the Deep Sun board. It’s my favorite, the colors just make me happy!



And of course, no travel post of ours is complete without a food photo! Pictured here is mango sticky rice. Made to perfection, this was one of many eats and treats featured at Mercado Segrado and we would’ve ordered another one if the line weren’t so long, it was one of the most popular dishes!


Pro tips: Wear comfy shoes- you’ll be walking around on unsteady rock all day, bring a hat and sunscreen- it’s an open space and you’ll want to explore the grounds, and get there when it opens- it’s nice to visit each pop-up tent and vendor there, and then have a seat to listen to one of the live performances take place. Take it all in it only happens once a year.

 

Do you have any local events near you that you HAVE to go to each time they come around again? 

 

mothersday1

MOTHER’S DAY MADE SPECIAL!

Easily titled one of the most special holidays of the year, Mother’s Day is next weekend! I love Mother’s Day, not just because I’m a mom but because it’s a day to celebrate all moms, and the dads who take on mom duty full-time, I’m looking at you!

As a single mom I really appreciate all of you guardians, care givers, single dads, and anyone else stepping in to take on the ‘mom duties’! Lucky for all of us, on May 8th we get to celebrate you all!

So today I’ll share with you my personal take on gift giving, what it means to me, and the 3 easiest yet most thoughtful gifts you can give to mom!

#1 ARTS & CRAFTS! 

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I will forever cherish hand-made gifts from people who I love, especially the little ones! I remember when Corrine would make macaroni necklaces for me for holidays, or paintings, or finger painted musings for the refrigerator. I miss those little things, but this year we made ceramics together for my birthday and I couldn’t think of a better gift to give someone than something you make with your hands. It’s so sweet and original, there won’t be another like it anywhere.

#2 I OWE YOU!

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What may seem like a cop-out or an easy gift idea is actually pretty brilliant if you ask me! An I owe you for an hour of alone time, or breakfast in bed, or for you to do the dishes for the entire day?! Yes please!!! I’ll take all the IOU’s I can get! These are special because  you’re giving mom what she wants and what you know she’d really like and appreciate. Never underestimate the power of a good IOU 😉

#3 A PERSONALIZED GIFT JUST FOR MOM

Last but definitely not least, giving her a personalized gift is personal and especially special because it’s unique and again one of a kind <3 Taking this back to those macaroni necklace days, it’s nostalgia meets new memories … and old ones. You can personalize jewelry for mom, or mugs, or a tee-shirt for her even!

Corrine and Joe surprised me by customizing necklaces for me from Jevelo, a fun and user-friendly app where you select a photo from your camera roll or take a photo and import it into the design page and create your own custom jewelry! You can even design necklaces around a drawing or idea you have so long as you can take a photo of it. I actually had Luna design a necklace for the two of them also because Mother’s Day is about family for me. A day to celebrate family and not just me … but the me part is pretty special too 😉

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Jevelo were so awesome to send us these necklaces for my our special day and even hooked up our audience with 20% off, just use the code 3SA4E6 at checkout!

No matter what you get your mom for Mother’s Day, I promise she will love it because it really is about the thought behind the gift, the intentions of making her smile and making her feel loved and appreciated. I hope you all have a beautiful Mother’s Day, don’t forget it’s next Saturday, May 8th!

Happy Mother’s Day to all my fellow mommas out there, the guardians, the caretakers, and the dads pulling double duty! My hat is off to you all <3

What are your plans for this Mother’s Day and what’s the most special gift you’ve ever given someone you love?

Our little family did a Mother’s Day surprise video on my channel! Check it out here and please Subscribe if you haven’t already xoxo

Mercado Segrado

MERCADO SEGRADO – CHANNELING MY INNER FLOWER CHILD

We try and take each weekend to focus on family time, exploring the different festivals around L.A., and disconnecting from the work week by getting outside. This past weekend we attended a small festival called Mercado Segrado, in the Malibu canyons. It was a celebration of the canyon spirit, the arts, and an Earth-connected kind of experience. I’m all about that spiritual life so you know I got all kinds of loopy about this!

Set in a private oak grove in Malibu featuring hand made goods, artisan vendors, fresh food, and spiritual ceremonies (more on this in a bit). Above is the view from where we were when we entered the festival, from the far back white fence. Soooo beautiful!

Mercado Segrado
This is that fence, and to the left you’ll see one of the vendors – a beautiful set up of what appeared to be made of paper mache and animals formed from what looked like beautiful pieces of color paper. Beyond the fence is a small pond and the rock formation that we’ll call the “disgruntled man”. If you were able to see beyond the weeping willow tree, you’d see groves upon groves of trees and green!

Mercado Segrado
Here’s a man in the wild. Joe, barefoot, shoes in hand- we were headed towards the live band area and taco stand near the back. I’m not sure that he was just as in love with the festival as we were, as it was a very female heavy crowd and we were all barefoot and swaying with the wind, but he loved all that energy floating around him!

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There were tents, open spaces, and racks full of vintage clothing and goods, handmade art pieces, and soy candles – pictured above is Corrine in her element- sifting through vintage pieces underneath a meadow of trees. It was just as magical as it looks here, the sun did this to the photograph, nothing I could do could have made it look so dreamy.

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Corrine found a spot under one of the trees later in the afternoon to set up our blanket for picnic times. Look at her, my lil Earth baby. She found the event this day,  she follows a lot of the vendors and artists that were there on Instagram. Here under the tree we had vegetarian tacos and a rice bowl . . under a tree you guys… on the grass. Makes me want a back yard. Now about that tea ceremony…..

Mercado Segrado

The words you see on the piece of paper are the words that came to me after I participated in a tea ceremony. I sometimes go into things as a bit of a skeptic and I don’t mean to, but this was one of those times. Surprisingly, I really loved it though and I’m really really interested in learning more about plant science and plant medicine.

So we all sat in a circle- Corrine, myself, and a few other ladies. The first of 3 teas that we drank was a jasmine- pink rose- and lotus tea. We started off by meditating, then we introduced ourselves to the tea (this in of itself is a whole other article), we took in the aroma of the tea, and then we slowly sipped it. We let it sit in our bellies for a bit and then we meditated with it some more until we felt words or saw colors, whatever it was we wrote them down. These were the words I felt. If I learned anything from this experience it was that everything carries with it an energy, and each day the things that we do shift that energy. By the end of the tea ceremony, 3 teas after, and an hour later, my energy had shifted from feeling overwhelmed and rushed, to a more calm and grounded feeling. It was really interesting, you should try it out some time, even if you’re a skeptic like me.

Mercado Segrado
This was my view from our picnic tree as I lay out, toes in the grass, listening to folk music on a sunny Sunday afternoon before we headed back home. It was beautiful and peaceful, so if you get a chance to get out this week do it! Nature can totally be cool!

Have you been to this kind of festival before? How about tea ceremonies? Too cooky for you or would you try it? I’ll leave my tea suggestions in another article for you all about tea ceremonies and energy shifts if you like, so let me know in the comments!

love, Jess