Homemade 10-minute Granola Bars

Ok, so if you're anything like me, you have fallen prey to the marketing of granola bar companies such as these:

Or these:

Or even these:

However, the amount of sugar and other junky stuff in them is amazing for something that's supposed to be a "health" food. The ones in stores are more of desserts than healthy food that will fill you up and sustain you without a sugar high.

So, the solution for me, is now.... 10 minute homemade granola bars. 

See? They even look just like the store-bought ones... dont be afraid of some of the 'hippie-ish' ingredients that go in them... nothing to be afraid of. :)

Dry Ingredients: 2 cups brown rice cereal, 2 cups rolled oats, 1/4 cup ground flax seed (can leave out or even sub with wheat germ), 1/2 cup cranberries (can use any dried fruit, and more or less of it depending on your tastes), 1 tsp of salt

Wet Ingredients: 1/2 cup honey, 2-3 tbsp agave nectar (can use lite maple syrup too if you'd like), 1/2  cup nut butter (peanut, almond, hazelnut, etc), 1 tbsp canola oil, 1/4 cup brown sugar, a little vanilla (maybe a tsp or 2), 1 tsp cinnamon. Let everything melt together over medium low heat and stir into dry ingredients. 

Once everything's mixed together, pour into a 9x13 pan and press down reeeeallly hard so that it all gets compacted (it will making cutting into bars easier!) Put in the fridge for 30 minutes to "set"... and then dive in. Cut into bars and wrap individually in plastic cling wrap. 

For storage you can keep them in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for 2 months!

These are SO YUMMY and easy to make. I'm definitely never going back to store bought ones. 

$4.73 Target Trip

I heart coupons. Especially when they're not for JUNK. 

Got a cute white tank top for 0.74 cents. 

Skippy Natural Peanut Butter for 0.99 cents.

Each bag of Pop Chips was $1 each.

And the Five Star notebooks were 0.50 cents each.

I saved about $25. Works for me....

Project -- Magnetic Make-up Board

I saw this idea on pinterest.com and I was so excited to make one! It makes finding my make-up much easier. No more digging through the bottom of a drawer. Plus it adds some color and texture to my boring beige apartment walls. 

It's easy to make. You need a picture frame (mine was $4.99), and piece of sheet metal (Mine was $5 from Home Depot - it was a 12x18 though so I had to cut it down with metal clippers), a piece of fabric (I had to get 1/3 of a yard and it was about $1.30) and then you need magnets (Got a huge pack for $0.97 at Walmart). So the total cost was about $12. Not too bad!

Directions: Open up the frame and place your piece of metal with the fabric spray glued on into the frame. Put the cardboard backing onto the frame and close it up. (Do not keep the glass part of the frame on because you lose the magnetic quality of the sheet metal).  Then place magnets on the back of your make-up and stick to the board. Easy peasy.

Yay for organization!

Stepping in, then letting go...

I was recently challenged to focus my writing in on the topic of acceptance. Funny how that topic comes up, when I have just started this new blog that is all about contentment or santosha in Sanskrit. When I started to think about this connection I realized that I couldn't pinpoint a definite distinction between acceptance and contentment.

Contentment, for me, is basically the renunciation of the need to acquire... the letting of that attitude that accumulation of wealth, or stuff, or friends, or whatever will be the answer to all my problems.

Contentment is viewing and interacting with the world from a place of abundance, instead of coming from a place of lack or scarcity. Contentment is being ok with my life as it is right at this very moment.... laundry not done, apartment still "airing out" from the homemade dessert pizza we may or may not have let accidentally caught on fire in the oven tonight ;)... contentment... even in moments of imperfection such as those I just listed. Coming from abundance. I have enough. I do enough. I am enough. For me, that is the essence of contentment.

Acceptance, on the other hand, seems to be more of a conscious act of agreement rather than a underlying desire to let go or renounce. Acceptance seems to mirror holding on, contentment feels more like letting go. It's a weird connection and a confusing one at that.

Now that I think about it, acceptance is stepping into ALL that is uncomfortable about contentment. It's facing that scary emptiness that is begging to be filled with material stuff or people and behaviors that aren't good for you and instead of rushing like a mad woman to fill it or numb it or ignore it.... acceptance is stepping into it. Then comes contentment.. or santosha.. the letting go.

Stepping in then letting go.. acceptance then contentment....  I think that's the perfect combination!

Veggie Can Napkin Holder

This is my craft that I made out of a Busch's beans can that I fixed for dinner tonight. It reads "laugh" and I plan to use it on my dining room table to hold napkins or silverware! I couldn't put them in there for the picture because the paint was still drying. I love it! And it was FREE... yes, zero dollars. I had the paper, glue, ribbon, paint and stickers already. :)

August Projects!

Since moving into my new apartment, I've really been on a "project kick". I'm learning the importance of DIY decor... mainly because it's cheaper, and it's cuter (most of the time!) and I get the satisfaction of knowing I am not throwing impersonal, overpriced decor onto my walls just because that's what you're "supposed" to do. I love how my apartment is taking shape these days and I can't wait for all of my projects this month.

Week 1: Tiled Coasters for the dining room table and living room coffee table (4 each)
Week 2: Magnetic Make-up Board
Week 3: No-sew roman shade curtain for small window in dining room
Week 4: Picture clip frame boards

Let the crafting begin!

Patience and Contentment

Patience and contentment are so intricately tied together for me. I have always been in a hurry. In grade school, my grades suffered because I rushed through tests, always the first one to turn in my test. In middle and high school, I spent all day going from school to cheer practice, to gymnastics practice, to [insert other sport here] practice that I never found time to just rest. I graduated college a year early. And now I'm a 21 year old graduate student. Being in a hurry is *clearly* a recurrent theme in my life if I'm being honest. :)

Patience is so tough because it usually requires a delay of gratification. And generally, when I'm rushing on specific things it's because I'm trying to fulfill some need or want... some void that is empty. Emptiness is painful... it's super freakin' uncomfortable, so of course, I'm in a rush to fill it with something or someone.

Patience requires putting off what would fill that void now, and waiting for the better time. Patience requires sacrificing those warm-fuzzies we get when we do pour "Stuff" (clothes, $5 coffees, something you'll never use but you got it because it was on clearance, you get the point....) into that emptiness. Patience requires trusting that there is a better time than now and owning that.

No wonder patience is so hard!