My View Today

O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. Psalm 104:24

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love St. Patrick's Day.

Maybe because I'm Irish.

It's the day I can be proud of my frizzy red hair. : )

On another note:

We made it to Colorado safe and sound.

The weather is absolutely perfect.

Warm and sunny.

We spent the day in Boulder, shopping, dining and driving through the mountains.

Such a beautiful day.

Here is where I'm going today....

Mr. Free and I along with 2 of our best friends are heading west to help lead a Youth Retreat in Denver.

It's been 2 years since Mr. Free and I last were there, and it is such a beautiful state.

(These pics are from our last trip!)

Please pray for all 4 of us, that we have safe travel, have a good time of fellowship, and help touch the lives of some teenagers while we are at it. : )

I'll be sure to update as best as I can while I'm gone.

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers!!!

xoxo Mr. and Mrs. Free

DIY Canvas Drop Cloth Roman Shades

Ok....as I 've said previously, we desperately needed new window coverings for our big front windows.

Yet....$$$$ is tight.

Enter my genius idea. Haha.

I married this idea with this idea. And together, it looks great.

Click here for the 'Before'.

Mr. Free and I loved the idea of using canvas drop cloths for material.

We also had old crappy blinds.

Perfect.

So.... we pretty much followed Little Green Notebook's instructions for the roman shades, but with a few tweaks.

No. 1- We used hot glue. We tried fabric glue, but it wasn't holding together well. Hot glue did much better and didn't show through.

No. 2- The instructions also said to take the bottom piece off the blinds and slide off the blinds you didn't need. Well...our bottom piece of blinds wouldn't come off, so we just broke the blinds and took them off that way.

All in all, it took us about 3 hours for both shades. The first one took a lot longer than the second, since we were learning as we went.

Here are some pics of the process:

Cut out these bad boys:

The DIY-Showoff is featuring a DIY Project Parade today, so it was perfect timing to share this easy, affordable project!

It's my first time to submit something!

Thanks Roeschel for hosting!!!

Be sure to check it out to see even more DIY inspiration!

I've also submitted it here, here, here, and here.

OK Readers....what do you think???

Blanc Burgers: Eat Local

Blanc Burgers + Bottles

This is where Mr. Free and I celebrated his birthday last night, along with his best friend (of the many, many best friends he has!)

I was very excited to visit this restaurant because as you well know, Mr. Free and I are trying to support local food as much as we can afford. Blanc supports many local businesses by using their products for their food. Love that.

This place is pricey...the quality is amazing.

Here's what we ordered:

Seriously, the flavor was amazing. And the burgers were HUGE! (1/2 pound!)

I took most of it home, and look forward to it for dinner tonight! : )

Mr. Free ordered the 'Classic', I ordered the 'Inside Out' (stuffed with Blue cheese, topped with bacon and onion ring)

All burgers have their homemade ketchup and pickle.

We also ordered a side of Truffle fries (seriously amazing...oh the flavor!) and their onion rings.

Very good.

And of course...we had to order milkshakes. We both got chocolate. Made with local Shatto Chocolate milk and Foo frozen custard.

Amazingly rich.

I loved their decor too. Very modern and minimal. Loved it.

I even snuck into the bathroom with my camera to take a picture of their amazing wall paper.

I loved it.

All in all, we will definitely go back for another special occasion. Word on the street is that they are opening one in Lee' s Summit next month called B:2, which will feature smaller burgers at a more affordable price.

Nice.

Houzzin' Around...

If you need some design inspiration, have I got a site for you!

Houzz

This site is amazing and has such inspirational pictures!

Even better, you can create your own Ideabook to refer to for your own projects and rooms at home!

Here's some of my favorites:

eclectic home office design

eclectic living room design by los angeles interior designer maison21

eclectic bedroom design

eclectic bedroom design by seattle interior designer Janell Beals

traditional home office design

To check out my ideabook, click here.

This is the start of my Spring Break.

I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxed weekend!

xoxo Jenny Free

Happy Birthday Mr. Free!!!

It's your Jack Bauer birthday.

24

I hope it's the best birthday ever!

Tonight we are going here for dinner.

I am very excited.

Mr. Free loves his burgers.

Happy birthday babe.... I am so happy and proud to be your wife!!!

xoxo Jenny

Ocean Water.

Have you ever had an Ocean Water from Sonic?

You really must.

I've had one before, and it was disgusting. That Sonic's recipe was watered-down blue Powerade with ice. Not cool.

The real recipe? Sprite with Blue Coconut syrup. So good.

Today I had a free route 44 coupon for completing a survey, so treated myself to a yummy Ocean Water.


Each sip makes me think of cruising on the Atlantic. Oh, a girl can dream.



***My frugal tip of the day, do those surveys on your receipts people! Free is free!

The gift of hospitality.

hos·pi·tal·i·ty   
–noun,plural-ties.
1.the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers.
2.the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.

We live in a selfish world. A selfish culture. And I, Mrs. Free, am the Queen Bee of selfishness.

I am lucky to be married to a man who is incredibly thoughtful of others.

He reminded me the other day about the minsitry and hospitality of providing meals for those who could use some cheering up.



No, this is NOT a new concept by any means. But we twenty-somethings often only think of providing meals when maybe a new baby is born, or a death in the family.

People are struggling with all sorts of things daily. And an out-of-the-blue home cooked meal may be just what they need. To feed their spirit.

Mr. Free and I were able to bless others with this hopsitality this week and it was such a blessing to us! To be able to show others we care, and for a moment, put ourselves on the back burner.

I enjoy cooking and would like to continue to bless others through this ministry. Whether by opening our own home for a nice meal, or making a supper and bringing it to someone who could use it.
I'm sure many of my readers out there have done this for years.

Please share your favorite freezer-proof meal! So far I only have a few recipes and would love to add to my repetoire!

Amy Butler inspired home office

Ok...I created another mood board. For a home office.



I LOVE this Amy Butler fabric, and thought the wall behind the desk would look amazing covered in it. The rest of the room would be painted that icy blue.

I obviously have an obsession with Parsons desks and spine bookcases....

I really, really love the beautiful potential of home offices. I actually kind of have one...and it looks NOTHING like my mood boards. It is a hodge podge of hand-me-down furniture and pet toys. Haha.

A girl can dream....

If you want to see where pieces are from, click here!

Ok....what do you think? Like it better than the 'bright and cheery' home office?
I'd love your thoughts!!!!