Tag Archives: crafts

Three Months Hungry

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My first pancreatitis attack happened on August 13th. It’s now November 14th. That’s three hospital stays in the books, about 100 pounds in fluctuated weight, an incredible amount of pain medication down, a stent placed into my pancreas, two months behind on my chemo regimen and three months in the past of simply not eating or not eating the foods I want to eat. In fact, right now, I’m unable to eat anything but “clears” for the next two weeks (clears = broth, apple juice, jello, water). It sounds unenjoyable but not the end of the world, right? I would have guessed that too but not being able to eat is more than that. I’m having such a hard time with it because it’s something that I enjoy doing so much. I enjoy cooking it, I enjoy snacking on it, I enjoy going out to restaurants with my boyfriend and friends, and I enjoy eating it! Food was one of the last things that not much had changed since my diagnosis. And I so revelled in that. So the fact that it got taken away from me just seems unfair. Now, instead of eating, I have a feeding tube that I attach to every night for 14 hours. Not exactly a pasta dinner.

In general, these past few months have left me really down. I’ve been in the hospital 45 days of the three months which is nothing short of miserable. Being in the hospital is a mind game. It’s draining and sad. You become like a hamster. For the majority of the time you’re kept in your little cage where people are constantly coming in and out to either visit, poke you with something or give you medication to take. The latter is my favorite as it hopefully will make me sleepy and I can dose off to kill an hour or two. If I’m being honest, sleeping has become one of my favorite things to do in these past few months because it takes me away from everything. I know that doesn’t sound very inspirational but it’s the truth. Trying to stay positive and keep my spirits up has proven to be harder recently than it had been in the past. I think it’s a combination of this big bump in the road I’ve had (aka pancreatitis) and also the sense that I’ve been at this for almost 9 months now and I still have so much further to go. Today, however, my mom and I are staying in our pajamas all day since it might snow and making Christmas crafts for the holidays. It should be fun and I’m grateful to be out of the hospital and doing something I enjoy… crafts! Now, if I can just get to eating by Thanksgiving, I’ll be making positivity strides all over the place.
Much love for listening to me vent… I had to get this one out.
XOXO,
Jessy
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Washi Tape: my new obsession!

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Some of the perks of managing your brands Pinterest is staying up-to-speed on all the newest and cutest DIY’s. Washi tape is a new discovery for me and one that I’m totally in love with. It’s cheap, so simple and can be used in a wide variety of different crafts/tasks.

Here are some pics of the ways I’ve used the stuff so far!

– I often find candles that I love the smell but I hate the packaging. In this case, I found a candle on sale and removed the packaging and wrapped with washi tape that looks like markings from an old book. Since I was able to pick it out myself, it matches the decor in my living room perfectly! 🙂

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Here I found two decorative letters ($3/each at A.C. Moore) that will go on a small wall in my bedroom. I wanted to spruce it up more than just white, so I bought some washi tape that has black and white music notes on it and wrapped it around the letters in a chevron print.

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When hosting a party, find some washi tape that fits the theme of your party (or a pattern you just love!) and put small strips on wine glasses, beer mugs, mason jars– whatever you have out for drinkware. Leave out a few black markers with the glasses and guests can add their names to their glasses. No one mixes up drinks and it looks super cute– win win!

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Lastly, another entertaining tip is to make little flags to add some flare to your cocktails. Just fold the tape around a stick or straw and cut the ends like a ‘V.’ In this case, I used red, white and blue themed tape so I can bring it to an upcoming 4th of July party! They’re kind of like wine charms…but better! 😉

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Enjoy using washi– god knows I do! 🙂

xoxo

-Jess

 

 

Super Easy DIY Project

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On Sunday’s, after a delicious bloody mary, there’s not much I like more than lounging and doing some arts and crafts or ‘around-the-house’ projects.  Yesterday, I made a fancy schmancy dry erase board for the kitchen. Here are the easy steps:

–          Buy or recycle a medium size frame that matches the décor in your home

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–          Replace parchment with a solid background. I used burlap paper to give it a rustic, new country feel

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–          Find yourself some dry erase markers and you’ve just finished the D-I-Y

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It’s that simple! Took about 3 minutes and it looks great on the wall and it can be used for so many different things! Grocery lists, dinner menus, to-do lists, weekly schedules, inspirational quotes, or even love notes (that’s my favorite!)

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-Ta ta for now love bugs!