That is where I have been this last month (literally, my last post was on April 28th!)… learning to live simply.

So here are a few snapshots of my month along with some projects/moments/recipes/happy times. Enjoy.

Do you ever wish that you could have less stuff, less to do and more time to enjoy life? Well, I do and I recently realized something…. in order to be content you need to live simply. God has blessed us with so many things in our lives and if you think about each thing that blesses you immensely every time it is a part of your life, it is most likely something very simple.

• Family
• Love
• Creation
• Romance
• Sunshine
• Photos
• Laughter
• Friends
• Spending time with God
• Doing things that you enjoy
• Yummy food

There are so many things that could be on that list… but most of those things are free and quite easily obtained. So that is where my focus has been. My prayer is that I would spend more time with God in His Word and in prayer, spend more time with my family, friends and those in need, keep my activities simple instead of trying to over do things, and get outside!

So in a nutshell the month of May was filled with LOTS of new recipes: Ginger Steak Salad (A+++), Lemon Sugar Cookies (A+) using my new Message in a Cookie cutters from William Sonoma!, No Yeast Pizza Crust (A), Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (A+++) — and that is just 1/4 of the new recipes that I tried out (should be posting some more soon). OH, OH! And I also am happy to announce my brand new baby!!!! My KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer — get ready for some more recipes from scratch, my friends!

May was NOT filled with very much scrapbooking… I have been trying to get things done in our Wedding Book at Tiny Prints| My Canvas so that we can have it printed up by our 4 year anniversary coming up in August. However, I do plan on working on a few Card Sets to get up in my Etsy Shop soon! We shared some special times with our mamas for Mother’s day… Santa Barbara was a beautiful time and I look forward to many visits this summer! Also, our favorite show, LOST, concluded with a lovely series finale — hence the photo above of our “Dharma” soda pops and fruit salad in a pineapple bowl during the show. Let me tell you, it was a beautiful finale… I cried, laughed, screamed (no joke!) and even Garrett admits that he shed a tear! The Thai Chicken Coconut Soup was our dinner during LOST and it was absolutely amazing! Both Gare and I love Thai and this  recipe is definitely going into the recipe box for the future (though that may be awhile considering that the sun decided to come out today and probably wont be leaving any time soon :)

Oh and we cant forget my precious nephew, Levi, who is now 4 months old! I had a chance to have him over for about an hour and just spend some quality time with the cutie until he was worn out and passed out in my arms (yes, I was in heaven…). And that is the sweet image I will leave you all with today… come back soon!