Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

Photoshoot with Morinda

~ Etc.

I did a shoot for Morinda(a.k.a Tahitian Noni) which they used for posters and marketing materials for their convention back in 2012.  I know it always takes me about 2 years until I’m not as bashful or embarrassed to show you guys my modeling jobs, but I promise I’m trying to be better!

I didn’t tell anyone about it but then my husband’s cousin’s husband(what do you call that?) who works for Morinda went to the convention and was like, “Wait a minute, is that Sarah?” and took these pictures to send to Jay. 

Thanks Cody and Charlene for snapping these pictures!  And below are the images from the shoot.  By Duston Todd from Box on fire.

Raspberry Picking + how to make a 30 min. raspberry jam

~ Etc.

Ruffle sleeve top | Necklace: PaveMaison
I’ve been wanting to make raspberry jam for a long time and we finally went raspberry picking!  It was scorching hot and the raspberries were sparse but I was determined to pick enough to make raspberry jam.  Homemade jam sounds intimidating(at least it did to me) but it’s really easy to make.  You only need 4 ingredients and it takes 30 minutes to make.  I made raspberry jam a couple years ago and followed the instructions to the T but it turned out way, way too sweet.  It asked for 5 1/4 cups sugar but this time I added only 1 1/2 cups and it was just perfect for us.  
Homemade Raspberry Jam 
What You Need

3 cups prepared fruit (buy about 6 cups fully ripe red raspberries)
1 1/2 cup sugar, measured into separate bowl
3/4 cup water
1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin(for less sugar) 

Make It

Rinse clean plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly.
Crush raspberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. (Press half of pulp through a sieve to remove seeds, if desired.) Measure exactly 3 cups crushed raspberries into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.
Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min.or until sugar is almost dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)
Fill containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.

My wishlist for Adi’s bento lunch box

~ Etc.

I am a huge nerd because ever since I was in middle school, I dreamed of making cute little lunches for my kids one day, with sweet little notes I’ll write everyday.  Yeah, who thinks of stuff like that when they’re 12?  Apparently me!  I also envisioned me sitting in the kitchen with healthy snacks made, and waiting for my kids to come home from school so I can ask them about how their day was while they ate their snacks.  Which I plan on doing bytheway!
My daughter is starting 1st grade tomorrow and while I am mad at her that she keeps growing even when she promised me when she was 3 that she would stop growing, a part of me is really excited to make her cute, healthy lunches for her.  Here is my wishlist of things I want to purchase for her lunch.

*While this is not a sponsored post and I’m not getting paid to promote any of the items, some links are affiliated links.

This lunchbox is awesome!  It’s created by a mom of two little boys who couldn’t find the perfect lunch box she wanted.  So she invented this Omiebox, the only bento lunch box that features a built-in vacuum insulated bowl, so you can store hot and cold food all in one lunchbox.  It’ll keep the food hot or cold for 6 hours!  You can take off the insulated bowl to fit a sandwich and other foods.  Check them out on Kickstarter.
Cozy Can

My girls love soda.  If it were me I would NEVER ever let them drink soda, but daddy lets them drink it once in a while.  I love how this Cozy Can looks just like a soda can(but way cuter) but I can put healthy juice like coconut water or water in it.  Even if I put water in it, I don’t think they’ll be disappointed because drinking from this cute can will make it a lot more fun than drinking from a water bottle.

Presentation matters a lot when it comes to food, especially to kids and I know my girls will devour flower shaped carrots or cheese!  
Fun shaped food cutters

I plan on making my daughter a variety of lunches, including fried rice and these will be so cute for it!
I’m sure I’ll find many more cute bento lunch box items, I am sensing an addiction creeping on me slowly.;)  Do you know of any cute lunch box items?  I would love to know!

A personal stylist for a day

~ Etc.

Three years ago after I filmed a segment for Stuio 5, I got an email from Cindy who saw me on the show and told me she loved my work and would love to hire me to refashion her closet.  Then she emailed me again and asked me if I had a dress for sale, the one Shabby Apple was manufacturing at that time because she was attending a luncheon with Michelle Obama and would love to wear my dress.  A short time later, she emailed me with a link to the Fashion Star and told me I should definitely audition for the show.  So basically, Cindy is the sweetest girl who is one of my biggest supporters!  
She contacted me again recently to see if I would be willing to take her on a personal shopping consultation, to put together 3 outfits for her to wear to Who Wants to be a Millionaire in a few weeks.  My mom and my sister in law love taking me shopping with them because I find really cute stuff at a bargain price, but I’ve never officially been hired as a personal stylist!  I was so excited and here are the outfits I had her try on at Banana Republic.  Some of the outfits she was hesitant to try on because she wouldn’t have ever picked it out herself and she gave me weird faces like, “You really think that shirt and the dress will look good together?” but after she tried it on she liked all of them!  We only had 2 hours and I thought we would have time to go to more stores to try on more outfits and styles, but we ended up staying here for 2 hours and we found the perfect outfit for her.
Outfit One:
(minus the shoes 😉
Outfit Two:
Outfit Three:
Outfit Four:

Outfit Five:
Outfit six:
I wish I could take credit for outfit six, but I saw it styled like that on a hanger and instantly fell in love with it.  I showed it to Cindy and she fell in love with it too!  She really wanted to wear the top ensemble with white jeans and since she was in black pants and I was in white jeans, I played mannequin for her and put on the outfit on me to see how the whole outfit would look like.

Do you like it?  Outfit six is what we decided was our favorite.  Which is your favorite?
my outfit: yellow lace peplum top | white jeans: F21 | bag: Brahmin
I told her she should stick to fitted waist and then a dramatic A-line dress with pleats or ruffles, and then cinching it with a belt so it gives that nice curve in the waist to hips ratio. 
Thanks Cindy for letting me be your personal stylist for a day!  I think I found a job that I would love to have one day!