Light and refreshing: Summer Fruit Salad

 Doesn't that look delicious?!
If not for this fruit salad, I'd still be going through life thinking of fruit salad as grapes, crushed pineapple with tons of juice, bananas, and marshmallows...you know, the fruit salad you'd find at a hot, summer family reunion. Thus, I'd tell you that NO, I did not like fruit salad!
BUT!
This one is so fresh, colorful and tasty, I feel the need to tell you about it! I wanted to share it because I know many of you are into health and fitness and trying to eat well (most of the time...there's always a time for a delicious chocolate cake or something)!

You will need the following:

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Pineapple
  (There were no fresh pineapples & this was probably easier anyway)

Wanna know a secret?

When shopping for these ingredients...I realized I had NO IDEA what I was looking for in a mango. I was too embarrassed to ask so I just walked around till I found it! ha

Also, if you aren't sure how to peel a kiwi (I wasn't), this is an excellent demo:

Now, this is super simple -- just wash and chop up all your fruits (except blueberries) to the size you most prefer, mix together, and chill. SO EASY! 

It's worth noting...I only used one kiwi, but I think next time I will use two. I will also use a little less mango. You can vary the amount of the fruits based on your personal preferences!

You can eat the fruit as is, or you can make yourself a little parfait, like I did.

I used two big tablespoons of Chobani on top of the fruit, and 1/8 of a cup of the granola. Based on the ingredients I entered on MyFitnessPal, I estimate this little cup (above) was ~160 calories.

In the spirit of honesty, I cannot take full credit for this recipe. The first time I had this fruit salad was following a BarreAmped class, when one of our clients (Brigitte Nguyen) brought this in for us as a quick, healthy snack. She added a delicious homemade coconut granola, but I have yet to make that.

If you make this yummy fruit salad, I hope you love it!
I have a feeling it will become a summer staple in my house!
 

DIY: Chevron Table Runner -- Saw It. Pinned It. Did It

Welcome back to the blogging world, Saw It Pinned It Did It! :) So this week's SPD project has actually been complete for awhile, which you know if you follow me on Instagram. And it is super easy so I don't have pictures of the process, really.

This pin was my inspiration:

original pin

After seeing some gray chevron fabric at Hobby Lobby, I decided I wanted to make something for my table. I have a sewing machine so I should be able to figure this out, right? Let's just say I won't be a professional seamstress anytime soon.

I had to google how to properly load the thread onto my sewing machine. It had been QUITE awhile...

 I purchased 2 yards of fabric. You may not need that much, but I did not know how to properly determine the amount needed and didn't bother to figure it out before I went to the store. Oops. I also purchased some grey thread for my top-stitch

I don't have my actual measurements, and yours might be different anyway. It all depends on the width and length of your table, and the size of your desired table runner!

I determined the width by first measuring the round placemat I typically use in the center of my table. I added an inch to either side to get the width of fabric I needed to cut. Once cut, I folded the long edges in about 1/4 of an inch, ironed them flat, and pinned. Then I sewed it in place. 

On a roll, I quickly pinned and ironed the short edges, and sewed those in place. In my excitement I failed to cut any of the fabric from the ends...whoops. When I laid the table runner on my table, I realized it was way too long. The people sitting in the chairs would have had a built in napkin for their lap! (Nancy J says she likes when I admit my Pinterest fails and mess ups, haha)

So I cut a chunk of fabric from one of the ends...sewed the ragged edge and called it good!

I still had fabric left to use, so I decided to make a miniature runner for the table/plant stand you see in the corner. The table is an antique, and belonged to my great-grandmother Mary. My mom had it for many years before giving it to me. I wanted to cover the table so it didn't get damaged. I should have made the small one first, for sewing practice, because the lines on it are MUCH straighter than the big runner. I hope no one inspects it closely.

Probably the fastest, and easiest, SPD project yet. Cheap, too! :)

  Now that SPD is back, don't forget to link up with Stephanie and Katie
to show us what you did this week!

DIY: Crate & Barrel Wall Hangings -- Saw It. Pinned It. Did It.

In February, I went to California for a work trip. At my hotel, I saw these prints, which I posted on Instagram hoping to glean some information!

I got exactly what I was looking for when "megspow" told me they were from Crate and Barrel. But with them being 3 years old, I'd either never find them, or they'd be a bajillion dollars.

So naturally I took to google, and found this, which I promptly pinned. I was going to make these bad boys!

original pin: source

I have a very big, very blank wall in my living room. For the past three years, I've been trying to find the "right" thing for the wall. See below. And please ignore the "lived in look." The squares on the wall are me trying to "envision" if this was going to work. Neither of us were really satisfied...

...so I changed my original plan a little and got to work.

 You will need the following:

• 12 x 12 x 2 board, cut into 8 squares. The squares are more like 11 1/8 inches, because the wood shrunk. (At least that's what the guy told me...but he cut them into squares with equal sides) If you can find a shorter board, that's great, but I couldn't. This was about $14 at Lowe's.
• Sandpaper. Free from TJ :)
• Paint for your squares. I chose a dark brown color (appx $10)
• Mod Podge or some other adhesive ($4)
• Some type of glaze. I chose Valspar tinted glaze (appx $10)
• Paper trimmer or scissors (and a really steady hand).
• Picture hangers (appx $8 for 10)
• Square Decals. I chose these, which are 11x11 and why I needed the trimmer. ($22)
  If I'd looked harder, I would have found these, which are 10.5 x 10.5 and included 9. If you don't like the geometric look, they have several others: venetian look, vintage butterflies, or any of these :)  (I actually might buy the venetian looking ones, for when I tire of the geometric look!)

If you have a lot of patience and don't wish to buy the decals, you can probably achieve the same look using various paint colors and painters tape. I am not that patient though.

 1 - After sanding the edges and surfaces, paint your squares. Choose whatever color you want!
2 - Apply the decals. Attempt to put them on as straight as possible. They are not very sticky. After you've got them laid, lift up one edge at a time and brush on some mod podge to help them stick to the wood. Be sure to completely smooth the decals back down on the wood to avoid any air bubbles or wrinkles. Go over the edges too. Allow them to dry.
After they've dried,  apply mod podge to the top. Do not do what I did and brush it on because it is streaky (see photo!) Instead, bunch up a paper towel and "blot" the glue on. Use a really light hand! Too much will cause bubbling after they've dried.
3 - After the glue is dry, do your "finishing" technique. I guess this step is not absolutely necessary, but I didn't like the stark white background of the decals. Again, I used a bunched up paper towel to blot the glaze on to avoid streaks. It is darker in some places than others and that's okay. I barely used any glaze.

The next step is to add your picture hangers to the back. I don't have a picture of this step, but I placed them about one inch down and in the center of the squares. Thankfully, I'd left the squares of cardstock on the wall, so I measured this same spot on them and used it to get my nail started. This technique worked pretty well because I only ended up with one extra hole in the wall. If that doesn't work for you, try Stephanie's toothpaste trick.

This is my final result:

Total DIY Cost: About $68
The mirror is what I meant when I said I "changed my original plan a bit." TJ and I both felt like the 8 squares alone would still be a little overwhelmed by the size of the wall, so I found the mirror and decided to add it to the mix. It is available on Overstock, and shipped quickly.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the final outcome! This was the most expensive DIY I'd ever taken on, so I was really nervous and tried to take my time. A few notes...

• I mentioned the decals might bubble up. This DID happen to me. However, I pulled them up enough to smooth out the bubbling, and smoothed them back down and brushed a tiny bit of glue around the edges. I am somewhat concerned this might be an ongoing problem... :-/
• The first batch of decals I ordered from Lot 26 had damage to three of the squares. I contacted them, and they sent a replacement set, no questions asked. YAY for awesome customer service! This delayed me on the project because I had to wait, but that's okay. It turned out in the end!

Don't forget to link up with Stephanie and Katie to show us what you did this week!