Motivation Monday: God, a Cup of Coffee, & Motivational Quotes

It has already been a crazy Monday morning at the DeWitt's house. We wake up at 4:45 am and when you don't get much sleep that alarm clock almost sounds like your last call. While we both didn't get much sleep last night, we still have aggressive jobs that seek all our attention and a clear mind. So for Motivation Monday I thought I would keep it simple and give you some inspirational quotes to go with your morning coffee. Let's be honest sometimes it takes God, a good cup of coffee, and a few motivational quotes to get us ready for a crazy work week.

I found all these quotes on Pinterest and created a motivational Monday board. Some days I just want to lay in bed and never leave the comfort of it. On those days my motivational board really comes in handy. 

Question of the day: What quote gives you motivation for the start of your work week?

Thoughtful Thursday: Love Language

Today for thoughtful Thursday I thought we would keep the Valentine's Day feel going. Have you heard of the 5 Love Languages? The love language quiz is based off of The 5 Love Languages book that was written by the Christian author Gary Chapman. Now I do highly recommend this for couples, but there are also books to learn your children's love language too. You can find that book here.

Since I do not have children, I can only speak from the point of view of the 5 love languages for the married couple book. We got this book as a wedding present, and it was amazing what we found out about one another. We had been together for five years, before we read this book, and I thought I knew the right way to show my husband my love. I was wrong....way wrong. I was showing him love by doing things that I would want to receive. This book says this is the biggest mistake we can make. Assuming we should give love as we would want to receive it.

After taking the quiz I learned that Chris' love language is acts of service. So this means that he feels loved when I surprise him by folding clothes he forgot to get to. He always gets all excited when I wake up on my off days just to make his breakfast and kiss him goodbye. Now please don't think that Chris didn't like the things I did before. They just didn't jump out to him as much. I loved this book because not only did it give tips on what to do to show your loved one how much you loved them, but it also shows what to avoid. I cannot tell you how much we both learned from this book.

This weeks challenge: Learn your loved one's love language. I will leave the quiz down below. Once you have learned their love language do something for them to show them how much you love them. The quiz is great and informative, but it does not go into depth like the book does. I cannot recommend the book enough. MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE LINK TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE QUIZ. YOU CAN FIND IT HERE.

Question of the day: What is your love language, and do you have the same as your spouse or child? 

Wisdom Wednesday:Jump out of bed

I read this quote and thought wow this person must be really smart, happy, and just have it all together. Now I have no clue what their life consist of. They may actually be all those things, but one thing I do know, is this is a wise quote. This type of mindset has the potential to change how we see mornings, goals, and how we live out our day to day life. 

I know for myself, that it's easy for me to forget that I need to actually LIVE everyday, and not just go through my routine. This quote has inspired me to make a small goal every day that makes me excited about living the one life I have. I wake up Monday-Friday at 4:45, and let me tell you when you are waking up before the sun it is hard to be excited about anything. 

I challenge you to take some time out of your day today, and write out a few goals that you think would make you excited for the day to come. I also challenge you to not only make those goals, but meet them. 

Here are some goals that I have that make me excited, and feel free to take them, add to them, or laugh at them. Some of these goals may be weird to others and that's okay. We all need a good laugh right? 

-Rearrange items in the store. I LOVE when I get inspired to change things up. I will write or sketch out my idea the night before, and it gets me even more excited for the day to come. D and I rearranged yesterday, and I LOVED it. D trusted me to do an arrangement that I think was out of both of our comfort zone. It was exciting, new, and challenging. Everything I want in a goal. 

-Finding new ways to worship God. I make goals to go deeper in my faith. A goal could be as simple as use my new journaling Bible (that I am loving by the way) or to make a goal of showing God's love that day. Some of the hardest goals I set are dedicated to my faith, but they are the most rewarding goals. 

-Having a clean house. I know that most of us myself included want to jump out of the bed to clean. If you do PLEASE tell me your ways!! Anyway, I never get excited about cleaning, I am not a neat freak by nature. I have to push myself. What gets me excited is looking at pictures on Pinterest, knowing how a clean house will ease my anxiety, and how much my husband loves a clean house. Also knowing if someone pops by and my house doesn't look like the next episode of hoarders makes me excited too. 

-Improving my health. Remember me telling you I wake up super early, yeah well I also workout at 5 am. Yeah I know I think there is a screw missing in my head some days too. My goal is to get my health where I want it. I have seen too many loved ones have terrible health problems, and I don't want to go down that road. Heart disease runs in my family. A goal of breaking that cycle really pumps me up. I want to say that I did it. That I proved everyone wrong. that this isn't just a phase, and that I CAN do this for myself. 

Question of the day: What goals would make you want to jump out of bed?

Remember we can make our every day to day routines exciting. It's all about the mindset.

God's Love

Happy Valentine's Day! I know that many people don't look forward to Valentine's Day, so we wanted to turn that around. Love is a beautiful thing, and there is nothing more pure and beautiful than God's love for you. I wanted to take this chance to celebrate the best love I could ever ask for. I made some digital art with some Bible verses that are dedicated to love.

I also wanted to share a blog and her free download for this month. I know we are half way through the month, but this is too amazing not to share. Robin has taking Bible verses that are dedicated to love, and she has made a calendar that has you read a verse a day for the month of February. This is one of the best blogs I have found and you can check it out here! Make sure you head over to her blog so you can download and print out your February Bible journaling calendar! I could spend all day on her blog! 

http://www.biblejournalingdigitally.com/free-february-bible-journal-prompts-calendar/

Question of the day: How are you spending your Valentines Day? No matter what is going on in your life. God's love will never fail you, and will always be there for you to lean on. 

Love you all, 

Ashley 

Motivation Monday: Losing Weight & Meal Prepping

Some of you may know that starting in December I started taking my health more seriously. My work started to really take off, and it was so overwhelming that some days I would eat once a day, and I lived off of coffee and soda. I cannot tell you how awful I felt, and I knew I had to make a change. I started working out 3 days a week, and gradually went up to 6 days a week. The biggest change I made though was meal prepping. I believe that working out and eating healthy go hand in hand, but I saw result quickly when I started eating clean and meal prepping.

DISCLAIMER: I am nervous to do this post. While I have lost a lot of weight since making this change. I am NOT a barbie size girl. I love my body and I love myself enough to want to get healthy. You  have to start somewhere, and I take it a day at a time. I am not a doctor or in the medical field. I suggest talking to your Dr. before making drastic changes to your lifestyle.

Here's the facts about meal prepping, yes it is time consuming but for only ONE DAY. The rest of the week I do no cooking except for oatmeal that takes all of 3 minutes. I cannot tell you how much easier my weeks are since I don't have to worry about what's for dinner. I also save a lot of money, because let's be honest, when I would have a long working day I would order pizza or have Chris stop and get fast food. Not only is that hard on your body but it's also hard on your wallet. Meal prepping is not only helping your health, but it is also helping you save money!

Meal prepping can be stressful when you start. I tried to look up videos, blogs, etc to find tips, but it was beyond time consuming because no post I found really had a road map or guide lines to the process.They just showed pics of the food they made, and while that is great to get recipe ideas from, it leaves you not knowing a lot about the process. So look no farther because I am going to lay it all out for you. Bare with me, because this may be a littler longer post but it will be worth it.

Tip #1 Have a clean kitchen and sink before you start. 

I'll be honest some weekends I will relax or we will go out, and the house suffers. This goes back to the post about dreaming of a clean kitchen. You need to make sure all your containers are clean and your pots and pans are ready to go. It helps if your dishwasher is ready to be loaded up. That way you can clean up as you go. I know this is simple, but when you are starting something new it is easy to get overwhelmed, and let your dishes pile up. If your kitchen and dishes are clean it's going to make the process easier and go quicker. 

Tip #2: Write out a SIMPLE meal plan for the week 

This is where I messed up in the beginning. I wanted to make sure that I didn't get tired of the food so I would try to make all these complicated meals and burn myself out. The easiest thing to do is get a pack of chicken boil half of it, and when it is ready use different spices and sauces to jazz it up. Examples would be Ms. Dash spices, herbs such as basil, rosemary, thyme, pesto, low sugar marinara sauce, hot sauce, etc. 

You can take the other half  of the chicken and throw it on a baking sheet with mixed veggies such as carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, etc with a little olive oil and herbs. I honestly like the veggies with just a little olive oil and sea salt.Then I will put olive oil, a little bit of salt, and Ms Dash southwest seasoning on the chicken. It gives it a ton of flavor and it leaves a wonderful smokey taste on the chicken. Let me tell you it is amazing, and if you use foil on your baking sheet it makes clean up easy. 

Make a big pot of brown rice and measure out 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup of rice into your lunch, dinner, or both containers for the week. This gives your body the complex carbs that it needs. 

BONUS TIP: Don't waste your money on the microwave rice. I used it for the longest time, but it is cheaper and just as easy to make a big pot of rice. 

Microwavable veggies will be your best friend during meal prepping. They are super easy and quick, and on top of that grocery stores normally have great deals on rotation for them so stock up when you can. I also make a big container of fresh veggies cut up for us to snack on. They are a life saver. 

I like to get a big pot and boil eggs. I know that it's simple, but they really make a difference in my meal preps. They make great snacks, and I like to use them for breakfast. I will make a serving of oatmeal and on the side I will have one or two eggs. If I want to make a quick salad I make sure to chop up a few for extra protein. I just put them in a big container and they stay good in the refrigerator for roughly 4 to 5 days. 

We have to workout super early because of Chris' work schedule. When you wake up before the sun sometimes you don't feel like eating much. I will make a BIG fruit salad, and we will eat a little of that before workouts to get the sugar spike to give us energy. 

Tip #3: Take inventory before going to the grocery store. 

You may already have essentials hidden in the pantry that you didn't know about, or frozen chicken that should be used, etc. I cannot tell you how much money I saved once I started taking inventory. I noticed I would stock up on items when they went on sale, and then forget about them. 

Tip #4: Use labels 

If you are making food for you and your spouse the proportions are going to be different. Make it easier on yourself and label whose food is whose. If it's lunch or dinner, and the day it's made for. It just makes it easier to grab and go. 

Example would be: Ashley's Monday Lunch, Chris' Monday Lunch. 

Tip #5: Netflix 

Some days Chris has patient research he needs to do, and can't help with the meal prepping all that much. It doesn't bother me because it gives me time to catch up on my show. I will bring my laptop into the kitchen, and turn Netflix on. I will watch Scandal or Friends. I will also listen to a audio book some days, but I like catching up on shows since I don't get to watch a lot of T.V. throughout the week. It makes the time go by so much faster, and takes away the stressful part of the routine. 

Tip # 6 Don't be hard on yourself. 

Take time to listen to yourself and your body. You have to figure out what works for you and your family. For me, I had to pretty much start out with a "all or nothing" mentality. That is what works for ME. If I go slow into something I never really move or make changes. That's just my personalty. That doesn't mean that will work for you. Take the time to see what works for you. Maybe start out only meal prepping dinners. Starting out with one meal and gradually go to two, and so forth works then go for it! There is no right or wrong way. You are making healthier changes small or big they should be celebrated because you are making HEALTHY CHANGES AND YOU SHOULD BE PROUD.

Question of the day: Would you like to see more recipes and meal plans? Share your go to healthy recipes in the comments below! 

Tips for Decorating & Finding Your Style

Decorating can be overwhelming, Between the trends, all the pretty items in the store, and figuring out your ideal style can be too much. I am speaking from first hand experience, and that explanation will come in a later blog. While at work the other day D and I were talking about tips and tricks that make decorating easier. Between the two of us I believe we have created a decorating road map that will get anyone on the right decorating track.

Tip #1 Make a Pinterest Board.
I know this is obvious, but what might not be as obvious is it's easy to just get caught up in pretty pictures. Before you know it, you have pinned 50 pictures of beautiful homes that you would never truly be inspired by. Just because it's a pretty picture doesn't mean it's your style. Before you hit the pin button ask yourself "would this work for me and my house"? If it does then pin it and if it doesn't skip over it. After a while of pinning you will start to see a pattern and your style will become more distinct. Here are a few pictures from my own board.

Tip #2 Figure out your color scheme.
I had always heard that your color scheme should only consist of 3 colors. When I told D this she laughed, and asked when did I ever start listening to people. It was funny, but I really started to think about it, who made up that rule and why do I feel the need to follow it? D and I both agree that you should do what feels right to you. It's your house after all. I have decided to have lavender, (told you I was obsessed with lavender) blue/grey, different shades of white, and a little bit of green as my color scheme colors.

Tip #3 Start Small
If you only used one of our tips PLEASE use this one. Learn from my mistakes and don't try to throw pictures up on the wall and think that is going to solve all your problems. Yes, when we first got married I had never decorated a house and I was overwhelmed to try to make the house look nice for our visitors. I had a home that had no color scheme, no distinct style, and looked like I made a quick run to the local craft store and just bought whatever I saw (and yes that is exactly what I did).
Go around your house and try to start with a small room that has easy fixes. If yous start small you aren't going to be overwhelmed, and it's going to be cheaper. For me this is going to be my dining room.



Tip #4 Have a Game Plan
Now you have your Pinterest board, your colors, and you know the room you are going to start with. Now it is time to start shopping! This is the fun part, but it can go sideways fast. You can get too excited and start buying items you do not need, and your wasting money. Before you go to the store write down the items you should get or take some screen shots of the specific items you need for the ONE room you are working on. It is easy to see a pretty item that may look great in a room you haven't started on. Before you know it you are trying to work on two rooms, three, four, and then your entire house at once. It gets overwhelming and you start buying items you will never use. Learn from my mistakes!


Tip #5: Have Fun! 
This is a great way to get creative, express yourself, and have fun! Don't let this stress you out. Find inspiration, in shows, magazines, friends, etc. This isn't a test where you pass or fail. This should be a fun experiment.

Question of the day: What tips do you have for others on decorating, or what are the hardest obstacles you have encountered while decorating and finding your decor style? Leave you answers in the comments below.

Have a blessed day, 

Ashley 

Friday Favorites

This week has been a fun but busy week. The store sold out of bath bombs. We put them out to just see how they would do they sold quick, and people are asking for more. I spent Wednesday night making our bath bombs.

While I was making them, I had to have some sort of distraction so I turned to listening to a book on Audible, and I chose By Your Side by Kasie West, and it was ADORABLE!!!!!! It's about a popular girl and the school's "bad boy" getting stuck in a library for the weekend. It had everything from a magical weekend in a library to snowy romantic nights! It was the cutest book I have read in a long time, and perfect to get your ready for Valentine's Day.

Bath & Body Works came out with a new line of body butters, lotions, and shower gels. I wanted to try them, and since they are on sale this week I thought I would give them a go. At first I thought the lavender would be my favorite because I am obsessed with lavender ANYTHING, but surprisingly my favorite body butter turned out to be the wild-berry and chamomile.

I am so in love with this night time tea chamomile with lavender is such a relaxing tea. I add a little bit of honey and lemon to my tea, and it is beyond words how soothing it is. On a cold night this tea will soothe all my stress away.

My favorite Bible quote this month is: Psalm 62:4. I am learning that there is no better rest then the rest you find in your faith and God.

Question of the day: What are some of you favorites this week? It can be anything from a beauty product, to a moment in time this week that made your week even better. Leave you favorites in the comments below. Have a great weekend! 

Thoughtful Thursday Challenge #1

Isn't the picture above beautiful? I found a link to the Shop that makes this print for a great price. You can find the shop here.

We are called to help one another, and at times it can be hard to remember that. When I started this blog The Bunny family really wanted to figure out a way for this community to lean on one another, and to come together to help those less fortunate. So on Thursdays I will be sharing ways that I am trying to show God's love, and encourage you to do the same. 

The weather here has been crazy to say the least. One day it feels like spring, and the next schools are canceled for snow. 

This bad weather can be scary for people who can't get out to get the groceries they may need. On top of the that this kind of weather gets a lot of people sick, and who feels like cooking when they are sick? 

This Week's Challenge: Get essentials at the store for a neighbor, elderly couple, etc. Or make them a dinner they can enjoy.

I decided to make a big pot of homemade chicken soup and deliver it to an elderly couple that I knew couldn't get out in this weather. I also called a lady that lost her husband a couple of years ago and ask if I could get her some supplies from the store since I would be out. Even if they do not take up your offer, just knowing that there are people thinking of them can truly make a difference. 

Let me know if you did this week's challenge or put your own twist on it. I would love to hear about all the love in the world, and how you are choosing to show God's light. Please leave your comments down below =) 

Wisdom Wednesday: Chasing Dreams

Wisdom Wednesday is a new feature that encourages us to think on a deeper level. To take time out of the day to push ourselves to always try to improve on yesterday.

We all have dreams. Some dreams are small others are so big they seem to carry a life of their own. I find inspiration in my dreams, and I find determination and motivation to make those dreams come true. I saw this quote and it inspired me to share it with you all, and to be your own personal cheerleader. I want to encourage you to chase those dreams both big and small.

Here's the part about dreams that no one tells you about, they are scary. My dreams seem to forget that I am a fearful person, but then I see a quote like this and it brings me the motivation I need. Can you imagine how afraid Walt Disney had to be 90% of the time? What if he wouldn't have chased his dreams? Disney pushed through the anxiety, doubt, and fear we all get when we decide to chase a dream and he made his dreams come true.

I have dreams to be a successful business woman.....I also have a dream to always keep my kitchen clean. Some days I feel like keeping a clean kitchen is one of my hardest dreams (no joke I take messy to the next level). Whatever your dreams are I encourage you to think about them this week, and to think of ways to pursue them.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What are some of your dreams? Leave your answers in the comments below, and we can help motivate and encourage one another to chase those dreams. 

Lazy Girl's Guide To Decorating: Valentine's Day Edition

If you are like me aka a lazy decorator, your inner Martha Stewart only comes out to play during Christmas. The other holidays may get a wreath or flag dedicated to that holiday, and that's about it. The last few years I have wanted to decorate more, but never fear friends I am still a lazy decorator at heart. So here are my tips for my fellow lazy girls who want to have the cute decorations with minimum time and money spent. 

1. Bandannas are your best friend.  They can be used as napkins for your Valentine's decor, AND you can reuse them for other holidays and parties. 

2. Use colors that you can keep out for spring. Red and pink are colors that go hand in hand with not only Valentine's Day, but spring as well. Use fake flowers that you can leave out for spring and summer decor. I would recommend tulips, but any flower will work. 

3. Red Christmas Ornaments. You can put those red ornaments in a vase and use it as your center piece for your dinning table. 

5. If you are southern, than you probably have a mason jar around. It just comes with the territory. Take red or pin ribbon and tie it around the mason jar, and make a cute bow in the center. You can add a battery operated candle inside the jar if you wanted. 

6.If you want to "splurge" I would suggest buying fake food. Yup you read that right. The picture above shows just how cute fake food items can make a dinning table or a kitchen island. It really makes the table decor above come together. Trust me. We do have these items for sale at The Burlap Bunny. 

7. My best tip is to decorate your dinning table. It really makes a statement. Place mats truly add a great touch to your table and I cannot recommenced them enough! If you add place mats, cute plates,some napkins, and a cute center piece your dinning room is going to look more put together. Bonus if you're like my husband and me you're going to eat in the living room (just keeping it real) which means you won't have to move any items on your dinning table and it will stay pretty, and you won't have to put anything back! That is a true win for the lazy decorator. 

I hope you like this post, and if you want more lazy girl guides please feel free to leave a comment and let me know =) what are some of your favorite decorating tips? Leave them in the comments below. I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has come in to the store and told us how much you enjoyed my last post. It truly means the world to me!! 

What We're Really About

Embed from Getty Images

Sitting here with my morning coffee I thought to myself that I would write a post explaining The Burlap Bunny, and hoping that I could show you the reader how amazing The Burlap Bunny is, but I kept drawing a blank. My heart just wasn't into writing something that sounded like a business pitch. Yes, we are a small local store that has antiques, jewelry, boutique clothing, and much more, but I wouldn't say that is what we are exactly. The Burlap Bunny is somewhere you can go to escape from the day to day stress. When I first started helping at the store, I was told to keep the store clean, calm, and collected. The store was sometimes the only relaxing time people get, and that we strive to help them have their "retail therapy" time. The owners, D and Danny, always take the extra mile to make The Burlap Bunny more than just "a store". They put hard work into the small details. For a sweet example, D and her mother bake homemade goodies for the store often. Everything that is offered for you to snack on while you stroll the aisles of The Burlap Bunny is all homemade goodies. We make sure you have your coffee, apple cider, fudge, crackers, and more. 

Nothing feels better than when we get customers that come in and find something they didn't even know was missing from their lives. We have had people come in and buy an antique that makes their day because it reminds them of a loved one. We have people come in all excited because they don't have to drive an hour to find amazing and unique home decor that is almost identical to the item they saw on their favorite home decorating show. They find chic outfits to make them stand out and feel confident, and find the perfect accessory that goes with everything. See our store is different because we not only strive for good quality items, and while that is important, we strive to always be the type of people you need at any give time. 

Some days the store is people's retail therapy. Other days we are a shoulder to cry on. See in a small town we learn fast growing up that it is okay to lean on others' kindness. Some days we hear about people's hard times because they need to just let it out. We tell our customers we are praying for them through their hard times. D almost always has a Bible verse that comes to mind that seems to always be what the person needs to hear. It's truly amazing to witness. We try to always remember you by name, and we ask if things are better when you come back. We rejoice with our customers when they are having a good day, and we try to lift you up when you're not. We find success in being more than just "sales people". We strive to be the good southern Christian, down to earth people we were raised to be. What makes us feel like we hit the jackpot isn't the amount of money we make in a day. No, that money only tells us that we get to do what we love another day, and that is being our customer's cheerleader's, a listening ear, a hard working small business that strives on serving others.

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