by jenn_davis | featured guests
We are so happy to introduce everyone to Stella! She will be guest blogging on Sunny Slide Up weekly for a while with us! Stella and I have been friends for several years and I can’t wait for you all to learn more about her amazing life! xoxo-jenn
Stella French
Stella was born in Germany, brewed in the South. An avid, gypset traveler, she spent 2012 traveling crosscountry with her two adventure sidekicks: fiancé, Burton, and 15 year old Miss Luna. #woof
She works remotely for an international travel start-up based out of San Francisco. Technophiles, this spunky couple are true road warriors who enjoy working remotely. This winter, they are settled on teeny beach island off the coast of Wilmington, North Carolina. Happy to have a temporary HQ with an amazing kitchen, Stella revels in scouring Pinterest for recipes and whipping up creative, quick pescetarian versions. Give her 45 minutes and she’ll tantalize your tastebuds! Find her online via Svetlana Minx.
She will be sharing some of her favorite recipes with us as well as some useful bridal tips, as she is currently planning her own castle wedding!
Follow Stella on Instagram – @svetlanaminx
Follow Stella on Twitter – @svetlanaminx
by Mandi | creative tips, diy
I love playing cards.
I am the first to volunteer to play a good game of Rummy, Rook, UNO, Speed, etc. You name it, I’ll play it! On my mom’s side of the family, every Thanksgiving and Christmas get-together ends in a game of Rook and on my dad’s side – you better come ready to play UNO!
When I started dating The Mister I was SO happy to find out that he loves a good game of cards. Many nights we have a card and wine night. The two of us grab some wine and sit around for hours playing cards.
When Valentines Day came around this year I wanted to do something special for The Mister with cards, but I wasn’t sure what to do until I realized that I could go online and make him a custom set of cards…. for around $10 (including shipping). I was SOLD!!! I used printers studio. It was a simple/quick process and the cards showed up about a week later in their own plastic case. I will use this again. You could do this for SO many occasions and there is no minimum order.
For The Mister I did a simple design with his last name. It was so easy that I wanted to create a few free card backgrounds for you to download and use as your own! With the pantone color of the year being Emerald Green, I decided to go that route for my designs!
Here is a look at all of the designs. These are designed for the Poker Size Cards – 2.5″ x 3.5″ design. You can download the full sizes below!
Here are a few that are just for fun! I love all of the random things you say during a normal game of cards! Use one or all four below on your custom deck of cards!
Click on the thumbnails below for the full size images to download!
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below and I’ll answer the best I can!
by jenn_davis | sunny slide up
Several years ago my father was diagnosed with cancer. It’s not something that I talk a great deal about because despite the fact that he has been in remission, it is still a very painful part of my life to revisit. He is healthy and happy and my family and I feel very blessed to still have him here with us.
Often times I get asked about my veganism and the motivation behind it. I would have to say that my fathers illness played a significant role in my “healthy” lifestyle. You will notice that I put the word healthy in quotations. This was intentional as it continues to be a work in progress.
I had been vegetarian for several years before deciding to go vegan. Food research led me to find the numerous links of processed foods to cancer. Even though I was not a meat eater, the dairy (in obscene amounts) I was consuming was just as dangerous. I cleaned up my act and cleaned out my fridge. I wish I could say that I eat only organic and absolutely no processed food whatsoever. I can’t. Here’s the thing (and this is a reoccurring theme in my life), I do the best I can. If the ‘best I can’ means that I zap a boca burger in the microwave while I try to cook my son dinner, do laundry, pay bills, house hunt and plan a baby shower for a friend…then so be it. I will put an avocado on it and possibly toss it in a hamburger bun (that I don’t necessarily check to see if contains traces of dairy). I have also been known to tear up a bean burrito from Taco Bell (minus the cheese).
I’m a busy vegan….judge away.
When I got pregnant with my son I began to research a little further. Not only did I want to know about healthy foods, but I wanted to know what chemicals I should be avoiding.
This is where things really got messy……what I have been struggling to let go of for the past few years.
Shampoo and conditioner. I honestly loved my expensive bottles that would leave my hair feeling and smelling amazing. I LOVED them. Then one day after researching sulfates and parabens, I decided to check the ingredients in my beloved bottles of hair care. Devastation ensued (that may be a tad dramatic, but you get the point). After confirming their ingredients, I couldn’t bring myself to ever use them again.
Over the years the same thing has taken place with my body lotion, soap, cleaning supplies, and more recently my moisturizers. I have been living in denial when it comes to my cosmetics. I don’t even want to look because I know it will be the end of some long and faithful relationships. I do the best I can.
Now here I sit writing this and it’s time I call myself out. The fact that I state that I ‘do the best I can’, yet I openly admit there is much room for improvement, means one thing really….I am lazy. I also seriously doubt that I am alone in this. I need to care more about my health than I do looking young. These products may leave me appearing youthful, but only because I will die at an early age from using them (again, dramatic. I know.).
I am a work in progress but I know that as long as I keep my focus on the health of my family, I am headed in the right direction!
Shampoo & Conditioner // Body wash & lotion // Cocoa butter // Deodorant //Coconut Oil
I would love to hear any of your favorite natural products!
