It has been COLD this winter here in the Midwest! I'm talking record breaking low temperatures, and it seems like the colder it gets the more I'm craving anything and everything that would help to stave away the chill - especially hot soups! I've found that I've been pinning soup recipes daily... so I decided I would share some of the recipes I'm itching to make.

Western Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

Creamy Potato and Ham Soup

Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup

Lasagna Soup

Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup

Crock Pot Cheesy Vegetable Soup

Roasted Tomato Soup with Goat Cheese

Cheesy Pepper Jack Potato Chowder

What soup recipes do you like to make during the winter? I would love to hear your favorites!

Washi Tape Blowout Sale

Did you know I have an Etsy shop? Well, I do! It's called Bahana Splits Boutique. I sell baker's twine, washi tape, party supplies, handmade gift tags, and more. I just finished doing a small inventory and came to the realization that I have WAY too much washi tape in stock. It's seriously out of control so I'm going to do something I've never done before in order to reduce that inventory overage. For a limited time EVERY ROLL of washi tape is BUY 1 GET 1 FREE! 

Bahana Splits Boutique

This is how it works... if you purchase two rolls of tape, I'll refund the price of one roll (including shipping). If you buy twenty, I'll refund the price of ten, and there is no limit to how many B1G1 washi tapes you purchase! Make sense? If not, please do comment with questions! Oh, and this deal includes every roll of washi tape in my shop... not just the rolls pictured above.
Happy shopping! 

Things I'm Loving Thursday : DIY Winter Decor

It's been awhile since I wrote a "Things I'm Loving Thursday", you guys! I've missed it! This week I'm obsessing over winter inspired DIY home decor. I'm really into the natural rustic look this season... neutral colors with touches of greenery are kind of my favorite. So without further ado... here are a few of my current DIY winter decor crushes!

DIY PAPER SNOWFLAKES

DIY SWEATER PILLOW

DIY TINSEL WREATH

DIY WINTER TERRARIUM

DIY PINECONE WREATH

DIY PAINTED LOG CANDLE HOLDERS

DIY TUFTED WOOL WREATH

In Everything Give Thanks

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>>> If you are new to Lovely Little Life and haven't read my story you may want to start HERE to get a little background on me and my journey before reading this post. <<<
To all my readers, 
The same is true of this post as is always when I talk about infertility. I have chosen to share this part of my life not to complain or gain pity, but rather as an attempt to be an encouragement to others who may be going through something similar or for that matter anyone going through trials. My ultimate goal is just to give the glory to God, and try let him use me during this time of testing. Thank you so much for visiting! I sincerely pray this blog is a blessing to everyone who reads it!
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The Sunday before this past Thanksgiving our pastor opened the Bible to I Thessalonians 5:18. It's a verse I've heard at least a hundred times... it says "In everything give thanks." Our pastor started to talk about how the everything in this verse literally means everything... including trials & hardships in our lives. I had been going through the worst trial of my life for the last 16 months, and by God's grace I had finally made it to the point where I was thankful for it. Every word he said made sense to me. I was at peace with the fact that my life was going nothing like I planned, but that God was in control. During the invitation I bowed and prayed this prayer. "God, thank you for the past year and a half. I know you're in control and that you're doing what's best for me. No matter what happens I am going to be thankful. Whether you give us a baby or not, I will trust you." The next part of my prayer was even more specific. "God, if I am pregnant right now please take care of my baby. Please let me carry it full term. Please don't let me lose it, but God, if I AM pregnant and I DO lose the baby I'll still be thankful." I stood up, dried my eyes, and felt at peace. 
The next morning, I took a pregnancy test before leaving to spend a week in Virginia with my family for Thanksgiving. Neither Darren or I expected it to be positive. Since my periods are so sporadic I take pregnancy tests often... they are always negative. Except this test wasn't. I was pregnant!
There are no words to describe the feelings that followed that moment. The joy in my heart and gratitude I felt towards God consumed me. We immediately got on our knees and tearfully thanked Him for the life inside me and prayed that He would keep it safe. After we prayed, I had total peace and felt like God had finally blessed us for being faithful to Him during this time in our lives. My husband was struggling... he was worried about the baby. I kept pushing him to trust the Lord. I kept telling him that God had given us this baby and that He would take care of it.
We shared the news with my family once we made it to Virginia. There were tears of happiness... everyone was overjoyed! Darren bought a video camera on Black Friday to give to me at Christmas, but ended up giving it to me early so we could have it at the first ultrasound. When we got back to Indiana we used it to film his parents as we told them the news. That Sunday (the weekend after Thanksgiving) we shared our blessing with our pastor and asked him to pray with us. After talking with him Darren was able to let go of a lot of his worry and was at peace. We were both so in love with our baby... our hearts were full. 
And then like that our world changed... again. Sunday night I started to bleed. I had been here before. I knew it was over. 
I'm not going to try to describe what happened after that. Most will never be able to understand the grief we felt in that moment. It had been 16 months since our last pregnancy/miscarriage. We had given so much to create that little life. We had spent thousands of dollars on treatment, I had put my body through all sorts of medical procedures, we had sent up countless prayers, and had finally come to peace with it all. It was worth every penny, every tear, and every ounce of pain knowing we would finally hold a baby in our arms. And then... this??? 

Within hours of realizing our baby was gone, I remembered the prayer I prayed exactly a week before. You know... the one where I asked God to keep our baby safe, but that even if we lost it I would still be thankful? Yeah... that one. When I prayed that prayer, I thought I understood what it meant to be thankful in everything. I thought that message was meant for the trial that I was in at the time. I had no idea it was meant for this. I had no idea how much would happen in that week. But God did. He knew what I would need to get me through.
Looking back on the past month and a half, I'm thankful for His never ending grace. I'm thankful that no matter how bad it hurts, He won't let me be angry, He won't let me forget what I prayed, and He won't let me give up. There is nothing that can replace the trust I have in Him or the peace He has given me throughout the last year & a half. I don't understand why, and I'm not really ok, but I don't have to do this alone. For THAT I am thankful. 

DIY Valentine's Day Heart Shaped Hand Warmers

Good morning, lovelies! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Today I am over-the-moon excited to be guest blogging again over at Living Well Spending Less. L.W.S.L is one of my favorite blogs... it's packed full of great money saving tips, DIY tutorials, yummy recipes, and more! I am just super flattered to have been asked to contribute to this blog, and I hope you'll check it out! 

The project I'm sharing is how to make your own Valentine's Day heart shaped hand warmers. These hand warmers are really easy to make and are a fabulous Valentine's Day gift idea for anyone in your life! Or you could just make them for yourself... I'm not gonna lie, I'm keeping some of these for me! Just click HERE to get the tutorial. Happy crafting!
*PS - I love your feedback and would be super excited to hear what you think about this project. If you dig it (or if you don't) let me know by commenting below! Thanks, guys and gals! You're the BEST!!!

DIY Valentine's Day Washi Tape Gift Bags

Are you guys as obsessed with Washi Tape as I am? If you have yet to try it you're missing out! Washi Tape is one of the most affordable and easy-to-use crafting supplies out there right now, and you can use it on almost anything. 

Like for example, gift bags! I adore a good gift bag as much as the next girl, but these days who has the money to dish out $4-5 for each gift you give? That's where Washi Tape comes in! For my Valentine's Day gifts this year I purchased plain gift bags and used Washi Tape to decorate them. The process involves sticking the tape on the bag - that's literally it! You can apply the tape however you like... have fun and let your imagination run wild! Here are a couple of ideas to get you started. 

Are you already a fan of Washi Tape? Do you need more Washi Tape craft ideas? Check out a few more of my projects HERE and HERE! Happy Valentine's Day and happy crafting!