Hiatus

Unfortunately, despite all my efforts, I am just not keeping up with my posts like I used to. But the Better Nester will always be here for you! I will post when I can, but until then, I'm declaring a hiatus for the time being.

Please feel free to visit my art blog, where I am documenting my vigorous journey through schooling at Full Sail University online! http://artalicia.blogspot.com/

I love you all! Thank you so much for always supporting me!

Also, I apologize for any inconvenience, but the site's domain name has changed from www.thebetternester.com to www.thebetternester.blogspot.com. Please make note of this change, in case for some reason you are not redirected properly!

Acorn Season

Yesterday was the perfect day for an acorn hunt! With the Autumn Equinox approaching, the parks are just covered in these cute little guys. I could not resist packing up the family and rounding some up.

We brought along a little bucket to collect our acorns in. I showed Adrianne what the acorns looked like and told her to find as many as she could and put them in the bucket. She had a blast, and she wanted to find all of them all by herself. I'd have to say most of the acorns in the bucket were found by her! Whenever we found a broken one, I told her to leave it for the squirrels because they love to break open the acorns and eat the little seed inside.

Adrianne was fascinated by the idea of the squirrels eating the acorns. I stopped to show her some squirrels. We didn't have to look for long, they are pretty much everywhere. As soon as we spotted one, Adrianne of course immediately wanted to try and catch one. She was so determined! I have never seen her run so fast for so long! As we chased the squirrels, one of them started playing hide and seek with us. He would run around to the opposite side of a tree trunk, and then a second later he would peek out from the other side before running off to behind another nearby tree! She was laughing and screaming, "SQUIRREL, WHERE ARE YOU?" Eventually I stopped her and showed her where the squirrels went. I pointed up in a tree and told her that was where the squirrels lived, up in the trees. We watched for a minute and eventually we saw one peek out at us from above. She loved seeing the squirrel's home!

Rowan loved it outside too. Adrianne and I showed Rowan the trees. We let him feel the rough bark. Adrianne enjoyed feeling it too.

I am so grateful for beautiful fall days like these. There is something magical about the four seasons. It just keeps everything so interesting and makes you feel alive. And there is nothing like an adventure in nature when things are starting to switch up.

What is your favorite thing to do when the first days of fall start to creep up?

Better Nester Revamp!

I am adjusting my beloved blog to better fit my lifestyle! I've trimmed the site down to the bare minimums. No more sponsors, this is just for fun. I know I can't be devoting my every second to the Better Nester anymore, so the blog should reflect that. I want to keep it pure and simple.

I'll be making little changes here and there in a while again. The Pages links at the top of the page will need to go soon because I just can't keep up with making new buttons for all my tutorials and such. So That will have to become something different. I wanna make the links go to certain tags from the blog like I've seen on many other sites.

Anyways, don't mean to ramble. My point for this post was to say that the Better Nester is changing because so am I! But that doesn't mean it's going away! I am going to make a solid effort from now on to not neglect my little nest over here.

But! In the mean time, you can always follow my new blog, which stalks my life as an artist and student at Full Sail. Just remember, The Better Nester lives on! I will not abandon my project!

Much love!

To Have And To Hold

Getting Ready

All Set

The Bride

The Groom

Getting Married

The Wedding Party

The Happy Couple

Father and Daughter

A Happy Family

A rainy day didn't put a damper on our happiness. If anything, it only made us shine brighter! The whole day was fun, so even when things went wrong, it was still perfect.

The ceremony was beautiful. Michelle wrote the entire thing completely customized to us and our backgrounds. (For more info about her ceremonies and pricing click here.) I would highly recommend her, by the way. Everyone was complimenting us afterwards about how beautiful the ceremony was. It was so personal!

The whole night went by way too fast. The dance floor was full of people all night long. So much fun and so much love. I am so grateful for that night and so excited for the future!

Thank you for visiting!

What's New?!

Hello, all! In case you hadn't noticed, TBN went on a bit of a hiatus for a while there.

So what's new? What happened while I was away?

As for me...? Well, there were a few things actually. First was our WEDDING! It was, in a word, perfect.

Second was our honeymoon in HAWAII! It was, in a word, paradise.

Third was my enrollment into Full Sail University for GAME ART! I am, in a word, ecstatic.

I just recently received my "Launch Box" from them, which included my new computer and really awesome software that I'll need in order to do my course work.

Yes, that is correct. I am going to start learning how to make digital 3D art for video games. I'm really excited to have a career path for myself, set in stone. I can't deny that video games are part of what make me me, and so I am setting forth to pursue a way in which I can turn play into work. 

Things will be a little bit different around here at The Better Nester, but only because I am going to start chronicling my journey from stay at home mom to independent game developer! 

It's true, my dream is to run my own game studio. My mission would be to create games about beauty and art, and less so about action and war. The power of video games is strong, and so many people dislike game because they "teach kids violence." Well, not all games are created equally. There are plenty of games about peace and tranquility, and there will be even more when I'm creating them! Besides, games can also be a powerful learning tool for children in an educational application.

Anyways, fear not! The Better Nester will live on! But I think I am going to start a new segment for my Full Sail tales, for all those who care to read. It just seems easier than trying to put up a whole new blog for it and having to keep track of both.

AND I will also put up more detailed posts about both the wedding and Hawaii soon, so keep your eye out!

Neutral wreath DIY

This wreath was so easy and simple to make, and it's completely neutral. So I think I am going to hang this anytime of the year that I don't have a holiday or theme to decorate for. Wreaths always make your home feel so welcoming!

STEP ONE:

Wrap your wreath form in burlap or your favorite fabric. Secure it with hot glue at each end of the strip of fabric.

STEP TWO:

Make lots of felt flowers or fabric flowers of any kind and with your fabric of choice. Also, cut out a few leaf shapes with pinking shears out of green fabric.

STEP THREE:

Hot glue the leaves onto the front of the wreath.

STEP FOUR:

Then attach a focal point flower on top of the leaves.

STEP FIVE:

Surround your focal point with smaller flowers and you're done! It's simple, elegant, and it's so inviting! Hang it on your front door and enjoy!

Food, Fast! Round Up

I'm a mom with less than zero time on her hands. So you can bet I am always eager to hear about quick and easy low maintenance recipes that I can slap together in less than an hour's notice without breaking the bank.  I know, I've got great expectations.

After all my snooping around, I just had to share what I'd found. There is a huge wealth of recipe stockpiles out there containing JUST what I need! Since I've already done all the work of gathering them up for myself, I knew this was the perfect thing for my readers. I hope you're all in easy recipe heaven right now! The best part about these recipes is that they are all from healthy eating websites, so you can rest assured they're pretty darn good for you. Enjoy!

Cooking Light's huge directory of all of their different 5-Ingredient recipes

Cooking Light's huge directory of Superfast (20 minutes or less) recipes

Heart Healthy Living's list of 5-Ingredient recipes

Heart Healthy Living's list of recipes under $3

Eating Well's list of 5-Ingredient recipes

Eating Well's list of quick, cheap and easy recipes