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[DIYFO + Digital Ocean] Just because you got a shirt in a certain color, doesn’t mean it has to stay that way!  Using the magic of fabric paint and painter’s tape, you can add a pop of color in just a few steps!

What you need: - t-shirt (it’s better to start with one you’ve pre-washed, and ironed) - painter’s tape - paintbrushes (standard foam brushes, or synthetic bristle brushes work well.  Try to select one that’s about an inch wide, as well as a smaller one, if you need to do finer details) - fabric paint (Tulip Soft fabric paint works well and is available at most craft stores.  Avoid fabric paint that uses words like “gloss,” “dimensional,” or “puffy”) - A small bowl or cup for your paint (rinsed-out yogurt containers work great!) - cardboard or paper grocery bag that fits inside the shirt (this will prevent the paint from bleeding into the bottom layer of t-shirt)

What you do: 1. Lay the shirt out on a flat surface and insert cardboard or paper bag.  Decide which areas you want to paint, and tape them off, making sure to press the edges of the tape firmly onto the fabric.  This will be the border – just like painting a wall, the more firmly attached the tape is, the sharper the line will be!

2. Pour the paint into the container. You’ll get a better coat on the brush if you dip into a container, instead of going straight from the bottle. Lightly paint the fabric, making sure you get an even coat.  It’s better to layer on a few even coats, instead of one heavy layer. The fabric will hang better once it’s dry.  

[DIYFO + Digital Ocean] This project is best for a size medium or large t-shirt.  It’s great for grabbing veggies at the farmers market, or throwing your gear in, for a workout in the park!

What you need: - t-shirt (size medium or large) - pony beads, or other beads with a large opening - scissors - colored pencil, marker or chalk (markers work best on light-colored shirts, while light-colored pencils or chalk work best on darker colored shirts)

What you do: 1. Turn the shirt inside out and lay out on a flat surface.  Mark in a V-shape around the collar, on the inside edge of the sleeves, above the bottom seam, and about 6 inches above the seam.  Make a series of vertical lines between the two bottom lines. Cut around the collar, sleeves, and neckline.  Make vertical cuts, stopping at the upper horizontal line.  You should have a line of fringe along the bottom of the shirt.

2. Working left to right, knot the front and back fringe in overhand knots, staying close to the uncut part of the shirt.  The idea is to tightly close the open area, and form the bottom of your bag.  After tying your knot, add a bead, and then make another overhand knot to make sure the bead doesn’t fall off. Repeat all the way across.

3. That’s it! You’re ready to hit the farmer’s market!  BONUS: you can also make a festival-ready crop top by knotting each fringe piece individually, leaving an opening so you can wear it instead of knotting the front and back together. Go nuts!

[DIYFO + Digital Ocean] This one’s perfect for those times you when you get an awesome promo t-shirt and want to wear it right away – without looking like everyone else.  All you need are some scissors, some ribbon or string (even a shoelace or the string from your hoodie will work), a safety pin, and 5 minutes!

What you need: - t-shirt in your size - scissors - 4' string, ribbon, or shoelace (we used a cut-off loop from the bottom of an old t-shirt) - needle and thread (optional) - two pony beads (optional) - safety pin

What you do: 1. Cuff each sleeve, by rolling up twice.  Optionally, you can put a couple of stitches in the underside of the sleeves, to make sure they don’t come undone.

2. Cut around the neckline (front and back) to make it wider.  The closer you cut to the seam, the narrower the neck will be.  If you want the shirt to be really off the shoulder, cut closer to the shoulder seams, but do not cut into shoulder seams. Gently pull the raw edges so that the curl on themselves and “heal.”

3. Mark two small lines on bottom edge of the front of the shirt – centered, and about 1 ½ inches away from each other.  This will be where the hoodie string comes out.  Cut along the lines, cutting the front of the shirt only.  Do not cut the stitching.

4. Almost done! Push the safety pin through one end of your string.  Insert the safety pin into the pocket created by the small cuts you made in step 3.  Work the safety pin around the entire shirt, and pull through the other opening.  Tie knots at the end of each side, and add some beads (and extra knots), if you want!

It starts on the weekend, with the best of intentions - "This week, I'm bringing lunch!" You go to the grocery store to stock up, you splurge at the farmer's market..then Monday afternoon rolls around, and you find yourself in line for the food truck, or trying to piece together a balanced meal at the coffee shop. 

Stop the madness! You'll feel so much better using one (or more) of these awesome ideas for packing your lunch. 

Full disclosure: this does require a little bit of planning ahead! 1. The Bento Box This adorable Japanese lunchbox for one traditionally holds rice, fish, and veggies, but you can put anything you want inside (ahem, leftovers from dinner), all neatly separated so nothing gets soggy!

Image: Just Bento

2. Salad in a Jar Put those farmer's market finds to good use, and ensure that you grab all your veggies on your way out the door...just remember: layering matters, or else you'll end up with sad, wilty greens.

Image: Thekitchn

3. Overnight Coconut Chia Seed Pudding Okay, so this is less as lunch than a snack, but it's so fast and easy and nutritious, we couldn't resist!

image: Daily Garnish

4. The One-Pot Meal If you're lucky enough to have a full kitchen at work, whip it up at the office, but if not, make a one-pot meal the night before for dinner, bring the leftovers, and save yourself time twice!

image: Food52

5. Soup Cubes (Soup Cakes?) When in doubt, freeze it! Bring these to work with you, and you can have a bite (or a bowl) of soup whenever you want!

image: muffintinmommy

Melding together brown sugar, hints of coconut, and the luxuriously comforting flavor of vanilla, this French toast is pure heaven.  Our recipe is very scalable and can be adapted to your tastes (and of course, you can switch out the kind of granola, or leave it out entirely), but the recipe below yields the most wonderfully rich custardy French toast, with the right amount of crunch on the outside.  What You Need:

4 slices of bread (fewer, if they're thick slices)

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tbs. white sugar

1/2 cup coconut granola (our recipe is below)

2 tbs. butter

Pecans and maple syrup to taste

What You Do:

 In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together, egg, milk, vanilla, and sugar.  

Soak bread in the mixture until all of the liquid in the bowl has been absorbed, or until bread is saturated. 

In the meantime, spread granola onto a small plate.  When bread is saturated, lightly coat each piece with granola, placing each slice on the bed of granola, patting gently, and then turning, to coat.

On medium-high heat,  melt butter in a skillet.  When butter begins to bubble, place soaked bread in skillet, and cook until golden-brown (about 2 to 3 minutes on each side).

Garnish with pecans and maple syrup (and if you're us, more butter!)

Coconut Granola Recipe

2 cups uncooked oats (regular or quick-cooking will work)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes

1/3 cup chopped pecans

2 tbs. honey

1 tbs. oil (coconut, vegetable, olive, canola, all work well)

optional: 1 egg white, beaten (use only if you want to make granola clusters)

Preheat oven to 275°

In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.  When combined, gently mix in honey and oil (if using egg white, mix in after oil and honey are incorporated).

Spread the oat mixture onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake until browned (about 35 - 45 minutes), strirring and turning the mixture every 15 minutes to prevent scorching.

Remove from oven, stir gently to loosen any of the mixture that may be stuck to the pan.  If using egg white, be very careful not to break apart any clusters that have formed.