DIY Pretty white board

Super simple but unique way of creating a white board.

Bailey and I created these together, you can view her blog here. 

What you need:

-Fabric or scrapbook paper

-scissors (or paper cutter) and glue

-Frame, the size that you want the board to be.

**Buy frames that are in good shape at a thrift store. They will cost you less than $2. No need to buy a brand new frame**

1. Take your frame apart.

2. Cover the backing with paper or fabric. 

You can cover that matting separately if you like or just put a single piece of paper or fabric in the frame.

3. Put the frame back together

4. And done! You can write and rewrite as many times as you like :)

*we put ours in the bathroom and use to write reminders and love notes of course. 

You can use it as a "To Do" list or create a weekly menu calendar like the one below:

Enjoy your crafting!!

Key Lime Pie

My brother's birthday was a few days ago and he LOVES key lime pie. I wanted a simple recipe because I did not have a lot of prep time and I also wanted a pretty presentation.

Delicious, no-bake key lime pie:

1- 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup of key lime juice (it took me about 12 limes)
4 ounces of cream cheese
Graham cracker crust- crumbled

topping:
whipped cream...recipe from a previous post found here
lime zest

1. Juice key limes- about 12 limes
2. Combine condensed milk, key lime juice and cream cheese
(If it is too sweet, add more lime or lime zest. If it is too tart, add more sugar)

3. Scoop filling into a martini glass
4. Take crumbled graham cracker and add a layer on top of the filling
5. Add whipped cream on top of the graham cracker

6. Sprinkle lime jest on top and add lime for garnish
7. Chill for a few hours and serve!

8. Ta Da! Easy Peasy...

Weekends

My favorite type of weekend:

1. Games in bed. Favorites include: Battleship, Uno and Bananagrams 

2. Movies all day long. This weekend included Big Fish and Jane Eyre

3. Hikes! Lovely Saturday at Radnor Lake. 

4. The game 'Chopped'. If you have not seen the tv show on food network, you take 4 random ingredients and have to use them to create a meal. You have to use all 4 of the ingredients in the dish. We always play this game when we are low on food. It helps us clean out the pantry when we don't know what to make. Our latest game included:

 - Rosemary pulled pork with a strawberry compote

 -Michael created a sweet potato fritter

-Finished off with grilled peaches and chai whipped cream. 

5. Crafts! Crafts! Crafts! I have a craft fair coming up in two weeks, so I have been busy painting, drawing, jewelry making, quilting, sewing scarves... my craft room is exploding!

6. Spending time with family for my brother's birthday.

A very relaxing and perfect weekend. 

Simple Wreath DIY

This project has been floating around pintrest and facebook and I decided to give it a shot!

You will need:

-Styrofoam ring (I got it for $5 at JoAnn's)

-Yarn

-Scrap Fabric

-Hot Glue gun

1. To make the wreath, simply wrap yarn around the ring!

2. I decorated mine with fabric flowers. (Sorry bad lighting on the final picture, I will add a new picture soon!)

How to make fabric flowers:

1. Cut out a strip of fabric

2. Fold it in half and begin tightly rolling it.

3. Add a dot of hot glue as you wrap the fabric around

4. After you've created the rolled center, begin twisting the fabric around, adding hot glue to hold it together

5. Cut off excess fabric and hot glue it to the back of the flower.

6. I glued all my flowers together and backed them with felt.

7. Then hot glue to your wreath!

*note: the longer the strip of fabric, the bigger the flower!

Pâté- For adventurous eaters!

Many people do not know what pâté is nor would people want to eat chicken livers. 

However, if you are adventurous and are willing to try a new and delicious recipe, I think you will really enjoy it!

Ingredients:

-8 ounces of chicken liver- you can buy this at any grocery store

-1/2 cup chopped onion

-4 cloves of garlic, minced

-2-4 slices of bacon

-2 tablespoons of white cooking wine 

-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

-1/4 teaspoon pepper

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-Baguette for crostinis

Onion Relish:

-Red Onion

-Red cooking wine

-Balsamic vinegar

-Cranberry juice

-sugar

1. Cook your bacon. Save some of the bacon fat. Cook up your garlic and onions in the reserve bacon fat.

2. Add the chicken liver to the onion and garlic. Cook until there is no more pink.

3. In a blender or food processor, add chicken liver mixture, crumbled bacon, cooking wine, salt, pepper and nutmeg. 

4. Blend

**Michael's tip: when blending warm ingredients make sure there is an opening in the lid and loosely hold a towel over the opening to prevent spilling. 

5. Put blended mixture into the refrigerator and cool for 24 hours. 

6. In the meantime, slice a baguette, drizzle some olive oil on top, put on a pan and toast in the oven.   

           (400 degrees for 7 minutes)

7. We also serve our pâté with an onion relish. Slice 3/4 of a red onion.

8. Put onion and 2 cups of red cooking wine (or until onion is covered) into a saucepan at medium heat. 

9. Add a splash of cranberry juice, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. 

10. Reduce for 1 hour for optimal flavor, but you can cook for 30 minutes.

11. Pulse a few times in a food processor. 

12. And put into a serving bowl.

13. Spread pâté on a crostini and top with onion relish. Enjoy!!

It really is delicious....

a happy video

I hope this video makes you smile on this lovely Wednesday afternoon :) 

"God is not a white man"- Gungor

Branch art

I love crafts. 

I love crafts even more when my husband is excited to do them with me :)

We decided to create branch art:

1. Get some yarn and hemp. Optional: You can also use ribbon to hang your finished art.

2. Gather some sticks

3. Break the branches into smaller, even pieces

4. You will need to make a donut shape base. We made this one out of a thin piece of wood but you could use cardboard as well.

5. Trace two circles to form a donut. 

6. Cut the shape out.

Michael used a jigsaw, but if you used cardboard scissors should work fine. 

7. Start wrapping the base with string or hemp

8. You will need to cover all the wood/cardboard. You can add hemp or other string for texture.

9. Hot glue the branches to the base. 

10. Hang it up and ta da! art :)

Our inspiration came from a door wreath but it turned into a huge piece of art. 

To make it for the front door, use a small base and short branches. The base should be the size of a salad plate and the branches around 2 feet. 

Happy crafting!!

welcome fall!

Happy 3rd day of Fall!

Time for boots, scarves and leg warmers.

Pumpkin, butternut squash, chai tea and pie!

I love how the leaves change colors

and the air gets cooler.

I love Fall. 

 I've waited 3 month to light this candle. 

We had to use up our vegetables, so Michael created:

Broiled tuna-stuffed roma tomatoes, with purple cauliflower puree and sauteed collard greens.

Yum.

I made dessert/drink:

Chait tea with Frangelico (Hazelnut liqueur) and spiced rum.

I topped it with some delicious homemade whipped cream (which is ridiculously easy to make)

1. Combine:   1 cup of whipping cream

                     2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar

                     1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

2. Blend with a mixer until it becomes thick and creates little peaks (about 4 minutes)

3. Chill until ready to serve!

Yum. I love fall!

Latest Quilt

I made a baby quilt for my boss who is expecting a little boy in November. 

I really love the colors and patterns that went into this quilt!

 I diagram all of my quilts before I start sewing. 

 Piecing it together...

 After basting the quilt top and the batting to the back of the quilt

 Close up of the fabric. 

 Back of the quilt with Jordan's name embroidered in it. 

Finished quilt!

 Jordan Robert : "For the one who descends to be bright"

 Yay! Mommy with quilt!

Quilt in the nursery! 

I absolutely love making quilts. There is so much math, color coordinating, measuring, charting, and 'mindless' sewing involved. It is one way that I de-stress. 

I can't wait to see pictures of baby Jordan with the quilt!