The Little Coffee Table That Could
I love taking old furniture and making it my own.
I’m not one to buy expensive furniture, I prefer to sand it, paint it and when I want it to look different start over again.
My dad got me an old table with a little gold around the top, which I loved! The wood I did not.
So I used some painters tape and did a two-tone paint job on it.
File Your Troubles Away
I will be moving soon so in preparation I’m getting some pieces of furniture ready to be adorable in my yet to be found apartment.
First up, an old file cabinet:
iPad Case Makeover
Today while watching the Olympics I thought it was high time for a little diy.
I got an iPad mini for Christmas last year and purchased a $5 case online that’s worked out splendidly, but is rather dull.
So I grabbed a sharpie and painters tape to liven up the case a bit.
It’s a Groundhog Day Party
Ever heard of a Groundhog Day party? No? Seriously? Best party you’ll attend all year!
The tradition began five years ago. My friends Ryan and Stephen don’t look it but they are absolutely amazing at party planning. Since that first year a tradition has unfolded.
Here’s the first year:
We made a delicious vegan lentil chili and, of course, the traditional groundhog pudding.
Lentil Chili
Makes 8 cups (4 bowls)
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup brown lentils
2 bay leaves
One 15 oz can white beans
One 15 oz can pinto beans
One 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Preparation
Step One
In a large pot, heat the oil until hot. Add the onion and garlic, and cook over moderate heat until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
Step Two
Add the ginger, chili powder, ground cumin, and black pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Step Three
Add the lentils, bay leaves, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Step Four
Stir in the beans, tomatoes, and broth, and bring to a boil.
Step Five
Simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.
Step Six
Add the jalapeño.
Step Seven
Remove bay leaves.
Step Eight
Top with the cilantro
And here’s how we make our vegan Groundhog Day pudding:
Dirt pudding
Makes 6 servings
Mix Chocolate pudding recipe with almond milk in place of milk.
Crush 2/3 Oreos per dirt cup.
Place Teddy Graham’s at the bottom of the cup, then pudding and Oreos.
Refrigerate until serving.
As is tradition, we watched Bill Murray go crazy over and over again and ended the night with fireworks including but not limited to Crazy Groundhogs.
It was a good Groundhog Day.
Obsessions: January edition
This month has been so exciting for me with trying new items, pursuing new challenges and even adding new crafts to the repertoire!
Here are my current obsessions:
Homemade cards (these are Valentine’s Day themes since it’s just around the corner!)
I’ll be sending my love notes out in a few weeks to some of my favor people.
I’ve also been researching on a change in my diet. This month I’ve gone vegan and scratched anything that isn’t whole wheat as well as sweeteners. It hasn’t been easy but my skin looks great, I’ve lost weight and I feel really good.
These ladies make some pretty compelling arguments on why you should go vegan, I highly suggest reading.
I’ve always had a thing for nail polish. In fact, I have gone through my share of kaboodles with the gobs of polish I possess. This month, Birchbox sent me my favorite color of the moment: Ruby Wing’s color changing polish in Mini Kitten Heels.
My favorite piece of jewelry is a key necklace my pseudo little sister gave me as a graduation gift. Look up The Giving Keys to learn more about its extraordinary mission.
Life’s been challenging for me these last few months and the word Kaitlynn chose to gift me with was just what I needed: infinite.
Life is hard and that’s a fact. But God is always on your side and His time line will work itself out for His will. Sometimes, though, that’s hard to swallow and in moments like that I’m grateful for amazing people and adorable jewelry.
I’m also knitting, obsessing over Lauren Conrad’s “Beauty” and applying for every job opening known to man since I graduated last month and am ready to say yes to a new job! Anyone looking, I’m ready and willing to relocate!
Happy Trails to You
My editor recently resigned and is looking for something new to do with his career. He was such a wonderful person to work with so the newsroom very much wanted to throw him a party to thank him for all his service.
I decided to theme the party “Happy Trails to You” and use maps for decor.
I gathered maps from folks who have switched to GPS and used the folds to cut out the banner and cut a wide V to make it a little fancy. Then I had my friend Kaitlynn use her talent of writing to add goodbye sayings.
I’m a bit of a banner enthusiast so I made three different banners for the occasion. I used a cricut for the “Happy Trails to You” banner.
It was so wonderful to send him off with love and we’ll wishes, not to mention how much I love brunch potlucks at work!
Just Married
One of my favorite people and co-worker got married out of state so I organized an after-marriage reception at a local restaurant.
I painted my cupcake stand with copper colors to match the somewhat rustic color theme I had for the party. My cohort in decorating ordered Publix cupcakes (a great deal if you’re in need) and she picked up some mustache and lip cupcake toppers.
I made signs for the bride and grooms chair to add a little specialness.
For the tables, I bought a dozen mason jars from JoAnne’s fabric store (if you give then your email they send out 40 and 50 percent coupons all the time!) in picked up some fall-ish flowers and tea lights to make the centerpieces.
I used floral scrapbook paper and a cricut for the “Just Married” sign.
It was so wonderful to spend time with one of my favorite couples! Here’s a few more snapshots of our gathering!
Happy New Year’s accessories
New Year’s Eve is always an exciting time, until you actually get there and realize that standing in the cold waiting for your local iconic animal (mine is a pelican) to drop is not as awesome as it sounded when you were in your heated home with food, television and a clean bathroom.
This year, my friend Kaitlynn and I have decided we will succumb to peer pressure no more. A night of Lifetime movies, pigging out (since diet begins Jan. 1) and doing whatever the heck we want in the confines of my comfortable home is the plan.
But there has to be some element of special when you’re celebrating the new year. So, we decided homemade headbands would be perfect!
Here are the ideas I just LOVE:
Source: Pinterest.com (If anyone knows the website let me know so I can give them credit!)
We had a grand New Year full of food, fire and a Lifetime movie thrown in!
So here is to a happy 2014!
Let the Games Begin!
What time is it? Oh, that’s right … It’s HUNGER GAMES time!
My favorite part of movies like the Hunger Games is that there is so much more than just watching a movie. Super nerds like myself can throw a little craft party in preparation for the film to wear while attending said film.
And I never miss an opportunity to dress up!
I brought out my craft storage and lots of things to be used in whatever crafting capacity the guests would like. If you folks at home are wanting to have a party like this I suggest some headbands, clips and lots of felt.
I made myself and some of my out of town folks who will be in town when I see the movie girl on fire headbands. Oh, yeah!
They were super easy to make. What you need:
Felt – orange, yellow, red
Marker – black, to draw out flames
Scissors
Glue gun
Headband – Dollar Tree sells cheap headbands in a four-pack
My friend Kim went for an Effie-inspired headband – and boy did she do a great job! Funny enough, the flowers on her headband on from the last time I made Hunger Games accessories.
What you need:
Headband
Felt
Hotglue
Raw talent
Pipe cleaner – if you want your headband to stick out as awesomely as Kimmy’s
Everything Bagel – You’re Welcome in Advance
I’ve been going through what some would call a “transitional period” of my life. I don’t know what my future holds even three months down the line and that is scary – believe you me.
Because of this, I have diagnosed, I felt this intense desire to be homemaker-esque over the weekend and try my hand at something I very rarely do: Baking.
I am obsessed with the everything bagel. I don’t care who you are or where you’re from, if you have any sense you will recognize that it is the most superior of all the bagels. So here is the recipe for the bagels, which turned out (let me try and be humble here …) AWESOME!
This recipe is courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker:
For the first step:
1 teaspoon instant yeast
4 cups (18 ounces) high-gluten or bread flour
2½ cups water, at room temperature
To complete the dough:
½ teaspoon instant yeast
3¾ cups (17 ounces) high-gluten or bread flour
2¾ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons malt powder OR 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar
To Finish:
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 egg
1 teaspoon water
Homemade Everything Bagel Topping:
1 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoons dried garlic (minced or flaked)
1 teaspoons dried onion (minced or chopped)
1 teaspoons kosher salt (or other coarse salt)
Directions:
1. To make the first step of the dough, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.
2. To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt. Stir (or mix on low speeds with the dough hook) until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining ¾ cup flour to stiffen the dough.
3. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes. The dough should be firm, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour – all the ingredients should be hydrated. If the dough seems dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achieve the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feels satiny and pliable but not be tacky.
4. Divide the dough into 12 pieces for standard bagels, or 24 pieces if you are making mini bagels. Form the pieces into rolls.
5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
6. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and mist lightly with spray oil. Proceed with shaping the bagels by pushing a hole through the center of the roll with your thumb and stretching out the hole to 2 ½ inches in diameter, making sure that the resulting ring has a fairly even thickness all around.
7. Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart on the pan. Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
8. Check to see if the bagels are ready by using the “float test”. Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. if it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.
9. The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda. Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.
10. For Homemade Everything Bagel Topping, combine: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and kosher salt. This makes enough topping for 12 large bagels or 24 mini bagels.
11. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). After 1 minute flip them over and boil another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side. As soon as the bagels come out of the water, paint them with you egg wash (one egg combined with 1 teaspoon of water) then top them with the Everything Bagel mixture.
12. When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven and bake for approximately 11 minutes or until golden brown.
13. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.
Just Call Me Miss DIY 