Cori Ann's Creative Living

Addicted to Pinterest

2014-01-05T10:07:00.000-06:00

I have a confession, I'm addicted to Pinterest. I love it and must have a daily dose every night. I love spending time pinning inspiration and motivation, if only I had the time to execute all of the great things I have found. For example, last night was movie night and I remembered a pin I saw about popping pop corn in a brown paper bag in the microwave. It is healthier and worked perfectly.

1/2 cup of pop corn kernels and 2min 30secs in microwave is what I did and it worked great;)

I have also found many art lessons to use in my classroom. If you are a teacher or homeschool mom there are an abundance of ideas and you can organize them into different boards per subject. One of my favorites is this Op Art project. The kids love it and feel so accomplished when they are finished.

There are many sources with instructions for this lesson.
I modified what I found and this is a collage of different student's art work.

As mentioned in a previous post Pinterest is also a great source for interior decorating ideas. We moved last May and have completely changed our colors and furniture and style. I found lots of inspiration on Pinterest. Here are some of my favorites.

I know I already showed the cute dog pic but I couldn't help it.

Needless to say Pinterest is part of my daily ritual. Have fun finding your PINSPIRATION.

Want to follow me on PInterest. You can find me @creativecori under Cori Ann.

Follow me on Pinterest here.

Happy Pinning!

A big move and some inspiration

2013-06-27T20:15:00.000-05:00

So... it has been awhile since I visited blog land. Why? Well last summer we decided to put our house up for sale and build a new one. I has not been the most creative sharing type of year to say the least. After living in a dark and dingy rental home for 7 months I am ready to put some creative love in our new home. I am excited that after almost a year in the making that we are moved into a new house in which we picked out everything just to our liking. I have decided to decorate with cool blues and greens. I'm going for a rustic coastal feel. Summer is one of my favorite times of the year because of the sunshine, extra family time and the care free days we get to enjoy. It is also a time for starting new projects and finishing old ones.

Thanks to Pinterest I have found an abundance of inspiration to get my new home started.

Love this color pallet

More inspiration..

Many projects ahead of me and can't wait to share it all with you!!

Follow me on Pinterest :)

Cori Ann

Old Desk Make-Over

2012-01-17T18:38:00.000-06:00

This old desk make over isn't an over the top DIY project, but it was important to me that I did it well. I started it in August and just recently finished. When you look at it, it just simply looks like I sprayed it all white and called it a day, but unfortunately that is not the case. This old desk need some extra TLC which included lots of sanding, cobweb cleaning, replacing old rusty nails and making it more structurally sound. Why did I care so much? Well this old desk has a history, it was my Moms old manicure table. She was a manicurist way back when, before acrylic, gel or any other kind of fingernails were mainstream. It was the mid 1980's and she was one of the first in our town that could offer acrylic nails and do it well. She created quite a business for herself, along the way making many friendships and having some very interesting conversations across that table. As her business grew she replaced it with a larger more functional type workspace. She and I had many great conversations at that little desk as she filed and painted my fingernails. So this desk, which from the looks of it was probably someones DIY project many decades ago, was a project close to my heart. It was a little more than I bargained for, the wood was soft, and bumpy at the same time. The nails were nailed at weird angles and there were a lot of them that had to be replaced. This is why it took so long, I would just get to a point that I needed a break and step away for a little while. My daughter kept asking when it would be ready, I would say "soon" and then hit another bump in the road of my should have been easy project. The purpose of the make-over was to give my youngest daughter a desk for her room. It is the perfect size for the space and the rest of her furniture is white, so it was a no brainer. she loves it and uses it a lot. Well worth the effort. Ta Da...A little white desk.


I like the white against the purple. I heart purple!

Well lets look at how rough this looked like before......

Rough, but with character.

Taking it all apart and sanding and sanding...

The tracks for the drawers had to be adjusted, sanded and re-nailed.

Let the fun begin...

And more...fun.

I had to get all the little nooks and cranies.

Well, that was my make-over desk from my mother to my daughter. I have a feeling I will keep this desk a long time and continue to revamp, redo, and make-over. I love to have pieces of furniture that has a story, meaning, memories. Family is everything and doing things for them makes me do the happy dance. Today a child that attends my school who is my daughters age passed away this morning. I feel sad, overwhelmed, shock, disbelief. Why so young? It reminds me how everyday is so precious and can not be taken for granted. Hug your kids, kiss them, tell them that you love them, EVERYDAY. My thoughts and prayers are with this sweet precious family.

God Bless,

Cori Ann

Creative Organization Ideas that I Love!

2012-01-12T21:38:00.000-06:00


Pinterest spunkyjunky.blogspot.com

marthastewart.com

Overhaul your linen cupboard – store bedlinen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

savvyhousekeeping.com

Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags.
.

Via: flickr.com

Look up! Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the floor.
.
.

Via: familyfun.go.com

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy. Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip-resistant.
.
.

unplggd.com

Bread tags make the perfect-sized cord labels.
.
.

jengrantmorris.blogspot.com

Brilliant space-saver: install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles. Genius!


What a great idea!!


smallfriendly.com

.IIIII

A Christmas Story

2011-12-30T00:45:00.000-06:00

Our Christmas Tree

This Christmas story doesn't have a Red Ryder BB gun but my Christmas story of family, fun, stress to get it all done, random acts of kindness and a stroll down memory lane. The tree was decorated and outdoor lights done the week of Thanksgiving giving me a sense of relief and joy. Christmas trees and outdoor lights are so magical and make me smile especially when you add Christmas music and cookies.......ahhh, Christmas heaven with sprinkles on top. I like to get the majority of the decorating done by the first weekend after Christmas because it is so much work and I want to enjoy it as much as possible. I like the traditional red and green with some white, gold and silver. So this would lead someone to believe that I've got it all under control, that I was ahead of the game, right?

Red is a must around my house this time of year.

Well, as I relaxed in my "I've already decorated" glory while the weeks passed me by. Before I knew it, I had a little more than a week until Christmas with very little accomplished... basically just the decorating. For about 7 days straight I shopped, wrapped, had a family portrait done with Christmas cards, mailing out about 65! Stress City was upon me and I survived!! But what I didn't realize was that not everything has to be perfect all of the time and this is a season of love, family and togetherness. One very special moment was on Christmas eve when we went to church in my home town. I didn't attend that church growing up, but my father in law helped design it and it is where my husband went to church when he was a little boy. I didn't meet my husband until I was in my early 20's but it is very special that we have childhood memories in the same town. Another special memory was spending Christmas weekend with my sister and her family. She has twin boys age two and a half and a five year old daughter. It was wonderful to see those little faces light up on Christmas morning. My daughters have out gown a little of that, but I can still manage to sneak in a little Santa surprise on them! My youngest loves making movies so Santa brought her a very cool video camera, and the oldest got a phone with a lower case "i" in the name which made her smile tremendously. I've still got a little Santa magic up my sleeve..hehe.

The bravest thing my sister and I did was to enter Wal Mart on December 23rd. I like to avoid that place the closer it gets to any major holiday. Maybe it's just me but I don't really enjoy narrow isles, aggressive shoppers and long check out lines. You got to love the ones that completely block the isle with their cart parked at an angle in the middle of the isle. You patiently walk up and just wait hoping they will notice that you need to get by and then after a few seconds you say "excuse me" and they act like they had no idea that thier buggy was completely blocking the isles. Anyways, this shopping trip had some random acts of kindness that caught me off guard. When we first arrive there were not any available carts, not a good sign. As we waited someone brought me one, so kind. As I walked away my sister pointed out that an elderly lady had been waiting before me and I got the cart. Feeling like a complete looser I tuned around to give it to her but someone else was giving her theirs. I spent the whole shopping trip feeling like I turned into one of those rude aggressive shoppers. The second random act of kindness happened on the coffee isle. My sister and I were discussing what brand to buy and some random guy handed my a piece of paper without saying a word. I was a little startled thinking "What is this, is he selling something?" As I quickly walked away, I looked at the paper and it was a dollar off coupon for the coffee I was buying. Feeling like an idiot, again, I went back and thanked him. I just knew I was about to get struck by lightening in Wal Mart right there on the coffee isle. I will do better accepting kindness, I promise!

Christmas brings many beautiful memories, both new and old. I love being a mom to my wonderful daughters and the baking, decorating and shopping we do together are priceless memories. Every year during this time I realize the absence of my own mother who passed away in 2002. She would so enjoy all the things we are doing and my girls would so enjoy her!

Merry Christmas and Peace to you,
Cori Ann


My Mother's Nativity Scene. What it is all really about.

Happy Thanksgiving !!

2011-11-24T11:27:00.000-06:00

Wow...it's been a long time since I've visited the blog world. I've been so busy with school starting and getting back into the routine of a very scheduled life. As a teacher you go from about two and a half months of unstructured time back to a very precise schedule. It can be a bit of a shock to the system. I love this time of year though, it is my favorite!! Things start slowing down, you get to spend more time with family and eat some great food. Today I've been baking pies and getting green bean casserole ready for a big family gathering, 20 people to be exact. Not at my house, thank goodness. I've hosted before but not for that many and I do not mind at all to take a break and let someone else ~~stress out~~ host this year. It gives me more time to decorate my Christmas tree and getting ready for the best holiday of the year.... CHRISTMAS!!!

I'm want to share what I've been cooking this morning and tell you how I may do it a little different than the recipe. I tend to put my own twist with recipe. I would be a terrible chef, since I don't think I've ever followed a recipe exactly how it is written. It's just how I think.....that I can come up with a better way. Sometime it works out and sometimes it doesn't. With green bean casserole it did! My apple pie and pumpkin pies aren't to shabby either. I follow the recipes pretty closely except for I always add more cinnamon and sugar.

I followed the Pilsbury's refrigerated roll out pie crust recipe. I peeled and sliced three granny smith apples and three small braeburn apples. I added sugar, flour, and apple pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove).

I love this color :)

Since I'm adding so much fresh fruit, it's healthy right? This means I can have 2 slices.

With all this sugar maybe just one piece.


I'm not showing the pie after I put on the top crust...it's not as pretty.

Where is the whipped cream? I like a little pie with lots of whipped cream...yum!

I followed the French's French Fried Onions recipe for Green Bean Casserole and added sauteed mushrooms and almonds.My thinking on this is that I wanted more mushroom and nutty flavors to the dish. The almonds add a bit of a crunch which I like.

Most of the ingredients....missing milk and french fried onions.

Saute mushrooms

They sure do shrink!!


For a gathering of 20 people...you think it is enough?

Bake casseroles covered at 350 for 40 minutes. Add remaining french fried onions and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. I know it is too late to make these for Thanksgiving, but you can make them for Christmas. For me cooking for Thanksgiving is kinda of a practice run for December 25th :)

I'm so Thankful for my Family, Friends, Health and Happiness. I hope you have plenty to be thankful for also.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! Gobble till you Wobble

Cori Ann

Who Are You? Back to School....

2011-08-23T20:09:00.000-05:00

Check out Who Are You? at Night Owl Crafting and see what other bloggers have to say.

Here are this week's questions!
1. Do you prefer to use a regular pencil or mechanical pencil?
                                 Regular, the mechanical ones are too sharp and pointy.

2. What is your favorite color in the crayon box?
                                             Blue-Green and Lavender

3. Bottled glue or glue stick?
                              Depends.. What am I gluing?

4. calculator or do it in your head?
                                           Calculator, Always!

5.Favorite subject while in High School?
                                I didn't get to take art, but if I had that would have been my favorite!!

Back to School Fun Series #3: Fluffy Feather Pens

2011-08-21T10:19:00.000-05:00

Back to school time is here. It can be exciting, stressful and adventurous all at the same time. Just like students I get little butterflies in my stomach before the first day of school. I'm wondering who is in my classes, what kind of year will it be and so on. Like I've said before surrounding ourselves with creative, fun and functional items make work and homework more enjoyable. How about some fun feather pens? This is what I came up with.

The supplies that you will need:
*A bag of assorted feathers~ Hobby Lobby, about $5-$6 ( then you can use a coupon and make it cheaper)
*White floral tape~ Hobby Lobby, $2.20 for two rolls. I only used about half of one, left overs for another project!
*Package of pens~ $2 or cheaper, lots of sales for school supplies this month!
Total project cost---$10 or under!!
This is super easy and quick, your kids can do it too. The floral tape is very forgiving so if you mess up no big deal, just unwrap and start over. Feathers are very popular at the moment. You can find them in jewelry, hair accessories and as hair extensions. Why not have them on writing pens? So here it goes, the tutorial:

Supplies...I selected all of the purple feathers first

Wrap end of pen with floral tape. Go around about 2-3 times.

Hold feather top of floral tape and wrap floral tape on top of feather.

On opposite side add another feather.

Add feathers by adding them on areas that are bare. Hold feathers at an angle while you wrap them. This makes them fluffier. Please ignore the pillow crumbled on the couch....so embarrassing!

After you have wrapped about 5-7 feathers on your pen keep wrapping floral tape all the way down your pen. You can just tear when you finish and the tape sticks to itself.

That was so much fun and easy I decided to do it 7 more times!!

And it can dust of your work area too!!! Ha Ha..Hee Hee

If you have school age children or you are a teacher have a great year!! If not have fun with these fluffy feather pens, because everybody has to write things down. It can be in a cute little notebook or on papers that are on your fancy clipboard. We all like to be organized and making it fun is even better.

Create on......

Cori Ann

Back to School Fun Series #2: Notebook transformation

2011-08-09T08:21:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but the act of making lists and writing things down is essential for me. If it isn't written down, well then it is not likely to happen in my world. I have too many things to remember and I get distracted easily so I thought I would pretty up some ordinary composition notebooks for jotting down my thoughts, things to do and such. I found these notebooks for only 40 cents each, so the natural thing to do when something is super cheap is to buy more than you need, right? I know that this is stating the obvious, but you can get school and office supplies on sale everywhere in August. I've paid $2.50 for that same kind of composition notebook when my daughter needed one for school in the middle of the school year. This little project is super easy and very quick! You will need a hot glue gun, pretty paper, buttons, pony tail holder and ribbons if you want.

1 sheet of scrapbook paper for each side. You can match or not. Br creative and have fun!

Fold in the sides and glue with the hot glue gun. Cut angles on the paper that stick out beyond the notebook. Fold in and glue down. Make sure you prefold before applying glue. And don't burn yourself!!

Apply a generous amount of glue the the center edge of the back of your notebook. Pinch the ponytail holder in half and place it on top of your glue, holding it until dry. Watch the fingers and glue, this project isn't meant to cause burned fingertips!

Cover the back flap of notebook with coordinating pretty paper. This covers up all the glue and makes it look neat and pretty!

You will need to have two buttons. One must be smaller than the other. Glue the small one on first, then the larger one. This creates something for the button to wrap around.

I know, I used a little too much glue.

I also glued paper down the spine of the notebook and then added pink ribbon, not sure why I didn't take a picture after I attached the ribbon.

That was so quick and easy I think I will do it a couple more times! This time green and blue, of course.

I hope you try this out. This project isn't just for students, It is for anyone who likes to write things down in something fun and creative. Please share your notebook transformations with me, I would love to see them! This is also a great project for the tween and teen age groups. I'm not done with my back to school series so stop by often and see what is next.

Thanks for stopping by and getting creative with me!

Cori Ann

Who Are You? And Other Questions

2011-08-08T08:52:00.001-05:00

Check out Who are you? @ Night Owl Crafting. I did and here are my answers.

Here are this week's questions!

1. Do you exercise regularly and what do you do?

My husband and I walk almost everyday that we can, for about an hour. I also like the treadmill about 2-4 times a week for about 45 min. I have to be active or I go crazy!

2. Do you have any weird sleeping habits?

No not really. I like to do something that helps me wind down like knitting or reading.

3. How often do you vacuum?

Not often enough.

4.Do you accessorize and if so what is your favorite thing to accessorize with?

I do like to accessorize with bracelets and necklaces. Earring are pretty but they irritate me and I just end up taking them off

5. What is your favorite drink during the summertime?
Iced Tea!! We also make lots of smoothies.

Have a great day!

Cori Ann

Back to School Fun Series: Mod Podge Clip Board

2011-08-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

Back to school is closer than ever and I wanted to share with you a series of crafty projects that will inspire learning and organization ( that look pretty anyway). My philosophy is to make your work area or study area pretty and colorful. It is more fun that way, right? I am taking basics that we all use for anything related to organizing our work space. Today I am making over a basic clip board with ribbon, scrapbook paper and Mod Podge. My work area is usually covered with clipboards, notebooks, pencils, folders,etc. If the items are all pretty then it doesn't look so messy, at least that is how I feel about it. The total cost of the project was really inexpensive. The paper was left over from the Bathroom Redo, Mod Podge was about $7 for a medium size bottle ( I only used about 1/4, plenty left over for another project). The ribbon was something I already had and the clip boards were about $1.50 each. I gathered all of my supplies and played mix and match for a while until I found 2 different sheets of scrapbook paper and 2 different kinds of ribbon.

;

I'm in a green and purple mood :)

Trace the clipboard on the back of the pretty paper.

I wanted to have both papers on each side in some way.

Apply a generous amount of Mod Podge with a foam brush.

Carefully position your paper on the surface and apply another layer of Mod Podge.

Layer ribbons with Mod Podge in between and on top.

I used a pencil to prevent the clip from sticking to the board. The extra glue just peeled off the shinny clip.

I added a pretty pom pom of ribbon to the top. You just take your ribbons all together and wrap them around your hand until it is all wrapped around your hand. I then secured it with a piece of wire and cut the loop of ribbons. the wire came in handy when I attached it to the clip board.

Pretty little clip board.

That was so much fun I think I will do it again. This time I'm in the mood for blue and green.

They are such a cute couple, aren't they?

I'm looking forward to sharing more Back to School fun with you this week. So stop by often to check out what I'm crafting up to make work, school or study a little more creative.

Cori Ann

DIY Art: Smile, Laugh, Create.....

2011-07-28T08:57:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned before I have a ridiculous collection of old frames. I've been saving for a few, or well several years. It's hard to throw out stuff you know can be all prettied up easily and inexpensive. So this summer it was on the "To-Do" list to give those old frames new life. I used some of them in my Bathroom Revival which was so fun and easy, I thought I would keep going. As you know, school will be starting before you know it and I am an art teacher, so I wanted to make some DIY art for my desk in my classroom. I am also working on some more DIY back to school fun stuff. It makes going back to work fun when you are surrounded by fun stuff.

CREATE.........That pretty much sums it up for me!!

First I found some cute scrapbook paper on sale. I am not a scrapbook girl. I appreciate it as a craft and it can be beautiful. If I am going to put that much work, energy and money into something and make it all gorgeous with photos I don't think I could close that creation up and stick on a shelf, it would feel awkward and wrong, like I'm suffocating something beautiful and worthy of showing off. That's my opinion, anyways. I can still go wild on the scrapbook isles at the craft stores and enjoy their gorgeous products!!

I spray painted my frames white glossy. Using either the frame or the glass from the frame, I cropped a section of the pretty paper, then cut is out. I then used some of the more simple papers for banners where I attached my pretty letters and spelled out fun words. It took some playing around with different combinations of papers. But I was pleased with how it turned out. I'm sure you noticed already, but I like flowers and butterflies. I found a whole pack of of papers called "Blossoms and Butterflies" it was only $12 for 48 sheets. I will use them for most of my fun back to school stuff. The fun words that I chose were "Create, Smile and Laugh". This is how I think life should be, therefore I also want my students to know that I value these qualities and I hope they can smile, create and laugh while in my classroom. So here they are....

I hope you find these fun words as inspiration for living life. All three make us happier and more fulfilled. So laugh a lot, don't stop smiling and create your world.

Cori Ann

Pumpkin Cupcakes: Wishing for Fall

2011-07-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

I got this amazing recipe from my husband's friend, a guy who looks for low cal, low sugar recipes. Unlikely source, but so glad to stumble upon this so easy guilt free treat. I usually don't cook anything pumpkin inspired until October, but tasting this treat will have you thinking of much cooler weather and the joys of Fall. It's been 100+ for several ~~days~~ weeks and thoughts of Fall weather are on my mind. My husband's friend has lost a ton of weight by counting calories and reducing his sugar intake. Inspiring. He found this recipe @ hungrygirl dot com. Everyone who has tasted these has said "Wow that taste really good, its really only 110 calories and sugar free?" Yes it is.
You will only need two main ingredients and some spices. Super easy and bakes in only 20 minutes. So here is the skinny on pumpkin cupcakes:

The sugar free cake mix is usually on the top shelf of the cake mix isle. It sells out quick, so stock up when you can.

1 box of sugar free yellow cake mix ( Devil's Chocolate works also, if you are a chocolate lover)
1- 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. I used a pumpkin pie spice (basically the same thing).

Mix the pumpkin puree with the cake mix until creamy. Then add cinnamon and nutmeg.

This will make about 12 cupcakes. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Do the toothpick check, of course, to make sure the are baked all the way. You can top them with whipped cream or icing of your choice. I like them just the way they are, yummy! I hope you enjoy this little treat. Stay cool. No really, it is way to hot out there!!

Laugh, Smile, Create.

Cori Ann

Bathroom Revival: Mother and Daughter Project:

2011-07-22T06:53:00.000-05:00

The bathroom is finished and we are very pleased with how it looks and I had so much fun doing it, along with the help of my lovely ~~assistants~~ daughters. I had offered my oldest daughter who will be turning 13 soon if she wanted her bedroom updated to look more sophisticated and she said "No thank you, my bedroom is fine, but will you please do something about my bathroom, it looks like it belongs to an old lady." I can so this!

The big reveal.

Before: Old Lady Bathroom

Love this blue: Martha Stewart Aegean Blue

My favorite part: Scrapbook paper + spray painted frames= Instant Art

Adding ribbon to plain white towels. I fused it together and then stitched.


Adding ribbon trip to a cheap candle using double sided tape.

Making it just right!


My daughter's personal touch: Adding a bow to the towels.

Here is what we did:

One of the lovely assistants helping with painting.

The bathroom is ready for all of the fun stuff. By the way that green frog tape really does work.

My ridiculous collection of old frames.

Picking out just the right ones and spray painting them glossy white.


Adding pretty scrapbook paper. Only 49 cents a sheet. Score!

Then we added pretty ribbon to two bath towels, four hand towels and a plain white candle. We selected a pretty white shower curtain from target and soap dish and toothbrush holder from Home Goods and white shaggy rugs from Kohl's. My daughters and I had so much fun shopping together and choosing items. I hope they had a much fun as I think they did. It is their bathroom, so I thought it was important that they were involved. I can't wait to attack with decorating gusto the rest of the house. It is long over due and very "Old World". Lots of warm colors that need to be replaced with cool crispness and bright happiness. The warm browns, golds and red was O.K. for a while, but it has got to go. One room at a time:)

Our original inspiration.

My girls feel proud that they were involved in the decisions and it turned out just the way the had hoped. Future designers, perhaps?

Love, Laugh, Create..
Cori Ann

Trampoline: Before & After, or DIY ?

2011-07-20T08:41:00.000-05:00

As I have mentioned before I have quite a to-do list for summer. One of the items is to repair and replace all things damaged from the tornado last Spring. Well here is a before of our fence and trampoline.


I'm glad they are smiling..what they didn't realize was it would take us 3 months to get that crumpled mess back to normal.

We hired someone to fix the fence, but I thought my big girl self could put the trampoline together. I have the summer off, I can be kinda handy, I've got two willing daughters to help, I CAN do this! So the trampoline arrived and oooohh, so many parts, yikes!


By the way, replacing this hideous carpet is on my to-do list also, so embarrassing!

In three days and 3 gallons of sweat and tears ( O.K. I'm exaggerating. It wasn't that bad) we finished. Despite ridiculous directions with awful pictures from the 70's to go with it, we figured it out and and the three of us felt like this when we were done.


I love it!

So here is the after and my sweeties doing their happy dance...jump, jump, jump.

There it is, and the fence is all new and pretty. Yea, check that off my list. We are almost done with the bathroom re-do. Here is a sneak peak to what is going on.

I will have a show and tell bathroom re-do post on Friday!

Smile,Laugh, Create,
~Cori Ann

Summer reading: The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

2011-07-14T09:59:00.000-05:00

I recently finished a wonderful book The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The movie comes out next month, can't wait. If you haven't read it, hurry up and get the book. You will get all caught up in the characters and how they let imaginary lines that society has put in front of them dividing social class and race. You will not want to put the book down when the walls they have built between them start crumbling down. My favorite line from the book is for women to realize that:

We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I thought.

In the book one of the characters, a maid (domestic help) named Minny, is known for her prize winning caramel cake. I googled "Minny's caramel cake" to see if there was a recipe and there it is... somebody already did the research, found it, blogged about it, and has amazing photos of it.So lets give credit where credit is deserved and give this blogger some recognition.

If you haven't read it, you better hurry up. I promise you won't regret it.

Scrumpdillyicious: Minnie's Caramel Cake from 'The Help': "Minnies Caramel Cake I recently read a wonderful book — The Help — the bestselling novel by Kathryn Stockett. Set in Jackson, Miss..."

My Summer So Far...

2011-07-12T12:49:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is almost half way through July, I can't believe it! I have so many projects I would like to finish before school starts. But first I want to reflect on a few things that I have accomplished. The previous post was all about my family beach vacation, I don't think that is considered a project but was a wonderful time:)
So far I have :
Taught a week long summer art camp for kids
Cleaned out the garage
Cleaned out my closet.
Took a truck load of stuff to Goodwill.
Prepared a new flower bed, ready for planting(waiting for the temperature to go below 100, or maybe I will plant flowers at midnight when it is only 90)
Organized bids for roof repair and fence replacement ( We had a tornado in May) All repairs almost finished.
Baked and decorated birthday cakes for my niece and nephews.

Art Camp... I love hanging out with these creative kids. We were drawing with watercolor pencils. I told the kids to draw what they saw( trees, pond,nature) and then we painted with water and watched our masterpieces come to life.

The girl that is watching instead of drawing belongs to me... at least she isn't distracting them, right?
I guess since her mom is an art teacher she's been there done that.

The little artists' view of the pond..

The birthday cakes, I know this is not a good photo. Elmo is a cupcake cake and the butterfly is a strawberry cake with strawberry icing. Yummy....

After the tornado...we were so lucky.

The tornado that skipped through our neighborhood, left us pretty lucky compared to what could have happened. When I say skipped, I mean it hit some houses and then skipped a few and hit some more. It was surreal to walk around and see one house with chunks of roof missing, windows busted and fences mangled while the house next door is untouched...truly strange and creepy. The next morning our street was littered with debris and people selling their services of repair for all the varieties of damage. Almost two months later we are almost all patched up and items replaced. I will show you the after photo when the fence is finished.

What is left to do in the next six weeks:

Decorate my daughters' bathroom:

Her birthday is coming up soon, so i asked if she wanted us to paint and decorate her room to look a little older and more sophisticated since she is turning 13. She said her room was great but please do something about her bathroom, it looks like it belongs to an old lady. I can do that! I know I didn't put much thought into it and the shower curtain is very busy with red roses. She was in charge of choosing the wall color which is a beautiful pale blue, Martha Stewart color collection called aegean blue. Then we found a soap dispenser and toothbrush holder at Home Goods that matched and we were inspired! We are adding a lot of white and other cool blue and green accents, can't wait till we are finished!

Inspiration

Old lady bathroom..

I also plan on painting a mirror and desk for my youngest and attacking a box full of old frames that need new life which will be explored in a future post.

Oh yea, that flower bed need attention also

Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it, but will be sooo happy when it is done.

Love, Smile, Create.............
Cori Ann

Beach Inspired treats: Coconut cupcakes & tropical smoothie.

2011-06-29T21:01:00.000-05:00

My family and I have returned from our annual beach vacation in Florida. We love the white sand and clear blue waters and the FOOD!!! After a day of jumping the waves, boogie boarding and swimming we can not wait to experience some amazing seafood and other coastal treats while watching the waves roll in and watch the sun go down. Here is a pic that my Hubby took me and our girls. Notice the family in the background that is strangely dressed just like us. When we decided to all dress alike we felt really silly and giggled all the way to the beach. Only to be among numerous others doing the same thing. Between 7-8pm is the perfect time of day for pictures, but finding an isolated spot is difficult.

Then it was my turn......

What is so funny? Are you laughing at me? I got so distracted by how interesting the sky looked and tried to capture it, but my feet started sinking in the sand and well, I fell over. Apparently it was hilarious....story of my life:) Good times.
The next day was time to head back to Texas and we ate our last amazing meal at our favorite restaurant and decided to try a desert, usually we are too stuffed to even think about it. We ordered coconut cake and it was not any ordinary coconut cake... it was coconut heaven! I've been craving it ever since and just had to try and recreate the moment. So here is my attempt at coconut heaven cupcake style:

The Cake Mix:

I used one box of vanilla cake mix and followed the directions except:

use coconut milk instead of water and coconut oil instead of vegetable oil .

( I'm trying to get as much coconut goodness in the mix as possible)

Add 2 tablespoons of artificial coconut flavoring.

The Filling:

1 Box of instant vanilla pudding

2 cups of coconut milk

The Icing:

1 large container of whipped white Icing

4 tablespoons of artificial coconut flavoring

Coconut flakes

We (my daughters helped) filled the paper cupcakes 1/2 way with batter and then added one teaspoon of pudding and filled the rest of the way with batter. This added some gooey goodness to the center. After the cupcakes were finished baking I let them cool and refrigerated them over night. For the icing I emptied it into a bowl and mixed in the coconut flavoring. I spooned on icing and dipped the top into a bowl of coconut flakes. Put them back in the refrigerator, 30 minutes. I think they taste better chilled, but then everything does when it is 101 outside.

Yummy coconut heaven!!!!!!

While we wait for the cupcakes to chill I think I should make tropical smoothies, did I mention it is hot outside?

This is super simple:

Fill blender 1/2 with frozen pineapple and frozen mango

add one banana broken into pieces

fill with coconut milk 3/4 of the way up the blender

I do not measure when make smoothies.. its a little of this and a little of that type of recipe:)

Blend until creamy serve with a coconut heaven cupcake and imagine the ocean breeze keeping you cool and the sounds of waves are so relaxing.................

Anyways, there it is before I inhaled it.

Stay cool and enjoy a little bit of my beach vacation memory.

~Cori Ann