Grounded Wife

BE THE GOOD

2016-01-03T21:08:00.004-06:00

When I saw this sign on Pinterest, I immediately wanted it for my home. With all of the awful things that we see on the news or read in our Facebook feeds, I wanted this simple, yet powerful, message to remind my family each day that there is still good in the world and it starts with them.

In our circle, we are blessed to have friends and family members with all different backgrounds and stories. They have various religious beliefs, races, ethnic heritages, relationship statuses and sexual orientations. Right now my daughters are just 3 years old and 9 months old so they are too young to recognize that these differences even exist. Right now all my girls know is that these people care about us and we care about them.

I am not sure when it will happen but one day my girls will learn that differences do exist. When that day comes, I want them to already know that different can still be good. I want them to remember that one person's actions doesn't reflect the way all others think or act. I want them to remember all the awesome people they have met and continue to BELIEVE THERE IS GOOD IN THE WORLD. I want this to be instilled in their mind so when the day comes when they hear people saying ugly things about others, that my girls remember to BE THE GOOD.

This message is such an important one to teach our kids as they grow up in a very different world. I don't want all of the negativity in the world to drown out the positive. Luckily for me, the pilot also got excited about having this message on display in our home. He even did most of the work!

DIRECTIONS
We followed most of the instructions from the Blooming Homestead blog which is where I first saw this quote. The pilot cut and slightly sanded wood from a pallet. Then he stained it with leftover stain that he had from another project. While I didn't download the file that you can access from the blog, I did use her dimensions for the stencils found here. Instead of using cardstock, I used vinyl rolls in my Silhouette Portrait. I realize that this was more expensive than cardstock but I wanted to make sure I did it well.

Since I used the more expensive vinyl, I wanted to save some money and not use the roll of transfer paper that I typically use with my Silhouette vinyls. Instead I used Glad Press'n Seal plastic wrap.

Together we carefully pulled off the Press'n Seal and laid down the vinyl on the wood.

I then used a vinyl scrapper to smooth out any air pockets. You can also use a credit card to do the job.

Originally we thought to spray paint it but after discussing it, we wanted the sign to have more character. One coat of hand painting would provide that look. I used a flat paint brush and outlined each letter first to provide a nicer edge and then filled it in.

Before the paint could dry completely, I slowly removed the vinyl. There were some paint that bled past the edges but I just used one of my Silhouette hooks to scratch away the paint. Overall it turned out great!

Here it is at the top of our stairway, just outside all of our bedrooms. A perfect place for this important reminder. Along with the cute little reminder of why I want to believe there is good in the world :)

Map Hearts

2014-07-31T21:47:00.000-05:00

Home is where the heart is...

This month the unthinkable happened. My adventurous friends settled down... in a house... in the suburbs... of Chicago! While the pilot and I had settled down in our home right after we got engaged, these friends have lived in 10 different cities (6 states) in the last eight years. That's not including their several-week-long European adventure. Super cool life, right?!

When I started to think about what to get them for a housewarming gift I initially thought of the usual gift baskets with kitchen utensils, cleaning supplies and wine. I even placed an order on Etsy for a cool return address stamp BUT cancelled it when I received their Christmas card the next day and saw they already had one. Don't worry, I got a refund.

Then I had an epiphany and remembered all of the cool map art that I have seen on Pintrest. I didn't follow any one design, just did it as I went. Here it is:

I've always loved the look of them but truthfully had no use for because I met my husband in high school in the same town we bought our first home and don't really have any other place of significance.

What other project should I use the book of maps for?

Mounted Photos

2014-04-14T12:21:00.001-05:00

Go to www.costcophotocenter.com and upload your photos. From there you can select what size and what finish you want. Since the photos would be displayed near my dining room chandelier I wanted to minimize the glare as much as possible so I went with the "lustre" finish. The prices are amazing. One 12" x 18" photo only costs $2.99!

While they were printing I went to Lowes and after searching the lumbar section with a Lowes employee I finally selected a packaged piece of presanded solid pine edge-glued panel for $16.97. This wood had a very smooth edge that would look nicer than if we chose an refined piece. Here is what the label on the package looked like:

They employees there are super helpful and will cut the wood for you, of course for an extra charge. I was able to get the three sizes I needed (12 x 12, 12 x 18, 8 x 16) and still had wood left over for other projects.

Luckily I had some extra paint from when we did our bedroom so I used that to paint the edges and just around the corner in case the photo didn't line up exactly.

Once it was dried I had Adam hammer a wall hook onto the back to make it easy to hang. I'm a huge klutz so I leave all hammering for him to do.

Then with my heavy duty spray adhesive, I simply sprayed the back of the photo and the wood. After 30 seconds I carefully lined up the photo with the wood and slowly pressed it down, going left to right. Take your time with this step!

Voila! It is finished. Here is the final cost of this project:

$8.97 - Three photos at $2.99 each
$16.97 - Wood
$5.95 - Spray Adhesive
Free - Paint
= $31.89 / 3 photos = $10.63 each

Breakfast Braid

2013-12-28T21:51:00.000-06:00

I love breakfast. During the weekdays I usually drink a shake or eat a granola bar on my drive to work but on the weekends, I love breakfast. If you want to win my love over just cook me something with bacon (the real kind only!) or spicy pork sausage smothered in gooey cheese.

In my family, we like to celebrate our favorite holidays with a big breakfast and bloody marys. That is just how the Dixons roll. I also love to get together with friends for a nice breakfast and typically I make some sort of egg casserole. A recipe is never involved, it usually is just whatever I have in my freezer but it always includes bacon or spicy pork sausage and cheese.

I found this recipe on Cooking Light but I was feeling indulgent so there was nothing "light" about my version. As I usually do when making breakfast I pulled out the ingredients that I had on hand and wanted to use: spicy pork sausage, green peppers, jalapeno pepper, onion, garlic, pepper jack cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, pizza dough and of course eggs. The possibilities are really endless so just select the foods you would want in your dream omelet.

First I cooked the pork sausage with peppers, onions and garlic in a nonstick skillet on medium. Once the sausage was cooked I added a couple eggs and continue to mix it up until it was all cooked through.

On a cookie sheet I laid out the pizza dough where it formed a rectangle. I placed the filling in the middle of the dough so that there was about a 3" border of dough and topped it with the cheese. Using my kitchen scissors I cut 2-inch-long diagonal cuts about 1 inch apart on the long sides of the dough.

Starting with the top and bottom of the rectangle dough folded in, I then "braided" the dough by alternating strips over the filling. Make sure you have sealed it all up so it cannot leak out. Brush the top with an egg white. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes.

Didn't it turn out pretty? This will now replace my egg casserole as my go-to breakfast dish for celebrations.

White Chicken Chili

2013-09-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

There are a few things going at my house that make it difficult to find recipes. One, we are starting a serious new budget. Two, we have come to accept our "happy pounds" but we don't want to gain more so we are trying eat leaner. Three, most recipes I find for lean meals are spicy (which I love!) but the pilot's esophagus does not. Four, with a baby around we do not have much down time to plan, shop, prep, cook or clean so I want easy to make meals. With all of those requirements, I am on a quest to find cheap, lean meals that are not spicy and are easy to make. Got all that?

Luckily, after much debate over how spicy I can make the meal we found the perfect solution: White Chicken Chili. The key to the flavoring is the Salsa Verde which is actually a mild flavor.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of Northern Beans ($0.
1 can of corn ($0.49, Aldi)
1 jar of Salsa Verde ($1.49, Aldi)
2 garlic cloves, chopped (in house)
2 stalks of celery, chopped (in house)
1 tsp of cumin (in house)

First you take one of the cans of beans and blend it in either a food processor or blender. This will add a thicker texture to your chili.

Then I place all of the ingredients into the crockpot EXCEPT the chicken and mix it all up with a spoon. After that I drop in the chicken and set on LOW for 6 hours.

After 6 hours I remove the chicken and shred it with two forks. The chicken should be super tender and moist, making it super easy to shred. Here is where I pulled out some chicken to feed the baby.

Return the shredded chicken to the crockpot and cook on LOW for another hour. After that, remove the lid and let it sit there for about 10 minutes to help thicken up the liquid.

Pour into a bowl and top with your favorite chili toppings such as sour cream, cheese, avocados, Fritos, etc. Okay, so it starts off lean but it can also become lethal. Either way it is delicious. Oh and more importantly it is cheap, lean, not too spicy and easy to make. Enjoy!

Sorry - Lost Photos

2013-03-08T17:30:00.000-06:00

I want to apologize for the messed up (lack thereof!) photos on my blog. Apparently when I deleted the photos that were public on my Google+ account, the internet trolls deleted the photos from the blog. Did you know this could happen? I didn't. Even my dog Milo is surprised, look at him.

I will do my best to go through all of my posts and reload the photos over the next week. It really stinks that this is the first post I write in months. There are so many projects and recipes I was planning on posting soon. I swear. Once this is fixed I will post something pleasant for you to read. Oh, and you will get to meet my daughter who is hiding in the background of this photo. For now just know that she is awesome.

Sorry for the inconvenience!!!

Custom Quote Wall Art

2012-08-31T07:27:00.000-05:00

I really adore wall art in nurseries but it has been difficult for me to find pieces I love. Unfortunately most of the airplane items I found for the nursery were way boyish so I decided to incorporate a plane in a gender-neutral way and I love it!

I was inspired by Brandy from the Heart and Habitat blog. Here is her version of wall art that she painted with her kids, so cute!

Heart and Habitat Blog

First I bought a blank canvas at JoAnn Fabrics that was 50% off.

Since I don't have a Cricut, I had to use store bought vinyl letters which worked out perfectly with the sizes I needed. It was tricky to find them at JoAnn Fabrics and I grabbed the only pack in stock but some other crafting stores may have more options.

After finding the quote I wanted, I cut out each letter (not precisely but enough to know the size of the letter) and arranged the quote the way I wanted it to read.

Because I wanted things to be symmetrical, I measured out lines with a ruler and pencil so that they were evenly spaced out. Once that was finished I peeled off the vinyl backing and placed the stickers onto the canvas. DO NOT DO THIS. Unfortunately the paint was not dark enough to cover up the pencil lines so I highly suggest that you use painter's tape to map out the lines and remove as you do each line.

For the airplane, I just printed off an image online and traced it onto a sheet of contact paper I bought at Goodwill for $0.49! For some reason they always have tons of contact paper so I was excited to finally have a reason to buy it.

Then I painted over it. The orange is one of my favorite accent colors in the nursery! As mentioned before, the pencil was showing through so I had to do 4 coats of paint to make sure to cover it up. Without the pencil, I think I could have gotten away with only 2 coats.

Once it was dried, I peeled off each letter. The paint bled through a little around the edges so I just touched up each letter by hand using white paint.

That's it. The quote is in honor of the pilot. He's been through a challenging, stressful, long journey being a pilot that has even forced several of his friends to completely change careers. Pursuing his dreams has taken a lot of patience, discipline and risk but it hasn't stopped him. It's awesome to have a quote that we not only believe, but actually live by.

By the way, I started this project on one of my craft nights with one of my best friends Lauren. She started her own blog The Lovely O.T. with some really great projects so be sure to check it out!

Nursery

2012-08-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

With less than 100 days to go until Baby Crabb arrives, the pilot and I are doing our best to get things done around the house. Our number one priority is the nursery. While many people have informed me that baby probably won't even sleep in the nursery for a few months so we have more time, we are too gosh darn excited and love working on our baby's room.

Everyone has been asking us what the theme is. Well, I am a brat and do not like any of the gender neutral crib sets, plus the items included in them are practically useless (bumper, comforter, etc.) but that is another topic. So we decided to go with a "you are my sunshine" meets "airplane" room with bright colors that will work for a boy or girl.

Here are some photos we found online that gave us inspiration:

Blue walls with cloud decals...

http://www.roommatesdecor.com/walldecals/white-clouds-wall-decals.aspx

But a brighter blue color like this...

http://www.ontobaby.com/

And one yellow wall with a decal "You Are My Sunshine" that the crib will be on...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004P2LNZU?ie=UTF8&sn=Wheeler3Designs&seller=AM7Y85KR7NTHB

Except, it will be a brighter yellow like this...

http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/oh-leighton-tour/item/132846

And finally bright lime green and orange accents.

http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-space/Nurseries/Babys-first-little-place/detail.esi?oid=23695749

Of course, we will sprinkle in airplane stuff throughout. Since we are going rouge on the "theme," it has been difficult to find things that fit into the room that are gender neutral. Ok, maybe the real reason it is a difficult task is because I am picky. Nonetheless, I found that the best thing to do was to create pieces myself. I will keep you posted on some of our projects as we go!

I'm back! And with some news...

2012-05-13T12:03:00.001-05:00

After a 2 month hiatus, I am back and plan to be back for good. It probably wasn't the best idea to just completely disappear from the blog world right as I was picking up momentum BUT I like to think that I had a very good excuse.

When I decide to do something I become completely obsessed with it. I think about it day, night and even in my dreams. I do a ton of research on the subject and it is all that I seem to talk about in conversations with people who probably don't care.

Well that was exactly what happened in March when I found out some news that would would change my life forever. It is a personal thing that I have only shared with my immediate family and closest friends. It's come to a point where I feel it is only right to now share the information with my readers. Well here it goes...

This next Thanksgiving, I will have something extra to be grateful for because I will not only be the Grounded Wife but the Grounded Mom. Yes, the pilot and I are having a baby! LBC (what my in-laws have already started to call the baby, short for "Lil Baby Crabb") will be due the week of Thanksgiving, which is also the same week as the Pilot's 30th birthday. We are beyond thrilled!

For those of you who are moms, you can understand that during this first trimester I have done everything in my power to keep my eyelids open. I feel like I have been sleep walking for the past 3 months. That being said, I had zero energy to come home and do any projects, take photos and write. The miniscule amount of energy I did have was spent reading up on the gazillion pregnancy books I inherited from my sister-in-law and bought from Goodwill.

I'm excited you finally know and now I can get back in the swing of things and share them all with you. All of the plans I had in mind for our condo are now accelerated as we prepare to make it a home for 3.5, our dog Milo being the half.

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions on budgeting with a baby, decorating the nursery and any great baby sewing projects you have. Please share!

Guilt-free Broccoli Mac & Cheese

2012-03-07T19:52:00.003-06:00

I know, you are probably skeptical because I called it "guilt-free" and that typically means that it does not taste good but hear me out. You have seen recipes for macaroni and cheese that are to-die-for. Ones that have butter or beer, maybe some greasy bacon and lots of cheese. Well this is not one of those recipes. Instead, this is a recipe that will NOT make your wallet or gut feel guilty.

Ingredients

1/4 box of elbow macaroni pasta (I used Ronzoni Smart Taste - really good!)
box of frozen Green Giant Broccoli and Cheese Sauce
Hormel Real Bacon Pieces (50% Less Fat)
Garlic Powder
Parmesan Cheese

Dump the macaroni into a pot of boiling water.

At that time microwave the broccoli according to directions. It's awesome because it will take the same amount of time. It's even more awesome because for those of you on Weight Watchers, check out the points plus in the upper right-hand corner. Plus they go on sale as 10 for $10 every couple weeks so it is super cheap to make.

Now, it is easy. Strain the pasta, dump in the broccoli and cheese sauce and mix. Sprinkle in some bacon pieces, garlic powder and top with some Parmesan cheese.

In my mind this is the ULTIMATE recipe because:

it is quick (less than 10 minutes!)
it is easy (boil water and microwave)
it is light (low in WW points plus)
and it is very cheap (less than $2)

Hope you appreciate this recipe as much as I do!

Cleaning Black Utensils

2012-03-04T20:22:00.002-06:00

When I am cooking it is like a happy scene in a romantic movie. I gracefully move around the kitchen with music in the background and a glass of wine in my hand. Grinning ear-to-ear I am measuring, chopping, mixing, and doing it all with my nice utensils, cutlery, and cookware. Then I reach for my spatula and the music stops. Ugh... these utensils ruin my vibe with their ugly grey stains.

I used to hand wash them but as time went on they found themselves in my dishwasher. That's how they ended up looking like this. Eventually enough was enough and I had to find a way to clean these things.

First I tried a mix of baking soda and water to clean them. It did absolutely nothing and was a huge let down. Then while I was cleaning my dishwasher with a cycle with vinegar I thought... why not try this on the utensils? Well, it worked! All I did was soak them in white vinegar for about 30 minutes and then rinsed clean.

I now present to you black plastic utensils free of water stains...

(Don't worry... the white vinegar didn't make the utensil change shape, I just forgot which two I took the before photos of.)

White vinegar has become my newest best friend and I've used it to clean several surfaces now. It will definitely be on my bulk shopping list the next time I go to Costco.

DIY Nightstand

2012-02-28T20:46:00.000-06:00

After the pilot felt how great it was to complete a DIY project with his Vintage Steamer Trunk, he was hooked on carpentry. I knew I had to take advantage of this moment so I started showing him all of my Pintrest boards to help him with ideas. The next project he completed was an awesome upholstered headboard and footboard. That will be another post on another day, I promise.

The new bed directed our focus onto the entire bedroom and we realized we needed some change. We moved in almost four years ago and our bedroom is still white with random pieces of second-hand tables. I've always wanted a real grown-up bedroom set so now we were finally on our way.

After the bed was finished, we bought new bedding with some fun decorative pillows. Then it was apparent that we needed new nightstands and Adam was up for the carpentry challenge. After perusing a few bloggers I came across Ana White's blog and found the most perfect plans for our nightstands. I won't try to recreate the instructions but here are a few photos of his work.

Here is the finished product in my bedroom. Total cost for two nightstands was about $150. While it is not a cheap project it is much cheaper than it would be buy in the store.

He even added a shelf inside to hid all of our crap that used to be exposed. Seriously these nightstands have been such a blessing to help give us storage while keeping our bedroom tidy.

Once the bedroom makeover is complete I will show you the photos of the whole room. The before and after will be completely different! I cannot wait for it to be finished :)

Preventing Lost Socks

2012-02-22T22:26:00.000-06:00

Growing up I was never scared of monsters living in my closet or hiding under my bed. But I did really hate that one particular monster that always pissed off my mom and probably pissed off your mom too. You know, the monster who lived in our dryer and ate our socks. At least that's who my mom always blamed when she returned our clean laundry only to find a few lonely socks missing their twin.

I always used to think it was the dryer at my parent's house, like maybe it had a a secret compartment that I never saw and the socks got sucked into it. Then once I moved out I realized that it is an epidemic everywhere. The pilot gets annoyed that I always buy new socks with different patterns because then it decreases the chances of matching them up. That leaves us with these two fabric bins full of lonely socks in our laundry room waiting for their perfect match.

While perusing the aisles at the Dollar Tree, one of the last remaining dollar stores where everything is still only $1, I saw a box with 2 delicate zippered laundry bags. Immediately I realized that this would be a perfect solution for my socks. After bringing them home I stored one in my night stand so it would be out of sight, surprisngly the neon green does not match my bedroom decor, and it would be a practical spot because I always remove my socks right before bed. From then on I would take off my socks each night and put them in this mesh bag.

Once the bag was filled enough I zippered it up and threw it in with a load of laundry. After a cycle in the dryer, I unzippered the bag and it was easy to match up.

Ta-da! No more lonely socks. I just wish I had thought of this sooner. Hey dryer monster - suck it :)

WW Italian Vegetable Soup

2012-02-20T20:24:00.000-06:00

This recipe calls for a delicious variety of Italian vegetables and greens that give this meatless soup lots of flavor.

The pilot is still home so we have been really spoiling ourselves with food and drinks. Yesterday was my only day off, and it was a gorgeous one, so we thought it was a brilliant idea to go to Hooters and enjoy some (or many) drinks and fried foods. I am pretty sure that the calories I consumed yesterday alone equate to the amount I should digest for one whole week.

That being said I am feeling the need to make one big batch of soup that will provide me with light lunches for the week. I found this recipe on the Weight Watchers website and it is ONLY 1 point plus per serving. If you are unfamiliar with WW, just know that it is really good for you :)

Ingredients

2 cup(s) escarole, chopped

2 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced

1 cup(s) (chopped) uncooked onion(s), chopped

2 cup(s) fresh spinach, baby leaves

2 small uncooked zucchini, cubed

1 medium sweet red pepper(s), chopped

1 medium uncooked fennel bulb(s), thinly sliced

6 cup(s) vegetable broth

28 oz canned diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp thyme, fresh, fresh, finely chopped

1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped

3/4 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup(s) parsley, fresh, chopped

1/4 cup(s) basil, fresh, leaves

I followed the recipe exactly except that I used the small tri-colored sweet peppers instead of just one red. I've been buying those bags from Costco, Aldi and Trader Joe's and try to incorporate them into recipes when I can. They're just so pretty!

After you chop everything up... it is not a quick recipe to prep... dump it all in a soup pot except for the basil and parsley.

Cover the pot, cook on high and bring to a boil. Once you reach a boil lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Then simply add the basil, parsley, salt and pepper. If you're looking for something heartier you can add some cannellini beans or some orzo pasta. Either way, it's a tasty and light guiltless soup - enjoy!

Spinach Nachos

2012-02-15T08:04:00.001-06:00

My best friends will laugh at this understatement... I love nachos. Seriously, chips and melted cheese is a big time weakness for me and we have had a long time love affair. I was even told by a guy, okay a boy in high school, that one of the reasons he was dumping me was because I ordered nachos at the movies and the crunching was too loud. It's okay though. Nachos are still providing joy to my life.

Now that I spend most nights making dinner for one, I often take shortcuts and spare myself the work that goes into cooking/cleaning. This usually results in me whipping up some quick nachos. To make nachos an acceptable meal for dinner (a few nights in a row!) I find creative ways to make it a unique and tasty dish. I always start with the same base of tortilla chips but mix up the toppings.

This recipe is based off a meal that my mom except she would bake them on flour tortillas. Since I am impatient when I get home, and I love the crunch of a good nacho, I adjusted the recipe so it could be microwaved on tortilla chips.

First you chop up fresh spinach, add chopped garlic, drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle a little salt and pepper.

Mix it all up in a bowl so that all of the spinach has a little oil on it and spread on top of tortilla chips.

Add some shredded mozzarella cheese (I used reduced fat), microwave just enough for the cheese to melt. It varies based on microwaves, but for me it was 40 seconds. After that I sprinkle a little crushed red pepper to add some more kick and you're done!

Do you have any fun nacho recipes that you make?

DIY Vintage Steamer Trunk

2012-02-12T22:26:00.000-06:00

The pilot was promoted to captain, hooray! This means that his training period has given him longer spurts of time at home... alone... while I am at work. This resulted in a very bored husband. Since I am a pro at spending time by myself I shared my secret remedy to boredom: create something! (Ok, so it is probably not a secret since I have a blog on the world wide web devoted to creating things but somehow it was magical when I shared this idea with him.)

We bounced around a few Pintrest inspired projects: dollhouses for our nieces, bed headboard, upcycling extra tables, entryway shelf, etc. Then he looked around and saw all of my sewing stuff laying around and realized we had an immediate need for more storage. He settled on a vintage looking steamer trunk.

To be honest, once he had the idea in his head the pilot started the project and did not stop until it was finished. Even though he didn't bother to write down the steps he did, I am very proud to say that he did remember to take a few photos along the way...

Luckily he had access to use his dad's man cave / garage / workshop.

40% coupon to JoAnn Fabrics hook-up for the feux leather :)

Only had to stain the two sides because he used spray adhesive for the leather and then stapled it to the other two sides.

These would be used to cover the staples and finish the edges.

Close-up of the brass hardware he bought online.

Regular men's belts from JCP. Great idea, right?!

And now the (very beautiful) finished product...

He's hooked and now wants to make more. The awesome thing about these is that each one will be unique with a different size, different wood stains, different hardware, different leather and details, etc. Can't wait to share with you his other creations! He asked if this project was "Grounded Wife worthy?" Absolutely dear :)

Polish Pizza

2012-02-10T10:43:00.000-06:00

Yes, you read that correctly. Polish Pizza. After a trip to my favorite post-drinking pizza place in Wrigleyville, Ian's Pizza, the pilot and I were inspired to see what type of magnificent creations we could come up with based on the old traditional pizza pie concept. This challenge started about a year ago and through trail-and-error have found some really tasty and innovative pizza recipes. This particular recipe is one of our favorites, based off of the pilot's favorite comfort food: polish sausage and sauerkraut.

Start with the pizza crust. To save time, and spare yourself from having to clean, you may get an already made crust. If you are willing to do a little extra work for a little extra delicious taste then just go to Trader Joe's and pick up a bag of their ready-to-go pizza dough and roll it out.

After he spread the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet he spread ground mustard and topped with some shredded Swiss cheese. I prefer the taste of ground mustard but you could substitute it for your favorite mustard that you would normally use with your Polish sausage.

To save time he bought already cooked kielbasa. To save us some guilt he bought the turkey version. What a great husband :)

He chopped up the turkey kielbasa, spread it around the pizza and topped with a layer of canned (but drained) sauerkraut.

It's looking yummy, right?! Well all it needs is a final layer of Swiss cheese and to be baked according to the directions for your crust. For us it was 17 minutes at 400 degrees. The sausage is already cooked so as soon as the crust is done and the cheese is melted to your preference, you are ready to chow down!

This is a really delicious dinner that is fun and impressive to guests. You could even use it as an appetizer if you just cut into small slices. Definitely one of my favorite dinners that the pilot makes me, thanks dear :)

DIY Eye Mask

2012-02-02T16:45:00.001-06:00

I am not one of those people who makes a big deal out of their birthday, partly because I am the absolute WORST when it comes to remembering other people's birthdays. Seriously ask my friends and family. Facebook has made me a better friend for the pure fact that it reminds me of people's birthdays.

So when my BFF's were planning a "girl's weekend away" it was just by chance that my birthday weekend was the one we could all fit into our schedule. That means that tomorrow morning I will be on a plane to Nashville with my four dearest girlfriends (one even flew in from San Diego!) and we will be headed for a super fun weekend... which will just happen to include using my birthday as another reason to celebrate.

Well I always have trouble sleeping places other than my own bed so I have always used a sleeping mask to help. That was until two years ago when my adorable puppy, Milo, was the devil and chewed it apart. So for this awesome trip to "Nashvegas" I knew I would need to get some quality sleep in and decided it was time to make myself a new sleeping mask.

First cut 2 pieces of fabric so it is 4.5" tall and about 10" wide and place on top of one another with right sides together. (These photos are from my first attempt which resulted in a smaller mask than I wanted so don't compare the sizes to the grid on the mat.) The fabric is totally up to you but I used one piece of cottom with a design and the other piece was a solid-colored silky fabric.

Fold in half and draw the shape you want your mask to be. It should take up most of the fold. Cut along the lines and lay flat. Personally I like folding my material when I cut so it is symmetrical.

Take an elastic band and measure it from one of your temples, wrap around the back of your head and to the other temple. Just think about how tight you want this thing on your head. Place the elastic in between the two fabrics and have 1" stick out. Pin down those two end to the mask like shown in the photo below. Pin the 2 pieces of fabric together.

Sew around the border leaving a 1/4" allowance. Make sure to sew back-and-forth over the elastic pieces to really secure them in. Also leave a 1" opening. Here is a (blurry) photo of the mask sewn with the 1" opening.

Simply turn the fabric inside out. Use a crochet hook if you need help pushing it through.

Now here is another choice you have. Personally I like there to be a little more pressure on my eyes so I filled my mask with pillow stuffing that I had left over from another project. However the pilot requested (yes, he got one too) that his be left flat. Do as you choose and just hand sew the opening shut. If you want you can also top stitch it but I left it as is.

And here is the pilot taking in a nap with his flat mask :)

After my fun filled weekend I will show you another DIY project that I am using on my trip. Stay tuned :)

Upcycled Stella & Dot Box

2012-01-28T11:17:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you but anytime I come home to find a package with my name on it excitement takes over as if I am a twelve-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. Even when I place an online order and know exactly what it is, I am still overjoyed. Now if you have ever ordered from Stella & Dot you know that they make sure that excitement continues as you slowly unwrap your beautiful new jewelry. They know how to do it right.

On my long list of hobbies, one of my favorites is being a Stella & Dot stylist. This means that I have received MANY packages from them, most of them being jewelry I earned for free. Anyways, that leaves me with a bunch of boxes that I cannot get myself to throw away because they look like this:

Adorable, right? So when I was reorganizing my closet, I realized that I had a lot of washcloths that I wanted to store neatly. Being on budget I did not want to go buy more organizational containers so I started walking around my home in search of something to hold the washcloths. Then I stumbled upon my Stella & Dot boxes and decided to finally put them to use.

First I sliced off the top flaps with a razor blade.

Then carefully pulled apart the flaps that were glued together and unfolded.

Then I re-assembled it but in reverse so the pretty pattern was on the outside. I hot glued the flaps together so it would hold shape. Then I added some ribbon (found at the dollar store that matched perfectly!) to the top to make clean, prettier edges.

One of the boxes experienced a tougher journey to my doorstep so I trimmed it down a bit to get rid of the damaged corners. That is why there are two sizes pictured here. Not too shabby for using less than one dollar's worth of ribbon. Another reason to love Stella & Dot :)

DIY Chalkboard Clips

2012-01-24T13:07:00.000-06:00

During the holidays I was looking for the perfect hostess gift. While shopping at a department store I saw these really cute mini chalkboard clips. The idea is to clip them onto your servingware to identify the dish. They sold in a package of 6 for $10 so I bought them.

Then once I got home I looked at them closely and realized... wait a second, I can make these for much cheaper! So I did what every other Pintrest-addict does, or at least wants to do, and recreated the product myself.

In addition to the glue gun, here were the essentials:

I was really planning on using my chalkboard spray paint on mini wooden rectangles but was lucky enough to find mini-chalkboards at the craft store. Anytime I can find a more efficient way to do a project, I'm on it! Now since they were already chalkboards I used blue painting tape to cover the chalkboard as I painted the wooden parts gold. Then I painted the wooden clips gold. After two coats they were ready to be glued together.

Really I just removed the blue tape, hot glued the boards to the clip and they were done. Ta-da! I had created a really great hostess gift for the fraction of the cost.

What I liked even more about them as a gift is that I used them for the appetizer I brought to the party and then left them for the hostess to use at future dinner parties. That way she was able to see how great they are in action and hopefully they don't sit packed away. Of course the DIY Chalkboard Platter that I made doesn't hurt the look either :)

*Note: when using your own chalkboard paint, condition the surface by taking the side of the chalk (long side) and chalk up the whole thing. Then just wipe it off. This will make it easier to erase marks in the future. Otherwise the initial marks may stay.

DIY Cardigan

2012-01-22T17:26:00.001-06:00

DISCLAIMER: I am still completely new to sewing so I do not know all of the technical names for sewing techniques. Plus I did not follow any patterns or tutorials so this is truly my interpretation of a DIY cardigan. I simply took one that I already owned, analyzed the stitching and attempted to recreate one similar. Hopefully I can explain it enough for you to get the idea.

First you are going to trace one of your tank tops to cut out the back of your cardigan. (You will see in the photo below that I used a sleeveless shirt but the shoulders are longer than I wanted and ended up being more of a cap sleeve. That’s why I recommend a tank top.)

To make things symmetrical I have found that it is best to fold the fabric and your stencil (today it’s the tank top) so that you are cutting both sides at once. Now I wanted this cardigan to be longer than my tanks and tees so I added a few more inches to the bottom. Cut around the tank and make sure you are always giving yourself at least a ¼ inch allowance.

Now cut out another piece the same size and shape. Once you do that, slice the second piece (only) right down the middle starting at the middle of the neck. This gives you the back and the front two panels. Just think of a cardigan.

With right sides together, sew along the shoulder tops and the sides. Be sure to keep an opening where the arms will go and where the neck will be. I wanted it more flowing in front so I left a little on top dangling off. Now you have something that looks like long vest.

To add more of that flowing look that I wanted, I cut two pieces 6” wide and the length of the cardigan measured from the middle of the neck. Fold the pieces so that they are 3” wide and stitch the ends of the two pieces together on one side. Now it creates one long piece that is only 3” wide.

With the right sides together, place the middle of the long piece (where the two pieces were stitched together) and pin it to the open edges of the “vest.” Then just stitch along that edge, giving yourself a ¼ inch allowance.

Once you turned it inside out, it should look like this.

Fold fabric long enough for your arm. Make sure you add a few inches for “just in case” or if you are like me, you will want to fold the sleeves back. Measure the armhole you have in your “vest” and use that to figure out how wide you want to stitch that end of the sleeve. Mark it on the sleeve fabric. Then determine how wide you will need your sleeve opening at the end where your hand will come out and mark it.

With right sides together, stitch up along the markers you made and trim the extra fabric. To keep the sleeves the same size, just place the finished one on top of the other fabric and mark the same spots. Again, with right sides together, stitch up along the markers you made and trim the extra fabric.

Take the wider side of the sleeve and pin it to the arm opening. ( I’d like to say “OBVIOUSLY with right sides together” but it apparently wasn’t that obvious to me as I first sewed my sleeve inside out. I’m still learning alongside you folks and will let you know when I make mistakes.) So… just make sure that the seams are hidden when the cardigan is on.

To finish off the bottom, measure the distance you want from the bottom of the armpit down the side seam, fold the fabric up and mark with a pin. For my cardigan, I marked it 19” down. Once I folder the fabric at each seam I used a ruler to line the two sides up to fold the middle and gave myself a few more pins.

I wanted the flowing part to be longer in front but after I took the photos I realized that I wanted to trim them a bit but still keep them long. Regardless, it is your choice if you want the front to be straight across or if you want longer fronts. This is YOUR sewing project so make it how you want it.

Just top stitch the bottom fold all around to make a nice finish and trim the excess fabric. I am still contemplating if I will finish off the ends of my sleeve, but I left them long and just folded them over. The fabric I used is a stretchy, soft fabric so I like burrowing my hands in them to keep warm.

I really love my new cardigan and will definitely make a few others. While my tutorial may not have been the easiest to follow (and I apologize for that) BUT I just hope it inspires you to try a piece of clothing. I’ve heard from many of you with sewing machines that you only do pillows or hem pants because clothing seems intimidating. Really just go to your closest and take out one of your shirts, turn it inside out and check out the stitches. You will realize there is not much to it and if you used that shirt as your “pattern” you already have the measurements to make it the perfect size for you. If you are inspired to try a new sewing project, come back to this post and let me know!

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

2012-01-20T13:23:00.001-06:00

I wanted to make stuffed peppers and there are a trillion recipes out there. Some are Italian inspired, some of them have ground beef in the recipe, and the majority of them are written to make all at once. Well what I was looking for was the exact opposite of all of those... a Mexican flavor, vegetarian, slow cooker meal. That being said I created my own recipes.

INGREDIENTS

6 green peppers
1 can enhildada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese
Filling ingredients (see below)

FILLING INGREDIENTS

Package of mircowaveable brown rice
1 can of black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes (Mexican kind)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
2 tbsps cumin
1 fresh jalapeno diced

Mix all of the filling ingredients in a bowl so that every spoonful has a bite of everything.

Take the enchilada sauce and pour half in the filling mix and the other half in the slow cooker. Then slice off the tops of the peppers and spoon in the mixture.

Now squeeze them all into the slow cooker and top with your favorite Mexican cheese. I used pepper jack only because that is what I had in my fridge. (Next time I would probably just mix the cheese in the mixture instead of on top. While it looks pretty here... it kind of dries up for the finished product.)

Set the slow cooker on low for 5 hours. Then you end up with 6 servings of a great meal. The cool thing is that each one fits perfectly in the 2 cup twist-and-seal plastic containers so that I can freeze them for my pilot hubby. With him living on the road I try to fill my freezer with different meals so he can eat well while he is away from home.

Next time I would top them with fresh green onions, cilantro and maybe FF sour cream to make it taste fresher. If you are not counting calories, this would be awesome to eat with tortilla chips too. Enjoy!

Free Museum Admission

2012-01-18T17:38:00.001-06:00

The pilot is home this week so I took a day off work to spend some quality time with him and visit the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago. It has been on our to-do list for awhile now since our last trip there together was over 10 years ago.

The top two reasons why we have not visited in over 10 years:

Whenever we think about going we then realize that all of the schools are off on that day. That means that there will be hordes of parents trekking along their children for a fun (extremely crowded) day at the museum. I'll take a rain check.
The exhibits we want to see the most are too much money in addition to the overly priced $30 regular admission. Do you know how much clearance fabric I can buy for that?

Well you can imagine the overwhelming excitement I felt when the pilot shared the news that the day we wanted to go was an "Illinois Free Day" and a weekday when school is in session!!!! Yes and yes!

Did you know that all of the Chicago museums have days when the admission is free?! Luckily they publish the dates in advance so started planning your year now.

Here are links to find out the 2012 free / discount dates for some of my favorite Chicago museums:

Of course we had to check out their airplane exhibit!

Friendsgiving

2012-01-16T21:36:00.000-06:00

Right before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season I received an invitation to Friendsgiving hosted by my fabulous best friend Sarah. She wanted to make sure we devoted an evening to celebrate the joyful season, not with family we are born into but with the family we choose... our friends.

The hostess-with-the-mostess Sarah and my two other besties MariKate and Lauren

Sarah did a beautiful job setting up her city apartment for this gourmet feast. She rearranged her living room so that hosted one long elegant table furnished with 20 lovely place settings. Seriously she busted out her Martha Stewart skills to create a scene we will always remember as our first Friendsgiving.

Now to help feed the masses we were each responsible for bringing a dish. In addition to Sarah's chicken tetrazzini, we devoured a gorgeous salad, "crack potatoes", broccoli casserole, pieorgis, Polish sausage and sauerkraut plus some apps and desserts. Oh, and my Italian Roasted Veggies.

As promised to my soon-to-be-new-followers (right Erica?), here is the recipe for my Italian Roasted Veggies.

Italian Roasted Veggies

Dressing

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced

Veggies you want

I included zucchini, cherry tomatoes, red onions, sweet peppers (green, red, orange and yellow), summer squash and some carrot

Chop up all of the veggies and place in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix up the ingredients for the dressing. Once mixed, pour the dressing into the veggies and stir. Cover a baking sheet with foil and pour the veggies on top. Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. (Hint: you can keep the veggies marinating in the fridge until you are ready to bake.)

Truly, it was an awesome night! We even went around the table and announced to the group what we were thankful for and it really shed some light on how lucky we are to have such great friends.

Looking forward to many more Friendsgivings to come!

DIY Yarn & Felt Flower Wreath

2012-01-15T11:53:00.000-06:00

One of my best friends, Lauren, has always been crafty. Even in high school she would give us homemade cards for our birthdays. So after we discussing our recent projects she had the idea to start a crafting group. We'd choose 1 - 2 nights a month to get together and work on a new project. While we thought this was a super fun idea, our other friends teased us so our crafting group ended up as a crafting duo :)

One of Lauren's specialties is wreath making. Each season she embellishes her city apartment with new wreaths and also gives them out as gifts to her family. And since I am the only female living in my condo building BUT also the only door without a wreath I asked Lauren if we could have that be our first project.

I decided to attempt a yarn & felt flower wreath while she opted for the fabric flower wreath. This post will just focus on my wreath first and save hers for another post.

Materials were simple:

12" styrofoam wreath circle ($4.99)
Yarn ($2.99)
5 sheets of felt ($0.39 each)

To create the felt flowers, I cut out different size squares from the felt. This was my first time using my rotary blade and cutting mat and I am in love. This is going to save me so much time! Obviously the bigger the square, the bigger the flower so be sure to cut out different sizes.

Once I cut out the square I cut a circle within. Then I started a spiral cut beginning with a thin slice and gradually increasing the width. Check out Beth's video tutorial at Home Stories A 2 Z to see how to do it.

Start with the thin side and then spiral around and hot glue the end. Again, watch the video for much better directions. Here are the flowers I created.

The yarn part was simple... hot glue the beginning piece and wrap around until it was covered. Then I just hot glued the flowers on in the order I wanted. To add a little more texture I hot glued mini flowers in the middle of some of them. See the finished product below.

Check out Lauren's blog post about her fabric flower wreath. Here's a sneak peak...

Stay tuned for other crafting duo projects.