365 Days of DIY

Black Beans and Rice

2013-03-04T19:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Nom Nom Monday! Today's recipe is a simple Black Beans and Rice. This recipe is extra healthy and vegetarian. Though adding meat tastes great too. Ingredients: - 2 tablespoons of olive oil - 1/2 cup onion - 1/4 cup green pepper - 2 cloves of garlic - 1 can of black beans (15 oz.) - 3/4 cup water - 1 teaspoon dried oregano - 1/4 teaspoon sugar - 1

Sleeping Braids

2013-03-03T20:19:00.003-05:00

I have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn on work days, so I've been showering at night. Though I don't like going to bed with wet hair, and with my hair being so long it takes forever to dry. I've also found that with my hair length when it's loose it can strangle me in the night. I'm constantly having to move it out of the way while I toss and turn. So the

February Instagram ... err not!

2013-03-02T21:03:00.000-05:00

My February through Instagram (EDIT: or so I thought ...) I started following along with Fat Mum Slim's Photo a Day Challenge in February. The first three photos are from this month. I haven't found a great instagram collage maker yet, and so I can't customize it to just be my photos from February 1st to the 28th. If you want to know more

Fun Friday Fascinations #46

2013-03-01T20:16:00.000-05:00

#1. Plywood Flooring! Who knew this inexpensive material could look so lush?! #2. This Bud Vase Centerpiece would be perfect for spring. #3. I don't own any washi tape, but this Easter Egg tutorial from Lovely Indeed makes me want to rush out and buy a whole cart full. #4. I've been wanting to try out a new chicken

February Wrap-Up

2013-02-28T21:33:00.000-05:00

Since today is the last day of February I am going to do my end of the month wrap-up. Today is also my step-dad, Andy's birthday, and I want to wish him a very special Happy Birthday! I couldn't dream up a better step-dad! Today is also Thirsty Thursday, so since I'm not sharing a new recipe I'll tell you which drink was my fave from this month. I really

Desert Dreams

2013-02-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

I had some cacti that needed a new home, and I had these two glass containers I wasn't using. Since they are glass, and don't have any drainage holes, and cacti don't like to sit in water I added some broken terra cotta planters and a little bit of sand to soak up any extra moister that collects on the bottom. They will also slowly release their moisture as the soil dries

Transplanting an Orchid

2013-02-26T20:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I did a couple indoor gardening projects, and I'm going to share one today. I transplanted my orchid. I transplanted it from a five inch terra cotta container into a ten inch. I used sphagnum moss for the growing medium. I soaked the sphagnum moss in a bowl of water before placing some in the bottom of the new terra cotta planter. Once

Chicken Divan

2013-02-25T20:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Nom Nom Monday! Today's recipe is called Chicken Divan. Ingredients: - 1 cup uncooked white rice - 2.25 cups of water - 1 package of vegetable dip mixture - 1/4 teaspoon salt - 2 cups frozen peas - 1 tablespoon olive oil - 2 large boneless skinless chicken breast - salt and pepper - 10 ounce package of frozen broccoli in cheese sauce - 1 cup alfredo

A New Mailbox

2013-02-24T21:17:00.001-05:00

The mailbox that came with our house has been in desperate need of replacement, but I couldn't decide what sort I wanted. The old mailbox let rain in, and I was constantly taking out soggy mail. It also was mounted too high for me, so I couldn't tell if I got all the mail out with out blindly digging around, or standing on my tippy toes. It was pretty ghetto looking.

Our Coffee Table

2013-02-23T20:58:00.001-05:00

Today has been a nice relaxing lazy Saturday. I enjoyed an evening on the couch reading A Clash of Kings, and a simple dinner of Ramen and a cup of black tea. Earlier this week we decided to buy the coffee table we found last weekend while thrifting. We are thrilled with our new table. It looks great in our living room. Our living room is finally

Fun Friday Fascinations #45

2013-02-22T19:31:00.002-05:00

#1. With my hair growing out I've been thinking about braiding more and more. I'm not that great at it. I need a lot more practice, and this Draped French Braid by My Shine Project is mega cute. The perfect practicing tool. #2. I love this idea from Sunset. I think a large planter with our house number painted on it would look lovely

Ginger Berry

2013-02-21T21:09:00.000-05:00

Ingredients: - shot of dark rum - ginger ale - a couple strawberries - water Directions: A few hours or days in advance clean and cut the strawberries into small pieces. Then place chunks in a clean ice cube tray, fill the tray with water, and stick in the freezer. When the ice cubes are ready pour the rum into a glass, add the ice, then pour the ginger

Stick Project

2013-02-20T20:41:00.000-05:00

I have this project that has been slow going, and I'm not done yet, but I wanted to share a little of the progress. I found this stick in my backyard back in December, and I bought it in to be dried out. I cleaned off any bark that would easily fall off, and then let it hang out in my dinning room. Cause that's our "work" room right now. Strange I know, but we

Wooden Skewer Wreath

2013-02-19T20:06:00.002-05:00

I was rummaging around in my craft room today, and I came across this hand full of wooden skewers. I started playing around with them on the floor, and came up with this shape. I attached the pieces together by wrapping embroidery thread around them tightly. I immediately decided this looks like it could become a wreath, so I set to work attaching more pieces. I

Chicken Alfredo French Bread Pizza

2013-02-18T20:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Nom Nom Monday! Today I have a great recipe for Chicken Alfredo French Bread Pizza. I found the recipe on What's Cooking With Ruthie. Ingredients: - 1 tablespoon of olive oil - 2 chicken breast (boneless skinless) - salt and pepper - half a french bread - 1/4 cup alfredo sauce - 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella - 2 plum tomatoes - a few basil leaves

Sundays

2013-02-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

Sundays at my house are usually filled with sleeping in, running errands/thrifting, washing laundry, and planning for the week ahead. Today we continued our search for a coffee table. We tried out some chain furniture stores like Ashley Furniture, and Raymour & Flannigan. Ashley was ultra expensive. I mean mega overpriced, even with their holiday sales, or

Thrifting and Nails

2013-02-16T20:11:00.000-05:00

My husband and I save our change. We keep vintage tins on our dresser for pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. We'll save our change all year, or for two years until the penny jar fills up, because it's always the first to fill up. Then when that day comes we roll up all our saved coinage, and exchange it for paper bills. We usually end up with a nice little stash of

Fun Friday Fascinations #44

2013-02-15T18:53:00.001-05:00

#1. I've been dreaming of gardening. I can't wait for spring to arrive. So to get gardening inspiration I've been searching the web, and I found this great DIY Outdoor Vertical Gardening idea on Shelterness. They are using gutters as hanging planters for lettuce and herbs. What a fantastic idea! Though I'm fairly certain those types of plants

Valentine's Day Drink

2013-02-14T19:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day and Thirsty Thursday! Ingredients: - 2 frozen strawberries and 2 fresh - half a frozen banana - 1/4 cup orange juice - 2 tablespoons of vanilla flavored syrup - 1 tablespoon of whipped cream - 1 shot of dark rum Directions: Blend the strawberries, banana, and orange juice together. Add the vanilla, whipped cream, and rum, blend, and

Valentine's Day Nails

2013-02-13T22:46:00.000-05:00

I recently bought Nails Inc's base coat polish, and this was my first time trying it out. I am throughly impressed! After painting on the base coat I only had to use one coat of color on most of my nails! With some of these polishes I've used up to three coats in the past! Below are the polishes I used for this nail-do. Left to right: Nail Inc.'s base coat,

Dude Style

2013-02-12T19:37:00.002-05:00

The other day when I was in our backyard taking some pictures of our garden progress I also took some photos of my husband. We both busted a pair of jeans last week, so we went shopping for new pants, and Aaron got a fun pair of burgundy Levi's 501 from Macy's. He looks really cute in his new pants! Aaron received a nice warm peacoat from L.L. Bean as

Cottage Pie

2013-02-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

Last night I made a tasty dinner called Cottage Pie. I found the recipe on Martha Stewart's website here. It's a simple take on shepherd's pie, but with all the flavor and more! Ingredients: - 3 tablespoons of butter - 1 onion - 2 carrots - 2 tablespoons of tomato paste - 1 pound of ground beef - 1 cup of a dark porter beer - 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme - 2

2013 Plant Update

2013-02-10T20:49:00.000-05:00

There hasn't been much progress with my outdoor seedlings Aaron and I started a couple weeks ago. Today I made a little plant marker with a plastic dino for some Romaine lettuce. We plant romaine every year, so I thought a fun marker would be appropriate. I used an orange permanent marker to label the dino. We planted the lettuce in a wooden wine box.

Gettin' Funky

2013-02-09T20:37:00.000-05:00

If you follow me on Pinterest you might have noticed I was on a music kick last night. I let myself fall down the You Tube rabbit hole. It's so easy to waste a few hours watching the endless supply of videos You Tube recommends based on your video watching history. Though I find it's a great way to find new (to me) music. I'm not much for listening to the radio.

Fun Friday Fascinations #43

2013-02-08T19:17:00.000-05:00

#1. A DIY Geometric Felt Heart Garland by How About Orange. Love this garland a whole heck of a lot! I need to find me some stiffened felt ASAP. #2. Another great Valentine's Day DIY. This Pom Pom Heart Wreath by Pysselbolaget, if you didn't guess from the blog title the directions are in Swedish. Though making pom poms are extra easy,