The Things I Find

Ano-der Smoo-die

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:51:00 +0000

Since I got my ninja, we started on meal replacement instead of the full blown juice diet. Something about being a meat lover means that you can't suddenly go to an all liquid diet without crying into your pillow every night (for the boyfriend).

Better Berry Smoothie:
1C milk
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp coconut oil
1/2C raspberries
1/2C blackberries
juice of half lemon OR 1tsp lemon juice
Total Calories: 286

Woven Chain Bracelet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:42:00 +0000

via honestlywtf

Blue is my favorite color. Most crafts I do, end up being blue. I'm not terribly diverse that way.

Personally, I didn't want to shell out $40 for the base bracelet on this (link here), so one 11pm trip to Walmart I found a base I liked for only $3 (and I have 60% of the chain left over, shazam!).

I think mine turned out decently well, and I'm getting better at taking pictures with my camera.

Materials

bracelet small one here
embroidery thread (some here)
bobby pins
skizzors

Cut 2 sets of 15 strands of embroidery thread. I had 5 various blue shades, so I used 3 of each per side. She recommends to make the length of each strand 4x bracelet length, but since my chain wasn't as dense I only needed about 3x. Knot all the threads at the top, leaving about 2" of slack (which you'll trim down when you're done with the braclet). so I wouldn't have to separate out my strands again, I bobby pinned the sides before I knotted at the top.

Lay the threads on the left side of the bracelet. Pull the first color (set on the right) from under the first link and over the top of the left side.

Lay the second color (left side) over the first. Pull the second color under the same link and over the top again. Continue until you reach the last link.

I didn't want mine to be quite so chunky, so even though I used a smaller bracelet I wove through each link twice, but if you're using a smaller chain like mine, she has another picture for weaving once through each link -

I think that looks very pretty too :-)

Mine turned out decently thick, imo.

At the end, finish with a knot and trim the ends.

It's November!?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 02:57:00 +0000

So I don't have a guide or anything to put together... other than OMG how is it November already!?

I'm still working on the shoes. When my fingers and arms start aching and tire out after about 15 minutes of intense work, projects like that tend to take months unless I get on several multi-hour fun project days. Each shoe looks like ... maybe 20% done, and I've been trying to figure out what kind of modge podge I should use to cover the rhinestones once they're done. I have a Christmas wreath, and now that I have my own spacious apartment I'm wanting to decorate for the holidays more. I would visit houses like that when I was a kid, and I've always loved the idea of doing it.

This particular wreath was inspired by my Aunt, here's hers:

She used tulle and fall ribbons to make hers. When I went shopping today, nobody had tulle. Sad face for me. But because it's just a couple of days after Halloween, and all of the Christmas decorations are out in full swing, eeeeeeeeeverything fall is on super clearance. This was my ribbon success:

The two rolls on the right were about $7.88 (I know, very exact for "about") each from Sam's, and each roll to the left were around $1 each.

After about 30 minutes of Castle and wrangling with the glitter tape and autumn leaves, the ribbon took another 10 minutes for tying and voila!

I keep trying to tweak the colors settings on my phone so that my pictures come out in better light, and I know I should've taken it during the day... but oh well. The leaves are mostly red with gold glitter, once I hang it up on the door I'll take some more pictures! :-)

shhh a NINJA!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 01:58:00 +0000

So as you totally won't have guessed from the post title, I got a Ninja Professional blender from my boyfriend as kind of a "moving to our new apartment" housewarming gift. Or at least, I'm choosing to think of it that way. Because of this, he's also interested in going on a "smoothie" diet, which I will turn into a juicing diet and hide all the solid food. I need to cement the pantry doors shut...

To keep my sanity for trying to keep track of all the smoothies I'm making (and liking) I'm going to put them here :-D

I've updated all of them with calorie counting, and originally denoted each line item with the # of calories, but I'll abbreviate here:

1 banana: 110 calories
1 cup strawberries: 50 calories
1 cup vanilla yogurt: 110 calories
1 cup milk: 130 calories
1 Tbs honey: 60 calories
1 cup blackberries: 62 calories
1 cup raspberries: 50 calories
1 cup cherries: 80 calories
1 cup blueberries: 70 calories

Strawberry-Banana
1 banana
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp honey
pinch of cinnamon
cup of ice
Total Calories: 320

Triple-Berry Blend
1 1/2 cups mixed blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries
1 cup milk
1 cup ice
2 tsp honey
Total Calories: 251

Cherry Delight
1 cup cherries
1 cup strawberries
1 banana
1 cup ice
2 Tbs honey
Total Calories: 360

Banana Raspberry
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup milk
1 cup raspberries
1 banana
1/2 cup ice
squirt of honey
Total Calories: 355

Summer Smoothie
1 banana
1 cup strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup cherries
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 Tbs honey
1 cup ice
Total Calories: 480

The ~~strawberry banana~~ summer smoothie is by far my favorite.

Resurfacing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:33:00 +0000

Wow. I finally graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science. YAY!!

I've been interviewing for several jobs in my field, and the boyfriend and I picked out an AMAZING apartment that we'll be moving in to next month. It's 1,161 square feet, we have a screened balcony, and a fireplace. I'll actually have room just to BE in that apartment, so I'm very much looking forward to it.

I've already picked out my next project, and it's going to be electric blue. Awesome shoes. Based on the original design, I'll need 3000+ 4.5mm, 200+ 3mm, and 200+ 2.8mm rhinestones. I'm not sure where I'll be able to find that many very bright blue rhinestones. I have a pair of black shoes that I'm retiring (just bought a cute pair of replacements), and they will be subject to this project.

I recently found my old camera again... and since we'll also be moving, I'm hoping we'll get very far away from the poor lighting pictures I've had to post previously.

Oh, and I GRADUATED!!!!!!!!

Your Grandmother's Charmer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:31:00 +0000

After I did the two necklace posts last week, I had an insatiable itch to make another one. Here's my description on Etsy:

Inspired with charms and popular colors from the 1940s and 1950s, when my grandmother was young, beautiful, and in her prime (in her mid 20's). My grandmother is very delicate, and wears only the lightest of jewelry in her elder years. She collects Swarovski crystals and bird sculptures of every color, size, and species all over her home. If I had to turn some of the most rememberable things about my grandmother, her beauty, delicate nature and features into a necklace, this would be my grandmother.

And here are a few pictures -

Cheesy Italian Baked Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 04:48:00 +0000

taken from the boyfriend :-D

My boyfriend loves to cook anything that involves meat, as long as it's on the grill. Not long after we started dating I talked him into cooking us steaks on the stovetop, since we didn't have a grill at our apartment. One night when he cooked me a steak, I was told to busy myself in the living room while he cooked me dinner. I tried very hard not to sniff in the general direction of the kitchen, but they're right next to each other so it was pretty much impossible.

I was wonderfully surprised when he told me to open my mouth and take a bite, and I was excited when I tasted crunchy bread and cheesy goodness. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Fresh Mozzarella (I prefer pearls, the pictures are using slices)
Black Pepper
Salt
Dried Oregano
Dried Minced Garlic
Italian loaf
Olive oil

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and cover a pan with tin foil (I have a small round one that I use).

2. Cut two slices about 3" thick from your italian loaf, and then cut them evenly in half with a bread knife.

3. Drizzle the tops of each slice with olive oil, and then turn face down and put in the oven for 2 minutes, 30 seconds.

Post oven.

4. Add a dash of salt and pepper to each slice. I have a double salt/pepper grinder, and I do 1 grinding of salt and 2 grindings of pepper per slice.

5. This is where the mozzarella pearls come in handy. If you smush each pearl, you'll use a few per slice, if you use sliced mozzarella... then you have to shred it by hand. I use about 2 slices for this, and quite a few pearls.

Mozzarella!!

6. Sprinkle a tiny amount of the garlic on each piece of bread, and drop a few sprinkles in between all the slices in the center of the pan.

Mmm... don't befriend any vampires with this dish.

7. Put back in the oven for another 2 minutes, 30 seconds.

Melty-amazing-ness.

8. Then sprinkle on some oregano, and enjoy!

Tasty Tomato & Kalamata Olive Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 04:33:00 +0000

Tasty Tomato & Kalamata Olive Salad

borrowed & modified from Baked Bree Deconstructed Chicken Kiev

When I tried this recipe from her, I thought the chicken kiev turned out all right, but I fell in LOVE with the salad. I made three times as much and just munched on it because it was oh-so-tasty.

Ingredients

olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup kalamata olives
lemon zest
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/8 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper

Instructions

Wash and then halve the cherry tomatoes and throw them into a decent sized bowl for mixing.
Halve the kalamata olives and throw them in as well.
Zest half a lemon, and sprinkle the salad with about a tablespoon of olive oil
Grind some pepper and add a dash of salt, and your parsley
Sprinkle in feta cheese, and mix contents with wooden spoon

Premixing, this picture came out MUCH better.

Post mix (bad lighting).

Singapore Sling Drink

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 05:11:00 +0000

Singapore Sling Drink

Ingredients

1oz grenadine (I prefer the red kind)
1oz cherry brandy
2oz gin (I prefer lime tanqueray)
4oz sweet & sour
8oz club soda

Shake up the first 4 ingredients over ice. Pour into a big nice, frosty mug. Pour club soda over (slowly!) stir slightly with a straw, drink and enjoy!

Ren Faire Necklace

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:47:00 +0000

Ren Faire Necklace

follow-up to previous post (Punk Rawk Princess necklace), this is my other creation!

This ended up MUCH thicker, and is not nearly as sleek and elegant as the last one.

Close-up of the charms:

I have a thing for crowns... ma-bad...

Punk Rawk Princess Necklace

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:58:00 +0000

Punk Rawk Princess Necklace

via Flamingo Toes Anthro Necklace Week of the Paisley Rebirth Necklace

I don't really like the original Anthropologie one... I'm quite a fan of their redo, and I think mine isn't quite so ... cute and chic? I dunno.

This is hers once she finished it:

So pretty in blue

This one is mine:

I thought it'd be neat to pose it on top of books

It is *highly* recommended that you have a sewing machine to do this, otherwise it's a big pain in the bootang.

Required Materials

Scarf or lightweight fabric

If you use a scarf, and it's anything other than paper thin you should cut your material in half width wise

Chain of your preference, the thinner the better, 4 yards

I used gunmetal, she used silver

Small pieces of different chains or bangly/dangly items
2 large awesome pieces of decoration

she used beaded pieces, I used charms; Michaels or Hobby Lobby recommended

Needle and thread matching the color of the fabric you're using

Picture of her materials

Now, you'll need to cut your fabric to size. She used a 33" x 12" piece. I used this same size on another necklace, and I should've used 6" wide instead (or less). It came out looking like something more appropriate for a ren-faire.

With the right sides together, sew the rectangle into a long tube and turn right side out.

Then at this point, turn the raw edges under and overlap them, then sew together (to complete the circle). Then squish it around to look like this:

Put the seam towards the left side (if you were looking at it from this perspective) where you'll place one of your charms, covers up the seams quite nicely.

Double up your chain so it's about 2 yards long. You'll start chaining on the right side, opposite of where you placed the seam, but 1" more up.

Wrap the chain around the fabric tube twice. Feed the other ends of the doubled chain through the halfway point loop and pull. Don’t pull super tight – you don’t want to stress the chain – but so that it is snug against the fabric.

Whee, knot!

She recommends 1" of spacing between each chain knotting spot. Be sure to scrunch up the fabric a little bit in-between to give it that extra bit of "poufiness". So! Lay the chain along the fabric for about an inch. Hold the chain at that point. Wrap the chain around the fabric tube. Bring the ends up and run them under the wrapped part and pull snug.

Should look like this when you finish each knot

Handy dandy arrow-drawing instruction. Super handy!

Keep doing this until you get to just above the seam point on the other side. When you get there, wrap the chain around it four times. Sew down the end of your chain, and trim off any extra.

Tied off

If you're using chain pieces, fold them in half, and sew those points to the tied off original chaining.

Sew on your large beaded pieces on the left side, making sure you cover up the seam. If you are using pins, pin AND sew them on. I have bad luck and my things always fall off unless I completely ensure they won't move an inch.

And she pinned hers like so:

Isn't that pretty!?

Here's a close up of my pins:

Piece of black chain, very big bubble chain, heart charm, and wing with a bow and pink bead on the end of it.

I've basically worn it once and I'd love to sell it to someone who'd strut this awesome thang around. I'll put in on my etsy store (keep meaning to do that!)

Let me know your thoughts! I bought more charms on sale (50% off) at Hobby Lobby today :-D

**UPDATE** just listed on etsy! Go check it out. Etsy Listing

Chicken Parmesan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:50:00 +0000

Chicken Parmesan

Mmm... FOOD :-D

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless, like you can buy in the grocery store)
1/2 C milk
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 C Italian seasoned bread crumbs (if you don't have any: my recipe)
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbs butter (I prefer sweet cream salted)
2 C your favorite tomato sauce
1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
Sundried tomatoes (optional)

Instructions

Place the milk and eggs in separate bowls, and put the flour and bread crumbs in separate tupperware (so you can close the lid and shake 'em up!).
Dip each breast in the following order: milk, flour, eggs, bread crumbs.
In a large skillet, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat until sizzling. Reduce the heat, and cook the chicken until golden brown and the juices run clear when cut with a knife, about 3-5 minutes per side. *Note* If you're only going to cook 1 breast at a time, half the butter and olive oil. Remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
Dribble 1/2 cup of the warm tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9"x9" baking dish. Place each chicken breast in the middle and mush 'em around in the sauce to make sure they're well coated on the bottom. Cover with another 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce, and half of the shredded mozzarella on top of each chicken breast. *Note* If you chose to include sundried tomatoes, I put mine on before the mozzarella.
Broil in the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs

to make at home (instead of buying at the store)

After I moved in with my boyfriend I thought I had remembered everything I had unloaded from my pantry into our new pantry. Apparently not... because I didn't have any Italian bread crumbs (needed for chicken parmesan). And I think "oh CRAP!" until I got creative.

Ingredients

2 C (lightly smushed) of hand torn slices of your favorite Italian loaf
1/3 C shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs dried parsley flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Add half of the ingredients to a food processor and blend. Remove to a tupperware, then the other half. Unless of course you have a large food processor, then do the whole thing at once! Mine is pretty small though. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Pot Roast of Beef Braised in Red Wine

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:43:00 +0000

Pot Roast of Beef Braised in Red Wine

modified from p. 393 Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

Anybody who knows me, knows I am a proud Native Texan. Which means I love my beef products. There's nothing that can make me happier than a pot roast for dinner, homemade bread with butter, and maybe some delicious ice cream for dessert.

It's been a long week, I pulled an all-nighter for a homework assignment last night that has been extended twice and everyone in my class is still unable to complete the assignment. Also, my boyfriend received his job offer and is quite ecstatic about his starting salary. So we had dinner with our best friends at his favorite eatery (Buffalo Wild Wings), steak for dinner last night, and my pot roast for dinner this evening. Hey... I like to eat :-D

Ingredients

2lbs chuck roast
1 Tbl butter
3 Tbl minced onion (I use dry minced, that would be 1 Tbl)
3 Tbl carrot chopped very fine (equates to 3 or 4 baby carrots)
1 1/2 C red wine (they recommend a Barolo, you can use a Syrah, Shiraz... I just use wines I really love and adore)
1/2 C beef broth combined with 1/2 C water
1 roma tomato
Pinch of Thyme
Vegetable oil
Salt (for the meat)
Ground Pepper (from your pepper grinder, to taste)
1/4 tsp fresh marjoram (1/8 tsp dried)
1 beef bouillon cube

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Heavily salt and pepper your roast. Because quite a lot of it comes off when the meat is seared, go ahead and put a decent amount.

3. I usually get a very thick cut of chuck, and the sides of it are VERY difficult to make salt and pepper stick. So instead of having flavorless pieces, my boyfriend came up with the idea to smash a beef bouillon cube, and use enough olive oil to turn it into a paste. Whatever you don't use, keep to use later.

4. Heating the pan... make sure your pan is EXTREMELY hot. As soon as you put your chuck in, it will immediately cool the pan. For this step we use olive oil, so when it starts to smoke, you know you're ready to put in your meat.

5. Put your meat in the pan and brown it well all over

NOTE: You will most likely need to hold the meat with the tongs to brown the sides (like so):

6. Transfer your seared meat to a plate and set aside. Put the skillet on a burner you're not using, we'll need the contents later.

Doesn't it look pretty?

7. Choose a pot with a tight-fitting lid, probably going to be the largest pot in your set. I think most "large" pots with handles on the side (instead of the long extended handle) are about 8qt.

Put in 2 Tbs vegetable oil, butter, and onion, then turn on the heat to medium and cook the onion until it becomes a pale gold.

Note: if you're using dried onion, this is about a minute, you'll have to move quickly. Add the carrot, stir thoroughly and coat well; cook for 4 minutes then put in the meat.

8. Turn the heat to medium-low for the burner you placed your skillet on. Add in the rest of the bouillon paste and enough olive oil to pick up most of the debris left in the pan from searing the roast. Once the pan has started to warm up, pour the wine in and allow the wine to bubble briskly for about a minute, while scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen cooking residues stuck to the bottom and sides.

Add the contents of the skillet to the pot with the meat.

9. Add the broth to the pot. If it doesn't the liquid doesn't reach halfway to 2/3 up the side of the meat, evenly increment the broth until it does (meaning add equal amounts of broth and water).

Add the diced tomato, thyme, marjoram, salt, and several grindings of pepper. Turn the heat on to high, bring the contents of the pot to a boil, then cover the pot and put it on the middle rack of the preheated oven.

9. Cook for 3 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes and basting it with the liquid in the pot.

30 minutes: pre turn (left), post turn (right)

NOTE: The more liquid you use to baste, the less you will have when all is said and done with. I use a pretty cool baster, and I fill it up about one and a half times each half hour.

60 minutes: pre turn (left), post turn (right)

90 minutes: pre turn (left), post turn (right)

120 minutes: pre turn (left), post turn (right)

150 minutes: pre turn (left), post turn (right)

After 3 hours when it comes out of the oven!

In case the liquid in the pot has evaporated or has been absorbed before the meat is done, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of water. Cook until the meat feels very tender when prodded with the fork.

10. I'm never able to cut the meat up, usually it pulls apart like cotton candy with tongs in the pot before I have a chance to remove it. Use a baster to juice the meat once you have it on a plate.

Drink with the rest of the wine you used :-) and ENJOY!!

Removing Sharpie

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:51:00 +0000

Removing Sharpie From My New Purse

sigh why do 5th graders like to color on their belongings!?

Went shopping with my best friend last night at Goodwill. Most of the time I feel dirty walking into Goodwill's in this area, same problem with Wal-Mart's. It's mostly the lack of cleaning which leads to a smell and not well taken care of merchandise.

We originally went in looking for a camera bag for her, and what I found was a steal. (This is where I regret not taking a picture. I intend to remedy this later!) It looked straight out of the 1960s. Rigid navy leather, tan trimming, nice large pocket and two slip pockets on the outside. Since her husband bought her a new camera, she's needed a camera bag to tote it and all other supplies around in.

As we girls do, we wandered around and shopped a wee bit. I ended up with a loose wrapped gold wire heart container, Vanna White yarn for $0.99, and a $4 butterfly purse. The $4 butterfly purse is why we're here.

This is the (almost) before photo of the butterfly purse, sharpied galore:

Yes, I am bad at taking pictures. My desk was convenient because I had already started working (hence the wet spot around "SKY").

These are the spots I want removed:

I am currently dousing the hecks out of them with rubbing alcohol. There have been many paper towels.

This is what I'm going off of: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/stain-buster/stains-felt-marker-may07

I'll post a picture when I'm done! :-)

Buffalo Wings

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 03:13:00 +0000

Buffalo Wings

modified Hooter's Recipe

I love my boyfriend. I really do. If I didn't, I wouldn't make him his favorite meal (buffalo wings) every 5th time he asks. Yes, every fifth (it takes a week just to get help to clean the fryer, so I have to pace myself between kitchen fiascos).

And yes, do this for Superbowl parties. Or any football game. Or any... bad movie showing. Make up an excuse (the boyfriend always does).

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. paprika
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ cup butter/olive oil
½ cup Frank’s Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce
2 pkgs. wingettes

Directions

In a container suitable for coating chicken, combine flour, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper and garlic powder.
Coat chicken in dry mixture.
(Optional and highly recommended) Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Apply a second coating of the dry mixture immediately before frying.
ADDITION: If you choose to refrigerate the wings, and you have sufficient powder for a second coating, refrigerate the powder as well. Preserves it from all the chicken oogey-ness.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and stir in Frank’s sauce. Turn heat to low and keep warm on stove top.
Deep fry chicken in 375 degree F oil for 13 minutes.
Immediately coat chicken in buffalo sauce mixture and remove from saucepan with tongs.

Don't forget to take antacids with your beer and wings :-)

Blue Russian Kiss

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 03:06:00 +0000

Blue Russian Kiss

via Webtender

This drink is yummy. I mean, yummy. One, I found a new love for champagne after needing something "fun and bubbly" to go with chocolate covered strawberries at the end of spring semester last year. This drink is not only yummers (and boyfriend approved), but it's my favorite color!

4oz dry champagne
1/2oz blue curacao
1oz vodka

Shake the vodka and blue curacao over ice, pour into the bottom of a champagne glass (I use trumpet glasses, they hold 6oz). Pour champagne into glass, and watch the bubbly blue-ness in your glass. Enjoy!

Dirty Bong Water Drink

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:58:00 +0000

More Drinks!

"Dirty Bong Water"

what a terrible name

As part of alcohol walkabout week, I used webtender's "In My Bar" feature, and I got 125 drinks using the 47 ingredients I already had (a lot, I know, right?), 866 using 1 other (not necessarily the same one other) ingredient, 1537 adding 2 additional ingredients, and 1125 with 3 additional... a total of 3653. That'd have me busier for MUCH more than just a week.

The first drink I have never actually tried before is the title of this post, dirty bong water. It's a terrible name, but it turns out blue and tasty just the same.

1oz raspberry liqueur (chambord or di amore)
1oz blue curacao
1oz amaretto (disaronno or di amore)
1oz spiced rum (Captain Morgan)
1oz sweet and sour mix

Shake over ice, pour and enjoy.

Blackjack Margarita Drink

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:28:00 +0000

Blackjack Margarita

I don't know about you, but not long after I turned 21, tequila and I became good friends. I don't have many horror stories about my 21st birthday (other than it took me 6 months to drink another appletini), but I really like drinking tequila. Patron's my favorite, but 1800 is also some flippin good stuff. Since it's my spring break, and my boyfriend is pretty much a "beer only" kinda guy, we agreed to do an alcohol walk-about (modified reference from 30 Rock).

So tonight, I'm having a Blackjack margarita.

Ingredients

2oz Tequila
1oz Raspberry Liqueur (Chambord or di Amore)
1oz Triple Sec
4oz Sweet & Sour

Pour all in a shaker over ice, I shake it up until the container feels cold, then pour it in a nice margarita glass and enjoy!

Garlic Parmesan Pull Apart Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:53:00 +0000

Garlic Parmesan Pull Apart Bread

via The Pastry Affair

I love this recipe. When my boyfriend and I decided to get into the habit of having one Saturday every couple of weeks where we made dinner with our best friends, this is one of the first things that we made. And by made I mean barely escaped the oven intact because I nearly nabbed it out of the bundt pan before anyone could notice.

Looks scrumptious, don't it?

Ingredients

2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/3 cup lukewarm water
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (2 Tbs) butter, melted
1 Tbs dried parsley flakes
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

You will also need:

Large mixing bowl (I prefer glass)
Bundt pan
Nice thin kitchen towel
An oven

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the yeast and water. Let it sit until 5 minutes so the yeast gets nice and foamy. Mix in the olive oil, salt, and flour. If you have a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead the dough for 5-6 minutes until it's elastic. If you are doing this by hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until elastic, 7-10 minutes.

*If you have a bread machine, be sure to follow the machine's instructions on throwing everything together*

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled (I prefer glass) bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

**Hint** I always put the bowl on top of a dryer that's running, can cut down your rising time by as much as 30 - 60 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine melted butter, parsley flakes, and minced garlic. Set aside.

My first modification to the recipe, is to use MUCH more parmesan cheese. Makes it gooey-er and scrump-didili-umptiouser. I do a thin layer of sprinkling on the bottom of the bundt pan until you can't see the metal under the cheese. Punch down the dough. Or squash, squish with your fingers... Tear off small pieces of dough (a wee pinch, size of a truffle or standard cookie dough ball), coat in the butter/herb mixture, and squish down on the cheese layer in the bottom of the bundt pan. Repeat the process until you've made one complete layer on the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle a nice layer of parmesan cheese. They got to 3 layers, I only got to 2.

Once you run out of dough (and cheese!) cover the pan with the same kitchen towel you used earlier, and let sit until dough has doubled in size, 20 - 30 minutes. Again, I recommend putting on top of a running dryer :-)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until the bread has turned golden brown. Serve with a hot side of marinara or some delicious spaghetti sauce.

Enjoy!!

Tweaked from: http://www.pastryaffair.com/blog/2011/6/10/garlic-parmesan-pull-apart-bread.html

Things That Are Hard To Say ... When You've Had Too Much

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:32:00 +0000

Things That Are Hard to Say When You've Had Too Much

via Rate My Funny Pictures

Downright nabbed from: http://www.ratemyfunnypictures.com/index.php/8538/rate-my-things-that-are-difficult-to-say-when-you-are-drunk/

Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 01:36:00 +0000

Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

from iVillage

When you're a college student with a sudden late night graving for chocolate and you don't keep a lot of ingredients on hand (or have a stove that works), this is perfect.

Ingredients

4 Tbl all-purpose flour
4 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl cocoa powder
1 egg
3 Tbl milk
3 Tbl oil
3 Tbl chocolate chips (optional)
2-3 drops vanilla extract
1 super-awesome coffee mug

Directions

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix up with a fork (or your finger). Add the egg and mix thoroughly (fork is probably necessary here). Pour in the milk, oil, and vanilla and mix well; make sure you scrape the sides of the mug and incorporate all of the powder and liquids. Add the chocolate chips and mix again.

Place the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes (1000 watt standard). The cake will rise over the top of the mug and deflate when the microwave kicks off. Allow to cool a little, and tip over to a plate, wiggle around the edges with a knife if it gets stuck.

Eat with vanilla bean or cinnamon ice cream, and enjoy!

Borrowed from: http://www.ivillage.com/five-minute-chocolate-mug-cake/3-r-61011

21st Birthday Shots

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:08:00 +0000

21st Birthday Shots - Wish I'd done 'em Back Then

via Jessica Spengler

Washington Apple

Now this one I've done, but not as a shot, just a normal drink.

Ingredients:

1/3oz Crown Royal
1/3oz Sour Apple Pucker Schnapps
1/3oz Cranberry Juice
Splash of 7-Up/Sprite

Pour Crown, Pucker, and Cranberry juice into shaker. Shake it up, pour it in your glass, and top with your lemon-lime soda of choice. Enjoy!

Apple Jack

Again, I've done this one as a drink, not a shot. I like it a lot :-) Except I usually substitute in something else for the Jack Daniels (not a huge fan of the flavor).

Ingredients:

1/2oz Sour Apple Pucker Schnapps
1/2oz Jack Daniels

Shake up, pour, and enjoy!

Hot Apple Pie

I've never had this one, or anything else with Goldschlagger in it, after someone tries it you'll have to tell me how it tastes.

Ingredients:

1/2oz Baileys (or some other Irish Cream)
1/2oz Goldschlagger Cinnamon Schanpps
Dash of Cinnamon

Cherry Cheesecake

Haven't tried this one either. Sounds interesting though!

Ingredients:

1oz Vanilla Liqueur
1/4oz Cranberry Juice

Pour into a shaker, and serve!

Lemon Drop

I've had this as a martini... it was tasty :-D

Ingredients:

1/2oz Vodka (Absolut is my preference)
1/2oz Lemon Juice
1 sugar cube

Coat the rim of the glass w/ granulated sugar (usually dipping your finger in water and running it over the rim then dipping it in a pile of sugar works). Drop a sugar cube into the bottom of the glass, shake up the vodka and lemon juice, pour and serve!

Irish Car Bomb

The bomb part is the important part to note here, it's made the same way as a Jager bomb (just different ingredients obviously).

Ingredients:

3/4pint Guinness
1/2oz Irish Cream (Bailey's is my preference)
1/2oz Jamieson Irish Whiskey

Pour the cream, then the whiskey into a shot glass. Pour the Guinness into a pint glass or beer mug, 3/4 way full and let it settle. Then drop in the shotglass, and slam!

Jager Bomb

I personally don't like Jager, but I have done it before and I prefer substituting Monster for Red Bull.

Ingredients:

1oz Jager
Can of Red Bull/Monster (equal parts of Monster if you're substituting... not the whole thing!)

Pour Red Bull into glass, drop shot of Jager down and slam.

Red Headed Slut

No I haven't tried it, and no I don't have red hair.

Ingredients:

1/2oz Peach Schnapps
1/2oz Jagermeister Herbal Liqueur
Splash of Cranberry Juice

Combine ingredients into a shaker over ice. Shake and serve.

Dirty Girl Scout

I was a girl scout, and this sounds DELICIOUS :-D

Ingredients:

1/4oz Vodka (I prefer absolut, although Smirnoff Vanilla would work here)
1/4oz Kahlua
1/4oz Irish Cream (Bailey's)
1/4oz White Creme de Menthe

Mix the vodka, kahlua and irish cream over ice. Pour creme de menthe straight down the middle of the glass. Enjoy!

Brain Hemmorhage

Ingredients:

1oz Peach Schnapps
1tsp Irish Cream
2 drops Grenadine

Pour schanpps into glass, slowly add irish cream, then drop with grenadine.

Slippery Nipple

Ingredients:

1/2oz Irish Cream (Bailey's)
1/2oz Butterscotch Schnapps

Mix and enjoy.

Liquid Cocaine

No actual crack is involved ;-)

Ingredients:

1/2oz Goldschlagger
1/2oz Jagermeister
1/2oz Rumplemintz

Pour on top of each other in shot glass, and serve.

Tequila Slammer

I <3 Tequila

Ingredients:

3/4oz Tequila
1/4oz Ginger Ale

Pour tequila, then top with ginger ale. Cover the shotglass with the palm of your hand, lift up and slam on the counter. Drink immediately. Warning: your hand may get wet.

Vodka Popper (this one's mine!)

Ingredients:

3/4oz Vodka
1/4oz Sprite

Pour vodka, then top with sprite. Cover the shotglass with the palm of your hand, lift up and slam on the counter. Drink immediately. Warning: your hand may get wet.

Frogger

Ingredients:

1/4oz Creme de Menthe
1/4oz Kahlua
1/2oz Irish Cream (Bailey's)

Combine in a shaker over ice. Pour and serve.

Cookie Dough (this one's mine!)

Ingredients:

1/2oz Amaretto (Disaronno!)
1/2oz Irish Cream (Bailey's)
Dash of cinnamon

Pour amaretto, then irish cream into a shot glass (do not shake or mix). Sprinkle with a smidgeon of cinnamon, drink and enjoy!

Borrowed from: http://jessica-spengler.suite101.com/21st-birthday-shots-that-taste-good-a171707

Jersey Bracelet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 08:16:00 +0000

Jersey Bracelet

from V & Co.

I love this bracelet. I mean LOVE it. Even <3 it. I'm the biggest fan of comfy-ness out there (I even held on to a fortune I got when I was 12 in my wallet). Most jewelry is not "comfortable" but it is attractive. This is great for me :-)

I've only ever made the 2 finger version of this, it was large enough around my wrist that I didn't want to make anything bigger.

I did the size on the right, with the color in the middle.

You will need approximately 3 strips of jersey fabric (cut on the thin side unless you prefer a monster sized bracelet) 1" each is their recommendation, at 58" long minimum. Then you just need a hand.

First step is to cut an eyelet to start out in two of your three strips.

They measured it out to a 1/4" slit, but I just did a tiny snip with my scissors, no measuring involved.

Match them up,

Overlap,

Then you pull the third strip through,

And pull gently until you get a knot that looks like this:

Then you'll start weaving the knit around your fingers like so:

After you've looped around your fingers, you'll overlap (two fingers above, four fingers left)

And then start "weaving"

If you can't tell (took me a few tries until I was sure) you're pulling the originally looped knit OVER your finger, and over the overlap knit shown in the previous picture.

After you've done the looping a time or two, it'll begin to look like this:

And after you've done MANY loops, it'll begin to look like this:

Be sure to tug on the tail so that it makes the chain more defined (stretched out straight instead of scrunched up).

Once you've determined it's long enough, I always manually wrapped it around my wrist, carefully pull the loops off your fingers, and don't accidentally drop them:

Slip the extra tail through both loops

Pull through, and gently tie it off with a knot.

And voila!

Borrowed from: http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2011/03/v-and-co-how-to-jersey-knit-bracelet.html

Playroom Storage Solution

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 07:42:00 +0000

Playroom Storage Solution

from Worth Pinning

I'm a nut for organizing and finding simple and logical places to store things. This is something I'd love to have in my crafts room or if I ever have kids, in their room or even better... their playroom.

The basic shelving unit

The bench was built with 3/4" plywood, 72"L x 31"W x 20"H. The lower outer cubbies are 16"L x 12"W x 12"H and the 3 lower middle cubbies are 12"L x 12"W x 12"H. The upper cubbies are approximately 34"L x 12"W x 7"H. The top of the storage bench is hinged for hidden storage. The two back compartments measure approximately 34"L x 16"W x 20"H.

After putting the top down

Add in some sleeping mats, and storage tubs...

And this was her finished product (I'm in love with the color scheme):

And voila!

Borrowed from: http://www.worthpinning.com/2012/02/playroom-storage-solution.html and http://www.worthpinning.com/2012/02/pulling-playroom-room-together.html

The Things I Find

Ano-der Smoo-die

Woven Chain Bracelet

It's November!?

shhh a NINJA!

Resurfacing

Your Grandmother's Charmer

Cheesy Italian Baked Bread

taken from the boyfriend :-D

Tasty Tomato & Kalamata Olive Salad

Tasty Tomato & Kalamata Olive Salad

borrowed & modified from Baked Bree Deconstructed Chicken Kiev

Singapore Sling Drink

Singapore Sling Drink

Ren Faire Necklace

Ren Faire Necklace

Punk Rawk Princess Necklace

Punk Rawk Princess Necklace

via Flamingo Toes Anthro Necklace Week of the Paisley Rebirth Necklace

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs

to make at home (instead of buying at the store)

Pot Roast of Beef Braised in Red Wine

Pot Roast of Beef Braised in Red Wine

modified from p. 393 Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

Removing Sharpie

Removing Sharpie From My New Purse

*sigh* why do 5th graders like to color on their belongings!?

Buffalo Wings

Buffalo Wings

modified Hooter's Recipe

Blue Russian Kiss

Blue Russian Kiss

via Webtender

Dirty Bong Water Drink

More Drinks!

"Dirty Bong Water"

what a terrible name

Blackjack Margarita Drink

Blackjack Margarita

Garlic Parmesan Pull Apart Bread

Garlic Parmesan Pull Apart Bread

via The Pastry Affair

Things That Are Hard To Say ... When You've Had Too Much

Things That Are Hard to Say When You've Had Too Much

via Rate My Funny Pictures

Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

from iVillage

21st Birthday Shots

21st Birthday Shots - Wish I'd done 'em Back Then

via Jessica Spengler

Jersey Bracelet

Jersey Bracelet

from V & Co.

Playroom Storage Solution

Playroom Storage Solution

from Worth Pinning

sigh why do 5th graders like to color on their belongings!?