hip2thrift

Authentic Moldovan Borsch {Recipe}

2014-08-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite meals my mother and grandmother made when I was a child and although I don't consider myself a very good cook (ok...ok...just being modest here), I can say I've mastered the Borsch. It's somewhat of a common eastern European soup, originally from Ukraine, that varies from one country to another (even one family to another), but of course I like the Moldovan one best. I've made this for many a gathering and the recipe has often been requested, and even begged for. You know who you are. Don't say I didn't share.

I think it's a pretty simple recipe, but it can take awhile because of all the vegetable grating and chopping. If you have a food processor with a chopping setting (which I don't...sniff...sniff), it will significantly cut down the amount of prep work involved. All ingredients can be found in your grocery store.

Difficulty: medium

Prep time: 25 min

Cooking time: 40 min

ingredients

Onions	2 (medium)	White or yellow. You can also use leeks, or both. Diced.
Carrots	2 (large)	grated
Bell Peppers	2 (medium)	I like to use red ones and just dice them
Beets	2 (large)	peeled and grated
Cabbage	1 head	shredded
Tomato sauce	2 cans 8oz	it tastes even better if you make your own by peeling and blending tomatoes
Potatoes	3 (large)	cubed
Oil	3 tbsp	I use Sunflower Seed oil in all my cooking
Stew pork	1 pound	you can use chicken too or meatless
Bay Leaves	3	I add them with the meat and remove them before any vegetables are added
Lemon Juice	4 or 5 tbs	don't use lime juice
Water	15 cups	to boil the meat in. Or use half water, half meat or vegetable stock/broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream and chopped fresh parsley	1 tbs each	For garnishing and optional

step by step

Step 1: Wash the meat, remove any unwanted fat and cube in bite size pieces. Fill up a tall pot with water (about 15 cups), place the meat in it, grind black pepper and add a couple of bay leaves. Boil on high to a rolling boil. An important step not to forget is to remove the foam that forms when the meat begins to boil. Turn to a medium heat and cover with a lid.

Step 2: While the meat is boiling: peel your carrots, onions and beets. Grate the carrots and beets. Dice the onions and peppers.

Step 3: Wash, peel and cube potatoes

Step 4: Remove the outer layers of the cabbage. Cut in half and then shred/julienne starting from the middle, as pictured.

Step 5: Saute vegetables. First add the onions, then the carrots and then the peppers.

Once onions are translucent add the beets and let cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and turn down the heat. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove from heat.

Step 6: Once the meat is cooked, remove the bay leaves and add the potatoes. Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes. When almost done, add the cabbage. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Step 7: Add the vegetable mixture, lemon juice and salt to taste. Cook on low for another 10 minutes. (You can go longer if you have the time.)

My husband likes it served with a tsp of sour cream, but I like it as is. In my opinion it tastes best with sour-dough bread.

My 4 year old is not very adventurous when it comes to food, but she absolutely loves this one. It tastes even better on the second day, as all the ingredients have time to marry together pretty well.

We even have a joke in Moldova about this:

"Do you like a day old Brosch?"

"Yes"

"Then come over tomorrow!"

Hugs,

Disney Frozen Birthday Party

2014-06-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Even though it is not winter, it doesn't stop my newly turned 4 year old princess to be in love with the Disney Frozen Movie. Like many kids her age, she is obsessed with this movie, knows the lyrics to all the songs, and is just captivated with everything related to it. I have to say I quite liked the first couple of times I saw it, especially the music and Olaf the snowman.

So, when it was time to plan my daughter's 4th birthday party, it was 'crystal clear' that it would be a Frozen Party. It was a last minute decision, mostly because of a family spending 'freeze' we'd been working on. Sorry...can't resist the 'cold' terminology. Seeing as how it is almost summer and the movie has been out for a few good months now, it was hard to find anything Frozen related anywhere and even though I found some cups at a party store, I wasn't about to shell out $20 for a set of 12 cups. All of this meant I had to DIY the party, all pretty much a couple of day before the party.

I tried to keep it low key, and looking back at the pictures, it doesn't seem like a lot, but it really was a bunch of work, including staying up till 1AM the night before, mostly to clean up.

For food, we had veggie and fruit trays, pigs in a blanket (which were super popular with the kids), and a couple of the giant Costco pizzas; water and pink lemonade for drinks.

I set up a dessert table as well. I made a bunch of Elsa crowns using foam paper and had a few extra and so I made a banner to go above the dessert table. I dug out some Christmas decorations as well, but couldn't really get to many that wouldn't require serious storage room changes.

I made cupcakes, marshmallow pops and cake pop using vanilla donut holes.

We had an Olaf cake and it was made by a friend of mine. So freezing cute and oh so yummy.

For activities, we had snowman bowling. Just draw snowman faces on white paper cups and use crumpled paper for the ball. The kids absolutely loved this game and because we had about 16 kids at the party this and the other two activities were enough.

Next up was Pin the nose on Olaf. My husband drew Olaf on poster paper without a nose. I think he did such a good job. Mine would've been 3 circles, eyes and mouth and his looks just like the real one.

Sorry about the camera picture

We cut up noses from foam paper. A little tip here: use double sided tape (I couldn't find mine and ended up folding regular tape), and then stick them on the shiny side of a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Hand one to each child when it is their turn.

We also made snowmen using marshmallows, frosting to attached all the body parts, pretzels for arms, orange tic tacs for noses, and chocolate frosting for eyes, mouth and buttons.

Then we did gifts and dessert.

My daughter loved everything and kept pointing all the Frozen things things she noticed.

Because I didn't buy any themed party supplies I found some free online printables to use as dessert toppers, labels and wrappers, here and here. I also made reindeer antlers and Elsa crowns using these patterns. I made one crown and my daughter said it was an evil Elsa crown, so I adjusted the ridges and made them all in triangles. The kids loved them, but for some reason I forgot to take a picture of them.

'Can I just say something crazy?'. If you don't do what I did and plan far enough in advance, this can really be pretty stress free, although I am not familiar with that feeling, because even if I plan in advance, I still end up actually doing everything a day or two before. So, learn from my mistakes and go have yourself a Frozen Party and don't forget 'to stuff some chocolate in your face', which of course is the one thing I did not forget to do.

Hugs,

Pin and share!

linking at these parties

Zucchini Chicken Rice Pilaf {Gluten Free}

2014-03-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

Zucchini and Chicken Rice Pilaf {Gluten Free}

Difficulty: medium

Prep time: 10 min

Cooking time: 25min

Ingredients

Onions	1 (large)	you can also use leeks, or both
Carrots	1 (large)	I actually forgot to add the grated carrots, but I usually do
Oil	3 tbsp	I use Sunflower Seed oil in all my cooking
Rice	1 1/2 cups	I used brown rice, but white works too
Rotisserie chicken	1	I made 3 different meals from one roasted chicken. You can also used just cooked chicken breast
Bell Peppers	1 (large)
Zucchini	2 (medium)
Fresh cilantro	2 tbsp	these are for garnishing at the end and it is optional
Feta cheese	1/2 cup	for garnishing
Salt and pepper to taste step by step

1. Gather your ingredients. Chop your vegetables.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat add the oil. Add onions, salt and cook,

stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent.

3. Add the peppers and zucchini. Note that I did not peel the zucchini. I find that when

I peel them, they just turn into mush once cooked.

4. Add rice and cook, stirring, until rice grains are opaque.

5. Add water or chicken broth enough to cover the mixture. Bring to a boil and
then add the cooked chicken.

I transferred into a pot because I couldn't find the lid for my large pan. Cover, reduce

heat to simmer, and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes. Turn off heat but let rice sit for

5 minutes undisturbed. Uncover and fluff with a fork.

Serve garnished with feta cheese and parsley.

I like to make this meal with any variation of vegetables that I have in my fridge.

It is a quick and simple but still pretty yummy. An added bonus is that it is gluten free.

Do you like zucchini? What do you like to use them for?

Linking to these awesome parties.

8 Thanksgiving Dinner Must-Haves

2013-11-18T18:45:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I am European and have celebrated Thanksgiving only for a few years since I have moved to the US. Even the ones I did celebrate here, there were always prepared by my mother in law. Last year was the first time we were going to celebrate Thanksgiving by ourselves. However, I had a moldovan friend visiting and we just ended up making moldovan food. This year however, I am resolved to try a real american Thanksgiving feast and to keep myself accountable, we will probably have friends over. I had to google when Thanksgiving is and also what a traditional menu consists of.
So I put together a list of the must-haves, mostly for me, since I have no idea what I am doing.

1. The Turkey!!!

The star of the show. Lots of recipes out there and I am pretty intimidated by this part. I have the feeling I might end up just buying a ready made one. I don't know...haven't decided yet.

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2. The Gravy

Not much to say here - it pulls the meal together, and anything

with some gravy can taste extra yummy.

via

3. Sweet Potato Casserole

This is definitely my least favorite, but hey...it's traditional and most people like it.

via

4. Mashed Potatoes

I didn't grow up with Thanksgiving, but we sure had plenty of mashed potatoes. I like to think of myself as an expert when it comes to mashed potatoes. I may have to post my recipe soon.

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5. Green Bean Casserole

I love this casserole and it is so simple to make.

I've made on so many other non holiday related occasions.

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6. Rolls

I am still looking for a gluten free recipe for rolls, so hopefully I'll have some on the my Thanksgiving table.

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7. Cranberry sauce

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8. Pumpkin Pie

I am not a big fan anything pumpkin or pie related (gasp), but I am pretty sure my other guests will enjoy some. I may do some sort of variation of the classic pie...cupcakes anyone?

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Do you have any yummy recipes you use for Thanksgiving? Did I miss anything? Share in the comments.

Not to freak anyone out, but Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away,

and then we can decorate for Christmas!

Hugs and Thank you,

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To blog or not to blog?!

2013-09-22T23:20:00.002-07:00

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You may or may not have noticed that I've bean MIA from the blog for most of the summer. I could tell you all about the trials my family and I have been going through and how that didn't leave any time for projects, and therefore blogging on this supposedly project oriented blog; and I wouldn't be lying to you at all. I could tell you that I really wanted to take a break for the summer to spend more time with my family and serving others, and that wouldn't be a lie either. Whether that actually happened or not is enough for a whole new post. In reality, I really thought that I was done with this blogging thing, and since I wasn't having much success with it, why even try, right? Classic failure mentality, one that I have been guilty of giving into in many areas and endeavors of my life. Honestly, I couldn't even bring myself to write anything, even to say I won't be blogging or that I may return in the fall, because I really thought I wouldn't.

The thing about failure is that I can't usually accept it easily in my life, which is why I continued to try to work on this blog in the past - probably because of how much I hated to admit to myself that I am failing miserably. Makes perfect sense, right? This may very well be the case, except I miss it so much, and even more than that, I miss crafting and doing projects. I miss using my creativity to make something to beautify my life and that of those around me. If it's only fear of failure, then why do I long to create?!

ANYWAY, here I am laying it all out on the inter webs, in the hopes that I'll be able to figure out a way to get rid of these self imposed limitations that have left me completely unable to do something that I love so dearly.

Hope y'all are enjoying the beginning of the beautiful fall season. Lots of hugs,

Follow Hip2Thrift on Instgram

2013-08-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love good old Instagram? To follow Hip2Thrift on your
favorite app,

just search the hash-tag #hip2thrift .

You know how much I love being thrifty, and I know that you guys do too. So why not have some thrifty fun together?!

If you ever DO any thrifty projects, or

TRY any Hip2Thrift ideas,

or just want to give a SHOUT OUT...

Attach the hashtag #hip2thrift to your Instagram pictures, so we can all check it out!

Coming up: Some awesome contests with this hashtag !

Happy Instagramming!

Crochet Farmer's Market Bag {Tutorial}

2013-07-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Crocheting a bag is very simple and a fairly fast project to make. It took me just one evening to make, while I was watching Arrested Development (forgive me, friends that have strongly recommended this show, I just can’t seem to get into it). I love this bag because you can pretty much do your own thing and it’s hard to mess it up. If you use cotton yarn, it is machine washable and dryable.

It’s also pretty versatile in it’s use – take it for a stroll at the farmer’s market and it’ll fit right in with all those hipster/boho farmer’s market shopping people. It works really well as a beach bag, as all the sand can just seep through the mesh. Ok…ok…you caught me…I don’t go to the beach that often and actually use this bag for my daughter’s sand toys when we go to the play ground. Classy…I know.

Supplies:

worsted weight cotton yarn (you can use any cotton or acrylic yarn. I wouldn't recommend wool, as it will shed and get all fuzzy)
Size H crochet hook
Tapestry needle for weaving in

Crochet Bag Pattern

Step 1: Start with a magic loop. Ch 3 and work 11 DC into the loop.Ch 3 counts as first DC throughout. DO NOT TURN. Do not join. Use a stitch marker and work in the round.

Step 2: HDC in the ch3. DC in the same stitch. 2DC in next DC and all around.

Step 3: *1 DC, 2DC* all around. Place stitch marker.

Step 4: *1 DC in next 2 DCs, 2DC in next DC* all around. Place stitch marker.
Step 5: *1 DC in next 2 DCs, 2DC in next DC* all around. Place stitch marker.

You can stop here or make the bottom as big as you want. I added a couple of more rows before working on the body.

Step 6: *1 DC in next 3 DCs, 2DC in next DC* all around. Place stitch marker.
Step 7: *1 DC in next 4 DCs, 2DC in next DC* all around. Place stitch marker.

Step 8: Here I’m stopping the round work just for this row. To join, make a HDC, then a SC and then Sl St.

Step 9: Ch 5. Skip 2 stitches, SC in the third stitch from hook. Repeat Ch 5, sk 2st, SC in third stitch all around. (working in the round again)

Step 10: Join with a Sl St in the beginning Sl St. * Ch 5, SC in previous Ch 5 space* repeat all around until your bag is the desired height.

Step 11: CH 2; HDC in next CH5 sp, HDC in next SC * HDC in next CH 5 sp, HDC in next SC; repeat from * around, join with a Sl ST to top of CH 4
Step 12: CH 2; HDC in each HDC all around, join with SL St to top of CH 2
Step 13: CH 1; SC in each HDC around, join with Sl ST to first SC, CH 2

First Handle

Row 1: Ch 1, SC in each of first 2 sts leaving remaining sts unworked, turn (2 SC).
Row 2: Ch 1, SC in first st leaving last st unworked, turn (1).
Row 3: Ch 1, SC in next st, turn, until Handle measures 10″ or whatever length you like. Fasten off.
Skip next 38 sts on last rnd of the Body, sew end of Handle to next 2 sts.

Second Handle

Row 1: Skip next 38 sts on last rnd of Body after beginning of First Handle, join with SC in next st, SC in next st leaving remaining sts unworked, turn (2 SC).
Row 2: Ch 1, SC in first st leaving last st unworked, turn (1).
Row 3: Ch 1, SC in next st, turn, until Handle measures 10″, fasten off.

Fasten off, leaving tail long enough for sewing.

Make one of these and take it to the beach, since it looks like mine is getting the toddler treatment this summer.

What would you put in a crochet bag? How would you use it?

Hugs,

Favorite Toddler Apps

2013-07-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that kids these days love technology and it's amazing how fast they learn how to use it. Hip2thrift's very own contributor Kara is here sharing her Favorite Family Friendly Apps. Enjoy - Iuliana

Family Friendly Apps

Created using the Toca Boca Tailor App. Take pictures of your creations, using the background captured by your camera. This background is our flight to visit family.

With all the travel my kids and I will be doing this summer, I rely heavily on electronic devices to keep the peace and help pass the time. I wanted to share just a few of my very favorite family-friendly applications for Apple devices in case you have a road trip coming up, or are just looking for some fun.

1) Toca Hair Salon 2 by Toca Boca AB

Find it here

As of this moment, this adorable app is the App of the Week, and is free. (So download it now, ask questions later.) It will be $2.99, and still worth the price. This is an interactive toy, not a game. You choose a client, cut their hair, style it, accessorize them, and take their pictures. You can tell people you downloaded this for your kids, but you'll find it's a great way to entertain yourself as well. Toca Boca has a ton of fun apps. My next favorite is Toca Tailor. It's such a great tool for creativity and imagination. A "lite" free version of that is Toca Fairytale, which has fewer options but is nearly just as fun.

2) Monkey Preschool Lunchbox by THUP Games

Find it here

This simple game is easy enough for two year olds, but preschoolers like it too. There's color matching, simple puzzles, counting, and best of all, the only thing they can touch that stops play is the home key. The developer, THUP, has a series of monkey apps. We have all of them, and I would recommend them to any toddler and preschool family. Their app, "When I Grow Up" is particularly fun for toddlers. Their math and spelling apps are great for the preschool crowd. I believe their apps are also available for android phones.

3) Elmo Calls by Sesame Street

Find it here

This is great for entertaining toddlers, and practicing how to make phone calls and use FaceTime with them. My toddler loves interacting with Elmo, and seeing herself on the iPhone screen.

4) Endless Alphabet by Callaway Digital Arts Inc.

Find it here

This is a word game where kids drag the letters to where they belong, and then are rewarded with a short animation that teaches them about the letters and the meaning of the word. Kids don't need to be able to spell to play it, they just match up the letters to their outlines. I know my son has a couple of words in his vocabulary that he picked up here.

Have fun everybody! And if you're letting your kid use your apple device, I also recommend protecting it with an Otterbox Defender case. I broke my screen when I had my phone out of my case for 5 minutes last week. It isn't the toddler I can't trust, it's me. When it's been in the case, I've probably dropped it hundreds of times and it never cracked. They now also make them for iPads.

What are your favorite family friendly apps?

~Kara

Looking for more family fun tips and ideas? Follow Hip2Thrift on Pinterest

Crochet Market Bag

2013-06-25T00:41:00.001-07:00

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Today I am sharing a simple crochet tutorial for a Market or Beach Bag.

Head over to Craftaholics Anonymous for the full tutorial. Comment love is always welcome!

Have an awesome day!

*Google Reader is going away on July 1. Make sure you don’t miss any DIY goodness and thrifty tutorials by signing up to follow Hip2Thrift on Bloglovin!*

Google Reader is no more

2013-06-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Google Reader will no longer be after July 1, 2013. Oh how I love my Google Reader! I didn't have to make the switch, but since I don't want to lose all the blogs I'm following, I switched over to Bloglovin.

I think it's pretty easy to use and once you sign up, you can import your existing

blogs from Google Reader to Bloglovin.

You can register here:
http://www.bloglovin.com/

I would really like it if continued following Hip2Thrift. You can subscribe via email

or follow me through Bloglovin.

Happy Father's Day!

2013-06-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Crochet Spa Basket Tutorial

2013-06-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

May is a busy month at our house, and between my birthday, mother's day, my daughter's birthday and half my friends' birthdays, I have my hands full especially when it comes to gift giving. Today, I am sharing a simple tutorial on How to Crochet a Basket, which makes for a quick last minute and economical gift!

Crochet Spa Basket Tutorial

Supplies: cotton worsted weight yarn (I used Lily Sugar n' Cream) 5.5 mm hook needle for weaving in ends

Abbreviations: CH- chain ST- stich SL ST- slip stitch SC- single crochet DC- double crochet

Step 1: Make a magic loop (learn how to make a magic loop here or at Hip2Thrift). CH 3, 12 DC in the loop, join with Sl ST at the top of the CH 3.

Step 2- CH 3, DC in the same stitch as the CH3, 2 DC in each stitch around. Join with Sl ST to the top of the CH 3

Step 3: CH 3, DC in the same stitch as the CH3, *2 DC in next st, 1 DC, 2 DC*, all around. Join with Sl ST to the top of the CH 3

Step 4- CH 3, DC in the same stitch as the CH3, *2 DC in next st, 1 DC in the next 2 stitches, 2 DC*, all around. Join with Sl ST to the top of the CH 3.

You are basically making a flat circle. Keep adding 1DCs in between 2DCs, depending on how big you want the basket bottom to be. I stopped at the previous row. Make sure that your circle is flat.

Step 5- CH 1, SC into the back loop of next stitch and all around. SL ST to the beginning CH1. This step creates a ledge and makes for a good transition to the next rows that will all be going up, creating the walls of the basket.

Step 6 - regular SC all around. Join with a SL ST. You can make it as tall as you want here.

You can make it taller and fold it over for an awesome cuff and more sturdy look.

Step 7- Weave in ends with your upholstery needle.
Optional: Depending on how loose or tight you crochet, you can spray the basket with a starch spray and iron. I love how easy these baskets are to make! If you use thicker yarn, or even t-shirt yarn, you can these up in no time. You can use two colors for an awesome color block look.

These baskets are versatile and can be used to hold spa essentials, make-up, or as storage anywhere in the house. Give it away as a gift filled with awesome spa goodies, or keep it for yourself. I have a couple that I use whenever I have guests and I fill them with washcloths, small size toiletries, and even some treats.

Now that you know how to crochet a basket, go make some baskets now!

Hugs, Iuliana

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Don't name your kid 'Phone'

2013-05-15T18:10:00.003-07:00

source

I hope everyone had an amazing Mother's Day! I saw this awesome video, that I thought I'd share with you. It's super cute and it seriously made me cry.

Seriously...don't name your kid 'phone' or 'corndog'. Just sayin'

Let's hug it out,

Mother's Day JoTotes Giveaway Winner

2013-05-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Mother's Day! Just wanted to take a minute and announce the winner of the JoTotes Giveaway.

Tammy Davis, you are the winner!!! Congratulations! We are so excited for you to get TWO JoTotes Camera Bags, one for you and one for a special woman in your life (just in case yoare wondering, I'm pretty special myself and don't have a JoTotes Bag j/k).

Lots of hugs.

How to Make Easy Crochet Spa Baskets

2013-05-09T23:41:00.001-07:00

Today you can find me over at Craftaholics Anonymous sharing How to Make a Crochet Spa Basket. It is a very quick project, so it can certainly be whipped up in time for Mother's Day for those procrastinators such as me.

Go over to Craftaholics Anonymous to find the full tutorial and show some comment love...pwease.

Hugs,

Today is the last day to enter our awesome Mother's Day JoTotes Giveaway.

How to make a Chunky Crochet Lampshade Cover

2013-05-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

If we're gonna be friends, you need to know that I hate baking, and if we get to hang out together, the cookies will most likely be store bought. What does this have to do with this crochet lamp shade pattern, you ask? Nothing really, except to illustrate that when you bake you have to be exact, and like one of my awesome friends told me once, it is a science. Nuh-ah. Not with crochet! You can totally wing it so much of the time, and depending on how loose or tight you crochet, on the thickness of the yarn or the size of the hook (crochet hook...not Captain Hook, in case you too are obsessed with Once Upon a Time), your work can turn out to be completely different from whatever pattern you were following, which I guess can be frustrating sometimes, but totally awesome for me. I hate following exact recipes, patterns or directions (yeah...I do get lost a lot).

That, my friends is the case with this super simple and fast project. You've seen lampshades covered with flowers, paint, burlap, fabric, washi tape...you name it...blogland has seen it. This is my crochet spin on it.

Crochet Lamp Shade Pattern

What you'll need

- This pattern will work for any size/shape lampshade that needs a little makeover. I used a 13'' diameter JÄRA Shade from Ikea that I had gotten a few years ago - Any Super Bulky weight yarn. I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease

- Size N crochet hook

Abbreviations

CH - chain

SC - Single Crochet SL ST - Slip Stitch (or join) DC - Double Crochet

Pattern & Tutorial Round 1: Chain enough chains to go around the top rim of your lampshade minus 5 stitches. For mine it was 55 CH. Making sure not to twist, make a ring by joining with a SL ST.

Round 2: CH 1. SC all around. SL ST to join (55 SC total)

Round 3: CH 1. Work a SC in each stitch. If your lampshade is a bit concave like mine, you'll have to increase evenly 4 times during this round. An increase is 2 SC in the same stitch. (59 SC total)

If your lampshade is perfectly tubular, no increases are necessary in this round or any of the rest

Join with a SL ST. Round 4: CH 3. Work DC in the back loop of each stitch to make a ledge that will fold in. SL ST in the top of the CH3 (59 DC total)

Round 5: CH 3. Work one DC in the same CH 3 stitch. This will be your increase in every row. Join. (60 DC total)

Round 6-13: Repeat Round 5 until you get to the bottom rim of the lampshade. For mine it required 8 more rows.

Round 14: CH 1. SC in the back loop all around. This is a repeat of the little ledge we created for the top brim. Join.

Round 15: CH 1. Work 4 decreases dispersed evenly around.

How to do a Single Crochet Decrease:

Put the hook through the first stitch, wrap the yarn over and pull through. You now have 2 loops on the hook. Leave both loops on the hook. Put the hook through the next stitch, wrap the yarn over and pull through. There are 3 loops on the hook. Wrap the yarn over and pull through all three loops.

Round 16: CH 1. SC all around. Join. Weave in tail.

Dress your lamp with it's new coat making sure you use the skinnier part for the top of the lamp and match the folded edge with rims of the lamp.

You're done! Because of the chunky yarn and large size hook, this is a very quick project. I did it while I watched some NBA documentary with the hubs (and no...it wasn't my choice. It was documentary night and it was between that or one about how to armor an SUV). Also, if you've ever bought a lampshade from Ikea before, than you know they usually don't work with non-Ikea lamps. Check out the tutorial about how to hack an Ikea lampshade in order for it to work for all lamps.

Enjoy a whole new look for your lamp, added texture and character!

Hugs,

Don't forget to enter to win TWO JoTotes Camera Bags. Today is the last day!

Mother's Day JoTotes Giveaway

2013-05-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is only DAYS away! YIKES!! Are you ready? Do you have a gift for that special Mom in your life? Well, don't worry, we have you covered! Hang onto your seats and get ready for a FABULOUS giveaway!

With Mom Day coming quickly, the Craftaholics Anonymous® Creative Team put our crafty little heads together and decided to hold a very special giveaway just for you! We are giving away 2, yes, not 1 but TWO Jo Totes! {are you jumping up and down yet?! Because we are!} We are so excited to offer you this special giveaway! Jo Totes make us weak in the knees, so we knew they would be the perfect giveaway.

If you're in love with these bags, wait till you see JoTotes' newest bag that we have the honor to introduce to you today! Behold the "Abby" bag!

It comes in mint or lilac and is available for preorder today on May 6th.

The lucky winner will get a Jo Totes for herself and one to give to a special gal in her life!

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How to make a bed canopy with an Embroidery Hoop

2013-04-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

My daughter has been making sure to remind me regularly that she is a a big girl and a princess. So, I've been working on making changes from a baby looking room to more of a toddler or as she reminds me - princess room.

Because we live in an apartment that we rent, where not much can be done to the walls, I decided to make this bed canopy, that provides a lot of impact for minimal wall or ceiling damage; also satisfying my daughter's pleading for anything princess related.

It is absolutely perfect and my daughter is absolutely in love with her 'princess bed'. Head over to Craftaholics Anonymous, where I am sharing how to make this super easy bed canopy.

Have an awesome weekend and lots of hugs,

Chevron Wrapping Paper Covered Bookshelves

2013-04-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

Though I love the look of bookshelves, decorating them is not my favorite thing. Why you ask? because I'm of the opinion that bookshelves should be practical, and used according to its destination...you know...holding books. However, if they hold only books and trinkets, they can look messy and chaotic. I did my best at marrying practical, organized and pretty. I still have boxes full of books that haven't made the cut for displaying rights, but hopefully their turn is coming soon.

Here's what I started with...

and here's what you'll need to achieve the same look:

wrapping paper (when I saw this chevron one at HomeGoods I felt like the angels were singing Hallelujah and so I snagged 3 rolls (which is all they had)
double sided tape
scissors and/or X-acto knife

Here's what I did:

cleared everything off the shelves and dusted. This was the hardest or longest part of the project (you know...since I can hardly remember when I dusted there)
removed shelves
This is when you start measuring your wrapping paper. I was soo lucky because the width of the paper was exactly the same as the width of my bookshelves backing. Remember those angels I heard at the store?...yeah...now you know why - it was a match made in heaven.
I actually didn't have double sided tape and tried using regular tape. That was a bad idea, as the paper would fall 2 seconds after i put it up and overall it made everything so much more frustrating, so I abandoned the tap route and went with push pins in the corners. You can barely tell they're there and most of them were covered by books anyway.

After I attached with two pushpins at the top, I rolled out the wrapping paper all the way to the bottom of the middle shelf that doesn't come off, made a crease and used the X-acto knife to cut. I did the same for all the rest.

It only took me one roll of wrapping paper, so for under $5, I was able to get a whole new look for the room. I like that it looks sort of nautical and will work out well for summer.

What do you think? Do your books get dusted more often than mine?

Hugs,

How to put together a simple Picnic Date

2013-04-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

I have to say that one of my favorite ways to eat and in general spend time with friends, family or dates is to have a picnic. There's something so magical about it in my mind. I think it reminds me of my childhood days spent at my grandparents', running in the fields, smelling the fresh air, feeling the grass on my feet, and hearing the beautiful sounds of nature. Every day was picnic day, as we ate food we had just picked from the garden.

The other day it was my turn to plan date night and so dinner and a movie it was. I didn't really want to spend money at a restaurant (does anyone else feel like they go bankrupt when going to a movie?! Seriously...way too expensive), but didn't really want to eat at home either. So picnic it was. I decided to go with a simple and light dinner, as we had a coupon for popcorn and knew that we would stuff our faces with that during the movie (romantic...huh?!)

I made a broccoli grape salad, a small plate of Caprese Skewers (recipe here) and some
awesome Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I used a mason jar for the salad, topped it with some butcher paper, and the put the rim lid on. I tied the fork with some bakers twine. I added some paper and twine to the cookies as well.

We didn't stay very long (like 15 min at the most), because the winds became very strong and the sky looked like this.

As soon as we got in the car, it started raining. I still view the picnic a succes! Your turn to go grab something simple to eat and drink, and a blanket. It will make any dinner or lunch seem fancier.

What do you like to eat on you go on picnics?

Easter recap

2013-03-25T01:11:00.000-07:00

I love the Easter season, because of what this holiday means, and what it does in terms of bringing families together.

So for this Easter we were able to spend it with close friends and family. I am grateful to have a wonderful family and especially for the amazing sacrifice of the Son of God and the Atonement he performer for us

As far Easter decor for this year, I went with a simple spring mantle and just a few words on a chalkboard.

I love to keep it simple, but this year it was mostly because I couldn't find my Easter Decor box anywhere in storage, and didn't want to spend any money to decorate. It was enough to spend on the candy for treats and eggs. Speaking of treats, my daughter wanted to give some to her friends for Easter, so she participated in filling these up.

I got the little baskets in the dollar section at Target; they came in a pack of six, and with two packs, we were all set. We added a bit of paper grass and topped it with candy. My daughter absolutely loved making these and stayed focus on filling the baskets and not eating the candy in the process.

Although easter egg hunts and bunnies are not a tradition I grew up with, I am happy to report that it was a lot of fun to watch my little girl enjoy these activities.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and lots of hugs,

Easter Panettone Recipe (Moldovan Style)

2013-03-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Easter is a huge holiday in Moldova, which, if you're new here, is where I am from and where I lived until 4 years ago when my (american) husband and I moved to the US. Anyway, back to Easter in Moldova...I could say that it is a holiday bigger than Christmas. I remember dearly all the wonderful times spent with family on Easter. No bunnies, no Easter Egg Hunts, but certainly plenty of other traditions, many of which are food related.

Today I am sharing a must have for a Moldovan Easter and a new favorite of

my American side of the family.

It is a mix between the American pound cake and the Italian Panettone, and we call it 'Cozonac'. It is super yummy, but super difficult to make. I know it took my mom days to prepare for this. I've never actually attempted to make one myself using my grandma's recipe, but here's one I adapted from the Italian Panetonne recipe over at the Food Network.

I didn't have the right form for this, so I just used regular loaf pans.

Difficulty: medium

Prep time: 30 min

Inactive time: 2 hours

Cooking time: 35 min

Yield: 2 loaves

ingredients

Dried Fruits

1/2 cup diced candied orange peel

3/4 cup dried cherries

3/4 cup golden raisins

3/4 cup diced dried apricots

Dough ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp active dry yeast

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

Mixing and finishing ingredients

1 cup of whole milk

1 stick of butter

¼ cup honey

2 tbs grated lemon zest

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

step by step

1. Place the dried fruits and dough ingredients into a bowl.

2. Heat 1 cup whole milk, 1 stick butter, 1/4 cup honey and 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest in a saucepan, until all the ingredients are homogenized and are about 120 degrees. Pour and stir into the dry mix in the bowl.

3. Lightly beat 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, add to the dough and mix.

4. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

5. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans and line with parchment paper.

6. Separate the dough into two equal parts and place them in your pans; cover and let rise 1 hour.

8. Whisk 1 egg with a little bit of milk, and brush your loves conservatively (as in don't dump the whole egg mixture on top; we don't want burnt omelet on top).

7. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

Cool before slicing.

If you attempt this recipe and it doesn't turn out well, please don't hate me. I am not a baker, and I hate following exact measurements. I didn't use exact measurements for any of the dried fruit, sugar or honey. I also, added extra flour when the dough was too thin, or water when it was too thick. I just worked it until it wasn't sticking to my fingers.

What Easter Traditions does your family have that you love?

Hugs,

Chunky Crochet Lampshade

2013-03-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend and if you celebrated St.Patrick's day, hope it was fun. We didn't do much, except to the Parade downtown Denver.

Today I am really excited to share a new project, that just makes me smile every time I glance at it.

I am sharing the full tutorial and pattern over at Craftaholics Anonymous! Stop by and share some love!

Have an awesome week and lots of hugs,

Build Your Blog Conference Recap

2013-02-23T22:11:00.001-08:00

If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, then you know that last weekend I was able to attend my first blogging conference.

I absolutely loved it! The speakers were amazing, the atmosphere was fun, easy going and inspirational, and the people were just awesome! I met a lot of bloggers, new and seasoned and they all had something I learned from them.

I was so star struck when I met some of the bloggers whose blogs I already followed, such as:

Desiree from The 36th Avenue

Here I am with 4 of the 6 sisters from sixsistersstuff. They were the

organizers and have done an amazing job.

This is Emilie from Photo By Emilie. She gave such an awesome workshop on Photography 101 and specifically how to start shooting in manual. I think my brain finally understood all that terminology and how it works. Let's see if I actually apply it! I was also the lucky winner of one of her online classes. So excited to learn more.

There are a lot of great things that I learned and was inspired to do.

Stay tuned! Coming up next '7 unexpected things you learn at a Blogging Conference'

Hugs,

Love Day

2013-02-14T18:18:00.001-08:00

It’s Valentine’s Day today and I hope you all have someone that gave you lots of hugs and kisses. I've never thought of Valentine's Day as a very big deal, but since my daughter turns everything she touches into something totally adorable, so it is with this holiday too.

Yesterday my adorable toddler was beside herself when I told her we were going to put together Valentine's Day treats for her friends. I got some cute treat cups and bags from the Target dollar section, and she put candy in each of them one by one until they were filled.

That was like an hour of pure bliss for her. She just loved being helpful. At some point I had an M&M and she made sure to remind me these were not for us, but for her friends.

Even more, she loved delivering the goodies to her friends today. She absolutely loved practicing saying 'Will you be my valentine' all day today.

We weren't able to find anyone to watch our daughter, so we all went out for a Valentine's Day bowling date. Can you believe they have size 8 bowling toddler shoes?! They looked so cute on her!

I hope you bad an awesome day. I am flying out to Utah tomorrow morning for the Build Your Blog Conference. Stay tuned for updates!

Hugs,

Iuliana