October 25, 2011

herb garden

So we bought our house mid July and we didn't have time to plant a garden this season. We use a lot of herbs and wanted to have fresh herbs available. So an indoor planter it is!
By the way, you can not buy seeds ANYWHERE during the fall. We tried 6 different shops, from Home Depot to Walmart to Ace Hardware and a local nursery. They don't sell seeds... We had to gather up packets from relatives.
Michael built a narrow box perfect for 8 mid size terra cotta pots. And he attached it to the kitchen window. 
 One week later, the seeds are starting to sprout!
I wanted a way of identifying what the seeds were so I decided to make chalk board paint! 
My recipe is not the ideal mix of ingredients! I had some sanded tile grout and acrylic black paint. I mixed about 1/2 teaspoon of grout to that entire tube of paint.
I started with a toothpick until all the grout was mixed in with the paint. 
With sanded grout it turned out...grainy. It still works fine, just not the ideal texture. 
I painted a rectangle onto the planter.
Here is blog that has a great DIY for chalk board paint. Just use un-sanded grout and latex paint. 
2 1/2 weeks later, they are growing! So excited to have fresh herbs!

October 18, 2011

Another restful sunday

A Sunday the way they should be:
1. We started off with breakfast. We tried to make biscuits stuffed with eggs, cheese, red peppers and bacon. Not quite what we expected but it was still delicious. 
2. Picnic in the park, conveniently located behind our house.
Michael made pâté again, recipe found here
We mastered the art of self-timer. 
3. Then home again for lunch..or early dinner. I chopped some zucchini and blanched it. Topped it with cooked ground turkey, roasted tomatoes and a red pepper puree. 
4. Michael wanted to get on the roof. I couldn't get up there so Michael built me a ladder :)
it was lovely. 
5. Late dinner with Turkey meat balls, asparagus, mashed potatoes and purple cabbage. 
I love weekends where I wake up on Monday feeling relaxed. 
It was the perfect balance of getting things done and not doing anything. 
I love being married and spending my days with my best friend. 



October 15, 2011

Rustic candle holders diy

My wonderful friends, Kelsey and Chelsea, come over and we made beautiful lace, twine and burlap candle holders.

What you need:
-Burlap
-Twine
-Lace- we used table clothes and blouses from thrift stores
-scissors
-glue and hot glue
-mason jar or glass- both from thrift store as well 
1. Cut your burlap to the size of your jar or glass
2. Glue
 3. Put a tea light inside and turn off the lights and enjoy the beautiful candle!
 Really simple and extremely beautiful!
Try different size jars, glasses, or vases.
And try different types of string: yarn, hemp, twine, etc.
You could also use linen or sheer fabrics with a cool pattern!
I love how rustic it looks! Enjoy!

October 13, 2011

DIY Pretty white board

Super simple but unique way of creating a white board.

Bailey and I created these together, you can view her blog here

What you need:
-Fabric or scrapbook paper
-scissors (or paper cutter) and glue
-Frame, the size that you want the board to be.
**Buy frames that are in good shape at a thrift store. They will cost you less than $2. No need to buy a brand new frame**
1. Take your frame apart.
2. Cover the backing with paper or fabric. 
You can cover that matting separately if you like or just put a single piece of paper or fabric in the frame.
3. Put the frame back together
4. And done! You can write and rewrite as many times as you like :)
*we put ours in the bathroom and use to write reminders and love notes of course. 



You can use it as a "To Do" list or create a weekly menu calendar like the one below:
Enjoy your crafting!!

October 11, 2011

Key Lime Pie

My brother's birthday was a few days ago and he LOVES key lime pie. I wanted a simple recipe because I did not have a lot of prep time and I also wanted a pretty presentation.

Delicious, no-bake key lime pie:

1- 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup of key lime juice (it took me about 12 limes)
4 ounces of cream cheese
Graham cracker crust- crumbled

topping:
whipped cream...recipe from a previous post found here
lime zest

1. Juice key limes- about 12 limes
2. Combine condensed milk, key lime juice and cream cheese
(If it is too sweet, add more lime or lime zest. If it is too tart, add more sugar)
3. Scoop filling into a martini glass
4. Take crumbled graham cracker and add a layer on top of the filling
5. Add whipped cream on top of the graham cracker
6. Sprinkle lime jest on top and add lime for garnish
7. Chill for a few hours and serve!
8. Ta Da! Easy Peasy...

October 9, 2011

Weekends

My favorite type of weekend:
1. Games in bed. Favorites include: Battleship, Uno and Bananagrams 
2. Movies all day long. This weekend included Big Fish and Jane Eyre
3. Hikes! Lovely Saturday at Radnor Lake. 
4. The game 'Chopped'. If you have not seen the tv show on food network, you take 4 random ingredients and have to use them to create a meal. You have to use all 4 of the ingredients in the dish. We always play this game when we are low on food. It helps us clean out the pantry when we don't know what to make. Our latest game included:
 - Rosemary pulled pork with a strawberry compote
 -Michael created a sweet potato fritter
-Finished off with grilled peaches and chai whipped cream. 

5. Crafts! Crafts! Crafts! I have a craft fair coming up in two weeks, so I have been busy painting, drawing, jewelry making, quilting, sewing scarves... my craft room is exploding!
6. Spending time with family for my brother's birthday.


A very relaxing and perfect weekend. 

October 3, 2011

Simple Wreath DIY

This project has been floating around pintrest and facebook and I decided to give it a shot!

You will need:
-Styrofoam ring (I got it for $5 at JoAnn's)
-Yarn
-Scrap Fabric
-Hot Glue gun
1. To make the wreath, simply wrap yarn around the ring!
2. I decorated mine with fabric flowers. (Sorry bad lighting on the final picture, I will add a new picture soon!)
How to make fabric flowers:
1. Cut out a strip of fabric
2. Fold it in half and begin tightly rolling it.
3. Add a dot of hot glue as you wrap the fabric around
4. After you've created the rolled center, begin twisting the fabric around, adding hot glue to hold it together
5. Cut off excess fabric and hot glue it to the back of the flower.
6. I glued all my flowers together and backed them with felt.
7. Then hot glue to your wreath!
*note: the longer the strip of fabric, the bigger the flower!

October 1, 2011

Pâté- For adventurous eaters!

Many people do not know what pâté is nor would people want to eat chicken livers. 
However, if you are adventurous and are willing to try a new and delicious recipe, I think you will really enjoy it!

Ingredients:
-8 ounces of chicken liver- you can buy this at any grocery store
-1/2 cup chopped onion
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-2-4 slices of bacon
-2 tablespoons of white cooking wine 
-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon pepper
-1/4 teaspoon salt

-Baguette for crostinis

Onion Relish:
-Red Onion
-Red cooking wine
-Balsamic vinegar
-Cranberry juice
-sugar

1. Cook your bacon. Save some of the bacon fat. Cook up your garlic and onions in the reserve bacon fat.
2. Add the chicken liver to the onion and garlic. Cook until there is no more pink.
3. In a blender or food processor, add chicken liver mixture, crumbled bacon, cooking wine, salt, pepper and nutmeg. 
4. Blend
**Michael's tip: when blending warm ingredients make sure there is an opening in the lid and loosely hold a towel over the opening to prevent spilling. 
5. Put blended mixture into the refrigerator and cool for 24 hours. 
6. In the meantime, slice a baguette, drizzle some olive oil on top, put on a pan and toast in the oven.   
           (400 degrees for 7 minutes)
7. We also serve our pâté with an onion relish. Slice 3/4 of a red onion.
8. Put onion and 2 cups of red cooking wine (or until onion is covered) into a saucepan at medium heat. 
9. Add a splash of cranberry juice, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. 
10. Reduce for 1 hour for optimal flavor, but you can cook for 30 minutes.
11. Pulse a few times in a food processor. 
12. And put into a serving bowl.
13. Spread pâté on a crostini and top with onion relish. Enjoy!!
It really is delicious....