Wish List

Valentine's day is coming up soon... While I don't expect Peter to get me anything fancy (who isn't on a strict budget these days?), I have pinned my gift wish list!  Here is a peek:

Tiny Heart Necklace via Etsy

Mint julep, gold, delicate modern jewelry via Etsy

My birthstone.  Peridot Solitaire Ring via Etsy

Pretty Kate Spade earrings via Neiman Marcus

A gorgeous Apatite Rough Stone Ring via Etsy

Pinterest is a virtual pin-board.  See all my pins by clicking here.

Sharin' the love

I wanted to share with you an adorable, free, 2013 calendar!  I printed it out and hung it on my wall with twin and tiny clothespins.  I'll share a pic later, but in the meantime, check it out!  BTW I did NOT make this calendar.  I just found it and thought it was cute and that it would be nice to share!  When you click on the link it will take you to the website of the person who did design it! :)

download it here:  http://www.theinknest.com/whimsical-mini-calendar-freebie/#

p.s. Doesn't have to be mini - I printed it to a full page (cardstock) and it looks great!

Businessy

I need business cards! But I don't really have the software or printing capabilities to print my own, and ordering is too expensive.  So I tore up some paper that my pen-pal sent me and added text with my calligraphy pen.  I'm not sure if I like it, but it's better than nothing!

Project 52 - 3 (Baked grapefruit with meringue topping)

Am late posting this because the camera was dead and I couldn't upload the pictures...

The most delicious thing I've eaten all year.  Seriously.  If I could I would make these every day.

To prepare the grapefruit:

- Cut in half

- Take out seeds

- Cut around pith

- Sprinkle ever so lightly with sugar

- Place in a baking dish

Fresh grapefruit!

Take out seeds, cut around pith

To prepare the meringue:

(I found the recipe for meringue through a google search on my phone and can't remember what the site was... they all pretty much say the same thing anyway.)

- For 4 halves you will probably only need one egg white.  Ok, so I saw the one egg white sitting in the bowl and thought surely it would not be enough.  So I added two more.  UMMM big mistake.  I had waaaaay too much extra.  So I made meringue cookies.  haha

- You will need 1/4 cup of sugar for each egg white

- Beat the egg white with a hand mixer, on high, until it starts to get foamy and puffy looking.  Add the sugar by spoonfuls and keep beating until it gets stiff and peaks form.

- I used regular sugar and it turned out fine, but apparently it works better if you use baker's sugar (which I think is different than confectioner's sugar).

I made one with honey and cinnamon!

To bake:

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

- Pipe the meringue onto the tops of grapefruit.  I tried to spoon it on and then use the back of the spoon to make a swirl, but it didn't look so cute.  So I put the meringue in a ziplock bag, cut the corner, and "piped" it on.

- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops of the meringues are brown and beautiful

EAT EAT EAT

Let me know if you try it!

Leftover meringue cookies:

Before

After

Happy Together

This is seriously the cutest thing, ever.  Thanks to my niece, Katelyn, for showing me this.  Their other videos are funny, too.

The Good Ol' Days... ?

See any resemblance?

Some things never change.

Thinking about the future

I am one of those people that is constantly thinking about what's next...  What are my future plans?  How am I going to accomplish it?  I am always thinking, planning, dreaming, making goals, etc.

I have a hard time just living and enjoying the present.  This semester it was easier to just sit back and "enjoy the ride."  I was making new friends, having girls' nights, pride and prejudice watching days, being creative, etc.

But now it is almost the spring semester and I am almost a "Master" and I am starting to freak out about the future.

What are we going to do after we get married?

Where will we live?

How will we make money?

Will we be able to go back to Brazil?

Will I be able to find a job?

Do I need to work full-time?

It never ends...

Project 52 - 2.2

Last post of this week:

ONGOING LIPSTICK PROJECT - Most people know that I love makeup, but my real weakness is lipstick (or any lip product - gloss, balm...).  I am always on the hunt to find the perfect color, texture, etc.  There are still about 5 lipsticks not shown because they are in my purse.  I end up wearing the same few every day.  So I've decided to wear a different lipstick every day.  What's the point in having them if I'm not going to wear them?

I have a ton of pinks, about 8 reds, and a bunch of glosses and balms.

Today:  No7 "Tulip"

Project 52 - 2.1

JEWELRY - still not completely organized, but better than it was before!!!  Goal = wear a piece of jewelry every day (other than my engagement ring, obviously).

Project 52 - 2

Project 52 - Jan 6 - 12

So this week I did a couple of "projects."

1.  "Corndog muffins."

2.  Organized my jewelry. (post coming soon)

3.  Began organizing lipstick... this will be an ongoing process... (post coming soon)


"CORNDOG MUFFINS:"

- 1 Package Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Cornbread mix
- Hot Dogs or Sausage (I get the all-beef, all-natural kind)

Mix cornbread mix according to directions.  Scoop into muffin tins (I used paper liners).  Add pieces of sausage to each muffin.  I used about 3-4 pieces per muffin.  Bake according to directions.

The nice thing about these is you can freeze them and eat them later!  I froze a bunch and plan on using them for quick and easy breakfast-on-the-go!

Creativity

Some of you may remember my very first art journal that I started early last year...

(Here, here, here)

I love some of my earlier entries and want to use them somehow, but don't know how.  I don't think they're necessarily good enough to frame, but I want to be able to see them often because they make me happy.  I don't like the idea of just putting them on a bulletin board... 

So anyhow, that's where you come in.  What should I do with these journal pages?  I have scanned them as jpegs so they can be manipulated with photo editing software...  Any ideas?  Let me know!!!

Project 52 - 1

I thought it would be fun to try a weekly project.  Project365 is really popular right now, but who has the time for that?  So instead I'll try to post a new project once a week.  I actually started last week but forgot to blog about it.

I am interpreting Project52 as anything.  Some people are more specific, like photography, art, crafts, etc.  This is not an official new year's resolution, so I'm not being type-A about it.  This is just an idea to jump start my creativity.  One week might be about food, the next about photography, etc. etc. etc.

So here is my post that should have been done last week...

1/52

Crockpot chicken!

Ingredients:
Whole chicken
Whole onion
Garlic cloves
Seasoning of choice (I used Jane's Mixed Up Salt)
Olive Oil

I cut up some onions and garlic and lined the bottom of the crockpot with them.  I cleaned my chicken and drizzled a little bit of olive oil on it.  I rubbed Jane's Mixed Up Salt on it.  I cut into the chicken's flesh and added slivers of garlic.  I then put it in the crockpot, turned it to low, and set the timer for 6 hours.

brand new crockpot!!!

onions

looking good, chickie

sorry, I didn't get any "after" pics

It turned out great!  Now I have chicken for the rest of the week.  I think I'll freeze some of it to use later.  

Are you going to start a Project365 or Project52?  

Home again

Some pics of my trip home.  I went for a week after Christmas.