4/15/2015 0 Comments MeatloafWhenever my 13 yr old has an interest in cooking, I try to take her up on it. She found a recipie for bacon meatloaf and she was excited to try it. Partly, because she was in the middle of making a sassy point about me not buying stuff I think, but she rarely actually asks for stuff. She just hints at it and then pouts when we don't do it. I don't know about you all, but I don't want to do things my child isn't enthusiastic about. So when I get a half hearted "I kinda wanna..." I acknowledge it and wait for more excitement. In any case, she did a good job, and I appreciate when she does stuff like this. Yay for helpful teens!
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4/15/2015 0 Comments DIY creamerI am a major creamer snob. I like my coffee sweet and creamy and pale. I prefer it in the range of brown paper bag. I don't like a fake sugar taste, and I try to avoid trans fat. I use a lot of creamer, especially since I've been drinking coffee every day. I've seen recipes on Pinterest for a while about making your own creamer. I've been curious to try it, but not too motivated. That is, until one day I was OUT OF CREAMER!!! The one I found at the time was: -equal parts sweetened condensed milk and milk, and flavoring to taste. I didn't have any flavoring on hand, since this was an emergency. I'm curious how it would have effected the end result. The result? It was decent. WAY better than plain milk. But it tasted like sweetened condensed milk. Which is a nice flavor, like tres leche cake or something. But it didn't trick me into thinking I had used to decadent nectar of my international delight. I probably wouldn't use it regularly, but I would be likely to grab a few cans of sweetened condensed milk when it's on sale. Then I can use it in a pinch, or make a dessert out of it. 4/6/2015 0 Comments Fort structureYou're never too old for a giant, awesome fort. The issue just becomes making one big enough to fit in as you grow older. My oldest specially requested a fort in her room, but we wanted to make it especially roomy and cozy. I hoped to make it so she can sit on her bed and still watch tv. The solution? creating a multiple clothes line structure over her bed to pin sheets to. I decided to just screw into the wall, because ain't nobody got time for concerning yourself with consequences. We put 4 screws up, then used rope with slip knots to make a cats cradle zig zag of rope. Here's the issues we ran into: -The screws ripped out of the drywall when excessive weight was applied to certain sections of fort wall. -the screws didn't always hold the rope well, depending on the size of the screw head and the angle we put it into the wall Other than that?? It was awesome. We hung sheets and curtains and light weight quilts from it and she left the fort up for over a month. She wanted to do everything in the fort. We even had Christmas lights up for a little bit. I might try getting some dry wall hole reinforcer thingies to solve some of the issues. The other idea I had was to just get her a 4 poster bed, which would pop into a fort as quickly as anything. #forts4life #myfortisbetterthanyourfort #lifeinafort Using some red fleece, white pom-poms and hot glue, I made customized Santa hats for everything in my house I could think of. I started out wanting to put hats on the little soldier decorations that hang on the wall above our TV, but after an extra strong piña colada that my husband made me, it turned into Santa hats for everyone! (Soldier dudes not pictured).it was a quick slap dash chip and glue project. Easy easy, if you're not too bothered with hot glue burns (those suckers are hard to hold on. Plus alcohol). 2/17/2015 0 Comments Dr Who party: banner2/17/2015 0 Comments Dr who party: invitationsThis was another un-original idea, inspired by Pinterest finds. Here's three very similar versions you can buy from etsy or wherever, as we speak (probably): Here's my version. I found a tardis in a Google image search, and photo shopped it into this baby here: The printed section is one piece, which I meticulously cut out.* The doors fold to have color on front and back. I used rubber cement between the door fold,, then wedged the whole thing in a book to get it to dry flat. Once it was dry, I rubber cemented the back to a large sheet of poster board, and placed a book on top to weigh it down. (Could have used card stock or any firm paper. Just for stiffness). Then I cut it out a second time, being careful to get as close to the door hinge as possible without severing it.We found a pack of royal blue envelopes at Walmart for around $2.60. Bada-bing, bada-boom! Invites done.** Now for pretty photo instructions so there's no need to read this last paragraph: I've been meaning to upload the file, but it's on my "good intentions" list. I'll get around to it eventually. *i never cut anything too meticulously. I cut corners wherever possible. **and by that I mean 4 hours later. 2/10/2015 1 Comment Dr who party: wall artI wanted to have a cluster of picture frames behind the couch, but had been procrastinating since I knew it meant going on a hunt for pictures. But with the party coming up and trying to get the house prepared for guests, on top of knowing I wanted quotes displayed for decoration, the two just magically meshed together. The result being a magical medely of prettiness that's difficult to photograph. Most of the frames were purchased at the dollar store. I painted them with the extra teal blue that I used in my kitchen cabinets, which was originally $8 from Home Depot (it's shitty chalky paint. But who cares). Here's some of the art I found from my google image searches. I can't pay tribute to the original creators, since that's been lost to the internets. Much of the point was for quote art, and to save my printer the ink and to personalize it, I used some brand new pretty gel pens to draw up a few things. I'll make a new post for that. This is already a bit rambling. Also, that awesome 3D fez art. 2/10/2015 0 Comments Dr who party: wall art fezThe inspiration for this came from this with the discovery that a few of my frames had their glass broken in the move. Now, I think that you can never have too many frames, and despite having a full box of non broken frames remaining, I felt it had to be put to use. (My husband would disagree). So for your viewing and nerding pleasure, I present to you one of my only original ideas, the three dimensional fez wall art: How gorgeous. How dashing. Can't you just picture having one of your own? You may "ooo" and "ahhh" now. So without further ado, and to the best of my ability, I shall attempt to describe how you can create your own lovely little thing. I started with a square of muslin, or any fabric will do. I used a trapezoid of red felt and two thin elongated half circle type pieces. I also had red regular thread. And gold embroidery floss for the tassel. You'd also need an oz of batting or other filling. From here on out I'll attempt the instructions in a doodle. Good luck. 2/10/2015 0 Comments Dr Who party: doodle artOriginals Followed by My versions I had fun re copying whoevers artwork. Thank you, mystery people. It was nice to get some doodles in. P.s. I'm not sure how I managed to get blurry pictures, but it doesn't seem worth going back and fixing. You get the gist of it. (I can even take them out of the frames and get proper pictures if anyone cares. I'll assume not). 2/9/2015 0 Comments Bacon fatThis may seem like something of our grandparents generation, but I absolutely recommend storing leftover bacon drippings. It's denser than oils and cooks differently than that or butter. And shortening is rubbish (partially hydrogenated no.) plus it contains the savory delicious essence of bacon, adding a subtle flavor to whatever you cook with it. Grease your pan with it before cooking scrambled eggs, I dare you. |
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