How To Rock & Remember

On Memorial Day weekend, I headed up to Michigan City, Indiana for a weekend getaway. Note I said IN because I first thought it was in Michigan. Anyway, I headed up there with one of my good friends, Sarah, to meet our college crew. Back in the day, there were eight of us that bonded our sophomore year at Manchester: Alyssa, Nicole, Mary, Carey, Sarah, Jaymie, Hannah, and me. Mind you, I had met almost everyone freshman year, but didn't really KNOW any of them. Boy, was I in for it! :)

This trip was our first get together in a long, long time. Of course we've seen each other throughout the years at weddings and whatnot, but haven't had a visit like this since we were in school. Unfortunately, Jaymie and Hannah couldn't join, but we did have some husbands there to make up for it.

We rented a three story cottage, of which we had access to the two lower levels. We didn't do much over the weekend but reminisce, drink and play games. It was a rainy Saturday so there wasn't much else to do. However, I'm not sure it would have mattered if the weather were better. We're comfortable just chillin' and chattin'. On Monday or Sunday, we went to the packed beach for some sun. On a day that it wasn't so sunny, we strolled the beach and I started collecting rocks that I could use to create something to remember this trip by. I found all sorts of shapes and colors, even one that looked like the Virgin  Mary holding baby Jesus! Here's what I came up with:

sandcastle (not of my own doing, although i kinda wish i would have)

 the various rocks - the long one in the middle left is the virgin mary

more spread out in the oyster dish

 bunched together in the aqua dish

Which one do you like better? I'm thinking I like the more contained one, but can't decide. Either way, I have something to help me remember some of the best times EVER! I love my girls!

Happy remembering!
--Am

How to Make an Afternoon Snack

Today I had chunky peanut butter and graham crackers for breakfast. Whenever I have peanut butter, I tend to overeat. Something about it is just so tasty that I keep putting it in my mouth well after my stomach has told my brain to cut it out. Due to my 9:30 breakfast and massive consumption of peanut butter, I wasn't hungry again until 2 or so.

I checked the fridge for some leftovers, nothing. Checked the pantry for a quick dinner, nothing. What we did have was cherry tomatoes and two day old french bread that needed eating and an overabundance of basil from our basil plants. (Side note: Al isn't a fan of basil, so I don't cook with it much. I usually shred it and pair it with some parmesan covered popcorn.) Ah-ha! I could make caprese salad on toast. Here's what I did:

1. Sliced the french bread
2. Shredded basil leaves (we have green basil and amethyst basil)
3. Diced the cherry tomatoes
4. Mixed the basil leaves and tomatoes with some balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic salt
5. Buttered the bread and put it in the oven for a couple minutes at 255 degrees
6. Removed bread from oven and sprinkled with garlic salt
7. Added basil/tomato mixture to tops of bread
8. Baked for two more minutes
9. Topped with swiss cheese (all out of mozzarella!)
10. Baked for two more minutes
11. Remove from oven and eat!

I think I will call these caprese toasts. I was surprised at how fast I could whip up such a tasty treat! If only Al would have helped me eat the eight caprese toasts I made :) Maybe I'll have these as my next appetizer. Would you like that?

Happy Toasting!
--Am

How To Pickle...Anything

My father is very difficult to buy for. Unless he needs a new shirt, I'm out of luck. Whenever he wants something, he buys it, making it difficult to get gifts for him. Somehow, I remembered the Pickle Sisters. They've since gone out of business, but you used to be able to purchase picked everything: asparagus, garlic, carrots, peppers, garlic stuffed olives. I mean everything. Since I've become crafty, I decided that I could make some. I discussed the possibilities with Al, and we settled on dill pickles, dill green beans, hot peppers, carrots, onions, and pickles with celery and onions. I've made pickles before...once. So, I was in for it.

The Saturday before Father's Day was the big day. I spent most of the rainy morning trying to find the recipes for the brine I wanted to use. Here's what I found: refrigerator pickles, carrots, dill green beans, and hot peppers. When the sun came out, Al headed outside to put up fence posts, and I got to pickling. 

I worked with one veggie at a time. It would have been too chaotic for me to do more than that. I started with the recipe for the refrigerator pickles. I followed it to a T, except I subbed celery for the green peppers. My first batch turned out awesome, so I immediately got started on the next batch. Yeah, well, I shouldn't toot my own horn because the next batch turned into a syrup. Suck! I threw it out, washed the pot and started over. The next batch was for dill pickles. I used the same brine for refrigerator pickles, added dill, and left out onions and green peppers. Perfect! I think by then, I was through my first movie.

Onto the second movie, I made a jar of carrots and dills green beans using the recipes above. I only adjusted the measurements so I didn't have gallons of brine. On the third movie, I moved onto the hot peppers. The adjustments here are the measurements, not pre-cooking or broiling of the peppers, and the peppers I used: one red pepper, two jalapenos, one anaheim, one hungarian, and one cubano. After those were finished, I ended with the onions. I used the refrigerator pickles recipe and used one red onion and one white onion. Ah! Third movie done and veggies pickled!

 

the refrigerator pickle brine

               

 

the pre-pickled green beans

the final products (from left): onions, dill beans, hot peppers,

pickles with onions and celery, carrots, pickles, more onions

Happy Pickling!
--Am

How To Make A Shirt & Necktie Father's Day Card

Back in May, I made pop-up mother's day cards all thanks to an idea in Martha Stewart Living. So when I got the June edition and saw shirt & necktie father's day cards, I knew I had to figure out how to make them. The directions weren't in the magazine, so I headed online. There I found some rather confusing directions on how to make these. I'm not sure if it was the dark room or late hour, but I just couldn't figure out how to fold the card. I also think I started with a sheet of paper that was square instead of rectangle, which makes for a very awkward looking shirt. So, I looked a little deeper and found this on youtube. The directions are super-easy to follow and helped produce a great looking shirt. I used this video (also on youtube) to create the necktie. The hardest part was picking out colors and creating tie patterns. I used 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper for the shirt and 4 inch squares for the ties. Here's some progress pictures and the final product.

 the start of the sleeves

 the collar

 the completed shirt

 the beginning of the necktie

 the complete necktie

  the end results! which is your favorite?

i like the polka dots and flowers

Happy Card Crafting!

--Am

How To Etch Glass

A little over two months ago, I bought everything you would need to etch glass. It's not much really, just glass, contact paper, stencils, exact-o-knife, and Armor etching cream. All these materials sat upstairs until I finally decided what I could do with them. I originally got the idea from one of my sister's coworkers, Megan. She etched a beautiful name plate for my nephew and sent me the skinny on glass etching. Like most everything in my life, I got real excited and decided to hurry up and wait. So, here we are, two months later, and I found a reason to etch.

My fabulous friend and coworker (yes, I have friends at work!), Claire, is turning 30. To celebrate her birth, she's throwing a little shindig. I didn't want to show up empty handed and bringing only a bottle of wine felt like the easy way out. Good thing my bag of glass etching goodies contained two circle pieces of glass that would make perfect coasters!The stencils I had picked out would also fit her personality. Since she's very organic and earthy, I went with fern-like shapes. Now, it's time to get started. Here's what to do: 

1. Clean the glass with soap and water. Dry it with a clean cloth.
2. Apply contact paper on the glass. Make sure there are no bubbles.
3. Using your stencil, trace the design onto the covered glass. 
4. Take the exact-o-knife and cut around the tracing.
5. Peel off the contact paper that was cut-out. 
6. Thickly apply Armor etching cream with a paint brush and wait five minutes. 
7. Wash off cream with water and peel off contact paper.
8. Spray glass with glass cleaner and wipe clean. And there you go! 

 stenciled on

 stencils

 etching cream applied

 the finished product

It's not the most fancy gift, but it was fun to make and very easy to do. I'm sure Claire will appreciate it! 

Happy Etching!
--Am

How To Netflix

It's been way too long since I've blogged and I must say that Netflix is part to blame for that. About a month ago, Al and I decided it was time we try Netflix. We both got very excited about it (me so I could watch Criminal Minds from the beginning and he so he could watch loads of documentaries). We were so excited that we both signed up at the exact same time for the free one month trial! Once we reconnected, Al canceled his subscription and I kept mine. Since CM is only available on discs, we opted for the streaming and one disc out at a time package for $9.99 a month.  When streaming, we can watch shows simultaneously on different devices (XBOX 360, computer, iPad, or iPhone). 

And I must say that this is the best decision that we could have possibly made...EVER! I'm surprised that with as much tv and movies I watch, that I didn't have it when it first came out. I'm just very slow to adopt changes in technology. And no, I don't still have a Blockbuster account. And yes, I still have a tube tv and just recently threw out my dvd/vcr combo player (but only because it would overheat). I'm still deciding if Blue-Ray is the way to go, and I don't own a smart phone. Al, on the other hand, is extremely technology-savvy and loves new technology. He has to have the newest gadget, or he's unsatisfied. We are very different when it comes to this, as we are with the types of tv or movies we choose to watch. I was so excited for the silly girly movies, horror flicks, and modern day detective shows, while he was super excited about documentaries and action films. About the only thing we can decide on is CM, so we watch an episode or two each night before bed (that is if a disc is not in transit).

Netflix and I are now best friends. It knows all my favorite shows and is usually dead-on for what I fancy. The only thing it's given me 5 out of 5 stars was Veronica Mars, and I must say that this is/has been/will be my favorite tv show ever. I have a minor obsession with it! And based on that, I figure it can't ever be wrong. So, now I have 74 discs to watch and 72 films and tv shows to stream live (more tv than movies). This doesn't include what Alex would like to watch (my queues have taken over). I think we will be friends for a very, very long time!

For those of you wondering if this is the right option for, I say go for it. At least try it free for a month. It's fun to rate shows and find films you've never heard of, but end up loving. I could get lost on the Netflix website just searching for unheard (by me) films. In fact, I think I might just head on over there...

Happy Netflixing!
--Am