Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!


Happy Halloween friends! 

One of my favorite aspects of Halloween is pumpkin carving! Of course, I had to incorporate my monogramming obsession. 

How did you or your family decorate your pumpkin this year! Did you use a little inspiration from Pinterest? Or keep it old school with a scary face?



Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Coffee Pot Planter

My grandmother is known for her overly huge collection of junk. She will keep things knowing there's no way in heck she will ever use it again. The coffee pot, from the 80's I assume, is no exception. Mamaw had intentions of keeping it, knowing the maker that it went with was not even in existence. So with my crafting abilities, and her love of coffee and plants, I threw together a little ensemble to satisfy both her loves!

what you need:


Spray paint, tape of some sort, and an old coffee pot
*a pencil with an eraser + second color of spray paint if you want polka dots*

Begin by wrapping the brown part of the coffee pot with the tape (Scotch tape)

Shake up your spray paint and add a thing layer of paint, wait for it to dry, then repeat process until pot is evenly covered in paint.
Do not try to apply all the layers needed at once. The paint will drip and leave you in a huge mess. 

Once this is dry, you can apply a clear coat of spray paint for protection and extra shine if you wish. 
Or, you can add polka dots. I grabbed a Styrofoam plate, sprayed some spray paint, dipped my pencil eraser into the paint, and polka-dotted my pot!

Once your dots are done, make sure they are totally dry! After you are sure they are, add a clear coat of spray paint for extra protection and shine!

Then, remove your tape!

My grandmother LOVED the finished product. She then had me to do the same makeover to a small coffee mug to complete her new decoration.


She is going to use the coffee pot to display fresh flowers, and the mug to plant a small flower!








Monday, October 29, 2012

My First 5K

As many of you know, I have been training to run a 5K since the beginning of August. Yesterday, I completed my first race with a time of 36:10! This was a personal record for myself based upon my training times. I also came in second in my age division, 15-19 years of age!


Best photo ever taken of my- said by no one!


I am in the green! To my left was my running buddy for this race, Tara. And to my right, in the rink, was my mom who joined me for the last leg of the race!



After I had finished the race! I was the 144th person to cross the finish line!

'
My medal, which congratulated me for coming in second place of my age group.

I feel so good to be able to say I completed my first 5K. I worked super hard and I am positive that this will not be my last!







Friday, October 26, 2012

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Churros {The Mexican Funnel-Cake}

"I hate funnel cakes"- Said by no one ever.
"I hate extra credit"-Said by no one ever.

In Spanish class, the opportunity arose to use cooking for extra credit...I snagged that opportunity up like no ones business. The food to be created are known as Churros. In Spanish speaking countries, Churros are a dessert served with a drink similar to hot chocolate. Churros taste a lot like funnel cakes, but with regular sugar instead of powdered sugar.They are simply amazing... but a little difficult to create. This tutorial is my first attempt at making these, so bare with me.



My Spanish teacher told me my churros were very good and tasted as they should. However, they didn't look as they should. Real churros are piped into the oil using a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch star tip, which makes them straight and pretty. I used a sandwich bag with the end snipped off. As you can see, they look like strips of a funnel cake.
These are how they will look if you use the pastry bag and star tip!


What You Need:
-1 cup of water
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-4 large eggs
-1 cup sugar
-1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick)
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-oil for deep frying




1. In a heavy saucepan, bring water, butter, and salt to a full boil.


2. Remove from heat. Add flour all at once, stirring briskly. Stir until mixture pulls away from the side of the pan and forms a ball.

3. Put the mixture in a bowl. With an electric mixer on medium speed, add one egg at a time. After adding the last egg, beat mixture for one more minute.

4. Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a deep, heavy saucepan at 375 degrees F (the number 6 on the stove).

5. Transfer the mixture to pastry bags with the 1/2" star tip, or seal-able bags. Do not cut the tip of the bags until you are ready to squirt into the hot oil.

6. When oil is hot, pipe out 6 inch-long tubes of dough into the oil. Fry, turning a few times, for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
*This is where things got messy for me. When I began to squeeze the dough out of my baggie, the tip would jerk back and forth, making the dough go into the pan in a wavy-fashion. I do believe this is where the star-tip would come in, making the end of the bag stay straight.*


7. When all the batter has been fried, place the sugar on a plate, and roll the churros in the sugar.


I am now thinking of these as funnel cake- bites. And I will be making these again, soon. They are to die for!

Best of luck to you! This is a perfect excuse to have "Mexican Night" every night.










Wednesday, October 24, 2012

WIWW: Coral and Lace

Finally- I got my camera back! I haven't been able to post outfit photos since before school started due to technical difficulties! When I got a package in the mail from Nikon this week I was so excited!






Cardigan: Old Navy
Lace Cami: American Eagle Outfitters
Jeans: American Eagle Outfitters
Shoes: Toms
Belt: Marshall's

This is just my typical everyday school day outfit! The bow is from the tutorial you saw in yesterdays' post!

Click here to link up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy! Her link up, What I Wore Wednesday, is a great motivation to get dressed at least once a week, opposed to staying in yoga pants 24/7!



Monday, October 22, 2012

The Intermediate Bow

Last week I shared a very simple bow tutorial that many of y'all loved. Today I am sharing another bow tutorial that requires a little more skill and effort. The final effect is so adorable!


What You Need:

-36 inches of ribbon (thicker the better)
-a pin that will bleed through the ribbon (you will not see these markings)
-a duck bill clip
-needle and thread
-ruler
-also needed is hot glue (not pictured)

Start with 31 inches of your ribbon: at one end, mark off 3.5 inches...

Now begin marking six-inch sections. 

You will end up with a total of five dotted-lines across the ribbon. Both ends should have 3.5 marked off.

Now with your needle and thread, stitch along your dotted line.

As you stitch, make sure your ribbon looks like this...

Once you've stitched along all the dotted lines, gently pull the thread, shaping the ribbon as you pull.

Secure the center of the bow by wrapping thread around the center, and putting a few stitches in as needed.

Now using the remaining five inches of ribbon (remember you only used 31" of your 36") fold it into thirds lengthwise and add a few stitches to secure. Tie a loose knot in the center. 

Now using a dab of hotglue, secure the knot to the center of the bow.

Wrap one end of this ribbon around the backside of the bow and hot-glue to the base of the bow. Pinch open the duckbill clip and hotglue only one side down to the ribbon. Bring the other end of the ribbon through the duckbill clip and hot-glue that down as well.

Now you have a precious bow for under $5!


















Weekend Highlights

This weekend was a good one. I got a new piercing, am $100 richer, and spent yesterday riding four-wheelers along the river bank with my best friend! Also yesterday I ran 3.3 miles in 41:50! That is the farthest I've ever ran! It was such an accomplishment and a spirit-enhancer given that I am running a 5k next Sunday! Here are some photos of my weekend fun!


Cartilage piercing, that hurts terribly.


My BFF, Ashton!






Livestrong dri-fit shirt- Marshall's
Yoga Pants- Marshall's 
Running shoes- Asics 


Hooray for a happy weekend!