Congratulations Lauren & Dan!

My room-mate got engaged this past weekend!!! So exciting! To celebrate around the house, I decided to put together a little display to dedicate to their engagement-

I wanted to make these yarn "Pom Pom" flowers because I knew they would last longer than just a few days. And they are super easy and very fun to make!

How to Make Pom Pom Flowers

Materials:

- yarn

- hot glue gun

- scissors

- sticks for the stems (I used bamboo skewers)

I took apart an old scarf and hat and recycled the yarn.  Plug in your glue-gun to get it warmed up.  After gathering your materials, the next step is to organize the yarn to make the flowers.  Wrap the yarn several times around a few fingers.

- Small : take 2 fingers and wrap the yarn around about 40-50 times

- Medium: take 3 fingers and wrap the yarn around 75-80 times

- Large: take 4 fingers and wrap the yarn around 100-125 times

The more times you wrap the yarn around your fingers, the more full the Pom Pom will be.

Cut a piece of yarn about 4-6 inches long and lay flat.  Place the wrapped yarn in the center of the short piece of yarn:

Tie the piece of yarn tightly around the wrapped yarn:

Take your scissors and cut all of the loops.  The Pom Pom will start to form.  You will want to trim all of the edges of the flower to make it an even Pom.

Grab your glue gun and put a few dabs on the end of the skewers (or other sticks) and insert into the Pom.

Voila! Instant Pom Pom bouquet that will last forever!

Pesto Chicken with Bacon and Mozzarella

I had a few friends over for dinner this past weekend and got a little creative!  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, but I'll try to recreate the visual using words.

First, I bought a few things from the store:
- Chicken breast
- Mozzarella
- Bacon
- Pesto

Second, preheat the oven to 375.

While the oven is preheating, place the chicken in a casserole dish, spread a spoonful of pesto, place a piece of sliced mozzarella on the chicken and top it off with bacon!

Cook for 40 minutes or so, or until bacon looks slightly crunchy!

I paired this entree with sauteed red and orange bell peppers and pasta salad!  Mmmmm- making me hungry!

Enjoy!

Shabby Chic Dangling Earring Display

Crafty Christmas!  I made Emily this Dangling Earring Display for Christmas after seeing this blog: www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/our-home/tutorial-shabby-chic-dangly-earring-display.html

And this is how it looks in her apartment:

To complete this craft:
Materials:
- Find an old picture frame or buy one from Goodwill (or sometimes they're even cheaper new from Target or Wal-Mart)
- Buy framing wire at a craft store (usually in the section with picture frames)
- Staple gun

1. Find the frame and paint it or leave as-is
2. Remove the hardware from the back of the frame
3. Cut two pieces of the framing wire that are both about an inch longer than the width of the frame
4. Take the two pieces of wire and twist them together (do not twist it too tight- the holes between the twists are where the dangling earrings will hang from)
5. Staple the twisted wire to the frame
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 three times.  The original blog has 4 tiers of wire, but I felt 3 was better for Emily's large earrings.

Enjoy!

Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Soup!

It tastes like the real deal!  http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/1833/Panera-Bread-Broccoli-Cheese-S79119.shtml

I chose to add corn along with the carrots and broccoli; I used frozen vegetables instead of "fresh".  I also did not puree the soup because I love the chunky textures.

Delicious! Highly Recommended!

You Light Up My Life!

One month away from Valentine's Day has got me jittery for crafts!

The supplies needed for this project include:
- wooden blocks (found at any craft store)
- red gauge wire (jewelry section of hobby lobby)
- clear Christmas ornaments
- sewing pins
- hot glue
- wire cutters

First step is to secure the label "You light up my life" with a sewing pin into the wooden block.  For me, it was easiest to nail a whole first before inserting the sewing pin.

Second, make the heart filaments with the red gauge wire.  To do this, cut a piece of wire about 5 inches.  Bend it in half to make a point.  Unbend the wire and fold the two pieces into the center to make the heart shape.  Twist the remaining wire into a swirl.  Refer to this page for further instruction: www.designspongeonline.com/2010/02/diy-project-valentine-lightbulb.html

Third, insert the heart wire filaments into the wooden block.  Again, nail two holes into the wooden block before inserting the wire.  Use hot glue to secure the wire into the holes.

Fourth, place the ornament on top of the wooden block and glue it down with hot glue.

Ta-da! You have a very cute Valentine's Day favor for your friends!  My room-mate and I have teamed up to make Valentine's for our friends, including our "Light up my life", heart-shaped felt magnets, and home-made paper valentines!

Christmas Craft Day 2010!

First, I must apologize for the lack of posts this December.  I plan to make up for this blogging drought the next few weeks during Christmas vacation!

Earlier this December, Courtney and I planned a super fun Christmas Craft Day!  We invited all of our friends over to enjoy hot chocolate, snacks, Christmas cookies, and fun crafts!  Craft Day was a huge success! Our friends stayed over at our house for almost 12 hours!

We made these ear warmers and scarves out of 100% acrylic sweaters found at Goodwill!

Petite Lasagna

When I saw this recipe, I predicted that it would become a new favorite! And... I was right!

Check out this recipe: canyoustayfordinner.com/2010/11/04/petite-lasagnas/

Super easy and very affordable! (adapted from canyoustayfordinner.com recipe to make more affordable: leave out ricotta cheese)

At the grocery store, pick up:

- Wonton wrappers (the pack I found came in 48) and it was in the "organic" section by the tofu

- a jar of your favorite marinara

- 20 oz. or so of ground beef

- 2 cups mozzarella

Already at the house:

- parmesan

- oregano

- basil

- white onion

- garlic

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Spray 24 muffin tins with cooking spray.

3. Place Wonton Wrappers in the muffin cups, press down firmly on the bottom and the sides.

4. Brown ground beef, add onions and garlic.

5. Empty jar of marinara into skillet with beef, onions, and garlic.

6. Let the skillet simmer for about 10 minutes.

7. While beef is browning, add a pinch of mozzarella and oregano and basil into every muffin cup.

8. Take a spoonful of marinara mixture and place in each muffin cup.

9. Place another Wonton Wrapper on top of the marinara mix to make another layer.

10. Repeat process by placing a pinch of mozzarella, and other spices onto Wrapper and then a spoonful of marinara mix. 

11. On top of the last layer of marinara mix, sprinkle parmesan cheese.

12. Bake for 10 minutes.

13. Enjoy!