Girly Skully Pendant

A long awaited order from an ETSY seller in HONG KONG finally showed up this week.
Why do I keep buying things from places that take months to get to me?
Well this is what I got...

 4 Kuromi (for those uneducated in Sanrio...She is a white rabbit or imp-like creature, wearing a black jester's hat with a pink skull on the front and a black "devil" tail in the place of a normal rabbit's tail.)

 8 strawberries, 10 Cherries, 3 Girly Skulls and 8 Black Hearts

This morning it came to me, a design for a pendant based on one of the Girly Skulls. I used a pink cherry too and some pink Dice I had already with some other charms n beads and this is what happened!  I just love it!

The Etsy seller is Love.vs.Logic. They have some totally cute, worth the wait stuff! I could spend a fortune in that shop!

Bento Style Lunches

You should know 2 things and us, if you don't already. First: We keep a Swing Shift schedule, even on days off. sleeping the afternoons away and up all night and morning. Second: We don't eat when you expect us to because of our schedule. Breakfast is around 8pm...yes PM. Lunch is around 2am...yes AM. and dinner it around 6 or 7 AM.

With that in mind...


For maybe 6 months lunches on work nights were a homemade made ahead salad. Every week I would prepare 10 salads in advance in airtight plastic containers. Dressing in tiny 1 ounce Tupperwares. Salads go to be mentally less than desirable or not enough or both.


I recently mentioned I wanted to eat lunch Bento style. I searched the shops for the perfect bento box that both Hubs and I could agree on. We almost looked at each other like this was a futile hunt. It's not like I wanted a Hello Kitty one, nor was I threatening to get him a Spongebob one. But the choices either seemed too big or too clumsy. He wanted his to git in his messenger bad. I hadn't thought far enough in the future to how I would carry mine once I was no longer on disability from my knee surgeries. 


Later, when we went grocery shopping we stopped to see what was in the semi-disposable/recyclable (GLADWARE) storage containers. And we found shallow 3 compartment lidded "airtight" containers. We bought 2 sets (4 containers), I later bought another set because we tent do do things in 3, plan 3 days of food out at a time.


We both stumbled upon a few website with ideas for things to put in these lunches and how. Thank you Pinterest for the leads!


The 1st 3 days was less than exciting, but interesting. And it has since evolved.
Day one:

(sorry for the sideways view, I need picture editing practice on iphone)

Light string cheese, Half Nutella and Honey Sammy, Seasonal Strawberries, and carrot sticks stuck in some Ranch Dressing/Dip.

I also did, with out photos, BLT wraps in whole wheat tortillas with similar sides; Hand and string cheese rolls with fruit n veggie sides; and a few other plain Jane beginner ideas.

THIS WEEK:

I pulled out all 6 containers, almost everything fromt he fridge and pantry that was lunchbox worthy and splayed it all over my countertop, after looking at more ideas online and having a sleepless night.

I  mostly wanted to raid and use up remnants before they went bad.

Heres what I came up with:

Left:

 Whole grain Tostito scoops, Wholy Salsa, Hard-boiled egg, Colby-Jack cheese slices and some Kiwi wedges. I separated the cheese and egg in foil when I closed the container.

Top Right:

I had 1 last whole grain burger bun floating around the fridge so I utilized it with some sliced natural ham, muenster cheese, mayo n deli mustard vut into 4 wedges, down the center is a pickle spear wrapped in foil, on the side is some cottage cheese and pineapple as well as baby carrots cut in half length-wise and a tiny tub of hummus.

Botton Right:

PB & banana half sammy made with the heel/last piece of whole grain bread, Red grapes, Ham smeared with cream cheese n rolled up, and then some cauliflower drizzled in balsamic vinaigrette.

Left:

Slices up cauliflower, baby carrots, and radishes, Hard Boiled egg, Ham n String Cheese roll-ups, Hummus n feta for the veggies, then some greek honey flavored yogurt topped with a drizzle of honey, sliced banana and granola.

Top Right:

Apple n PB stacks, apple wedges, Lemon Newton Wafers, More sliced veggies n Hummus/feta mixture.

Bottom Right:

DIY Pizza Lunchables! 

Pita Bread wedges, Pizza Sauce, Mozzarella shreds, Sliced ham, also an organic cup of applesauce and a tiny midget tupperware with some cinnamon-sugar for the applesauce.

Cookie Brownie Evilness

I pinned this on Pinterest.
Hubby later mentioned it, twice.
First, he told me there was something evil he wanted but didn't... that he saw on Pinterest. After he explained it I said I already pinned it. We laughed about that. A week or so passed and it got filed in the  back of my mind.
A few days ago I mentioned to him I wanted to make our friend "Eeyore" a birthday cake. Hubby interjected and said I should make the Cookie Brownie Evilness.
One of my eyebrows raised as I questioned his sanity, since he has us on a whole foods, health food lifestyle. But special occasions like dear friends' b'days and fathers day have seemed to be more important that health lately. HA!

So... This morning I was making my normal grocery shopping run which I hate to do anyway, I decided to grab the things I needed to do this. I cheated, I admit. There are no "from scratch" components here.

Trying to avoid as many artificial crap in my food as possible, (like it matters in this evil recipe) I found Pillsbury Simply... Cookie Dough. Chocolate Chip, of course.

I Also found this the perfect time to put the Perfect Brownie Pan to use. The pan had more nooks than the dough had dollops to I divvied it up manually.

Worked out well I think. The 6 side nooks are a bit smaller.

So In the Smaller nooks I put half oreos, but in the other nooks an oreo fits perfectly.

More Healthful efforts: Fudge Brownie Mix that needs no eggs or butter, just yogurt.

Perfect! Sounds easier too!

We keep this yogurt in the fridge constantly for smoothies. It's the Honey Flavor. and Greek Yogurt is suposed to be more healthful also.

Ok, so then I dolloped brownie batter over every nook. Then put 2 lil chocolate chips on top of each one to be 'cute' :)

OK, looks good all baked up, well from here it looks like brownies, but hey thats good right?!

One perfectly extracted Brownie, 1 of few!

1 perished. I saved it from it's humiliation by eating it immediately...

This is also a product review on the Goddamned "Perfect Brownie Pan" I had a horrendous tine 'extracting' these from the pan. For something thats suposed to be non-stick... thats bull-shit! I may have to Good Will this pan after this experiment and cut my brownies the old fashioned way.

I hid the not as pretty ones under the prettier ones.

see how there are 17, not 18 pieces.

Oh, see the corner one, you can see Oreo Cream!

I am a terribly messy chef, cook, baker.

Ricky is a wonderfully helpful cleaning crew of one.

See here, he's mopping up all of the crumbs n crap that fell on the floor.

I wish he would stand up and do the dishes for me now.

Red Bow Earrings

I spied these lil red bow beads in an Etsy store not too long ago. I only got 2, I wish I had more, because now that I made a pair of adorable earrings out of them I want to keep them but I also want to share them!

Measured Wrist - A Bracelet

First let me start by saying I broke the retractor in my cloth tape measure measuring something that was clearly longer than the tape. I tossed the tape in the trash, knowing I had a couple more around here.

Then a day or so later I saw a Pin of a bracelet made of a length of measuring tape. I repinned it, of course. This morning I pulled up the pin and dug out the tape measure from my trash bin.

Then I fished thru my jewelry making supplies and discovered I had everything I needed!

I began making the bracelet accordingly and decided in the end to ad my own touch. Charms! I happen to have tiny working scissors, thimbles, and thread spool charms. I also added a crystal heart charm for fun. These are simply adorable!

Luckily I had just the right size ribbon clamp doohickies to fit the tape measure width.

Scrabble Pendants, Revisited

Here are the pendants from batch #3 after getting my order for 20 bails from an Etsy seller in the mail.

Elephant, Frog, Heart

Bee, Bunny, Peacock

Chinese Happiness Symbol, Angel, Seashell

Another Peacock, Purple Flower (with rhinestone center), Peace Symbol

Sea Turtle, Owl, Beetle

Surfboards with rhinestone, Ginko Leaf, Green Vine with Rhinestone

Human Skull, Alien Head

Blue Flowers, Pair of Cats

These are so fun, and now I am prepared to give anyone a gift when an occasion comes up!

Cooking: Tacos & Homemade Taco Seasoning

Thanks to Pinterest, I am setting out once a week to make my own mixes and get it in a well labeled canister.
This week I am starting with Taco Seasoning. Then I am going to use it in home make tacos for diner one day this week.

Make your own taco seasoning, no MSG or additives!
Equal Parts:
chili powder
ground cumin
garlic powder
onion flakes
1/2 part red pepper flakes
1/8 part sea salt

Just dump it all in your fancy schmancy canister and shake until well blended. I plan to use jumbo mason jars!

Don't forget to bake the canister! This site has some wonderful printable labels, just get some label paper and print away!

Southern Strawberry Sheetcake

I figured I would make a cake for Hubby for Father's Day.
I've been drooling over a recipe I pinned on Pinterest.
I know, I know it is totally against the diet,
but ...
I used wheat flour instead of white, coconut oil instead of canola, turbinado sugar instead of white, cage-free eggs, and almond milk instead of cow's.

It looks delish!

I won't even make him wait until Sunday, he can have some today!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the meantime, the mailman brought me some crafty supplies I'll have more scrabble pendants up soon and some other goodies!

Pom-Pom Dandelions

I love the way these turned out! I used mixes of 1-yard pieces of different textures and styles of yarns to make pom-poms. Glued them to short dowel rod scraps that i had wrapped in various green ribbon and fabric. I filled a mason jar with dried peas and stick my dandelions in like a flower arrangement.

I have a serious collection of 1-yard pieces of 'fibers' (the yards used here) in every color and have been looking for things to do with them, I originally used them to embellish greeting cards and scrapbooks but that is all behind me.

I got this idea from a Pinterest PIN also!

Scarf Storage & Organization

Living in the desert I have little need for scarves. However the couple-three days a year I might need one, I am prepared for it. The majority of my scarves were handmade gifts. The rest were store bought gifts.  I haven't bought myself a scarf, ever!

Whilst browsing Pinterest  [feel free to follow me] one day I saw this tip.  So I sought out for some shower curtain rings (at my local dollar store, of course), and hung my scarves up. Ta-dah!

Of course, this led to hubby seeing just how many I have, and he questioned my sanity (again) but they are all different and special.

Now they all hand neatly in my closet with my clothes.

Cooking: Paleasagna

Ok, so it's like lasagna but you use sliced zucchini and or squash.
We made this today (2nd time) and it is freaking awesome yummy!
I used cauliflower instead of broccoli, and I added a little parm on top.

Ingredients:

1/2 white onion, diced
1/2 pound of extra lean turkey
1/2 15oz can diced tomatoes, low sodium
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp Italian spice blend
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 pound of zucchini and/or yellow squash, cut into medallion rounds
1/4 cup raw goat cheese, shredded
1 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 head broccoli, roughly chopped
1 egg

Directions:

In a large skillet or sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the diced onions. Sautee on medium-high until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the ground turkey, canned tomato and tomato paste, spices, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. Continue to cook all ingredients until the turkey is cooked through. Set aside when done.
In a medium bowl, combine raw goat cheese, Greek yogurt, broccoli pieces, and egg. Mix well.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9 x 9 Pyrex glass baking dish. Place a layer of zucchini and squash rounds evenly across the bottom, making a sort of liner.

Add a layer of turkey-tomato sauce on top of the zucchini. Top that with some of the broccoli and yogurt mixture, as shown above. Continue with this layering process until you have used all of your ingredients.
Top the entire dish with more shredded goat cheese, if desired.
Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 2

Source

Square Knot Bracelet...

Seems kind of like a Shamballa, but maybe not as many knots.
I had to find cord that would fit with the beads I wanted to use. I used silk cord. I dipped the stringing end with glue and let it dry so it wouldn't fray as I strung the beads on.
The beads are perfectly smooth and round.
I didn't have any hand dyed silk cord, so I used organza ribbon.
I don't think I made the best supply choices for a variation on this, but here it is...

Mine:

Theirs, for comparison:

(no, i don't mind the inserted adverts! I love etsy sellers!)

here's the instructions

I'm Just Smashing, Darling, Smashing!

Yes, that's right, I'm Smashing!
I scrapbooked for a while and it just wasn't for me.
When I discovered Smash Books I had to get in on it. I had shoeboxes and drawers filled with 'things' I've saved...like ticket stubs, valentines, notes and memorabilia, bumperstickers, cocktail napkins, recipe cards,  all sorts of goodies, I brought it all (well as much of it as I could find) to one spot - my work table. I sorted it out by theme and baggied it up. I grabbed the 1st bag off the top and found a page in the book I thought it would fit in. I would write notes on paper or on the page with to it, glue or clip it in and move on to the next page. No embellishing. No planning. Just Smashing!

Here are some pics of what's been smashed in so far.

Getting Pretty Full...

Inside front cover: random stuff i like

A page about my puppies

a couple page about me n hubby

random feel good stuff

1st valentine to hubby and some other cards from 1st year

ticket stubs: Cali & Ohio

Key West and B&Bs

things i cant help but collect

drawings and inspiration

ticket stubs: Indiana

Skullies n Monsters

Food n Drink

Food & Drink, revealed

postcards from my Bro

card I made for a challenge

misc memories

concert ticket stubs

dreams

1st's

horrible places

dad...

more dad

fun stuff n hockey game tix stubs

fav aunt

vegas 2006