Oldies but Goodies

Get ready to be shocked...I haven't been to the movies in over a month!!! It's crazy, I know, but hopefully that will change soon. In the mean time, I finally got around to watching some classics!

Yep...I had never seen either of these movies before...sad but true. Back in October I went with one of my Aunts to see a production of Steel Magnolias and like it so much I had to watch the movie. She told me if I liked this one I would also like Fried Green Tomatoes and she was right.

If you cry easily, I could see you not wanting to watch Steel Magnolias, but if you haven't seen it I suggest renting it or buying it out of the discount bin. FGT to me was hilarious. The things that Kathy Bates did in this movie cracked me up and of course there are lots of other funny parts with the flash backs. 

Ornament Wreath 2011

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! I wanted to share one last Christmas DIY project! I was inspired by all the ornaments wreaths I've seen around this season I just had to make one for myself! I got the low down on how to make one from this pin. Please excuse my bow...it's a work in progress...

The light really bounces off the the "disco" ornaments...ha ha. I did all gold since that's mainly what our Christmas color is and since I used gold ornaments I also used a goldish/brownish wire hanger to string them on. I had used white at first but it was too noticeable.

My favorite are the "disco" and glitter ornaments...I used two different sizes (I would describe them as small and normal I guess) of shatterproof ornaments. Let me tell ya, shatterproof is the way to go. Even though I glued the tops on, a couple still popped off...ahhh. Luckily there was enough wiggle room so I could get them back in place...woo hoo!

Merry Christmas Y'all

Christmas 2011 Ribbon Wreaths #2 and #3

The last 2 ribbon wreaths for the year are going to two families who started out neighbors, became friends and now we consider them part of the family. They also both have last names that start with "G's"...ha ha.

Can you spot the different ribbons I used in these two compared to my first Christmas one?

The "G's" are painted green with a thin layer of extreme glitter paint in silver on top (they are also smaller then the "S" I put on the other wreath)

I don't think I've ever posted what the ribbon wreaths look like from the back. Since these take a while to do I taught my Mom how to make one (mother/daughter bonding over wreaths) Can you tell which one I did and which one she did?

Wire Bead Crosses

So I'm not sure if I've written about these before or not, but I can't find the post so bare with me if it becomes a little deja vu for you...

A few years ago I received a gorgeous hand beaded wire cross from a friend and loved it so much I wanted to learn how to make them as well. So she taught me and for the past couple of years I've made these as gifts for family and a couple of friends. I think these make great gifts for anyone and if you want to learn how to make them I'd be glad to show you because I don't think I could fully explain everything in a post...ha ha

Christmas 2007: the cross given to me that started my obsession

Christmas 2008: my first cross...I gave it to my Mom

Christmas 2009: given to two of my favorite people!

Christmas 2010: given to my Mimi and Aunts

This year I was too busy making wreaths that I didn't get around to making crosses/I didn't know who else to make one for...maybe next year I'll make another one. In the meantime, I have lots of pretty leftover beads to use in new projects (like the ribbon bookmarks!)

Christmas Cards

Simple and elegant, no? I love the white paper...it reminds me of snow!

Snowmen Candle Holders

These cuties are yet another gift I made this holiday season. I got the idea from Pinterest (seriously what did I do before this site and why did it take me so long to join)

The things I changed from the original directions... I spray painted my wire black to look more like a normal snowman hat. I put in flame-less tea lights so 1. the black paint wouldn't drip and 2. nothing would catch on fire. I didn't use a golf tee to shape the nose (did it all by hand) and made the nose smaller. And finally, I tied red ribbon around the hats.

Things I learned... I'm not very good and tying bows (well I already knew this, but still they are frustrating) and making paint circles even is hard

Oh and in case anyone thinks like my mom...one is a snowMAN and one is a snowWOMAN...ha ha

Ribbon Bookmarks

Time to share some more gifts I made this season...ribbon bookmarks

These two were for my friends who love them some animal print! Of course I'm right there with them!!

And of course I had to make one for me too!

These were really fun to make and I love the charms I found! I also got to use some left over beads from all the crosses I've made in the past (more on those later)! If I can find the website where I got the idea from I will definitely update this post with the link, but since I can't and don't know what all the jewelry stuff is called...I'll just leave y'all with the above pictures.

More Popcorn?!?!

Remember in this post how I said red and green M&Ms would be cute for the holidays...well...I did it!

Looks/tastes like Christmas to me! I made this for a few ladies at work who weren't able to sample my first batch and packaged them in cute little pails.

Cinnamon Stick Candle

Yay for being able to post more gifts!! So you may have noticed I am somewhat obsessed with Pinterest (but really who isn't these days). At least I'm attempting to make some of the things I've pinned right?!?! The inspiration for these came from this pin.

There wasn't a tutorial so I did the best I could. I hot glued each one on individually hoping for an uneven but not messy pattern and tied Christmas ribbon around. The one on the left has been given to a friend and the one on the right is chillin' on the kitchen island waiting for a loving home.

By the way...hot glue and I have not been friends this gift making season...grrr...all I want it to do is hold and all it wants to do is make me think it's going to hold then I turn my back and what ever was glued down has now fallen off. Curse you hot glue! But I guess it did work in the end.

Don't Forget the Puppies this Christmas!

Just because I don't have a dog anymore doesn't mean I can't spoil all of my friend's and family's pooches with homemade dog treats!!! The recipe comes from Jordan over at Ramshackle Glam.
These are soooo easy to make and they make your whole house smell like peanut butter...mmmmmm...

forgive the iPhone pictures...These are waiting to go into the oven and yes I have a dog bone cookie cutter...ha ha

Cooling down

All packaged and ready to be devoured by some hungry puppies!!

Pink & Black Bday Card

Inspired by this...

Christmas 2011 Ribbon Wreath #1

I can finally post a Christmas gift I made this year! Since this one was delivered to my friend last Friday, I decided I could finally post it...woo hoo! This is the same size wreath as this one, but the same technique I used for this one. Of course I had to change it up a bit and attempted to add a HUGE wooden letter (painted white at first then I used extreme glitter paint in silver). The "S" was problematic, but eventually stayed glued with some E6000 and small wooden balls underneath for support.

Pretty ribbon! That's 169 ribbon strips (plus a few extra b/c sometimes I lose count...ha ha)

I did put a hanging ribbon on the wreath, but since the letter is so heavy it actually looks better if the wreath is sitting on a hook instead of hanging.

Super 8

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From the mind who brought us Lost, Fringe and Person of Interest comes Super 8. (totally just felt like the movie trailer guy)

I didn't know this, but Super 8 is actually the type of file they used in video cameras back in the day.

Super 8 was actually a good movie! It's not scary in case that's why you haven't watched it yet. This movie is about a group of friends creating a zombie movie (using Super 8 film) and while filming they witness a horrific train accident and everything goes crazy from there. Throughout the movie you see how powerful friendships are and how the craziest things can bring a family back together.

I would give this movie a solid B.

Chocolate Covered Popcorn

Doesn't that look mouth watering???

There is this place called Chocolate Pizazz and they have this amazing chocolate covered popcorn! The downside is that unless there is a special going on it can be a little pricey...sadness. There is also this thing that goes on in November called the Nutcracker Market where Chocolate Pizazz sets up a both and where for 3 years straight I had bought popcorn, but didn't buy any this year.

Why didn't I buy popcorn this year? Because I told myself I could probably make it for a fraction of the cost. It might not taste exactly the same, but it has my favorite food items so if anything I would still be happy!

What you need:

1 microwave bag of lightly salted natural popcorn
1/2 bag of melting chocolate
1/2 bag of melting white chocolate or vanilla
1/2 medium size bag of M&Ms
1 to 2 crushed Heath bars depending on how much you like toffee (not in the picture above)
Small bowl
Large baking sheet
Wax paper

What you do:

Pop the popcorn (don't burn it! or I'll hunt you down)
While popcorn is popping cover baking sheet with wax paper and pour your chocolate melting chips in the bowl
When popcorn is done spread it out on the cookie sheet and look for and leftover kernels

Melt the chocolate according to the package
Drizzle chocolate over popcorn

Repeat with the white chips
Spinkle M&Ms and crushed Heath bar over wet chocolate popcorn and let harden

Break apart and enjoy!

Of course you can tailor this to your particular candy likings or a particular season...red and green M&Ms perhaps...I think yes!

Thanks! Card

I wanted to send my Aunt and Uncle a little thank you for letting us stay at their condo while on vacation and of course a store bought card just wouldn't do. I based the design of this card off of this one I found on Pinterest.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Mmmmmm... I have made this dessert for the last 4 office Thanksgivings and it's always a hit! To top off the awesomness of this cake...it's so simple to make! Can I get a Woo Hoo?!?!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 eight oz. cans of Crescent Rolls
2 eight oz. pkgs. of Cream Cheese
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 cup Butter (melted)
1/2 cup Cinnamon sugar

Flatten one can of crescent rolls on the bottom of your 9x13 pan. In a bowl cream both packages of cream cheese with the sugar and vanilla. Spread mixture over flattened crescent rolls. Lay last package of crescent rolls on top and spread it out to the edges/pinch seams together. Pour melted butter over the top. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

And it comes out looking like this...(minus the missing piece and isn't pre-cut)

Tower Heist

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I really didn't think this movie would be funny so I wasn't gung ho about seeing it. However, after hearing good reviews I thought I would check it out.

I actually really enjoyed this movie! It made me laugh and it made me re-realize how snooty and deceiving the extremely wealthy can be...ha ha. It certainly did teach you that payback is a bitch! he he he

Cranberry Pomegranate & Tangerine Sauce

This is another recipe we tested out before Thanksgiving and this one DID make it to the table. This is also from HEB.

I love cranberries and my favorite are the canned jellied ones...yummy! But these were really good too! The only bad thing about these is the pomegranate juice is a little pricey...my mom called it the Golden juice...ha ha. We also found out that if you cook them uncovered they end up kind of runny, but if you cover them while cooking they get really thick (jello like). I like mine either way, but in case you are one way or the other it's good to know.

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! My mom and I tried out a few new recipes before the holiday to spice things up a little. These sweet potatoes were pretty good, but didn't end up on our table.

The recipe is from HEB, but of course we altered it slightly. We used Texas Gourmet Sweet Chipotle seasoning instead of the chipotle they have on the recipe card (and probably 3x the amount on the card). The chipotle gives a nice little kick to the sweet potatoes and makes them taste more like a side dish rather than dessert. Don't get me wrong the regular sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top will always be my favorite!

Happy Thanksgiving/Card

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Here's a simple little card I made for a certain someone for Thanksgiving (hopefully it got there in time)

Breaking Dawn part 1




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 So I told myself I wouldn't see this movie opening weekend because I didn't want to be in the theater with a bunch of screaming tweens everytime Edward or Jacob came on the screen, BUT I couldn't resist! And I felt like a crazy person waking up at 8:30 am to go to a 9:30 am movie on a Sunday! I always sleep until at least 10 am on the weekends...

To me the movies keep getting better as the saga comes to a close. I felt like the actors were more comfortable in their roles this time (or maybe it's because in real life Kristen and Rob are an item). In this movie they get married (finally!) and become pregnant. The "demon" child takes a toll on Bella and when reading the book you get a sense of it, but in the movie...OMG...they made her really look sick. Of course it's all digitally altered, but she really did look like she was withering away. I was very impressed with the detail of that. My absolute favorite part was the last second...it made me so excited to see the second installment!!

If you plan on seeing this movie (or missed it the first time), stay until after the first credits...wink wink.

Vacay Day 7: Columbia River Gorge

Our last full day in Oregon we decided to drive through the Columbia River Gorge on the Historic Columbia River Highway. It was a very beautiful drive that I would recommend to anyone visiting the area.

Vista House...where our journey through the Gorge began

View from the Vista House...cloudy day but still beautiful...the river separates Oregon and Washington

Latourell falls

Bridal Veil Falls

This is my absolute favorite picture from the trip! It's the bridge you cross to get to the Bridal Veil falls view point

OH if only we had really read this sign...lets just say I started the 3 mile hike without knowing...who knew they were all connected!!

Wahkeena Falls

Multnomah Falls (Top Fall is 542 ft. Bottom Fall is 69 ft.)

Horse Tail Falls (last fall before we got back on the regular highway)

Oneonta Gorge

Hope y'all have enjoyed all the pictures! Back to my normal posts tomorrow...guess what movies I've seen (hint: one of them is part of a saga...he he he)