Present Birthday Card

My friend who moved to Seattle at the beginning of the summer just celebrated her 25th birthday, so of course I had to send her a card since I couldn't be with her. I love how simple and yet colorful this card turned out. As much as I love fancy cards, sometimes it's nice to go the simple route. I also love the rounded edges...who knew an edge could make such a difference.

Weekend Recap: Last Baseball Game of the Season

This past weekend had some pretty funny and exciting moments. I captured a few moments with my phone that I thought I would share with y'all.

Saturday started at the movies where we saw Hugh Jackman's new movie Prisoners. I thought it was a pretty good movie, but the ending definitely leaves you hanging. Then upon further discussion about the movie Monday morning with Elizabeth, I now have more questions...ha ha...go figure.

Saturday night we went to dinner with Mimi where she told us about her famous daiquiris she made for her bridge club back in the day. Of course when I found out how much rum she used, I had to share with my brother. In case you read the top part of that screen shot, I may or may not have dropped a 5 pound weight on my face at the gym last week...ha ha.

After another accidental head injury Sunday morning, that left me with a bump on my head and someone else with a bloody nose, it was time to attend the last baseball game of the season. We played the Yankees and got there just in time to see the last of a special ceremony thingy for #42 Mariano Rivera of the Yankees who retired after a great career.

During the 7th inning stretch my favorite spanish broadcasters invited me to the press box again!! Since the game went through 14 innings we actually got to sit up there for half the game! After the game, we were able to walk through the players tunnel again where we actually got to talk to one of the players briefly. :) Needless to say if was a great afternoon!

Weekend Recap: A Day Late

Friday was sooo rainy that I decided to try out my new mesh bun form before meeting my Aunt for a belated birthday lunch. I loved it! My bun stayed in place all day even through my afternoon nap!!

Saturday afternoon I went to Pinot's Pallet for the first time. It was for my friend's bachlorette party and we had a blast. All the paintings were so different, but they all looked great!! I really want to try out another painting now!

After the painting class we went out for some good ol' mexican food and then back to her MOH's house for some games (including Cards Against Humanity) and pictures with mustaches and beards...ha ha. It was a fun night!

Sadly I don't have pictures from Sunday, but my Mom and I went to see the ballet, The Merry Widow. It was such a pretty ballet. From the dancing to the costumes and set designs...it was awesome. Then we met up with some more family members for a birthday celebration. Yay!

Fall Burlap Wreath For Auction

I was asked by my friend/coworker, Heather, if I would want to donate a wreath to the silent auction for her charity casino night. Of course I said yes, but then I had to decide what kind of wreath I wanted to make...decisions decisions. My first thought was to make a ribbon wreath because those are probably my favorite ones, but it was with Erica's suggestion that I finally decided on a burlap wreath.

I purchased all my supplies from Hobby Lobby and since it is the Fall season, everything was in stock! This wreath consists of 4 rolls of burlap that I folded two inches wide accordion style. I used a bronze colored wire hanger as the base and strung the burlap on.  The fall decorations consists of 4 different pieces I attached all together and then onto the wreath. This wreath, just like my personal one which you can see here, here or here, you are able to remove the decorations and change them out depending on the season or your mood.

Also, while making this, I think I discovered I may be allergic to burlap. Ha ha. I would sneeze several times and the day after I finished messing with the burlap part of it my eyes were really red on the sides, almost rash like, and hurt! But is that going to stop me from making more things with burlap?!?! Nope!

What do you think? Would you bid on this wreath? ;)

Pumpkin French Toast Bake

I have another new breakfast recipe for y'all!! After last week's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal, I still had half a can of pumpkin left that I didn't want to go to waste. I know I've pinned lots of pumpkin dishes, so I went through all my pins until I found one that didn't need a full can of pumpkin. I was really excited when I found this Pumpkin French Toast Bake because my last French Toast Bake was ahhhh-mazing.

The recipe comes from Minimalist Baker. I slightly adapted the original recipe which includes pumpkin butter that I would love to try next time.

What I used...

1 Loaf of White Mountain Bread
2 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
5 Large Eggs
Half can of Pumpkin Puree
1 tsp Vanilla
1 3/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Brown sugar for topping

What I did...

Cut (or rip apart like I did) your bread into 1 inch chunks and place in a 9x13 dish. Whisk together your milk, eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Slowly pour your mixture over your bread. Smush down any pieces that are not covered. Cover your dish (I used Press n Seal wrap) and store in your fridge overnight.

In the morning, uncover your dish and top with extra pumpkin pie spice and a generous amount of brown sugar. Place in the oven at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Serve while warm. I'm not a fan of syrup or a lot of honey so I didn't pour anything over my piece, but if you are a fan I'm sure that extra boost of sweetness would taste awesome.

I served mine with a few pieces of bacon...yum! One thing I will say about this dish, while delicious, it wasn't as sweet as I would have liked. However, when I was looking back at the original recipe she says to add some brown sugar or honey to your mixture to sweeten it up if you are using pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin butter. Live and learn right?!?!

Framed Key and Handkerchief

After finishing the bubble burlap wreath, I needed a break from crafting for a few weeks. However, this past weekend I put my crafting shoes on and started working on some new projects. Two I was able to complete pretty quick and the last one (that you won't see today) is still a work in progress, but all three involve burlap.

First up we have a framed key. I'm not sure where I originally saw this idea, but I do know it was from a blog. I think it's such a cute and different way to remember your very first place! I bought the picture frame and burlap from Hobby Lobby. I taped the burlap down to the front side of the back of the frame to keep it in place and then used glue dots to secure the key. I was worried the key would be too thick and I wouldn't be able to get the back of the frame back on, but luckily everything worked out great!

Do you remember when I posted the picture of the vintage handkerchief my future SIL gave me when she asked me to be a bridesmaid? Well I said I was thinking of framing it and that is what I did. I orginally wanted to put it in a shadow box, but I wasn't a fan of how much those things stick off the wall. So I went with this clear box frame. I wrapped the white cardboard with the rest of the burlap from Hobby Lobby just like you would wrap a present. I then tried to iron the creases out of the the handkerchief with my Chi but didn't want to put too much heat on it since it is vintage and all. I then laid the some-what ironed handkerchief on the burlap and stuffed it all back into the clear box.

Finally, I hung them with my already existing picture collage. The spaces that they filled have been empty for a year and a half and I absolutely hated my collage, but hated a blank wall more so I never took it down. These two frames fit perfectly in the blank spaces and I'm starting to like this wall a little more. There are still a few spaces I want to fill, but can't decide what I want...maybe I'll figure it out just in time to take it all down when I eventually move. Ha!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

Well hello there! Did ya miss me?!?! My absence was due to a lack of things to post about and no pictures to show from my trip to Oklahoma...my bad. But it's back to business now and I have a new breakfast recipe to share.

Last week one of my favorite bloggers, Courtney from Sweet Tooth Sweet Life, posted a recipe for Apple Cinnamon Raisin Baked Oatmeal. It sounded pretty good minus the apples and raisins...ha ha...I love those particular fruits on their own but not in things or warm...yes I know I'm weird...ha ha...so I decided to try my own version of baked oatmeal. 

Here's what I used in my version of the baked oatmeal...

2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree (not pie filling)
2 T Melted Butter
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Combine all your dry ingredients in one bowl minus the chocolate chips. In a separate bowl, whisk together all your wet ingredients. Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Add your chocolate chips to the mixture. Pour your oatmeal into a greased (I used spray Crisco) 8x8 dish. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. If you have a gas oven 20 minutes would probably be fine as well.

I enjoyed mine with a sliced banana. Yummy! This reminded me of the Pumpkin Spice Cookies I made last fall. I also sent a text to my future SIL about this delicious breakfast and this was her response. "Oh...my...goodness. This is why you are my sister. Pumpkin & chocolate! You speak to my heart!"