And then she realized..

How absolutely ridiculous the wreath looked.  And that the porch looks like it should be in Who-ville.  The wreath has been ripped off the door and it’s on to plan B.  Too bad I don’t know what plan B entails…

What you do when you can no longer stand to look at your porch.

Yesterday, I went outside to do something while Little Monkey napped and completely forgot what I went out there to do when I looked at this:

We got two of these trees about 4 years ago and over time, leaves have fallen off, the tops have broken and what once were dark green leaves are now almost blue.  I’ve been considering just throwing them away, but WE PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THOSE SUCKERS.  So, I started ripping leaves off to see what I could do with them.

One down, and now I realize the Christmas wreath is still on the door.  Yes, people, I realize it’s almost April!  At least I got the rest of decorations up before February.  (Seriously, one year it took us until March, not a proud moment.) 

 

I’m not thrilled with the ribbon and I don’t know what else to do with the topiaries?  But I think they have potential.  I was thinking more twinkly lights, but it needs MORE.  When we have a day where we don’t have a million and one things to do, I’ll go in search of ribbon and “stuff” for the topiaries and once again love my porch.

In the meantime, at least I have the right seasonal wreath on door.  That’s something, right?!?

Mirror Mirror, On the Wall

A couple of weeks ago Grover and I were in TJ Maxx/Homegoods and found the perfect mirror for our guest bathroom. Unfortunately, the price tag wasn’t perfect. $40 for a simple mirror was just too much to stomach. Upon closer inspection, we decided we could make on ourselves. Ok, Grover decided he could do it. I just supervise!

We found this mirror in Big Lots for $10.

Grover took the mirror out of the frame and made this:

This was all out of scraps, so basically the project cost $10 for the mirror and the frame can be saved for a future project. Sounds better than $40 to me!

Here is a before and after of the finished mirror in the bathroom!

And here is my new mirror in its new home:

I would like to put a couple of hooks under the shelf, but haven’t found the perfect ones just yet. Also, I’m still looking for the perfect accessories, but that will come eventually. For now, Little Monkey likes to stick a toothbrush up there..

Thanks for reading,

JB

Ruffle Scarf

I've had this great yarn that I got to make a baby blanket with for awhile now, but it just never looked right as a baby blanket. So, it's been sitting here staring at me for months now, begging me to do something with it. Yesterday I couldn't take its judgement anymore.

I started out with this:

But I just didn't think it was ... enough. It seemed wimpy. So, I decided to add another layer.

Now I just need to decide if it needs more or if it's enough as it is. Any thoughts?

THIS!

THIS is my next project! I absolutely love this idea, and it's less than $20 for a great looking mirror. I think I'll be heading to Lowes on Friday to start gathering my tools!

Or maybe I'll just go get them now. :)

The Mario Blanket

I thought I'd share a blanket I made several months ago. We were at the beach one weekend and I found this sassy yarn that I had to have.. It matches nothing in the house and it's not the sort of yarn I usually go for, but for whatever reason it called to me that day! It took me several more months to actually do anything with it, b/c every time I walked by it all snuggled into its basket, I thought, "Why do I have this? I should take it back.." But I never did. And I'm glad, b/c it turned out really cute and my son loves it. It fits perfectly on his bed. The blanket wasn't originally for him, but he wanted it, so I was glad it found it's place. My brother dubbed it "The Mario Blanket." Never thought about naming my blankets before... If anyone wants the pattern, I'll be happy to post it, just leave me a comment!

Thanks for reading, enjoy!

JB

Progress?

These are the first 20 motifs needed for my latest blanket. The pattern calls for 95, but I'm 99.9% sure I'll need more, so that I can drape it over the entire bed. I can usually get about 3 made a day, so at this rate, it'll take me about 4-5 weeks to complete it. Which is ok, because we have a lot of work to do in that room! Right now, my husband is stripping down an old dresser for me and he's going to build a headboard/footboard for the bed. So, I've got plenty of time, I'm just being impatient!

I tried to sew up a couple of hearts today, but I'm not extremely adept at needle and thread, so my lumpy little heart will go back in the progress pile. :)

I've got several ideas for future projects. Here's hoping the weather will clear up and I can get motivated again. In the meantime, I'll be plugging away at the squares!

JB

Chicken Pot Pie

I made chicken pot pie for dinner last night. For a first attempt, it turned out pretty good. I love the puff pastry crust instead of biscuits. I also like the fact that per serving, it's only 350 calories! Here's the recipe:

2 Tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Cups stemmed + quartered white or cremini mushrooms

2 Cups frozen pearl onions

2 Cups chopped, cooked chicken

1/4 Cup flour

2 Cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed

1 Cup 2% or whole milk

1/2 Cup half and half *or* 1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 Cup frozen peas

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

1 Sheet puff pastry, defrosted

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

Heat butter in a large saute pan or pot over medium heat. When melted, add onion, carrots and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent and the carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and pearl onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and flour, using a wooden spoon, to ensure the veges and meat are evenly coated with the flour.

Slowly our in the chicken broth, using a whisk to beat it, to help avoid clumping with the flour (having the broth warm or hot helps smooth out the sauce). Once the broth is incorporated, add the milk and half and half and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened substantially and lightly clings to the veges and chicken. Stir in the peas. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the pastry into quarters. Roll out each peace onto a floured surface to make a 6" square.

Divide the chicken mixture among 4 ovenproof bowls. Place a pastry square over the top of each bowl and trim away the excess with a paring knife; pinch the dough around the edges of the bowl to secure it. Brush the tops with the egg whites and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Makes 4 servings at 350 calories apiece, 15 g of fat.

*I didn't have 4 bowls, so I just used one and it turned out fine. I also couldn't find pearl onions, so I left those and the mushrooms out. We only had 1% milk and the sauce didn't thicken quite as much as I would have liked, so next time, I'll either get 2% or add a little more flour to thicken things up.

Otherwise, I think it turned out pretty well!

The First

I've recently started reading several great crafty blogs, including my husbands, so I thought I would start one for myself. This is my "first" project. The snowflake garland pattern came from here and the tiny hearts came from here. I'm working on a blanket for one of the bedrooms right now, but it took me almost an hour to figure out the first motif, so that might take awhile. Hopefully, this site will inspire me to craft a little more and learn to use blogger!

JB