I'm Back!! With a DIY Tote Bag

So...I've been in a serious MIA-status.  For that, apologies.  Sometimes, life just comes at you full force and you have to deal with it.

That being said, I have still been documenting all of the things I've been doing so I'll have plenty of photos and tutorials to share with you all!  To start off, I thought I'd show a tutorial on some tote bags I made for Christmas last year (geesh, I really did slack for a while).

Last Christmas, I was running very very low on cash.  So I decided to try and DIY as many gifts as possible.  Personally, I could never have too many tote bags.  I bring them with me everywhere-grocery shopping, CVS trips, to the beach/park, etc.  I looked at my list, found all the women and went off to Michael's.

 Everything you need you can find at Michael's, one-stop trip for this craft!  

Shopping List:

- Plain tote bags
- Letter stencils
- Paper doilies
- Craft paint (colors of your choice)
- Paint brushes

 I went with white, black, and grey totes just to switch it up.  I stuck with black and white paint though to keep it somewhat simple.  I also bought relatively cheap brushes and sponges, you don't need anything fancy.

Place the paper doily where you want to have the stencil.  Using a sponge or brush, paint an even coat of whatever color you'd like over the edges-where the holes are.  

This is where you can tell how important it is to maintain an even layer-because I clearly did not.  I wasn't too worried though, I liked the look because it made it look much more homemade.

 Once the outline has dried, place your lettered stencils in the center and paint over this is as well, in an even layer.

You can see here the difference in the grey, white, and black (plus my kitty Lucy!).  They are not the most perfect, but I loved the DIY look they had-shows the effort you put in! 

For some totes I had other gifts, so on the right you can see that I put them in the bag and then wrapped them up.  If it was just the bag, I rolled it up- like on the left.  I had white, red, and green ribbon-obviously very interchangeable for whatever you need!

I must tell you, these were a huge success.  All of the women loved them.  I chose a smaller bag, but you can make them any size you'd like.  I know my sister uses hers all the time, which is nice to see.  After making them, I immediately regretted not making myself one.  Is that selfish?  Haha, who knows, but I love them!  They're also so easy to change up and personalize to whatever you'd like them to look like.  I will definitely be doing more in the future.

Despite losing the link on my own Pinterest page, I searched for it and found one just so I could show you another one blog with a tutorial!  Click here to check her's out!

Roasted Chickpeas

Ever since getting a crock pot and a food processor, I have gotten into the habit of grabbing one or two cans of beans every shopping trip.  Kidney, black, chickpeas, etc.  Because I love making chili and different kinds of dips.  So I need to make sure I always have beans on hand so I can whip these things up quickly.  I'd pinned a few different roasted chickpea recipes over the last few months, but had never actually gotten around to making them.  When we had some friends over for one of the Pats games a few weeks ago, I found my excuse.

Now, a few of Kevin's coworkers are into Crossfit/working out in general, so I tried to make sure I had something somewhat healthy on hand for them.  As my friend Melissa so nicely put it, I do love my sour cream/cream cheese/mayonnaise combinations in dips.  What can I say, I love football food, and it isn't usually the healthiest stuff.  But when we entertained for the game, I happened to have three cans of chickpeas on hand, so I tripled the recipe and made some.

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp onion salt

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Note: This is all an estimate.  I kind of just threw it all together and tasted it as I went and adjusted when necessary. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°
2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Lay out on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Take out of the oven, mix around a bit, then bake another 15 minutes.
5. Take out when they are brown and crunchy.

The best thing about these is that you can honestly do whatever you want with them.  I omitted the cayenne this time around because a couple of the people didn't like spicy, but I can't wait to try it the next time around.  Here's where I found it originally.  There are tons of different flavor combinations on Pinterest, too. Super easy/much healthier snack for any day of the week.  Have fun with it and enjoy!

Mini Lasagna Cups

When I first got onto Pinterest, I got super into doing things in my muffin and cupcake tins.  Seriously, the options out there are endless for bite-sized food.  So I've done mini pizzas, thai chicken pot pies, mini tacos, etc.  But one of the most successful was the mini lasagnas.  My favorite thing about them was how easy it was to pack away and bring to work.  Two or three make a solid meal, totally perfect for traveling.  

The blog that I got this recipe from had no exact measurements, so therefore I don't either (apologies).  However, since the stuff you use in this is easy to store in the fridge and quickly use for something else, having all the ingredients open wasn't too big a deal for me. It's also very easy to do without measuring anything, so I don't think it should be too big a problem.

What You'll Need:

Marinara Sauce
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Wonton Wraps (found in the refrigerated produce section)
Italian Seasoning
Optional: ground beef/turkey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.  
2. Lightly grease your muffin tin.  Line each with one wonton wrapper.
3. Put a spoonful of sauce into each wrap.
4. Top with a spoonful of ricotta.
5. Sprinkle with a mixture of mozzarella and parmesan.
6. Top with another wrapper and repeat each step.
7. Sprinkle with the italian seasoning. 
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

This is especially great on busy weeknights, it takes such a short amount of time.  You can find the original recipe here.  Also, search Pinterest for more muffin tip recipes.  There are so many quick and easy ones out there and they are perfect for leftover lunches!

Enjoy!

Greeting Card Collection

I have inherited a sort of "Pack Rat" mentality from numerous members of my family.  Houses filled with memorabilia and knick knacks run through our blood.  Every birthday, Christmas and numerous other holidays my family and friends flood me with cards, and I consistently find myself unable to throw them away after the holiday has passed.  It is a silly habit and one I am fully aware I need to get over, but yet again I'm cleaning my closet and found dozens of cards just sitting in piles, untouched.

So obviously when I was poking around Pinterest and found something about repurposing old cards, I knew I'd found something I would be using in the future.  With all my recent time off, I have been cleaning things around the house and found all these cards of mine and Kevin's.  I decided to use this post finally and make them at least a little more compact.  I had been wanting to do it recently anyway.  Along with the cards, I used a calendar my aunt had made our family members that used pictures of my nephew for each month.  I decided to take the pictures and make two little books instead of just one.

 

Let's try and ignore my cat obsession that's obvious with the cards my friends buy and focus on the holes I made, haha.  So I had a 3-hole punch and used it to punch 2 holes in each card.

What You Need:

Cards/Photos/Post Cards

3-Hole Punch

Ribbon/Rope/Twine, etc.

I tied them together using some gold ribbon and ta-da!  A card book.  Now you can keep it handy and look through them whenever you need a pick me up, which I like to do from time to time.  The original blog I got this from had other ideas, too, for old cards and things, so be sure to look at it if you're interested in other options.  You can find it here.  

Here are my books.  The one with the cards is uneven as I didn't measure out the holes on the second card.  Whoops, that's what happens when you rush!  

Have fun with it!

Caramelized Onion Dip

My favorite part of football season is the food.  I'll probably mention this more than once, because I really love football food.  Especially dips.  When I was living with my best friends in Brookline, our fridge was full of dips.  All different kinds.  For chips, veggies, fruits, you name it.  So when I entertain for football games, you better believe I try and go all out for the spread I put out.  A couple weekends ago, I made this one.

Onion dip is a classic, found at countless events and parties.  It is, however, pretty awful for you if you buy it from the store.  That's another reason this recipe appealed to me.  In the original recipe, it calls for all Greek yogurt.  I opted to doing only half because I was, after all, entertaining and many people don't love Greek yogurt.  If you love onion dip, try this.  Cutting the onions and getting them to caramelize can be tricky, but it's totally worth the wait.

Ingredients:

1 red onion, sliced 

1 sweet onion, sliced 

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp salted butter

8 oz. Greek yogurt

8 oz. sour cream

1 tsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. In a large pot, add the oil and butter over low heat.  When the butter is melted, add all the onions in and the salt.  Coat the onions with the mixture and cover the pot for 45 minutes, stirring every 15-20 minutes.  After 45 minutes, uncover the lid and cook for another 45 minutes or until they are clearly caramelized. 
2. Once they've reached their caramelization, add in the brown sugar and stir over the heat for 5 minutes.  
3. In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together.  Add in the onions and stir well.  Taste to make sure it has your desired flavor.  Serve with chips, veggies, etc.

Note: My timing may be a bit off because I found that the recipe was off a little so I adjusted it here.  Just be sure to keep an eye on them, it won't be too hard to tell.  Also, I decreased the amount of brown sugar because I found it a bit too sweet, but you can adjust it as you'd like.  Enjoy!  Original Recipe

Glitterized Heels

Eventually as I post more, you guys will see that I have a tiny glitter obsession.  C'mon, I love getting all glammed up and throwing on something glittery and being extra girly.  This, however, is a rather new development of mine.  Within the past three years I've truly found my style and, sadly for some people, glitter is a big deal.  It makes things so pretty!  Pinterest has helped further this obsession because they seriously have so many crafts for making glittery things.  I stumbled upon these heels one day and knew eventually I would need them.  When my 26th birthday rolled around and my girlfriends and I decided to attend a show called The Donkey Show, I knew I'd found where these heels would fit in.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, let me explain briefly what The Donkey Show is before you start getting ideas.  It's a disco interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  They throw glitter on you from disco balls and roller skate around a stage with glitter covered dancing queens in every corner.  If you're ever in the Boston area, I totally recommend heading to Cambridge for this experience.  It is quite the night.  And if you like glitter, it's totally the place for you.  At the end of the night, I was walking out of the theatre and these two people behind me were talking about my shoes.  Mission Accomplished.

(My cat Lucy was very interested, isn't she cute??)

What You Need:

A pair of heels- I had bought a nude pair from Target that my cats decided to claw, so the     glitter covered that up!

Mod Podge

Brushes- sponge or bristle, it truly makes no difference

Glitter- make sure you have an ample amount, I made that mistake

Clear Acrylic Spray

Directions:

1. Prep a work area.  Make sure you're either extremely neat, or prepared to make a mess.  I got glitter everywhere because I didn't think it through.  I suggest using newspaper everywhere in the vicinity to catch stray glitter.
2. Spread the Mod Podge all over the heels where you want the glitter using the brush.
3. Shake the glitter over the wet areas.  I made the mistake of not having enough glitter so I used two different kinds.  You probably can't tell, but they're different golds.  Thankfully it isn't super noticeable when they're on.
4. Spray the acrylic all over the shoes in attempt to keep the glitter on.  It won't work 100%, but it will definitely help.  Keep your heels in a box or some place you don't mind glitter getting.

So here is the Original DIY, but be warned: it is not in English.  I just followed the pictures and added in some of my own stuff.  I hope you have as much fun with these as I did!  Honestly, I wish they were appropriate to wear on a regular basis.

Goat Cheese Mac n' Cheese with Chicken

In my opinion, cheese is by far the greatest food.  I discovered goat cheese in college and the first time I tried it I thought to myself, "Why on earth have I not been eating this every day?!"  It's one of my favorites and I like it both hot and cold, on practically anything-pizza, pasta, salad, you name it.  When I was scrolling through Pinterest I saw a mac n'cheese with goat cheese and knew that I had to try it.  It's also pretty easy and a good weeknight dinner since it doesn't take much time.

This recipe has it with roasted chicken, which I did take advantage of because we always have tons of chicken and I had time on my hands.  But it would be super easy to omit the chicken.  I ended up making the chicken the same day because, like I said, I had time.  Being in between jobs let's me experiment more in the kitchen, which is definitely a plus.  Also, roasting chicken takes much longer than cooking it in a pan, so you can easily do it that way, too.  Whatever works for you.  Leftover chicken?  Throw it on in there.

I kind of did my own thing with the chicken since the recipe I used just called for shredded roast chicken.  The other main ingredient was rosemary, so I threw that in with the chicken knowing it would compliment the pasta well.  Original Recipe is here, definitely check it out!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 pound rigatoni

1 qt heavy cream

3 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary

1 clove garlic, minced

8 oz goat cheese

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.  In a baking dish, add the chicken and oil.  Season with salt and pepper and add 1 tbsp of the rosemary.
2. Roast the chicken for 40-45 minutes, depending on thickness of the breasts.
3. After the chicken is done, set to cool on the side and bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add rigatoni and follow the directions on the package for cooking times.
4. In a large sauce pot, pour the cream in and heat over medium heat.  Add the rosemary and garlic, bring to a simmer and allow the cream to reduce by half.  This step is necessary, I got anxious and didn't let it reduce enough and it came out a little runnier than I would have liked.
5. Stir in the goat cheese and chicken (shredded at this point, or cubed).  Continue cooking until the cream coats the spoon.
6. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce.  Mix well and serve hot.  Enjoy!

I know my picture isn't all that pretty, but I couldn't wait to dive in and eat it.  The smell was amazing!