Life's little irritations

So we had a family event the other day, and since I have more pictures of my Mongolian Beef recipe than I do of some of my children, I thought I'd better take pictures. I have this terrible habit of not having charged batteries so I knew that I better charge them and I did. Score one for mom! We got to the event and just as the moment was about to hit...three little words plagued me.





MEMORY...CARD...FULL




I think it was even in caps like that, screaming at me. Telling me that I had failed as a mom again. Three memory cards later, and three messages of "memory card full" and I got the picture full force. I can't win.

      

                                        Eve

Shert...Skeet...Skeert...Skirt/Sheet

So do you remember my Skeert...Skeet...my Skirt/Sheet? Well, I tried on my repurposed sheet and guess what? It didn't really look like me. What to do, what to do? Do you know what I did? I gave it away. To my sister. I gave her the explanation that "it just doesn't look like my style." She agreed. So she took it home to see if it was her style. It wasn't. So it came back. I was bound and determined that this not go to waste so I decided to just wear it. I'm cool like that. I make these split second decisions that leave me going out in public wearing an all-too-see-through-skirt-that-I-really-should-have-had-a-slip-under-but-didn't-realize-it-until-15-minutes-before-the-end-of-church-and-no-one-said-a-thing-to-me-because-who-thinks-that-you-can-see-through-brown-anyway. Yeah, that was me last week. So this week I just put on the skirt, did my usual checks in the mirror and I know you can't see through this one because of all the layers and it's at least double from top to bottom. So we were good. I guess. At least as far as modesty goes. But my day didn't start out so hot because the day before, I fried my curling iron and was having a bad hair day so I had to pull out my last resort which was my hot rollers. I have never really figured out how to properly use those without leaving an odd crimp in my hair from the clip. So I made do. I left with the kids on this Sunday morning, again to church in the hopes that I could redeem myself. I arrived at church and saw myself reflected in the glass doors and do you know what? It didn't look half bad. I even garnered a few compliments. Who knew? I guess it pays every now and again to branch out of your comfort zones. So here it is. Before and after.

My sheet in its original state.

Me in my Skeert trying not to think about my sun deficient legs on display for all eternity because the internet is forever.

And there you have it. Out of my comfort zone but, not too bad.

I hope this inspires you to get out of your bubble and try something new. If you decide to try this link back to us and share the blog lovin. We'd love to see your projects and hear about it.

Linking up at
DebbieDoos
The Tattered Tag K.I.S.S
 

    

                                               Eve

 

Stash Cans.

The fun of living on a budget is finding all the wonderful things you can achieve while living on it.  I don't want to spend our money on storage when I could stash it for a vacation.  This is a simple project that makes my storage a bit easier on the eyes.  When we get food that comes in the pull top cans I wash them out and save them for projects.  These seem to have less sharp edges to deal with.
Round up glue, cans, and the paper you want to cover your cans with.  I love my glue gun for so may reasons but probably the biggest is my patience, I don't want to wait for glue to dry to play with my projects. 

I like to measure and cut with a mat and a rotary cutter but anything will do.  Measure the height you want covered and cut a strip.  For this can I cut a 4 inch strip from a 12 inch paper. 

Glue the end you don't want to see down first and line up the paper with the top ring of the can.  This will give you a nice line to follow.  Put down a strip of glue along the edge of the paper and get it on the can. 

Wrap the paper around and add a few drops of glue when you reach paper again.  You will have a little flap sticking out that you can make a nice edge with.  Put glue close to edge and smash down to make it lay nice. It just takes pressure and smearing if there are bumps. 

Now your done and have storage cans made from scraps around your home.  What are you going to use these for?  We use them for pencils, tools, organizing nuts and bolts and a chore system.  Yes I said chore system.  That's a teaser.  I will be posting on that one later. 

Chairs on the Cheap

I have been stalking KSL for some chairs for my front room and hadn't found any that were...ahem...just right within my budget. But just the other day I came across these.

I got two of them dirt cheap. And when I say that I mean that literally because they came with a lot of dirt. I think that they were office chairs at one point but then later they became lawn chairs. At least, I hope so.

I am taking on the daunting task of reupholstering them to clean, nice fabric. I have already demo'd one chair so that I can do a before and after. I can't wait to share it with all of you.

                                             Eve

Product Review: Cricut Paper Cutter

I know everything is going hi-tech these days but let's just say I'm cheap. I'll be honest. I buy a lot of things because I'm going to "make do" until I either break down and buy it or I decide to live without it.

I don't scrapbook very often, if at all and I don't generally do paper crafting and therefore do not own many gadgets to "make my life easier." When I made my baby gift box I needed something to cut with so I went to Joann's and bought this paper cutter.

It came with a blade attachment and a paper scorer and it was only ten dollars when I purchased it so I figured I'd give it a go. Since then I have used it many times and frankly, it sucks. The measurements are off and the ruler arm when extended makes the paper slightly crooked. I made a baby shower card and tried to use the scoring attachment only to have it scratch a hole through the paper. I couldn't even lay down the clear ruler arm to hold the paper in place because it put too much pressure on the paper when I used the scorer. I resorted to just going back to the store and buying an embossing pen and using a straight edge. About the only thing I have found this good for is letting my daughter use it when she wants to do school projects.

So really, if you need anything to be measured exact like I did when I made the gift box for my Sani-tie-zers, then don't buy this.

                                     

                                        Eve

Sani-tie-zers

I read an article once that said a doctor's tie harbors harmful bacteria. This really didn't dawn on me until I took my youngest in for a well-child appointment. During this appointment my doctor removed my child's diaper for whatever reason. He leaned forward and his tie touched my child's bum. Oh the thoughts that rushed through my head! I used to work in a lab and am very familiar with the types of bacteria that abound just normally on our skin and generally around our body. I started to wonder where his tie had been. EEEEWWWWW!

Fast forward to the next well-child appointment.

This time I am coming prepared.

I took all of 10 minutes to make this handy little thing that will hold his tie in place for him. It isn't a tie tack like a pin but it accomplishes the same thing but this way, his tie looks like it magically stays put. All you do is button one end to your shirt button below the tag and loop it through the tag on the back of your tie, then button the other end to the button above your tag. Simple. To make it even easier, you could repurpose an old mens shirt by cutting off the buttonhole section of the shirt and sewing the ends.

I wrapped up my little gift in this box I made.

 

I used the tutorial from Flutter by atomicbutterfly who is way more scrappy than I am.  Here it is all closed up.

I would love to say I came up with this idea myself, but sadly, I am not that clever. I can't even tell you where I found it because I didn't bookmark the page. I scoured all my regular stomping grounds to no avail so if you came up with this or know who did, give me a heads up.

I linked up to
DebbieDoos Blogging and Blabbing 
A Creative Princess

If this inspired you to make one of your own, let us know. We'd love to hear about it. Link back to us and share the love.

                                                                           

                              

                                            Eve

Versatile Blogger Award

Being new to blogland, I, maybe we, are not all that familiar with awards. I guess it is like getting a gold star for sharing in school.

And so we share again.

The rules of accepting the award are as follows:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.

Thank you, Danielle from Blissful and Domestic. We are so touched that you thought of us.

2. Tell 7 things about yourself.

Since there are two of us here, I guess we'll answer separately.


Eve

1. I am told that I have height envy because my shoes keep getting taller and taller.
2. I love sour gummies, especially sour patch cherries.
3. I would rather play the sport than watch it unless it involves children age 6 or less.
4. I taught myself to knit.
5. I like to bake for my man but I usually eat more of it than he does.
6. I don't like chocolate but I do love brownies. 
7. I own three pairs of earrings, two of which my little man ruined straightened the hooks for me.

Misty

   1.  I love to own shoes but I don't like to wear them.
   2.  My Hubbs and I differ in height by over a foot.
   3.  If I could I would have a smoothie for every meal.
   4.  I love a good book, add a bath and I'm in heaven.
   5.  I consider belly laughing an exercise and try to do it often.
   6.  My dream in life is to have a farm.
   7.  I think service will fix almost any problem in life. 


* Pay it forward and award the Versatile Blogger to 15 recently discovered new bloggers.


Thanks again, Danielle!

If you are looking for some great inspirations, check out these blogs and share the love.


Susan from Busy at Home
Terri from A Creative Princess
Caroline from C.W. Frosting
Daniella Hayes from Layers of Creativity
Lisa from House Dressing
Julie from Pickles & I Scream
Katherine from Styleidoscope
Angie from Tennessee Sunshine
Jackie from I Design
Misty from Not an Empty Room
Sarah from Welcome to the Good Life

And that takes care of everyone we know who hasn't already received this award. We tried to be respectful of those who stated they are award-free so if we missed that on your site, we're sorry. We just wanted to share some bloglove.

    

                             Misty and  Eve

Cake Poops

No, that is not a typo.

Once upon a time, I had the idea that I would become a chocolatier and own my own chocolate shop. I had the name picked out and everything. This was in the middle of my baking obsession where I was baking cookies frequently and experimenting with different recipes. I am not a bad baker, and have often been told that I make the best treats, but I haven't yet perfected chocolate. I can bake with it just fine if it is just another ingredient like salt, but if it has to be pretty, that is another story.

For a Birthday party, I decided to make some cake pops. Bakerella has lots of cute creations on her website. She even wrote the book. They looked easy to make and I had so many ideas of what I could do. For this party I decided on a Batman theme and found these little beauties. I made my own cake not from a box. A first for me. I made my own frosting. Another first for me. And they were good. Things started looking up for me. I bought my 6 inch sticks, my candy pieces, and candy melts in preparation. Everything thing seemed to be falling into place.

Let the decorating commence!

I started with some white candy melts to make the face. I had borrowed a fondue pot from my neighbor but since I had only melted chocolate in the microwave, I had to look up what temperature at which to melt it. That done, I found that I had overheated the chocolate. Strike one.

I had only bought one bag of each color of candy melts which equalled...two bags. Strike two.

I let those chill after I had added the faces and candy pointed peaks on the hood. Time for the blue dipping. I tried the fondue pot again only to have it make the candy melts chunky and gritty. I added crisco as per the directions in case I messed it up and overheated it again. It got harder and chunkier. Strike three.

At this point I gave up and melted what chocolate chips I had in my pantry and started dipping. I added the sprinkle eyes and let them chill.

Sadly, this was one of the better ones. Most of them looked like this.

See, cake poops.

Things I've learned.

1. If you attempt to make cake pops, the styrofoam base is a must. I used a cookie cooling rack atop a cookie sheet with a towel on top to minimize slippage. I had many mess ups because I had them slip.
2. Make sure you have all your equipment on hand in advance. 
3. I can't  work with chocolate.

What can I say, I am jealous of all you creative people out there who can work in this type of media. I am not good at this.

                    

                                          Eve

Perfectly Pasta Salad.

The sun is bringing a warm glow to my neck of the woods these days and somehow that makes it seem almost cruel to slave over a stove for a warm dinner when we can have something simple, cool, and tasty.  Unless its the Hubbs turn to cook then light up the BBQ and I will get my lounger out. 

We get a variety pack of produce from a local food co-op.  Its always the same price but the items in it are always just a little different.  I have learned to love this pasta salad because the vegi varieties are an endless option. 

The basic recipe is this simple. 
One thing of pasta... I used a 2lb box of elbows today but I just use what ever I have. 
3/4 C Ranch Dressing ... Your favorite will do just fine
3/4 C Italian Dressing ... Again your fav.

Then just start dumping stuff in from there.

Here is what I used today. 
2lb box of elbow noodles
Kens Ranch and lite Italian dressing.
Sliced almonds
One tomato
Bag of broccoli and cauliflower
One carrot and
about 2 pounds of chicken.

 Cook up the chicken any way your family likes it.  Cook the noodles and let

them cool.  Dice up all your produce and mix it in a big bowl.  The only issue we have ever had is if we mix it up while the chicken or noodles are still warm.  It makes the cheese go greasy.  We chill it for a while because we like it cooler but as long as its not melting the cheese hot its all good.

 

                                   XOXO  Misty

 

Key Lime Cheesecake

Of all the sweets that I make, this is definitely my favorite. It is simple, creamy, and refreshing. Can cheesecake be refreshing? This cheesecake is tart with just a hint of sweet. Just how I like it. It is also so simple that it is easily changed to your liking without much effort. It is so easy, and so good.

I was first inspired to make this by Paula Deen, but I have simplified her recipe and changed it to my taste. I still haven't perfected my technique but I had just had to share it with all of you.

As with most of my recipes, these measurements do not have to be exact and since there are no eggs in this recipe you can easily adjust the level of tartness to sweetness without fear of salmonella.

Ingredients

2- 8 oz pkgs of Cream Cheese (softened)
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C Key Lime juice
1 tsp Lime zest (optional)
1/2 C butter
20 cracker sheets of Graham Crackers

Crush the graham crackers into crumbs with a food processor or place them in a baggie and use a rolling pin to break them up into a fine crumb. I have a 3 cup food chopper which I use for this part. It makes things go so much easier.

Melt the butter and mix it into the crumbs. In an 8 inch springform pan, press the mixture into the pan evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 min. Remove from the oven.

Mix the cream cheese, lime juice, sugar, and zest (if you used it) in a bowl on high until the mixture is creamy and smooth. I've found that if I take the time to mix this well instead of leaving it lumpy like cottage cheese--and I've done that--then it doesn't crack while I bake it. You also won't have lumps of cream cheese in any of your bites. When it is creamy, smooth it onto the crust and bake for about 40-45 minutes. It's been so long since I've made a cheesecake this large that it startled me that it was still bubbly under the top skin after the full 45 min so I put it in for another 5 minutes. Don't do this. Just trust that it is done. Cool. I left mine to cool overnight before I cut into it. It took all of my will power to do this.

As you can see, this doesn't make a very thick cheesecake but I think it is the perfect ratio of crust to filling. It doesn't leave an overpowering taste in your mouth nor is it crust-heavy.

This recipe can easily be adapted to make cheesecake bites by putting it into a foil-lined 9x9 pan and cutting the cake into 1 inch squares or by putting it into a paper cup-lined mini muffin pan and reducing the baking time. If you go the mini muffin pan route you can substitute whole mini Nilla Wafers for the crust instead of the graham cracker crust if you're in a hurry.

If you like this, and decide to make it, we'd love to hear about it. Send us a link of your post and link back to Bumblebliss on your blog and send us some blog lovin.

I linked up to
DIYbyDesign
Marni's Organized Mess
DebbieDoos Newbie Party

                    

                

                                           Eve