Book Page Wreath

How I spent my 31st Birthday....

My lovely sister Emily of {LOLA FLORAL}, graced Madi and I with her presence for my birthday.  Kyle is on a big hunting trip in Wyoming and was gone for my birthday, and is STILL gone---we miss him so much.

So, with all that's been going on and Kyle being out of town, I was kind of a grumpy mess on my special day =(  Having Emily here was a breath of fresh air.  I love talking business with her and bouncing ideas off of each other.  

So, she asked me what I wanted to do the morning of my birthday, and I decided it would be fun to drive into Port Angeles (we are currently calling Sequim, WA home) and do a little Antiquing.  So, we got ourselves a Pumpkin White Chocolate Latte', and drove the 20 minutes to the town next door.  It was Sunday, so we weren't counting on a lot being open in a small town, but we had a great time!

We ending up pulling some inspiration from the best (only 3 half-way descent booths to draw from) booth inside an Antique Mall.  The artist had done some working with paper and made a beautiful wreath from old book pages.  I decided making one of those wreaths with my sister would be the perfect Birthday Afternoon, so we finished our Antiquing there, and stopped in at Joann's on the way back home to pick up a few supplies.  

Supply List

• Old Book/Hymnal/Sheet Music- I have a stash that I cherish {see how I've used them before here}
• Foam Wreath Form
• Greening Pins (50-100)
• OPTIONAL- Floral Ribbon, embellishments

The Process

Emily and I chose different books- and it is amazing how different our wreaths turned out- we decided sheet music would have been a fun approach, or even spray painting the edges of your book black or even a funky color before you start tearing pages out would create a unique look.

All you do, is tear a page out of your book, fold it in the middle and crumple, then push one of the pins through the middle and shove it into the wreath form.

My book pages were way thinner and way more fragile than the one Emily chose... so take that into consideration- I had to be very ginger when folding and pinning in order to not rip the pin right through.

Just repeat this process over, and over and over keeping a close eye on holes created from not putting the pages close enough together into the form.

I did put some in the "inside" of the ring and "outside/bottom" to make it look super full.

Emily wasn't happy I wanted to take her photo while she was working, because neither of us had showered, or cared what we looked like that day (perfect birthday)... but I did it anyways, and isn't she cute?!

Here's us together with our finished products- I absolutely LOVE mine and found a beautiful mirror to hang it on.  [Do make sure, you only use this wreath indoors--- the paper will soak up moisture if it is outdoors and it will be ruined]

I'd love to see photos of your's if you make one and see how you chose to embellish!

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[Sshhh Veggie-Turkey Chili] & WHERE HAVE I BEEN?!

Good Evening Friends!  You may have been wondering where I've been.... honestly- I HAVE TOO... We moved, as I mentioned before.  And the cleaning, organizing, unpacking and doing that OVER, and OVER again has consumed my life.  I can't seem to get back into a normal routine of create, clean, cook, craft, work, ship, soap, photograph, blog, exercise, play with Madi.  Hopefully that will come soon.  For the mean time, I apologize if you've missed us- I sure have!

The only sense of "normalcy" I can seem to find and document has been cooking and BAKING... I know, weird right?  BAKING, ME?!  Well, the zucchini's here at Grandpa's house are GOING NUTS- I can't wait to show them to you, and the fun recipes I've been trying out and modifying!

But for now, check out how many veggies I HID in our dinner tonight-

• Zucchini
• Red Pepper
• Hatch Chili
• Onion

ALL OF WHICH MY HUSBAND DOES NOT LIKE and will pick out of he sees them, ridiculous- right?!

I'd love to share my recipe with you!

Ingredients:

• 1 shredded zucchini (I use my food processor, or a cheese grader)
• 1 chopped Red Pepper
• 1 shredded Onion
• 1 chopped Hatch Chili
• 1 package ground Turkey Breast
• 2 cans Beans of your choice (I typically use dried beans, but they have to be soaked over night, and I didn't plan ahead this time) {I used Pinto and Kidney- but I love to use Black as well}
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes
• Chili Spice Mix

Now for the process:
Use a large pot and turn your pan onto Medium.  Dump in the ground turkey and start grading and chopping your veggies.  Layer the veggies on top of the turkey as it begins to brown.  Once you've put them all in, give it a stir.  After a few minutes cooking it will look like this.

Let it continue to cook for about 20 minutes, giving it a stir frequently.

Then, add in some spice!  I LOVE, this Chili Spice Mix by my baking addiction.  You know I don't like to measure, and I didn't have any mixed ahead tonight, so I just pulled up the list and added a few teaspoons of this, and a few teaspoons of that... Although, I left out the Cayenne this time, since I had some fresh Hatch Chili's from my Bountiful Basket.

I also add in a little bit of Better than Bullion- have not heard of it?!  

Familiarize yourself!  It's wonderful when you don't have any homemade stock in the freezer!  I think I added in about 2 table spoons along with my 2 cans of beans and 1 can of tomatoes.  Make sure you use the whole can of beans, don't drain them.

Now, you could just bring it to a boil and serve it up, but I like to let my Chili simmer, for a while.  Tonight it sat on the stove on low for more than an hour until Kyle got home and the corn bread was done baking.

Eventually the veggies (sshhhh) reduce to almost nothing, and that makes for a happy wife, cause the husband doesn't notice they are there!

I had a few ears of corn left from my basket, so I shucked them, cut the kernels off the cob, and added them in, right before serving (that way they didn't get smooshy)

It was so good, Madi ate two bowls, and Kyle didn't mention a single Veggie, AND I didn't get a presentation photo of it in a bowl, I was too hungry and then it was gone.

I'd love to hear of any other recipes you use to hide veggies!  Please share.

I am hoping this is the first of my re-regular posts to come!  See you soon!

Totally Unoriginal [BACK TO SCHOOL} Teacher Gifts and a personal update

Hello my friends.  Wow- its been WAY too long since I've written.  If you didn't see it before, my little family moved.  We have had an awesome opportunity to help a family member out- while being helped ourselves and now we live in a beautiful house in Issaquah, WA.  We'll be working on all sorts of fun home-improvements projects to get Kyle's childhood home ready to sell over the next year- I am excited to share them with you all!

Among-st the mess of moving, [BACK TO SCHOOL] has been on my mind, even though I only have a few close to me participating in this exciting time.  I was going to take some time to round up some of my favorite [BACK TO SCHOOL] teacher gifts, but there are SO many good round-ups already out there, I figured... why reinvent the wheel!?  Right??

So, sharing from one of my favorite blogs- Lil' Luna- 15+ Back to School Gifts! (Click the image to head over to her round-up)

Think of how special your child's' new teacher will feel when receiving such a thoughtful handcrafted gift... it will get you started off on the RIGHT foot!

Enjoy-

My First Curated Collection

I am a Looksi Square Curator.  That means, once a quarter I get to put together a collection of what I consider to be the finest of ANYTHING.  I've been loving the idea of chillin' in the evenings this autumn in the back yard, by the fire, with yummy food, drink and a beautiful atmosphere so I decided to use that as a theme for my first Curated Collection:

The look, feel, and taste of this setting is what I will be creating with this collection of other blogger's DIY posts, stay tuned until Friday!

p.s.  Our little family is in the process of a BIG move- my apologies for being more absent than I'd like for the last little bit and through the end of this month.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that we can get everything done!

How I {Ombre'} & our Late Summer Mantle

Ombre' was all the hot talk for a while there {maybe it still is?!}... but the only way I ever really got into the style was through my painted signs.  I've experimented with blending colors to create a Ombre' look with many colors now, and always LOVE how it turns out.
Here's what I do:

I start with 4 equal sized wood boards, sanded smooth with finished edges.  You could experiment with different sizes, as well!

I pour a good sized amount of paint in a paper plate.  [side note: I LOVE the paint mistake section at hardware stores!!!  Have not heard of it?!  Well, you need to find it!  Most of the time there is a shelf behind the back side of the paint mixing counter where you will find all different sizes of "paint mistakes".  They are priced amazingly and you will often find fun colors that freaked someone out and they decided not to buy.  My lovely husband is such a good sport letting me buy 1 or 2 almost every time we go to the hardware store... consequently I have a pretty fun selection of paint colors in the garage!  You need to check it out if you have not already.]  I always start with the color as it comes out of the can for the first board.

It is important to get a really good coat on the first time, because you WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DUPLICATE THESE COLORS to paint a second coat.  Make sure you don't miss any spots!

Then, I add a small amount of either a light or dark base depending on if I want a darker color or lighter.  I went with a cream for this project.

Stir it around well (I use disposable foam brushes) and then paint the next board.  You want it to be a subtle change in color, but enough to notice.

Now you just repeat that process 2 more times (or however many Ombre' shades you are going for).

And you end up with this...

I usually start and end with my two mixing colors so there are two MIXED colors in the middle- but there are no RIGHT ways to do Ombre'... just have fun!

Here's what my sign looked like all put together-

And here's a shot of the back so you can see how I hold them all together.  I do have a KREG Jig- that I could use to pocket hole screw them together- but this was a just a quick project- (I usually make a sign for every mantle change- so it has to be quick).

I wanted to use this sign to pull together some beautiful finds from the Sequim Lavender Weekend we brought home for a Late Summer Mantle.  I roughed up the edges a bit and added some vinyl.  Then a tied a quick burlap bow and glued together a mini paper bunting!

Here's how it all came together- Fresh Lavender, Bunnies, unique Urns, Wine Corks and Wicker Balls- all somehow say "Celebrating Late Summer" to me!

I'd love to hear about or see How YOU Ombre'- please share with comments!

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The 36th Avenue

{Quinoa Chicken Salad}

the bunch had the opportunity to apply to blog for Bountiful Baskets... and we are SO excited!  I love to cook, but busy life often means creativity in the kitchen is slacking.  If we are selected to blog for them, it will FORCE me to start getting creative again and THAT MAKES ME EXCITED!!

Applying for the position alone has already stirred some creativity- today when I got home with my basket, I had already come up with the idea of using the uncooked single chicken breast [that has been sitting in the fridge for most of the week, with out a purpose] and the quinoa that hasn't gotten eaten up yet along with my basket contents to pull together a Chicken Salad!

Here's my list of ingredients:

• 6 oz of Chicken Breast
• 1/2 cup cooked Quinoa
• 2 Celery Stocks 
• 1/2 small Red Onion
• Butter Lettuce Leaves
• 1/2 cup Cottage Cheese
• 1/4 cup Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/4 tsp. Mrs. Dash

Here's how I made it:

First I trimmed up my Chicken Breast and cut it in half.  Laid it in a hot pan and added Salt and Pepper.  Then I added about 1/4 cup water in the bottom of the pan and covered with a lid.  I wanted the chicken to stay really moist and didn't want to add any oil to the pan, so this is a great way to achieve that!

While my chicken was cooking, I prepared my celery by washing, then tearing back the top so it breaks off and rip it backwards down the stock to peel off most of the chewy strings.

Then I cut them into long skinny strips and chopped it up fine.

I chopped up the red onion as well, but did it a little smaller (I'm not a huge fan of chomping into a LARGE piece of raw onion in any type of food).  

When the chicken was done cooking, I chopped it up into small chunks.  Then, in a bowl I combined all of the ingredients.  If your mixed salad is looking a little dry still, add another spoonful or so of Greek Yogurt.

I plucked off 4 leaves of of butter lettuce and washed and dried them.  Laid 2 leaves on top of each other and spooned about 1/2 cup of the salad mixture into the lettuce leaves.  

AND ENJOYED!

I hope you love this recipe as much as I did.   It made enough for me to have for 3 lunches- and the flavors developed even more each day- it got Yummier and Yummier!

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