What's cooking?

This is our dinner plan for the week. Eventually, I'm hoping to build these into a meal plan to post but for now, here's what's cooking for the week. Any applicable recipes are linked below.


- Baked Pesto Chicken
- Butternut squash
- Chicken piccata
- Turkey stuffed peppers

Roasted Cauliflower

My kids love cauliflower but my husband…not so much. To be honest, it wasn't very high on my list of favorites either. But then I roasted it.

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into bite sized pieces
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
Pepper to taste


Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss to coat.
Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour cauliflower onto baking sheet.
Roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until browned and tender, turning every 10 - 15 minutes.
One large head serves 3 - 4 people.

This is a quick and easy side dish that you can throw together. Not to mention, it's pretty healthy as well. So many people like to use it as a substitute for mashed potatoes. I've seen recipes that compare roasted cauliflower to french fries but I wouldn't go that far. ;)

For the record, my husband ate every piece I gave him…and even admitted that it was pretty good. I'd say that's a check in the win column.

DIY: Photo Coasters

This is one of my favorite projects to make. Relatively easy and they're a great gift, especially if you need something for the person that has everything!


This particular day, I made a set of coasters for my best friend who had just moved into her newly built house. A lot of time, coasters are a small overlooked necessity so I figured I'd make them for her. After a little Facebook stalking, I sent the 4 photos to Target to be printed.

To do this project you will need:

4 4x4 tiles, easily purchased at Home Depot (I use tumbled Travertine)
4 photos of your choice
ModPodge (I prefer Matte)
Cheap foam paint brushes
A clear spray sealer (I prefer Matte)
Small felt circles (used for the bottom of furniture feet)

Start out by trimming your photos to fit your tiles. Take your time doing this! Make sure that the subjects are centered while you're cutting. The first couple of times I did this project, I ordered 2 of every print just in case I made a mistake. They're $.19/ea so it was no big deal at all.

Next, cover the top of the tile with a thin, but decent layer of ModPodge. Carefully place the photo down on the tile, ensuring that the photo is centered, with the same amount of tile all the way around it. After all 4 tiles are complete, let them dry for 10 minutes or so.


Then, you're going to apply the ModPodge on top of the tile and the photo. The picture will look like it has a white film and you will be sad, maybe a little confused. But, have no fear. The ModPodge will start to dry and clear up. Apply 3 layers of ModPodge to the tiles, allowing 20 minutes drying time between each layer. Be careful about the amount of ModPodge you use! Too little will ruin the surface you're creating over the photo and too much will cause bubbles. You dont want it! A medium amount, applied with a steady hand yields the best results.


After all three layers are applied, move them out of harms way and let them dry overnight. You do not want any tackiness before you spray the sealer.


Lay the tiles out and spray them with your clear acrylic sealer. Allow the first round to dry and then spray them again. I know this seems like overkill but this will prevent condensation from leaving a mark or ruining the surface.

After your sealer has dried completely, flip them over and apply the tile felt pads to the back. You dont necessarily need these but it will prevent the hard tile from scratching or denting the table they are on.


Stack them, wrap them and give them away. The recipient is sure to love this easy but impressive gift!

Throwback Thursday: DIY Chevron Crib Sheet

Originally posted November, 11, 2012

It’s hard to not love everything that Pottery Barn Kids has to offer. That goes for Pottery Barn in general, but especially the kids stuff. After ordering a blanket from Etsy, I decided that the grey chevron sheet would be the perfect match for baby girl’s nursery. Everything was going well until the website informed me that the sheet wouldn’t ship until January 23, 2013. Sorry guys, but I’m hoping that she’s at least a month old by then!

So I turned to Etsy. The most inexpensive chevron sheet was $30 before shipping. And I wanted at least two. Yikes. Next stop was Google, where I found Carousel Designs. They have beautiful sheets, in the perfect colors and patterns…but also $29 a piece. I don’t care how much money I have available to me, I just cannot spend $30 on one crib sheet!

After pouting for a minute or two, my Mother in Law suggested that I just make the sheets. “It’s can’t be that hard, right?”

Aside from the fact that I had only turned my sewing machine on twice, ever and that I hadn’t actually created anything with it… SURE, WHY NOT? Carousel Designs also sells fabric. I ordered 2 yards of pink and 2 yards of grey. Oh. Man.

I found a bunch of tutorials online (YAY INTERNETS!) but I used this one, because I think it explains the process the best. I did a test run with fabric I got very cheap at Walmart and somehow, it turned out pretty well! It was so easy and it actually fits the crib. A Christmas miracle!

I started out by cutting the fabric down to 69″ x 47″ from 72″ x 54″. The tutorial calls for 67″ x 45″ but I wanted to give myself extra room, especially because I wasn’t going to measure anything but the initial overall size of the fabric! I also cut it with pinking sheers because I do not have a serger and I lack the patience to fold and pin and fold and sew. Lol.

Next was the edge folding. I eyeballed it but figured I’d give myself about an inch. This was so when I pulled the elastic through, it was easy and I didnt have to worry about sewing too close to the edge. Iron the folded over edge on all sides of the sheet. I then cut the 8″ x 8″ squares from the corners. I unfolded the corners for this step. I probably should have cut the corners first and then pressed the edges over. Oh well. Next time! I then went around and sewed the edges I had just cut, in order to make the pockets for the mattress.

Next, I sewed the little elastic pocket I made with the fold-and-iron technique. I used a zig zag stitch for no other reason than to match the pattern of the sheet itself. Lol. The picture above is the seam of a corner (on the left) where it meets the seam of the elastic casing.

After all of the edges are sewn, you have to add the elastic. I used the safety pin technique that’s in the tutorial. It’s easy but tedious. I used 72″ of 1/4 inch elastic, I had used 80″ in my original test sheet and thought it was a little too much and that it could be a tighter. I bought a 3 yd roll at Walmart for $.97. Once the elastic is through, sew the ends of it together and then close the opening in the casing.

You’re done!

The moment of truth: putting it on the mattress. Woo! It fits! Now it just has to be washed and dewrinkled.

2 yards of fabric: $15. ($7.50/yd)
3 yards of 1/4 elastic: $.97.

Total cost: $15.97. Just about 50% less expensive and it takes about an hour. Love!

If I can do it, anyone can. It’s also given me the itch to DIY a lot of other things. The nursery still needs curtains/ valances. Those cannot be too hard. The grey chevron sheet is up next, though.

Pictures are iPhone photos. Sorry (again)!

Throwback Thursday: DIY Horizontal Stripes

Originally posted October 29, 2012

After seeing this pink and white striped wall, I was obsessed with the idea. I figured that the large stripes would be a great way to get pink on the walls without having to commit to all 4 walls. I love me some pink but a whole room of it would be a little overwhelming. After stalking browsing the Pottery Barn website and catalog, I settled on grey and pink.

Like most things I do, I researched the horizontal stripes, to death. A combination of this and this helped me though the project.

I started out painting the entire wall pink because, well, pink is lighter than grey. After letting the pink paint completely dry and settle for a couple of days, I got down to measuring and taping. I did start out with a laser level but the wall was a little bumpy and the laser was only $20. Trust me when I say, this is not the best combination. I ended up just using a box level and drawing lines across the wall with a pencil. Oy. Okay, it DID go pretty quickly and I actually learned how to use a box level! Haha.

The height of the wall, from moulding to ceiling is 93″ so I used the same method as UnskinnyBoppy – 7 stripes, each 13 inches tall, with the bottom one ending up to be 15 inches. Honestly, now that the moulding is on, you cannot tell that it’s larger than the rest. Add some furniture and a cute baby….no one will notice, ever.

I got out my blue painters tape and put it right over my pencil marks. This is where your steady hand and all of your patience come into play! You want to make sure that the tape goes on the outside of the stripes that you’re going to paint with your darker color. That sounds a little confusing. If your stripes are going to be 13″ tall, make sure you’re taping it so that they end up that way. It doesn’t matter if the tape shrinks the stripes that will stay the original color…you aren’t painting those! I also used the painters tape to mark which stripes were NOT going to be painted, just to make it easier for my pregnant brain. Blue tick marks = no grey paint. Got it.

I used a credit card (Sorry, Amex) to smooth out the tape and make sure that it was completely stuck to the wall. The last thing you want is for the paint to bleed through.

THATS IT! PAINT AWAY! If you need two coats (I did), you want to do that as soon as you finish your first coat. Do not let it dry! You risk ripping the paint right off! After your second coat, pull all of that tape right off. Slowwww and steady. It takes an hour to put up and 45 seconds to pull off. It’s heartbreaking!

Now step back and admire your work. Ahhhhhh.

If there was any bleeding or peeling, I would wait until everything is dry before you go in for the touch up. I think that the measuring, lining, taping and painting took about 2.5 hours. The wall is not very big. And if I didn’t have a big belly in the way or Twitter to distract me, I probably could have finished it in under 2. I couldn’t have accomplished anything at all though, without my trusty helper. ;) (The greys are the same color, I swear!)

I’m so excited to get some furniture and linens into the room! My husband just recently put up new trim and closet doors, all in crisp white, which I love. I should also take new photos during the natural daylight. These look so dull and off color. Oh well…..maybe once it’s finished!

I DIYed It: Tissue Paper Monogram

While browsing Pinterest one day, I came across A Blissful Nest's tissue paper wreath. It was fluffy and pink and perfect and I was inspired! I've been a little obsessed with monogramming things lately so I put two and two together to make this:

It looks pretty dark in the photo but the tissue paper is more purple than blue. I figured I'd veer away from pink, for once in my life.


I got my supplies from Hobby Lobby....all two of them! The wooden letter was $12.99 and the package of tissue paper was $.99. Hobby Lobby emails a 40% off one non sale item every week so I used that for the L. The coupon brought the cost of this project down to $8 and some change. Don't ever step foot in a craft store (or any store) without a coupon! You will also need scissors, a glue gun, a screwdriver (or something similar) and a piece of ribbon. I bought 3 packages of tissue paper but ended up using less than 1 full package. At least I have a lot of purple tissue for gifts, right?

The linked tutorial cuts the tissue paper into 5x7 squares. I cut mine into 3x3 squares. Tomato, tomatoe. Next you want to twist the tissue paper squares into little tufts. I kind of poked my finger in the middle of the square with one hand and then twisted that section with my other hand, to make a little tab. They end up looking like little flowers, I guess, because that's what my 3 year old was calling them!

Whip out your glue gun, and glue the little flower tufts in rows, onto the wooden letter. You don't have to be exact or perfect! As long as the tissue tufts are all around the same size and there aren't any holes, you are good. Keep on tufting and gluing until you've filled in the whole piece of wood. I used the screwdriver to push the hot glued tufts onto the wood to ensure that they were attached. I started using the screwdriver only after I burned this shit out of my fingertip, giving myself quite the blister. Anyway, attach the piece of ribbon to the back of the letter with your hot glue gun and TA DAH!

BEAUTIFUL! You could make one for every season or holiday. Beware though, if your front door is in direct sunlight, your tissue paper with probably fade. And any moisture on the glass will not play nice with the paper.

People are selling similar projects on Etsy for between $32 and $54. $9 is a much better deal and it's a quick project. I finished the whole thing during nap time!

(Photos taken via iPhone. Sorry!)