Yum, Yum, Yum

I, like most people in America, have a job.  I work a pretty regular schedule, which includes one night a week....always Friday nights. Basically, having the chance to do all those things that John and his friends (or anyone else, for that matter) want to to on Friday evenings is pretty much non-existent. This had lead to numerous attempts at treat, peanut butter cups, cakes, fudge....and chocolate covered pretzels. Some of my co-workers seem to love it, they have favorite snacks and I try to accommodate that. At one guy's request this is pretzels, chocolate covered pretzels, with a twist.

Chocolate Pretzel Bites
Ingredients and Supplies:
-Pretzels, I used "Snaps", the circle ones or knotted ones would work well, too -Hershey kisses, unwrapped. I used both milk chocolate and the hugs variety. -M&M's -Cookie Sheet -Parchment Paper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and unwrap the kisses.
2. Put a layer of the pretzels on the parchment covered cookie sheet.
3. Place a kiss on top of each pretzel.
4. Place in oven for about 4 minutes, or until the kisses are melted.
5a. Remove from oven and place a M&M on the kiss, press down.
OR
5b. Remove from oven and place another pretzel on top, press down.
6. Allow to cool.
7. ENJOY!

Unwrapping these silly things takes forever so I brought some help!  Thanks Mi-Mi!  (She ate a few as she was going.)

The Hugs gave them a little flair!  I'm putting the M&M's on top here. Oh, and Mi-Mi took his picture, all by herself, with my DSLR camera.  SHE LEARNED HOW TO USE A DIGITAL CAMERA!!

Finished project!  I got a little chocolate on the M&M's, but I think it's okay.

If you out another pretzel on top instead of M&M, it's more like an sandwich.

There's another definite bonus to this treat making bonus. I get to hang out with my grandmother, Mi-Mi! She's not a big fan of cooking or baking, so when the treats are easy to make, she's happy to help.  She also took a picture of my working with my digital camera.  She's not very technology savvy, so this a amazing!

Adventure #1 of 2013

Adventure Seeking 101:
Find something you want to do and do it.

Tonight's adventure was Barre3. It's a fitness class, using your core muscles combining aspects of ballet, yoga and pilates.

I'm not so sore right now, but tomorrow I'm probably going to need some time to stretch. I'm probably also going to have to do this about 15 more times to really get the hang of it.

If you get the chance, try it. It's worth it.

Everyone Deserves a Present

I've never been much of a Christmas fan.

What is the holiday all about now? First there was baby Jesus in a manger getting presents from some wise men. Next there was a fat man, named Santa, in a red suit. Now there's an Elf on the Shelf. The last two seem to revolve around greed, and that's something I'd rather not add too.

My grandparents wanted me to have something to open on Christmas morning, so I bought myself some fun boots. (It was not even close to the pile of things my cousin opened.)

I love my boots, probably the best $35 I've ever spent at Marshall's this year.

Glitter Your Glasses

I love glitter.  This may stem male dominated hobbies, the fact that most of my friends are guys or that it's just shiny and pretty. A little bit of sparkle can go a long way.

My love of glitter, a few posts on Pinterest and some experiments later, I've decided to glitter some glasses.

(Originally when I did this it was for my Cousin's Christmas gift; glitter encrusted wine glasses)

You will need a few supplies:
Glasses (I got mine at Target, in the Dollar Spot at 70% off (yep, $.30 a piece!) The Dollar Tree, TJ Maxx...ect ect all have them.
Mod Podge
Tape, I used painters tape on this one, electrical tape and masking tape work too.
Paint brush, I use the foam find
Glitter, the finer the better. Mine came from the scrapbooking section of Michael's.
Acrylic Spray
Plastic wrap

Directions:

Use the tape to make a design on your glass.

Apply a layer of mod podge to your glass. You want the layer to be as even as possible.

Sprinkle on the glitter!
*I usually do my projects over newsprint or parchment paper. It's easy to pour the extra glitter back into the jar this way.*

Carefully remove the tape and set aside to dry for 24 hours.

Check your glass, use a damp paper towel to wipe off excess glitter and allow to dry.

If you need to touch up the glitter, this is a good time to do it. Use your brush to apply a very thin coat of the Mod Podge to the necessary spots and cover with glitter. Let it dry again.

Use the plastic wrap to cover any spots on your glass that you don't want to cover with acrylic spray. (If you don't want to use plastic wrap, you can use a plastic shopping bag and tape.) The spray is not intended for food surfaces and it is flammable before it's dry.

PLEASE read the label for the full instructions!

Set the glasses aside to dry.

My spray space is in my basement.  It's an old cabinent covered with plastic shopping bags.

When the acrylic spray is dry, remove the plastic wrap. If you need to tidy up any over spray, you can do so with some nail polish remover and blade or a craft knife.

Mi-Mi is trying to model the glass, it almost worked.

Now you have glittery pint glass ready to go!

A New Shirt, An Old Scarf and Just a bit of Time

When Target had their line of Kirna Zabete line a few months ago, the stripe and lip pattern caught my eye. As always, I waited it out, got a scarf at 70% off, brought it home, packed it away for a few months and forgot about it. Tonight in my search for something to wear this week, I re-purposed it into the back of a tank top.

You will need 3/4 to 1 yard of knit fabric
1 scarf large scarf
(okay, if you're petite, you can probably use a smaller scarf)
a pattern, or you can draft your own out of an old tank top
thread, pins, needle, scissors...the basics

This top took about 45 minutes, while watching tv.

Originally when I bought the pattern, it was used to make a workout tank with built in bra; it's not for that today. The basic concept, a racer back tank, is the same, but I drafted it to be longer and allow more room through the hips.

The front was done in black knit, back was the scarf. Sew it together using the directions. If you're drafting your own pattern, make sure you allow enough room for a seam allowance, add some wiggle room to compensate for the back not stretching and line up your stripes!

finish your edges. If you're serging it (which would work perfectly!) just use a rolled edge on the arms and neck.

And it's done! I'll be rocking it on Thursday night!

Macadamia Butter

A few years ago my friend Lisa introduced me to macadamia butter. She put it on slices of pears and topped it off with some tiny chocolate chips. This just might be my favorite snack food. Fast forward about 8 or so years, move a few hundred miles away and try to buy the stuff. It's not going to happen unless you want to pay an arm and a leg AND buy it online. I did ask Tracey, who owns the health food store in Mullica Hill about it, she gave me the same internet answer that I'd already came to, but recommended making my own. After doing some research, maybe 10 minutes worth, I realized how easy this really was to do.

Making Your Own Nut Butters
equipment:
food processor
rubber spatula
glass jar

ingredients:
nuts, at least 2 cups
complementary seasonings

directions:

Put your nuts in the food processor. Start to puree. There will be multiple stages before you have "butter".

It will start to have a texture like rough sand and crawl up the sides of the processor. Use the spatula and scrape it back into the bowl.

After a minute or so it'll start to have a wheat germ look. You're almost done! If you want to add any extra spices or flavors this would be the time. (Think about maybe some honey or cinnamon to peanuts....or salt)  I did not add anything to mine.

Puree for another minute or so, it should have a mostly smooth look to it. You're done! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge.