DIY Sunday Funday--Starburst Mirror

Remember when I said I had a DIY Sunday Funday? Well here is project #2 of 3 complete. Thanks to the hubby for helping with this one! He drilled the holes for me. I got the inspiration from: http://amotherandadaughter.blogspot.com/2012/01/diy-starburst-tutorial.html She has a much better tutorial than I will. (ie. lots more pictures)

I started out with:

Not sure why it's turned sideways, but there's:

8 in wood circle

Large mirror

small mirrors

dowels

small wooden circles

I didn't sand any of the wood but it will make for a smoother work surface if you sanded the large circle. I printed out a paper ruler and measured 1 inch apart on the large the circle for the hubby to drill holes in. (He said the beveled edge made it hard to drill the holes and some are closer together than others, but it turned out in the end) I ended up with 26 holes.

Then I took 7 dowels and cut them in half with a Dremel. (I did this while the hubby drilled holes) Then I sprayed painted everything black. (If you live in apartment, I suggest NOT to do this on your balcony as spray paint will blow onto the ground & you'll have black marks. You can take the time to hand paint everything or go somewhere else to do the spray painting.) After everything was dry I used Gorilla Glue (I suggest regular wood glue at this stage as Gorilla Glue expands) to stick the dowels into the holes. {Hubby to the rescue again...he cut the 'extra' glue off with an Exacto knife so I didn't cut myself...I'm a klutz and it would have happened.} Then I spray painted again to cover some of the imperfections. Then the hubby put on a picture hanger on the back of the large circle.

WHEN all that was done I used the Gorilla Glue to glue all the small mirrors and large mirrors on. I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures of this process. I really bit off more than I could handle on a Sunday and wanted to get all the projects done, but realized it would take a few days to complete everything! So here is my our finished product. It does add some dimension and color (even though it's black) to the living room.

THANKS to A Mother and A Daughter for their tutorial and inspiration!! {I'm not taking any credit on this, except that I made my own!}

PS Yes one of the small mirrors is not centered...and yes my OCD sees it every time and once I slow down, this will get fixed! =)

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Maybe because I didn't freeze this meal and cooked it fresh, it didn't turn out very well. BUT--I said I would post what I cook, whether it's a fail or a hit...and this one was a fail. Here is the link to what you're supposed to do: http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/02/freezer-cooking.html
Here's what I did:
1/2 bag of carrots
White Onion chopped
2 large cans pineapple (undrained)
4 tsp of minced garlic
4 Chicken Breasts
1 cup teriyaki sauce
Rice

I put everything (but the rice) in my crockpot on low for about 6 hours and then made the rice right before I served.

It was good don't get me wrong, but the pineapple with carrots was weird. Maybe if I used diced pineapple rather than the chunks it may have been a little better. I dunno, let me know if you follow Ring Around the Rosies recipe and if it turns out. If it does, I may retry this recipe in the future!

MIA--Cleaning tip

Sorry I've been MIA the past few days, but I've been extremely busy!!! We went to our nation's capitol this past weekend to see all the beautiful cherry blossoms and be tourists. We did a lot of walking and had lots of fun. Pics to come later this week as well as a few restaurant recommendations.

I know most of you clean on the weekends and it's Monday but I wanted to share with you a Pinterest cleaning tip that works wonders! If you have a glass stove top, this is a must at least once a week! All you need is baking soda, Windex, hot water, dish soap and a dish towel. (I use the one that we've used all week since it's already dirty, no need to have another towel to fold!) You ready for simplicity? I'm showing you a before pic...it's kind of scary, but this is 2 weeks worth of crap!

Take the baking soda and sprinkle on top of the grossness! Then in a bowl put some lukewarm water and some dish soap. Take your towel and get it wet with the water and soap. You'll want to wring it out so it's not soaking wet and place on top of the baking soda.

Set your timer to 15 min and clean the rest of your kitchen or another room in your house/apartment while the baking soda does its magic. Once the timer goes off, wipe up the baking soda with the wet towel. Then spray with Windex and wipe clean with paper towels. And this is the end product:

So simple & so very clean!! I love it!

Wordless Wednesday



One of the fountains that are in the footprints of the Twin Towers. Breathtaking!



Easter Wreath

As I said I had a DIY Funday Sunday! Thanks to Pinterest, I have tons of ideas on how to get color in our white, white apartment! One of three projects that I completed was an Easter wreath. I bought more supplies than what I needed, but I'll find a use for the extras!! I've seen a lot of Easter wreaths on Pinterest made with plastic eggs, so when I went to Michael's I put some in the cart, then I saw these pretty sequins eggs for only $.99 plus 30% off!! I say that's practically free. I really love making wreaths! They are so easy yet so beautiful and unique. Here is how I made my wreath:

2 rolls of wired edge Easter ribbon (1 1/2 in x 3 yd)
1 Foam Mousse Wreath ( 1 7/8 in x 1 7/8 in x 11 3/4 in)
3 sequin eggs (you'll see 6 in the picture, but I ended up using 3)
Fake gerber daisies
Low heat hot glue gun

Begin by hot gluing one end of the ribbon anywhere on the ring. (It's easier to wrap around the ribbon if you take it off the cardboard) You'll want to hot glue the end of the first ribbon where ever you end and then hot glue the beginning of the next ribbon on top of where the first ends (I hope that makes sense) So your wreath should look like:

Then I took the gerber daises off their stems and took off the bows and sticks from the eggs. I placed them on the wreath BEFORE I hot glued anything to the ribbon. Once I placed them and arranged them how I wanted I put some hot glue on the back of them and glued them on. With the eggs I held them down until the glue dried some and the flowers stayed put pretty well. This is where the low heat hot glue gun comes in handy. When I made my Christmas wreath (sorry no tutorial of that :( ) I used a regular hot glue gun and it melted the flowers I tried to put on there, so I went with plan B & next time I went to Michael's I bought a low heat on & it worked wonders! Here is my finished product hanging on our door!

I love how the pink, green, and yellow all coordinate!! I was going to use purple gerber daises, but it didn't look right. I'm so glad I stuck with the 3 colors! Even the hubby says "It's cute."



Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

If you know me, I'll pretty much eat anything if it has buffalo chicken or ranch in or on it or in the name. When I saw this on Pinterest I know the hubby would love it because it incorporates one of his favs grilled cheese. I didn't follow the recipe on Pinterest, so I'm not going to link up to it, because really the only I "took" was the name and that can't be illegal in blogland. (Illegal=disrepectful) Anyways without further ado the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast, cooked
3 tablespoons hot sauce (I used Frank's)
3 tablespoons Ranch dressing
A handful or 2 of shredded cheddar cheese
Butter

Directions:
Boil chicken in water until it's cooked thru. Then shred it. If you've read my prior post, use your Kitchen Aid Mixer--your fingers/ears will thank you!! In the same bowl (or in a bowl if you didn't use the Kitchen Aid) add the remaining ingredients. You can always add more to make more spicy or less. As far as the cheese the goes, same thing. If you like cheesy things add more cheese! Once all the ingredients are combined, grab your bread and put some of the mix on one side. (as much or little as you'd like) Put another piece of bread on top and then put in a pan with some butter and cook until bread is brown and cheese is melted.

DELICIOUS!! I caved and ate 2 of them!!! I served with carrots and ranch dressing. So yummy! Also if you are a fan of bleu cheese dressing, you can use that (as that is what the original recipe called for) instead of Ranch!

Pinterest, oh Pinterest

how I love thee! The hubby wanted me to cook chicken in order to eat healthy, so I turned to Pinterest for some ideas and if you have been reading this blog for the last month & have seen some of the recipes I've been posting, they are all Pinterest inspired. The hubby keeps saying "Wow, this is tasty!" & I say, "Another pinterest find." The hubby, "Ugh...I don't want to like that website, but it keeps giving you good stuff make!"

The aha moment for the hubby occured yesterday when I made Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (recipe is coming, I promise =) ) and the recipe called for shredded chicken. To me, I said Ugh...burnt fingers here we come. Because I can't stand using two forks, to me it's like nails on a chalkboard! EEK! But I did remember seeing on Pinterest where you could shred chicken with a Kitchen Aid mixer. (Remember the hubby bought one for my birthday a few months ago. & I've used at least once a week.) Well...thanks Pinterest for letting us have our fingers back and showing me that I can use that handy dandy expensive Kitchen Gadget for something other than baking!!! Just put in the warm chicken and use the cookie attachment (the flat one) and put it on speed 4-6 and it shreds the chicken for you!!! How amazing! This option will definitely get used in this household!

Another aha moment for the hubby, crafts for the apartment. You see I've had an itching to paint, and paint every wall in every room because I hate seeing plain white walls. (No not even khaki, tan, beige that most apartments have.) Plain white hospital, crazy house (sorry if I offended anyone) walls. BUT if I paint, then we (I) have to paint before we move out and I don't want to do double the work. So thanks to Pinterest AGAIN because I found some crafty things to do today. Off to Joann's (in Staten Island, NY) I will go. Maybe I can convince the hubby to drive so I don't get lost or frustrated.

So--needless to say all the hours I spend pinning away has come into use around the apartment. Don't worry pics and maybe tutorials to come. Have a happy funday Sunday!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

I think I'm officially 'old'. I told the hubby that I didn't want to go in to the city because I didn't want to deal with all the drunkenness, loud bars and the massive amounts of people. I just wanted a 'quiet' place to go and sit and have a few drinks. Maybe next year we'll just have a party at the apartment. Seems more fun!! (Especially with all the ideas from Pinterest!!)

Anyway, this makes 4 blogs in a row!! How'd I manage? Well I'll let a secret out, that many bloggers probably know about, but I just figured out. So if you're new to the blogging world or old and want to learn a new trick here you go:
You can write a blog post & have it scheduled to post when you want it too!! How amazingly awesome is that? (Ok, nerd in me) So how do you do it? On the post options button there is an arrow. Click it & choose Scheduled at under the post date and time, and then choose when you want the post to appear on your blog!

This post, however, is being written in real time, where the last 2 were scheduled!! I know what I'll probably be doing on Sundays from here on out! ;) It may actually help me meet that New Year's Resolution of blogging more. This will also help when we go away for the weekend.

Which brings me to...we'll be going to Washington DC next weekend to enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms. If you've been there recently, what are some good places to eat, go do? Last time I was there I was 14!! Anyways...I'm off to search some decorating ideas for this blah apartment! Hope you had a safe and fantastic St. Patty's Day! (Also hope you were green so you didn't get pinched)

Salsa Chicken and Black bean Soup

I realize that spring begins in a few days, but April is around the corner which means rainy days. Some may be cold while others are just right. Either way you may want to turn on the trusty old crockpot and sleep the rainy days away. This smelled amazing while cooking and it was even better a couple days later for lunch! This will be staple next winter in our household. (The hubby doesn't know it yet.) I really hope that Pinterest sticks around because I get so many great recipes from there!!

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chicken broth
1 jar medium salsa (I used the Tositio's mild salsa)
1 1/2 tsp of cumin

Place all ingredients in the trusty handy old crockpot. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours. Shred the chicken with two forks. (Or if you have a KitchenAid..I have yet to do this) Put chicken back in crockpot for about 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with cheese, sour cream, avocados, etc. I just used shredded cheddar cheese and ate with Ritz Crackers. Reminds me of a good Mexican soup! (Would have been good with some Tositio scoops also!) And as a recurring tradition, I forgot to put corn in it. So if you don't forget add a small package of frozen corn or can of corn. Just be sure to drain the corn if it's in a can.

Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

I made these a few weeks ago & they turned out so much better than I thought!! I do realize that I'll need to buy chicken that is already cut thinly because I didn't do a great job cutting them myself. This recipe is adapted from Skinnytaste. I've made a few other things from this website and all have tasted much better than I thought. Here you go:
Ingredients:

• 3 large chicken breast halves (I used regular chicken breasts, which is a bad idea unless you know how to cut)
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp water
• 3/4 cup of bread crumbs (I used Progresso Italian)
• 2 cups broccoli florets, cooked, chopped small
• 5 slices reduced fat Swiss cheese
• salt
• spray oil (I used Pam Original)
• toothpicks (or something to hold the breasts together)

Preheat the oven to 350. In a bowl, combine: egg, eater and a little salt. Beat with a fork to make an egg wash. Fill another bowl with the bread crumbs. Slice chicken into thin cutlets. (I tried to pound the chicken and it made them a little thinner, but not as thin as I'd liked)
Fold each slice of in half and tear, so you have 2 pieces. Place 1/2 slice of cheese onto each chicken piece and add broccoli ontop of the cheese. Wrap chicken around to completely cover the cheese, using toothpicks to secure. Season with salt.
Spray cookie sheet with oil. Dip chicken into egg wash then bread crumbs. Shake off excess bread crumbs. Put chicken onto cookie sheet. Lightly spray chicken with oil and bake about 25 minutes or until cooked.

I used the extra broccoli as a side. I forgot to take a picture of it on the plate, so here it is right out of the oven.

Enjoy!!

Texas vs. East Coast Livin'

I’ve had many people ask me why I miss Texas. The longer I’m on the East Coast, the longer the list seems to be. Some are silly, like getting pickles on your hamburger without asking while others are big, like missing family. So after not being on this blog in almost a month (and I wonder why I have few readers) here is my list of what I miss about that great state Texas:

*Being a few hours’ drive from my mom, dad and ever growing nieces (who are going to be 10 & 14 in May!)

*Not getting to be close to two of my best friends’ kids while they grow up. Thankfully there’s Facebook and one of them blogs, so I’ve got to see pictures (not near enough) of the three cuties. I really do miss out on a lot.

*Not being able to watch all of Sunday or Monday night football. I mean really when a game starts at 8 or the rare 9 pm, I can’t stay up until the wee hours. (I have to be at work at 7 am and need my sleep)

*I rarely get to see the sunset. I get to see the pretty reflection off the massive buildings, but don’t get to see it go away to the other side of the Earth.

*MEXICAN FOOD

*Actually going to the grocery store

*Driving

*Dill Pickles on hamburgers, as a side, etc

*TV Shows starting at normal times (See the bullet a few points up) I mean really, who is going to watch an hour long show at 10 pm?? Thank goodness for the DVR!!

*On the same note 10’o clock news. I’m not all about the 11 o’clock news and rarely watch the 6 o’clock news

*A backyard

*And a house with normal shaped rooms to decorate/paint/craft etc

*Summer

*Pools

*Running in the green grass barefoot

*Normalcy

*People smiling at you

*Asking what kind of coke I want

*Chick-fil-A

*State pride

*Longhorn football

*Being close to SFA to enjoy some of the Alumni activities

I could go on and on about what I miss about the great state of Texas, but I don’t want to bore you. Sure there are things I’m going to miss about NJ: seeing the downtown Manhattan skyline daily, public transportation, being in another state for a weekend getaway, Italian food, pizza, and the craziness of tourists. Also don’t get me wrong. I am extremely grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to live somewhere other than where I was comfortable. It took a while to get adjusted to this new life, but it was fun. We’ll be back in Texas sooner than later now, 2014 needs to hurry up! I hope you enjoyed my list and if you live away from home, maybe you’ll appreciate this.