Back on the radar

Dear Readers,
  I apologize for kinda falling off the radar for the past 6 months.  It was a pretty rough semester for me and I just had to get through it.  I even quit my beloved sport of cheerleading, despite the fact that I was in line to be captain.  See, told you it was a rough semester!  I didn't need any distractions, which unfortunately meant I had little time for blogging.  :(

   The good news is, I am only taking online classes this semester and working some part time jobs. Less hectic schedule = more time for crafting.  :)  I have TONS of projects in mind for this new year and I cannot WAIT to share them with all of you!  For the most part I plan on re-doing my entire wardrobe.  In May I will be a college graduate and its time to start dressing like an adult with my very own personal style.  I have become ADDICTED to pinterest and my "my style" board has grown quite large!  I have amassed a large collection of clothes that I already own that no longer fit, are torn, or are outdated fashions.  From this collection I will be creating my brand new wardrobe!  It may take me all year, but I know it will be worth it to have my own unique clothing collection in my closet instead of impersonal, off-the-rack clothes.

My lovely photographer, Anne Kaufman Photography, and I met to take a "before shoot" of all my clothes and I would love to share it with you viewers now.  Keep checking back for my alterations, additions, and revisions from the old drab to the new, fantastic, modern wardrobe! 

See, I have a lot of project potential ahead of me! 

~Elise

P.S.  Just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been crafting at least a little!  I will blog later this week about the back log projects I have made while I neglected my poor little blog! 

The Apple doesn't fall far from the tree

My mother is an amazing baker and ever since I was little girl, I have always enjoyed watching her in the kitchen. Whether she was decorating cakes, frosting cookies, or baking a pie, she always made it look professional and fancy.  One of her famous dishes was cherry latice-work pie.  My dad always got one for his birthday and we frequently had cherry pie, when company came, with cherries off our very own cherry tree.  

I would watch in amazement as she weaved the pastry back and forth to get the classic lattice work pattern just perfect every time.  She had told me how to do it once, I remember, and I had seen her do it a hundred times.  I have wanted to give it a try for awhile now.  But, despite the ease of this technique, it can be rather intimidating to a first-timer. Plus, I don't like pie....

How can you not like pie?  How can you be an American and not like pie?  Are you an alien? Trust me I have heard it all.  But honestly, I am simply more of a cake girl.  Which is probably for the best.  I have been pretty lazy this summer my waistline would appreciate it if I didn't eat this whole pie by myself.  Nick doesn't not have much of a sweet tooth so he won't help me eat very many pieces.  This pie will it not go to waste because "knitting" club is at my house tonight, so when the boys get back from their fishing, Nick's family will help us eat our delicious strawberry rhubarb pie!  

Nick and I love living in our new house because of the yard space!  We planted a garden a few weeks ago and are very eager for crops to start coming up. We don't, however, have to wait to harvest the rhubarb that is growing all by itself in one of our flower beds.  We have been picking it little by little and freezing it until we had enough to make a pie.  I found a tasty little recipe here 

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/strawberry_rhubarb_pie/

I made my crust from scratch and set to work rolling it out with a rolling pin.  Once I had it to the desired thickness I used a pizza cutter to cut the dough into about 1/2 inch strips.  

Then comes the tricky part: weaving.

If you have leftover dough from the top crust cut it into squares like below and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar for a great snack! :)

 

Home made Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!

Summer Time Recipes

As I promised, here are the recipes I used for my housewarming party.  I hope you use them to spice up your back yard barbeques, pool parties, and other get-togethers this summer! I found them in my treasure trove of magazines and I was very excited to debut them for my party.  Both of these recipes were found in the June 29th, 2007 edition of All You magazine.  www.allyou.com


Garlic Baked Potato Wedges
- 6 baking potatoes (3lbs)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 2 small cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan


1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Scrub potatoes and pat dry.  Carefully cut each into 16 thin wedges.  Place wedges in a large bowl.  Pour olive oil over potatoes.  Add salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary and toss to coat.  Place Parmesan in a large bowl; set aside
2. Arrange potatoes in a flat layer on 2 large rimmed baking sheets.  Bake, turning once or twice until lightly browned and soft in the center, about 30 minutes.
3. Remove potatoes from the oven and immediately toss with Parmesan in a bowl until coated.  Serve hot.


* Seriously these wedges are amazing!  I was really nervous about them because it said to serve hot and since it was an open house, I knew that they would get cold before everybody got a chance to try them.  But they were fantastic at room temperature!  A must for your next party!


Herb-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- 3 lbs cherry tomatoes (red and yellow)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place tomatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Shake baking sheet back and forth a few times to coat tomatoes.
2. Bake, shaking pan once or twice, until tomatoes are softened but not falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with parsley while tomatoes are still warm.  Spoon into a bowl and pour any juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the pan, and serve.  


*Another great recipe that is just fine at room temperature.  I added some locally grown heirloom tomatoes to the red and yellow tomatoes and it made a beautiful, colorful side dish for the picnic!  I hope you are having a fantastic summer!  It always goes by way too fast, so enjoy these summer dishes while the fireflies flit around your friends and family! :) Happy 4th!


Until tomorrow,
~Elise

We're on the move!

We are moving up in the world! On to bigger and better things!  We just finished moving to a new house in a brand new neighborhood!  In honor of the big move, we hosted a fabulous housewarming party!  Today I will share with you the details of our summer picnic themed party, including the scrumptious recipes I debuted just for the big day!  :)  The party was a smashing success and I am happy to share all of my inspiration with you just in time for the signature holiday of the summer: The Fourth of July! 

< The front of our new house all decked out for the party!  Cozy isn't it?   And that adorable little patio set?  Housewarming gift from the In-Laws. :)

> This is the banner I made to hang on our front porch.  It is made out of paper boxes, the very same ones I folded for our wedding favors.  (Hint: Future blog post topic, Folded Paper Boxes!  Check back soon!)

^ Ants!  Get it?  Cause it was a picnic themed party?  I am a big fan of party themes and I carry them throughout!  No detail is spared! My mother decorated these delectable little cupcakes with grass and ants because I was much too afraid.  Just weeks ago she gave my mother-in-law and I cake decorating lessons, but I was too timid to try my hand at cake decorating for the first time at this party.  I must practice more before I debut my new skill for party guests.  

.......................................................................................................................................................

  I saw this idea in a magazine and I knew that it was the perfect little detail I needed to add to my picnic theme!  I changed the color scheme and the ribbon around the cups and I think they turned out really nice.  It also made it easier for people to go sit out on the new deck while still being able to carry all of their necessary utensils!  

 

 

The Spread:

Meat and Cheese Tray
Fruit Kabobs
Fruit Dip
Tapioca Pudding
Cupcakes
Herb-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Garlic Baked Potato Wedges 
Punch
Assorted Candy

I hope this blog post gave you some inspiration for your own festive gatherings you have planned for this summer!  Check back tomorrow for the recipes for Garlic Baked Potato Wedges and Herb-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes! 

Until Tomorrow!

~Elise 

Spring Photo Shoot

                                   

 I caved... I bought some fabric from Walmart.... I hate shopping there!  I would much prefer to shop local and buy fabric at the quaint little fabric store here in town.  Remember their prices though?  Not so quaint!  I had some projects in mind and I just had to get started. 

My first project was to re-purpose this light blue button down that my sister-in-law gave me.  I wanted to turn it into a preppy cardigan. 

I bought half a yard of navy fabric and some buttons. The rest of the material I had at home. Check out the crest patch I added to the top! 

 My next project was this tank top.  It was a bright blue tank with ruffles on the top.  It had a drawstring at the bottom that I didn't like, so I cut that off.  Then I took more of that navy walmart fabric and added more ruffles!  So cute and summery!

I still had a little bit of navy fabric left over and it was exactly enough to make my 3rd project!  Like the necklace I'm wearing with both outfits?  Me too!

I made it by sewing a tube of fabric, turning it inside out, and stuffing it with Styrofoam balls.  Then I tied the balls in place and sewed up the ends so they would tie nicely. 

SO, in the end it was worth it.  I bought half a yard of walmart fabric and I got 3 new additions to my wardrobe!  Not too shabby!  :)

 

 My next Spring Break project was cloth napkins.  Nick and I registered for some green cloth napkins on our wedding registry and we absolutely love them!  However, the more I looked at them, the more I realized I could make them myself!  Having a sewing machine now made this project a reality.  I took off with it.


I was able to use scrap fabric I had

 around the house for two different sets of cloth napkins.  Both the red plaid and the blue plaid were just chunks of fabric I had lying around waiting for a purpose.


























These napkins were different.  I did have to buy
 the fabric for them but it was so worth it!  Easter is my absolute favorite holiday and these carrot napkins will be perfect for Easter dinner!  I made two different sizes.  Dinner napkins and cocktail/luncheon napkins.  I am in love with these napkins! :)


















 

 I had an amazingly productive Spring Break and I have been dying to share my progress with my readers!  So I hope you enjoy looking.  Let me know what you think!

Until Tomorrow,

~Elise