Boy Meets Girl

"Where do you want to eat?" "I don't care..."

"Where do you want to eat?" "I picked last time..."

What do you want to eat?" "Where do YOU want to eat...?!"

"If you don't pick a restuarant, i'm going to just keep driving..."

Sound familiar? I'll admit that I got the idea from something I saw on Pintrest, but I changed it up a bit. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, but finally got the gumption to make it happen. Welcome to my newest crafty project to make life easier and more interesting!! I haven't actually named the project yet, i just keep calling it "the sticks". So, "the sticks" are going to be painted craft sticks with names of different restaurants on them. Whenever my boyfriend and I decide to go out to eat, we simply decide on our price point and then, wahlah , we'll draw out a colored stick and eat where it says. No more arguments or indecision when we've decided to go out for the night. :) I'm so excited to get this one done!

For supplies, you'll need:

3 different colors of craft paint

a paint brush

jumbo craft sticks

a sharpie marker

brush on (or spray on) varnish

I've decided to paint the sticks in red, pink, & white. Each of the three colors represents fast food, middle ground, and higher priced restaurants, respectively. Once the sticks were painted and dry, I took a sharpie and wrote on the name of a restaurant. Then, once the sharpie was completely dry I finished it with a brush on varnish to help them last.

Once I have them all done, I hope to display them in a cool jar or other fun glass vessel. (However, I have yet to stumble upon the perfect container.) I'll be sure to make another update when I'm all done!

WoNkY cAkE

I took an order for a birthday cake recently, with only one direction, "fun and girly". It was Emi's 16th birthday so I decided to make her a "wonky" birthday cake made out of white and red velvet cakes. I know that Emi loves the color green and zebra stripes, so had fun making her this creation!

Transporting it was the only difficutly; since it was so tall, there wasn't a cake box big enough to fit it. Thanks to the automotive talents of my boyfriend, the cake and I made it to the destination in one piece. (PHEW!!)

Emi gave the cake two thumbs up!





Seeing stars

Hi everyone! If you're looking for a fun new baking idea; here's something inventive and really cool to try!

Needed:
     - cookie sheet or other heat resistant surface
     - Wax paper or tin foil (I found that foil works better)
     - jolly Ranchers candy
     - small, shaped cookie cutters (Pampered Chef creative cutters work perfectly)
     - non-stick cooking spray
     - small, microwave safe bowls (glass is best)
     - microwave

Cover your baking sheet with tin foil and spray your small cookie cutter and foil covered surface with cooking spray. Unwrap 2-3 Jolly Ranchers and place in a microwave safe bowl (smaller is better).

Warm up the candies in 5-10 second intervals until they have melted and are just a bit bubbly. Keep a very close watch on the candies as they'll burn and turn brown in a matter of a few seconds...i speak from experience!! Take the bowl out of the microwave and quickly, but carefully, pour the cooling liquid into the cookie cutter (that needs to be sitting on the foil covered cookie sheet). The bowl will be very hot so be extremely aware of where you're grabbing.

Let the candies cool within the cookie cutter for a bit until just cooled, then push them out with your finger or the end of a wooden spoon. Be sure not to let the candies cool too long or they'll be very difficult to remove from the cutter. Once completely cooled, place them atop a frosted cupcake and wa-lah! Totally fun!!

Deep Waters - lap 3

Man, this boat is really coming along...and quickly! While i've been playing around with all the wooden trim and Magic Erasers, the bf has laid down new carpet and fixed the motor. (He knows his stuff, no?!)


The floor board storage cover, apart and ready for sanding.

Today I spent the evening putting the last coat of finish on all of the trim, we attached some of the trim back to the boat, and I cleaned up some more of the vinyl. Seriously, this boat has made a complete transformation in the last two weeks; I can hardly believe it's the same vehicle!



The cup holders reattached to the console. I think this is going to be my favorite part of the boat! ;)

I won't be around tomorrow to help finish everything up but hopefully by Friday the boat will be completely finished. Once the bf finishes waxing and spit shining her up, she'll be ready to go. After all this work, I'm pretty sure we deserve a few adult beverages and a relaxing night on the river.

Vinyl shined up, carpet down, & some trim reattached. In the background you can see the seats have been removed & deep cleaned & the remainder of the wood has been refinished.



Deep Waters (take two)

Things on the boat are going quite "swimmingly" since I last posted. I've taken all of the wood off and have sanded and stained almost every piece. I'm learning to remember "righty tighty, lefty loosey" because I hate it when I accidentally tighten a piece instead of removing it. Argh!

This is only about half of the pieces removed from the boat.



There are still a few parts that I haven't gotten to yet, but that's the plan for today... Since some of the wood has been sanded, stained, and coated, it has been put back on the S.S. Amber. (FYI, I named her myself. ;) I'm not sure how my bf feels about the name, but I'm sure it will grow on him. Ha!)



Refinished pieces, back on the nose of the S.S. Amber



Along with refinishing the wooden parts of the boat, I've also been occupying my time by helping clean the seats and boat covers. FYI, for those of you that have never used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser...those things work freakin miracles! Who knew that the white vinyl seats could look brand new! They even take scuffs and smudges off the fiberglass boat! My bf didn't believe that there was anything special about the magic erasers, but now even he is a believer. :)

Up next is to finish staining and coating the remainder of the wooden trim and then cleaning the rest of the boat. Hopefully she'll be finished soon and we'll be able to take her on the maiden voyage. Stay posted for more updates very soon!

Deep Waters

Photographer here again with a brand new project; bigger and better than ever before!



My boyfriend bought a new (to him) boat and I've decided to take on the project of spiffying it up, i.e. removing and refinishing all of the woodwork.



It isn't in horrible shape so i figure that sanding, staining, and finishing it should do the trick. So far, I've removed part of the trim, hand sanded it, stained it, and coated it with polyurethane. And, it looks great!

Pieces removed, not yet sanded.

The right piece has been sanded, the left is what it looked like before.

There is more to come in the upcoming days!! There are quite a few pieces that need to be worked but it's going well so far. Hopefully i'll have new updates soon. 

Mmmmm...cupcakes!

In the boredom of my Saturday, I (photographer) decided to try out a new cupcake recipe. Aaaand, it was delicious! Because it contains fruit, I've decided that the recipe is super healthy, so I'm sharing pics with you plus the recipe, below...

Before the frosting...



Apple Banana Cupcakes:
2 c. flour                                        1 1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda                       2 eggs
1 tsp. salt                                        1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon         1/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg            1 c. ripe bananas
2/3 c. shortening                         2 apples (peeled, cored and shredded)

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside. In a large bowl cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla and buttermilk. Beat in flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and shredded apples. Fill each of 24 muffin cups 1/2 full. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes; allow to cool.

..and after!