Do you realize that Christmas is just a handful and a half of days away? I knew it, but like didn’t really register it. And now I am like, fa la la la fuck! We have been so busy and distracted that I haven’t really focused to much on the holiday, but at least we decorate the tree. And if I am remembering correctly, there were a few years, long ago, that the mr and I wouldn’t even start celebrating or get our tree until a few days before Christmas so if I am judging us on my past selves, well we are golden. And now we let the celebrating begin!
One of our Christmas traditions is to string popcorn while watching elf for the tree. This is a big deal night because I won’t let myself watch it until that night, but after that, I can watch it as many times that I want. (once a day) We got our tree like two weeks ago, and finally late last week we did the popcorn, watched some elf, and a few days after that we decorated, kinda.%u00a0 It was much lacking in ornaments. We had the lights, the popcorn garland, the paper chain (we made it a few years back), and the carved wooden carrots, but the bulbs we usually stick on it, I just wasn’t feeling. The tree was looking pretty good but was still lacking something. That’s when I went to my fruit bowl and grabbed an orange, a clementine and the dehydrator out of the basement over at the loft and went to work. I turned on the Christmas music (A very special Christmas, the red cover) sliced the citrus, stuck it in the dehydrator, and then, well, then I waited a good few hours. During those hours, the music was going, the house smelled up like citrus and lovely, and I felt that slight holiday tingle.
I think these orange slices are going to be a new holiday tree decorating tradition. I will probably tweak it next year ans spend the 6 hours waiting for the fruit to dry baking cookies and not pouring concrete, but maybe not.
And if you are thinking its too late to make any more holiday stuff, well you are wrong. And honestly, I might just make a sting of these slices to hang up all year long.
To make the orange slice ornaments..
All you need is..
oranges or whatever citrus you want to use
a sharp knife
needle and thread or ornament hangers
a dehydrator or a baking sheet.
The dirty work. Slice the orange about a 1/4 inch thick. Try to make all the slices the same thickness.
I am using my dehydrator so the slices go single layer onto a rack. If you are using the oven, line a baking sheet with parchment and single layer the slices. Pop those suckers into the oven at the lowest possible setting you got. Either way you do it, the slices are going to take anywhere between 5-8 hours to completely dehydrate. It all depends on how juicy your oranges are. Just keep an eye on them after the first few hours. You want them to dehydrate, not burn into crisp.
They are done when they look like so, all dried and crispy and delicate. They should feel dry to the touch.
%u00a0Once the slices have cooled off a bit, they are ready to be handled and hung. I used thread to hang my orange slices, but feel free to use whatever you want.(I was going to use ornament hangers but didn’t have any and I was not about to go buy some)
Slices of orange so pretty. They look so good with the wooden carrots, the popcorn garland, and the glittery acorns on the tree.
I definitely will be making more.
Enjoy!
-C
The trees are on fire, the sky has been lighting up like a masterpiece and the temperatures have been on the cooler, crisper side. I am one lucky lady to be living in such a beautiful place. If you don’t know the awesomeness of fall in Vermont, you should put it on your life list cause it’s amazing and will bring you so many good feelings.%u00a0
Another super productive week for the books.%u00a0We finished laying all the hardwood downstairs then went straight to tiling the bathroom which was awesome cause it was my first real tiling project and now that floor is down too. But man did it do a number on me. The one thing the mr always bitches about are his knees, and now I now why. Kneeling on anything, especially cement board, for 5 hours pretty much will kill your shit. I might be a little whinny, but crap on a shoe do my knees hurt. (now I am done complaining) What else……..Oh yeah, a large quantities of construction waste was brought to the dump that has bee accumulating in large piles in the back yard..(that was fun) I invented a new sport, storage unit parkor (I am really good at climbing and jumping around packed storage units), and got to see the new little monster baby while doing it. Then my little brother came over for a while to help carry the cast iron bathtub from the backyard to the upstairs. (thanks Paul!)%u00a0 I even made a point during the week to stay home for just enough time to made donuts with sprinkles while I sat in front of the oven knitting cause I was freezing my ass off. And I ate 2 roasted pumpkins, an acorn squash, and a sweet potato this week. Feeling pretty good about life.
So I don’t know about today. We might or might not work. We may or may not run away to the woods.(I need to be with the trees for a while) Most likely both. But one thing is for sure, I will be icing my knees. And drinking a butt load of coffee. And eating the butternut squash I picked it yesterday. I am a winter squash addict.
The things I clicked on and reading doing the internet this week.
-Have you noticed the crazy moon lately? How to See the Hunter%u2019s Supermoon This Weekend
– How We Got %u2018Bark%u2019 for Dogs, %u2018Quack%u2019 for Ducks, and Other Words for Animal Sounds
-A classic pencil is so underrated. Trace The Remarkable History Of The Humble Pencil
-%u00a0Incredible Origami Animals.. Like super incredible
-Lots of sweetbread, muffins, and all sorts of baking things in my future. The Best Way to Store Quick Breads and Muffins
-This guy tasted a shit load of butter for his Fancy Butter Taste Test
–Photo Of An Elephant Snuggling An Ostrich because it made me smile and is really freaking cute
– Check out this This Triangular House.. Its pretty crazy cool
–Can We Trust the Cooking Methods on the Back of the Bag? Question everything!
–Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize, Redefining Boundaries of Literature.His words are beautiful.
The week in some picture
House update.. Check it out! Our entire upstairs is wires, the plumbing is ran, (not hooked up to anything yet) and completely insulated. It’s freaking sea foam green crazy up there.%u00a0
%u00a0Now the next big step up hear is sheetrock! That’s going to be a bitch of a week, but for the mean timewe have left the upstairs alone because we are waiting to get a rough inspection from the city. And so we get to enjoy the green for just a bit longer.
For now we have ventured back down stairs. A few unseen things have been done likethe re- supportingof the floor with beams in the basement and running all the water lines and elecrrical from upstairs to the basement. We started tackling the clean up of the windows, there has beenlots of sheetrock patching and mudding and adding in light switched and outlets to all the boxes. And recently we have decided that we are going to either rip up the wide softwood downstairs and patch in oak or, if we cant find the right flooring to match, we are going to re-floor the entire downstairs, you know, just to make things a little harder on ourselves.
So yeah, this is where we are at. It’s all smooth sailing from here!
For the longest time now, I have been drinking a little turmeric with a little lemon first thing in the morning. It started as a medicinal drink, but quickly became a tasty habit. I have some stupid weird circulation condition called raynaud’s where changes in temp turn my fingers and toes into icicles. And for me, the worst time of the year for this condition is the spring (but spring is still my favorite). All the up and down of temperature and the wet cold damp weather is my trigger, not to forget to mention that those temp swings can get a girl sick. (I can’t get sick!!)
So way back when I started to drink for my health and the feeling in my fingers. Turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon , all super warming spices that help greatly with blood circulation, not to mention a whole bunch of other good things. (I could tell you and go on and on, but you can just look it up yourself) Ever since I started drinking and eating lots of these spices, my raynauds has gotten soooo sooo soooo much better. I still get cold finger and toes, but no where as severe and the way less often.
Now a few weeks ago the mr started making himself an afternoon turmeric tea. He read something on the internet about how it’s the best anti-inflammatory and good for achy joints. (Sure dude, listen to the internet and not me) Being a big guy doing construction and such, he gets really achy joints and there is only so much arnica and frozen peas a guy can do. So now he drinks this and I think he is starting to notice a difference. (less time with the frozen peas) And since he is making himself tea every afternoon, I started to make a spicy tea for myself in the afternoons too. I figured that a little extra goodness to ward off the chills and any larking illness is only a plus. It’s our after lunch treat that tastes good, is warm and soothing and is doing the body all sorts of good.
Spicy turmeric tea. You will get addicted and feel like awesomeness.
The stuff. Ground turmeric, ground ginger, saigon cinnamon and hot water. Additional yums with a little lemon and some honey if you like it sweet or have a scratchy throat.
Spices into a drinking vessel (I like a big jar)
And in goes the hot water. Give it a good stir and a squeeze of lemon (and sweeten if your gonna)
And watch it swirl. A drink that keeps this girl happy and healthy.
Something great to look forward.
-C
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground saigon cinnamon (can use regular, but it’s not as spicy sweet)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2- 2 cups hot water (not quite boiling)
honey to taste (I only use if my throat is sore)
lemon juice (optional)
Note… My measurements are just guidelines. You might like a little less turmeric or more ginger so make this drink any way that tastes best for you.
Grab yourself a big mug or jar, add in the spices and hot water, honey if you want it and a squeeze of lemon juice if using. Stir with a spoon and drink. Keep spoon handy to give it a good stir every now and then
Yup. this is the current kitchen. Everything is ripped out (besides the floors… doing that on Monday)
And now the big question…What are we doing? Honest, I have no freaking idea. No that’s not true, I have way to many freaking ideas. The internet is driving me crazy with all of it’s pretty pictures and cool ideas, it’s so overwhelming. And then there is the budget. Did you know that everything is not free? I know, sucky, but we are on not in a position to spend away… Plus I like my things used or recycled with character and charm. (and free of cheap(but well made))
And it’s not like this isn’t like my 100th kitchen remodel, but this one is personal. Like has potential to me the kitchen of my (our, but mostly my) dreams. And that’s a lot of pressure. Here is the list of the big things we need to figure out. Soon.
Do I eat grass and dirt for a few months and save enough money to get a wolf gas range or do I get a way less expensivedecent stove that I will probably burn out within 5 years (I burn out ovens… I like to cook hot!)
Where does the fridge go ? Currently the old fridge is on the opposite wall, and it almost kinda works there, but I wanted that wall to be bare. so?
Dish washer? I could live without, but the mr wants one. He is probably right but we have been hand washing for so long now that I might miss it. (ok, probably not)
And the sink. Old farm sink or a newer 2 bay?
Do we do a tile back splash? And if yes, white subway or what ?(no color or anything trendy…)
The floor. We know that if the there is hard wood or any nice soft wood under the layers of shit on top, we will sand and keep. I am hoping for that, but it’s not looking good from what we see so far. So then what? I don’t think I want tile but should we really lay hardwood down?
Lighting. Actually not a big deal here cause I feel like lighting is so easily changed out for us that if we don’t like it,we’ll just change it.
And the biggy big big.. Cabinets and counter tops.%u00a0 I know no laminate and no wood countersbut I don’t want fancy or expensive or ugly. And the cabinets could possibly come from ikea and we face them ourselves or I find some cool old dressers!?
What we do know is that we are going to stick some type of french door situation here. The doors have to be cool, old, and be half, if not entirely made of glass. I have my heart set on a pair of antique garden doors that came from FranceI saw last year at a reclaim store which have sense been sold.. SO whoever bought them give them back. That’s not a lot to ask right?
Yeah. Just looking for the right set. We might even find cool doors we like and DIY something. We want the doors soon, but are not going to settle on anything mah… we will wait for the right ones.
Thinking that the stove is going to go on the far wall where the black is. Have a little counter and a long counter against the opposing wall…. Still not 100% The sink is (was) in a good spot so it’s staying under the window.
Definitely our favorite spot in the house. The heater is getting removed, but other then that, again, not sure. Just know that it has to stay a fantastic nook for coffee consumption.
So that’s where we are right now with the kitchen. We have a little more time, but soon all ofthese decisions have to be made and we will start putting it all back together (SO EXCITED!) Until then, I will continue to scour the internet for ideas , the salvage yards and craigslist for all the cool stuff, and all the vending machines for any left change.
-C
This past Christmas, my (kinda)mother- in-law gave me and the mr these really cool honey bee pins in our stockings. Nothing fancy, just a little pin, but I think it was one of the best gifts that I had gotten all year. The pin lives on my winter jacket.
And now I am into pins.
So a couple of the little’s came over yesterday after school for crafts and dinner and I figured a bit of pin making would be a perfect little project for us to do. And being that it’s the big V day coming up,%u00a0 making these pins heart shaped was more then overly appropriate. (What’s Valentines day without cute little hearts?) Well pin making we did, or I did, not so much for them. They made a few, but in the end, they were more excited to beat the crap out of the mr and to eat carrot shavings with peanut butter and nutella.. Totally ok with me because really, I was the one that wanted a little craft time and the mr did need to get his butt kicked.
Sure I made these pins pretty much for myself, but imagine the possibilities. Make a bunch to give out to your friends, family, neighbors, or even the mail man!? Or if you have yourself a little, how great would these pins be make and to give to all their little classmates. I know that if received one of these pins in my homemade shoe box mail box meant to collect all of my candy studded, drugstore bought valentines. I would have been elated and rocked that pin all year long on my super cool backpack.(grade schooler, they have all the fun) Right after I finished painting and gluing all my pins, Miley then decided that they were freaking awesome and wanted to make a bunch more…. Well little little, to late, time to go home. But I did give her a bunch to bring back with her. She will just have to bug her mom to make some more.
And sure, I mention valentines day when talking about these pins, but really, hearts are for everyday, and are still really great long after V day is over.
Handmade heart pins = love!
Stuff you need for some awesome pins.
Polymer clay (I used white but any color will do)
red and white paint (preferably enamel or a high gloss paint) and a paint brush
bar pin backs (I bought these at Michael ‘s craft store. 64 for like 3 bucks!)
industrial strength glue (E600 is great and is used and recommended by many a crafters)
rolling pin or wooden dowel
small heart shaped cutter
sharpie pen to write on pins (optional)
Glitter( also optional)
A couple notes. You could use red clay but I have found that when I buy the red dyed clay, its always harder to work with and plus, it stainsyour hands. Also, I like to seal the clay and enamel paint does the trick. If you don’t want to paint it, just pain on a coat of clear sealer.
Start buy kneading a chunk of clay a little bit to get it to a workable state, then roll into a ball and roll out flat. I rolled mine out about 1/3 of an inch, but I also knew I wanted to squish it out a little flatter once I cut the shapes out.
Cut out your hearts, or if you want, free form them.%u00a0 What I did was used my tiny heart cookie cutter to cut the initial shape, but then used my thumb and squished them all out a bit bigger.
Note here.. Hears are awesome and amazing, but other shapes….Go for it. You probably have a shit tone of those pin backs.
And just before you bake them, make sure that the pins you are using will fit behind the hearts. (if you notice any visible pin, just smoosh the heart out a little more).
Into the oven,, out of the oven. Read the package to make sure, but the stuff I used only needed to be baked for 15 minutes at 275
Once out of the oven, let completely cool and harden.
Once the hearts are cooled, go ahead and paint them. Use straight up one color, or mix and make a few different shades. (red, white and pink are nice together)
You can add some glitter to the wet paint to add a little bling….
Or add designs or what have you. Do whatever feels right.
Now stick a pin thingy on the back of each heart with a blob of glue. (If you use the E600, make sure to use it near a window or somewhere ventilated.. it really stinks for a few minutes)
Let the glue dry (this glue was completely dry within an hour, but follow glue package instructions)
And if you want, grab the sharpie, make sure the paint is really dry (at least an hour) and write a little something on the hearts.
And now the hard part.. which one goes to who and which one (or 4) do you keep for yourself. (you can always make more!)
Have fun!
-C
I think of myself as a problem solver. I see a problem and I look for a solution. And not to sound like a broken record, but the problem that I am having now is that it is winter here in Vermont, but you wouldn’t know it cause it’s 50 degrees and there is no f-ing snow. Yes, this is a problem for me. I don’t think its just me, everything around here is acting weird.%u00a0 My plants are not going into winter mode and are starting to droop and be sad. My fall allergies are coming back, plants are starting to bud again, Washer is shedding like crazy, and my snowshoes have not left the barn. It’s just weird and it makes me sad.Vermont is suppose to be cold ans snowy right now. Sure, there are people that might like this wonky weather, think they are getting a little extra treat, but not me. NOT ME!%u00a0 So this is the problem. And the solution that I have come up with, short of moving, is to cover all the windows with wax paper snowflakes.
See. Problem solver.
We have been spending a good amount of time over at the new house working away so this is where I decided to plaster my flakes. In between cleaning up pieces of broken wall and moving 500 lb bags of trash out of the house, I sat down at the little table, plugged in the Christmas lights, turned on some Christmas music, and totally zoned out. Sipping coffee and sniping away..it felt so right. And the results were quite good if I do say so myself. A window full of flakes that made me smile. Maybe the snow gods will see my effort and grace us with a huge ass storm. Wouldn’t that be so lovely!
All you need to make some flakes is
wax paper (mine is slightly tan because it’s not bleached)
scissors
tape
Optional things
glitter/glue
paint/brush
Christmas music
A hot beverage such as coffee or cocoa
Note. Why wax, well wax paper is really thin and makes cutting through all the folds easy. It also lets light shine through rather nicely and best part, the wax keeps the paper from getting soggy and gross from window condensation. But if you want, use paper. I don’t mind.
This is how learned to make a snowflake… Start with a square piece of wax paper (any size you like) and fold it in half on the diagonal. Then fold that in half at the point.%u00a0 And fold old again at the point. One more time after that. (from start to finish, 4 folds) You end up with a little dart like triangle with a little extra point at the top. Cut that extra bit off.
And snip away.. It can be thought-out or random (I like random snips)%u00a0 Just make sure that you don’t cut off all the folded paper parts cause that is what is holding it together.
Now for the most exciting part. Open (very gently) and see your snowflake creation.
Note. This is important to remember.. No snowflake is the same, and no snowflake is ugly.
Now tape the flake to where ever it should land (the window)
Stand back and enjoy all of the snow you can handle. I have gotten to one window, just 10 more to go!
This one is my favorite.
Happy weekend full of snow!
-C
I love me a good tree, pretty much any tree, real or fake.%u00a0 And come December, my house if full of different little trees, of all sizes, shapes and colors. It’s my holiday thing because really, there is nothing better then a tree.
And yeah, I was feeling crafty, and maybe a little bit sad that there is no snow around here. And we still hadn’t gotten our real tree yet (but we just got it!) so I wanted to make some more little trees to make me feel better, and this time I wanted them to light up. I was also thinking that it might be nice to bring a few little tree decorations over to the new house so I have happy little trees over there while we are working. So yeah, I needed some more little trees. And I figure you do too, that’s why I am sharing this.
This is a great project to do with a few littles (they make the trees, you use the hot glue and sharp blade) or make while baking bread and watching a festive movie.%u00a0 You could even make and share with a loved one as a sweet little gift. And best part…it doesn’t need to be packed away after the holidays because trees are not just for Christmas. These are pretty little winter trees, for everyone who is awesome and likes a tree to enjoy all winter long!(even if winter hasn’t come yet)
The stuff you will need
A piece of cardboard about 12×16 (I used an old pizza box I found in the recycling)
assorted paper of size an color
white tissue paper (optional)
a strand of 20 lights (colored or white)
a ruler
scissors
hot glue gun
glue stick
tape
pencil
xacto knife
Note. If you have an empty shallow box that is a good size for you, just use that. And hot glue works best, bt can be subed out with any glue, or tape for that matter (if you don’t mind seeing tape on your trees)
Start with making the cardboard box base. Measure each corner in 1 inch and cut our the corner. Repeat with all corners. Once they are allcut, fold each side at the cuts to make the sides.
Tape the corners together and now you got yourself a sallow box. (now you can make boxes for everything !!!) Set box aside
Now to make the trees. Take a piece of paper and, depending if it is already a square or not, but it into a square. (does not have to be perfect, just eyeball it)
Got your square paper, now take an edge and fold it over about 1/2 inch. And then taking you scissors and snip of the corner edge at an angle (again, not going for perfections here)
The poin is the tip that was cut, now fold the two sides together.
So you can stop here ans glue or if you want light holes…..
Unfold the paper and with a pencil, mark off where you wnt the holes (random is good). Take the xacto blade and cut little x’x over each hole.
Then push through each x with the eraser end of the pencil
Now glue the cone together using the hot glue gun.
You will have a weird tail left on the bottom of the cone, so just trim that off and any extra that needs to come off to make it stand up straight.
Ta Da!! A paper cone tree. Now make a bunch of them, all different sizes and colors (or all the same size and color.. up to you) And not all of them need to have light holes in them either, a couple non light trees are good.
Once you have made all the cone trees, grab the box base and set up the trees how you want them to be on the base
Take the trees off and mark the spots with the pencil. Grab the xacto and cut X’s into the marks.
Take your lights and push the bulbs through (there will be a extra bulbs on the underside…. it makes the box glow.)
And tape down the trees back into place
So cute!
Note.. I stuck a couple extra lights through the box that have no trees. They will be covered in a minute with snow.. So you can do the same. (if you want)
Now you check it out!!! Love it right?%u00a0 And stop here if you like, or go one more step and add some fake snow.
Before you tape down the trees, take glue stick and glue random pieces of tissue paper all over the box, leaving the lights uncovered. (I covered over the extra lights I popped through to make it look like glowing snow)
Stick trees back on.. same way with the tape (You might need to fanagle the trees a little bit to get them to stay)%u00a0 and plug it in.
This makes me happy.
Now go get some paper and start making some trees.
THE LOVELY CRAZY
January 7, 2020 by maximios • Blog
Do you realize that Christmas is just a handful and a half of days away? I knew it, but like didn’t really register it. And now I am like, fa la la la fuck! We have been so busy and distracted that I haven’t really focused to much on the holiday, but at least we decorate the tree. And if I am remembering correctly, there were a few years, long ago, that the mr and I wouldn’t even start celebrating or get our tree until a few days before Christmas so if I am judging us on my past selves, well we are golden. And now we let the celebrating begin!
One of our Christmas traditions is to string popcorn while watching elf for the tree. This is a big deal night because I won’t let myself watch it until that night, but after that, I can watch it as many times that I want. (once a day) We got our tree like two weeks ago, and finally late last week we did the popcorn, watched some elf, and a few days after that we decorated, kinda.%u00a0 It was much lacking in ornaments. We had the lights, the popcorn garland, the paper chain (we made it a few years back), and the carved wooden carrots, but the bulbs we usually stick on it, I just wasn’t feeling. The tree was looking pretty good but was still lacking something. That’s when I went to my fruit bowl and grabbed an orange, a clementine and the dehydrator out of the basement over at the loft and went to work. I turned on the Christmas music (A very special Christmas, the red cover) sliced the citrus, stuck it in the dehydrator, and then, well, then I waited a good few hours. During those hours, the music was going, the house smelled up like citrus and lovely, and I felt that slight holiday tingle.
I think these orange slices are going to be a new holiday tree decorating tradition. I will probably tweak it next year ans spend the 6 hours waiting for the fruit to dry baking cookies and not pouring concrete, but maybe not.
And if you are thinking its too late to make any more holiday stuff, well you are wrong. And honestly, I might just make a sting of these slices to hang up all year long.
To make the orange slice ornaments..
All you need is..
The dirty work. Slice the orange about a 1/4 inch thick. Try to make all the slices the same thickness.
I am using my dehydrator so the slices go single layer onto a rack. If you are using the oven, line a baking sheet with parchment and single layer the slices. Pop those suckers into the oven at the lowest possible setting you got. Either way you do it, the slices are going to take anywhere between 5-8 hours to completely dehydrate. It all depends on how juicy your oranges are. Just keep an eye on them after the first few hours. You want them to dehydrate, not burn into crisp.
They are done when they look like so, all dried and crispy and delicate. They should feel dry to the touch.
%u00a0Once the slices have cooled off a bit, they are ready to be handled and hung. I used thread to hang my orange slices, but feel free to use whatever you want.(I was going to use ornament hangers but didn’t have any and I was not about to go buy some)
Slices of orange so pretty. They look so good with the wooden carrots, the popcorn garland, and the glittery acorns on the tree.
I definitely will be making more.
Enjoy!
-C
The trees are on fire, the sky has been lighting up like a masterpiece and the temperatures have been on the cooler, crisper side. I am one lucky lady to be living in such a beautiful place. If you don’t know the awesomeness of fall in Vermont, you should put it on your life list cause it’s amazing and will bring you so many good feelings.%u00a0
Another super productive week for the books.%u00a0We finished laying all the hardwood downstairs then went straight to tiling the bathroom which was awesome cause it was my first real tiling project and now that floor is down too. But man did it do a number on me. The one thing the mr always bitches about are his knees, and now I now why. Kneeling on anything, especially cement board, for 5 hours pretty much will kill your shit. I might be a little whinny, but crap on a shoe do my knees hurt. (now I am done complaining) What else……..Oh yeah, a large quantities of construction waste was brought to the dump that has bee accumulating in large piles in the back yard..(that was fun) I invented a new sport, storage unit parkor (I am really good at climbing and jumping around packed storage units), and got to see the new little monster baby while doing it. Then my little brother came over for a while to help carry the cast iron bathtub from the backyard to the upstairs. (thanks Paul!)%u00a0 I even made a point during the week to stay home for just enough time to made donuts with sprinkles while I sat in front of the oven knitting cause I was freezing my ass off. And I ate 2 roasted pumpkins, an acorn squash, and a sweet potato this week. Feeling pretty good about life.
So I don’t know about today. We might or might not work. We may or may not run away to the woods.(I need to be with the trees for a while) Most likely both. But one thing is for sure, I will be icing my knees. And drinking a butt load of coffee. And eating the butternut squash I picked it yesterday. I am a winter squash addict.
The things I clicked on and reading doing the internet this week.
-Have you noticed the crazy moon lately? How to See the Hunter%u2019s Supermoon This Weekend
– How We Got %u2018Bark%u2019 for Dogs, %u2018Quack%u2019 for Ducks, and Other Words for Animal Sounds
-A classic pencil is so underrated. Trace The Remarkable History Of The Humble Pencil
-%u00a0Incredible Origami Animals.. Like super incredible
-Lots of sweetbread, muffins, and all sorts of baking things in my future. The Best Way to Store Quick Breads and Muffins
-This guy tasted a shit load of butter for his Fancy Butter Taste Test
–Photo Of An Elephant Snuggling An Ostrich because it made me smile and is really freaking cute
– Check out this This Triangular House.. Its pretty crazy cool
–Can We Trust the Cooking Methods on the Back of the Bag? Question everything!
–Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize, Redefining Boundaries of Literature.His words are beautiful.
The week in some picture
House update.. Check it out! Our entire upstairs is wires, the plumbing is ran, (not hooked up to anything yet) and completely insulated. It’s freaking sea foam green crazy up there.%u00a0
%u00a0Now the next big step up hear is sheetrock! That’s going to be a bitch of a week, but for the mean timewe have left the upstairs alone because we are waiting to get a rough inspection from the city. And so we get to enjoy the green for just a bit longer.
For now we have ventured back down stairs. A few unseen things have been done likethe re- supportingof the floor with beams in the basement and running all the water lines and elecrrical from upstairs to the basement. We started tackling the clean up of the windows, there has beenlots of sheetrock patching and mudding and adding in light switched and outlets to all the boxes. And recently we have decided that we are going to either rip up the wide softwood downstairs and patch in oak or, if we cant find the right flooring to match, we are going to re-floor the entire downstairs, you know, just to make things a little harder on ourselves.
So yeah, this is where we are at. It’s all smooth sailing from here!
For the longest time now, I have been drinking a little turmeric with a little lemon first thing in the morning. It started as a medicinal drink, but quickly became a tasty habit. I have some stupid weird circulation condition called raynaud’s where changes in temp turn my fingers and toes into icicles. And for me, the worst time of the year for this condition is the spring (but spring is still my favorite). All the up and down of temperature and the wet cold damp weather is my trigger, not to forget to mention that those temp swings can get a girl sick. (I can’t get sick!!)
So way back when I started to drink for my health and the feeling in my fingers. Turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon , all super warming spices that help greatly with blood circulation, not to mention a whole bunch of other good things. (I could tell you and go on and on, but you can just look it up yourself) Ever since I started drinking and eating lots of these spices, my raynauds has gotten soooo sooo soooo much better. I still get cold finger and toes, but no where as severe and the way less often.
Now a few weeks ago the mr started making himself an afternoon turmeric tea. He read something on the internet about how it’s the best anti-inflammatory and good for achy joints. (Sure dude, listen to the internet and not me) Being a big guy doing construction and such, he gets really achy joints and there is only so much arnica and frozen peas a guy can do. So now he drinks this and I think he is starting to notice a difference. (less time with the frozen peas) And since he is making himself tea every afternoon, I started to make a spicy tea for myself in the afternoons too. I figured that a little extra goodness to ward off the chills and any larking illness is only a plus. It’s our after lunch treat that tastes good, is warm and soothing and is doing the body all sorts of good.
Spicy turmeric tea. You will get addicted and feel like awesomeness.
The stuff. Ground turmeric, ground ginger, saigon cinnamon and hot water. Additional yums with a little lemon and some honey if you like it sweet or have a scratchy throat.
Spices into a drinking vessel (I like a big jar)
And in goes the hot water. Give it a good stir and a squeeze of lemon (and sweeten if your gonna)
And watch it swirl. A drink that keeps this girl happy and healthy.
Something great to look forward.
-C
Note… My measurements are just guidelines. You might like a little less turmeric or more ginger so make this drink any way that tastes best for you.
Grab yourself a big mug or jar, add in the spices and hot water, honey if you want it and a squeeze of lemon juice if using. Stir with a spoon and drink. Keep spoon handy to give it a good stir every now and then
Yup. this is the current kitchen. Everything is ripped out (besides the floors… doing that on Monday)
And now the big question…What are we doing? Honest, I have no freaking idea. No that’s not true, I have way to many freaking ideas. The internet is driving me crazy with all of it’s pretty pictures and cool ideas, it’s so overwhelming. And then there is the budget. Did you know that everything is not free? I know, sucky, but we are on not in a position to spend away… Plus I like my things used or recycled with character and charm. (and free of cheap(but well made))
And it’s not like this isn’t like my 100th kitchen remodel, but this one is personal. Like has potential to me the kitchen of my (our, but mostly my) dreams. And that’s a lot of pressure. Here is the list of the big things we need to figure out. Soon.
What we do know is that we are going to stick some type of french door situation here. The doors have to be cool, old, and be half, if not entirely made of glass. I have my heart set on a pair of antique garden doors that came from FranceI saw last year at a reclaim store which have sense been sold.. SO whoever bought them give them back. That’s not a lot to ask right?
Yeah. Just looking for the right set. We might even find cool doors we like and DIY something. We want the doors soon, but are not going to settle on anything mah… we will wait for the right ones.
Thinking that the stove is going to go on the far wall where the black is. Have a little counter and a long counter against the opposing wall…. Still not 100% The sink is (was) in a good spot so it’s staying under the window.
Definitely our favorite spot in the house. The heater is getting removed, but other then that, again, not sure. Just know that it has to stay a fantastic nook for coffee consumption.
So that’s where we are right now with the kitchen. We have a little more time, but soon all ofthese decisions have to be made and we will start putting it all back together (SO EXCITED!) Until then, I will continue to scour the internet for ideas , the salvage yards and craigslist for all the cool stuff, and all the vending machines for any left change.
-C
This past Christmas, my (kinda)mother- in-law gave me and the mr these really cool honey bee pins in our stockings. Nothing fancy, just a little pin, but I think it was one of the best gifts that I had gotten all year. The pin lives on my winter jacket.
And now I am into pins.
So a couple of the little’s came over yesterday after school for crafts and dinner and I figured a bit of pin making would be a perfect little project for us to do. And being that it’s the big V day coming up,%u00a0 making these pins heart shaped was more then overly appropriate. (What’s Valentines day without cute little hearts?) Well pin making we did, or I did, not so much for them. They made a few, but in the end, they were more excited to beat the crap out of the mr and to eat carrot shavings with peanut butter and nutella.. Totally ok with me because really, I was the one that wanted a little craft time and the mr did need to get his butt kicked.
Sure I made these pins pretty much for myself, but imagine the possibilities. Make a bunch to give out to your friends, family, neighbors, or even the mail man!? Or if you have yourself a little, how great would these pins be make and to give to all their little classmates. I know that if received one of these pins in my homemade shoe box mail box meant to collect all of my candy studded, drugstore bought valentines. I would have been elated and rocked that pin all year long on my super cool backpack.(grade schooler, they have all the fun) Right after I finished painting and gluing all my pins, Miley then decided that they were freaking awesome and wanted to make a bunch more…. Well little little, to late, time to go home. But I did give her a bunch to bring back with her. She will just have to bug her mom to make some more.
And sure, I mention valentines day when talking about these pins, but really, hearts are for everyday, and are still really great long after V day is over.
Handmade heart pins = love!
Stuff you need for some awesome pins.
A couple notes. You could use red clay but I have found that when I buy the red dyed clay, its always harder to work with and plus, it stainsyour hands. Also, I like to seal the clay and enamel paint does the trick. If you don’t want to paint it, just pain on a coat of clear sealer.
Start buy kneading a chunk of clay a little bit to get it to a workable state, then roll into a ball and roll out flat. I rolled mine out about 1/3 of an inch, but I also knew I wanted to squish it out a little flatter once I cut the shapes out.
Cut out your hearts, or if you want, free form them.%u00a0 What I did was used my tiny heart cookie cutter to cut the initial shape, but then used my thumb and squished them all out a bit bigger.
Note here.. Hears are awesome and amazing, but other shapes….Go for it. You probably have a shit tone of those pin backs.
And just before you bake them, make sure that the pins you are using will fit behind the hearts. (if you notice any visible pin, just smoosh the heart out a little more).
Into the oven,, out of the oven. Read the package to make sure, but the stuff I used only needed to be baked for 15 minutes at 275
Once out of the oven, let completely cool and harden.
Once the hearts are cooled, go ahead and paint them. Use straight up one color, or mix and make a few different shades. (red, white and pink are nice together)
You can add some glitter to the wet paint to add a little bling….
Or add designs or what have you. Do whatever feels right.
Now stick a pin thingy on the back of each heart with a blob of glue. (If you use the E600, make sure to use it near a window or somewhere ventilated.. it really stinks for a few minutes)
Let the glue dry (this glue was completely dry within an hour, but follow glue package instructions)
And if you want, grab the sharpie, make sure the paint is really dry (at least an hour) and write a little something on the hearts.
And now the hard part.. which one goes to who and which one (or 4) do you keep for yourself. (you can always make more!)
Have fun!
-C
I think of myself as a problem solver. I see a problem and I look for a solution. And not to sound like a broken record, but the problem that I am having now is that it is winter here in Vermont, but you wouldn’t know it cause it’s 50 degrees and there is no f-ing snow. Yes, this is a problem for me. I don’t think its just me, everything around here is acting weird.%u00a0 My plants are not going into winter mode and are starting to droop and be sad. My fall allergies are coming back, plants are starting to bud again, Washer is shedding like crazy, and my snowshoes have not left the barn. It’s just weird and it makes me sad.Vermont is suppose to be cold ans snowy right now. Sure, there are people that might like this wonky weather, think they are getting a little extra treat, but not me. NOT ME!%u00a0 So this is the problem. And the solution that I have come up with, short of moving, is to cover all the windows with wax paper snowflakes.
See. Problem solver.
We have been spending a good amount of time over at the new house working away so this is where I decided to plaster my flakes. In between cleaning up pieces of broken wall and moving 500 lb bags of trash out of the house, I sat down at the little table, plugged in the Christmas lights, turned on some Christmas music, and totally zoned out. Sipping coffee and sniping away..it felt so right. And the results were quite good if I do say so myself. A window full of flakes that made me smile. Maybe the snow gods will see my effort and grace us with a huge ass storm. Wouldn’t that be so lovely!
All you need to make some flakes is
Optional things
Note. Why wax, well wax paper is really thin and makes cutting through all the folds easy. It also lets light shine through rather nicely and best part, the wax keeps the paper from getting soggy and gross from window condensation. But if you want, use paper. I don’t mind.
This is how learned to make a snowflake… Start with a square piece of wax paper (any size you like) and fold it in half on the diagonal. Then fold that in half at the point.%u00a0 And fold old again at the point. One more time after that. (from start to finish, 4 folds) You end up with a little dart like triangle with a little extra point at the top. Cut that extra bit off.
And snip away.. It can be thought-out or random (I like random snips)%u00a0 Just make sure that you don’t cut off all the folded paper parts cause that is what is holding it together.
Now for the most exciting part. Open (very gently) and see your snowflake creation.
Note. This is important to remember.. No snowflake is the same, and no snowflake is ugly.
Now tape the flake to where ever it should land (the window)
Stand back and enjoy all of the snow you can handle. I have gotten to one window, just 10 more to go!
This one is my favorite.
Happy weekend full of snow!
-C
I love me a good tree, pretty much any tree, real or fake.%u00a0 And come December, my house if full of different little trees, of all sizes, shapes and colors. It’s my holiday thing because really, there is nothing better then a tree.
And yeah, I was feeling crafty, and maybe a little bit sad that there is no snow around here. And we still hadn’t gotten our real tree yet (but we just got it!) so I wanted to make some more little trees to make me feel better, and this time I wanted them to light up. I was also thinking that it might be nice to bring a few little tree decorations over to the new house so I have happy little trees over there while we are working. So yeah, I needed some more little trees. And I figure you do too, that’s why I am sharing this.
This is a great project to do with a few littles (they make the trees, you use the hot glue and sharp blade) or make while baking bread and watching a festive movie.%u00a0 You could even make and share with a loved one as a sweet little gift. And best part…it doesn’t need to be packed away after the holidays because trees are not just for Christmas. These are pretty little winter trees, for everyone who is awesome and likes a tree to enjoy all winter long!(even if winter hasn’t come yet)
The stuff you will need
Note. If you have an empty shallow box that is a good size for you, just use that. And hot glue works best, bt can be subed out with any glue, or tape for that matter (if you don’t mind seeing tape on your trees)
Start with making the cardboard box base. Measure each corner in 1 inch and cut our the corner. Repeat with all corners. Once they are allcut, fold each side at the cuts to make the sides.
Tape the corners together and now you got yourself a sallow box. (now you can make boxes for everything !!!) Set box aside
Now to make the trees. Take a piece of paper and, depending if it is already a square or not, but it into a square. (does not have to be perfect, just eyeball it)
Got your square paper, now take an edge and fold it over about 1/2 inch. And then taking you scissors and snip of the corner edge at an angle (again, not going for perfections here)
The poin is the tip that was cut, now fold the two sides together.
So you can stop here ans glue or if you want light holes…..
Unfold the paper and with a pencil, mark off where you wnt the holes (random is good). Take the xacto blade and cut little x’x over each hole.
Then push through each x with the eraser end of the pencil
Now glue the cone together using the hot glue gun.
You will have a weird tail left on the bottom of the cone, so just trim that off and any extra that needs to come off to make it stand up straight.
Ta Da!! A paper cone tree. Now make a bunch of them, all different sizes and colors (or all the same size and color.. up to you) And not all of them need to have light holes in them either, a couple non light trees are good.
Once you have made all the cone trees, grab the box base and set up the trees how you want them to be on the base
Take the trees off and mark the spots with the pencil. Grab the xacto and cut X’s into the marks.
Take your lights and push the bulbs through (there will be a extra bulbs on the underside…. it makes the box glow.)
And tape down the trees back into place
So cute!
Note.. I stuck a couple extra lights through the box that have no trees. They will be covered in a minute with snow.. So you can do the same. (if you want)
Now you check it out!!! Love it right?%u00a0 And stop here if you like, or go one more step and add some fake snow.
Before you tape down the trees, take glue stick and glue random pieces of tissue paper all over the box, leaving the lights uncovered. (I covered over the extra lights I popped through to make it look like glowing snow)
Stick trees back on.. same way with the tape (You might need to fanagle the trees a little bit to get them to stay)%u00a0 and plug it in.
This makes me happy.
Now go get some paper and start making some trees.
Have fun!
-C