DIY Succulent Garden

 

I have a fascination wtih succulents. They are just so versatile, what with not really needing to be watered much and only requiring sunlight and growing, growing, growing forever. So what better way to tell friends how much I value them at the holidays than a little succulent gift?

It all started with this post. I ran to Home Depot, scooped up the supplies, and hurried home to get my craft on. I tried my hand at decorating my own vases but quickly decided that was for the birds.

What you'll need for the succulent garden:

• Multiple small dishes or 1 large dish
• Succulents (1 per small dish or 4-5 per large, depending on size)
• Rocks (I got mine at the dollar store!)
• Dirt 

What I used for decorating the "pots":

• Martha Stewart decoupage set (I bought gold embellishments!)

Step 1: Get all the supplies ready!

 

 

Step 2: Cut materials, start decoupaging. Note: I would completely eliminate this step next time. No need for decorated vases unless you feel really passionately about them!

 

Step 3: Place rocks in bowl, then place succulents, and finally place dirt around. Note: I did this backwards and put the dirt in first. It was really hard to then dig holes for the succulents, which is why I recommend putting the dirt in around them!

Step 4: Enjoy!

 

 

 

Pinterest Salmon + Brownies

I got home from work last night and had no idea what to eat. I knew I didn't want to go out and I knew I had a million different things I could cook in the freezer. Soo, what's a girl to do but open the Pinterest app in the elevator of her building? And then I found this pin. GAME CHANGER.

I keep a running top 5 recipes list. This one easily makes it. I followed the recipe exactly (except for subbing Greek yogurt for mayo, but only because I had no mayo and had Greek yogurt) as it was and I had to stop myself from running back to the kitchen to stuff my face with more salmon.

A food blogger I am not but seriously – this salmon was INCREDIBLE. I did things mildly backwards – I cooked the salmon in the whole marinade sauce rather than marinating it but otherwise… ya’ll. I’m just disappointed that I don’t have more salmon. I will most certainly be cooking this again.
If you don’t want 18 lbs of sriracha cream sauce, you might want to cut the recipe in… 10th’s. Or, you could make it as is and smear it on every single thing you put in your mouth over the next 5 days. To each their own.

So then, because I felt that my luck had not run out, I attempted another Pinterest recipe. Brownies. It’s pretty much impossible to go wrong  with 2 1/4 cups of sugar and 2 sticks of butter. And instead of Nutella, I used Trader Joe’s cookie butter because I just happened to have it in my kitchen. (Sometimes my annoying food hoarder tendencies drive me nuts, but today they served me well. I didn’t go to the grocery store for a single ingredient in either recipe.)

I forced EV to eat a brownie with vanilla ice cream and then got a text that said “that brownie was so amazing i feel mildly ill.” She’s a tough judge so I consider this a major success. I pretty much inhaled my brownie. They were moist, hot, chocolatey, and pretty much perfect. Delicious brownies, you’ll be entering my rotation immediately.

And really, I also have to give a special shout out to my kitchen sidekick, Mr. Bubbly. Thanks for keeping me company!

Domesticated.

I spent my Sunday afternoon and evening in the kitchen and doing crafts and it. was. awesome.

Project 1: Cutting up wedding invitation, shower invitations, save the date, and a picture of my newlywed friends and putting them inside a clear ornament. I first saw the idea on Pinterest, and now I can't find the pin, but here's a link to something very similar.

Project 2: Rice Krispie treat cupcakes. I'm trying to put together Christmas gifts for all 100 people in my office, and this was a great place to start! 20 gift bags down, 80 to go...



Project 3: Cookies 'n cream holiday bark! Also for my coworkers, also incredibly easy and DELISH. I used white chocolate, and oreos with red filling. I sprinkled holiday sprinkles and top and voila!

Project 4: Not really a project, but I am seriously still eating Thanksgiving leftovers. I'm down to turkey and mashed potatoes, but seriously. I'm over it. I saw a recipe for chicken salad on -- guess where?? -- and figured I'd make it work with what I had.

A couple of months ago we had a catered lunch that included 'kicked up chicken salad', which was just chicken salad with a drizzle of sriracha. Done and done.

2c turkey

1/2 c mayo

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 c grapes, chopped

salt

lemon pepper from Trader Joe's

1 tsp sriracha, to taste

Mix it all together and eat with a fork. I like my chicken salad not very mayo-y and with a crunch, hence the extra celery and less mayo. The recipe also called for some apple but it tasted pretty damn good to me without. I'll probably eat all of this by tomorrow, because I think it is that delicious.

Project 5: One of my best friends is on an exchange program here in the states. He's originally from Italy, and unfortunately the time has come for him to return home. We had a surprise going away party for him on Saturday night and we wanted to get something that would commemorate his year here, but wouldn't be difficult to pack.

Enter IKEA picture frame with a collage of pictures. Success! Everyone signed around the edges of the frame and wrote notes to our sweet friend. It was an easy, cheap project that I know he'll enjoy forever. In fact, rumor has it he'll be carrying it on the plane and sharing his seat with the frame on his way back to Italy...he loves us that much!

What have you been crafting and cooking lately?

 

Candy Corn Decor

I pinned this last week.

This is what my mantle looks like as of today.

 What a cute, simple way to decorate for fall, and how easily it can translate to the many other seasons of the year. I envision jelly beans in the spring and perhaps peppermints around the holidays?