2012-20 "to dos"

So, right after my 28th birthday I thought about doing one of these very popular "28 before 29" lists.  I started writing it, then got distracted.  So Now I have turned it into my 2012- 20 "to dos".  I've already accomplished some of them, which is great...others will be a challenge to get done.  But here it is:

• make a website
• go backpacking for 2+ nights
• have a table at a craft fair
• make a dress
• get a tattoo
• pay off credit card
• paint my desk
• move into a place with a bedroom
• go to the dentist
• organize pictures
• put all of my music on an external hard drive
• watch one movie a month
• read more non-fiction
• 1 DIY blog a week
• ride my bike more
• learn to make patterns
• take swimming lessons
• go on vacation
• write 1 letter a month
• donate a bag of unnecessary items to charity a month 

So I think the trick will be to continue doing the ones that I have already crossed off....Don't worry mom, I'm not going to get 70 tattoos.

I read a book at the beginning of the year, The Happiness Project.  It was ok.  Not great, but I took away some helpful things from it that have made my life a little easier, cleaner, and happier!

• If it takes less than a minute to do, just do it. 

-I can never find my keys in the morning, and constantly am looking for my purse.  So I put a little goblet next to the door and a hook on the wall.  It takes less than a minute to hang up your coat, purse, and put your keys in a cup.  It takes at least 5 minutes to find all that shit in the morning when you are rushing out the door.

• Spend 5-10 minutes every night cleaning up before bed

-Pretty helpful.  cleaning up dishes, cleaning counters...picking up scraps of fabric and rogue pins off of the carpet.  Putting clothes in the hamper....you know, all those things you're supposed to do that TAKE LESS THAN 1 MINUTE, and should have been done in the first place

• What you say about other people reflects on you

-The author went into a lot of detail about this.  Basically, when you are talking shit about someone, or saying negative things about them, the person you are talking to associates that negativity to you.  So, this is one of the HARDEST things for me.  I did get voted most likely to get into your business in high school...not a shining moment.

And then, there were the secrets to Adulthood:

• people don't notice your mistakes as much as you do
• it is ok to ask for help
• most decisions don't require extensive research
• do good, feel good
• it's important to be nice to everyone
• bring a sweater
• by doing a little bit each day, you can get a lot accomplished
• soap and water remove most stains
• turning the computer on and off a few times often fixes a glitch
• if you can't find something, clean up
• you can choose what you want to do, you can't choose what you like to do
• Happiness doesn't always make you feel happy
• what you do everyday matters more than what you do once in a while
• you don't have to be good at everything
• if you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough
• over the counter medications are very effective
• don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good
• what's fun for other people may not be fun for you, and vice versa
• people actually prefer that you buy wedding gifts off of their registry
• no deposit, no return

So there you go, I just saved you $14.99.

Well, this isn't crafty....but apparently this here little blog is turning into more of a lifestyle blog, so here is my first "personal" entry.

Scarf Shirt!

The Most comfortable, easiest shirt in the world! Lately, I’ve been making dresses. I only have one pair of tights with out a run in them, and they are an obnoxious yellow. I love my brown baggy boat neck shirt, but it had a little accident with a flaming lantern in New Orleans and has been retired. What to do? Make a new shirt, so that I can wear jeans! This seriously took about 5 minutes, and is a great way to use old silk scarves.
What you need:
· 5 minutes
· two silk scarves that are the same size (they could be whatever fabric you want I guess)
· Sewing machine
· Two pins
· Matching thread

Step one: Iron the scarves. We all know I hate ironing, so this is the only time these scarves will ever be touched by one.
Step two: Turn on Pandora, and drink some coffee
Step three: Figure out which sides of the scarves are the “right side”. My scarf had a “Anne Klein” signature on it, so that was helpful. You might just decide which side you like better. Put right sides together and pin at the two “top” corners. Sew from the edge of the fabric in about 8inches. Make sure to reverse stitch so that the seam doesn’t start to unravel.

Step four: determine how big of an arm opening you want. I made mine about 10 inches. So, measure 10 inches down from the top of the shirt and then begin to stitch from there until the bottom of the scarf, remember to reverse stitch!
Step five: Try this baby on and think about how awesome it is that you just spent more time writing or reading a blog about making the shirt than the amount of time it took to actually create it!

Hobo chickpea concotion

I am dressed like a homeless person right now.  I'm not really sure what is going on.  But, I was really hungry and didn't feel like changing, and since we all know that I live by the phrase "you never know when you are going to meet your husband", I could not leave the house.  Therefore I decided to hunt through my cupboards and make something with what I had.  This could have been a disaster, but ended up being delicious.
You will need the following ingredients:

• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 a bag of spring mix greens
• 1/2 inch of ginger, peeled and grated
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• red pepper flakes
• 1/2 of a lemon
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 1/2 some sort of squash

So, bake your squash in the oven.  While you are doing this, put some oil in your pan and cook up the garlic and ginger.  Pour in the drained garbanzo beans. Cook for about three minutes.  Drain some of the juice off of your diced tomatoes and add that in too. Stir it around.  open up the oven and flip your squash, then return it to baking.  Add in the coconut milk.  season with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Squeeze the juice from the 1/2 lemon into the mixture. Bring this whole thing to a boil, then let it simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring about every five minutes.  Now this is the weird part: add in the salad mix handful by handful and let it wilt. Remove your squash from the oven and pour the garbanzo bean concoction over it. Yep.  It's delicious. also, it makes a ton (so only use about 1 cup on your squash), but it is also thick enough that you can eat it with a fork.

Snowed in...still.

Snow Day #2 Today I ventured out into the snow to buy coffee, beer, goldfish crackers, and mac and cheese. It’s an exciting life I lead. My beer is currently sitting in the snow outside until it is at least 2 pm… I figure it’s still a school day so I should at least wait until the kids would normally be on the bus to crack a beer. What happens when you’re snowed in as a crafter? You can get to all those projects that you have been pining on Pinterest.

Ruffle Butt onsie? Check.

Garter? Check.

Another bow tie? Check.

Mac and cheese bake? Check.

Here is how to make the delicious mac and cheese. I learned the red bell paper trick from Tim Roark and the Broccoli trick from Nicole Gelb. Life changing when combined. Maybe they would be a good couple? Hmmm. You will need:

• Annie’s White Cheddar Shells mac and cheese
• Broccoli 
• Red Pepper
• Panko 
• Milk 
• Cheddar cheese 

First, boil some water. Then throw in the red pepper, broccoli and pasta. Boil until pasta is done. Put in a colander. Make the cheese sauce with milk in your pan. Put the pasta and veggies in a pyrex. Pour the white sauce over it, then top with some cheddar cheese. Toss some panko on top. Broil for about 3 minutes. DONE.

Bow Tie! It's still snowing.

Bow ties are really weird to tie.  I just spent ten minutes learning on YouTube.  But, anyway  I used this tutorial to make a bow tie! http://gescott14.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-sew-your-own-bowties.html

also, here is the best guide I have found so far on how to tie one of these bad boys:
 http://www.tie-a-tie.net/bowtie.html

Good Luck!

Snow Day!

Today it is snowing.  I decided to go through all my old patterns and make a dress.  This is what I came up with.  It only took ½ bottle of wine and some real concentration, also Bon Iver. Oh and I made braised balsamic chicken. BooYah. I’m a 40 year old house wife.  So here is my recipe for the chicken, and following are the pictures of the dress.

Braised Balsamic Chicken

You will need:

• About 1 pound of chicken breast
• A can of diced tomatoes (I used Mexican style because that’s all I had and I am not walking out in this shit)
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp of each of the following: dried basil, dried oregano, dried rosemary
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• olive oil
• ¼ of an onion, thinly sliced

Brown onion and raw chicken in pan.  Really brown it.  I almost burned mine, don’t do that, but do make sure that the onion is nice and brown,  Then dump in everything else. Turn the heat down to medium.  Go look at pinterest for about 15 minutes.  Yum yum, you’re done.

Tie Me Up

So Let’s talk about some things: or more, I write, you read.

When your crazy organizing and need to micromanage everything in your classroom drives you to the point that you find yourself in the sensory room rocking in a chair, it’s time to take a sick day.  Yep, that happened. So, I’ve come up with some new things to think about:

1. this is your job, not your life

2. delegate (just because you think you can do it better, doesn’t make it ok that it gets done two months later)

3. Your job is impossible, so good job showing up!

Then, I went to the 5^th Avenue Tavern and drank all night. At 12 when I woke up, I decided that I should do something productive, so I went to the fabric store and bought a menswear pattern. So, obviously, I was still feeling a little crazy.

With that being said, I bought some amazing silk fabric and decided to make a tie.

I will spare you the step by step, but here is the pattern, cutting,  and final product.