T.A.A.F.O.M.F.T.

These are a few of my favorite things!

Okay, since I shared my Mukluks yesterday I thought I had better share my Chuck Taylor's as well.  David bought these for me as an early Christmas gift and I am in love!  (We're really going to have nothing under the tree if we keep making all of our gifts "early"!)  Mine are Chuck Taylor All Star double tongue in charcoal and sassafras.  I feel like such a kid in these!

Happy Friday everyone!

P.S. Although I don't believe the world is going to end today, it would be funny if my last blog post was about my new Christmas shoes!

T.A.A.F.O.M.F.T.

These are a few of my favorite things!

Guess what I love?  My new Mukluks!  These were my early Christmas present to myself and they are fabulous!  Admittedly the style and colors are a little crazy, but as far as comfort and warmth they cannot be beat.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Salad in a jar - I finally tried it!

So I absolutely adore Paula Rhodes blog http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/.  I don't remember how long ago it was that I came across her youtube video, but I have been wanting to try out her technique ever since. 

When I first came across her idea she was using a FoodSaver vacuum-pack machine, which I knew I'd never be able to afford.  Budget-wise I couldn't justify the expense.  But I still loved the idea of making a week's worth of salads all at once and not having to worry about them going bad.  Dieting is hard enough so why not make part of the meal preparation easier?  And packing David's lunch in the mornings takes so much time so anything to help there makes me happy too!

Since I started school back in January I've had little time to blog or even read up on my favorite blogs, but a couple of  months ago I checked back in on Paula's blog.  She has since done an updated version and had some lower cost alternatives for vacuum sealing.  The blog post can be seen here:

http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/family-recipes/which-vacuum-pack-machine-should-i-buy-to-make-salad-in-a-jar

I've had all of my equipment for well over a month now, but tonight was the first time that I actually got to try them out.  First I purchased a salad spinner from Walmart.  It's nothing fancy and I think was less than $10.  Removing as much moisture as possible is one of the tricks to salad in a jar.

I also purchased a dozen quart size mason jars from Walmart.  These were around $10 as well.  The only bad review that I found about the jars was that the sealant in the lids contains BPA.  There are other companies that you can buy lids from that are BPA free, but that's an expense that I'll worry with another time.  Paula's blog mentioned that wide mouth jars made the process much easier so I went with those.  I'm not sure what size jars Paula is using in the original video, they could be quarts, but I figured this would be a good place to start.

I bought a huge bag of romaine lettuce from Sams Club that had five heads for about $2.50.  Unfortunately I got busy (as usual) and it sat in the fridge for over a week.  I had to peel off all of the brown pieces and throw quite a bit of it away, but I chopped up the rest and crammed it all into four jars.

On the original video I didn't see anything being added to the jars other than romaine lettuce, but I wanted to see how other ingredients would hold up.  I love tomatoes, but David does not so I only added them to two jars.  I added cheddar cheese to two jars and shredded parmesan to the other two.  Then I finished them all off with real bacon bits.  David likes croutons, but I knew they would get soggy so I left them out.  I figure they can be included in a separate tupperware container and the dressing will have to be as well.

After reading Paula's post about choosing a vacuum-pack machine and reading reviews online I went with the FoodSaver FreshSaver handheld vac.  I bought mine from amazon for about $15.  I also purchased the wide mouth jar sealer from amazon for $10.

The process is pretty simple.  After filling the jars you put on the lids and the wide mouth jar sealer fits snugly on top.  The FreshSaver sits on top of that.  You do have to apply pressure as you are holding in the button to suck out all of the air.  After just a while you will hear a pop to signal the lid has been sealed.  Screw the rings on and you're done!

Right now I have four days worth of salads.  I'm keeping them in the crisper section of my fridge.  It will be interesting to see how well these keep.  I wonder if the cheese will get soggy.  If they all hold well then I'll definitely start making a week's worth at a time.  I'd also like to try adding cut-up pieces of pre-cooked skinless chicken breasts, but I don't know how well they will keep.  Maybe changing up the order would help too - putting the chicken in first, then cheese, then bacon bits, tomatoes, and lettuce.  Who knows?

Happy Wednesday everyone!

DIY - Soda Bottle Terrarium

 

This is a fun nerdy little project that decided to do.  I haven't made one of these since I was a kid!  Here is a great tutorial that I found online in case you want some step-by-step instructions -

http://www.melindamyers.com/pdf/Create-Your-Own-Terrarium.pdf

I bought these little seed starter kits from Michael's clearance aisle a few months ago.  They're shaped like those plastic Easter eggs with a prize inside that you get out of quarter machines in gas stations or the grocery store lobby.  They came with a tiny little packet of dirt and a packet of seeds.  Mine were mini cactus.  Anyway, I planted them, added the water, and left them sitting out in the sun toward the end of the summer.  Months went by and nothing happened.  I brought them in when the weather turned cold, sat them in a window sill, and finally these cute little green guys started sprouting up!

I wanted to plant them in something bigger to give them a better chance to survive, but with it being November I didn't want to spend alot of money on a fancy terrarium, so I decided to use supplies that I already had around the apartment.  First I started with an empty Dr. Pepper 2 liter.  I removed the label and then drew a line approximately 4-1/2 inches up the bottle.  I started a hole with an Xacto knife and then used scissors to finish cutting the bottle in two.

The bottom layer of the terrarium is lined with rocks.  Given that I have a 75 gallon aquarium I have plenty of rocks/gravel lying around.  My turtles Herman and Cecil tend to eat anything (and everything!) so I can't put small rocks in their tank anymore.

The tutorial I used suggested a layer of gardener's carbon.  From everything I read aquarium activated carbon is the same thing so I just used some that I already had on hand.

*Unrelated side note:  I prefer the Rena Filstar to the Fluval aquarium filter, but Fluval carbon is cheaper at the pet store*

The third layer is potting soil.  Probably most of you still have some of this lying around in your garage or basement left over from earlier this year.

I transplanted all of the tiny cactus sprouts and then put the top of the bottle back on.  I cut 4 small slits around the edge in order to get the top to slide down over the bottom.  This was by far the most difficult part and it didn't fit perfectly, but again this is just a cheap project that I hope will last through until warm weather comes again.  I spritzed the soil and sides with water and put the cap back on.  I'm going to sit the terrarium in the window sill and let the sun help some of the water absorb back up out of the soil and create a nice warm self-contained environment.  If the insides get too foggy all you have to do is remove the cap for a day or so and let the inside air out for a bit.

Here's hoping that my cheap little project actually works!  Happy Monday everyone!

Pinterest in action! T-shirt organization

It's been a long time since I've blogged - almost 6 months!  I made the decision to go back to school in January so this has been quite a busy year.  I went to college straight of high school and the first time around got a BBA.  The problem that I've had is finding good-paying, long-term employment in my area.  So that's when the idea of second degree came up.  This spring I took a CNA class and at the same time took Microbiology and Medical Terminology at a local community college.  Summer term I took Anatomy & Physiology I and an Intro. to Psychology class.  This fall I'm currently enrolled in Anatomy and Physiology II and a Computer Concepts class.  My plan is to apply to Nursing school and become an RN.  I'd also be interested in Hospital Management somewhere down the road.  My sister, who is an RN and currently in NP school has become my mentor and is a constant source of help, praise, and motivation.

I also started back to work this past April, after being out of work since September of 2010.  I'm working right now as an elder caregiver, which has probably taught me more than any other job in my life.  One of my first client's was a wonderful lady who was in hospice care at her home.  I spent the last 48 days of her life with her, including her 85th birthday :)

Needless to say my blog posts may be few and far between in the coming months and years, but it is still my goal to keep the blog active.  I constantly take pictures of my craft projects so I have quite a few things to share, I just need the time to get everything uploaded.

I thought that I'd start with something that I actually worked on today.  Laundry is something that David and I have struggled to keep up with, especially now with me in school and both of us working full time jobs.  There is this endless cycle of one load in the washer, one in the dryer, and the few clothes that make it out of the dryer that aren't immediately worn have taken over our dining room table in a semi-folded, semi-laid-out way to at least avoid wrinkles.  More than once a load has had to be rewashed as it was forgotten in the washer.

One thing that I recently bought to try and help us was a laundry sorter.  I got this one from Walmart.  It could stand to be made a bit more sturdy, but other than that it serves it's purpose well.  Instead of throwing dirty clothes and towels all together into the laundry basket we now sort them right away into lights, darks, and towels/jackets/bigger items.  I keep the sorter in the bedroom (where most of the dirty clothes end up) and then when it's full I roll it right up to the washing machine.  The bags are the perfect size for one load of laundry.

So at this point the laundry is making it to where it needs to be, but is never quite making it back to its "home" in the closet or drawer.  On a side note, I'd like to learn how to make my own laundry detergent - so I've pinned a bunch of different recipes on pinterest, but that's for another post.

And now to get to the point (sorry for this being such a long winded post!)  I started thinking back to a time when I loved working with clothes.  This may sound weird, but when I worked retail I loved folding, sorting, and organizing clothes.  I worked in the junior department at Goody's for a few years and I can honestly say that I miss it.  I worked with great people and I enjoyed the job.  The thing is that they had great tools and techniques.  One of my favorite tools was the folding table.  You rolled it out on the floor, place the shirt on top, and then fold, fold, flip - you have the perfect folded shirt!  There was always a sense of accomplishment that came from a perfectly arranged display :)

So I thought maybe I could trick my brain into enjoying the same task at home!  I saved a pin months ago of this beautifully clever way to fold and stack shirts so that they are easily viewable in a dresser drawer.

Here is the link to the post that the above photo was pinned from:  http://www.darkroomanddearly.com/search/label/DIY%20Projects?max-results=5

I've been wanting to do this since I first saw the pin, but never could bring myself to sit down and "fancy fold" all of our t-shirts (David alone probably has over 100) until today that is when I remembered the folding table from Goody's.  I have no idea where you would buy a folding table, but I did find some nice t-shirt folding boards on amazon.com.  I currently have one sitting in my wish list just waiting until I have $25 worth of items so that I can use their free shipping feature!

In the meantime I looked online for a DIY t-shirt folder and this is the simplest easy to follow link that I found:  http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-T-Shirt-Folder.   I had an empty cardboard box laying around waiting to be taken out with the recyclables so I decided to give it a try.  The instructions from the link show the board being 23 inches wide and 30 inches long.  

My box wasn't quite long enough so my board ended up being about 19 inches long.

To fix this problem I just ended up folding my shirts up once in order to fit the board.  Then I folded the sleeves in and folded the rest as normal.  See how small the shirts on the left are folded?!

And here's the finished product!  I'm already in love!  Everything is folded so neatly and I can see exactly what each shirt is.  I will probably be able to fit all of my t-shirts into a single drawer, but David's are going to be a different story.  I'm happy to say though that my motivation for clothes organization seems to be back (for now!) and I hope that I can continue on this "fancy folded" path!

Happy Monday everyone - have a great day!

Pinterest in action! Organize your store cards

As I have posted before I am addicted to Pinterest.  I have pinned so many craft projects that I will probably never have enough time to try them all.  Today though I found a cute, simple, organize-one-of-those-annoying-little-things-in-your-life kind of pins that was so clever I had to try it out right away.

This is so simple that I imagine other people have probably already figured it out, but just in case there are others out there like me who are still organizationally challenged I thought I would share.

The original pin came from this website:
http://www.cookingatcafed.com/2012/02/follow-up-getting-grip.html

As you can see from the pictures above all I have to do is unzip my wallet and all of my cards come tumbling out - along with some loose change!  I can't stand putting the cards on my keychain because they make my car and house keys too bulky.  But I still have to carry them around or I forfeit my discount when I go to the grocery store!  The original blogger basically took a spare keyring (which I already had a bag of) and punched holes into all of her cards.  Since I was just using store cards mine already had holes in them.  The original blogger even included her restaurant gift cards on her keyring, but when David and I have those they don't last long enough.

The bottom left picture shows how my cards are now neat and organized - from my library card to my grocery store discount cards.  My Thirty-One bag comes with a link already sewn into the side where I hooked a pink carabiner to hang things that I want to be able to grab without having to hunt through my purse. As you can see from the bottom right picture it holds my keys, a mini flashlight, and now my organized store cards!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Pinterest in action! Functional Fan-folded Books

So are you using Pinterest yet?  I just joined recently and am already addicted.  I do wonder a bit about how their terms of service are worded, but that's for another post.

I have a whole list of craft projects "pinned" that I am eager to try out.  School has kept me extraordinarily busy this semester so I unfortunately haven't gotten around to many of them yet.  In January I took a CNA training class and I'm also taking Microbiology and Medical Terminology this semester as well.  I plan on taking a couple more prerequisite classes - A&P I and II so that I can apply to nursing school.

Anyway, back on topic.  I have tried out a few projects that I found on Pinterest so I wanted to share one of them with you guys today.

This is a project that I actually found through homemadesimple.com and wanted to try so I saved it to Pinterest so I wouldn't forget.  The original instructions can be found here:

http://www.homemadesimple.com/en-US/Crafts/Documents/fanFoldedOrganization.pdf

First you need a book.  Not one that you're going to want to read again - just one that you've finished with or bought at a second hand store.  I got mine from the local YWCA for $1.  They were having a book sale to benefit their children's programs so even better!

I got a hardback book because I thought it would look and work better.  I won't give the title just in case someone out there has read it and thinks that I've commited some kind of reading sacrilage.

Basically you fold each page in half and tuck it between the neighboring pages - and that's it!  Simplest craft project ever.  And I adore it.  I always have a multitude of paper scraps laying all over my desk - phone numbers, appointment cards, coupons, Post-it notes, etc.  Of course this isn't going to get rid of all of that, but it does give me a super cute way to keep it all in one semi-organized place.

Here's my finished product!  My book organizer sits to the left of my computer screen (I'm left-handed) so everything is within easy reach.  It's so cute that I'd love to do another, but I haven't thought of another place in the apartment where one would be useful yet.

That's all for today.  If you are on Pinterest feel free to add me -

http://pinterest.com/beyondbaffled/

Have a great Tuesday!

I am forever losing my keys...

I am always misplacing my keys.  Either I'm absent minded or easily distracted or maybe I am just trying to do too many things all at once when I get home every day.  But it never seems to fail, within seconds of crossing the threshhold of my front door my keys are no longer in my  hand.

So purely by accident I found a super cute place to store my keys.  I love the Glade Scented Oil decorative glass holders - they have so many styles and colors to choose from.  The replacement oil candles have a tiny piece of metal on the bottom so they stick to the holder.  What also sticks are the metal rings on my keychain.  I feel the magnetic pull and hear the little click when the ring touches the magnet and I'm hoping that it will also "click" in my mind exactly where I left my keys.

I am seriously trying everything I know in order to stop losing my keys.  Really I am far too old to be doing this.  I read somewhere that if where you put your keys is not in your short term memory then there is no way for you to recall their location.  Tricks to making sure that you do make that memory are as simple as putting your keys in the same place (your special storage spot) every single time.  The same place in your purse or the same place in your house.  If you think about it this way then there are only 5 possible places that my keys can ever be:

1.  In my car's ignition

2.  In my purse

3.  In my hands

4.  In my pocket

5.  In my Glade candle jar

Another trick that I read was to simply say aloud where you left your keys.  Like, "I'm leaving my keys on the corner of the dining room table."  That way the memory is there just waiting to be recalled two or three hours later when you're running around like crazy trying to get ready for work or school.

Anyway, I hope you like my idea for how not to lose your keys.  Happy Monday everyone!

The reason why you didn't see much of me in January!

Revised News Release Issued Feb. 2, 2012

For Immediate Use
(2-2-12 CNAgrads.jpg attached)

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn.—Pictured are the Feb. 2 graduates of the Certified Nurse Aide training program at the Tennessee Technology Center at Elizabethton. They are, from left, front row, Irene Vines, Greg L. Hart, April Sparks, Nick Barnes and Jennifer Carver, all of Carter County; back row, Catherine Gillette, Beverly Odle and Amanda Peters, all of Washington County; and Jessica Manuel and Jessica Light of Sullivan County. Not pictured is Alice Cupp of Sullivan County. The 120 hours of training covers regulations mandated by the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment. The course prepares students for the state exam to become a Certified Nurse Aide and provides necessary skills for job opportunities in a health care facility. No high school diploma or G.E.D. is required to enroll in the course. For additional information, contact TTC-Elizabethton, 423-543-0070, or visit the school’s Web site, www.ttcelizabethton.edu, for the 2012 CNA training schedule.

Train scale...

I've been wanting to try out train scale for a while now.  I've checked out a bunch of different kits online and the two scales that I am interested in are HO (1:87) and N (1:160).  I have been watching this particular kit on Ebay and finally found one that wasn't $40 before shipping.

Woodland Scenics Maple Leaf Cemetery #S131.

An 8" x 11" scene which includes; basswood tool shed; basswood fence rail; eight trees (with two colors of foliage); four colors of grass and soil; two colors of foliage for bushes and weeds; and over 40 white metal castings including stone fence posts, stone walls, gates, two men, a central monument and 28 tombstones with names.

Remember the movie Beetlejuice?  I loved the scale model of the town that the Maitland's had in their attic.

This pic doesn't belong to me - I found it on this forum:

http://www.therpf.com/f9/beetlejuice-house-model-finished-pics-page-2-a-88464/.  The person who wrote the post was looking for pictures of the Maitland's home in order to make a model of the house.

Another kit that I've seen that I adore is this one - 

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/ncm/ncm87101.htm

But I had better see how well I do with the Maple Leaf kit first!  I'll post pics as soon as I've started.  Happy Monday everyone :)

Food for Thought Friday

Jessie's Best Breakfast

Ingredients:

1 thick piece of Texas Toast

2 eggs

1 slice of bacon

shredded cheddar cheese (as much as you like)

1/4 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon butter melted (or 2 tbsp. if you prefer)

pinch cayenne pepper

pinch salt

Most of this recipe is really simple things that everyone already knows how to do so I won't go into detail on those.  The hollandaise sauce is what really makes this recipe yummy.  David doesn't care much for it so I had to tweak my recipe in order to make "hollandaise for one."

1.  Take one of the eggs and separate the egg yolk from the egg white.  The easiest way I have found to do this is to break the egg in half and pour the insides back and forth between the two pieces allowing the egg white to fall out while keeping the yolk intact.  You can have a bowl waiting underneath to catch the egg white.

2.  Whisk the egg yolk and the lemon juice in a stainless steel bowl until it has doubled in volume.

3.  Place the bowl over a saucepan with barely boiling water.  If you have a double boiler you could of course use that instead.  Don't allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl and constantly whisk the mixture.  You don't want the egg to get too hot or it will start to scramble.

4.  Add in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the mixture has again doubled in volume.

5.  Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the cayenne pepper and salt.  I love cayenne pepper so I usually add a bit more.

6.  While you are doing steps 1 through 5 you can also be working on the simple parts of this recipe.  Toast the piece of bread.  Scramble the remaining egg - you can add in the leftover egg white if you so choose, salt, and pepper etc.  Cook the piece of bacon as well.

7.  Now it's time to put everything together!  Top the bread with the scrambled egg.  Crumble the piece of bacon and add that as well.  Cover with as much shredded cheese as you would like.  Then pour the hollandaise sauce over everything.

8.  Enjoy!

I hope everyone has a great Friday!

T.A.A.F.O.M.F.T.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I love my Nick and Nora bedding!  I bought these sheets a few years back from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  They are so pretty that I almost don't want to cover them up with a comforter!  It's 19 degrees right now and the road outside of my window is covered with snow and it's still coming down.  Currently it's about 2:15 in the morning and once I've finished typing this post I'll be climbing into these warm and cozy flannel sheets under my down comforter :) 

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Project of the Month: The House of Miniatures Chippendale Canopy Bed / Circa 1750 - 1790

David's sister Lisa sent me some amazing HOM miniature kits for Christmas and I am so excited to start putting them together.  The first one I have begun working on is the Chippendale Canopy Bed / Circa 1750 - 1790.  Below is a description of the bed frame that was included in the assembly and finishing instructions:

"This type bed was also known as a "bedstead", meaning wooden frame with mattress.  Although a few high-post bedsteads in the Queen Anne style have been found in our country, the story of fine American bedsteads really begins at about 1735 with those having square block feet or ball and claw feet in the Chippendale style. The high-post bedstead became an article of elegance in our country, as it was in England, with the increase in wealth and the building of fine houses.  The wood used in finer bedsteads in America was generally mahogany."

I used a hemp beading board and straight pins to hold the pieces together while the tacky glue dried and of course a level to measure how straight my work was along the way.  First I put the four base pieces together.

Next I glued the two side rails and the end rail.

While the glue was setting I used a drill and the pattern provided to drill holes for the string that will later support the mattress.

Next I glued the two part corner posts and the block feet.  I also centered and glued the headboard to the frame.

Next I assembled the canopy frame.  There were two side pieces and four middle slats.  My two middle pieces are just a little off, but once the canopy is covered in fabric no one will notice.

Next I added the four corner posts.  This was by far the most difficult part.  I worked for a long time to get everything level.

Next I turned the bed upsidedown and glued the canopy frame on.  The above picture shows all of my progress so far.  My next step will be deciding what color stain to use.  Then of course stringing the bed and deciding on fabric for the bedding.

More updates coming soon!  Until then happy Wednesday everyone! :)