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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Framed Earring Holder/Display

Back before I discovered Pinterest, I found a cool way to store and display my earrings, but I can't remember the website.  Well, after I made the project I Googled it and there are tons of DIY tutorials out there.  And the super cool thing is - you can use all kinds of materials to make it.

Here's what I used:
animal fencing
heavy duty stapler and staples 
old wooden frame
wire cutters
spray paint

I have to confess I pilfered everything but the spray paint from my parents shed.  :O)  I used teal and metallic gold paint because I hope to, one day, use them as accent colors in my bedroom or bathroom.

Here is how it turned out:
(please ignore the ugly red paint, renters did that and it's a WHOLE different project.)


Here's a close-up of the wire, painted gold.


Here's where you can go to get inspiration and complete tutorials:

found here
found at Curiouser and Curiouser
IMG_1162
found at The Thing About Daisies

You can also use lace:
Photobucket
found here by Trey and Lucy

Or how about using plastic canvas?

found here by A Girl and a Glue Gun

And this one uses a decorator radiator grate?!
found here by IHeart Organizing
So, what odds and ends have you got laying around the house/garage/shed that you could use to make your very own, original earring holder?  Let me know!

Thanks for stopping by!

Natosha







Sunday, May 27, 2012

Pinterest Inspiration: Desk Tape Manicure

I finally tried the tape manicure I first saw here through Pinterest.  The Beauty Department created a cool plaid effect.  I started small, but it looks cool.  It took a little while, so when I do something more complicated I'll just do an accent nail on each hand.  Here's what mine looks like:



I used Wet n Wild nail polish and topcoat.  They were both the Fast Dry formula.  So far I am on day 2 and I have washed dishes several times and they are still looking good.  Click on the link above to see The Beauty Department's tutorial.

I hope you are having a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha


Friday, May 25, 2012

Five Find Friday - Procrastination Edition


Here are the five things I have been wasting my time on lately:

My favorite blog, Cake Wrecks.  For safety's sake don't be drinking hot coffee while reading (looking at) this blog.  And if you do, don't say I didn't warn you. (btw, this is not a recent find, just a favorite)

Cake Wrecks



I have been obsessed with this video by Goyte.  I have lost count of how many times I've watched it.  Sometimes I watch it 2 or 3 times in a row.  My husband is worried.  It's the melody, the words, the animation.  I'm obsessed.






ThinkGeek.com for lots of geeky goodness.


ThinkGeek

Apathy T-shirt



Doctor Who key chains
Editing photos at iPiccy.





And my #1 time waster right now:

Pinterest Logo 
Seriously, just click the picture and drink the kool-aid.

What are you wasting time on?  Share in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by,
~Natosha~


Thursday, May 24, 2012

Quality Time With My 2 1/2 Year Old

I have really been trying hard to spend quality time with my 2 1/2 year old son, Jax.  When I say "Quality", I mean actively doing something with him.  I scoured the internet for ideas and found some really neat things I want to try.

Over at Play At Home Mom LLC, she has a great post here for making Busy Boxes.
(All of these images belong to the site.)  Here are a few of the boxes:

Glue Box


Play-Doh Box

Cutting Box

Sticker Box

Another site for fun toddler activities is Toddler Toddler.  Here are some samples of what you can find there:

This game is SO simple, but my son loves it.
Send a hug in the mail.

I printed out some cute coloring pages over at NickJr.com just for toddlers.

Nick Jr.
Click on the above to go to the toddler page.

How about a scavenger hunt?

Alphabet scavenger hunt over at
I Am Momma-Hear Me Roar

I found a huge list of activities and projects on the blog Play Create Explore.  Here are a few (all images belong to Play Create Explore):

Colored Shaving Cream



Fly Swatter Painting!
Pretend cooking with real ingredients.
Googly eyes and magazines.
So, what are some of your favorite activities to do with your toddler?  Where do you get your ideas?  I would love for you to tell me in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by,

Natosha






 








Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Quick and Easy Apple Crisp

So, I had a bag of apples in my crisper drawer.  They had been in there for over a month and we kept forgetting they were in there.  I decided to get them out, cut them open and see if they had gone soft.  They hadn't!  Yay!  I pulled out my Kindle Fire (love that gadget!) and Googled low-fat apple crisp recipe.  After sifting through TONS of recipes, I decided to make up my own.  Yeah, dangerous, I know.  Here's what I came up with:

Filling
7 cups peeled apples, thinly sliced (if you want more fiber, by all means, leave the peeling on)
2 Tbs whole wheat flour
2 Tsp cinnamon (you can use allspice, clove, nutmeg, whatever you like)
1/3 cup sugar (or your favorite substitute)

Topping
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar (or your favorite substitute)
1 Tbs whole wheat flour
1/4 cup butter (or substitute), cut into small peices
1 Tsp cinnamon

For filling, mix flour, cinnamon and sugar; then toss with apple slices.  Put filling into a 2-quart baking dish.

For topping, mix dry ingredients; then cut butter into dry ingredients using a pastry blender, fork or two knives.

Sprinkle topping over apples and bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees.

This makes approximately 6 servings with 350 calories and 8.5 grams of fat.

It smelled SO good while it was cooking and was yummy.  I upped the fat content by making fresh whip cream using heavy cream, vanilla and a little bit of sugar.

Before topping is added.


With topping (forgot to get picture after it browned).

So, do you have a favorite apple crisp recipe?  Share it in the comments or if you make this recipe, let me know how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!



Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Six Things I Love {Late Spring Edition}

It is late Spring here in Arkansas (and we are actually having a Spring this year) and if all goes as planned I plan, it will not get mega-hot until the middle of Summer {read: July}.  As we are enjoying the beautiful weather and lack of mosquitos, I present 6 things I love inspired by our late Spring.


1.  The garden really showing off.



2.  Strappy cotton sundresses.



3.  Fireflies!



4. Tiger lilies in the ditches.



5.  Watching my son ride on the 4-wheeler with his Pop.



6.  Longer days with beautiful pink light.




What do you enjoy most about this time of year?  Is it specific to where you live?  Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by,
~Natosha~

Monday, May 21, 2012

Asian Lettuce Wraps

About a year ago I was watching FoodTV and there was a mention of Asian Lettuce Wraps and I had always wanted to try them, SO, I went to allrecipes.com and found this recipe that sounded good.  I made them for my hubby and they quickly became a favorite.  I later cooked them for my in-laws and they also loved them.  The recipe was submitted by Rachel Castro and you can find her recipe here.  The only modification I made was to use fresh ginger instead of the pickled and for heat I use Siracha (beware:  this stuff isn't tame).

Here is what I use:


Brown and drain your meat:


Cook onions thru Siracha:


Add the rest of your ingredients:


Grab a lettuce leaf, fill it with the mixture and yummy!





INGREDIENTS:
1 head Boston Bibb or Butter lettuce, leaves separated
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 tsp sesame oil

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Rinse and pat dry lettuce leaves.  Set aside.

2.  In a medium skillet, over high heat, brown ground beef in oil, stirring often and reducing heat if needed.  Drain and set aside to cool.

3.  Cook onion in the same pan, stirring often.  Once onions have softened, ass the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and Siracha.  Stir until combined.

4.  Stir in water chestnuts, green onions, sesame oil and cooked beef.  Continue cooking until the green onions just begin to wilt.

5.  Arrange lettuce leaves around the edge of a large platter and pile the meat mixture in the center.  To serve, place desired amount of meat mixture onto the lettuce leaf, wrap like a burrito and enjoy!
I like to serve these with rice or buckwheat soba noodles.  If I'm feeling industrious, I will also make a quick hot and sour soup.

This is a versatile recipe.  You can use just about any ground meat or a vegetarian crumble. You can adjust the heat level by using your favorite hot sauce, or leave it out.  I really suggest not leaving the water chestnuts out.  You really need the crunch they give the dish.  But the flavors are so good that if you happen to hate them, you won't lose anything flavor-wise by leaving them out.  Let me know if you try it and if you like it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Easy Yard Upgrade with Spray Paint

My mom recently gave her yard decor an upgrade with spray paint.  Besides looking instantly better, it's super quick and easy.  Just pick your item, grab your favorite color and spray.  Sorry I don't have any before pictures, because mom didn't tell me her plans.  But I think most of the items she painted were pretty weathered (rusting metal).  So, here's what she did:

Cute chair plant stand painted purple


Look what's sitting on it . . .

pretty

Now this is supposed to have a potted plant or flower sitting in it, but my mom is a little quirky (that's where I got it).

Yep, that's a bowling ball.

I should have taken this photo in the morning to get the pretty silver paint better.

Metallic Silver Sundial

I like that she painted the bird red:

Birdbath

Mom painted this birdcage white for me to use on my apartment balcony last Christmas.  Now it's hanging on her shepherd's hook.



Here it is at dusk:



And since I didn't get a night photo, here it is on the balcony at my old apartment last Christmas:


And the best for last, my beautiful momma:




What have you spray-painted lately?  Post a link in the comments - I would love to see.

Thanks for stopping by,

~Natosha~