Dinner for Two

My husband and I are in an on-the-go season of life. With him in his final semester of college, on top of 3 jobs and a list of music gigs and then myself working a full 40 hour week, we just don't always have time for long drawn out dinner plans. Last night I decided to cut out some after-work plans and head home to make a nice tasty dinner. I had some things to do, so catering to my need for multi-tasking, I opted for a baked dinner as this allowed for a 45 minute break in between preparing and eating! I decided on baked ranch chicken, zucchini, baked potatoes and a nice mint lemonade.

Here's how I made it:

The very first thing I did was grab my favorite recipe book of all time, "Mom's Recipes". This stapled, printer-paper-paged book has traveled every where with me and has made a lot of hungry people very happy. Now that that was taken care of, I gathered all the ingredients needed. Keep in mind, this recipe is for 8 people, so calculate as needed for your dinner party/family meal. For the Chicken, gather a packet of ranch salad dressing mix, 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, 3/4 crushed cornflakes, 1/2 cup butter and 8 skinless/boneless chicken breast halves. For the potatoes, gather aluminum foil, potato of your choice (1 per person) and any extra seasonings you desire. For the zucchini, gather a zucchini (1 per 2 people) and some olive oil.

I started with the potato as it needs to be in the oven for 1 hour at 350 F. I washed and diced each potato. I then tore a piece of foil and placed the potato pieces in the foil. I added a little slab of butter and some seasonings. I usually like to chop onion and add it to the potato, but this time I just added onion seasoning. I also added some salt, pepper and garlic powder. Wrap the foil completely around the potato and put it in the oven.

Next, I prepared the chicken. First I mixed together the crushed cornflakes, cheese and ranch dressing powder. Then in a separate bowl, I melted the butter. I then took each chicken breast and dipped it in the butter completely covering the surface. Then I dipped the buttery chicken into the dry mixture, making sure the entire piece of chicken has seasoning covering it. I then placed it into a shallow dish. After all the chicken is in the dish I add a tiny bit of water, carefully pouring around the pieces. You can grease the dish instead of adding water if you wish. Place it in the oven for 45 minutes also at 350 F. This leaves just about the right time for the two dishes to be done at the same time. (In the photo below, I used egg, but butter has a much better taste in my opinion!)

Finally, I cleaned and cut one zucchini in which I then placed into a skillet and cooked with olive oil and seasonings. I keep the temperature low and if the skillet becomes dry during cooking, I add a bit of water.

I remember as a kid I would love to try and make my own recipes. Looking back, though my dad was 100% drama free, you'd think he wasn't with the way he could act, leading me to believe my concoctions were actually tasty. I'd like to think since then, I've developed my mom's knack for cooking from scratch and so I put together a tasty minty-lemonade. I simply took lemonade mix (though fresh lemons would be even better) and added some mint leaves. I allowed it to brew for a bit and then added some orange slices for extra flavor. I then let it sit and cool in the fridge until dinner.

And this was the end result!

I think my husband felt so loved from this meal that he made dessert; ice cream & waffles! (Trick - We freeze any left over waffles that we make from scratch to use for this very occasion!) Enjoy!

Pretty Peach & The Winner

Congratulations to Vivien Welch from New Zealand for winning the Fabric Necklace from last Thursday's entry! Thank you to everyone for participating in this contest! I hope to do more contests in the future!

Just for Fun, check out last week's Fashion For Friday from Light Gives Heat!

Have a great weekend!

Feather Extension

About a week ago, my husband, a friend and I were in Denver for a concert. While we were there, we made a stop at The Three Little Birds Salon to get a fun little feather extension. 

It had been my birthday the week before, so I decided to splurge a little. For $25, I choose one extension filled with one purple, a white and two gray feathers. It was all very fun! The technique this salon uses is unique to them and allows for the extension to last forever, or until your hair grows out. In my case, it could be years before my feathers fell out! Conveniently,  you are able to curl, straighten, wash or blow dry the feathers! Then, when you are tired of the look, you are able to get the extension taken out.

Of course my mind was scheming the entire time, trying to figure out how to do this at home. I eventually figured it out thanks to a random lady I met up on the slopes and some much needed improvising!

Here is how to create temporary feather extension at home:

Step one: Gather supplies! You will need a clamp. If you do not have a proper extension clamp, no sweat, grab a flat-nose jewelry pliers or even the pliers your father may use for fishing! It all works the same. You will also need a crimp bead of some sort. I found crimp beads at Michaels for about 2 dollars. (Note: the bigger ones you can find the better) Then grab some feathers of your choice and a piece of string or floss!

Step Two: Pick out a small grouping of hair and wrap a piece of thread around the hair. This will be your make-shift needle to thred the hair through the crimp bead. Once the hair is threaded through the bead, shift the bead to the root of your hair.

Step Three: Pick out your feathers and place the quill into the crimp bead.

Step Four: Using the pliers, clamp down on the crimp bead. Trim the quill if needed. (To take out, use the pliers to clamp the opposite direction, loosening the bead.)

Here are examples of just a handful of my friends who also have feather extensions!   

 

Meet Jessa & Megan!

 

That's it! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions!

Oh, and remember that by becoming a follower of my new blog, you have a chance to win the necklace from this past Thursday's entry! I'll announce the winner on Friday!

Fun & Easy Pizza

Last night my husband and I were hungry for pizza. I wanted something that tasted better than the inexpensive, $5 Little Caesar's pizza but cheaper than a Papa John's pizza. For Coloradan pizza, A.K.A. - non-New York style, one too many artichokes & other interesting toppings pizza, Papa's is my fav. However nothing beat's good ole Mack 'N Manco's on Ocean City's boardwalk! My sisters (well my entire family actually) have my back on that one.

So, I drove a block to Albertson's - Albertson's because we are playing their Monopoly game right now and are one piece away from a new Macbook pro. Anyway, details anyone? But really, I went to Albertson's and found a pizza crust mix for $1.69, pizza sauce for about a dollar, grabbed some mozzerella cheese, a pineapple (that I wanted for lunch anyway) and some sliced ham.

I prepared the dough as directed and while it sat for 5 minutes, I cut up some pineapple chunks and ham pieces. Once the dough was ready, I added some olive oil to the pan and rolled out the dough into a flat pizza-shaped circle (ish). I added a bit more olive oil, then sauce, pineapples, ham, oregano and finally the yummy yummy cheese. I placed it into the oven for 15 minutes and wal-ah, delicious pizza in under 30 minutes!

I will also add that this makes for a great get-together project.  Whether it's with your kids or your friends, this can be fun for all. Simply prepare and set out your toppings in little bowls, roll out little mini pizza crusts on a cookie sheet and allow each person to customize their own personal pizza.

Enjoy!

Glasson's makes Scarves to Support

There is a country that has a special place in my heart and that country is New Zealand! I receive weekly emails from one of my favorite NZ clothing stores, Glassons. Seriously, their fleece jackets are so awesome, I've had my Kiwi friend, Viv, ship me a few...twice!! This was the ad I received today!

The recent earthquake in NZ has left a lot of people in need of some help due to this devastation and this is Glasson's approach to aid! I love this! It's creative! It's warm & community focused! Whenever anyone asks me about my experience with the people of New Zealand, it's an easy answer: warm, hospitable and totally fun. So, I suppose this response of support shouldn't surprise me.

Good on ya, Glassons! If they accept mail-in crocheted scarves - count me in! Maybe even Dustin will make one - he is, as they described, a male who is not afraid to show his sensitive side.

To read more about Glasson's Knitting Project, Go here!

Fabric Necklaces

Juicy Couture makes this Convertible Chain Link necklace below retailing for $78 online!

I really like the look but not the price. So, somewhere between my dad's thrifty-ness and my mom making a lot of her own home decor, I've learned why buy when you can make! I figured out all the materials I would need and set to work! I found some awesome fabric at a local fabric store for only 50 cents! I recommend going to the sale bins where you can find scraps for super cheap. Then I grabbed my collection of buttons and beads, which I have been adding to for years now. My boss gave me a few Suubi beads and all I needed yet was a scissors and something to poke the fabric through the beads.

I made two necklaces and had a friend make a third! We would simply braid, knot, bead, knot, braid, something random, braid, knot, bead, etc. You can be as creative as you want and no two necklaces are alike. Total savings from this project: $77.75! Each necklace cost a total of about 25 cents, not to mention it is customized to my style and color preference!

Win this necklace! Become a follower of my blog by March 24th and be entered in for a chance to win this necklace!

Origami & Paper Walls

In January, I was put in charge of creatively marketing a new collection of Suubi necklaces/bracelets. The jewelry color theme was red, white and blue, so I started by cruising lookbooks, photos, magazines and stores to gather inspiration for the photo shoot.

 

This was my inspiration taken from browsing lookbook.nu. It's not exactly Suubi's style but I liked the concept, so I brainstormed a bit by building a small 3D model out of a box, fishing line, tape and printer paper. This led me to think more about paper and the use of it in the photo shoot. After talking to Megan, (Megan and I make-up the creative team for all photo shoots) we came up with origami cranes! 

 

 

They are not hard to learn how to make and if there is a demand, I can write a blog about how to make them.  Anyway, Megan and I split up the work load and combined made 50 cranes! We then went to Cabela's and bought more fishing line to hang each crane from the ceiling. 

 

Megan andI

We didn't stop there, Megan crafted an awesome backdrop made of old book pages. Side note: next home Dustin and I live in, I want to use this idea to create an accent wall! End side note. We purchased the old books at Goodwill for a few dollars and then ripped them apart and used modge podge to attach the pages to a board we purchased for $10 at Home Depot.

Fast forward through finding a model, compiling clothes to compliment the collection, setting a shoot date, Megan photographing, me dressing and posing our model and Megan editing each photo, this is the final result!

 

To see the full look book or to purchase go here!

Sheer Sweetness

Free People's Go Together Well Maxi Dress (March Catalog)

I really like the sheer look that is in this season. It can be done dis-tastefully, but it can also be worn very modestly. If done right, in my opinion, this look sends off a very pretty, soft and warm look. (Also if the colors are right) I  have a semi-sheer dress from H&M that I bought for a wedding back in January. My trick for wearing sheer was wearing full length leggings underneath my nylons. The dress only showed it's sheerness around my upper thighs, so while the nylons left the shimmer, the leggings covered my legs and bum. Now that it is almost spring, the leggings/tights combo may be too warm, so you'll notice that this model covers up by wearing an extra long white shirt. If you are more of a modest dresser like myself, this alternative keeps you stylish without having to compromise the look.

Spring Colors

 If I could redecorate my family room right now, I would definitely use a lot of green! I don't know if it is because I am so excited for green grass and the spring to finally be here or if I just simply love the color right now. Either way, if I can't redecorate, I'm incorporating it into my clothes, and if I can't buy new clothes right now, I'm at least putting together fantasy outfits that do!

This is the outfit I put together for Light Gives Heat's Fashion for Friday this past weekend! I love love love this green dress. It is a newer dress from Free People. I matched it with the green Antique bracelet from the Suubi line and a mixture of brown & tan colored accessories. You might notice that I love matching colors. As a kid I remember having very specific fashion rules that my mom taught me. I was never to mix black with navy blue, gold with silver or wear white shoes before Memorial day or after Labor Day. But, is it just me, or have those rules been thrown out the window? Does anyone follow those rules anymore? That I am not sure, but whether or not it is followed now, it still has left a mark on my fashion style.

Free People's March Look Book

 

On the other end of the spectrum, Blush Pink is another great color for the spring. My sisters and mom just sent me a new H&M cardigan in this color. Let's just say, I have a new go-to cardi! Once the warm weather is in full swing and it's time for some spring bargain shopping, this is a color I will be sure to look for.

Great Outfit from Free People

Paper Trees

Yesterday I spent the day helping out Moving On Movie's art director, Austin Blasingame and his awesome sidekick (and my friend) Zina Lahr. I was put on the project of crafting a tree, yup a tree! It will be used in this incredible scene full of beautiful watercolors and 3D imagery. Here are some photos of the process.

Zina building some other props for the Scene

Austin at work

The first layer of paper over the wire structure

The branch-less Tree

The Final Tree Pre-Watercolor

Zina helping craft the last part of the tree

Me fixing the branches

It was encouraging to spend the day surrounded by such creativity, which inevitable means, I now have some new ideas for future projects.

Spring's Look for Shoes

This spring there will be no shortage of wedges & clogs. Here are some examples I found off of some of my favorite stores to 'window' shop in.

Anthropologie's Lemon Stick Wedges

Free People's Congo Perforated Wedge

Gap's Design Edition Peep-Toe Wedge Bootie

Steve Madden's Turnpyke Sandal

Though there are a few variations of the clog for spring, the majority of what you will find are 3+ inches of solid heel. It's a go big or go home sort of look.

With Spring within my grasp, I have been wanting to go out searching for a pair of my own. Luckily for me, my sister in law suggested we head over to Ross! I wasn't about to say no to a perfectly good suggestion and since I hadn't purchased any new shoes for almost a year, I figured it was okay to at least look. Well, it's Ross and of course they had just the right pair for me.

This is what I found: originally priced at about $50, paid under $20! 

Now, if the saved $30 dollars will be put in the bank or spent on doctor bills from a broken ankle, we will just have to see, but I'm excited to at least try them out!