How To: Pizza Rolls

A few weeks ago we were sitting on the patio, thinking what to make for dinner.  One thing led to another and we came up with an idea.  Let's take a pizza, roll it up, and cook it!  We figured we were total geniuses.  Well - a minute or so later on the internet, and it turns out that we are not the first to think of this.  The internet is bittersweet that way, but - I did get some tips that saved us a lot of trial & error pizza.  We were thinking roll it, bake it, slice it.  Instead, we sliced it, laid them down like cinnamon rolls, added cheese & baked them.  These are delicious, you've got to try them - but I warn you, you may eat more pizza than you normally would!  This is my first "full picture" tutorial, thought I'd give it go - perfect for pinning!  Here you go:

 

Not that pizza needed any sort of improvement at all, this is definitely a fun twist though.  We arranged them so the sides were touching, and this made for a super soft center roll.  Good luck deciding who gets that one, it's amazing!  I bet if you space them out evenly that each one would get nice crispy edges and soft centers.  We also added all kinds of stuff to ours, kale, broccoli, and more sauce & cheese!

Weird about the Dental floss, huh? I see why now. The pizza is so squishy that a knife would just flatten it out.  I took the floss, wrapped it under, then around the top like I'm about to tie a bow.  Instead of tying, just pull the floss past itself (like a loop) and it will slice clean.  I recommend doing it kind of fast, so the pizza doesn't see it coming and squish up on you.  Fishing line may work well too.  Now, all I had was mint floss.. and you'd think we'd taste mint, but there was no mint flavor at all... so fear not if you don't have unflavored floss!  Just slice away.  Oh, and be sure to lay out a bunch of fun dipping sauces - try it California style and dunk it in Ranch dressing.  Enjoy, this one is a new family favorite!

Let's keep in touch: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Email.   

 

   

Post a Comment

How To: Soda Can Flower Lights

I know the holidays aren't upon us just yet, but they are right around the corner.  Forgive me, I know some people go crazy when everyone gets all Christmas-ey before Thanksgiving, but this project requires some prep time! I promise not to go too "deck the halls" on you right now.  Plus, these can be used year round.  I've been saving this one to share for a bit.  I love Christmas lights, so much that I stock up on them every time I start to see them in the stores.  Because really, have you tried to buy a strand of simple white lights in July? You either can't find them, or they are 4X the price... Can someone just open up a year round Christmas light store?! I'd be there all the time, and I know I'm not alone. Who's with me?

Moving on.. Today's How-To uses a strand of white lights, some soda cans, and a die cut machine.  If you don't have a die cut machine, you could cut these out by hand, but please... use gloves!

Tutorial & Photo Source: Curbly

Aren't these adorable?  Not just for the holidays either, I'd use them year round. Especially on the patio. The use of the die cut machine in this was a real "Ah-ha!" moment for me.  I love aluminum cans, and all the lanterns you see using cans are adorable.  But the problem that stuck out was always the cutting of the cans.  Seemed not only tedious but dangerous - remember in the movie Twister, when they cut all those cans into little fans to lift the detector-thingys (technical term..haha) up into the twister? Yea. Their hands were seriously cut up, and that always stuck with me.  So that machine would be a huge shortcut. Worth the investment if you don't have one, they come in handy all the time.

To see the full tutorial on this, head over to Curbly, one of the most amazing DIY sites out there.  An interesting twist on this would be to paint the backside.  While spray painting light-weight aluminum flowers seems like a nightmare, let me suggest press and seal paper.  I came across this pointer recently, from the genius over at Cheltenhamroad.  Take whatever small thing you plan to paint, put it on your press and seal paper, then do as it sounds. Press, to seal, and that paper will hold onto the tiny items long enough for you to paint them without blowing them off the table.  I can't tell you how many times that tip would have helped me! He lays the directions out far better than I could, here.

In other news, we are officially homeowners, and we got our keys on Tuesday! It's so exciting, a little scary, but mostly exhilarating.  I'm really looking forward to all the projects we are about to tackle, and I can't wait to share them all with you.  I know there's a lot of sweat, blood & tears in the future, but it's all going to be worth it.  We have a ton of ideas, so here we go - wish us luck! Have a fantastic weekend!

Let's keep in touch: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Email.  

Post a Comment

Before & After: Beautiful Bamboo Fence #2

A while back I posted about my sister, Denise, and her boyfriend, Joey's fence they finished up.  You can see it here.  Well they didn't stop there, the two have been extremely busy pulling off yet another amazing backyard makeover, and their fence is the icing on the cake.  So nice actually, the company they purchased the bamboo from has entered their fence into their Project of the month contest. And for good reason! Check it out:

Pretty amazing right?! They did a great job.  That redwood frame looks gorgeous with the golden bamboo.  Perfect match, so warm! If you like this as much as I do, hop onto Cali Bamboo's contest gallery on Facebook and "like" their fence pictures to help them win. They deserve it!  I've watched them tackle this side yard from start to finish, and it has been a labor of love. They took an unused hillside covered in raspberries and turned it into an amazing summer patio.  A word of caution to those who love raspberries, do not plant them unless you get the thornless variety! Removing insanely overgrown raspberry vines is an absolute nightmare.  But that didn't stop them, they still did it, and it was worth it:

Luckily they took a lot of pictures of the process, and

Post a Comment

Wild Wedding Weekend

Hi Everyone! We are back! I don't know if I mentioned it, since I had so much to do to get ready - but last weekend we had not one but two weddings!  I haven't been to a wedding in years, so the fact that these both landed on the same weekend was a crazy coincidence.  Luckily we were able to make it to both, and celebrated the marriage of two couples, and great friends.  Saturday's wedding was in Sacramento (about 2.5 hour drive from us), and we had the foresight to go a day early.  I am SO happy we did that, we ended up sitting in about 4.5 hours worth of traffic, and if I had to rush to a wedding after that?  I don't think I would have stayed up as late as I did! Wedding #2 was closer to home, in Aptos, which is normally a fairly foggy place year round.  Luckily, it was a gorgeous 85 degree afternoon.  Perfect for an outdoor wedding. It was beach themed, and we were surrounded by beautiful Monterey Cypress trees on a lush green golf course. They chose a fantastic location and they did an amazing job creating this wedding. Congratulations Meghan & Adam!

I snapped a few photos throughout the trip to share, here was our hotel room in Sacramento:

Very modern - I love that so many hotels are going the studio-apartment route...

Post a Comment

How To: Bird Cage Chandelier

Bird cages are readily available. Garage sales, thrift shops, previous pets... have you thought of making them into a light? Some stores sell birdcage chandeliers already, but that will run you upwards of $200 - $800 (no joke!).... lighting can be intimidating but it really isn't that hard! Today I want to show you how I took my old bird cage (sorry lil finches..) and made it into a sunny chandelier.  Take a look:

I chose paper cranes for mine, but another really cute version would be the "mushroom birds" you see at craft stores:

In that photo, you can tell it wasn't originally a bird cage, but a lampshade that has wires vs. paper. I promise to make one of those next time, and I'll do a tutorial for you then. But for now! Let's begin:

Post a Comment