Notes to Self

A few years ago I started a tradition I'd been meaning to start for ever.. but somehow kept forgetting. I always thought it would be neat to write a letter to my future self, from my current self, which would then become my past self.  I probably seem crazy, but I think finding notes, letters & mementos from moments past is really fun (Remember the messages in a bottle?) and New Year's is the perfect chance to write a new letter, and read last years letter.  I think this would be really fun tradition for families, & the kids can get in on it too. It can be your lil' New Years Eve tradition.

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Now, sadly (or not so sad?), I can type WAY faster than I can write, so I'm opting out of the handwritten note to myself, & moving to the e-mail. Sign of the times, right?  Plus - with a nifty little gmail add-on called Boomerang, you can write an e-mail & schedule it to send to yourself a year later.

So what do you write to yourself? Oh you know.. like you're writing an old friend.  Fill yourself in on what's new, what's goin' on... what are your goals & plans for next year, little reminders to yourself like  "Jeez, are you EVER going to visit Japan?" .  Grab a cup of coffee and ramble on, and a year from now, you'll be really, really entertained.  Plus, you can get pretty personal since it's from you to you, ya know?

Seriously I do this type of stuff all the time.  I opened up the Christmas decorations this year, and there was a note in there saying "Hey Jesse... so last year you forgot to stock up on white Christmas lights that you can use on the patio in Summer, and I'll bet you $20 you're going to forget this year too. Prove me wrong!"... haha... nerd alert!

So, while it might seem weird at first, I think it's really cool to see how far you've come from last year - in your own words, from yourself.   Happy New Year everyone, I'm very excited & optimistic about 2014!

-Jesse

P.S. totally NOT sponsored by Boomerang in-case you were wondering. I just really use the heck out of that thing.

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Mele Kalikimaka

The holidays get pretty busy, so not too many projects around these parts.  I've been bouncing around from string orders, to gift shopping, to prepping (& cleaning up!) parties... this has been one packed month. So with about 24 hours to spare, here's my virtual Christmas Card, my Happy Holidays to you - and while I'm not actually in Hawaii... it was for some reason the first thing on my mind today.  Which made for an appropriate Christmas collage:

Ah... wouldn't that be nice?  Merry Christmas Everyone! Enjoy your time with family & friends, and think about all the great memories you've made this year. Cheers!

-Jesse

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Thanksgiving Food: Stuffins!

Happy Thanksgiving Week!  It's already here & I'm starving. This year we're going over to my Grandma's, where we'll have a huge group getting together.  I've been assigned stuffing, and I immediately thought of all the recipes I've seen for Stuffing Muffins. Which, for some reason, no one calls "Stuffins" - so, I guess I will.

If you're looking for a different way to serve stuffing this year, try these out! I've had them before and they are delicious, plus so easy to serve.  I found this Apple & Onion Stuffing recipe on the Food Network, from Rachel Ray & comes complete with video.  But of course, I figured I'd search around other blogs to see what real people did & how it all worked out.   Here's some varieties I found, that ALL look delightful:

• Cooking on the Side: Herb Stuffing Muffins
• A Cozy Kitchen: Pancetta & Sage Stuffing
• Young & Entertaining: Stuffing Muffins

It doesn't seem like rocket science really, but there are some tips to getting your stuffins to have crispy outsides so they don't fall apart, while maintaining a soft interior.   If you're in a hurry and don't want to click around, let me just embed this video for you (sorry email readers, vids might not show up in your inbox)

With that, I have to go face the crowds in the grocery stores & get my shopping done. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving & if you're not hosting, drive safe! Oh - here's one more recipe idea for the holiday, last year I was really into this Gnocchi & Butternut Squash with Sage recipe. It's amazing...

     -Jesse

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Red White & Blue Salad

We've been trying to cut down on the carb intake these past few months (mainly pasta, rice & bread), and by cut down I mean we pretty much don't eat them.  We'll cheat on the weekends, or if someone has us for dinner, but at home? None. I love carbs, of course - it's just that it became a slippery slope.  What was once a healthy portion of pasta on our plate soon became the two of us splitting a family size bag of egg noodles..smothered in amazing sauce and topped with a loaf of bread. oops.   I'm exaggerating (barely) but it IS time for a little reality check.

So when we go to a BBQ I try to bring something non-carby.  I'm totally going to mow down on the carbs tomorrow fyi, don't you worry, I'm just figuring there would be plenty of pastas, breads, etc. Mmm.. I can't wait! So here's what I'm planning for tomorrow, I think it will be delicious. Perfect blend of sweet to savory:

Source

I thought of it last night, trying to figure out a fun & fresh salad to bring.  This morning I browsed Pinterest for ideas to see if others had done it, and sure enough, roughly one million people had also thought Red Strawberries, White Feta, and Blueberries would be adorable and delicious for fourth of July. Glad I'm on the right track....

But as Pinterest tends to go, almost NONE of the links actually went anywhere they should (biggest pet peeve about Pinterest) but I figured, this is the simplest thing in the world, we don't need a recipe, right? Photos say it all.

Here's my plan, toss these things in a bowl (layering might be cute, in a clear bowl...):

• Mixed Greens, maybe some fresh basil
• Sliced Strawberries (abundant out here right now!)
• Blueberries
• Feta or Crumbled goat, whatever's fresh at the store.
• Candied pecans or walnuts (might keep this on the side to sprinkle, never know who's allergic)
• Balsamic Vinaigrette (might home make, might buy.... )

That's it. One thing I've learned is to BRING the dressing on the SIDE because salads love to get soggy while they wait to be eaten.  Before serve time just toss a little in the salad and coat everything (I mean a LITTLE).  Then leave the dressing out for people to add if they wish.

Here's another idea (with absolutely no link...) and if I had a star cookie cutter on hand, I'd probably do it, it's so easy and cheesy I love it:

So that's probably what I'm going to make. But who knows, sometimes I get to the store and things change directions completely. I'll probably end up coming home and making twice baked potatoes, topped with garlic bread.. and artichoke dip..... haha.  Or tortellini, I've been craving the tortellinis.. 

Happy Fourth of July everyone, have a fantastic holiday & be safe! Fireworks be crazy.

-Jesse

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Party Time: Cake Stands & High Rise Snacking

This weekend we are having a little birthday party for Ralph's 30th, and when we started planning the food I immediately thought of these cupcake stands.  Not that we are serving thousands of cupcakes or anything, but taking food serving to the next level {pun!} is always helpful when you're running low on countertop real estate.  The bittersweet moment here, is that I already gave away about 5 of these that I had made before, but never used - so during the move I decided to ditch 'em.  And now I need them! That's always the way.  Luckily, they are so easy & affordable to make, that you could make them & gift them every single time you have a party and never really feel the effects in your wallet.  Look how simple these are, and if you're like me, you'll wonder "why didn't I think of this before?"

That's pretty much it.  Easy. The only trick is to make sure to use a strong epoxy or silicone that will bond glass to glass {I use E-6000} That's it. Really. Plus it's almost New Year's, serve up your snackers in style, right? It's so easy.

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A Fresh Start

Good Morning! It's the final week before Christmas, can you believe that? I haven't done a thing, and that's fine.  We have our tree, which was surprising enough, but it has yet to be decorated.  It has lights, but the ornaments haven't made their way to the tree, yet.  And you know what? I like it.  Eh, we have a few days, right? Last week was so crazy, quite a few things didn't get done, and I didn't have time to write - sorry! 

Do you ever have those days or weeks where you just try to do everything and then some? Man, that was last week for me.  I felt like I had a million things I wanted to do, and I was running around trying to do them all - which leads to not much getting done, or at least not very well.  So this week I'm starting fresh, and taking the advice of one of the greatest fortune cookies ever: Live in the moment.  That couldn't have come at a more perfect time, what with the holidays, and our move.. I'm getting ahead of myself, & setting unrealistic expectations.  So this week will start with a deep breath, a fresh start, and a big cup of coffee. 

Ok - no more whining.  Even though we haven't decked our halls, doesn't mean I haven't thought about what we would be doing to bring in the holiday spirit.  In the past year or so, I've gradually fallen deeply in love with the whole midcentury style, so I pulled up a few ideas for a midcentury holiday, and found some really cool ideas..

Not sure if I could make the switch from a live tree to an aluminum one, but this one looks so interesting, it's worth a try some year.  Put a colorful spotlight on there...  Here's a fireplace that we have actually been scouring eBay to find, I would love one of these in our place:

I love paper, and I love projects, these mid-century style ornaments are easy, and so cute:

Of course, they are from Design*Sponge...head there for a full tutorial. 

So anyway, how are you all doing, ready for the holidays?  What are your mantras that get you through the busy times?  Enjoy the season, live in the moment, and Happy Holidays everyone!

      -Jesse

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How To: DIY Crystals for Winter Decor

OK - first & foremost, this new house & move has been keeping us extremely busy!  I apologize for my lack of posts, but you know what?  We have the internet again! That means I'm back to posting regularly.  After last weeks storm, with our fun floods & septic alarms, our lack of cell phone service and internet, seeing that Google logo pop up on the lappy was a huge breath of fresh air!  You don't realize how much you need the net til it's gone... I swear it's as essential as electricity.  Or I'm just dramatic... whatevs.

Since December seemed to sneak in while I wasn't looking,  I was reminded that I wanted to share this awesome winter decor DIY I spied over at Kara Paslay Designs - man, she is constantly coming up with amazing projects!

I love these! They are so different than your usual holiday and winter decorations.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some sleigh bells & Christmas trees, but these you could easily leave up until spring and it won't look weird.  They remind me of that Ice Princess from Candyland, I bet her place would be floor to ceiling in crystals like this.  I can't stand that game however, I had to play it daily for years when I worked in childcare - over it! Anyway, guess what these cuties are made of? Straws. Yep. Straws. She's done it again - hop over to Kara Paslay's blog for the full scoop.  Hey, wouldn't a little LED lighting look great under there? Hmm..

I have 3 million things to tend to today, but believe me when I say that my intentions were to fill you in on all the little repairs & improvements we've been doing in just the last few days. It's amazing how such little things can be so satisfying, I'll assemble a list & share soon, because if you haven't done them to your place -  you should.  Who knew a motion sensor light would bring us such joy?  For now though, check out these amazing yellow leaves off our deck:

Gorgeous, right? Only drawback - once those hit the driveway (which is sort of steep) & soak up the rain, you quickly get nature's version of a slip n' slide. Look out! Have a fantastic weekend everyone, fill it with soup, fireplaces & coziness... see ya Monday!

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Oh, the "Pin It" button is working again.... bonus points!

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