Marble Magnets

Last week was my beautiful friend Sommer's birthday.  Sommer is summer—warm, fun, cheery…she's like a burst of sunshine and the kind of person that makes you happy just to be around.  Check out her blog, Creative Produce, and you'll see how cute she is!  Just try not to drool on on your keyboard over those cake balls.  She's super talented and one of the most creative people I know, and I knew she would appreciate a handmade gift.

Since Sommer and the beach go together like summer and the beach, the theme was an easy pick, and I made her a set of pretty magnets with a vintage surf vibe.  The idea for these magnets has been around for a while but they're so easy and fun to make, it's definitely worth sharing again.  I found this tutorial several years ago on not martha and I've made a few sets already.  I always love how they turn out!

All you need are some flat glass marbles, magnets, Mod Podge, glue and assorted pictures, papers, or fabrics or whatever you want to use.  I went online to find some vintage-style surf and beach images.  I found tons.  I even found one that says "Seaside Bakery," which is perfect because she loves to bake!  It's too bad I couldn't fit the part that said "Best Buns on the Beach!"  I went to this digital scrapbooking site, Shabby Princess, that offers full kits you can download for free.  The kits come with patterned papers, embellishments, alphabets and all kinds of digital goodies.  There was so much to play with, I could have easily made 30 magnets.  But who really needs 30 magnets?  It was tough to do, but I narrowed it down to 12 so she wouldn't be opening the gift secretly thinking, "Cute but…who really needs 30 magnets?"  I resized my favorites to fit the marbles and cut out little squares.

These little squares make me happy, I don't know why—they're like mini Polaroid art or something.  I glued the squares to the backs of the marbles using Mod Podge and let them dry overnight.  Once they were dry, I trimmed closely around the edges and used Aleen's craft glue to attach a magnet to the back of each one.

I like to package them in metal tins, 'cuz hi, they're magnetic.  I found this one at Michael's and dressed up in a beachy bow.  Isn't it cute??

I hope you like your magnets, Sommer!  Happy Surf-day, I mean Burf-day!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Memorial Day weekend... the unofficial start of Summer, and what more American way to spend it than at a Yankees game?  For my Hero's birthday, we planned a vacation to New York and I surprised him with tickets to the game.  It was awesome!  I was going to just stick the tickets in his birthday card, but I thought it would be more special if I made him one instead.

I went online and found all kinds of images to use.  The Life photo archive is a great resource for every kind of historical photo you can think of.

The photo of the field on the inside of the card is actually the view from the seats we'd be in!  I got it from the Yankees site.  Of course, this guy wasn't there the day they took that picture...

This guy must have been the biggest Yankees fan I've ever seen...literally!  Seriously, look at his friend next to him, normal size dude, and there's GIANT man.  Thank God he moved finally.

I wish I would have been able to take some pictures of the new stadium, but we got delayed on the train (good old LIRR) and we didn't get there till the 3rd inning, so we didn't get to walk around too much.  We had a great time though, and I got to eat the best pretzel I might have ever had.  I can't tell you how thrilled we were just to be home in NY, and to be there with the Yankees on his birthday??  Awesomeness.

Five Senses Friday

) hearing (
To the Sea, new Jack Johnson.  From the Clouds is instant happiness.

) feeling (
The difference between New York hot and Florida hot.

) tasting (
Chicken calypso with Island Peas and Rice (I wish I took a picture of it!), and Carvel cake for dessert.

) smelling (
Sweet Pea Body Splash I totally forgot I had.

) seeing (
This quote, from two separate friends on the same day (think someone's trying to tell me something?)
"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything." ~Win Borden

Five Senses Friday

I was inspired by this idea on one of my favorite blogs, Pink of Perfection (and also on Domestic Foolery, Abby Try Again and lots of others).  I generally have a tough time remembering to "be present."  Whether I'm making mental to-do lists, walking down memory lane, or distracted with games on my iPhone, my mind is usually elsewhere while I go about my business.  I think this is a sweet and gentle way to practice being more connected to the moment, and to appreciate the details that make life beautiful. 

Savored moments from my week...

) smelling ( 
Freshly opened vanilla nut coffee, at 10:00 on a Friday night.  I never do this.

) hearing ( 
Three Days Grace cover of Wicked Game

) tasting ( 
Homemade fritelle - flat, panfried dough, kind of like pita with a hole in the middle. (How is this the first time my dad's ever made these for me??)

) feeling ( 
Thrilled and grateful that a small gesture brought a lot of joy to a special friend of mine. 

) seeing ( 
Some awesome pictures by an old friend, who I had no idea was a photographer.

Summer Kickoff

The start of summer always reminds me of carefree days and lazy afternoons.  Endless weekends spent at the beach with a cooler, a sheet, good friends, and maybe a guitar.  It didn't require a big, complicated plan or a lot of money, and it didn't really matter if it was Wednesday or Saturday; we were just living for fun and freedom.  Wouldn't it be nice if we could still look forward to summer break every year?  We work hard, we deserve it!  Maybe I'll suggest it on Obama's facebook.

Sometimes it's tricky to find opportunities to be spontaneous like that, as busy as we all are between work schedules, softball games, or just the daily obligations of life.   But if you're like us, and you're lucky enough to have neighbors who make great friends, it doesn't take much to turn a plain-old Saturday into a good-old, carefree summer day.  Instead of spending the day sitting in our respective houses "doing nothing," we decided we should throw a barbecue together at a nearby park.  (You knew food was coming, right?  When a bunch of Italians find themselves with nothing to do, they cook!  And usually enough for an army.)

It was as easy as it gets; we basically used what we were going to make for dinner anyway.  They had ribs and chicken in the fridge, and we had steaks.  She made a killer potato salad, and I made one of my favorite pastas from Martha's Everyday Food (the first ever issue, now falling apart and speckled with oil—the sign of a well-loved cookbook).  It's not really a pasta salad, but I think it's just as good served cool, and I never pass up the chance to make it.  Super easy.

I love it when things just come together like that.  It was an awesome way to spend an afternoon and a nice change of pace from the regular routine.  Crystal Light and vodka was the bomb-diggity, too.  No, really.  Amazingly good, in a reeally dangerous way.

Tomato and olive penne

Salt and pepper
1 pound penne or other short pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2/3 pound cherry tomatoes (2 cups), halved or quartered
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the penne according to package instructions until al dente, about 13 minutes. Drain.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until just golden, about 1 minute. Add the cherry tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring, until tomato juices run, about 3 minutes.

3.  Add to penne, along with olives, parsley, and 1/4 cup parmesan and toss to combine. Serve with more cheese if desired.

YUM!

A Tea Party

We went to my parents' house last weekend so my Hero could be their hero and set up their surround sound.  I personally think it's hilarious that my parents even have surround sound, but whatever; I just hope they don't find the one button out of 2700 that will cause the surround sound to stop working and then press every button to fix it before they call us for tech support.  Oh wait, that already happened.  But I digress.

While we were over there, my mom (who happens to be the best mom on the planet :) ) found these:

They're from my play kitchen when I was little!  How cool is she for saving these for, what, 25 years?  (Ok, could I feel any older right now?) {Sigh} My dad's a chef, so my mom wanted all my play kitchen stuff to look real, because that's just how cool she is.  Would you check out those strainer spoons, how CUTE are those??

I have all the flatware and even tiny cookie cutters. 

I was so excited about these that I showed them to my neighbor and she totally flipped over them.  She told me that her little girls have a whole tea set made out of real china, but they don't get to play with it much because, well, it's made out of real china.  Within 90 seconds we were completely inspired to throw a surprise tea party.  We'd make little finger sadwiches with itty bitty bread and the girls could bake tiny desserts in their Easy Bake ovens to bring to the party!  Can I be seven again?

Valentine's Day was the perfect occasion but it was only a week away so I didn't have a lot of time or a lot of money.  Believe me, if I did I would have been seriously dangerous!  I did decide to make invitations so the girls would feel like the party was really special.  They loved them!  I even got a handmade card back from the Princess that said I was "so so so so so so so so cool" for inviting her to a tea party, before we even had the tea party.  Isn't she sweet? 

I made favors with some wedding bubbles I found at Dollar Tree, 9 for $1, and dressed them up with rhinestone hearts and pink tissue paper.  I even found doilies that were the perfect size for mini placemats.

I searched the house for things I could use and came up with THE perfect thing for a tiny cake.  I think this was my favorite part of the whole party.  I keep this dish on my nightstand to put my jewelry in at night.  And is it not perfect for this beautiful cake?  I can hardly contain myself with its cuteness!

I had to put a real sized fork in the picture just so you could tell how small it is. Adorable!!  But wait, look at this table....

Do you see those teeny sandwiches?  They have teeny tomato slices on them!  A tower of heart-shaped marshmalllows, pink rose petals, it doesn't get more girly than this.  The girls were in heaven! 

It was such a special party and they loved every minute of it.  I think they'll remember it for a long time!

Easy-cheesy Superbowl Snacks

We had no plans for Superbowl Sunday, so my Hero invited our neighbors to stop by.  Totally impromptu, last minute thing, and we had such a great time!  I really couldn't have asked for a better night.  I was thrilled to death that they enjoyed the food so much, because it was so simple and everything could be done ahead of time.  We had a pretty standard-type spread but since it was only the four of us and their kids we kept it simple; we put out bunch of cold cuts ("lunch meat," for the southerners) for a do-it-yourself sandwich bar, cocktail shrimp, and I made six-layer dip and chili.  They flipped over the dip and the chili, and I'm telling you they're both so easy, I almost felt like I cheated.  I shared the recipes with her, and now I'll share them with you.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take any pictures of the food until it was half gone.  Sorry!  Next time.


6-layer Dip (seven if you like guacamole*)
My aunt taught me how to throw this one together in two minutes.  Okay, ten.

Ingredients
1 can refried beans
1 c. sour cream
1/2 packet taco seasoning
salsa
small can of chopped or sliced black olives
green onions, chopped
shredded four cheese mexican blend, or whatever cheese you prefer

Directions 
Spread refried beans onto a platter. 
Add 1/2 packet taco seasoning to sour cream and mix well.  Spread over beans.
Create a layer with each of the remaining ingredients.

Done!  Just make sure you have plenty of tortilla chips, cuz this stuff will go fast!

*I've never made mine with guacamole, I guess you can add that before the sour cream layer? I don't think it matters too much where it goes :)


Now, I hope I don't offend any "real deal" chili makers out there with this recipe, but everyone who's tried it loves it.  Even I was never a huge chili fan, but this stuff is good!  The recipe came, believe it or not, from a Marlboro Cookbook of 50 Winning Chili Recipes.  I'm not recommending that anyone start smoking, but I do strongly suggest you try this chili!


Lazy Man's Chili Soup with Beans
by Bart Edwards, Athens, OH

Ingredients
2 lbs. ground beef
1 package ranch dip mix
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can (10 oz.) tomatoes & green chilies (mild), drained
2 cans (14.5 oz./ea.) tomatoes with onions
1 can (12 oz.) chili beans
1 can (11 oz.) golden, whole kernel corn, drained
1 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce
1 package (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 package (8 oz.) sour cream
1 bag corn chips

Directions
Brown the ground beef in a large pot.  Drain the beef and return it to the pot.  Add the ranch mix, taco seasoning, drained tomatoes and chilies, tomatoes with onions, drained chili beans, drained corn and Tabasco sauce to the pot with the beef.  Cover and cook on medium to medium-low heat for 35 minutes*, stirring occasionally.  Remove pot from heat and spoon into individual serving bowls.  Add 1-2 oz. of cheddar cheese and 1/2 -1 Tbsp. sour cream.  Serve with corn chips.  Serves 8-10.

*Just a note from personal experience: the chili is a little soupy after the recommended 35 minutes, so if you want it thicker, just cook it longer.


Oh yeah, and the football game?  What a great game!!  Not that anyone has any less respect for Indianapolis, but what a great story for New Orleans huh?  First time to the Superbowl and they win!  I love watching history be made.  Congratulations Saints!!