Painted Wooden Spoons

I gave these to my sister for Christmas!

To make your own:

Wrap painters tape around the part of the spoon that you do not want paint to be on. Then rub sandpaper on the portion of the spoon that you want painted. Once it has some texture to it, apply nontoxic paint to it. Remove the tape and...voila!

Heceta Lighthouse in Oregon

My hubby and I took a trip to the coast on Christmas. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and a shining sun. We took a new turn off and found this delightful trail that took us right up close to the Heceta Lighthouse. We've seen the ligthouse a lot from a different lookout but it was great getting up so close to it.

Christmas Scratch Off Cards

I've been sending out Christmas cards ever since I was a Junior in college. I just love them. I try to do something special every year...and I prefer them to be interactive. This year I got fixated on the idea of a scratch off Christmas card. One night, Nate and I brainstormed how to set it up and then I got to it! It took a long time but it was surprisingly easy.

To make your own scratch off: use white crayon to cover the words then paint over it with a mixture of 1 part dishsoap and two parts acrylic paint. That is it!

Woodcut Prints

 
My brother does word working so I had been thinking about getting him this book for quite some time. When I saw this tutorial, though, I knew that I wanted to make a set of woodcut prints for him for Christmas. Someday when I have the space and tools, I may do my own woodcut prints but for now this worked out great. I almost kept them for myself...

Invisible Bookshelves

My husband made me some invisible bookshelves for Christmas. I love them so much!

Easy Holiday Pretzel Buttons

I made these little pretzel buttons for my neighbors.  Head over here for the easy steps!

Merry Christmas!

A few glimpses at our Christmas...

Cookies!

Skyping with my family!

Stockings by the fire!

Christmas tree!

Dinosaur Nativity!

A Thawing Eugene

Crochet Chain Necklace

I saw this tutorial here and wanted to make my own so I watched this Learn How to Crochet Part 1 video. It is pretty cheesy but very effective! Thanks to the video, I'm now pretty good at the chain (since making this necklace) and am wondering if I'm brave enough to move on to Part 2.... 

A Snowy Day on Skinner's Butte

 

Oh Christmas Tree!

Christmas has officially arrived at our apartment! We went to a tree farm and cut down this Grand Fir over the weekend. When we were waiting to pay, the owner was telling me that it is her favorite type of tree because it smells like grapefruit...and she is so right! Our whole apartment smells like grapefruit now. Mmm!

NaNoWriMo Win!

I did it, folks! I wrote a 50,022 word novel in the month of November. 

And there was much rejoicing...

Happy (One Day Late) Thanksgiving!

My hubby and I made our first turkey yesterday--and it turned out delicious! It really felt like such an accomplishment. Now for turkey leftovers galore...

Delicious Escarole Soup with Turkey Meatballs

My sister-in-law threw this recipe in my general direction and I snatched it up. I honestly wasn't even sure what escarole was  but I thought I would give it a chance still since I'm always looking for easy, tasty soup recipes. I gave it a whirl and I am so glad I did!

Let's jump in, shall we?

For meatballs you need:

1.3 lb ground turkey breast
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley--chopped
1 large egg
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 tsp salt

Combine the ingredients and form small meatballs.

For soup you need:

8 cups broth
1/2 cup orzo
1 head chopped escarole
Sprinkle of pepper

In a large pot, bring broth to a boil on medium heat. Add the meatballs, escarole and orzo when it boils.  Add fresh pepper and cook for 10 minutes or until orzo is done.

Enjoy, eat up, and try not to fight over the leftovers.

Stumbled Upon Favorite Videos

Here are a few videos that have been distracting me as of late. 

The Record Breaker

A Volvo Commercial

Girl Power

Albuquerque Balloon Timelapse

Bob Dylan's Rolling Stone Music Video

History of English

Don't Stop Lovin Me

Enjoy!

Pom Pom Flowers

My sister in law sent me this adorable vase for my birthday and I've been itching to make some little pom pom flowers to put in. I finally got around to it today and am so happy with the results. I used this pom pom tutorial and then used hot glue to attach the sticks.

Easy Turkey Meatloaf

So I was totally that weird kid that listed meatloaf as their favorite food for years. Kinda weird, right? I loved it! And I still do. I haven't had meatloaf in a really long time so I got super excited when I saw this recipe. I gave it a try tonight and...delicious!

Does meatloaf ever photograph well?

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine:
1/4 Cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Ketchup
2 Teaspoon Mustard
1 Teaspoon Soy Sauce

Saute on low until translucent:
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
1/2 Small Onion, Chopped

In a medium bowl, mix:
Cooked, Chopped Onions
1.3 lb 99% Lean Ground Turkey
1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs (Seasoned flavored)
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Marjoram
A Pinch of Salt

Once mixed, pat mixture into a loaf pan. Spoon sauce on top. Bake for 55-60 minutes and let cool for five minutes. 

Enjoy!

National Novel Writing Month

Have all of you heard of NaNoWriMo? I happened to find out about it on October 31 this year...just in time to jump in head first on November 1. During the month of November, nearly 300,000 people are trying to write a 50,000 word novel. So far I have just over 16,000 words done...not even half way yet. It is a bit overhwelming to think of writing 34,000 more words this month but I'm trying to take it one day at a time. It has been such a great kick in the butt for me to get writing which is something I've been wanting to do for years!

Knit Headband

I love knitting headbands and I love wearing headbands. 

It really works out quite well for me...

Banana Bread Oatmeal Bake

Over the weekend, I found myself hungry with almost nothing in our cupboards. (I find that this occasionally happens when you grocery shop by bike only...) I saw this recipe over here and somehow had all of the ingredients!  So I whipped up a pan and devoured it. Delicious!

What you need:

2 cups old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Here is what you do:

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8x8 pan.

Combine and mix all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk in the eggs and then mix in the remaining ingredients.  Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and stir. Once mixed thoroughly, pour into the 8x8 pan. 

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until set.

Enjoy!

Eugene's Weather Halloween Costume

The one thing I am guaranteed to remember about Eugene, Oregon is its weather. Rain, rain, and more rain. I thought for Halloween I would embrace the rain and become an Oregon rain cloud. I went a little further and added some rainbow socks, a yellow shirt for some sunshine, and a teeny tiny lightning bolt on my headband.

I thought it was ironic that it rained on me as I was biking to a Halloween party....

 And now for a close up on that smiling lightning bolt...

Happy Halloween!

This is one of my favorite costumes from several years ago--a carrot to my college roommate's rabbit! Looks pretty scary doesn't it?! Anyways, I hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!

Bicycle Love

I've been commuting by bike for over a year now. In honor of this, I thought I'd spread the bicycle love. Enjoy these bicycle themed links!

Life is All About Balance Print

3144 Bicycle Sculpture by Ai Weiwei

Cute bicycle shirt.

Turn signals!  Brilliant.

Bicycle pint glasses...love all those colors.

I'm intrigued by this lock holder...could be pretty handy if it worked well.

How to Ride a Bicycle print

I want this bicycle scarf.

Such a lovely print.

I like this photograph.

And this one, too.

Bicycle fabric

Bike planter! Awesome.

I would love to have a chalktrail.

Biking and reading? Hmm...sounds dangerous but delightful.

A Rainy Day at Silver Creek Falls