February Wrap-Up

Since today is the last day of February I am going to do my end of the month wrap-up.  Today is also my step-dad, Andy's birthday, and I want to wish him a very special Happy Birthday!  I couldn't dream up a better step-dad!  

Today is also Thirsty Thursday, so since I'm not sharing a new recipe I'll tell you which drink was my fave from this month.  I really enjoyed my version of a Strawberry Daiquiri.  Though the Ginger Berry was the most popular.

You always need good food with a yummy drink, so I'll share my favorite recipe from Nom Nom Monday.  Honestly I loved all of them a lot.  I plan on revisiting all of the recipes from this month again, but if I had to pick a new one I'd pick the Chicken Divan.  

My favorite DIY from this month is the Wooden Skewer Wreath I made with some skewers and hot glue.  I love the way it looks.  I might be fond of this project, because I simple sat down and made this, with no research, or pins off of Pinterest, or some other blog's tutorial.  Recently when I've tried that technique the end result isn't so great, but this one turned out perfect.

I know I only shared this gardening project the other day, but I'm totally diggin' the Desert Terrariums I whipped together.  

I had a few other posts this month, but these were my fave.  I wasn't too impressed with my posts this month.  I'll have to try harder this month.  Well that was my February, bring it on March, chris!

January Wrap-Up

Before February gets ahead of me I'd like to review January, and share my favorite posts from the previous month.  I'll start off with my favorite DIY.  I dig on this Outlet Cover Make-over everyday.  It's in my main living space, and every time I'm passing it I'm pleased with how well the pattern blends with the wall. 

My Nom Nom Mondays featured a couple recipes that focused on chocolate, and a couple that were loaded up with pasta and cheese.  My two great loves when it comes to food, so it was hard picking a favorite.  Though with Valentine's Day right around the corner I'm going to pick the Chocolate Cake for Two.  Such a decadent dessert to share with your sweetie this holiday.  

For my Thirsty Thursday's Series I will pick two one alcoholic pick, and a kid friendly drink.  For those who are of age this Adult Coffee Soda is fantastic.  I might be making another one tonight it was so yummy.  For the teetotaler's I have a delicious Chocolate Banana Smoothie.

At my house we've had spring on the mind, which means a lot of garden planning.  We are trying out a new (to us) technique for Starting Our Seedlings in empty milk jugs.  Though the days that followed our first planting have been brutally cold.  So I'm excited/nervous for our seedlings, I hope they germinate, and grow up strong and healthy!

I only shared two outfit posts for January, but it was still hard to pick a favorite.  Since I'm wearing the same pants in the post today, I'm going with this Colorful Textured Layering outfit, though the other outfit was awesome too.  

This Pink and Teal Nail tutorial has been getting a lot of attention.  

In my personal life I celebrated a ton of birthday's this past month.  Happy Birthday to all those who enjoyed another year of life!  Though we also had to mourn the loss of our family dog, Scruffy.  He lived a long happy life of 16 years.  

And that was our January!  Hope you enjoyed, and here's to an awesome February!  

December Wrap-Up

Holy Cow another month passed!!! Today I'm going to review December's posts.

I was fairly busy in the DIY department.  One of my favorite projects was this DIY Advent Calendar.  I had a few other holiday themed DIYs, such as some Hand Painted Dough Ornaments, my Christmas Present Front Door, the Magazine Christmas Tree Make-over, A Single Christmas Card, and Three Christmas Cards, plus some Christmas Nail Art!  

I also had my one year anniversary for the blog on the fourteenth.  To celebrate I did a review on my most popular post Homemade Mod Podge vs. Real Mod Podge.

For Nom Nom Monday's I cooked Stuffed Chicken in Bacon Coats, an All American Monday Night Dinner, Cookies, Cookies, and More Cookies!, and a Mug Coffee Cake.  My favorite recipe was the Pork with a Brie and Blue Cheese Sauce.  So yummy, it makes my mouth salivate.  I need to buy some pork, brie, and blue cheese! Though both chicken meals were close contenders.  I've made the All American Dinner three times, and the ingredients for another version of Stuffed Chicken in Bacon Coats is in the 'fridge.  

My favorite Thirsty Thursday recipe for December was the Mexican Hot Chocolate.  The peanut butter twist was decadent.  I've also made a Hot Apple Cider Toddy, Hot Buttered Rum, and Hot Milk Punch for this month.  I throughly enjoyed them all, but I really took to the Hot Milk Punch as well as the hot chocolate.  

I didn't post too many outfit posts, but I enjoyed the pictures we took Christmas Tree Shopping.  I only posted two other outfits my Christmas Party Outfit, and an outfit comprised of Farmer's Market and ModCloth pieces.  

Of course Christmas also happened in December, and I had a birthday which I got a new cat for!  Her name is Winter, and she is about 2 and a half years old.  The cat was definitely much needed, and we are so happy to have a new animal in our lives.  

That was my December!  I'm thinking I should pick some favorites of the year, and do a similar type of wrap-up for 2012.  We'll see what the weekend brings, have a lovely end to your week, and happy DIYing, chris!!!

September Wrap-up

I'm going to skip Nom Nom Monday today, because it's October first, and do my monthly wrap-up for September!  Wow, another month gone in a flash.  I'm certain I say that every month though.  Since I'm skipping cooking, I figured I should start with my Nom Nom Mondays from the last month.  I ate the last little bowl full of my homemade Con Queso for dinner, and it's still dang good.  That was definitely my favorite recipe this month.

Though the Sopapilla dessert was tasty, and made a fantastic breakfast on the go as well.  The Peanut Butter Doggie Biscuits were fun to make, and it's a super bonus that the dog extra enjoys them as well.  The Artic Ants on a Log are a simple, but filling snack.  

For Thirsty Thursdays I mostly made Tequila drinks this month.  Aaron bought us a bottle of Herradura Tequila, which is a great blanco super smooth liquor.  It's really not needed to mix with anything, but when making cocktails with tequila this is a brilliant choice.  I made a Pineapple Mint, and a Lemon Watermelon tequila cocktail.  My favorite was my new version of a Tequila Sunrise, below on the right.  I also enjoyed the non-alcoholic Orange Julius that I made up, below on the left.  

I've been doing a good job keeping up with my DIYs.  I wrote two posts on making over bad canvases into something useful, Part I and Part II.  I've been working on making some outdoor Halloween decorations, and I started off with a two part Homemade Tombstones Part I, and Part II.  I really enjoyed putting together a care package for my brother in Haiti.  I started off by giving a Brown Box Make-over, and then making him a Manly Card.  

I also really liked my DIY facial mask.  I want to make another one this week!

I started and ended the month with two nails dos.  I think I like the yellow and white nails better than yesterday's fall paint job.  

I only managed to sneak in two outfit posts.  I like my coral jumper, but I like the casual outfit pictures better.  

I've had a lot going on this past month.  We went to a lovely wedding in D.C. for Aaron's cousin's wedding.  

I've been super busy with packing my crafts to be moved, and packing for our Vermont trip, for our friends' wedding.  

My favorite post from this month was my post on positivity, self confidence, and yoga.  

Wow I still have to do some laundry, so that's all for today.  Happy Monday, and happy DIYing, chris!

August Wrap-Up

Another month gone by.  Summer is nearly done now, and fall is approaching.  A couple days ago I could sense autumn in the air.  It was dusk, and there were leaves blowing around on the street, and kids were playing on the corner.  There was an urgency to their play, knowing that soon enough it will be too cold and dark out after school to play outside.  Usually when I start getting the beginning-of-the-school-year-jitters there is a crispiness to the air around dusk, but not this year.  The days are still in the nineties, and we are luck to get a bit of relief in the high seventies in the evenings.  The humidity is high, and the mosquitoes are biting.  

Today I'm interrupting my weekly This Is Me with my August Wrap-Up.  I've managed to fit four more This Is Mes into this month, #9, #10, #11, and #12.  I think the twelfth one is my favorite from this month.  I pinned this drawing of mine from that posting, and whenever I see it I'm impressed.  I know that must sound tremendously cocky, but I'm rarely overly proud of anything I create.  So when I am please with something I've made I want to scream about it from the roof tops.  I'm super picky, and I always try to be my toughest critic.  

I've been busy with DIYs this month!  Which I'm super happy about.  I'm loving the Tri-colored Braided T-shirt Bracelet I made this month the most, but my Bleach Dip-Dyed Tank Top, and my wide upcycled Fabric Bracelet are tied for a close second.  I also made cute tiny Button Earrings, a Hair Bowtie made with ribbon, and I started getting ready for Halloween with some paper Black Rats.  

You can also check out one of my other bleach dip-dyed creation in this Outfit Post.  Which also happens to be be the only outfit post I made this month!  

Though I did share two hair-do photos, my favorite being my summer look, the Braided Crown.  I also showed how keeping your hair in a messy bun during the day can result in lush Voluminous Locks for the evening.  

I also shared two cute nail-dos in August.  My Pink Polka Dot do wins hands down, but my Sun Kissed Nails are delightful too.  

Aaron and I traveled up to New York for our buddy Derick's (unisex) Bachelor Party.  We had an awesome time with live music, good food, great friends, and fun ShotSkis!

Speaking of drinking, I've whipped up five new drink recipes this month!  I've been drinking a nonalcoholic version of my End of Summer Cocktail since the first night I mixed that refreshing drink up.  I've made a couple different white rum cocktails this month, a Cherry Rum drink, and a Kiwi & Cherries Cocktail.  I also made two sweet chocolatey milkshakes, a Peanut Butter Nutella Snicker Smoothie, and a Buckeyes Coffee Milkshake.  

Mmm Peanut Butter ... I'm still day dreaming of the Peanut Butter Pie I made near the beginning of August.  Is it too soon to make again?  I've also whipped up a couple zucchini recipes, Sautéed Zucchini, and Parmesan Zucchini Chips with a Creamy Caesar Dressing.  Another snack recipe I came up with was a Cheesy Pretzel Apple Snack.  

In addition to all these lovely things I've posted, and working (nearly) full time, I've been working every chance I get on our house.  Things are finally coming together.  Most of the downstairs is painted, and we've refinished our hardwood floors.  They are looking beautiful all aglow.  I can't wait to move in already!

So that's what I spent my August working on!  I'm excited for this new season, and all the changes it will bring.  What is your proudest creation from August?  Are you ready for Autumn?  Happy DIYing, chris!  

July Wrap-Up

I know I say this every month, but I can't believe it's the end of July!  This has been a super busy month.  I started it off with a nice overnight trip to Long Beach Island to visit my college buddy, Mamie, and her family, and new roommate, Hannah.  I had a ton of fun with them, and it was a great way to start this hectic month.  

On the ninth (which also happens to be my sister-in-law's birthday, Happy Birthday Michelle!) Aaron and I became homeowners!  Yay us!

We've been super busy working on the house.  It needs a ton of work, and the list is never ending.  So far the kitchen is the closest to livable.  

My DIY projects have been hyper focused on getting the house ready, so the only crafty thing I did this month was stamp my handmade calendar for June and July.  They came out super cute.  I need to think about what's happening in August, and get that together!  

I've been most happy with my Thirsty Thursday series this month.  So many yummy fruity creations!  I'm having a hard time picking a favorite.  It's a tie between the Plum Kiwi Pineapple Cocktail and the Tropical Creamsicle.  They are both good in a fruity way, but for completely different reasons.  

I've also continued on with my self-indulgent series, This Is Me.  I like that this series gives me back a bit of my weekends, while still pushing me to think creatively.  I want to think about making more  imaginative self portraits in the future.  

We also celebrated my brother, Chris' engagement.  We went out to dinner with his fiance, Jamie's family and got to know them.  We had a lovely time!  They are awesome people.  I wore this cute little number to the fabulous Half Moon, where we wine & dined.  

I've loved everything I've cooked for Nom Nom Monday, but my favorite this month is my Fresh Tomato & Bell Pepper Pasta Salad.  It could be because I grew the tomatoes, peppers, and basil in it.  Or because I had it for dinner last night, and I also ate it for lunch, AND as an after-work snack.  I definitely liked this dish.  :)  

Speaking of our garden, haven't these little paper pulp seedlings come a long way?  Look at one of our many fruitful harvests! Just as yummy as it looks.  

I hope you had a good July too, and happy DIYing, chris!