Pinterest Tuesday: gift wrap edition

It seems like everyone on Pinterest is thinking about wrapping their Christmas presents already. I've seen pins about color coding wrapping paper, photo labels, and using materials other than paper and a handful of others I'll keep in my back pocket. This weekend I tried my hand at a gift bow. It's a bit sloppy, but fun. I also used a fold in the gift wrap to make a card pocket. Clever!

This wrapping paper was $.99 at Ikea, and they carry several other bright colors and a few prints.

Pinterest Tuesday: pumpkin spice fudge edition

This is a winning recipe for sure! Thanks to my sister, who makes some of the best fudge I've ever had, for finding such a yummy pin!

I love fall flavors, and this rich treat doesn't disappoint. It's so so so delicious. I followed the online instructions perfectly when it came to ingredients and quantities. I even measured my vanilla, and I habitually interpret a teaspoon of vanilla to mean a splash.

The timing was a bit more tricky. I don't have a candy thermometer, so I had to interpret 234 ~ 243 degrees to mean really hot. The mixture did start to thicken, which was a good clue... the recipe also says it takes about half an hour. As a precaution I made one small container to taste test before taking the rest of the batch to share. I've taken incredibly soft set fudge to events before, and while it's delicious, it's a mess and a bit embarrassing. Fortunately this time it turned out perfectly, and our small sampler is going quickly!

Pinterest Tuesday: fall food edition

This weekend I was excited to try out a few fall recipes. I know it's still a little early in the season, but with a storm blowing through and temperatures dropping, it felt right.

The first was for meat loaf muffins, which appealed to me as a concept. I'm not a usual meatloaf maker. It's not something I ate much of growing up. Ground beef was on sale at Safeway and supposedly these little loafs bake in 15 minutes. I was sold.


Unfortunately, it didn't really work out. I don't know if the problem was the recipe I used or what, but my mini meatloafs epitomized the bad stereotype. They were dry and tasteless and ultimately inedible. I'm not even sure how to fix them for next time, so I won't make them again unless someone can recommend a fail-proof recipe for me to try.

The crock pot apple sauce I tried was everything I hoped for. The slow cook method left our apartment smelling of delicious fall spices, and warm apple sauce served with ice cream makes for a great treat.

I reviewed the recipe linked to the pin, and decided to go with my own. I added the peeled and cored apples (10 small), about half a cup of water, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and a splash of lemon juice to the slow cooker. They spent about two hours on high before I added spices. I used a teaspoon of cinnamon and dashes of nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. I was tempted to use fresh ginger root because I had some on hand and love the kick it gives the apples, but decided to stick with the McCormick variety this time. After one more hour in the crock pot, I stirred enough to mash some of the apples, but left the mix pretty chunky. I like chunky applesauce, but I would have blended it had Atlas not been asleep for the night (and prone to night-time wakefulness).

Pinterest Tuesday: crochet edition

I started following someone's crochet board on Pinterest, and while I haven't repinned many images (in part because I can't decide to put them on my "sew" or my "craft" board) I was inspired to try my hand at some crochet flowers. I used the bulk cheap yarn I had sitting around, but maybe if I get a little better with some practice I'll buy some nicer stuff in more colors to decorate some fall hats and scarves.

Pinterest Tuesday: easy summer dessert edition

Last week we took a trip out to a farm to pick our own fruit. The Mackintosh Fruit Farm was charming and affordable and completely deserted on a Monday afternoon. We picked honey crisp apples and yellow peaches, and we bought tomatoes, corn, and zucchini from the garden.

The fruit we left with weighed more than Atlas.

Over the course of the week I made apple sauce and an apple pie, but I didn't have a good idea for what to make with the peaches. They are delicious as they are, but I wasn't confident we would get through all of them before they start going bad. So I actually searched Pinterest for "peach dessert" and found inspiration from this pin of peach flambe.

I actually made my version before reading the instructional (I wish I had read it for the safety tips if nothing else, but it probably doesn't matter as much on my electric range as on their grill). A friend of mine made this dessert when we were in high school, and I felt qualified to attempt it having watched him (over ten years ago). Anyway, I used 2 T butter and 2 T brown sugar and melted them together on medium heat. I added a large sliced peach and cooked until it was tender.

Next time I would add another peach even though the one we used was large.

I added a generous splash of raspberry rum (the only real berries I had were frozen, so I decided to skip them).

Next time I will add more. It will be more likely to light!

With Patrick's help we turned out lights and prepared to light the concoction and take fantastic pictures. It didn't light. We tried and tried and finally decided to just let the alcohol simmer off. I added a pinch of cinnamon and served it up over vanilla ice cream. Delicious!

This is a Patrick-sized serving.

Pinterest Tuesday: catching up edition

I am hoping to attempt one project inspired by a Pinterest idea each weekend and post the results on Tuesdays. I'll post Pin-wins (projects I think are successful) as well as Pinstrocities (of the less successful variety).

The first few are projects I completed over the last several months, but starting next week I'll try to keep everything current. Here goes...

Based on a pin of this dry erase calendar, I used a frame we already had with scrapbook paper to make this weekly calendar. Patrick and I share google calendars and keep most of our schedule organized there, but sometimes it helps to actually write it out and have it visually available in our home.

This pin of a kitchen tea wreath seemed like the perfect way to add color to our otherwise boring kitchen and display our tea collection for guests. We later determined most of our selection is loose leaf and difficult to put on the wreath, but it's still pretty. I used cardboard from a box and wrapping paper from World Market.

 

This pin showing fabric wall paper covering a door was my inspiration for putting up some fabric on our walls. I tested a small piece in the back corner of a small closet to make sure there would be no lasting damage to our (rented) walls, and went for it. I chose a fairly dark print to contrast our otherwise white walls and light carpet. I love the way it adds a coziness to our decor.