Weekend Inspiration: Valentine's Day!

I shamelessly love Valentine's Day. Yeah I know all the arguments: blah blah commercialism, blah blah single, blah blah shouldn't need an excuse for chocolate. STEP OFF ME. I love it anyway. Why? Because making people feel loved is something I feel like we should all be doing all the time anyway regardless of relationship status or day of the year. Usually my love is expressed in the form of food, more specifically sugar. I promise I will reach beyond the norm and find other ideas for this Valentine's themed weekend inspiration.

Make your own Conversation Candy hearts. You know, so they can say things that make sense instead of sounding like a creepy middle schooler wrote them.

Glitter sidewalk chalk! If you don't want this, I don't understand you.

I made these mini heart pies last year for the people in my office. They were so much fun to make and everyone loved them.

Knitted Heart Valentines. Because we knitters have so much love to give.

This pretty paper heart garland could easily be up all year round.

  

Who knew homemade crayons could make such a beautiful Valentine gift? As a (pseudo) adult, I would be thrilled to get this from anyone.

We're all a little more lovable when we're caffeinated.

A sweet, healthy touch to any Valentine's cocktail, heart shaped ice cubes made with pomegranate seeds.

What are your plans for Valentine's Day? A big trend seems to be staying in this year. As a shameless homebody I fully support this idea. Whatever you do, and whomever you choose to spend it with, I hope it's a day full of love (and sugar).

Sheila

Oh 2013...

This Christmas in Ohio, someone pulled out a box of old family pictures. We all sat on the floor and sifted through the faded images, laughing at the hair and clothes, reminiscing about the ones who were no longer there to share the moment. That cardboard box held 70 years of memories inside. 70 years that went by far too quickly if my short 24 years so far are any indication. 

With my Sister on the family Christmas card. 1992, maybe?

Is it just me, or does 2014 sound like an unrealistic year? Shouldn't we have hover cars and robots by now? Isn't that what everyone expected of the future? And now that future is here. We may not have hover cars, but we have phones that require zero cords or cables plus they can do just about anything you may need at any time. Are you lost? NOPE. Have a song stuck in your head that you can't wait to hear? NOPE. Bored? NOPE. Are you wishing you remembered your camera to take a nice picture of events unfolding? NOPE NOPE. It's cellular magic.

Now that 2013 is just about over, I've become nostalgic just like the rest of humanity. For starters, this little blog was born in 2013! I have loved coming up with fun things to share, "meeting" new creatively inspiring people of blogland, and (perhaps most importantly) had a great project to keep me out of trouble! In the coming months, I plan to overhaul the archive sections so it will be much easier to find past projects or just browse. I also plan to go back to a regular posting schedule and stop tricking everyone. Slowly but surely, good things are coming this way.

Also in 2013, I finished my term as an AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader and moved to Greenville, SC to start working at what just might be the most perfect job I could have asked for. I love the city, I love the work and the people. I'm excited to have more than just a year in this place after so many short stays!

There were some slightly less good things about 2013 as well. I had a lot of lingering worries and emotional struggles after my accident in 2012 that I had been trying to ignore. Once I acknowledged the effect it was having on my life and my happiness, I could begin the process of addressing it. Life is short and uncertain; why should I spend it worrying about things beyond my control?

I don't have any resolutions for the New Year yet. I was trying to think of some to list but they all seemed so forced. What are your resolutions? Maybe I'll steal some of your ideas :)

Happy New Year!

Sheila

Merry Christmas Eve! (Last minute Ideas)

It's snowing! IT'S SNOWING!

Not in Greenville, but in Ohio where I am right now with family. I can smell the delicious dishes being prepared in the kitchen while Gram's big dog snores in front of me comfortably on the carpet. I'm still rocking pjs and slippers. In short, it's the perfect way to start Christmas Eve day. But I realized there are so many projects I'd been working on that never got posted in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. If you're looking for a few last minute details, one of these ideas might be just the trick. Most take very little time and use things that are probably around your house anyway.

1. Christmas Cookies



Here's a few of my favorite recipes:
Molasses Spice Cookies
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2. Handmade Ornaments



Cinnamon-Applesauce Ornaments (I used the extras of these to make a garland)
Salt Dough Ornaments (these would be cute as gift tags too)

3. Felt Table Runner



You will Need:
Felt long enough to hang over the edge of your table and about 12" wide
Puffy paint
Ribbon
glitter (optional)

Tie the ends of the felt on each side of the table and use your puffy to draw on details like snowflakes. I accidentally got glitter all over it since I used glitter ribbon and ended up liking it better. Also, since I used remnants my felt wasn't quite long enough to hang over the edges so I sewed an extra 18" on either end. That means there's a seam at the edge of the table which at first I didn't like but that's grown on me as well. Basically, it's impossible to mess this up.

Whatever you've made, or not made, bought or not bought, eaten or not eaten, I hope it's all part of the magic that make your Christmas a happy and bright one filled with love and happiness :) More important than any of it is enjoying the time with family and friends. I'm off to go help Gram make corn flake cookies!

Sheila

Weekend Inspiration: Thanksgiving Leftovers

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? I had 2 Thanksgiving dinners so I could pretty much roll back to SC. That said, both were amazing. I think everyone can agree that one of the best parts of the holiday, aside from the time with family and the general happiness, is the leftovers for days if not weeks to come! This weekend inspiration is meant to help you find some fun new ideas to use those leftovers.

Use a bunch of your leftovers to make these delicious sliders to enjoy during the next big game.

Turkey lasagna: finally something that's a healthier alternative than the norm as opposed to everything else made at Thanksgiving. I'm looking at you, green bean casserole. There's actually a few recipes on this cite for leftovers I'm curious to try.



In the spirit of Thanksgivukkah, how about some mashed potato latkes?

Used some leftover cranberry sauce to make yourself a celebratory margarita. You earned it ;)

I'm curious to try these empanadas made with leftovers. The idea of making them with pastry dough sounds ah-maz-ing.

And from our own kitchen so far we've made:
1. Turkey noodle soup
2. Turkey wrap with spinach
3. Turkey tetrazzini

The soup and tetrazzini are staples of the Mettetal kitchen. It just wouldn't be thanksgiving time without them!

Already made plans for your leftovers? Or (like me) are you still too full to even think about eating again in the near future? I'd love to know!

Sheila