Friendsgiving!

This year I planned Friendsgiving with my dear friend Jessica. She was gracious enough to host it at her apartment and we spent so much time making it perfect. I am so thankful for all my friends. Everything that I go through, I know I will always have at least one of my friends by my side. I have a really hard time expressing how I feel towards people but they really do mean the world to me. I am probably the happiest girl I know, because of my friends and my boyfriend. 

Jessica and I decided early on that we wanted to have a gold theme. We shopped at places like party city, craft warehouse and dollar tree. After Halloween, places have a lot of their decorations on sale. She also went out and found pine cones and leaves that she let sit out and dry before spray painting them gold. After spray painting the leaves, she wrote on them with peoples names as their place cards. It was beautifully done.

I spent a majority of an evening trying to make the perfect Friendsgiving sign. Jessica had bought a burlap table runner on clearance at home depot so I cut triangles out of them. She had old curtain samples that I made into letters and we found fake leaves at craft warehouse that I hot glue gunned onto the burlap. The string is actually a fall themed garland that I unraveled.

My centerpiece I made was from an old mason jar I had sitting around. I glued a burlap ribbon around it and through in some pine cones, fake jewels, and acorns to hold the fake flowers that I found at dollar tree up. It turned out to be perfect.

The serving table and the drink table where very easy. We took an old sheets and blankets that Jessica had and turned them into table clothes. We used the gold pine cones and fake leaves as decorations. She also spray painted a fake pumpkin and gourds gold.

Setting up the dinning table was our favorite part. We had gold square plates, gold napkins, gold cups and perfectly placed utensils. We loved that table!

Candle holders where made from old beer bottles
 that got wrapped in twine or spray painted gold.

Overall, it was a perfect evening with the most perfect people. They are who I am truly thankful for and happy to have in my life. 

LOVE

This is a lot different than my other posts. I had to write a paper about love for school and I really enjoyed what I wrote. I thought that maybe it could be good advice for someone younger than me. I wish eighteen year old Kristen knew more about the word love.

Love. A word that most people grow up hearing. You hear it from so many different outlets that it almost doesn’t seem like it has a true meaning. I love my mom. I get sad when I think about not having my mom. That is something I was just born to feel. There was never a moment where I had to think about it. I grew up feeling that way and it doesn’t even make me blink when I think about it.

People use the word love to describe how they feel towards intangible people or inanimate objects. Everyone at some point has said “I love my phone” or “I love that celebrity.” You cannot possibly really love those things. You like them. You might even like them a lot but you do not love them. It demeans the meaning of love when it is used as an adjective. I think the most important thing to remember is that love should be a verb and not an adjective.

I started dating my first really serious boyfriend when I was seventeen. We told each other we loved one another a week into the relationship. That was not love. That was blind infatuation. I let how much I liked him take over how I really felt inside. I am still not even sure when I actually fell in love with him or if I ever even did. I will never know because we used the love word before it was how we felt.

Now that I’m older, I see love differently. I’ve had my heartbroken. It wasn’t until just recently when I felt like it was completely healed again. I don’t know if I’m just more cautious of my heart or if I changed my mind completely about love, but I almost don’t believe in the word love. I would prefer to hear “I care about you so much, I want the best for you in life and I can imagine a future with you” then just hear someone tell me they love me. Maybe it is because I used to mindlessly say “I love you” or “I love it” so much, that now it has no deeper meaning. I wish I could have explained that to a younger me.

 

My Top 3 Favorite Things to Have at a Party!

I have had this blog for a little over a year now. I don't post as much as I would like but you can thank the crazy year that I've had for that. For once, I feel like my life is slowing down and I am at a place where I just feel constantly happy and content. I want to go back to that cooking all the time and house smelling like baked goods, girl that I was. I have new inspiration in life and I am determined to be the person I want to be.

For the past three summers, I've had one big game night with friends. I love games so much and any chance for me to plan a party just makes me happy. So, I got a group of friends to come over and it actually turned out to be a really special night for me. I always have a ton of food at my parties and make sure to make one special punch. This time, I did all three of my favorite party foods. 

The party food.

1) Strawberry Cookies

The last time I made cupcakes.

I've always made a good strawberry cupcake. They are my favorite kind of cupcake to make because it always turns out so moist. There is nothing quite like a moist cupcake. I've had it in my mind that cupcakes and cake are not the best at a smaller get together. They tend to be a lot messier and people aren't as comfortable eating them in front of people that they are just meeting. A cookie is the perfect solution to that. So, I thought what better way to make a cookie than turn my strawberry cupcakes into cookies. I tried my original recipe except with less liquids and more powders. It did not turn out like I wanted it to. Then, I tried this recipe and they turned out amazing. You can not just eat one cookie. They were moist and not crumbly at all. A perfect type of homemade cookie.

Recipe:

1 box strawberry cake mix (I used Pillsbury)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional:

1 cup chocolate chips (I used white chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350F. 

In a large bowl mix together the cake mix and baking powder. Set that bowl aside. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and oil. Add that mixture to the first bowl. Stir together until all the pockets of cake mix are gone. Add the chocolate chips in once completely mixed.

Make rounded balls of the dough and place them on the greased cookie sheet. A tip that I always remember when rolling cookies is to make the ball taller instead of wider. Personally, I think that makes for a better rounded cookie. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes. 

2) Punch

My mom made this punch for a family birthday party one year. A quick warning, don't drink too much of it. It hits you hard. 

Recipe:

1 bottle of vodka

3 cans of a light beer

2 cans of pink or raspberry lemonade concentrate

Mix them together and serve over ice.

3) Mini Wonton Tacos

Recipe:

Package of Wonton Wrappers

1lb Ground Beef

Taco Seasoning

Re-fried Beans

Cheese

Olives

Make taco meat as you normally would with the ground beef and taco seasoning. After that is cooked, add the beans to the meat and mix them together. 

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a cupcake pan, add a wonton wrapper to each cupcake part. Add a little more than a spoonful of meat mixture to each wrapper. Then, add the cheese and olives. You can add any sort of toppings to this dish really. I keep it simple to meet everyones taste. 

Cook for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. 

                                      

DIY Earring Holder

DIY Earring Holder

I have been searching for an earring holder for quite some time now. Nothing ever really caught my eye. My mom bought one from the Saturday Market but it was $25. That just seemed a little too pricey from me. After walking around the craft store for a few hours, my mom and I, came up with an idea. The total amount for my project was about 10 dollars.

What you need:

8x10 Picture Frame $5.99 (Any size picture frame will actually work. I got mine on clearance at Michael's.)

Plastic Canvas $0.59 (Used for yarn crafts. Check yarn section at craft store. They carry a lot of colors.)

1 1/3 yards of ribbon. $2.66 (At Jo-Ann Fabrics, they have yarn sold by the yard. This ribbon was 1.99 a yard.)

Tacky Glue or Super Glue

Scissors

Optional:

Hooks $1.18 (Any hooks you want. Mine are from Home Depot)

First, Take the cardboard backing and glass out of the picture frame. Cut the plastic canvas to fit the frame then, glue the canvas to it. The canvas is really tricky to glue onto so beware of that. Let it dry for quite some time before doing anything else.
After it is completely dry, glue the ribbon on the back of the frame. Make sure the length is even on both sides so you can tie it in a bow. Glue each end of the ribbon on the frame. Let that dry completely before tying the bow. Tie the bow then, hang on the wall with a nail or tacks. Take the hooks and place them in between the ribbon in frame. I hung my rings on the hooks.

                                 VIOLA! 

Hang your earrings and rings up and then you have an adorable ring and earring holder! This is probably one of my favorite crafts that I have done.

Now to enjoy a glass of wine with all this crafting I'm doing :)

Healthy Sounding Snacks That Make Me Feel Better About My Food Addiction

Life is really stressful sometimes. I complain about it way too much.

Justin Halpern is one of my favorite authors. If you haven't read Shit My Dad Says or I Suck At Girls, I suggest you do...immediately. So, every time I am having a tough day, I read parts of Shit My Dad Says to make me laugh. An example for you from Halpern's dad about his first day of kindergarten: "You thought it was hard? If kindergarten is busting your ass, I got some bad news for you about the rest of life." Amen to that. If I could go back to earlier days in my life, that I thought was difficult, I'd laugh at myself. I'm one of those people that binge eat when overly stressed. To avoid becoming extremely obese, I've been making small, healthier snacks that essentially make me feel better about myself, while subduing my stress. Two examples, and my favorite, are Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Pineapple Pomegranate Salad.

Cooking Kristen

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

If you've ever made roasted potatoes, its's basically the same thing, except with sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes
Olive Oil
Seasoning of your choice (I use various kinds. A Sicilian blend is my favorite)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

First, Peel the potatoes. Then, chop them up into medium sized cubes. A little trick that I learned from my mom, is to let the chopped potatoes soak in a bowl full of cold water for about fifteen minutes. It helps remove the starch, so it doesn't stick to the pan as easily.

Place on a non-stick cookie sheet. 

Poor a small amount of olive oil on the potatoes. Just enough so each one is lightly coated.

Sprinkle as much seasoning on it as you want. 

Place in preheated oven for 15 minutes. 

After 15 minutes are up, flip and move the potatoes around on the pan.

Bake for another 15 minutes, or until they are crispy enough for you.

                                                  Finally, enjoy your roasted sweet potatoes.

Pineapple Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped pineapple

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 tbsp of sugar

1 1/2 tsp of lime juice

Lime zest for garnishing

It's as simple as mixing everything in a bowl. Then, eat the crap out of it because it's that delicious.

Valentine's Day Cards

I finally had enough motivation to update my blog! I've had a very difficult last couple of months. My life changed very drastically and I just couldn't find it in myself to bake, cook or craft. I'm finally starting to find my happiness again and start loving my new life. One of the best things about my life recently is the people that have become a part of it. When I needed people in my life, they were there. I owe all my happiness to the people who helped me through my hard times. I don't even think they know how much I appreciate them.

                  These people are so beyond amazing. They deserve the world. 

My favorite holiday is Valentine's Day. Everyone knows that about me. I couldn't think of any better way to celebrate my favorite day of the year other than making cards for my friends. This is my first craft in a long time and I feel so much better! 

Today was a snow day for me. While being stranded in my house, in the freezing cold, I decided to do my Valentine's Day cards. While wearing leggings, sweats, long sleeve shirt, under armor sweatshirt, Columbia fleece, no makeup, scarf, hat and a blanket, I dragged my art supplies out and got to work.

On a quick side note, each person has a different card and a special message just for them. Nobody has gotten their cards yet.

I got all my crafts at Michael's and Craft Warehouse.

What you will need:
Valentine's Day Stamps
Ink Pads
Lots of heart shaped stickers
Ribbon
Tacky Glue
Envelopes
Glue Stick
Sharpie (I chose silver)
Scissors
Love colored construction paper (All shades of pink and red)


You can make the cards any shape you want. I chose to use one color on the outside and another on the inside. I used the glue stick to make them stick together. Making cards is very simple. It is how you decorate them that makes them unique and creative.
I folded mine in half, cut it, glued it and then folded them in half again.
The picture on the left shows what all my cards looked like before I added things to them.
I made twenty.

Below are some examples of some of the ones I made:

The envelopes: 

I hope everyone has an amazing Valentine's Day. Love is such a strange and awful thing when it ends but when you have it, it's beautiful. I love you all and thank you so much.