pinterest project {DIY holiday yarn letters}

 Have you seen these super cute yarn letters all over Pinterest?

{source}

I loved this the first time I saw it, but as with most things I pin on Pinterest, once it's pinned, I totally forget about it. I decided NOT to do that this holiday season, and I have been making a conscious effort to look at my boards before I make my weekly trip to Michaels (yes, it's weekly. depressing.).

I decided to make my letters spell out "ho ho ho" because honestly, I thought at least the "O" would be easy.. haha!

 I took some cheapo wooden letters from Hobby Lobby ($1 each, holla!),

picked out some yarn (side note, this was wayyyyyyy too much yarn. Anyone need some burgandy/ivory yarn?),

 and got to wrapping! The Hs were easier because you didn't have to cut the yarn to wrap it.

 

I love it! If you make the picture bigger you can see the corners aren't perfect, but honestly you can't really see them at all.

I put them in this super awkward place above our kitchen sink that needed a little something. It still looks a little bare so I may have to DIY something else to stick up there with it :).

What holiday crafting have you been up to?!

pinterest project {buffalo chicken roll-ups}

Have you noticed that food tends to go through trends? Yep, similar to clothing trends. I noticed it for the first time with avocado this year. Tons of recipes I found on Pinterest called for avocado, and then I even heard an advertisement on the radio telling people to use avocados for dinner. Then I noticed it with the pistachio commercials on TV. I mean, if Khole and Lamar do it...


Anyway. Another "food trend", which I have decided is definitely a real thing, is anything containing buffalo chicken. Buffalo chicken dip, salad, wraps, grilled cheese, tacos, seriously, anything with buffalo sauce and shredded chicken and there is a recipe out there for it!

I pinned these bad boys awhile back:

via What's Cookin' Chicago?

And man do they look delicious! The main problem I found with this recipe was that it called for you to make the dough on your own. I barely have time to think about dinner, let alone let dough rise for 2 hours. Maybe someday.






Therefore, I just invented my own recipe. We ate them as a meal with salad, but I think they'd be great as an appetizer, too.

What you'll need:
Shredded chicken, 1 cup or so (cooked my new favorite way, a post on that coming soon!)
1/4 cup or so of Buffalo Wing sauce (we use Frank's)
1/2 cup of bleu cheese crumbles
2 cans of crescent rolls
Optional: ranch or bleu cheese dressing for dipping.

You take one of your crescent rolls...

Add your chicken and bleu cheese (or whatever kind of cheese you prefer)...

Then roll it up!

Someday our kitchen will have better lighting and my pictures won't be totally blurry and dark. Someday.

Seriously, these are SO easy and so delicious!

We dipped ours in ranch and it was amazing! I highly recommend trying these either for an appetizer or as a meal.

life through instagram {10.26.12}

I am in love with the parks in St. Louis.

Going to cheer on his beloved Cardinals.

Continuing the streak of excellent seats in 2012.

Snuggled up with my two favorites. I love them so much.

This makes me so happy.

My grandmother has some pretty fly kicks.

Thanks, bro.

Best friends...

...who like to show up dressed alike.

Afternoon nap time.

Slightly obsessed with hot air balloons.

Sorry ladies, the man in the suit is taken.

It's Penny!

New generation Snuggie?

Toffee Bread Pudding with one of my faves :).

Fall is my favorite.

I know this isn't an Instagram photo, but I am oddly obsessed with my Aloe Vera plant. I take pictures of it like every other day.

life lately.

via

I have heard quite a few people say that October is their favorite month, and honestly, how can you blame them? I love October. It's not my favorite month (what's up, December??), but it is one of them. The weather has been gorgeous lately (except on my days off), and it definitely makes working from before sun-up until after sundown a tad bit easier.

Speaking of days off, Sam and I have been attempting to take advantage of whatever days we can in terms of time to spend together! We have been having a blast on our afternoon dates.

Last Friday, we had sushi at a new place and then cupcakes at a local cupcakery (it's a word, don't hate). I don't have any pictures because we devoured both the sushi and the cupcakes before we thought of photographing them. Oops. We then headed to Pottery Barn because we were scoping out some new bedding:

via Pottery Barn

And of course, when I'm ready to commit to new bedding, it's not in stock. Lame.

We also stopped by for some quality time with Miss Maddie. I wish this picture captured just how loud she was purring whilst sitting on Sam's lap. It was adorable.


Monday, we both had a day off again, so we went to lunch and then went to a movie. We saw Argo, which I would highly recommend. I am a sucker for anything that's a true story, and this one didn't disappoint. Also, Ben Affleck is pretty awesome in it, as usual. I adore Ben Affleck and his bromance with Matt Damon.

I certainly appreciate the fact that Sam makes weird faces in every picture I take of him.


Any other nurses out there who have to take advantage of midafternoon/midweek dates? Or really, anyone in general? It is definitely something we need to get better at! I am just so tired after being at the hospital all day that usually the night before and night after I work I'm useless. Now might be a good time to add that I go to bed around 9:30 even if I don't have to work. I know, I'm sort of lame.

pinterest projects {2 knockout recipes}

I have been pinning things for a very long time, and I have just recently started to go back and look at my old pins to see what we should have for dinner.

Last night I tried two different recipes, and they were both AMAZING.

First up:

Pizza Quesadillas
via Snixy Kitchen

photo also via Snixy Kitchen

These were the bomb. I loved them, and while he liked them, Sam would have preferred additional "toppings", but I thought they were fine the way they are.

Basically what you do is buy some pepperoni (I got ours from the deli counter and thought this was better than the prepackaged kind). Pan fry the pepperoni so it's crispy, then brush pizza sauce on two flour tortillas, throw on some cheese, and put the pizza sauce sides towards the middle and then crisp in a cast iron skillet (3-5 minutes on each side). Super easy, super delicious.


Next:

Mini Halloween Oreo Cheesecake
 via A Bitchin' Kitchen 

Not the best picture, but ohmigosh you guys, these are SO GOOD. Sam gave them an A+. I would give them an A+++ if that was possible.

Instructions are on her website, and trust me, you'll want to go make these ASAP. I suggest making them when you're going to have company or a work potluck, because it's torturous to have them sitting around your house and to try not eat them all day.




What kinds of things are you cooking up these days?
 

absence makes the heart grow fonder?

I've never really believed that saying, to be honest.


I apologize for my absence in the blogging world to the two people who read this blog and depend on it to stay updated on my life.

Here is what I've been doing:

1) Cleaning our apartment on my days off
2) Doing laundry (does it EVER STOP!?)
3) Working. Working. Working.


How is it possible that I feel like I work more now that I work 3 twelve hour shifts than I did when I worked 5 days a week? I miss 8-5. I miss hour long lunch breaks (and lunch dates). I miss sitting at a desk instead of running my ass off for 12 hours.


I should have written this sometime OTHER than before I had to go work two shifts in a row.

All whining aside, nursing is pretty baller. There are days when it's slow, there are days when it is fast, and every SINGLE day I feel like I exert every brain cell I have in my brain. The patients & families I work with are pretty fabulous and that makes it pretty much worth it. Even on days like this: 

via Pinterest

Anyway, between items 1-3, this is what else I've been doing, through what else? Instagram.

my "morning alarm" set for when most people are leaving work for the day.

I made another "school spirit" wreath for my mom...

and then one for Sara.

We found a turtle in the road

and reunited for a home game in our beloved Columbia.

This "little one" turned ONE!

I bought a new car.

and spent some time with my pups.

And in addition to cleaning and doing laundry, I've been doing a lot of cooking.

What have I missed in YOUR lives while I've been away??