What did you do over the 3-day weekend? Oh me? I made crafties…

First, I am going to start off by saying: If this is my friend Nicole, stop right there and go back to looking at cute kitten videos. 🙂

For everybody else, you’re free to snoop around my crafties corner!

Since my friend is expecting her first child this fall, and I need easy projects to build up my sewing skills again…  I used to be so good and then a decade came and went without me even trying so much as a button mend – but it’s just like riding a bicycle, right?  Well, that’s what I keep telling myself.

The past couple of weekends have been spent crafting up a storm, thinking (or finding on Pinterest) ideas for which to create presents for the pending baby shower, and a couple of projects for myself.

Last weekend I made some burp cloths that I thought were too cute, and beyond simple to make!  I think I’m going to go back and sew a quick border edge along the outside to make it a nice clean edge.

This weekend I threw together 3 denim baby bibs (I really want to put a really cute red bow tie applique on these bad boys too!).  And a handy-dandy casserole dish carrier (courtesy of this cool Pinterest find).

 

BTW, if you’re considering becoming a craftie, or already are one but need some guidance on how to be a little more organized…  I highly suggest getting a nice rolling cart with lots of drawers.  My old coworker gave this to me a few months back, and it was sitting in the spare bedroom collecting dust until I cleverly thought of using it for my crafting station.  Can’t turn back now, and I definitely don’t want to!  You can find it on Amazon by searching for a 15 drawer rolling cart – sorry, no links as I’m not getting paid for this 😉

 

I plan on doing some more crafties after work this week, since next weekend is going to be pretty busy (the S.O. comes home from a month-long trip abroad to visit his family).  I’ll post when I have some new items.

Stay crafty my friends 🙂

Broccoli Slaw Salad

Last night I attempted to create a new low carb side dish…  And surprisingly it came out really nice!  I even had my mom and friend taste-test it to make sure my taste buds weren’t being biased or anything.

So here is the work of art, er, I mean Broccoli Slaw Salad. 

It’s basically coleslaw but with slivers of broccoli instead of chopped cabbage.  And the good news is that it’s extremely easy to throw together!

Ingredients:

• Prepackaged broccoli slaw mix (most grocery stores should have something like this in their produce section)
• 2 sweet peppers, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• Handful of shredded cheese (I used a mild cheddar and Colby mixture)
• Bacon bits (to liking)
• 1-2 serving spoons of Mayonnaise (if you’re wondering, Best Foods is the only way to go, IMO)
• 2-3 capfuls of Apple cider vinegar 
• Spices: dill weed, garlic powder, and loads of salt/pepper

Throw everything together in a big bowl, making sure to stir all the way down to the bottom. Let it rest in the fridge over night (that lets all the flavors mix and mash together).

And viola! You have a refreshing and low carb side dish for lunch over the next couple of days!

Enjoy!

The wonderful world of crafting…

So as a graduation present, my thoughtful S.O. bought me an embroidery/sewing machine!  I didn’t even know that I wanted one, until I owned one!!

Now I can’t peel myself away from looking up ideas on Pinterest, or tutorial videos on YouTube!

One of the first real projects that I dived into (once I figured out how to properly use the machine) was to monogram handkerchiefs for my friend’s family in preparation for the birth of her first child. As “payment” she gave me the extra hankies, which were promptly monogrammed with my S.O.’s family initials, pending his trip back home this week.

I undertook my second project rather immediately, by making handmaking scarves with a decorative embroidered image – representative of each person in my S.O.’s family. I was very fortunate to find some great embroidery patterns online (some free, some at a really good deal), and others were already loaded onto my machine.

My absolute favorite is Athena’s Owl (in bronze thread below). Even my test swatch in all black thread came out amazingly beautiful! Totally worth the $1.50 I got it for (on sale)!!

I have so many ideas on what I want to do…… But while it’s like the possibilities are endless, I don’t know where to start! LOL!

One project that I definitely want to start working on soon, is my New England themed quilt. I bought these fat quarters while in Maine a few weeks ago, and can’t wait to throw these cuties together in a quilt!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

So I’ve been remiss in keeping up on posting… But I have quite a few photos and ideas of some delicious low-carb meal ideas that I hope to get posted very soon.

First up is the Buffalo Chicken Salad!  It’s like having Buffalo Wings and a salad all in one!

Mixing everything up

Finished product… Delicioso!

The salad topping mixture is really just a mashup of various things that I thought sounded like good matches: celery, green bell peppers, avocado, blue cheese crumbles, canned chicken, Buffalo hot sauce, and a little mayonnaise. I suppose adding hard boiled eggs, bacon, and or green onions would also be good additions to the mix.

All of this was used as a topping to a bed of fresh spinach… And then served to my salvating mouth within a few minutes.

So delish and definitely worth making over and over again!

Last minute rush to find food on-campus

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activities… Today has been no different.

I had planned on going out to lunch today, and while I did actually leave work, it was to run errands. Therefore I didn’t get a chance to grab a bite to eat.

I’m fortunate to work on a university campus that has various food options available… So I took a quick walking trip to the student union in search of a low-carb meal.

Originally, I was going to grab a lettuce-wrapped burger from one place, but really felt like a salad and remembered the new Greek themed spot. Here is my beef gyro Greek salad (I added my own avocado) and Diet Coke:    (I ate most of the beef gyro before taking the photo)

While it was one of the more expensive lunches that I’ve had recently, I feel like it not only is a healthier option, but fulfills my desire to stay on the low-carb track.

Cheers to all! *clinking salad filled forks*

Avocado Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps

Even though I actually made this a few days ago, I thought it was way too good not to share!

Ingredients: chopped up hard boiled eggs, avocado, celery, green bell pepper, and dill pickle. A spoonful of mayonnaise, a little mustard, and salt/pepper to taste. The wraps are romaine lettuce leafs, whole.

Just mix and plop onto the lettuce leafs… So yum! I think next time I would put less mayonnaise, and add some sort of cheese, like feta or blue cheese.

Bon appetite!

 

chopped ingredients all ready to go

 

finished product… makes my mouth water!

 

And I’m Officially Done With School (for now)

Last night was my final time turning in an assignment. It’s been a crazy long and curvy road, but I’ve FINALLY completed my bachelors of science degree!

The best part is that I will be graduating with high honors… Something that little, immature, and not ready to take on the world Beth never would have imagined, when she first stepped onto her college campus almost 16 years ago!

While I plan on getting into a masters program, it won’t be until fall 2017… I need to take a breather – I know what you’re thinking, “A breather? Didn’t it take you long enough to get this degree?” Well yes and no.

I made a conscious decision 4 years ago to go back to school, and started taking classes on my 30th birthday (literally). Once I finished all of my general education requirements, I was fortunate to get into a great accelerated online program at a private university. The past 18 months have been insane and grueling. So I feel like a little break.

I want to focus on things that makes me happy, like traveling, hanging out with friends, relaxing and watching tv without feeling guilty… You know just simply live my life.

I am excited to attend the graduation ceremony back East though! I’ll finally get the opportunity to meet my cohort classmates that have been through the same pain and joy, laughter and tears.

Plus, I’m excited to travel to a part of the country that I have yet to visit. One that is so rich in our country’s history and culture.

In the meantime, I must consider how I want to decorate my graduation cap. I’ve pinned a whole bunch of ideas to my Pinterest board… But I saw this quote last night, and thought it was too funny not to share!

photo credit : snagged from a post on Pinterest

It’s Wine O’Clock Somewhere…

…and that somewhere is right here!

Ahhhh! I just submitted my final paper for my career as a bachelor student. This little baby wine glass is just what the doctor ordered.

Just one more day of working on final exams, and I’m officially a graduate (with honors, I might add). It’s been an extremely long road, but I’m beyond excited to be through with the never-ending discussion boards, exams, and essays!

Anyway, here’s a photo of my teeny tiny glass of wine. Cheers!

It’s tiny but might!

Portobello Mushroom Pizza

Yesterday, I made a pretty awesome lunch at work that I wanted to share. Thankfully, I have access to a toaster oven in the office break room, which allowed me to actually make this meal happen! Otherwise I would have had a very cold and confusing lunch to choke down.

I found the concept for this recipe a few years back, when I was on the Atkins diet… While I found success following the diet, I couldn’t ever seem to get enough food, without grossly going over my daily allotment of carbs. This past week, I made a conscious decision to cut out complex carbs, and just enjoy the food that I eat (I.e. Veggies grown above ground, proteins, and dairy), thus the reason for the low carb meals that you’ll see popping up now and then from me.

But to get back to the subject at hand: Portobello Mushroom Pizza!

How did I make this very simple yet delicious pizza? The base (what would be crust on a regular pizza) was a huge portobello mushroom cap. I cleaned out the brown ridges (not sure what they’re actually called) and took off the little trunk in the center. Then layered some slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh spinach, and a few slices of pepperoni.

To be honest, I have no clue what the toaster oven temperature was set on, or exactly how long the pizza was cooking. My best guess would be 400•f and approximately 8 minutes.

While the food was cooking, a number of coworkers came in and admired my work of art! Haha – like I painted the Mona Lisa… More like a preschooler’s finger painting!

The only thing that I would do differently, is figure out a way to not have so much juice come to the surface – maybe I should cook the mushroom cap first.

Well anyways, here are before and after shots. Hope this inspires you to make your own pizza creation! 🙂

 

fresh mozzerella, spinach & pepperoni (right out of oven)

 

before photo: layering everything just right

 

Ready to eat: as you can see, there’s a little too much juice