{diy: valentines for your valentine}

Hello!!!

How was your Valentine’s Day? I had a pretty lovely day; I ran some errands, enjoyed a very nice dinner with friends (my valentine is away), and made some cute little valentines for the special people in my life. The valentines were pretty easy to make and turned out very adorable. I think their receivers will be very pleased when they arrive. It may be a little late for these, unless you’re a procrastinator like me, but either way it’s a good project to save on that pinterest board. I made four kinds and used Kraft paper, twine, washi tape, and a sharpie---perfect for the budget conscious crafter.

{so easy, so fun}

Below you’ll find a tutorial for valentines with twine, lovebirds, and bunting.

{first you…}

1. Gather some basic supplies and embellishments. Not seen here—my trusty glue gun and box of colorful papers.

2. Grab a piece of 8x10 paper and fold it in half width-wise. I used brown Kraft paper.

3. Cut your paper along the fold so you have two smaller sheets.

4. Fold your pieces in half width-wise to create two blank card templates. Now you can begin decorating!

{then you…}

5. & 6. Cut out a few shapes or creatures for your valentines. You can use stencils or freehand them. I freehanded my little birds and bunting triangles.

7. Assemble your cut-outs. I added tail feathers to my birds later because they looked like tiny blue t-rexes…haha.

8. I wanted my little birds to sit on a piece of twine with a little heart in-between, so I hot glued it all together. Do this step before you add them to your card.

{to finish you…}

9.  Use an exacto knife to cut a little “x” in your blank card. You will string your twine through here.

10.   Before you string your birds or bunting you should decorate your card, inside and out; it’ll be easier now than later.

11.   Here’s an example of the twine strung through. You want to glue your bunting or birds on the twine before you string the twine through the card though.

12.    Tie a little knot at each end of the twine to keep it in place.

And voila!

{tooling with twine}

The washi tape valentines were the easiest. If you’ve never used washi tape, it’s simply decorative tape. It comes in all kinds of designs and can be found at your craft store or online. It’s a simple detail you can add to almost any project to give it a little pizzazz.

{peel & stick}

13. Add it to the outside edge of your card.

14. Or how about the front to make a simple but cute banner?

{washi tape fun}

It was so much fun to make these and I feel they are a lot more special because they were made by hand.

I hope you enjoy this project!

Love,

Mrs. E.

{sweet surprises: cookie dough cupcake surprise}

{these little cuties are hiding something}

I love cupcakes as I’m sure many of you do as well. What’s even better than a cupcake is a cupcake with a special surprise inside. I’ve had cupcakes with jelly fillings, ganache fillings, cream fillings, but my favorite so far, is cookie dough filling! I made these last year for a party and they were a hit, so I’ve decided to make them again and share the how to with you.

{easy peasy}

The easy part is getting them ready for baking; the hard part is knowing when to take them out of the oven. I used store bought white cake (not from scratch today L), but you can use any type of cake batter.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2: Fill your cupcake cups half-way with cake batter (save enough to cover the cookie dough later).

Step 3: Plop in your cookie dough (you can make it yourself or use the store bought kind for time sake).

Step 4: Cover the cookie dough with your saved batter.

Step 5: Place your cupcake pans in the oven and let bake for about 20 – 25 minutes.

Step 6: When you test your cupcakes for doneness you have to check both the cake part and cookie dough. Your cookie dough should still be a little gooey, but your cake should be done--clean toothpick.

And that’s how you do it! I frosted my cupcakes with blackberry whipped cream icing and added a little blackberry for some pizzazz. They sure were yummy!

Until next time,

The Mrs.

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{26 before 26: new list}

{new year! new list!}

I’m pleased to present my new goals list for this year! I’m starting this list much earlier than my last list, so I really hope I will cross everything off. Some of these are going to be very challenging (i.e. keeping my plants alive…haha), but overall they should be fun and add some fulfillment to my life. I will also add some more visuals and updates on the ones that are progressive---pudding proof or something like that.

This should be fun!

Bye for now,

Mrs. E.

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{sweet surprises: snail mail from a little cutie}

{isn’t she sweet?}

Look what the postman brought to my mailbox? When I lived in Charlotte, I would babysit this little munchkin and her brothers almost every other week. They were a rambunctious bunch, but we had tons of fun every time. I miss them dearly and am long overdue for a visit.

Sometimes the best surprises come from unexpected places ;)

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{february @ j.krabbits inc.}

{my cute little Pier 1 s&p shakers}

This month I will start a few features and most posts will follow this month’s theme which is of course…love! We will finally share our wedding photos as well as some romantic dinners and lovely crafts. It should be a fun month!

Features to look out for:

- diy gourmet: meal ideas for all occasions

- 26 before 26: i will tackle some ambitious goals before my 26^th birthday

- giveaways: each month i will try to host some sort of giveaway for all my wonderful readers

- diy dinner party: fun dinner party ideas; from menus to playlists

- nifty housewife: household solutions, home improvement, etc.

- sweet surprises: it’s a surprise!

Muah!

The Mrs.

P.S. Here’s a little wedding photo teaser just for you…

{my favorite}

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{25 before 25: 12, 13, 15, 19, 21, 22, 24 check!}

So I’m sure some of you have been wondering about my list and how far I was able to get…well…here it is! I didn’t finish it, however, to be fair (to me at least) I did start two months before the end of the year and didn’t anticipate how crazy my life would be in that time. I did my best and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’ll just have to move what I didn’t finish to my 26 before 26 list.

12. Organize office and make functional: This was a tough one as our office was literally a disaster zone (all that was missing was the yellow tape). When you move you don’t really realize everything you have until you have to pull it out of the boxes and find a place for it. I was shocked at how much we had accumulated, especially because I cleaned our office thoroughly right before we moved. We got rid of at least 6 bags of trash. Ack! However, now I’m very happy to report that the office looks lovely and has plenty of space for some projects I will be cooking up this new year!

13. Publish 25 blog posts: I just barely made the deadline, however it was perfect as my 25^th post was on my 25^th birthday. I am very proud of my commitment to this new endeavor and I can only hope that it continues to grow!

15. Keep plants alive until at least 25: I do not have a green thumb…at all. I look at a plant and it suddenly begins to wilt. However, for this past year I’ve been able to maintain two cacti and a hanging plant. Unfortunately the week after my 25^th birthday, one of my cacti kicked the bucket which was sad (have you ever seen a deflated cactus?) and my hanging plant is turning somewhat yellow. I water, I let them sun. I don’t know what else to do. If only I had my mother’s magic touch. I’m open for suggestions.

19. Work on investment portfolio: So this is a very important one for the future. I’m pretty sure by the time Jesse and I get around to retiring, no one will be handing us any free money, so we have to start building our little honey pot now. Luckily, my dad is an amazing investor and was able to give us some great stocks to consider investing in. We have savings, but he explained that we’re not making much money there and what will really help us is to invest in companies that will double what we can earn from savings. It makes sense when you think about it.

21. Start GRE practice: One of my goals is to attend grad school sometime in the near future. For the programs I’m interested in, I have to take the GRE, this big scary test that can determine whether or not I get past the first round of applicants in the application process. I’m not a very great test taker, so I know I have to study very hard in order to do well. It’s nice that we’re in the age of technology and there are tons of apps out there that can help with practice for different parts of the test. I’ve downloaded several for my GRE practice on-the-go and I have a giant book for practice at home. Maybe my 26 before 26 goal will be to register and take the test…

22. Try a new food: In 2011 I tried many new foods; mushrooms, mussels, oysters, etc. However, the most bizarre was Ackee Fruit. It is yellow, looks like scrambled eggs and has almost the same consistency. Dad Ellis made a codfish dish this Christmas Eve for us and one of the main ingredients was Ackee Fruit. I was a tad skeptical about trying it, but I did it anyway, and while it’s not my favorite, I have at least made my pallet a little wider.

24. Finish name change: This one was tough. I guess I never noticed this before, but my name is everywhere! Credit Cards, Magazines, everywhere! Some people take their time doing this, but I’m the type of person that likes to get it all done in one shot. I did have to space it out over a few days, but now I’m officially an Ellis.

So for future reference, if you need to do this and want to cover all your bases, here are some places/items on which you will need to change your name:

Licenses

Social Security Card

Passport

Debit/Credit Cards

Magazine Subscriptions

Car Title & Registration

Health Insurance

Car Insurance

Homeowner’s/Renter’s Insurance

Email (although for this one, you just have to create a new one---if you want)

Taxes

Airline Miles Accounts

Rewards Accounts

Hotel Accounts

Preferred Customer Cards/Accounts

Membership Cards/Accounts

Facebook (or any other social media)

Prescriptions

Workplace documents

Vet’s office (if you have a pet)

Bills (electric, water, phone, cable, etc.)

Also,

- Get two copies of your marriage license when you apply and order it—-one for nostalgia, one to handle your business…hehe

- Take your marriage license everywhere you need to go to change your name

- Take the old document to each office when going to request your name change

- Contact each office to find out what documents they need you to bring to complete your name change

- Be patient, it takes a little while.

Although I have gone through this whole process, it is still taking time to get used to my new name. I’ll get there eventually.

There you have it! Look out for 26 before 26 coming to a blog near you!

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{recipe: olive garden breadsticks}

I was in the mood to make bread one day and decided what better recipe to attempt than Jesse’s favorite---olive garden breadsticks. I looked through a few different recipes until I found the perfect one. You can access the original here or just follow mine below (it’s the same). They came out incredibly amazing (I even ran around the house screaming “I can’t believe I made this!”). I was very proud of my bread making skills. The recipe was surprisingly very simple; what took the longest was waiting for the dough to rise. I have since made them again and they came out just as delicious!

  {can you say yum?}

Olive Garden Breadsticks:

Servings: 8 - 9

Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes

Ingredients:

·         2 tablespoons granulated sugar

·         3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

·         1 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)

·         3 cups of bread flour

·         1 1/2 teaspoons salt

·         1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

For topping:

·         2 tablespoons butter, melted

·         1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

How To:

Step 1: Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or measuring cup and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes foamy on top.

Step 2: Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to mix the softened butter into the flour. If you don't have a stand mixer, use a mixing spoon to combine the butter with the flour.

Step 3: When the yeast mixture is foamy, pour it into the flour mixture and use a dough hook on your mixture to combine the ingredients and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you don't have a stand mixer, combine the ingredients and then knead the dough by hand on a countertop for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Place the dough in a covered container and let it sit for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it doubles in size.

Step 5: When the dough has doubled, measure out 2-ounce portions and roll the dough between your hands or on a countertop to form sticks that are 7 inches long. Place the dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, cover and set aside for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size once again. (I usually sprinkle a little cornmeal on the parchment paper before placing the dough to keep it from sticking).

Step 6: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the breadsticks for 11 minutes or until a slight golden brown. (It’s important not to let them stay in the oven too long so that they don’t dry out.)

Step 7: When the breadsticks come out of the oven, immediately brush each one with melted butter and sprinkle with a little garlic salt.

Step 8: Serve or devour—you will definitely want more than one!

I hope you enjoy!

Love,

The Mrs.

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