Kool with a Capital "K"

I did it -- I jumped on the moss-covered-letter bandwagon. I’ve been seeing them all over the blogging world and in the catalogues of my favorite retailers lately and I just love the natural warmth they exude.  I think it’s a great way to introduce some outdoor elements in your home without any of the maintenance or up-keep -- I’m not the greatest at keeping things alive so this is perfect. EXCEPT when it comes to Shiloh and Nolan; I promise they’re happy and healthy!

Anyway, after seeing these letters popping up everywhere and quickly discovering the pre-made ones were most definitely out of my price range, I knew it’d be a quick and inexpensive project I could do all my own. 

Here’s what I started with -- I did mine late last night so please forgive the dark photos!

I used sheet moss because I desired a more flat looking letter but I have seen puffy, three-dimensional letters put together with loose pieces of moss that also look great -- totally depends on the style you’re going for.

When you see what I started with and what the end result looks like, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory and most likely has more than one way to get there.  So, in pictures with very few words, this is what I did start-to-finish in about 30 minutes.

I decided to hang mine in front of a mirror which I have in my entry way but you could hang it anywhere, set it on a shelf or table and lean it against any wall. The only downside I’ve discovered with hanging in front of a mirror -- as you can see from the last picture -- is from certain angles, you can see the exposed letter on the back side.  After about 12 hours of hanging, this has bothered me enough that I’m going to take mine down and add some moss to the back so that none of the white is showing.  Very simple fix if you choose to hang in front of a mirror -- just easier to do prior to display! 

I am loving this super easy project -- I smile every time I walk out the door!  If you want more step-by-step instructions or examples to view, these blogs were two of my favorite sources of inspiration.

I'm linking up at Sugar and Dots!

Just for Fun

I adore flowers! I know they don't last forever and can be expensive, but I think fresh flowers instantly make any space feel warmer and more welcoming.

I received lilies -- my absolute favorite! -- and roses from someone special and couldn’t resist having a little fun and photographing them.

With the warmer weather and Spring on it's way in, I'm ready for more to put on my table :)

Happy Friday -- Hope y'all have some fun weekend plans!

Evolution of a Lunchbox

It’s no secret to those around me that I am a picky eater.   Don’t get me wrong -- I love to eat, especially desserts -- I’m just very particular about what I put in my mouth.  I will always try something and usually more than once, but if I don’t love it, I just won’t eat it. It’s because of this trait that I started making and bringing my own lunch at a very young age -- it only took a week in the school cafeteria for me to realize it just wouldn’t work.  Sadly, through the years, what I pack really hasn’t changed too much but I've noticed the packaging has evolved quite a bit.

I LOVED this Popples lunchbox! Does anyone else remember these? The weird little stuffed animals that roll up into a ball inside their kangaroo-like pouch. Well, I loved them and carried them with me all through elementary school.

As I got older and outgrew the character themed lunch boxes, I switched to a more simple lunch sack. I went through a purple phase during many of my younger years and sported this beauty all through middle school. 

By high school, my food palate had not expanded by much and I was still bringing lunch to school every day -- except the occasstional Chick-fil-A day which is seriously one of my worst guilty pleasures. Anyway, by this time, I insisted on the standard brown lunch bags. There was no way I was going to be seen carrying a purple lunch box to and from the cafeteria -- I just wanted to bring it in and throw it out!

During college, the amazing, wonderful and always flexible class schedule allowed me to either eat out or from home before or after class. No lunch sack needed during those 5 years -- and yes, I did a ‘victory’ lap in college, but it was for my Masters, so don’t be thinking I partied too hard and wanted just one more year :) 

My first couple years in the working world were completely foreign and unpredictible to me in the lunch department. I worked as an auditor for a Big Four company and lunch for that week, month, or months was completely dependent on the team you were working with at the time. Some teams religiously brought their lunch every day while others religiously went out every day.  The client I spent most of my years on, had a “let’s get out of the office for at least an hour” attitude and we went out 99% of the time. During these dark years, I very rarely brought my lunch.

When I saw the light and quit my job, I found myself working in an environment that had  complete opposite lunch views.  The current mentality is, “if I eat lunch at my desk and keep working, I can get through more work and hopefully leave sooner.”  I quickly adopted this mentality and began packing a lunch every day -- which I must say, has done wonders for my bank account and my bum! 

After a few months of bringing my lunch, it got me thinking about the best way to transport my goodies. I had been using small shopping bags, but these wore out quickly and didn’t close to hold everything in -- or hide my embarrassing 5 year-old food choices. I decided I wanted a reusable lunch case of some sort, but it needed to close, and had to be something cute that I would be proud to pull out of the community fridge at noon every day.  Best way to get exactly what you want -- DIY!  So, one particular night when I needed a serious distraction, I whipped up this little cutie.

It was perfect -- it could be washed if something spilled, it closed at the top to keep everything in and it’s an attractive bag to pull out of the fridge each day.  One admiring coworker asked if I’d make her one, so I knew I’d done something right. Since my first one, I’ve whipped up a couple extras and made this one just the other night.

I’m not going to lie, the first couple lunch boxes were pretty challenging to me -- just ask Kim who waited many months to receive hers! I have since tweaked a few of the steps to make them easier and even better looking/constructed and get pretty giddy at the thought of making more. I have a lot of fun ideas with coordinating fabrics and color choices and am guessing that just about everyone around me will eventually end up with one!

I’m Noticing a Pattern

This one is not design related but does concern something I equally love. While scrolling through pictures on my phone one night, I noticed that this little guy has developed some unique sleeping patterns.

On a typical weekend day, he loves to follow his momma everywhere. When I take a few moments to be still or work on a project, he takes the opportunity to get a little rest. On days like this, I have found him snuggled up next to the coffee table, half buried under the couch for some darker and more cozy sleeping arrangements, or taking advantage of a rarely open shelf.

At night, when he has a couple lucky hours on the couch, he takes full advantage of the pillows in a typical Nolan, very non-traditional way.

Rather than pushing the pillows over and sleeping on the large, open, flat surface, he likes to wrap himself around them or lay right over the top while they stay upright.


This last photo is by far the most unusual and my personal favorite.

I'd like to think he was just wanting to look out the window, but it was dark and the curtains were closed, so the most likely explanation is that he just found this to be the most comfortable sleeping arrangement that night. 

None of these photos were action shots snapped at just the right moment to make him look like an awkward little boy. I’ve discovered, he genuinely enjoys laying in all these unique positions and stays in each one while he takes a little siesta. He truly is a goofy little pup and I hope he never changes!

Goldilocks and the Three Caramels

Much like Goldilocks and her three beds, I set off on an adventure to find the perfect caramel.  It is one of my absolute favorite sweet treats and I thought it would be an interesting process to make my own.  Having never attempted to make caramel -- or any kind of candy -- I was a little intimidated to get started.

First things first, I searched for the most promising recipe and came upon two that I was dying to try. The first I found was via the wonderful Ina Garten on Food Network and the second I came across while reading my favorite blog, Jones Design Company. Both were slightly different but each had rave reviews, so I didn’t think I could go wrong. I printed both since the ingredients were similar and figured I’d have a chance to try each at some point.

Second step, obtaining a candy thermometer -- I mentioned I’d never made candy before so one was missing from my kitchen. I got a very simple one from Sur la Table since I had a gift card to use and am trying my hardest to put more money in savings right now and less in the pockets of my favorite retailers.

Third step, pick up my ingredients. Caramel is surprisingly simple despite its absolutely amazing taste, and contains things you most likely already have on hand. The couple extras I needed were heavy cream and corn syrup.  Also, as long as you buy a little extra cream, you could make this recipe a few times before needing to restock ingredients -- either because it tastes so wonderful you ate the first batch without sharing, or you messed up once or twice.

Time to get started! Ina’s recipe is actually really great at explaining what to do, so I won’t repeat the steps. Instead, I’ll try to explain what did and didn’t work for me.   As you’ve probably guessed, it took a couple rounds for me to get it just right.

Case in point, here is my oh so sad first attempt… 

As Goldilocks would say, “OUCH! This caramel is much too HARD!” After letting it cool, I had zero luck cutting into this solid block. I even let it set out over night to get to room temperature and still failed at cutting it into pieces -- there was absolutely no way I would get half of this to roll-up.  After my first attempt I spent the day doing some caramel research. Since mine turned out to be similar to toffee in firmness, I wondered if I cooked it too long, not enough, too fast, too slow, etc.  After reading a few informative websites and comparing my recipe to a few others, I decided for my next attempt I would adjust a few things:

·         First, I think my stove’s version of ‘medium-high’ is hotter than most so I’d lessen the heat in each of my steps.

·         Second, a few recipes I read only heated to caramel to ‘soft ball’ stage which is around 240 degrees as opposed to ‘hard ball’ stage which is 248, so I decided that I had possibly over cooked my first attempt.

·         Another tip I’d come across a few times mentioned never scraping the sides or bottom of the pan when you’re pouring the caramel.  Since I was born with about ten sweet teeth, I am a chronic bowl scrapper.  I want every last drop so naturally, I scraped away when pouring my first batch. Apparently, that scraping got a few of the well done parts on the bottom of my pan.

·         Last thing I want to adjust was the pan I poured the hot caramel in. The recipe calls for an 8x8 and once it’s hardened, you cut the square in half and roll each half starting from the long ends.  Even though mine was un-cuttable, it would have been a very thick roll if I was able to do what the recipe called for.  I decided in my second attempt, I’d pour it into a 13x9 pan, cut that sheet into thirds and roll each starting from the long end.

Ok, new plan in mind, time for round two!  

I definitely think lowering my stove temperature helped this time around. When I poured the caramel, I noticed more came out and none appeared to be slightly scorched on the bottom. And speaking of pouring, I was also able to control myself and resisted scraping the pan to get all the sweet, gooey caramel -- it was a big moment.  I also was very pleased with the thickness of the caramel when poured in a 13x9. It’s definitely your preference, but this was more the size I was looking for and allowed me to make a bit extra since I plan to give some away as gifts.  

My last tweak to my first attempt was my caramel temperature. I cooked only to 240 degrees this time around and was very pleased with the color, way it poured, etc. -- it looked so promising!  Since I did my second attempt during my lunch break, I put it in the fridge to cool and decided I’d cut and roll when I got home from work.

I thought it might need some warming up when I was ready to roll, but surprisingly, it was very soft and pliable after hours in the fridge. I started to roll my first third and immediately cut myself a piece to try -- It tasted AMAZING and melted right in my mouth. I didn’t have time to cut more and wrap each right then, so I put it back in the fridge and decided I’d finish later. When I checked on it the next morning, the log I had rolled, had melted right back into a thin layer of caramel! In the words of Goldilocks, “this batch is much TOO soft!” AHHHH! It was so promising. 

Despite its non-chewy caramel texture, I was not about to let this go to waste. It certainly couldn’t be rolled and expected to keep its shape but it would pour into a bowl just perfectly. Over a week or two, I managed to find many uses for it -- dipping apples, topping ice cream, eating with a spoon -- my personal favorite -- etc.

So, second attempt a little more successful than the first, but not what I was going for -- time to re-evaluate and tweak a couple more steps in my process. For my third attempt, I decided to keep almost everything the same with one exception. I would go back to the original goal of heating to 248 but do so at a much slower pace and using the lower stove setting from the second attempt. 

I went along like normal and incorporated my new tweaks; however, during the final stage of heating, I noticed that the thermometer was stuck and had not gone up after several minutes. I decided this must be due to my electric stove which heats and turns off, heats and turns off, in order to maintain a lower temp. UGHH! The caramel was starting to look burnt and I was convinced another batch was ruined. 

 

Out of anger and despair, I poured this batch into a plastic container that I didn’t mind tossing once it had cooled.  After I’d poured it, I was surprised to find that it didn’t look nearly as burnt as it did on the stove.  I had also once again resisted scrapping the pot and had a moment of hope that maybe it would work out! I quickly poured it from the plastic container into my pan and let it set up in the fridge for a couple hours. When I went back later to cut and roll, it was soft enough to mold but not so soft that it would lose its shape. I couldn’t believe it -- SUCCESS! As Goldilocks would say, “This one is juuuuuust right.” I of course tried a piece to make sure it not only looked pretty, but tasted right. Then I tried one more to make sure I wasn’t imagining its amazing taste and texture. Then I tried one more just because the second one was so great, and then forced myself to stop trying a fourth.

After I rolled and cut all the pieces, I decided to dip half of them in milk chocolate to make a homemade milk dud -- I was told this was a favorite treat of my gift recipients.  I melted the chocolate in a double boiler, dipped half the caramel pieces using tongs and let them harden. Once they were set, I cut parchment paper into squares and wrapped each piece, securing the ends with a twist. I divided the caramel in half, reserving just enough pieces for my family to try, and put them in two cellophane gift bags. I then tied them with ribbon, added a label and placed them in Chinese take-out gift boxes I’d found a year earlier in the dollar section of Target.

They were a huge hit with everyone who tried them and despite the three tries it took to get just one good batch, I was quite pleased with the outcome.  Just remembering how great they tasted gives me the courage to try again and see if I can succeed in fewer than 3 attempts this time!

Snow Day!

It doesn't happen often in Dallas, but once or twice a year we get lucky and snow -- mostly ice -- makes its way through the metroplex, covering everything and keeping everyone indoors. Since we live in the most unpredictable weather capital in the US, these days are often preceded and followed by 60 degree and sunny weather. So, for those of you worried about the Super Bowl, don’t be. The sun and warmer weather will be back in just a couple days -- much like it was just two days ago.

For today though, the snow is still falling and a thin layer of ice has covered the ground! It felt like Christmas morning waking up and hurriedly going through emails just hoping to find one titled, “Office Closed.”  Since I slept through my alarm this morning, finding this one was even more exciting -- if it wasn’t there, I was going to be over an hour late, and if it was there, I’d been able to sleep in and didn’t have to make my way to the office -- WIN!


I’ve only braved the outdoors once so far today. Unfortunately, having pups means going outdoors at least 3 times a day be it rain, snow, sun or shine -- so, the three of us bundled up and made our way outdoors. The stairs and sidewalks were covered in ice so getting to the courtyard was a slow and slippery chore. It was Nolan’s first experience in snow / ice and it took him a little while to find his “snow legs.” He fell over a few times trying to mark his usual spots but was not deterred. Once he got stabilized, he and Shiloh were running and playing harder than normal. For some reason, the colder and uglier the weather, the more they want to play and the more I have to plead with them to do their business so we can go back indoors!  I let them have their fun until I could no longer feel my ears and forced them back indoors. I’m already dreading the lunch time potty outing and digging around for some warmer winter accessories.  If I get bundled up enough, I’ll try to get some pictures of my little snow puppies.


But for now, I get to enjoy a cup of coffee, watch “Regis and Kelly,” and think about projects I want to tackle on this unexpected snow day!

Home Sweet Home

We did in fact make it back to Dallas! Despite not having a triumphant blog post last Friday -- or even a couple days after -- we did make it and were so happy to be home!

With a packed U-haul, car-in-tow, two cats, and a warm cup of coffee in our bellies, we began the (half) cross country drive Wednesday night -- just hours after my plane landed in Richmond.  

Everything we had worried about seemed to work out just fine -- There was plenty of room for us and all the belongings, Adam drove the truck and trailer like a pro, everything was safe and secure, and the roads were clear.  We did, however, completely underestimate the difficulty of traveling with two cats. After about 5 minutes in the truck, I almost broke down and was certain we weren’t going to make it.  Despite drugging the kitties -- with prescribed meds from the vet, no worries, it was safe -- they would not settle down. They were typical curious cats and jumping all over the van, onto the dashboard, crawling under your legs, jumping in your lap and digging their claws into you at every bump.  The car also turned them into completely different animals and they acted like enemies hissing and trying to fight each other. This was certainly not going to work for the next 48 hours! 

After realizing neither would settle down, we pulled out the pet carrier and put Simba, the least affected by the meds, inside.  We made a little bed on top for Pima and prayed they would settle down -- Success! The meds eventually kicked in and Pima finally fell asleep after some reassuring and attention. Simba was contained, albeit against his will, but at least he wasn’t roaming around anymore. The one problem -- he cried the entire time! We realized there was nothing we could do about it at this point, so we turned up the music and assured him everything was fine.  We made it a few hours before reaching our first ‘rest stop’ in the south-west corner of VA. 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat, filled up with gas, and were back on the road!  We drove a few more hours and finally stopped in Dublin, VA for the night. There weren’t a lot of choices for hotels at this point and we were forced to settle on a non-pet friendly place to stay. 

After securing the room, we started to brainstorm about sneaking the little kitties and their littler box in. Luckily, it was so late and there was a side entrance, so we managed to get them in without any trouble or worker run-ins.  We had no idea; however, that little Simba would continue his whining and ugly streak all through the night.  He literally cried every 5 minutes and would not stop trying to fight his brother. Finally, at 5am, he was banished to the car to cry as loud as he wanted so we could get a couple hours of sleep before a very long day in the truck. 

Sneaking little Pima out the next morning turned out to be quite the task. Maids were all over the halls by the time we were ready to leave and just begging to clean our room. They were practically waiting outside our door since they knew we were loading up the car and checking out.  As a good-girl-rule-follower, I almost had a heart attack when I realized I would most likely be seen with a cat and be a known rule breaker!

Like the most awkward person in the world, I stepped into the hallway and pretended to be waiting on Adam until I could be assured the maid would be busy in another room. She kept asking if we were leaving and wanted to come to our room, so I continued my awkwardness and managed to keep her away. As soon as she gave up on our room, I rushed to grab little Pima, motioned for Adam and we took off almost jogging down the hall to the stairwell. We got him in the car and just needed to go back for the litter box and pet carrier -- both obvious signs there was an animal in the room, so I was still filled with some major rule breaking anxiety! I took a deep breath, we went back upstairs, and we carried out the same plan -- a little more awkwardness and Success! Once everything was out of the room, I was very relieved and could finally relax again.

We made another stop for food and gas and were back on the road!  Here is what we saw for most of our morning drive -- SNOW! Being born and raised in Texas, it was quite enchanting for the first few hours. The novelty of it, however, was quickly lost every time I had to get out of the car and couldn’t feel any part of my face or extremities -- I may exaggerate a bit, but it truly was COLD! 

In just a couple short hours, we saw our first signs of travel progress -- Tennessee! 

My pictures aren’t super great since all were taken from a moving vehicle, but the color and gloominess is quite accurate. It snowed the entire first half of the day and through half of Tennessee. By the afternoon, I was thrilled to see some clear skies! 

I tried my hardest to get my lovely driver to stop in Nashville for a sweet treat at Gigi’s -- it was just 10 minutes from the highway! -- but he refused when he learned a new store had just opened in Dallas and it wasn’t something exclusive to Nashville. I should have kept my mouth shut and acted totally surprised when we came across the one in Dallas. But seriously, check out their website and you’ll see why I was dying to stop.  Plus, the Nashville store was the original, so there was some significance.  Anyway, we kept on driving straight through Nashville until the sun went down. 

Due to several recommendations, we stopped in Memphis for some good ‘ol bar-b-que from Corky’s. Despite living in Texas, I’ve never been a huge fan of bbq, but that night it sounded and tasted delicious! While at dinner, we did some destination mapping and planning and decided we could make it to Little Rock that night and have just 5 or 6 hours left to drive on Friday. Back on the road again, and just a little ways after Memphis, we saw our next signs of travel progress -- Arkansas! 

I know that picture is AWFUL, but it’s the only one that has signs saying “Welcome to Arkansas” -- I promise, that’s what those blurry squares say! With just a couple hours left until Little Rock, we decided to spare myself another heart attack and called around to find a pet-friendly place to stay.  We had a lot more success this time around with our pre-planning and I was relieved I didn’t have to do any more sneaking and rule breaking. 

We brought Simba in for some food and water and to see if he’d learned to be nice, but quickly realized he was back to his whining and fighting ways. After purchasing enough hand warmers to heat a house, we made him a warm bed with blankets, pillows, and hand warmers all around, and settled him into the car for the night. We knew we couldn’t go two nights in a row without sleep and it was not going to be possible with him crying and fighting all night.  He snuggled up on his warm bed and finally slept -- either the drugs kicked in or he finally gave up, but he slept -- woohoo!

The next morning was the most exciting because we knew we’d be in Texas that day! We left the hotel uneventfully -- since the kitties were allowed to be there this time -- and began the last leg of our drive. Arkansas wasn’t too enchanting but we were thankful the snow had stopped and it was sunny. 

This part of the drive was pretty unexciting until we caught our first glimpses of Texas. We must have missed the welcome sign, but there was no doubt we’d crossed the border -- minus the snow, that’s a little more unusual for us. 

We had just one more stop to make before this road trip would be complete.  As any Texan knows, Dairy Queen is the Texas stop sign and no road trip is complete without stopping for a blizzard. So, despite the freezing temperatures and snow still on the ground, we stopped for lunch and dessert and completed our trip :) Since I did not get my cupcake, there was no way I was skipping this blizzard! 

It only got better when we saw our first signs of downtown Dallas -- Thank you Rockwall, for this lovely view of the Dallas skyline complete with a picturesque lake in front.   

We were home -- finally! After 3 days, 4 states, two drugged-up kitties, dozens of pit stops and one delicious blizzard, our road trip was complete. I must say, once we got the kitty situation sorted out, the drive really wasn’t bad, of course, I was just the passenger -- Adam may feel differently :) I don’t think another trip like this is in either of our near futures, but if something unexpected should happen and we must make a similar journey, we have learned much from this adventure and would get through it like old pros.