Happy New Year!

Can you believe that 2010 is just a few minutes from being over? It's been a great year but I think 2011 will be even better! I have a couple of resolutions for the coming year. One is to organize my home a little better and the other is to get my Etsy up and running. We'll see how long I can stick to it! Lol.

But aside from that, I hope you all have a safe and happy new year!

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Cooking: Easy Peasy Chicken Teriyaki

Before I get to the cooking, I just wanted to let you guys know that my laptop bit the dust a few weeks ago. With that being said, I have been without my own computer for about a month now and oh my geezers, does it suck! I have to battle for p.c. time with Pete which leaves me enough time to basically just check my email hence the lack of posts. On a side note, does anyone know where I can get a decent laptop for cheap? lol

But anyways, on to the cooking and sadly it will be without pictures this time around. :o(

This is my easy-peasy Japanese Teriyaki dinner. I love to make on those nights that I just don't feel like cooking anything but still want a good home cooked meal that makes my tummy happy. This should feed about 3-4 people. I cook for two of us and we always plenty of left overs for lunch the next day.

You'll need:

1 lb. raw chicken breast
vegetable oil
1 bottle of Lawry's Teriyaki Marinade (found in the condiment aisle at the grocery store.)
1 bag of Steam Fresh Asian Blend frozen veggies.
your choice of rice to go on the side (I prefer about 2 cups of white Minute Rice since it's done when my chicken is.)

De-bone your chicken if needed and cut it up into 1 inch strips. Heat about a tablespoon of the vegetable oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Toss in the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add the FROZEN Steam Fresh veggies and cook for about 7 minutes or so until the veggies are no longer frozen. Add the Lawry's Teriyaki Marinade to taste... I use about half of a cup roughly. Heat until hot and tasty. Serve on top of your rice and you're good to go. This literally takes 20 minutes and as an added bonus you only have to dirty up two pans. Yay! :o)



P.S. --

Dear Santa Claus,

I've been really good all year. Can you pretty please bring me a new computer? I'd love you forever!

Love,
Kimberly

Shopping: Conflict Free and Cute

Brilliant Earth is an online supplier of conflict free and eco-friendly jewelry. They have beautiful engagement rings (hint hint BF) but they also have really cute everyday jewelry that I just lurve. I follow them on Facebook and they just posted a contest where they are offering up a silver "In the Stars" pendant. Contest aside... how freaking cute is this thing?


They have all twelve of the zodiac symbols and each one is just as cute. I would definitely suggest checking out their site and go ahead... make a wishlist. I have one and it's 10 miles long now!

Photo-centric: Bella Does Laundry!

Oh, how I wish she could do the laundry! She actually just lays in it... smelly dog.

On a side note, it's been a very busy couple of weeks for us at the Caprara household. I just did the month end thing at work which is always stressful and then I've been working on some things around the house which has kept us awfully busy. Between it all, I just haven't had much time to really sit down and make anything. It's all good though because I have a few ideas I'm going to get working on now that I'll have some ME time in the next few days! Yay!

A Tea Party

A co-worker of mine has a yearly tradition of celebrating her daughter's birthday with a tea party at the O'Henry Hotel. They have a gorgeous tea room that's so whimsical and completely different than anything else around. Last year, I was asked to make themed invitations for the party and they were adorable! I opted to make teapot shaped invites with the actual written invitation attached to the lid so that it would slide out when the teapot was opened. They took forever because everything was cut by hand but they were so worth it! I just loved the look on my co-workers face when I gave them to her and I think that's what makes me happy about my art/crafts. The joy it brings people! But to get back on subject... take a look at the teapots! Cute right?




The cards from last year were such a hit, my co-worker asked me to make her invites again this year. (A new tradition in the works, maybe?) I actually had some of the paper left from last years project so I was able to make the teacups match the teapots... perfect!




These were surprisingly less tedious to make than the teapots and I actually made them from start to finish in a single afternoon. I should have made a tutorial on how I made them but I honestly didn't even think of it until Pete fussed at me to take pictures of the final product. And yes, I have my own personal fan club in my house! :oP Until next time!

Oh My!

I haven't posted in a few days but with good reason: there's some super big news coming! I can't wait to share ALL the details but mums the word for the moment. I feel like I'm going to pop if I don't give away at least a little clue so here it is!



What in the world could it be? I can't tell you now but soon you'll see!

And who knew that I was such a poet? :oP

Shopping: The Red Wonder

I fell in love with this coat the moment I saw it on OldNavy.com. It's cute. It's feminine. It's a beautiful ruby red. What else could a girl need to make her fall head over heels for this amazing coat? How about an awesome price tag... it's $79.50 online. You can also get an additional 25% percent off if you use promo code ONSTYLE25 at checkout through October 21st. And if red isn't your thing, it's also available in Rosemary Blue and Charcoal.

I decided to actually take the plunge and buy it when I read an article on TheBudgetFashionista about Kristin Cavallari from the show The Hills sporting the red wonder out and about in NYC. I loved it in the catalog style photo but I adore the way it looks out on the street in the real world. It's just so effortlessly chic. I love her outfit but I don't think I'll be wearing mine with a micro-mini anytime soon but I love it all the same. lol


She's so adorable! And just look at those legs... I hate her. (No, not really. I'm just jealous!)



(Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Old Navy and they didn't compensate me for this post. I just really freakin' love their clothes... a lot. I would estimate that 80% of my wardrobe hails from their stores. Love it!)

Upcycled Halloween Cards

I made these adorable Halloween cards using my Cuttlebug, some old Halloween stickers, and recycling cardboard from random things around the house.


Seriously... the cardboard turned out great! I'm all about recycling things and I had stashed away the perfect box for this project. I had bought a desk fan from Target when they had their back-to-school sales last year. The packaging was bright purple and lime green, very simplistic with big blank spaces. I hacked it to bits and stuffed it in my "scrap" drawer for later. The colors are PERFECT for Halloween stuff so I pulled out my scraps and put 'em to good use! The orange came from a Fanta soda box and the black frames were cut out packaging for a hole puncher.



I love how these turned out. Everything is SO shiny... they're just so snazzy! I almost don't want to send them out! Maybe I can stick them in some frames and hang 'em up for some cute Halloween decor...

Photo-centric: :o(

Welp, that's one way to ruin a perfectly good Monday.

Photo-centric: Don't Mess with Bella

P.S. - She may be only 16 pounds but my dog is a BEAST.

Super-Awesome Wedding Guest Frock

This Sunday, two of my wonderful friends are getting married to each other. I'm really excited about them taking the plunge and as an added perk, I love any excuse I can get to buy a dress and new shoes. I mean, what girl doesn't, right? So I went shopping this morning and the retail stars must have been aligned because I only went to two stores before I found the perfect frock and heels. Check it out!


I went to Dress Barn Woman to see what kind of stuff they had. I had actually never been to one before... I just felt weird about buying clothes from somewhere with "barn" in the name. (please don't tell me I was alone in that thinking! lol) But I'm glad I went because the first and only dress I tried on was perfect. I'm a plus size girl so that never happens! I was stoked because there was no trying on 20 different things before settling on something just because it looked decent. I mean, this dress doubled my confidence level just by putting it on so I just had to buy it even though it wasn't on sale. I shelled out the full $59.99 for her but it's totally worth it. I justified spending that much on a single dress with the reasoning that I can wear it to the wedding, cocktail parties, out on a girls night and even to the office with a jacket or cardigan. So yay for me!

I'm loving this fabric!

Now a smart looking dress like this can't go with just any shoe so I headed over to DSW. I only allow myself to go there when I "need" shoes because seriously, I would buy their entire stock if I could. I always head straight to the clearance section because I'm cheap thrifty like that. I found an awesome pair of Madden Girl Kandel Pumps. They are so freaking cute, I can't stand it. They were only $32 and change after the sales tax was added.



So after all was said and done, I spent about $100 total which is a lot for me but I think the look was well worth it. We'll have to see how the pictures come out on Sunday... I can't wait!



UPDATE!
They had a photo wedding booth! Cutest idea ever!


So you know we had to go straight gangster! :oP

Crafting ADD

I have a tendency to start projects with one thing in mind and then it evolves into something entirely different. I started this up-cycle with the intent of adding leaves to an old cardigan based on this super-cute idea by Janet of All Trades. I was going to document my project step by step and I even took some pictures. (Pardon the lighting... this is what happens during my 3:00AM crafting/insomnia therapy sessions.)



Well, it just didn't work out. I had a total mental concept FAIL. I cut out my leaves from and old hunter green Merona t-shirt and pinned them to my cardigan. Sadly, I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe, the green was too dark on the cream colored cardigan or something but what I envisioned in my mind wasn't translating to the fabric so well. Being the clothes hoarder that I am, I ran upstairs and found an old gray wife-beater style tank top that I haven't worn in ages and figured the leaves would look better on it instead.

I pinned the leaves onto the tank and I was pleased with the result so I went permanent and sewed them on. The leaves created this cascading ruffle on the front and I thought it was adorable. There was a problem though... I just didn't take into account how the whole thing would look on "the girls" once I put the tank on. The shirt looked great lying flat on the table but when I put it on, I realized the length of the "ruffle" wasn't nearly long enough. It seriously looked like I had a giant patch of green chest hair! (And we can't be having that, now can we?)

I decided I needed to add something break up the faux chest hair mass. I toyed with a couple of ideas but I settled on a flower since they're all the rage right now. I didn't have another t-shirt to mangle to make one so I went with the next best thing... ribbon. I can not even begin to tell you how I made it because I really don't know how myself. I just twisted and turned and sewed and stitched until it looked like a flower. I sewed on the final touch and viola... a new top!~





I think it all worked out in the end but it was nothing like I had planned or intended.

So what about you guys? Do you have the same problem and how does it usually work out?

Tuesday Tutorial: Save the Tatas Card

This past Valentine's Day, I made a lot of these... um, boobie cards and the girls at my office just LOVED them! They're a cute and quirky salute to the female form and they make great Valentines, bridal shower or girl's night out invites. Not to mention, they are really simple to make and although this isn't an in-depth tutorial, I thought I'd share how I made them in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.



I started off by making a 5 x 7 template for my design. To do this, I used the largest circle from my Spellbinders Nestabilities set to out line the shape of the bosom by drawing two circles overlapping a little. Using the dies themselves to do this will make it easier when you go to make the brassiere. From the outer edge of each circle, I drew a diagonal line to the top of the card. Once your shape is finished, cut it out and viola: boobies!

Yes. It says "Boobie Template" on it. Don't judge me. lol
Next, I used a piece of flesh colored 10 x 7 card stock folded in half to make a 5 x 7 card. Place your template on top of the folded card and lightly trace the shape using a pencil so you can erase any lines that might remain. Cut it out and now you have the base of the card.


To make the brassiere, simply pick the color you want and cut out a circle using the aforementioned die. Cut the circle in half and attach one piece to each side of your base. Now you're ready to decorate and this truly a free for all. Get creative and don't be shy! Feathers, sparkles, ribbons, vinyl, gems, stamps... you can be WILD or GLAMOROUS! Just have at it!

Photo-centric: Halloween Doodles!

All I need is a Sharpie, a couple of highlighters and Crayola markers and I'm entertained!

On the Web: What's Your Color Personality?

Little quizzes like this one from Better Homes and Gardens are a guilty pleasure of mine. Thanks to How About Orange for sharing this with us!

On to the results! Guess what I got...

Your color personality is: Green
It sounds like the hue you most relate to is green -- the color most evocative of nature. Adjectives such as kind, gentle, and contemplative likely describe you. You enjoy being involved with your neighbors and coworkers, but you also require plenty of time to yourself to recharge.You are social yet introverted, and modern but not trendy. Surround yourself with your signature color to create a restful, soothing environment. From sage to hunter, green can work well in virtually every room of your house. Use it generously to create a haven you'll love coming home to.

On the Web: Meathead!!

I love quirky ideas and this is just awesome! I definitely want to make one for Halloween!


Click here to check out this little tutorial by Andy Oakland on Make. It's super easy and looks like it would be something fun to create with the kids. I know my nephew would certainly get a kick out of it!

Good Deals: SnapFish Photo Book

I found a great deal for a photo book from Snapfish (HP) through SlickDeals. They're running a promotion until October 15th where you get $11.99 off your purchase when you use the code babybook at checkout. To commemorate our trip to the annual Honeybee Festival, I made a book for my nephew and it came out FREE with the coupon. I only had to pay $2.14 total which was for $1.99 shipping plus sales tax. Sweet!

To get this deal for yourself, create an account here. Then click here to select your style and options. There are all sorts of layouts, backgrounds, and text options. I opted for pictures on just one side of the page for the simple fact that I didn't have enough for all 20 pages.






I think it came out adorably and I love that I was able to narrate a little story for him to read. And more importantly, since it was only a couple of bucks, I feel fine about giving it to a 5 year old to play with. I just hope he likes it! :o)