I Pinned It, I Did It: Ruffled Burlap Tree Skirt

 

Let the Christmas crafting begin!

You've probably seen DIY ruffled tree skirts all over Pinterest. I've been attracted to the burlap ones since -- like everyone else -- I'm obsessed with burlap.  I wanted to replace my current tree skirt anyway (it looks like a santa suit), so I decided to give it a shot.

I used the tutorial from this blog: My Crazy Life

I would post the tutorial on here, but her directions are very detailed and come with photos. I followed them almost exactly.

Here are the only points I'll add:

• Consider the size of your tree before you start. My tree skirt is actually a little too big for my tree... I still love it, and we'll "grow into it" someday when we have a bigger tree. But if you have one of those tall, skinny trees, you may want to cut a smaller square for your base, or you'll end up with a tree DRESS.
• Burlap DOES NOT ruffle. It is too stiff of a fabric. If you use burlap, you have to make PLEATS with the fabric strips, which basically means a lot of folding and gluing. See this blog for examples and photos.
• I used 3-inch strips of fabric with the exception of the top row, which I made bigger (4 1/2 inches) to keep from having two short rows. I thought the strips were perfect, but I do wish the top row matched the rest. All in all, it took 3 1/2 yards of fabric with a few strips leftover.
• I used a painter's canvas drop cloth for the base of the skirt (like the blogger), but I couldn't find one even close to 4x4, so I bought a 6x9 (I think) and cut it down to a 4x4 square. It worked great as a base fabric, though -- it's sturdy enough, and the neutral color doesn't show through.
• Cut holes on the sides of the skirt before you start gluing fabric so you don't forget. This way you can tie the two sides together behind your tree.
• Keep your extra fabric strips. I used two of mine to tie the skirt sides. They make pretty matching burlap bows. :)
• DON'T bother with Goop. It's messy, smelly and ineffective. Hot glue only. But if you're working with burlap, be careful not to burn yourself! (I did, many times....)
• This project took me about 8-10 hours when it was all said and done. I split it up over a period of almost 2 weeks. I wouldn't recommend doing it all in one sitting unless you don't mind being sore EVERYWHERE. Seriously, I felt like an old woman doing this. I had to take breaks every 15 minutes or so...

What Christmas crafts are you making this year? Have you made a tree skirt?

<3 Mrs. G

P.S. I'm accepting suggestions and recipes for Christmas baking...

Thanksgiving Recap

Why does Thanksgiving always catch me off guard? Last year, Mr. G and I had a wedding that week, and this year it came earlier than usual. I'm never prepared. It's probably a good thing I don't have any fall decorations, because Thanksgiving always comes and goes faster than I can throw away my pumpkin and log into Pinterest for craft ideas.

The one thing I've managed to somehow prepare in time for Thanksgiving is the food. Even though I don't typically start thinking about it until the week before and cooking it the night or two before, it's miraculously worked out so far. I even (successfully) cooked my first turkey last year! We spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws this year, so everyone brought one dish. Since I love holiday cooking, I contributed a couple more. :) Here is what I made for this year's feast:

• 11-lb Turkey (for Mr. G and me)
• Apple & Goat Cheese Salad
• My Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole
• 44 Cupcakes -- 18 Pumpkin, 26 Chai :)

Turkey

For my turkey directions, check out my Thanksgiving post from last year. I only did a couple things differently this year: I cooked the turkey in an oven bag (it keeps the pan clean and browns the skin), and I used the packet provided by Jenni-O for gravy instead of my mother-in-law's recipe (we didn't keep enough drippings to make the latter, but it was still really good!). And FYI, Jenni-O turkeys have a thermometer that pops out when the turkey is cooked, so it's super easy to tell when it's done. I made this for our "round two" of Thanksgiving at home, just for Mr. G and me. We had it with mashed potatoes and leftover sweet potato casserole (starches much?).

And in case you're wondering, I'm STILL eating turkey leftovers.

Apple & Goat Cheese Salad

This was inspired by the Apple Gorgonzola Salad at Buca di Beppo. I worked there for four years, and that salad was always my favorite. I posted this recipe once before and called it the "summer apple salad." Here's the link. Try it out -- it's a light, sweet salad that pairs well with a raspberry/cranberry/walnut vinaigrette and can be enjoyed as much in the fall or winter as in the summer. :)

Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole

My mom makes the best casseroles. Maybe it was her Southern roots, but holidays at my house were always delicious and abundant. This is one of her sweet potato casserole recipes. I've made this one three years in a row now, but this year was the first time I tried the crunchy topping (usually I just do marshmallows). For the record, the crunchy topping is way better! Here is her recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 c sweet potatoes (canned is fine)
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 6 tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Topping:
• 3/4 c crushed corn flakes
• 1/2 c chopped nuts (I chopped up honey glazed peanuts)
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 6 tbsp melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bake sweet potatoes according to directions on can. Mash when they are cooked.
3. Add eggs, melted butter and spices to mashed potatoes.
4. Slowly add milk until mixture reaches pudding consistency.
5. Pour mixture into greased 9x9 pan and bake for 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle topping on casserole when it comes out of the oven. Return casserole to the oven to bake 10 additional minutes.

Chai Cupakes

I've been wanting to make chai cupcakes for a long time. I have a slight major obsession with chai tea. I drink it every single morning while getting ready for work, and I usually order it whenever I go out for coffee. (For those who share my obsession: my favorite chai makers are Panera, Starbucks and Uncommon Grounds in Minneapolis.) Sadly, these cupcakes turned out to be much more challenging than I expected due to several issues I encountered with this recipe. I got it from Pinterest (naturally), and the blogger who posted it neglected a few details:

1. I had no idea how many cupcakes the batter was supposed to make (I wanted 12 cupcakes and ended up with 26).
2. The ingredients were very imbalanced -- the dry/wet ratio was off due to the pot of CHAI TEA I added. Even after adding several additional cups of flour/sugar and test baking three cupcakes, I still ended up with soupy batter and sad little cupcake craters.
3. The frosting recipe (honey cinnamon swiss meringue) lacked directions entirely. Have you ever made swiss meringue? If so, you know that it requires VERY specific directions. With most frostings, if there are no special directions, you can pretty much throw all the ingredients in the KitchenAid and mix them up. Not so with swiss meringue! I eventually found these directions and was able to make a successful swiss meringue (after throwing out a batch), but Mr. G hated it. :( I liked it, but just in case I was the weird one, I made a double batch of my go-to buttercream -- Magnolia Bakery's vanilla buttercream. (Pro tip: use less butter or more confectioner's sugar if you want buttercream that doesn't melt; I've learned this the hard way. Multiple times.)

Thankfully, even though they looked pitiful, the cupcakes actually tasted amazing. I think they may be my new favorites.... In spite of how angry they made me!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes last year around Thanksgiving for the first time. Here's the link to my post with the recipe. This year, I substituted the vanilla buttercream for the cream cheese frosting and sprinkled cinnamon on top. I was going to make a salted caramel frosting, but after two (kinda) failed attempts at the swiss meringue, I just decided to make something that would work for both the chai and pumpkin cupcakes. Whatever, I was tired.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you try any new recipes, or do you have classics that you always make? Feel free to share your recipes and your cooking/baking stories and screw-ups with me. :)

<3 Mrs. G

P.S. I may not have any Thanksgiving decorations, but Christmas I've got covered. Right now I'm working on a burlap ruffle tree skirt (Pinterest project, of course). I'll post it soon!

Kale Chips + Surgery Update

So I've been wanting to try kale for some time, but I could never figure out what to do with it. I knew it was lettuce's more nutritional but slightly less appetizing cousin; it has a reputation of being bitter and chewy. I've heard of it being used in salad, but that didn't really excite me. And then, thanks to Pinterest, I discovered kale chips!

I actually pinned a couple different recipes on my {food love} board, but the one I went with is from the Lululemon blog. Lululemon is a Canadian company that sells super cute workout clothes (I got one of their energy bras for my birthday and I'm so excited to wear it!). Their blog is also pretty cool, and this particular post contained some helpful tips on how to prepare kale and bring out more of its flavor.

Here is the link to the recipe. The only thing I did differently was add some sesame seeds (an ingredient in the other recipe I looked at). Other than that, just beware of oversalting! Here are some pics of my finished kale chips:

In other news, Mr. G is in surgery right now for his back and hopefully will be finished soon. He is having a spinal decompression for a herniated disc in his lower back. It's a minimally invasive surgery with moderately low risk, so we're hoping to go home today - pain free. :) Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, please. Especially Mr. G - he has handled all of this very well, but he is so active that I know it's been hard on him to feel so immobile. He can't wait to start running with me, and I can't wait to have him back!

<3 Mrs. G

Fresh Mozzarella Pizza

Here's another Pinterest recipe I made this week: fresh mozzarella pizza. It was supposed to be a tomato & basil pizza, but I forgot the tomatoes and I used spinach leaves instead of basil leaves (although I sprinkled dried basil on top). This pizza was AMAZING, even without the tomatoes on it, and it isn't that unhealthy. It would be even healthier if I had made the pizza dough myself using whole wheat flour (a project for when I have my stand mixer) and the pizza sauce from fresh tomatoes.

Here's the recipe on Pinterest. This served as more of an inspiration for my pizza rather than an exact guide, especially since the guy is clearly a pro and several notches above my skill level. I have always wanted to make a homemade pizza, so I looked to him for ingredients and spices to include. Next time I'll go all out and make everything from scratch. :)

Here are the ingredients I used:

Pizza dough, pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella, spinach, onions, basil, minced garlic, parmesan cheese

As for directions, I just followed the instructions on the pizza dough. Basically, you roll out the pizza dough and stick in the oven by itself for 5 minutes. While the dough is setting, cut the fresh mozzarella (and tomato) into slices. If you want to add onion, dice that as well. Take the dough out of the oven and spread 1/2 cup pizza sauce on it. Then add the mozzarella, tomato and spinach, and sprinkle your spices and parmesan cheese on top. Stick the pizza in the oven for 6-10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown (mine took about 8 minutes). That's it; you're done! So easy, and so delicious.

My next recipe is a healthy one - baked kale chips!

<3 Mrs. G

P.S. I made the pizza again with tomatoes, and it was even better!

New Christmas Favorites: DIY Decor & Cake Balls

If you read my previous post, then you're aware that I spent the little free time I had last week making DIY Christmas decorations for our Christmas party on Saturday. See my last post for my inspiration (via Pinterest, of course). Here are my final products:

Styrofoam cone + floral pins + LOTS of ribbon!

Tall vase + fresh cranberries and dill + floating candle

Mason jar + Epsom salt + small candle + twine

Free Christmas printable from this blog that I found on Pinterest

I also made my spinach dip (my favorite go-to party dip), Pillsbury Christmas cookies (so easy...) and, for the first time, cake balls! I've been wanting to make them ever since they started popping up all over the internet. I ate them on Thanksgiving for the first time and they looked easy to make. Since I didn't have enough time to whip up a batch of homemade cupcakes for the party - plus I had yellow cake mix leftover from apple crisp - I thought I would give these a try. They turned out to be pretty simple, but having the sticks to go in them (a la cake pops) would have been better, since toothpicks are too small and flimsy for dipping, and barbecue skewers are too fat and just look ridiculous (yes, I tried them). I know there are a lot of ways to make these, but here's how I did it:

Chocolate Cake Balls

Ingredients:

• Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix (I used half a box, which was enough for a 9x9 pan and 18 large cake balls) - see back of box for remaining cake ingredients
• Vanilla buttercream frosting (from my 200 Cupcakes book - I made half):
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp hot water
• 2 bags semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Sprinkles to decorate

Directions:

• Bake cake according to box directions - in a 9x13 pan for a full box and a 9x9 pan for half a box.
• Make frosting while allowing cake to cool. I made vanilla buttercream, but I've heard cream cheese is really good, too. If you're short on time, just use a half-tub of store-bought frosting.
• When cake is cooled, crumble all of it into a large mixing bowl. Add frosting and mix together so that it's mushy.
• Roll little balls from cake-frosting mixture and place on wax paper or foil.
• Heat chocolate chips in microwave, mixing every 30 seconds until smooth and creamy. If necessary, add some hot water to make the consistency thinner (I did this).
• Dip cake balls into chocolate, coat evenly, and place back on paper/foil. Use sticks if you have them. If not, just drop the cake balls in and use a spoon to cover them with chocolate. Toothpicks didn't work for me because of the thickness of the chocolate, but they may work for other toppings.
• If you want, add sprinkles as you finish coating each cake ball with chocolate.
• When finished, place them (covered) in the fridge to sit. Serve and enjoy!

If you're a visual learner, here's a helpful video I found on YouTube for making cake balls.

If you have any delicious cake ball/pop recipes, please feel free to comment and share! These might be my newest obsession... :)

Now, time to watch Love Actually and drink some egg nog (another favorite) after a day of Christmas shopping at the Mall of America - yes, we braved it. Good luck with all of your shopping/crafting/baking/traveling this holiday season! Lots of love from snowy Minnesota. ;)

<3 Mrs. G

P.S. Our Christmas cards came in this week! If I can figure out how to upload them on here, I'll show you what they look like. I actually ended up buying them through Walgreens because I could fit a lot of our cute Christmas photos into one card. :)

Have Yourself a Crafty Little Christmas...

As I mentioned in my last post, my focus this week is on DIY Christmas decor. I'm on a bit of a tight schedule, because Mr. G and I are having friends over to our house this Saturday for a Christmas party, so I want my halls to be decked and ready by then. We've already got our tree up - as you may have seen in my last post - as well as our stockings, Christmas lights on the deck, a berry wreath on the door, some holiday-scented candles, and a couple nutcrackers from my vast collection. But that's about it. It was enough to fill up our tiny apartment in Connecticut last year (let's be honest, the tree pretty much filled the apartment), but our townhome requires a little more TLC to look merry and bright. Instead of paying $200 for Christmas decorations from Target, I decided to try making some myself for cheaper (surprised?). Even less surprising, I drew all my inspiration from my favorite website - Pinterest.

Here are my thrifty muses:
  


Snow Candles using Epsom salt! I added twine around the top. 



Ribbon Tree

 

Berry Garland Centerpiece



Cranberries in a Mason jar

 As for my progress, I finished the snow candles, I'm halfway done with one of my two ribbon trees (until I ran out of ribbon), and I put together the vase with the berry garland, but the berries were fake and apparently not waterproof... They started melting! The water wasn't even hot! So bizarre. I threw them away and cursed myself for paying $7 for fake, crappy berries. I think I'll get some real berries next and try for the last project pictured.

I'll show you pics of all my projects when I finish them. In the meantime, I'm taking suggestions for snack items for my Christmas party... I was planning on making spinach dip, but I'm open to other ideas. Thankfully I don't have to make a ton of food, because all our guests will bring something to share - wine, snacks, etc. I'm also open to cocktail suggestions. :)

How are you decking your halls this year?



<3 Mrs. G

P.S. If you want to see more DIY projects I have up my sleeve, check out my {next projects} board on Pinterest. :)

Favorite New Apps

So I'm using the Blogger app for iPhone right now, and it's pretty nifty. About time they came out with one, too! Blogger mobile just wasn't cutting it. The only thing that's missing is the Analytics feature (unless I just overlooked it), which is unfortunate since quite a few businesses use Blogger. I'm sure it will come around before too long, though.

Another app I'm all about right now is Pinterest. I hesitated to get on the Pinterest bandwagon at first because I have enough social media in my life and I didn't want to overcommit again (case in point: my sad Tumblr). And that may still happen, but as of right now I love it. It's like a combination of Tumblr, StumbleUpon and Flickr - you showcase your interests by "pinning" photos from the web (or "repinning" from other users) and organizing them on boards by topic. It's simple, creative, and actually pretty fun. Best of all - the social component takes very little time. Though it is easy to get sucked into browsing other pins for hours... It's a great outlet for (minimal) artistic expression, it's perfect for gathering inspiration (for weddings, home decor, etc.) and it's a useful tool for companies and bloggers to get exposure in a creative and unique way, provided their audience is women who like pretty photos (I have yet to encounter a male Pinterest user). So far, count me as a fan; time will tell if I remain active or get bored and move on.

Let me know your favorite apps - I'm always looking for new ones (especially if they're free).

Stay tuned this week for a new cupcake recipe. :) Happy hump day!

<3 Mrs. G