Fall Fest Pin Win - Lighted Pumpkin

Hot off of my fail from last weekend...

Not one to give up, I went on to my second trick for the Fall theme I didn't realize I was doing - The Pumpkin Luminary

Have you ever wanted to give in to the Christmas decorations in October but don't want to be called out for being "that person"? This is the pin for you (and me, clearly.)

I mean - you know a pin is going to be awesome when it comes from This Old House. Just the thought of it makes me nostalgic for Sunday morning TV with my dad.

So, right on the heels of my fail (linked above in the very first sentence - can't believe you missed it!), I started over with a pumpkin project. I got everything together:

Turns out, the entire pumpkin punching kit was not needed. The "punches" were grouped together not only in the package, but also as a whole. So I couldn't punch just one whole - I had to punch BOTH holes. Stupid. The scooper though - that's where it is at! Definitely get yourself a scooper.

So I got started by carving my pumpkin the old-fashioned way: cut off the top and get your hands in there for a while until you're grossed out at the amount of pumpkin under your nails. Then you use the amazing scooper (or a spoon, let's get real) to scoop the rest of the guts out and make it nice.

My handy tip at this point would be to get the walls on the thinner side if it is a thick-walled pumpkin (as was mine). 

Remember to keep the seeds if you are Betty Homemaker and would like an easy, seasonal treat. I, on the other hand, threw it all out in my frustration at my last fail. So there's that.

I didn't get pictures of the next steps because it was just plain messy and I like my camera clean and working. Basically, you get out the power drill and put a drill bit on it that is just about the circumference of a mini-lightbulb. Then - go to town!

The pin has a nice little design that I'm sure you can draft up with markers, pens (or hell, crayons) and then drill holes in the pattern. I decided to go with the "balls to the wall" approach and go wild with the drill. I didn't measure, plan nor try to get them equi-distant apart - none of that fancy "I know what I'm doing" stuff. One tip that my husband gave me (other than "don't break my shit") was to not only drill the hole, but also go in and out of it a couple times to make it real clean.

Unlike your mind on that last sentence.

Once you have all your holes, make one big hole at the bottom side. The pin has the woman making it literally in the bottom of the pumpkin, but I can't wrap my head around how she would set it down and have it sit straight. This hole has to be about as big as the plug.

Then, you feed the lights through and push them through the holes from the inside of the pumpkin out. I started at the top of the pumpkin and worked my way around the circle until I got to the bottom. Depending on how your holes are spaced, you'll certainly miss a few lights here and there. It'll also get super jumbled in there, so my suggestion is to keep a hand on the light that JUST went into the pumpkin at all times, and keep moving backwards as you push the lights through the holes.

When in doubt, jam all the lights in the pumpkin and push lights through whatever hole they are closest to. You do you.

In the end, you have a rather cool looking pumpkin:

And when it's done? In all honesty, it looks super weird when it's not lit up and it's just chillin' on the table.

But when it's lit?

It's pretty damn awesome.

Alright - time for the breakdown:
- Pumpkin - $3.00 (bought it at Walmart and the price is still $3 when I went today)
- Lights - $2.49 - I also bought this at Walmart in their Christmas section. I bought the 150 mini-lights and that was plenty. You could almost go with 100 if you find them, but I wouldn't go with 50.
Total Cost: $5.50

Yes, yes, you could get yourself a carving kit for $2-$3... but just use a spoon. And yes, I (and This Old House) say to use a drill, but if you don't have a drill....

... Christmas is coming - just wait until next year. *wink*

Enjoy your weekend all :)

Fall Festival Failure - Leaf Bowl

It's been a week! One filled with lots of early mornings, late nights and a stupid cold that I can't seem to shake. Luckily, I had a relaxing weekend in front of me with Pinterest at my fingertips.

I tried for TWO this weekend. Both ended in the statement "F' you, Pinterest!". So... that's how that went.

The first I tried was this pin - The Leaf Bowl

I was super excited about this. Doesn't this look so great? And it could totally be out as general fall decor - that's a full 2-3 months before the dreaded snow hits. I went out and immediately got my supplies.

As for leaves... I had a few to choose from.

To answer your question: No. I don't rake that anymore. Ain't nobody got time for that.

So I grabbed about 30 leaves that were super pretty, brought them in the house and took off the stems. I blew up my balloon, covered it with mod podge, stuck my leaves on and covered it again in mod podge. You should definitely be reading that last sentence with the full momentum I felt while doing it.

Now that you've built up that momentum - lets kill it, much like mine was. It didn't work! I don't have pictures of this because my hands were covered with mod podge, but trust me - it was so bad. These things would not lie down for the life of them. After more than one or two creative swear words, I decided that I wouldn't give up. I was going to try again.

I thought, maybe the leaves are too dead? I did choose them from the ground. I went outside and grabbed some live leaves directly from the trees.

This worked a little bit better... but they still would't stick completely. I'd get one on there, glue it down, and then it would start drying and peel up.  Not only did the live ones not stick but since they were alive they were still waxy, so they were moving around all over this balloon. I gave up after applying about 5 leaves.

More swearing ensued - including "F you Pinterest". (Edited for appropriateness)

Full Breakdown:

Balloons: $2.49 for the bag (20 balloons)

Mod Podge: $10.99 for 16oz (this can certainly be cheaper - my JoAnn's was out of the smaller sizes)

Foam Brushes: $5.99 for 20 (why do I have to buy everything in bulk?!)

Leaves: Free.

Loss of Ego: Priceless.

Total: Who cares. This shit doesn't work.

On the bright side, when I was done I had the very relaxing task of peeling off the dried glue from my hands 3rd-grade style. Let me tell you - Mod Podge is way more satisfying than Elmer's glue.

Enjoy your weekends, friends. And don't waste your time on this. Unless you do and it works. In that case - teach me, o' wise one.

Simply Saturday - "What Do You Wanna Do" Jar

Simply Saturday is a good day for those "half-asses" like me who really want to do something crafty, but don't really want to spend hours on it.

And that's where this pin comes in. Now, keep in mind I didn't quite follow the pin as much as used it for inspiration. The lady that created the pin was way more invested in this than I was.

Let me introduce you to my weekly Saturday conversation:
My Husband: what do you want to do today?
Me: Not sure - what do you want to do?
My Husband: I don't know.
*5 minutes later*
My Husband: so... what do you want to do today?
... it gets maddening.

So when I saw this pin I thought (to myself, because my husband would hate the idea): "hey! Let's take this whole decision thing out of our hands!"

So off I went and found my supplies. (Yes, yes, the lighting sucks in this picture. Walk away, trolls, I'm no professional.)

I also did not want to get all fancy with labels, wood glue, etc. like the pin did, so I came up with a pretty lazy awesome alternative: good ol' Sharpie. Now, small tidbit of information about me: I have an extensive amount of Sharpies. I'd say I'm not proud, but I'm not one to lie to you guys.

Except, apparently it's nothing to brag about because APPARENTLY I don't own one single Sharpie that normal people would write with. You know, like black. Dark purple was my best bet and my tool of choice for this pin.

I started out by sorting out my sticks by color. Buying multiple colors in one pack was complete happenstance - I thought it would look prettier in the jar - but it started to work out as I wrapped my mind more and more around how I was to do this.

I started categories. That's right - I'm getting organized with this shit.

For red: I decided that would be all the super expensive, once every few years type of "what to do". You know, for those days when my husband asks "What do you want to do today" and I feel like the answer "spend thousands of dollars" would be well-received. Things I included here were cruises, all-inclusives, week-long vacations, etc. And yes, I put in 2 of the same - there are two cruises to Alaska (something my husband has always wanted to do) and two all-inclusives (something I've always wanted to do). Red = stop and think.

For yellow: This is one step back from blowing our savings account to pieces. When we feel like doing something that is still big and a good experience, but can't afford a whole week to dedicate to splurging. Things I included here are weekends away (driving distances) that include hotels, last minute deals listed on AAA (which are usually cheaper) and Groupon Getaways. Yellow = slow your roll, think about it, proceed with caution.

For blue: These are activities that aren't blowing the bank by any means, but they aren't regularly considered cheap or free. I included things here like redecorating/painting a room (we have a lot of projects at the house), going out to a super fancy dinner or going a drive away (45 minutes or so) and hitting up the plethora of wineries and breweries available. I have no other reasoning for this being blue other than it was the 4th color included in my package...

For green: these are the cheap to free things. This will probably be the ones grabbed for on a weekly basis (if I can convince my husband that it is a good idea... ha!) These are the things that we can truly do spontaneously and they don't take much commitment (Netflix day) or much money (try a new local restaurant) to do. Green = go, go, go you crazy kids. Participate with abandon!

All in all, this was simple, fun to create, and not expensive to throw together at all. Here's the breakdown:
Glass Jar - $3 (Target dollar spot)
Craft Sticks - $5 (or so - Walmart)
Sharpie - $8 (for an 8-pack that will hopefully include black, Walmart)
Grand Total to Complete: $16.00

See? Not too shabby at all. You could probably purchase some ribbon, string, burlap or tape to fancy up this jar a bit but - let's be honest - a pretty jar isn't gonna make the ideas inside it any cooler (or less cool, depending on how glass-half-full you are).

I suppose I won't know if this pin really "works' until we have a "what do you wanna do" Saturday but, when we do, I'll be sure to post the pictures of the result.

Fat Kid Friday - Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

(Unlike every other post I've ever written, this is early. Let's call it "in preparation for" Fat Kid Friday)

I promise this isn't a cooking blog, guys. I just REALLY like food. Like... really.

And what I REALLY like on a Fat Kid Friday is chocolate. And peanut butter. And this pin puts them together in the most gorgeous of ways. I mean - how can you not pin something that looks like this:

Heck. Yes.

I didn't plan on doing another baking/cooking post, but I already had most of the supplies and a mad hinkering for cookies. Thus, the post was born.

I got started right away and gathered all the crap I needed. And it was kind of a lot of crap.

I got the dry ingredients all together a la this:

And I may not have definitely was not a clean cook. I'm kind of a mess. Mind you, I only had to take a cup and a half of flour out of the bag, but a good 3 cups ultimately came out, most of which landed on my counter, floor, stove, pants, etc.

This is a very small amount of the flour bomb that went off in my kitchen. I continued on, though, determined that I was making these cookies. And cleaning later.

The wet ingredients were quite possibly the best looking mixture I've ever done. It was so fluffy! Don't ask me if that's how it's supposed to be though. I have no clue.

So once everything was thrown together in the bowl, they had to chill. The author of the pin recommended at least 1 hour. I went 4 because I'm and over-achiever (and also forgetful). Once they chilled they were much less sticky, so it's definitely worth it to chill the mixture. Move quick though - these little bastards get sticky super quick.

So after baking, they looked crazy delicious! (P.S. This is not a dinner plate. It just looks that way. They aren't that huge.)

And yes, I couldn't let the pin show me up, so I got fancy with it.

Touche, pinterest, touche. I owned you today! These were super, super delicious and not near as sweet as they appear to be at first glance. The best part? I have never in my life made a cookie that stayed super soft for days; but THESE - these stayed soft all. week. long. In all honesty, I'm a bit more surprised that they lasted all week to know that fact.

Okay - let's assume you owned none of this. How much will this pin cost you? Let me break it down for you:

1. Flour - $1.99
2. Cocoa Powder - $3.29
3. Baking Soda - $0.89
4. Salt - $0.59
5. Butter - $2.99
6. Light Brown Sugar - $1.59
7. Granulated Sugar - $2.19
8. Peanut Butter - $1.99
9. Egg - $3.29
10. Vanilla Extract - $2.29
11. Milk - $1.79
12. Reese's miniatures - $3.69

Grand total: $26.58. Prices are from Wegmans, and yes, I chose generic where I could. Yes, twenty six bucks is super expensive. However, chances are you're going to have at least one or two of these items (egg? peanut butter? C'mon, you know you own it.) Also - it's cookies. Chalk it up to amazingness and fork it out.

Results? Heck yes - this pin is one to keep for the long haul. Delicious.

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip

For my first trick...one of the first pins I've ever pinned: Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip

I love myself anything buffalo chicken. I've been making a buffalo chicken dip for years and it is chuck-full of super fat cheeses and dressings. When I came across this pin and the pictures didn't look too weird, I thought I'd save it for a football Sunday laid-back kind of day. Four years later, I'm finally giving it a go.

Here's what you'll need (obviously, check the original pin for amounts)

This was pretty straight forward. Throw crap in a pot and heat it up. So, diligently I followed. First the cream cheese...

Next, the yogurt (which grosses me out beyond belief - the smell though!)...

Next, make it look like you killed something and throw in the hot sauce...

Blue cheese! Into the hot tub you go...

Andddd then the cheese. I cheated here. It was supposed to be "part skim", but I panicked in the cheese aisle with the sheer amount of people and grabbed the first bag I saw that said mozzarella. It was whole milk. Fail.

Then add in the chicken and stir it all together.

Then, it's just a matter of letting everything melt. Altogether, I let this go for about 8 minutes on medium heat and about 10 more minutes on medium-low heat.

*Spoiler alert* it doesn't get all that less chunky after "melting".

Survey says? Delicious. I legitimately think that this is better than the one I've been making for years!  This may or may not be due to the real blue cheese (I used to use blue cheese salad dressing), but who cares? It's healthy(er), it only has a few more ingredients than my usual, and even the husband was super impressed. It was so good, we both dug right in and didn't even get classy with a serving dish, or even pictures with a "this is good stuff" thumbs up. We just. Kept. Eating.

When I finally came up for air, I pulled out my receipt to figure out "what's the cost?" Some of these pins aren't even worth it if it's going to cost you an arm and a leg. Here's the breakdown:

Cream Cheese: $1.69
Yogurt: $2.78
Hot Sauce: $2.29
Blue Cheese: $2.89
Mozzarella: $2.59
Canned Chicken: $5.98
Chips: $2.99
Total Cost to Pull This Off: $16.74
Prices were taken from my receipt today, because yes, I owned none of it (except for the hot sauce. I have that on hand at all times and googled that price).

So, not the best cost but at least it'll feed a small crowd and once you have the ingredients you can make it again once or twice before you need to buy anything again.

This is definitely going into my football food staples. Try it out!

Here We Go Again!

So, it's no secret that I am a Pinterest fanatic. I spend days hours on this site (don't tell my husband) and pin my life away. Why not spend more time on Pinterest and call it a hobby? I think I'm on to something...

Here's the thing - I know we all have "that board" on Pinterest. You know the one; it's usually called "someday" or "future crafts" or "shit I'll try someday" and makes you say at least one of the following..

1) That can't actually work... can it?
2) That's so cool! I gotta remember this!
3) I could totally do that! It looks so easy!
4) I'm going to pin it now and I swear I'll read it later.
5) I'm totally going to do this for my next (party/holiday/weekend free/other event that I won't do this pin for)

I know these boards exist because I currently have two. It was a week ago or so when I started working on board number 3 that I decided NO MAS! No mas I say! *Please feel free to get the full effect by standing up suddenly with your hand in the air and scream it. I'll wait.*

It's about time I bring the future and someday to now. It was this thought that lead to the creation of this blog. I will slowly but surely make my way through the pins on these boards (to which I'm adding more and more pins to daily).

Come with me on this Pinterest journey, feel free to try some that work, call me out for messing it up (which is bound to happen - you know it), or laugh at the ones that are just not right. I've also added a Poll feature (to the left) that I will update the question periodically to see what you are hoping to see or any other random crap I'd like to find out from you!

For those of you that are fans of my other blog, ThriftySew, don't fret! Although I will not be adding more to that one, I'll still be doing regular refashions on this one (I've got pins for that!), as well as Throwback Thursdays that will include some of my favorites.