Fishnet Wrapped Mason Jar

When we decided on a beach theme for Ronda's seasonal display table I immediately thought about those cute net wrapped mason jars I see everywhere - in fact when I showed my sister the one I ended up making and told her she needed one she replied "yep, I own that. except I bought it". Well where's the fun in that haha? So I wanted to make one - did a little internet searching and ended up sort of following the directions I found here. Wasn't hard at all, you only need twine and a jar (and scissors) - I took lots of pictures to show you the process, if you need more directions click on the above link and see if her instructions help.

Directions:

1. Wrap a piece of twine around the top of the jar with a little extra to tie off. Lay it out on the table.

2. Cut 10 lengths of twine that are 32" each. Fold in half, put the loop under the short piece of twine that will go around the top of the jar, then feed the two ends thru the loop and pull tight. Repeat with all ten long pieces, space them out on the short piece, then tie the short piece around the top of the jar.

fold 32" piece in half and put under the short piece

bring the two ends up over the short piece and thru the loop, pull tight

repeat with all 10 long pieces, space them evenly 

then tie the short piece around the top of the mason jar. with the 10 knotted pieces hanging down

3. For the first row, knot two lengths of twine together about 1" down from the top. Repeat the whole way around. For the second row continue knotting 2 lengths together making a diamond pattern. Repeat each row until you get to the bottom of the jar - note you are creating a net of sorts and it will stretch, once I got towards the bottom I turned the jar over and stretched the twine to see how many more rows I needed. Once you have created enough net to cover the jar tie all the little ends together underneath the jar, try to make them somewhat even so the jar will sit straight when upright.

 

take two lengths and tie them together about 1" down from the top

 repeat around the jar to make the first row.

repeat for each row

stretch the net a bit until it looks right and is long enough to be able to wrap around the bottom

then start knotting all 20 of the ends together to hold the net in place.

try to space the knots so they aren't all on top of each other in one place so the jar sits flat and not all wobbly. 

4. Trim off any tails - you could finish this with additional twine wrapped around the top of the jar if you want. 

For Ronda's table I filled them with paper spider mum flowers; sand, shells, a candle, etc. would look good too!

I found some instructions here at itallstartedwithpaint.com

Knock-Off Topopo Salad

There is a little Mexican restaurant here in town that makes a stellar salad - it's so good I don't think I've ever ordered anything else. And it's HUGE so sharing is a must, it isn't a salad that's going to hold over very well but it's too delicious to waste...so if you go there bring a friend! I have adapted this salad to make it more user friendly (and smaller) at home by skipping a couple steps and changing a few things.

The original salad has a base of mashed pinto beans and cheese on tortilla chips, then spread with guacamole, and topped with (a LOT of) salad. Here's how I make it...

For the salad, mix together in a large bowl:
-4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
-2 1/2 oz. diced tomatoes
-2 1/2 oz. shredded chicken
-2 1/2 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
-2 1/2 oz. shredded monterey jack cheese
-2 1/2 oz. thawed frozen peas
-2 1/2 oz. scallions, chopped
- 1 diced avocado
season with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper to taste

Chip layer:
Spread tortilla chips on a baking sheet, spread mashed, whole, or refried beans on top. Sprinkle with a big handful of shredded cheddar and bake until the cheese is melted (you can also microwave this if you use a large plate instead of the baking sheet).

To serve: you have two choices - either put the chip layer on a large serving dish and top with all of the salad (then everyone helps themselves) or divide the chips onto individual plates and proportion out the salad on top of each one. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top of the salad.

Serves 4.

Note: I eyeball these ingredients - too much work to measure 2 1/2 ounces of each of those things, just wing it! It'll be good (and messy) I promise! Oh, and this is the place that only serves margaritas, beer, and tequila that I told you about, and the waitress recommended tequila over a ton of fruit - yum. Click here for that post.

3- Ingredient Sangria

Super easy cheater way to make sangria - perfect for the hot days we are having!

1 bottle light red wine (like Malbec or Rioja - I don't know what Rioja is but we really like Malbec so that's what I used)
3 cups apple juice
2 thinly sliced peaches
I like to add a big handful of blueberries too, but I made that part up and it's not in the actual "recipe" from Real Simple magazine a few years ago.

Mix all together and serve over ice.

K-Cup Craft: Twine Light Shades

Yep, it's another k-cup craft :). I'm pretty sure Ronda was hoping I'd run out of ideas and stop making k-cup crap for her display table... after making ghosts, snowmen, bunnies, and birds she might be over it haha but I'm not! So here goes:

                         

These are super simple - all I did was hot glue some twine around the cups and run a little piece of wire thru the top to form a loop. Then tie onto a long piece of thin ribbon to form a garland. That was a little plain so I cut out a few paper starfish (found a free template online and used Stampin' Up patterned paper), made 2 little notches in the middle of each one and threaded them onto the ribbon in between each k-cup light shade. Nice and beachy for the display table I'm working on!

Note: it would be cute to poke a hole in the top of the k-cups and insert mini twinkle lights in them - like what I did with the ghosts and snowmen but I thought I'd change it up this time and just make a garland instead with the paper starfish.

click to see other k-cup posts:
snowmen
ghosts
bunnies
birds

Fresh Peas

An update on how my little deck garden is doing a month into it - everything looks great and we have been picking beans and peas much to Lucy and Sarge's delight!

Every morning Sarge comes out to check the garden and look for 'maters' - they won't be ready for awhile yet but him standing up on his back legs and looking into the planter box is soooooo cute :)

One thing I've noticed - and I'm assuming it's from the "dairy doo" - I have TONS of weeds happening this year in addition to some mighty nice looking plants. Oh well, it's a trade off I'm willing to make (so far).

Chocolate Mint Cookies

This is from Redbook magazine 12/2000 - it's one of those recipes that is a basic dough then they change it up different ways. For some reason I've never tried any of the other versions but have made these chocolate mint ones a lot...since we love this one I should probably try the others too! Macadamia white chocolate chip, toffee pecan drops, and drizzled ginger-spice chews are the other versions - D can't eat 2 of those so I'm gonna make the ginger spice ones and let you know how it goes. Anyway - for now here is the chocolate mint recipe:

2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
9 oz. coarsely chopped creme de menthe thins (I use Andes mint chips)

Preheat oven to 375'. Combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda and set aside. Beat butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, 1 minute. Add sugars and beat until smooth, 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, then beat to combine. Add flour mixture, and mix until moistened. Stir in chocolate mint pieces. Spoon onto an engrossed baking sheet in rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 in. apart, and bake 10 to 12 minutes.

I made some using my 2 Tablespoon scoop, and smaller ones with a
1 Tablespoon scoop. The larger ones only took 13 minutes to bake.

I baked half of the dough and froze the other half in 1 Tablespoon balls for later

gave some to my friend Teri who was worried she'd eat them all
before she got home to share with her family - she said that I should
make it so she couldn't get at them... so I duct taped the
opening to help her with self control LOL! 

July 4, 2017

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

cheers to
~Stars and Stripes~
~Freedom~
~Sparklers~
~Parades~
~Liberty~
and food, fireworks, family, and friends

ENJOY YOUR DAY!

A note from the dog:

Guys! I usually like loud noises and want to go check out what's happening but seriously...fireworks are scary so please read these tips my mom found. She also turns on the tv which I appreciate...I know she's just trying to distract me from the loud noises outside but since I LOVE to watch tv and bark at anything that moves on the screen it makes the fireworks a little bit easier to take. They are fun for people, but not for me and my friends. Just sayin'. Now go have fun and save me some hot dog.

Love, The Sarge

What to Wear: Outfits in June

A few outfits I like that got worn in June - still on my quest to not wear yoga pants every day ;) Maybe they'll give you some ideas...or maybe you'll rename my post "what not to wear" haha!!

shopping and casual dinner out: simple tank and capris look so much cuter with the
bright teva's and matching tassel earrings. A little tip/hint - these capris are pull-on jeans with a
stretchy waistband instead of a button so they are smooth under a shirt. I've never worn this
 kind before 'cuz I thought they were a little "old lady" and would look it, but they don't! They look
like regular jeans but are (a) so much more comfortable! and (b) no button means a
smoother front - don't you hate when the button makes your shirt stick out?

Open House: black distressed skinnies, black flat sandals, flowy camisole, chunky
necklace and big watch.. and a fringed belt bag! I do love a belt bag ;)

Running Errands: this is just a simple uninspiring t-shirt dress that normally I wear with white tennies or flip flops. Brooke (my 13 year old niece) gave me her hand-me-down red Converse high tops that I've been wearing with everything now (!) and I got SO many compliments on this outfit this time. Goes to show - one simple accessory makes the outfit so much more interesting!

Dance Recital: got my "boho" look on - handkerchief dress with ankle strap sandals
 and the coolest earrings ever! Ok, ok, everyone makes fun of them  - but I love these earrings!

cool, right?

working at Ronda's: just jazzed up a jean skirt by adding my
fun bright teva's and a buff (hair wrap - perfect for bad hair days!).
And my usual favorite hoops that I got at Francesca's - I wear them constantly!

dinner at Al and Cathy's - don't usually love the "cold shoulder" style on me but this one works.
the skirt is just a stretchy flowy comfy one - it was SO hot outside!

simple pulled back braid seemed to go with the outfit and kept some hair off my face.  One of the little cheerleaders from back in my coaching days made me these earrings - they are black and red so went perfect with my outfit.

Cheesy (Overly) Stuffed Omelet

I'm not sure why I made us omelets using all kinds of stuff from the fridge, but I did and it turned out to be the very best omelet ever! Dave said "well I guess we don't have to go to IHOP anymore..."

Just make a regular old omelet however you do it...I'm not sure what the "right" way is but here's what I do: break some eggs into a bowl and lightly beat them with a splash of milk. Spray a large frying pan with non-stick spray, heat to medium-low and pour in the eggs. Let them sit undisturbed until they sort of start to set, then I lift the pan and let the still runny part run to the edges, lift the firmer edge of the omelet up so the uncooked eggs run underneath. Keep doing that until it's almost set up.

 So that's just my traditional plain egg base - now comes the yummy part...you can add whatever fillings you like, usually I just do cheese and maybe some spinach. This time however I was cleaning out the fridge and got more creative. I dropped on some dabs of cream cheese, then left-over mashed potatoes (heat them up before putting on the omelet), sprinkled on bacon bits, a layer of spinach, some halved cherry tomatoes, and a little shredded cheddar cheese. Turn the heat off and cover, let steam for a couple minutes till the spinach gets soft. Top with a little more cheddar, a couple avocado slices, and a dollop of sour cream. SO good!!!

Beaded Flag Pin

Cleaned and reorganized my craft room and found this pin that I made a while ago - perfect timing since the Fourth of July is almost here and if you don't want to make and wear my pompom earrings (click here for that post) then maybe a beaded flag pin will be just what you need ;).

Super easy, just like I like...

10 big safety pins
red, white, and blue beads (amount will depend on the size of your beads. not sure what size mine are but 9 of them fit on one safety pin so I used a total of 28 clear, 37 red, 16 blue).

On 5 of the pins put a red, clear, red, clear, red, clear, red, clear, red bead; then pin them on the solid non-opening side of one pin (9 pins dangle off of 1 main pin). The other 4 pins put 4 blue; then a red, clear, red, clear, red and pin them on the main pin to make a flag pattern. I opened up the circle at the end of the main pin enough to thread the 9 hanging pins thru their circles (make sense? see picture for example) then tighten the main circle up again. Easy, and it's cute!