I Heart Chalkboard Paint!

For my second post of the day, I got bored and needed a new project. I looked around the apartment, and what did I see? Some flour and sugar containers! They were white and beautiful. But they were missing something....CHALKBOARD PAINT! I had some chalkboard paint leftover from making my chalkboard frame that hangs on the pantry door, so I decided to make some labels for the canisters. 

Here they are before the project began. I grabbed all of my supplies: 

Canisters

Chalkboard Paint

Paintbrush

Newspaper (to catch the extra paint) 

I didn't use a stencil or painter's tape because I didn't have either at home, but you can use either if you would like. I just wanted all of the canisters to have a similar shape and size, so I went for it! 

Here are the canisters after the first coat of paint...

Then I waited 30 minutes and painted the second coat (be sure to wait at least 30 minutes until you add another coat, because if the paint is not fully dry, it will chip away when you try to paint another coat). 

Here's after the second coat.

And the third...

Here they are on the kitchen counter...

..........

I hope y'all enjoyed my cute afternoon project! Try it on your own and post pictures for me to see!! 

-Abby :)

Picture frame project

So this week, I have decided to finally add to our picture collection on the wall across from our bed. As you may remember, in another post here, I showed you that we only had one picture frame hanging on that wall. Well, all of that is about to change. 

I took some old picture frames that I had used in my old apartment, painted them, and hung them up with new pictures from our engagement photo session and our wedding. Here's the process...

First, I took 2 old 8x10 frames, and emptied the glass and backing from them. I don't have a picture of this because I forgot, and because they were pretty ugly! 

Next, I painted them 2 different colors to get the feel I wanted in the room.

After carefully choosing which picture should go in which frame, they were ready! 

Here are all of the frames ready to mount on the wall. I didn't paint the others because I didn't want too much color on the wall. 

And....tah dah! Here they are! I left out the black 8x10 because I need a few other frames to fill in space before I put it up. I will update this again once more are added. 

By the way... I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. NEVER put a tervis lid in the bottom level of the dishwasher...NEVER! Your dishwasher will chew it up and spit it out. Literally. This is what happened to ours...

Anyway, happy Tuesday to everyone, have a great day! 

Abby 

Variegated Yarn Baby Blanket

So this is my first knitting post! For all of you who know me, you know I love to knit! I made this blanket for a friend at work who is having a baby girl at the end of October! It is still sitting in my locker at work, because I haven't worked with her yet this week, but I hope she enjoys the finished product! 

Props to the people who provided this pattern. You can find the original pattern here. It is called the Sunny Baby Blanket. The original pattern suggested a solid color, but since it is blocky, I chose a pretty variegated yarn, called Neapolitan by Impeccable! yarns. I bought it at Michael's. (Random tip when you are buying yarn or other art supplies: there is always a 40% coupon you can use at Michael's from your Sunday paper when you buy things that aren't cheap or on sale. I use one every time I go!)

Here's the pattern: 

Supplies

1. Worsted weight yarn, about 800 yards. I had to use 1 1/8 large skeins to get my desired blanket length

2. US Size 8 circular needles that are at least 29" long 

3. Gauge: I'm lazy so I don't do this, but if you're into it - - 17 stitches and 32 rows = 10cm in garter stitch

Instructions

1. Cast on 132 stitches

2. Rows 1-16: Knit 

3. Begin pattern on row 17: 

             

           Row 1 (right side): Knit.

           Row 2 (wrong side): Knit 8, (purl 8, knit 4) 9 times, purl 8, knit 8.

           Rows 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11: Repeat row 1.

           Rows 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12: Repeat row 2.

           Rows 13-18: Knit.

4. Repeat pattern (rows 1-18) 11 times more (or to desired length - - I knitted 7 sets of the pattern total)

5. Repeat rows 1-12 once more.

6. Knit 16 rows for border

7. Bind off, and weave loose ends to wrong side of work. Wash and block.

Happy Knitting! 

Love Abby 

Travels and Pumpkins.

Well this time last week, Joseph and I were driving through the day to Winchester, Virginia for my uncle's funeral. Friday was the funeral. It was a sad time, but it was also great to see all of my dad's side of the family. My thoughts and prayers have been going out to my aunt and cousins these past few weeks. I cannot imagine how it feels to lose a father and a husband this early in life. It was his time, though, and I'm glad we got to see him at our wedding in June. It was a hard trip for him, as he was already not feeling good, and Joseph and I both really appreciate him and his family coming down to Birmingham for it. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of him at the wedding, but at the visitation on Thursday night there was a slide show with some pictures from the wedding of uncle Tim having a great time! We all miss him so much, but we are glad he is no longer suffering. 

Friday night, Joseph and I headed with my cousin Paul and his lovely bride Nora to stay with them in Kodak, Tennessee (a small town near Knoxville) so we did not have to drive all the way to Atlanta that night. They live in the most awesome place, Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge. There are beautiful trails, a river, and the cute house that Paul and Nora live in! How did they get to live there, might you ask? Nora was hired as the lands manager for the refuge, and they "made" her live in the house! How great is that?!? 

Here is a picture of the lovely couple on their wedding day in August of this year

Saturday morning, we woke up, took a tour of the barn and area around Paul and Nora's house, ate some awesome blueberry pancakes, and hit the road! We traveled to Kennesaw, Georgia for Joseph's dad's cousin, Mark's wedding (It's complicated, so we just call him uncle Mark!). It was a beautiful reception at Mark and his new wife Maja's house in Atlanta. Fortunately, there is a room (formally known as the cigar room/office) where we periodically peered in to catch snippets of the Alabama Florida game! All I have to say is 38-10. Ridiculous. We had a great time with Joseph's family celebrating life and love. Seeing Mark and Maja together reminded me of our wedding day, and what a whirlwind it was. I wish I had taken pictures of the reception, but we were too busy having a GREAT TIME! 

Sunday afternoon, Joseph and I drove back to Birmingham, and Monday-Wednesday I went back to real life at work. It was actually a good week, even though I chose to work 3 days in a row, which is not my favorite. So I made it through the week, and now it's Thursday. Today I was browsing my friends' blogs, and I found these (Click on link to view recipe). Yum. What are they? Spiced pumpkin muffins. Thanks to Maria, my nursing school co-graduate, I made an amazing dessert/breakfast/afternoon snack food for Joseph and I.

Let's get down to business.

First, get all of your ingredients together. I'll give Maria the cred on the recipe. The only thing I omitted was the allspice, simply because I didn't have any on hand. 

After you have preheated your oven to 400, and followed the recipe, cook for 15-18 min, or until golden brown. 

While the muffins are baking, I decided to make a simple cream cheese icing to go on top of some of the muffins. It makes them a little more sweet/appropriate to eat as dessert, and the non-iced muffins are for breakfast. 

The ingredients you need for icing are: 

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

4 oz cream cheese

3/4 teaspoon vanilla 

2 cups powdered sugar

First, cream butter, vanilla and cream cheese with electric mixer until blended. Then add powdered sugar a little at a time, until your icing reaches desired consistency (I used a little less than 2 cups). 

Once the icing is done, it's probably time to take your muffins out! Yum! 

Use a knife to smooth icing on the muffins you choose after they have cooled for about 10 minutes (unless they smell so good that you want to eat one right away, like me!).

They go great with a glass of milk and your favorite TV show. 

Down to the last bite! So good! 

Now I will put away the left over icing for another culinary adventure that needs cream cheese added. Enjoy the first taste of fall, which to me MUST include pumpkin! 

Abby