Weekly Wonderings: January 30th, 2013 Port Manatee

Today, I had quite the adventure. We really didn’t mean to but somehow it happened. I was running late to the bus (doesn’t it sound like I am back in middle school) to go on my weekly adventure with my Mimi. They thankfully held the bus for me.  Whew! Then we get on the interstate and are not but 4 miles away when we hear a POP noise! One of the tires blew. So me and 45 seniors had to stand on the side of a busy interstate waiting for the nice man to come change our tire for over an hour (and yes, there were walkers involved). But it was well worth the wait! The Port of Manatee was so cool! Apparently, they give free tours twice a week and you ride around the entire port on a tram. It’s the closest port to Panama and apparently it is a big deal. It was so interesting to discover new things in my neck of the woods! When’s the last time you took a tour of your town? I highly recommend them, you learn so many interesting things!

 

 

 

Weekly Wonderings: July 11th, 2012

      I thought I would share some pictures from my trip to Miami, that is if you aren't sick of my previous post while there or these gifts. My time in Miami was a blast. It's funny how quick time goes when you are having fun! I was skeptical of Miami at first I blame pop culture for that but I quickly warmed up when I saw all the pastries in the grocery store bakery. By the end of the week, they might have recognized me there. One thing I liked was that I got free Snapple one day at one of my many trips to Marshalls and TJ Maxx, There was a random Snapple truck giving out magnets and free drinks. I also had the best pizza of my ENTIRE life, which in no way was influenced by the fact that I had just helped moved a sleeper couch (i.e. heavy heavy couch) . And I have had a lot of pizzas. It was roasted cauliflower pizza, and I could have eaten all of it.  It had breadcrumbs and garlic with the roasted cauliflower, check to see if you have one near you. At another restaurant, I had a Miami Vice, which is half Pina Colada and half Strawberry Daiquiri. And at Ikea, I always shop around in their Swedish food market, this time I walked away with only vegetable medallions and Swedish pancakes. The perfect breakfast for the rest of the week. Cake Pops which we gave to the maintenance men so they would like us. Bribes in the form of Cake Pops work wonders.  The U-haul from the aforementioned couch moving. It was a cargo van, and it was some expert driving by my friend. She did really well in crazy Miami traffic. Putting together Ikea chairs was another night's work, and drinking blueberry soda. Delicious. I feel like much of my judgement of Miami was based on my food experiences there, but you know what, I am totally okay with that. 

Weekly Wonderings: June 6th, 2012

    This weekend is the Belmont Stakes, and while I am not the biggest horse race fan, this race should be interesting. After a quick wikipedia lesson on the Triple Crown Competition, I feel like I understand these races a bit better. A little background knowledge makes anything more enjoyable. For instance, did you know that only 11 horses have ever won the Triple Crown and the last one was in 1978? With I’ll Have Another going for the title, it should be an interesting 1.5 miles. Horses can only compete in their third year, so this is the only chance for it. Seriously, read the wikipedia page, and then go watch the race. Here’s some inspiration for a lovely derby party, you really want food that can be easily held in the excitement of those couple of minutes. All of these ideas are easy to carry in the excitement!

What are you doing for the derby? Anything special? Or just relaxing a home in a big hat like me?

Weekly Wonderings: February 1st, 2012

Oh goodness, only 13 days till Valentines day. Time to get my stuff in order, pronto.  I have cards to make, and cakes to bake! I thought this week, I’d share my favorite thing I did for last Valentine’s Day. I hope it inspires you to have one of your own because it was an absolute blast.

Last year, I had a Valentine’s Day Crafternoon, here are some of my favorite photos from it:

Here’s my original post on it. It was such a blast and we all came out with adorable cards to send!

Weekly Wonderings: January 25th, 2012

Ever have those weeks were you just feel like you have too much on your plate and no utensils? Yeah, totally having one of those. My boyfriend asked “How his little ball of stress was doing” I replied “Rolling” because balls roll downhill. Currently, I am focusing on the weekend and when I have time to make some of these valentines. Now, that being said I think they are perfect to give to friends. My friend, Lily pointed out that I was just reminding her of facebook relationship status when I pinned these all but honestly, I meant to give them to her! So here are my various valentines for Lily and Co:

 

Which should I do?

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway and help a poor lonely blogger!

Weekly Wonderings: January 11th, 2012

I love to read, I treasure all of my books. At home they are all organized in my room according to color. Well a select number are, the rest are shoved behind them. So the idea of tearing out pages of my beloved books to make crafts really is hard for me to swallow but these are pretty great ideas. I may just have to go buy some books just to make these.

 

Also, buy more books to make this!

Weekly Wonderings: January 4th, 2012

Wow, I already find it weird to write 2012 on things, it will probably take me a month or two to get used to it. Anyways, I want to have more dinner parties this year, I love them. I love dinner party games. I love candles. I love food. I love friends. AND you can make them themed. I love a good theme. Anyways, for my future dinner parties, I’ve been searching around on pinterest for ideas. Here’s my inspiration so far:

What about you? Got any plans for the new year? Does anyone else love dinner parties as much as me or is this just another case of me being an old lady??

 

P.S. You can find all my pins HERE

Weekly Wonderings: December 7th, 2011

Last week, I showed you gifts I wanted to make, this week I think I will highlight some of my favorite gifts I have made or received this year!

1) Pretty Notebooks

2) Cranberry Compote

3) Brownies

4) Sugar Scrub

5) Glitter Candles

So what are your favorite homemade gifts this year? Got any good ideas? Please share!

Weekly Wonderings: November 30th, 2011

      The holiday season is almost upon us, which means time to start hunting for gifts. In my love of all things homemade, like food or projects; this year I am embracing the idea of homemade gifts for my friends and professors. (Yes, I give professors  a little holiday gift, normally food of some sort, kindness never hurt anyone’s grades).  Here is what I am thinking of attempting this year:

1) Peppermint Bark!

2)Bath Fizzies

3) Book Plates

4) Candy Cane Marshmallows

5) Spiced Nuts (I made these last year and they were a hit!)

 

Extras might have to be made of everything so I can try it! All of these wonderful ideas and photos are from Martha Stewart, I love looking at all the great homemade gift ideas she has! You can find my compellation of gracious gifts here!

Easy Entertaining: Thanksgiving Potluck

So instead of 5 things inspiring me this week, I thought instead I would show you guys some pictures from my potluck, the one were Hank was served.

Here’s what the space looked like-

Bar Cart: Best idea ever, Lotti luckily had a tea cart from her grandmother, so we just put all the glasses on the bottom and the drinks up top. I had been seeing the idea all over in design/ party ideas and I can see now what all the hype is about. We even served this strawberry-mint water which was a hit! The drink pictured was a hot apple cinnamon cider made by Lotti’s bf. Once I figure out his secret recipe, I will let you know because it is delicious! Another great drink idea would be this Italian soda idea and would look cute on a bar cart.

Buffet: Look later in the week for how we put it together, we had labels for the food to say who brought what food. This way people knew who to thank. Hank, of course, was the centerpiece. We had napkins, silverware in mason jars and plates stacked on a table next to it for easy buffet access.

Decorations:  So we wanted to change things up a little for the party, but we didn’t want to spend a ton of money (Okay, like any, we are on a college budget here). Thank goodness for free printables. Just print on your computer and cut away! And it came with so many different things, we were able to keep it consistent throughout the party décor! The Thankful Tree was definitely a party favorite as well.

Pretty cute, huh?