Sunday, November 20, 2011

Little Shopping Spree

In just the past few days the weather up here in Alaska has gotten seriously cold. I felt like in the span of a week it went from a bearable 20 degrees, all the way to -10 in the daytime! Every time I go outside I want to think, "It's just a cold spell..." But I know. It's only going to get worse. Going to the corner store to pick up beer... ahem, milk, will become and epic journey through the frozen arctic tundra. I decided that in order to maintain my sanity through the cold and scarce sunlight, I should stock up on supplies to keep me occupied.

When I first started scrapbooking I wanted to keep it simple. Now that I know this is going to be a permanent hobby, I figured I could invest in some sweet heavy duty tools. My little, one-page-at-a-time hole punch got over used trying to punch holes in chipboard (not successful) and got a bent out of shape, so I ordered myself a Crop-a-dile Big Bite. I even went a little far and got a Zutter Bind-It-All so I can make cute journals! The best purchase, however, is the specialty paper I ordered from Hambly. In case you didn't know, November is known by some as MOvember... the month to celebrate mustaches! I just HAD to pick up this cute paper...


I'm also excited about this cute wood grain design...



I feel like good things are ahead!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Memories Mini Album - Finished!

Well... almost finished! There are still journaling spots left to fill up, but I don't know what to write yet. 
So here it is! TONS of photos of me and my little brother. Don't mind my dorky big forehead ;) 

















Thanks for looking!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Thanksgiving Recipe Testing

It started with a pumpkin spice latte. I thought to myself, "It's the perfect time of year to make pumpkin treats!" So I headed to Target while my friends went to see a movie and picked up some pumpkin puree. Once I started thinking of all the delicious recipes to make with it I realized I should have bought at least 5 cans of it! Cupcakes, scones, cookies, pies, and soup... I still drool at the thought! Since I only had one can, I decided to go with pumpkin soup from Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Soup Recipe blog. Since I don't have a car and therefore live out of the convenience store down the street (or if I'm lucky I'll get a ride from a friend to a real grocery store, or in this case, Target) I had to improvise quite a bit.


I used canned pumpkin in place of real pie pumpkins. It saved me the time of roasting real pumpkins and peeling the skins and taking out seeds. Not that I would have minded (it sounded fun actually) but my miniature microwave/convection oven probably wouldn't have been able to handle it. Also, I have no idea where to find pie pumpkins in Anchorage!



I replaced the heavy cream with 2 tablespoons of butter and slightly less than 1/2 cup of whole milk. I used cheap Aunt Jemima syrup instead of real maple syrup (not ideal) and had to use some powdered chicken stock instead of vegetable stock from a box. Oh well, do what you can, right?



I thought it looked too "soupy" compared to the original recipes photo. I just let it reduce to thicken it up and it seemed to turn out perfectly.



 The depressing view from outside my window...



It turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. My little pumpkin spice candle in the background is most likely what caused the major pumpkin cravings this weekend! I'm looking forward to trying out some new pie recipes for Thanksgiving. 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Interior Design Inspiration

I love furniture. I love design. I love cozy spaces and making your room and home looking original. It shows who you are and where you've been. That's one of the hardest things about the Army. I don't have my "own" place. It's not just that I can't paint the walls, which is not an uncommon problem for many people, but I have to use Army furniture too.
Let me illustrate:


This is my "dresser." Actually, it's not really a dresser as much as it's two sets of drawers stacked up on top of each other to make a dresser. They don't even have the decency to stack up properly and love to slide around, making it look like a pile of Jenga blocks. Yuck. Please, let me show you what my previous dresser looked like in my old room:


Better, right? Not Kelly Wearstler chic, but still much better than the Jenga dresser.

I may be trapped the Army barracks for the next 3 1/2 years, but once I get out and find a place with my sweet boyfriend, I'll be decorating like there's no tomorrow. I majored in Interior Design while I was in college and really enjoyed it. But by the end I felt like I really wasn't cut out to be a "designer." It was just the business aspect of it. The creativity was easy. I may have given up the designer dream (for now) but I still drool over beautiful interiors.

If you couldn't tell from the photo above, with my bright turquoise walls, I'm a firm believer in painting your walls a color other than white. It's understandably scary, but painting your room a bold color can do more for the design of the room than any thing else. You could have a room full of generic IKEA furniture, paint the walls an unexpected color, and your room is suddenly completely original. Below are some examples of great wall color... not as bright as turquoise, but very bold colors that are neutral looking and comforting to be around. Without the wall color these rooms wouldn't have half the impact that they do.







Don't get me wrong, I don't hate white walls completely. White can have just as much impact as a color in a room, if you do it intentionally. Check out this cute, "shabby chic" dining room. I'm in love with the mismatched fold out chairs.









 One day I'll have my dreams house... That's all for now!

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