Neighbor Gifts: Homemade Holiday Coasters

Every year we put together small gifts for our neighbors. While we live in a neighborhood with very friendly people, we only really know the 5 houses surrounding ours. Last year was our first Christmas in this house (Despite having owned it the previous Christmas, we weren't living here as we were still in reno mode). So, last Christmas I bought each of the neighbors a Holiday themed Chinese carton and filled it with hot homemade Christmas cookies. Tim and I then delivered them door-to-door with our Christmas card.

While I LOVED baking last year and had every intention to do so again this year, it didn't happen! While in Joann's one weekend, I remembered seeing a pin for DIY coasters made of napkins. I decided to make each of my 5 neighbors a set of 4 holiday coasters.

While there are MANY tutorials out there on the "how to" ( ie :Here ) , I thought I would share my tips and tricks as it definitely wasn't as straight forward as I thought.

Supplies:
20- basic white tiles, mine were 4.25 square and cost 15 cents each.  But you could also use larger and use as trivet.
Mod Podge
Foam brush
Spray acrylic
X-acto Knife
Cork ( or felt) for the backs
Paper of your choosing.
Optional: a cutting mat. I could not imagine doing this project without mine!

I tried several different papers for this project: card stock, napkins, and scrapbook paper. There is some GORGEOUS glittery card stock out there that is great for the holidays. DON'T DO IT! The card stock is too thick and will easily peel off the tile (especially if your tile is a smooth surface like mine). Napkins have a tendency to crinkle when you apply the mod podge. In my opinion, the best option is regular thin (not card stock) scrapbook paper. This will give you the smoothest finish.

The first thing I did to cut ALL my paper squares using the X-acto knife.

Next, I laid all my tiles outside on newspaper and applied a thin layer of Mod Podge.

I had almost a whole bottle of Mod Podge but I ended up picking up a new bottle made for paper since mine was for fabric. Apply a thin coat and rub out any bubbles to ensure everything is smooth.

Next, I applied an additional layer of Mod Podge on top of the paper. It doesn't need to be perfect as it will dry clear BUT try to make it as smooth and even as possible to avoid any "clumps" from drying.

 Let them dry fully before spraying with a layer of acrylic.

 After they cured for 24-hours outside, I went around all the edges with the X-acto and added a thin layer of cork on the back of the coasters. TIP: Buy the self-adhesive cork. Many people have trouble with JUST using the hot glue as the cork is only adhered where you apply the hot glue. Use self-adhesive cork and reinforce with a few dots of hot glue.

I used ribbon to tie them in sets of four...neighbor gifts DONE!

Christmas 2012

It's hard to believe another Christmas has passed and we are approaching the end of another year. It is so crazy to me how quickly the years are passing. December 20th marked two years since we purchased our home..two years? Feels like two months!

Things have been very busy around here as we prepped for the holidays. Right before Christmas, I got a promotion to Director at work. This means I will be running three programs instead of one. It was very unexpected but I am very excited to start this new challenge! And it definitely started the Holidays out on a great foot!

Regardless of how the holiday falls, I always take Christmas Eve off. I very rarely take time off but I just don't feel right working that day. This year we got a little visitor on Christmas Eve:

Meet Milo. He belongs to my friend, Lee Ann, but is staying with us through the Holidays. Much of Christmas Eve day was spent prepping food for our big Christmas Dinner. Every year for Christmas Eve, we go to the Olive Garden for dinner with my in laws before heading to their church for a 9pm service. This year was much of the same:

Christmas morning, Tim and I head over to my parent's house in our jammies for breakfast and presents. We then go home to get ready as we host dinner. His parent's then come over about an hour before my parents so that we can exchange gifts. We both have relatively small families so it just works out best this way. This year's meal was prime rib, roasted brussel sprouts, mac and cheese, salad and rolls with fresh homemade cinnamon butter. Oh...and the dessert! I attempted to make my very first cheesecake. Only it wasn't just cheesecake, it was white chocolate peppermint bark cheesecake. Oh.my.word. It was delicious! Totally worth the extra work!

I had a really hard time coming up with things I wanted this year. Maybe that is a sign that I am getting old? To me the holidays are about giving ( I have always been more to enjoy giving more that receiving) and family. Oh, but I did get one thing that I really wanted:

Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday! Only three more working days till the next one! :)

Oh the difference a light can make

The lighting in our master bedroom is BAD. When we moved in, the only light was from the fan. Since then we have added lamps to either side of the bed which gets used nightly.

Since our house was built in the 70's we also had a weirdly placed electrical box in the ceiling which was once the home to the infamous swag light.

We decided we could really use a light on the side of the room but didn't want the 1970's feel. I found an expensive light kit at Lowe's ( under $20) and a shade to match our existing lamps ( around $15). We decided we could just run the electric over to be centered above the chest of drawers without swagging anything.

The only glitch was that we had to hang the shade upside down so that the bulb was not visible underneath the lamp. I wasn't sure at first but it has grown on me.

Oh and I was waiting to hang the Harrigan Sign until after we installed this light so we could judge placement better. So I am happy to announce that it finally made it's way onto the wall!

As you can see, we left the old electrical box for now. We may change this in the future but it really doesn't bother us. Plus, you never know when we'll get all crazy and want a swagged light.

We still have several other lighting projects to address in this room, including adding a splitter to the fan light and adding light to the closet (ours is almost non existent). Funny aside: The lack of lighting in the closet cause the husband to wear two different shoes to work last week! :)

Christmas Decor

The weekend following Thanksgiving, we take the Christmas Decorations down from the attic and begin the process of decorating the house. Tim, as usual, has outdoor duty while I am responsible for indoor decorations. Well, Tim beat me this year! While I started decorating the house the weekend after Thanksgiving, I dragged it out a little more than usual!

I am happy to report that everything is now decorated. One of my favorite part's of Christmas is having the Christmas tree be the only source of light in a room. I love the ambiance.

I stuck with the Silver and Gold theme.

Aside from the tree, I hang our stockings from the bookshelves since we do not a fireplace in this house. I never got around to having the stockings embroidered last year and now I am not sure that I will. I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was a cute idea. So now I am on the hunt for some cute initial ornaments!

I keep the table pretty basic: silver and gold place mats along with a silver centerpiece. I LOVE the flame less candles!

The bowl on top of the wine rack gets filled with silver and gold ornaments.

I switch out the wreath on the front door and add something Christmasy to the planter. Last year it was spray painted pine cones, this year... more silver and gold ornaments!

This weekend we received our first two Christmas cards. So I turned to my friend Pinterest and searched for ways to display Christmas cards. I wanted something inexpensive (it is the Holiday season after all) and easy to make. I liked the idea of this and this. So I picked up a cheap sign (around $7 at Joann's) and attached some ribbon from my stash. Instant card holder.

LOVED that someone mailed me a dachshund Christmas card! 

Oh and my other favorite part of Christmas: The outside of the house! We have some reindeer in the front yard but it is too hard to get them all in one shot!

Having a festive house definitely helps you get into the Christmas spirit! I am about 85% done shopping and hope to finish up this weekend! Now if only we would get some cooler weather...

Oh and the dogs are also "decorated"!

Fence Install

Last Thursday the new fence was installed. I worked from home so that I could keep an eye on things and make sure I liked it. Two installers from Westcoast Fence showed up around 10am. Since all the fence removal and prep work was done, they were able to get right to work installing the vinyl fencing.

The dogs drove me crazy barking all day. I ended up putting them in the master bedroom where they could not see the installers at all! When they left for lunch, I snuck outside and snapped two pictures of the progress.

View from my neighbors driveway. 

Front view after halfway through the install 

I really liked how everything was coming along. They returned around 2pm as they were short one panel and had to make a trip back to the main office. They left shortly after 4pm, leaving me with this:

View from my driveway

View from my street. 

At first I was very unsure about the gate. In my head I just assumed it would not be that tall. However, once I started thinking about it, I realized why they did it and how silly it would look if it was shorter. It has been almost a week and it is starting to grow on me. I like the extra privacy and I like being able to let the dogs run around out there.

So this completes the fencing stage of this project. Next step: deciding what to do with the floor!

Oh, and here is the before and after.

Front Porch Improvements- Prepping Phase

The first day back to work after a few days off is always the worst. Add that to my normal "end of the month craziness" and I am barely keeping my head above water! So while I should be chugging along at the work I brought home for the evening, I would much rather blog about some projects we have been working on. So without further ado...

Last weekend the porch projects continued. When I removed our old metal fence, it left us with some wounds that needed to be repaired. I already had a stucco patch and color matched our house paint from my house number project. So this project was 100 % free ( well at least that's how it started).

Clearly my house was once teal! 

 Some of the areas had foam pads and adhesive that needed to be removed. We also has several anchors that needed to be pulled out.

 I was able to use the same 8-in-1 tool I purchased for my front door painting catastrophe. It did the trick and easily removed all the sticky residue.

Next I washed all the areas that needed to be patched with warm water and Mr. Clean. Oh, and check out my audience for the day:

Lily LOVES looking out the window! 

Next  was the the patching. I took my time going from column to column patching each square until things were nice and even.

 Even though the stucco dried fairly quickly, I let it set overnight before sanding and painting over my patches. I was very surprised that it covered with only one coat of paint!

To the left as you walk thru the gate opening, before and after. 

While I was patching away, Tim decided to take down one of the MANY lights. We are still pretty uncertain about what we want for lighting in this area however, we both knew the existing lights MUST go!  So down they came!

Honestly, who needs this many lights?

 Here is a before and after with the lights removed:

We simply capped off and covered the electrical box on each column. For now, I like it without lights however the electrical is still there if I change my mind once we get closer to our vision!

So here comes the part of the project that morphs into two additional projects. We decided that since we took down the above mentioned lights, we should really just take down all the outdoor lighting and "start over".  I have been itching to switch out the lights for something less ornate and white, perhaps Oil- rubbed bronze? At this point, Tim also decided he hated our solar lights and wanted to replace them too! I still have to take pictures of the final products and then I will post more on that!

No Soliciting

A few weeks back, I posted a "No soliciting" quote I came across on facebook. Well... Tim and I both loved it so much, that we tracked down an Etsy seller, American at Heart, who made a sign with the phrase on it.

It came about a two weeks ago but since we were planning on hanging it outside, we needed to add two coats of polyurethane before exposing it to the elements. So I set up my painting station (an upside down trashcan in the front yard) and set to work.

I actually used the same can of poly I used for the Name Sign I made earlier this year along with a foam roller.

I applied one very thin layer along the front and all four sides. After about an hour in the sun, I applied the second coat. I let it dry outside the remainder of the day.

The poly was satin finish so it added a little bit of sheen but nothing too dramatic.  The next day, it went to its new home, right over the doorbell.

Two of the three dogs were quite curious as to what I was doing! 

Now, I am not sure if it will actually deter solicitors but it should spark some interesting comments! :)

Roasted Tomato & Kale Pasta

Fun fact: I HATE tomatoes. Roast them and I LOVE them. I think it is a texture thing. Anyway, this is one of my favorite go to receipes. It is excellent leftover AND the husband likes it! Sometimes, I will roast the tomatoes a day or two ahead of time and store them in the fridge before making the rest of the meal...still turns out great. I have added meat before (chicken) but honestly prefer it without. We try to go meatless at least one night a week over here so this is a perfect meal! 

Ingredients for Roasted Tomatoes:

2 pints (more if you like) Nature Valleys Cherub Tomatoes (or other kind of cherry tomato)

2-3 Olive Oil

1 TBSP Garlic powder

1 TBSP Onion powder

2 TBSP Romano cheese

1 TBSP Basil

1 TBSP Italian Seasoning

½ TSP each of Salt and Pepper.

Remaining Ingredients:

½ package of Whole Wheat spaghetti/ angel hair noodles

1 small sweet onion, chopped into thin strips.

1 TBSP minced garlic

½ bunch of Kale (can add more or less)

2 TBSP Romano Cheese

2TBSP Olive Oil

1 TBSP Basil

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet. Coat the tomatoes in oil and spices. Mix well so they are covered in spices. Bake on 400° for a minimum of 40 minutes.

While the tomatoes are roasting, cook up some whole wheat pasta. I am notorious for cooking more pasta then needed. I would say about ½ package is ideal. When the pasta is done, just let it drain in the strainer, you want it to be relatively dry.

Next, add some spray Olive Oil to a large skillet. Chop up an onion and sauté with 1 tbsp. of minced garlic. When translucent, add the kale (be sure to toss the stems as this is thr "tough" part of Kale). I usually loosely chop the Kale before adding it in.

When the tomatoes are done roasting, add them to the same skillet with the kale and onions. Next add your pasta, handful by handful until you get to desire tomato/pasta ratio. Then add 2 tbsps. more Olive Oil, 1 TBSP Basil and freshly grated Romano. Mix thoroughly before serving.