MANTLE ART.

So I kind of have this white fetish you know?
Lately I've bought everything white, or painted it white.
I'm working on remodeling out guest bedroom & the white fetish is taking over
So it was getting a bit out of hand, than I decided to add this painting to our mantle.
I love a good piece of artwork, but I hate the price.

So I went out and bought a canvas $10, and some paint $6
And painted this little gem for the fire place, best part about this it's  "abstract"
Aka that means when I was painting it I didn't really have a rhym or reason,
just slapped some paint on a canvas, trust me when I tell you
you can't do this project wrong, so grab some paint!
Easiest most affordable DIY

Happy painting!

SUMMER PARTY BOX.

Remember this little post? This one.
I wanted to put together a little box treat for my neighbor + family.
So I gathered up some inspiration and put together this sweet little box,
full of yummy sweet biscuits, homemade peach jam, a few utensils, glitter flags,
some daisey cut lids for mason jars, a few colored striped paper straws, and napkins.

Since this week really feels like summer, holy hot, 94 degrees!
I thought a little box like this is perfectly fitting, this little box is really easy to put together
and fun for any occasion, add a fun little yummy treat to enjoy as well!
You can find all the sources to the box supplies here at this post

Happy summer!

SUMMER NIGHTS.

This weather is incredible! Mid-July and its 75 degrees out!
I'm so thankful for this weather, infact it makes me want fall weather,
Crisp leaves, boots, cool weather, apple cider, fall is my very favorite of all seasons.
Since the weather was so nice we ate outside on the deck

I made a cauliflower crust margherita pizza + homemade cherry cokes.
So yummy. Here's the recipes for the crust from this website.

Cauliflower Crust:

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 

2 egg whites, beaten 

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp crush garlic

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Toppings:

Olive Oil

Fresh mozzarella

Fresh cut basil

Tomatoes

Kalamata olives

 

Crust: Mix ingredients. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

If you want instructions on how to prepare your cauliflower read here

Add toppings place back into over for another 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

VEGGIE SUSHI ROLLS.

Are you sick of the food posts yet?
Ah I'm terrribly sorry, I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen since whole 30.
Which might I add ended today, wahoo!

So if your doing Whole 30 or paleo, add everything but the cream cheese to these.
Here's what I did to make these yummy little fun "sushi" veggie rolls.
I sliced up (all from my little garden) thin carrots, cucumber, applegate herb turkey breats,
cream cheese, and ran cucumbers vertically through our Madelon

I dried the cucumber with paper towels to ring out any excess water,
Than I added my veggies to the cucumber, rolled them up, & stuck a tooth pick in the back,
To help secure them, easy as that! Next time I'll add avocado!

These would make the perfect appetizers for a fun party of event,
or a fun way to get little kiddos to eat their veggies!

Ingredients:
Cucumber
Carrots
Cream Cheese
Applegate Turkey

Directions: Slice, roll, enjoy!


 



 

SPRINKLE MACAROONS.

 

I posted the recipe to these delicious macaroons on a previous post,
Here are some step-by-step tutorial photos, I hope this helps!
The best part about these little cookies are that you can style them however,
change the flavors, decorate them however you dang well please.

Enjoy making these little cookies for events,
or for any reason, also be sure to check out the decorating station
towards the end of the post, make a fun event for kids or parties!
Be sure to make lots of different kinds of fillings or jams!

separate the egg whites

beat egg while until they form stiff peaks

sift sugar and almond flower, there will be quite a bit of "excess" chunkier left over, do not use these in the macaroon mix.

 almond flour and sugar should be a very think light consistency, if it's chunky, sift again

 gently fold in the dry mixer to the eggs whites, make sure not to over mix, or you may end up with cracked shells.

Here's the recipes + directions.

• 1 1/4 cups almond flour
• 1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla if your looking for extra flavor  direction

Directions:

• Whisk together almond flour and confectioner's sugar and sift over a large bowl.     
• Beat egg whites until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add granulated sugar and almond extract or use vanilla extract for extra flavor, beat until medium shiny peaks, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Fold egg whites into almond mixture until combined.  Transfer mixture to a pastry bag or zip lock bag, cut off 1/2 inch off tip. Pipe 1-inch rounds about 1 inch apart on parchment-lined sheets.
• Let dry 30 minutes to an hour and a half until tops are firm and dry. Preheat oven to 350. Bake one sheet at a time for about 14 minutes, rotating once. Let cool completely.

Now the best part! Decorate, make a fun little decoration station for little kids, or for a party as entertainment!

EASY MACAROONS.

I've been eying macaroon recipes for a while now, 

and I've read about a million of them & watched a couple videos,

but I decided to take the plunge and try these babies out for myself!

Here's the recipes + directions.

• 1 1/4 cups almond flour
• 1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla if your looking for extra flavor  direction

Directions:

• Whisk together almond flour and confectioner's sugar and sift over a large bowl.     
• Beat egg whites until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add granulated sugar and almond extract or use vanilla extract for extra flavor, beat until medium shiny peaks, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Fold egg whites into almond mixture until combined.  Transfer mixture to a pastry bag or zip lock bag, cut off 1/2 inch off tip. Pipe 1-inch rounds about 1 inch apart on parchment-lined sheets.
• Let dry 30 minutes to an hour and a half until tops are firm and dry. Preheat oven to 350. Bake one sheet at a time for about 14 minutes, rotating once. Let cool completely.

Tip: If you have a convection oven bake at 315 degrees. Convection ovens tend to cook faster and hotter, so if you happen to have one, like us, the 350 degrees will cause the shells to crack, so cook at a lower temp!

Filling:

You can use jam or any type of buttercream filling you already love. Here's what I used for my filling

• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter
• 1/2 package of cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 cup of fresh raspberries

Blend cream cheese and butter together. Add raspberries and vanilla, until a smooth consistency. Add 1 cup of confectioner's sugar at a time. Fill in piping bag and fill cookies.

SUMMER DIY'S.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

The husband is busy helping his mom with a mini porch makeover.
So I guess that means we'll take a break from remodeling our house, for bit.
Which this means one thing.... Some crafting DIY time for me!

I love summer, I love being outside in my garden,
watering the flowers, watching our little produce grow into veggies,
It's so therapeutic and rewarding for me!
I also love riding out bikes at night.

But I love renovating our house,
and throwing parties, ya know the "just because" type of parties, just as much.
Renovating can be so exhausting, once you tear one thing out,
then something else needs done, but while he's helping out,
I'm going to dig my hands in some DIY!

Here's a list of my favorites!
+ I'll be adding some wallpaper to the insides of my kitchen cabinets,
I've been meaning to do it, but haven't found the time!
and cleaning out some closets, I can't stand clutter.