As I am sure some of you have noticed if you have been visiting my blog directly as opposed to your Google reader or inbox, I have been playing around with the background, fonts, colors and my header a lot lately. I tried one version on Friday to celebrate my 100th post, but it was a bit wonky and I couldn't get it to work quite right.
Enter my good friend Ashlee, who has a very creative and fun blog Finely Young that you should definitely check out. She created a custom header for me and I couldn't be more thrilled! This will be the final time I ask you this, but if you are reading this in Google Reader or your inbox, go on over to http://ktrefinishingschool.blogspot.com/ to see it for yourself. You won't regret it, I promise!
Thanks again Ashlee! You may have a promising business on your hands :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Remember When Wednesday: White Christmas
The weather has been so cold the last few days and I've driven through more snow and ice than I care to, so I thought for this edition of Remember When Wednesday, I would take us somewhere warm. Somewhere where white is just the color of the sand, not the color of snow on the ground. I'm talking about sunny Southern California where I grew up and my parents still live.
This picture was taken the first year we lived in California (South Pasadena to be exact) when we decided to celebrate Christmas on the beach. See the little tree in the right hand corner. This photo was an outtake of our Christmas card photo that year.
Pictured is my sister Madi and my dad. Now, don't let the ads fool you. Beaches in December in California are chilly, hence the sweatsuit Madi is wearing (my mom made matching ones for all of us kids) and my dad's jacket. Still, I'll take 55-60 degree weather any day over the 15 degree weather we've had here!
Anyone else had a white sandy Christmas either recently or when they were a child? Weren't they the best?! Here's to warm memories on a cold winter day!
This picture was taken the first year we lived in California (South Pasadena to be exact) when we decided to celebrate Christmas on the beach. See the little tree in the right hand corner. This photo was an outtake of our Christmas card photo that year.
Pictured is my sister Madi and my dad. Now, don't let the ads fool you. Beaches in December in California are chilly, hence the sweatsuit Madi is wearing (my mom made matching ones for all of us kids) and my dad's jacket. Still, I'll take 55-60 degree weather any day over the 15 degree weather we've had here!
Anyone else had a white sandy Christmas either recently or when they were a child? Weren't they the best?! Here's to warm memories on a cold winter day!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Guest Post on Clever Betty
Today I'm posting over at Clever Betty as part of her You Had Me At...Holidays series. So go on over and check it out!
I'd like to extend a warm holiday welcome to all visitors today. Thanks for stopping by and please take a look around my humble blog!
As always, you can drop me a line at ktrefinishingschool[at]gmail[dot]com. I'd love to hear from you!
As always, you can drop me a line at ktrefinishingschool[at]gmail[dot]com. I'd love to hear from you!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Holiday Craft: Orange and Clove Ornaments
As I alluded to in this post, a friend and I made orange and clove ornaments last Saturday afternoon while listening to Christmas music and drinking hot chocolate (tea for me). I know this idea is not new; in fact its roots can be traced back to medieval Europe when people bathed very infrequently if at all. The smell of orange and clove helped to mask the stench. It was also believed to ward of disease.
However, I thought I would share how we decorated a few of our ornaments while posting the easy instructions along the way.
Supplies Needed:
Draw your design on the orange. When I made these, I drew the design and inserted all of the cloves before tying the ribbon. You can obviously create this in the same order as I did, but I found that some of the designs I created were interrupted by the ribbon. Having the ribbon around the orange to begin with helps you visualize the space (canvas if you will) that you have to work with before you even get started.
Next, using the tip of your pen, poke a hole through the orange. The hole needs to be fairly deep so that the whole clove can fit comfortably inside it without falling out but take care not to make it too deep or the clove will start to disappear inside the orange! Insert a clove into the hole, then move on to the next part of your design, trying to keep the holes spaced evenly throughout.
The directions I read said only to use perfectly intact cloves for this project, but the whole cloves weren't exactly cheap so unless they were terribly broken, I still used them. There are enough cloves on there that one or two broken (read missing their bulb) cloves won't be noticed. Note: the broken cloves are a bit more noticeable in these photos because they are close-up shots and had been sitting on our tree for almost a week before I got around to taking pictures. Don't worry, they still smell delicious!
Repeat until finished. Hang on tree or anywhere you want a little fresh scent (like a closet or the kitchen).
I also think a tree decorated completely with oranges and baby clementines would be darling!
Anyone else have easy yet festive crafts to share? I am always looking for new projects!
However, I thought I would share how we decorated a few of our ornaments while posting the easy instructions along the way.
Supplies Needed:
- 4 oranges, 2 for you and 2 for your guest--you can obviously make more but we have a small tree this year and I didn't want to overwhelm the poor thing
- 1 jar of whole cloves--one of the small spice jars they sell at grocery stores will be plenty for four ornaments. If you are decorating more than 4 oranges, you may want to consider buying a bigger jar, perhaps from Penzey's if you are lucky enough to have one in your area!
- Ribbon to tie off and hang your ornament from--I used scrap ribbon left over from our wedding
- Ballpoint pen for tracing and making holes--note: once you start using the pen to make the holes, it may stop working as a writing utensil. Therefore, use a pen you don't mind parting with at the end of the project
Draw your design on the orange. When I made these, I drew the design and inserted all of the cloves before tying the ribbon. You can obviously create this in the same order as I did, but I found that some of the designs I created were interrupted by the ribbon. Having the ribbon around the orange to begin with helps you visualize the space (canvas if you will) that you have to work with before you even get started.
Next, using the tip of your pen, poke a hole through the orange. The hole needs to be fairly deep so that the whole clove can fit comfortably inside it without falling out but take care not to make it too deep or the clove will start to disappear inside the orange! Insert a clove into the hole, then move on to the next part of your design, trying to keep the holes spaced evenly throughout.
The directions I read said only to use perfectly intact cloves for this project, but the whole cloves weren't exactly cheap so unless they were terribly broken, I still used them. There are enough cloves on there that one or two broken (read missing their bulb) cloves won't be noticed. Note: the broken cloves are a bit more noticeable in these photos because they are close-up shots and had been sitting on our tree for almost a week before I got around to taking pictures. Don't worry, they still smell delicious!
Repeat until finished. Hang on tree or anywhere you want a little fresh scent (like a closet or the kitchen).
I also think a tree decorated completely with oranges and baby clementines would be darling!
Anyone else have easy yet festive crafts to share? I am always looking for new projects!
Winter Weekend Recap
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| Image borrowed from here and here originally |
Aunts and cousins who were supposed to travel from St. Louis, Chicago and Peoria could not make it due to poor weather conditions. The luncheon, which occurs every year in December, was effectively canceled with only a few neighbors who lived in walking distance stopping by later in the day.
I almost didn't make it out of Peoria myself and seriously contemplated staying the night and driving back early this morning. In retrospect, I probably should have stayed put. But I did drive home and after a tense five hours (it normally takes just under three), made it back to J safe and sound. Having grown up in southern California, I am an extremely cautious driver when there is ice and snow on the ground. It was white-knuckle the whole way home and the highways were filled with cars that had spun out and been left until conditions improved. I did a lot of praying and was so thankful to have made it home safely, especially because it was my birthday!
No matter, I still got to eat oyster stew, had a wonderful birthday dinner with my grandparents and aunt on Saturday night, and capped off the night at one of our favorite pizza places Dewey's with some friends (who we actually celebrated my birthday with last year too)! The drive was nothing a cold glass of beer and some warm pizza could fix.
So while my birthday weekend did not go exactly as planned, it was definitely one I'll remember for years to come!
How was your weekend, friends?
Friday, December 10, 2010
Weekend, weekend, weekend
I am heading back to Peoria this weekend to spend some time with my grandparents and relative who will be in town for: Oyster Stew!
More details (with a recipe or two) next week but for now let me just say, it is delicious and a yearly tradition in my mom's family.
The menu for this weekend already has me drooling:
Tonight: KofC (Knights of Columbus not KFC) fried whole catfish served with baked potato and rye bread
Tomorrow: My grandpa's French Onion soup, Caesar Salad (with homemade dressing and croutons), and steak on the grill--never mind the temperatures will be in the teens!
Sunday: Oyster Stew, ham sandwiches and relish tray. What can I say, we love our relish trays!
There is loads to come next week, including recipes, photos, another book review and a super special holiday surprise you won't want to miss, so stay tuned!
Have a safe and happy weekend everyone!
More details (with a recipe or two) next week but for now let me just say, it is delicious and a yearly tradition in my mom's family.
The menu for this weekend already has me drooling:
Tonight: KofC (Knights of Columbus not KFC) fried whole catfish served with baked potato and rye bread
Tomorrow: My grandpa's French Onion soup, Caesar Salad (with homemade dressing and croutons), and steak on the grill--never mind the temperatures will be in the teens!
Sunday: Oyster Stew, ham sandwiches and relish tray. What can I say, we love our relish trays!
There is loads to come next week, including recipes, photos, another book review and a super special holiday surprise you won't want to miss, so stay tuned!
Have a safe and happy weekend everyone!
My Wish List: Technology
A while back I shared some of the items for our apartment that were on my holiday wish list this year. Based on that wish list, I bought a few things at Target and World Market, creating this Thanksgiving table setting.
Well, now I'm back with my technology wish list, one that I will admittedly have greater difficulty fulfilling than before since the items are quite a bit more expensive than cloth napkins and table linens. But it is called a wish list for a reason, right?
1. Photoshop Elements: I cannot tell you the number of times I have drooled over blogs and their photos, graphics, etc. and wished I could create something like that, only to find out they used Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to do so. I have been playing around with Picnik a bit and while it has some useful tools, I feel Photoshop Elements might be better suited for the things I'd like to do.
2. Family Tree Maker for Mac: I am very interested in genealogy and one of my 130 before I'm Thirty goals is to research my family tree. This program would definitely help me reach this goal!
3. New Camera: I have blogged before about how my camera doesn't always play nice with me and I'd really like to get a camera that can do more and take better quality pictures. While I'd love to get a Nikon SLR, this one is a good place to start!
4. New TV: We have a 20 inch big box TV that my parents bought me when I started college. It has served me well over the years but now has some fading in the corners that makes green items appear red and so forth. We (especially J) would really like to get a TV like this one to better watch our favorite TV shows and football teams (Fighting Irish and Huskers, respectively) play, not to mention it is difficult to have guests over to watch a movie, sporting event, etc. when the TV is so small.
What's on your wish list, technology or otherwise, this holiday season? Happy wishing everyone!
Well, now I'm back with my technology wish list, one that I will admittedly have greater difficulty fulfilling than before since the items are quite a bit more expensive than cloth napkins and table linens. But it is called a wish list for a reason, right?
1. Photoshop Elements: I cannot tell you the number of times I have drooled over blogs and their photos, graphics, etc. and wished I could create something like that, only to find out they used Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to do so. I have been playing around with Picnik a bit and while it has some useful tools, I feel Photoshop Elements might be better suited for the things I'd like to do.
2. Family Tree Maker for Mac: I am very interested in genealogy and one of my 130 before I'm Thirty goals is to research my family tree. This program would definitely help me reach this goal!
3. New Camera: I have blogged before about how my camera doesn't always play nice with me and I'd really like to get a camera that can do more and take better quality pictures. While I'd love to get a Nikon SLR, this one is a good place to start!
4. New TV: We have a 20 inch big box TV that my parents bought me when I started college. It has served me well over the years but now has some fading in the corners that makes green items appear red and so forth. We (especially J) would really like to get a TV like this one to better watch our favorite TV shows and football teams (Fighting Irish and Huskers, respectively) play, not to mention it is difficult to have guests over to watch a movie, sporting event, etc. when the TV is so small.
What's on your wish list, technology or otherwise, this holiday season? Happy wishing everyone!
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