Ladder Shelf- Love Hubbys Resourcefulness

So Nick was leaving work one day and happened to notice an old painters ladder out by the dumpster. Since we love the recycled yet old distressed look of the ladder it was soon in the back of Nicks car.  Nick sanded it down, got some of the old paint off it and now we have a new shelf!

 

(Sorry for the poor quality picture!)

Homemade Caramel Dip ((Amazing!))

So, as I often do, I was browsing Pinterest and came across an amazing recipe for homemade caramel dip.  Hubby is sort of a kid in the fact that he hates anything healthy.  So, I thought if I made this caramel dip maybe he would dip apples in it and that could be a (semi) healthy snack.  The dip turned out awesome!!

The caramel is super easy too.  All you need is:

3/4 cup of Brown Sugar

3/4 cup of Sugar

1/2 cup of Corn Syrup

1/3 cup of Butter

2/3 cup of Whipping Cream

Directions: In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except for the whipping cream.  Heat for approx. 5 minutes until sugar and syrup mixture comes to a boil.  Once it has boiled, remove from the heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.  After it has cooled, stir in the whipping cream.  Once its all blended, pour it into a jar and cool in the fridge.  I used a pint size Ball Mason jar and it was just the right size.  

 

The caramel makes a perfect gift for coworkers.  I'm pairing a jar of it with an apple slicer for each of mine.  If they like it half as much as the Hubby then I'm in luck! 

Also, on Christmas Eve we are having a Hot Chocolate bar for the family and I'll be putting a jar of this out for them to stir into the hot chocolate.  Who doesn't love caramel and you can use it for some many things.

Now I'm going to settle into the couch with a bowl of dip and apples (that is if Nick left me any)....

Christmas Sign For Your Front Porch

Now that all the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone, we can switch our focus to Christmas!

Who doesn't love Christmas?  But to say Nick and I love Christmas might be an understatement.  We look forward all things Christmas- cutting down the tree, decorating, egg nog, stocking stuffers, and time with family to name a few.

So far we have had so much fun decorating the house.  We got the Christmas lights up, the garland around the front door and we made this adorable sign for the corner of our front porch.  It was so easy to make and it was fun looking up the towns named after Christmas related things- such as Santa Claus, IN or Snowflake, AZ. 

So to make your own sign, all you will need are some wooden plaques (can get them at JoAnns or Micheals), a 4x4 (Home Depot or Lowes), 4-5 screws, some paint and paintbrushes, and then you can add garland and holly berries if you would like.

So first, we painted the wooden plaques and post the base color.  Then Nick, who looks for any excuse to use a power tool, screwed the 4x4 to the bottom of the stand.  We then looked up the towns we wanted to be on our post and used Google Earth to figure out the miles from our house to put next to the names.  We painted the names of the towns on the plaques and, once they dried, used a screw to attach them to the post as well.  If you want your sign to be accurate, make sure you have the directions of the cities correct before attaching the plaques to the post.  And then lastly, we added the garland and holly berries (which we also got at JoAnns). 

Its perfect if you have a corner on your front porch that you want to add a little something to.  I can't wait for our guests to come over on Christmas Eve and see it.

Just in Time for Thanksgiving- Last Minute Addition- Cranberry Sauce

For the past two years I've made this amazing cranberry sauce for our family Thanksgiving.  Its so simple to make so I thought I would share.  Just in case you needed that last minute addition to your dinner.

You will need:

• 1 t. arrowroot or cornstarch
• 1 c. Sugar or Splenda (I used a mixture of both)
• 1/2 c. water
• 3 cups fresh cranberries
• 2 medium oranges (squeezed into 1/4c. of Orange Juice)

Cooking Directions: 

1) Combine the cornstarch/arrowroot, sugar or Splenda, and water in a saucepan. 

2) Heat (on Medium) while stirring until all the ingredients blend and dissolve together.  

3) Stir in cranberries and orange juice. Bring mixture to a boil while continuing to stir.  

(Tip: use a fork to strain the juice as you are adding it to avoid seeds and pulp going into the berries)

4) Reduce heat and shimmer (while continuing to stir) for approx. 5 minutes or until cranberry skins begin to pop and mixture begins to thicken.

5) Remove the pan from the heat.  Put the cranberry sauce into a bowl and put in the fridge to chill.  Let chill for approx 5 hours before serving.

 Enjoy! Hope you and your family have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

My First Post- Top 5 Pinterest Projects

What better way to start off my blog than with a Top 5?!  I've been feeling very creative lately and these are the projects I hope to tackle first.

1) With the Holidays right around the corner, I've been obsessed with finding the cutest wreath idea for over our fire place.  Well, I think I found a winner.  Love this one. 

Felt Flower Wreath

2 & 3) The Hubby and I are in the process of turning the "office" into our "craft room".  These helpful organization projects are a MUST for this room.

Fabric Magnet Board

Coffee Can Organizer

4) I love these for Christmas decorating.  If only I could find gold tissue paper.

DIY Christmas Trees

And lastly...
5) I'm making these to bring to Thanksgiving dinner for dessert.  They are adorable and sound like they would be amazing. 

Pumpkin Chai Cookies

I'll let you know how these projects turn out. :)  Thanks for reading and hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving!