{Healthy Eating} - Mini Ham & Cheese Quinoa Cups

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas.  But did you overindulge in cookies and now what something healthy?  Then I recommend checking out these yummy mini ham and cheese quinoa cups from Iowa Girl Eats.

Don't be fooled by their mini size.  They are packed with all things good for you.

See you next year!

Book iPhone Dock

{Pinterest Challenge}
My dad hates the internet.  He made this declaration while we were making this book iPhone dock.

He asked me where I got the idea and I told him the internet {more specifically Pinterest but he didn't need to know that little detail.}  To him, the internet is the place I find all kinds of crazy ideas and then ask for his help in completing the projects.  {like this one}  I didn't originally intend to involve him in this project but his help was definitely appreciated {as was his drill and knife.}

Like I said, I found this tutorial by Little Lovies on Pinterest.  Being an avid book reader, this project was practically screaming my name.  I even knew of a great place to get some old books perfect for this - my parent's house.  They had a collection of Reader's Digest Condensed Books gathering dust in one of the bedrooms.  With my mom's permission, I selected a couple of books {my criteria was mainly color but I also considered the titles a little.}

My dad got roped into helping because I was there getting the books and it just made sense {to me, probably not so much to him.}  And his number of drilll bits is significantly larger than mine.

I would say this project was a little more involved than I had anticipated and patience is a definite must.  But I am very happy with it.

What do you think?

I am sharing at these parties.

iPhone Case Insert

{Pinterest Challenge}
Here's a quick project I did one evening recently.  It's my twist on the popular DIY cell phone case insert.  My twist - instead of scrapbook paper, I used one of my own original photographs.

Here's what I did:


1.  Bought a clear iPhone case at Target.


2.  Printed a photograph.  My photo was landscape so I made a 5"x7" print.  If yours is portrait, it can be a 4"x6" print.

3.  Measured inside of phone case.  Mine was 2 1/4"x4 7/16".

4.  Cut photo to size.  I used my paper cutter for a straight cut.  Scissors would work just as good.

5.  Rounded the corners with a scissors.

6.  Cut out hole for camera.  I wish I had a good tip for this step but I don't.  I used a paper punch, small scissor, and an exacto knife trying to get the perfect shape.  It's a little rough but the black edging covers it nicely.

7.  Inserted cut photo into case.

This would be a great way to showcase a photo of your kids or pet.  {I have neither so I picked a pretty flower.}

I am sharing this tutorial at these parties.

Corn and Blueberry Salad

{Pinterest Challenge}
Two weekends ago at the farmers market I overheard Peter at Peter's Pumpkins {my sweet corn vendor of choice} say that he would have sweet corn the following Saturday.  I was so excited!


I have tons of recipes I want to make with fresh sweet corn {and more importantly, nothing beats the taste of fresh local sweet corn.}  I decided to make this Corn and Blueberry Salad  first.  I knew blueberries were in season and hoped cucumbers would be as well.  However, assuming I would have sweet corn was my mistake.  I got to the market 10 minutes after it opened and he was sold out.  Ugh!  But the good news was I got blueberries and a cucumber.  I stopped at Whole Foods to get two ears of sweet corn {from Florida - not exactly local.}

Don't be fooled by the strange mix of vegetables and fruit in this salad.  {P.S. - I made the salad without the cilantro and jalapeño pepper.}  It is so ridiculously good.  It is fresh with some crispness.  I really have just one word for this - Yummy!

Try to stay cool everybody.

Washi Tape Keyboard

If I had a top ten list of favorite projects I have made, this might be number one.

I found this idea from Her New Leaf on Pinterest.  Her keyboard was just so darn cute but I actually had never heard of wash tape.  {Yes, the truth is out - I live under a rock.  I'm always the last to hear about the latest trends.}  So after reading up on wash tape, I decided that I must do this.

I spent an evening searching Etsy for washi tape.  Wow - the colors and prints are endless!  After much debate, I finally decided on these from PrettyTape and chickydoodle.

After procuring the tape, the only other supplies I needed were a scissor and my keyboard.  I randomly selected a tape, cut it to size, and affixed to a key.  Easy Peasy.  And by random, I mean I put a piece of tape on a flat marble, put the marbles in a jar, and drew one out for each key.

The orange tape was a little smaller so I only used it on the function keys.  It was a perfect fit there.  A few of the keys are hard to read but I know the keyboard layout well so it's no biggie.  Otherwise, I can just look a little closer to find what I need.

And while I was at it, I added some tape to my monitor as well.

I love my new keyboard.  It makes me smile.

I am sharing this little project at these parties.

T-Shirt Shrug

{Pinterest Challenge}
Have you ever made a project that just didn't come out as great as you thought it would?  That is how I feel about this project.  When I saw this t-shirt shrug by Cut Out + Keep on Pinterest, I was really excited and was waiting for the right time to make one.


My brother is getting married this weekend.  I found a great maxi sundress at Marshall's {for a great price - $29.99!} to wear to the wedding.  But I'm always cold and it will be an outdoor evening ceremony so I needed some type of cover-up.  This was the perfect time to make the t-shirt shrug!  I crossed my fingers as I searched my old t-shirts and luckily found a blue one that would match the dress.  I even documented the quick and easy steps for you to follow along.  {The directions by Cut Out + Keep are awesome so this is just a little supplement for you.}


1. Grab a shirt.  {This is an old shirt from Northern Reflections.  Does anyone remember that store?  I loved that store.}

2.  Cut down the front of the shirt.  {I measured the center from side seam to side seam and drew a straight line to cut.}

3.  Cut off the neck band.

4.  Turn shirt inside out and fold 1 inch along the cut edge to form the casing.   Pin.  I cut a v into the front to help with this step.  {I just wasn't feeling it before I did this.}  I would also recommend doing this step with an iron handy to press the fold.  {I did not do this but wish I had.}  I think it would be especially helpful on the neck curve.

5.  Sew.  I had two puckers around the neck that I had to rip out.  That is why I made the suggestion to iron as you do step 4.  I ironed when I was fixing my problems and it seemed to help a lot.  {Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this step.}


6.  Using a safety pin, pull the ribbon throughout the casing.  {I had to do this step three times because sometimes I'm an idiot.  The ribbon frayed the first time and the pin came off as I was pulling it through at about the 3/4 point.  Then when I was putting it on, I wasn't paying attention and I pulled the ribbon too much on one side.}  I used a 5/8 satin ribbon.  I don't know how much I used because I just pulled it straight off the spool and cut it off when I had it pulled through to a nice length.

7.  Pull tight and tie.  And you have made a t-shirt shrug.

So, you are probably wondering what I don't like about the shrug.  Overall I like it and it looks really cute with jeans and a tank.  But I had high hopes to wear it with my sundress to the wedding and it just doesn't work with the dress.  I think the biggest problem with it is that the t-shirt is too heavy and structured and too long.  {The shoulders are funny and it is too long in the back which also makes the sides have kind of a funny bunch to them.}  I was thinking of something more light and short.  I didn't buy anything to make this shrug so I'm not feeling too bad about it not being as great as I thought it would be.

P.S.  I tried and tried {and tried} to get a picture of the shrug being worn but I just couldn't get one to turn out.


I am sharing at these great parties.

Wooden Floor Mat

{Pinterest Challenge}


Have you seen this project from Lowe's Creative Ideas.  I think it's a popular pin on Pinterest which is where I first saw it {and subsequently pinned it.}  {I wish I could figure out how to put a picture of it here.}


The fun colors first captured my attention but it was also a unique idea.  I thought it would be a nice cheery addition to my front patio.  So it immediately went to the top of my project list.  And I completed it just in time for summer.

I love it!

Because making it involved power tools, I had to enlist the help of my dad so I owe him a big thank you.  {He gets roped into a lot of my projects but I think he secretly enjoys it.}  This also means I have to do some planning as far as when to make the project since we live a couple of hours apart.  Easter was going to be the perfect weekend to start this project so on Good Friday, I made a trip to Lowe's to get my supplies.

I started in the paint department and after consulting with the very helpful Maurice, I picked out the following paint colors from Valspar {semi gloss}:


Montpelier Peach
Fresh Basin
Iris Reverie
Jekyll Crane Cottage Green


I really loved the colors on the inspiration piece but I didn't want to buy that many cans of paint.  {Maurice told me that the exterior paint did not come in sample sizes so I would have to buy a quart of each.}  I decided to make my mat with five colors.  I had a can of yellow - Fresh Pineapple - exterior {satin} Glidden paint from this project {I just painted the chair and footrest, it was handmade by a friend of my aunt.}:

Then the very helpful Marvin helped me get the rest of my supplies.  He even cut the boards in half for me so they would fit in my car.  Next stop - my dad's workshop.

My dad cut the boards to size and drilled the holes while I manned the sander and my nephew {he was spending the weekend so we forced him to help} handled the air hose and cleared the dust while the holes were drilled.  {He enjoyed the air hose a little too much!  We couldn't get him to turn it off.}  After laying out the pieces, we decided to make a design change.  I didn't like the exposed rods on the ends.  We had extra boards {I may or may not have purchased too many boards.} so we decided to add a 2 1/4" piece in each of those open spots.

My dad cut the rods to size and sent me on my way to finish the project.  My next step was to paint all the pieces.  Boring!  The two coats of paint I added meant that the rods were now a little too short.  But my dad had considered that and had a solution.  So back to Iowa to finish the project.  The solution - sink the nuts into the ends.  {I'm not sure if that is the right term but what he did was make the holes a little bit bigger so the nuts sat into the piece a little.}

After admiring our work, my dad suggested putting some sort of sealer on it so I'm not quite done yet.  I just have to figure out what that sealer should be.

I am sharing this project at my favorite link parties.

Prosciutto, Asparagus and Parmesan Spaghetti

Happy Mother's Day!


My mom is the person who taught me how to sew and cook.  My mom is an awesome gardener as well.  Every year she plants a vegetable garden.  {Which she has done forever.}  Every year she grows asparagus.  {or maybe it is the asparagus grows every year.}  Despite growing up with asparagus in our garden every spring, I tried it for the first time last year.  My mom roasted it and it was delicious.  I guess it's never too late to try a new vegetable.


{Pinterest Challenge}


Yesterday I made this recipe {excluding the red pepper flakes} which I found on pinterest.

It came together really fast and it was very yummy.

I had some strawberries with it.  My mom also grew strawberries in the garden {and I remember picking them - not one of my favorite things when I was little.} but I don't think she does anymore.

Lynn's recipe rating [keep or toss]:  Keep!


I love you mom!

Peep Topiary

Did everyone have a nice Easter?


{Pinterest Challenge}


I went to Iowa.  {of course}  We {my mom, dad, older sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew} had a nice dinner of roast beef, roasted smashed potatoes {One of my all time favorites.  I saw it on Five Ingredient Fix.}, and a delicious corn casserole.  {I wish I had the name and recipe to share with you.  It's great.}  But the star of our dinner was the centerpiece.

I found this peep topiary on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to make.  I loosely followed these instructions from The Hungry Mouse.  I couldn't find a 7" styrofoam ball so I used a 6" one.  I didn't want to buy a 6" pot.  {What would I use it for after this project?}  I had a Dove Chocolate popcorn container that I used instead.  {I thought it was fitting to use a Dove box for an Easter decoration.}  I didn't buy enough pink peeps.  See those blue ones peeking out on the bottom?

The peeps on the bottom were tricky.  They didn't want to stay.  It actually was a bit comical.  We didn't let that spoil our dinner though.  We made it into a game - the Peep Lottery.  Everyone at the table was assigned a number, 1-7.  We counted the peeps that fell during dinner and dessert and whoever had that number was the winner.  Six fell and my sister won.  {Much to the chagrin of my nephew who was #7.}  What did she win?  The peep topiary!

We had a non-traditional egg hunt afterwards.  We took a hike down to the river to see the eagles.  {I named them Sonny and Cher.}  One eagle was sitting on the nest.  We could just see her {or was it his?} white head.  {I wish I would have had my digital camera with me so I could show you how cool it was.  I couldn't get a close-up with my iphone.}

Don't go far, I'll share my Easter eggs soon.

Skillet Lasagna

{Pinterest Challenge}
During the week, I eat leftovers.  After work I usually go to Jazzercise and depending on which class I make it to, it might be 8 o'clock by the time I get home.  So popping something in the microwave is what I do usually.  But on the weekend I like to take the time to cook myself a good meal or two.  Because it's just me, there are always leftovers. {I don't bother making smaller meals.  I cook like I have a family to feed.  Except for vegetables and sides.  I usually just make enough for one or maybe two depending on what it is.  Those are quick to do on a weeknight even if it is late.}  I'll divide up the leftovers into individual servings and freeze for later.  {I think of them as my t.v. dinners.}  I will try to plan my weekend menu during the week so I can do the shopping after work/Jazzercise.  This past week, I wasn't sure what I wanted but had settled on an old favorite.  But then one morning while looking at my favorite blogs I saw this recipe for Skillet Lasagna on Tracey's Culinary Adventures and knew right away that I would try it this weekend.

I have to say, it was pretty tasty {it tasted just like lasagna, imagine that.} and pretty simple.  My one minor complaint is that some of the noodles stuck together.  It didn't ruin the dish but I found it annoying and so while it was cooking I tried to unstick some of them.  I used the flat Barilla lasagna noodles.  I wonder if the noodles with the ridges on the edges would have that same problem.

Lynn's recipe rating [keep or toss] - Keep!

Sometimes I like to make myself dessert.  I found a recipe for Vanilla, Salted Butter Caramel and Chocolate Mousse on Pinterest.  I am in love with anything sea salt and caramel right now so I had to try this.  {This is what I was talking about in yesterday's post that used four egg yolks.}  Everything started out fine but as I was working on the mousse base things started to fall apart.  What exactly is creme anglaise?  {maybe I should have looked that up before I got started}  I think I got that part right but the simpler step of whipping the cream may have caused this dessert to go sideways I little.  I think I overwhipped it.  {Is that possible?}  But I carried on.  The bigger problem was with the chocolate portion.  When I stirred the cooled chocolate in preparation for the cream base, it seized up.  I *think* it had cooled too much.  I added the base and made it work, or so I thought.  When it came to layering, the first two parts were fine.  But that chocolate layer was too heavy and it just sunk and didn't spread like the other two layers.  At this point {which was too late of course}, I'm thinking I should have added more of the base to the chocolate.  Oh well, what's done is done.  I was still hoping for a tasty dessert.  I think I wanted something more like pudding so I was disappointed. And that blob of chocolate had hardened even more in the refrigerator.

Lynn's recipe rating [keep or toss] - Toss :(

Chalkboard Jar

{Pinterest Challenge}
Thanks to Pinterest, I'm finding lots of ideas that I didn't know I needed to make!  I pinned this project from craftaholics anonymous and on my weekend retreat I made it.

It's a pretty simple project once you find a jar.  (That was part of the reason I made it while I was at my parents house - to raid their recycle stash since I didn't have any jars available at my house.)  Using Martha Stewart Chalkboard Paint found at Michael's, I painted the clean jar with four coats of the paint.  Per the instructions, you should wait one hour between coats and then let it cure for 24 hours before conditioning it by lightly rubbing the painted surface with chalk.  I finished my jar by gluing some variegated yarn around the top of the jar and adding a bow.  Lastly, I drew on a design {with chalk of course}.


My original idea for this jar when I decided to make it was to store buttons in it.  But then when rummaging in my parents basement, my dad showed me something even better for the buttons.  (Don't worry, I'll show that to you soon.)  What would you do with this jar?

Salted Caramel Lava Cake

{Weekend Retreat}
This weekend I went to my parents for a visit and to finish a project or two.  It's a great place to work on projects because there are fewer distractions there - mainly no internet and no cable tv.  And Sasha loves to see me.

Each morning, Sasha and I went for a walk.

Our Saturday stroll.

Sunday - This hill looks innocent here but it kicks my butt every time.

{Pinterest Challenge}

I'll post later about the projects I did but here is the dessert I made Saturday night that I found on Pinterest - Salted Caramel Lava Cake

The cake was good.  I loved the salty caramel taste.  I wish the caramel would have melted better.  I cut it into pieces like the recipe said but it still didn't melt very well.  Maybe the caramels weren't fresh enough.  Verdict - Must make again.