Ten Minute Craft Time

I saw (on Pinterest, of course) a super cute wine cork keychain. Following the link to this Etsy page, I thought "Hey, I can do that!" (Or at least something like it.) Well, the danger in this thought - which I have often - is that it doesn't always turn out so well. Exhibit A: This braided hex nut bracelet, though super cute, was WAY harder than it looked. You've been warned.

I went though our rather large collection of wine and champagne corks saved over the last couple of years. A collection of memories...vacations, holidays, big events, group dinners and quiet evenings at home with a book. I sifted through the real and synthetic corks, pulling out the ones in bad shape/too dried out for recycling, and made sure to separate out and store the ones with writing on them from specific events. (The one from the day we got engaged is packed safely now.) Here's how it works, and how it turned out in the end...

A cork, #10 zinc plated screw-eyes and some sort of ring with a tag. A regular key ring will work too.

Center the screw in the undamaged end of the cork and turn it just like you would a cork screw. The threads on the screw keep the metal anchored in the cork. Twist the screw in until the eye part is tight up against the cork. I discovered at this point that you have a better chance of accuracy with synthetic corks. (Ecologically sound too :)

Attach the tag. I'll add a cute seasonally appropriate ribbon loop to the the ones that will be given as gifts and use the tiny tag as a To/From label. I've got quite a large bag of these going, so you'll probably see one heading your way soon. They aren't any fun to make if you're not going to give them away!

TADA! I'm going to be careful with it until I see how much everyday bouncing around in my purse abuse it will take, but it's certainly more interesting and prettier than anything else on my keyring.

 I put these together one stormy Sunday night with a cup of tea and a restful CD. It's really a Zen sort of activity. Peace may be found in the strangest places. (My yoga instructor would be thrilled.) Happy Monday, everyone.

Sweetest Thoughts,
Sara

Also, we believe in a thing called "Saturday."

Good morning, friends and family!

Today, as most Saturdays, will be quite full. One must remember to eat a good breakfast, yes? Maybe twice...This afternoon we're helping my lovely in-laws move furniture, etc. into storage. We totally owe them some moving Karma, since they once helped us move up four flights of historic square spiral stairs in December. No joke. We owe everyone moving Karma, even people we've never met. So, I'm going to have a quick brunch (read: the best meal on Earth) with some friends first, but that's not until 11. 11?!? I get up with the sun! A pretty, throw-together First Breakfast (yeah, I said it) that I don't have to share with my golfing husband? Don't mind if I do. 

Dear One Life Fitness,

"First Breakfast" (and second...) is/are why we have to pay you for memberships every month, probably for the rest of our lives. 

Love and a bowl of cherries,

Sara

If you've been to our house for breakfast/brunch, I've probably made Baked Eggs and Strawberry Bread for you. I don't mean to be a bore, but it's one of my favorite easy breakfasts. Sometime, I'll whip up one of my (7) recipes for shrimp and grits or my mother's time-tested (and lightened up as of late) Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole for you. But today, with my cup of coffee and NPR Weekend Edition on the radio, it's Baked Eggs. 

I made Strawberry Bread for Stephanie C. for brunch yesterday, and there's one slice left. My precious. And yes, that is two brunches this week! And it's not even my birthday! Find this super-easy go-to recipe here. Darn Martha Stewart and her minions. I mean staff. Oops.

And if I haven't already given you the Baked Eggs recipe, click on this. When I'm feeling blah, The Food Network can ALWAYS bring me a smile. This recipe great because it's flexible. You can follow the recipe, or use anything you've got around. Yesterday I used garlic sauteed spinach. Today, It was chopped green pepper that I barely even showed the pan. I love the crunch, and you get a bonus burst of Vitamin C. I've thrown lots of veggies, breakfast meats and all sorts of cheeses in here. It's never been anything but good and hearty. I use lower fat breakfast meats - Canadian bacon, turkey bacon, chopped lean ham, crumbled turkey sausage - and it keeps the dish from becoming greasy.

By the way, have you had the cherries this year? They are on sale EVERYWHERE and couldn't be any better. We've eaten three large bags in two weeks around here. And they're such a festive garnet color. (Go Gamecocks!)

We believe in Fridays...

9 Grain Crostini with Italian cheeses toasted on top, White Bean Spinach Dip (again with the green stuff), and Watermelon Margaritas.

This is a recipe, not my creation. Want? Check it out here.  I heart Real Simple.

So the Watermelon Margaritas came from an independent post that made it onto the Cooking Light website. Thanks to my mom for discovering this recipe first. She's always on the look-out for stuff we might like around here. Here is the recipe if you feel like giving it a whirl. (Ha! Blender joke.) I found that it was a little light on the tequila and you could barely taste it. I would suggest upping that to 3/4 cup. Also, a little more than a quarter of a watermelon will be enough. I was about half a cup short on watermelon, so I substituted half a cup of strawberries that I'd chopped and frozen earlier this month. It added a light hint of berry sweetness. Also, who doesn't love frozen strawberries in their glass? Mmm. Don't drink? This would be just awesome minus the alcohol too.

Thanks to Leanna Criss for being my taste-tester (once again)!

Cupcakes aren't usually my thing,,,

...but Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Banana Cupcakes? Yes, please! This is a basic Chocolate Banana Cupcake recipe, but I replaced the oil with an equal amount of tightly packed sliced banana, stuffed each cupcake with half of a Reese's Cup and mixed up a basic buttercream frosting and flavored it with creamy peanut butter. (The pure stuff, not the sugar-bomb kind. There's enough sugar in buttercream!) Without further ado...


Who doesn't love THIS MUCH chocolate?




Pre-baking, stuffed with Reese's Cups




This blob of frosting is for me. What? I had to check it out!





Dusted with pulverized almonds...



Don't worry. We didn't eat them all. They were shared with family, friends and house guests.

Sugar loves company...Happy Birthday to Me! Part II - So Entertaining!

I love my friends, therefore, I feed them. (Most of the men were in the back yard with Paul, being men.)

I love that this table has leaves. If only we had a bigger dining room.

The much-discussed meringues. Like the signs? That's leftover wedding invitation paper. Waste not want not!

This was a dessert party. The fruit was just to ease the guilt.

Flower from my amazing husband. (Before the cat started to snack on them.) As a matter of course, the adorable LED paper lanterns came from The Dollar Store. Yes, the were probably made in China, but I'm on a budget and could they be any cuter? My husband is lucky that I don't leave them up all the time!

Weight Watchers One-Point Cocoa Powder Brownies (Ha ha. I fed you W.W. and you didn't even know it!)

The also much-discussed cookie sandwiches. This? Was a great idea.

Strawberry (pink, duh) and lemon (yellow, also duh) sunshine cookies.

The few things that weren't sweet. White Bean Spinach Dip with crostini, chips and salsa, crackers and pub cheese. (Gasp! Holy processed dairy products, Batman!)

The guest of honor. Yes, we do wine about it.

The spread. Are you noticing a theme? The green was our wedding color and the pink is my signature color (insert "Steel Magnolias" reference here.) I swear, at some point you'll see something that's not pink and green!

A good time (and sugar shock) was had by all!