Custom Built-In ChalkBoard!

I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or whatever else you celebrate! :) We enjoyed our First Christmas as a married couple and decorated our First Tree!

Moose was waiting for Santa every night! Couldn't wait for some more Tennis Balls and Squeaker Toys!

The Sunday before Christmas I was itching to get back to some of my crafts and DIY projects so I asked my Husband to stop at Home Depot on his way home from his Parents house to get some supplies to finally convert this annoyingly un-useful custom built-in cork board to a FUN and useful Chalkboard!  It had a lot of potential because of the amazing large frame that surrounded the area, but the cork board just didn't make any sense to us...

Here is our before Picture after pulling off the cork that was coming loose:

Supplies that are needed:

Painters Tape

Magnetic Primer (Not necessarily needed, but useful to clear the most cute clutter I've ever seen from my fridge that is taking over because I refuse to take down the adorable baby pictures and announcements my family and best friends send me!)

Chalkboard Paint

Foam Roller and plastic paint tray (they are not pictured below because we ended up switching half way through when we noticed that the paint brushes, below, were a pain in the butt to make the paint even!)

Chalk

We used Spackle to fill in the small holes where the screws are that hold this custom built frame on the wall! (Might not be needed if you are using a regular frame or wall in your house)

Use Painters Tape to line the area where you want to paint.  You could use this to make a square on your bare wall and get a backless frame to hang over the area!  We primed the wall with a magnetic primer (3 coats, with 1 hour drying time in between the coats).

Magnets really work! Though the magnetic strength is lower than the refrigerator...

The next day we started our 3 coats of Chalkboard paint with 24 hours drying time in between each coat!

After it is completely dry, you must prime the chalk board with the side of a piece of chalk.   Take the side of a piece of chalk and rub it on the entire board.  This will make the board able to erase without leaving marks.  If you clean the board with water repeat the chalk priming method to ensure it erases evenly again!

I want to make a cute calendar up top and use the bottom for a message board, but that will have to wait until after hosting our first Party for the New Year!  Hope everyone has a SAFE and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

DIY Glitter Ornaments

I have noticed that having your own home makes decorating for the holidays a lot more enjoyable, but decorations can be expensive!  Sunday we woke up with the plan of completing the final holiday home decoration, getting a Christmas Tree.  Growing up in my house, as in many homes I assume, we put the tree up and spent time decorating it together.  Well if anyone knows my Husband, you know that if the Redskins are on, no matter how bad they are, he is still watching every second of that game.  I decided that we would put the tree off until next weekend because I in fact was not equipped with enough decorations for this tree anyways.

Which leads me to my latest DIY craft, Glitter Ornaments!

I was inspired by my latest trip to Crate&Barrell where they have huge stations set up with hundreds of ornaments to choose from!  This set of 3 adorable ornaments were going for $8.95.  I decided to check out a few other blogs and found how to make my very own, super glittery ornaments at home for a lot less than $8.95!

Crate & Barrell
Set of 3 Flurry Ball Green Ornaments



I went to Michaels Craft Store (my guilty pleasure), and bought an 8 pack of clear ornaments and some Martha Stewart FINE Glitter.  I read that I needed some floor cleaner and that the Pledge Floor Care Finish with the Blue Cap was the best one to use.  Other than that all you need is a funnel (or a cut envelope to make your own) and q-tips.  The supplies were probably $20 total, but once you have the glitter and floor cleaner you will make an 8 pack of ornaments for about $4.00!!

Take the top off the ornament, squirt some floor cleaner in the ornament, and swirl it around gently as to not create bubbles on the sides until the inside is coated.

Pour the rest back in the bottle and use the q-tip to get rid of any bubbles you may have created. 

Use the funnel to pour glitter in the ornaments.  Use a lot, you will pour the left over back in the bottle anyways.  Shake it around gently and coat the inside completely. 

Dump the remainder back in the bottle by tapping it gently. 

Place the top back on and you have gorgeous homemade glittery ornaments for super cheap! I will be headed back to Michaels today to pick up more boxes of the clear ornaments to fill our tree next weekend!

After the game Adam and I spent the afternoon building our first fire in our new fireplace!  Which of course called for the opening of another bottle of wine given to us at my Bridal Shower!  Thanks Ali and Brandon!

 Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Turkey Leftovers!

Sometimes it becomes a task in our house to actually eat leftovers!  With my divorced parents and Adam's family, we end up with a lot of Thanksgiving leftovers!  After a couple days of turkey sandwiches and warmed up side dishes, we tend to get sick of the leftovers.  I was determined this year to use every bit of these leftovers because we really don't need to spend extra money on food when we already have delicious home cooked food in our refrigerator! Here are two easy yummy meals I made with the leftovers!

Turkey Tortilla Soup!

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced (use my favorite invention ever, garlic zoom)

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin (this makes the soup!)

1 (28oz.) can of Crushed Tomatoes

1 (14.5oz.) can of Diced Tomatoes

1 (32oz.) carton of Swanson Chicken Broth

1 (15oz.) can of Whole Kernel Corn

1 (15oz.) can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1 (4 oz.) can of chopped green chile peppers

1/4 cup chopped jalapenos

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 cups chopped left over turkey (white and dark meat)

Hot Sauce to Taste

Directions:

In a stock pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft.  Stir in chili powder, cumin, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chicken broth and 1/2 can of water.  Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5-10 minutes. 

Stir in corn, black beans, chiles, jalapenos, cilantro, and turkey.  Add Salt, Pepper, and Hot Sauce to Taste.  Let simmer for 1 hour.

Ladle Soup into serving bowls, and top with tortilla chips, avocado slices, sour cream, and chopped green onion.

Turkey, Stuffing, and Gravy Stuffed Rolls

Ingredients:

Pillsbury biscuit dough, whole sheet

Left over turkey, chopped

Left over stuffing chopped

Left over gravy

Left over Cranberry

Directions:

Unroll of whole sheet of biscuit dough and cut out round circles (I used a left over can of corn).  Mix the other ingredients together in a bowl and spoon a small portion into each circle.  Grab the edges of the dough and gather at the top, like a little wonton.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

We served it with our favorite side, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella with balsamic, and our bottle of wine from Jeff and Sarah!

Pottery Barn Fiasco

In the past couple years, Adam and I have started to drink wine.  Don't let me fool you, we know nothing about wine, except for the fact that we enjoy drinking it at home with each other while cooking, watching TV, or attempting to hang pictures, mirrors, and shelves successfully! Since we bought the house while engaged, we were able to register for certain house décor that we wanted.  Of course I'm sucker for anything Pottery Barn, and the list became long with everything we wanted!  We loved these  Rustic Wine Shelves and Adam's mom graciously bought us one of them as a house warming gift. 

Only problem was a couple weeks later, the other shelf became on backorder until March 2012!  We decided to hold on to the shelf for a few more weeks and return it if nothing became available.  One day, Adam checked the registry and saw that the shelf was available.  We were very doubtful that this could be true, but decided to scoop up the other shelf anyways.  After receiving an email confirmation, the shelf was listed as back ordered on the website again! Since we were skeptical, Adam called Pottery Barn to see if we really did just order what seemed to be the one and only shelf left in the Pottery Barn Warehouse!  The very nice, and equally surprised representative on the other line showed no shelves available, but decided that we should wait a couple weeks to see if there really was one lonely shelf available for shipping!  We came home to a pleasant surprise one afternoon as the second shelf had arrived! 

After the honeymoon we decided there were a few things that we wanted to get done in the house immediately.  One was to finally hang those shelves!  So after a nice afternoon at the local vineyard, we started to hang the shelves!  These shelves, though they are a pair, are created completely different in their assembly process.  Hanging the bottom shelf was a nightmare because not only did you have to measure evenly between the two holes on the back of the shelf, the drywall screws would not stay in one spot once they were screwed into the wall!  They would either push in or fall out when the shelf actually hooked on.  After an hour, some stomping around, and me telling Adam to return it, we came up with a genius idea and broke out the super glue and calking putty.  Ten minutes later, those screws were not moving and the shelf was finally in place!  The other shelf had a ledge you screwed into the wall and was an absolute breeze to put up!  Here's our finished product! 

I decorated the wine bottle shelf with some of the fun wine bottles people gave us for the bridal shower.  Each bottle has a tag that specifies when we should open the bottle as a married couple.  FUN FUN idea for any bridal shower!

We're Married!

I know I originally started this blog to keep memories of the big events happening in my life… well two big items have now passed and I did a whopping three blogs… woopsies.  Lets Recap!

After 4 years, My Best Friend and the Love of my Life, Adam, got down on his knee and asked to spend the rest of his life with me Christmas Morning 2010.  Of course I said Yes, we set the date 11.12.11, and the planning started in full effect!  From dress fittings to vendor meetings to wedding crafting, my life was consumed!

As if planning a wedding isn't stressful enough, Adam and I decided to house hunt!  We decided that we wanted to "see what was out there," but once you're out looking, you kind of get addicted to looking.  After many weeks we went to see one more and FELL IN LOVE.  It was everything we wanted in a house and more!  We couldn't believe we could afford it, but with a little price banter, we signed and settled in within a month of the offer!

As every couple does when they get in engaged, we decided we needed to focus on fitness.  Not only for the wedding and all those pictures that will be captured, but for the week long Honeymoon in bathing suits in which we gained back all the weight we lost prior to the wedding!  Adam and I decided to best way to do this was to train for our first half marathon! We both completed the 13.1 miles in VA Beach in a little over 2 hours.  One thing about training for any race, you can't skimp on food or you will not make it through the training process, but you can eat for days after the race and never be full!  Signed up for the next one in March!

In the last few months before the wedding we had our amazing bachelorette and bachelor parties (completely separate of course), I attended the best bridal shower thrown by my amazing sisters and mother, completed my DIY crafts for wedding decoration, and threw the biggest celebration of our lives with our parents, family, and closest friends!

The honeymoon was the most relaxing week of our lives and we got use to calling each other Husband and Wife.

So now back to reality… what will I do with my time?  Blog. Hopefully. ;)

I posted on my blog???

So I officially SUCK at blogging ;) But I recently made some fun dinners and wanted to share! 

Steak Lettuce Wraps with Horseradish Sauce

Marinate Steak in STUBB’s Beef Marinade (YUM!). Grill the steak and slice it thin.  We served the steak with shaved carrots, julienned zucchini, julienned red peppers, and bean sprouts. 

They were assembled in Boston Bib Lettuce and topped with the Horseradish sauce.

Fun Finger Food- Will definitely be on the Sunday Football Spread this season!

Horseradish Sauce:

Minced garlic (2 tbsp)

Minced scallions (3 tbsp.)

Jarred Horseradish (we get the Extra Hot kind) (3 tbsp.)

Dijon mustard (2 tbsp.)

Light Cream (1/2 cup)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Wisk ingredients in a skillet, adding more or less to taste, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. 

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

We used the large Bella mushrooms and grilled them for a few minutes then stuffed them with the mixture and sprinkled Parmesan Cheese on Top before placing them under the broiler for a few minutes to melt!

Stuffing:

EVOO to coat the pan

Hot Italian Sausage (Try finding turkey sausage!) Browned

In a food Processor:

4 cloves or garlic, mushroom stems-from cleaning the caps (pulse)

Add 1 rib of celery, 1/2 onion, 1/2 red bell pepper (pulse)

Sauté mixture from the food processor with baby spinach (1 bag) and bread crumbs (1/2 cup)

Stir in Sausage and Parmesan cheese

Fill caps! Sprinkle Parmesan Cheese on Top before placing them under the broiler for a few minutes to melt! Large enough to have alone as your meal :)

BBQ Mango Tilapia (shhhhh! It's only 200 calories! Our BFs, Fiancés, and Husbands will never know!)

1/4 cup canned tomato sauce

2 tbsp. mango nectar

2 tbsp. ketchup

2 tsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. cider vinegar

1 tsp. molasses

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 cup diced tomatoes

1/4 cup diced mango

Two fillets raw tilapia

Marinade:

Combine ingredients "tomato sauce" through "garlic powder" in a bowl and wisk.  Stir in tomatoes and mango.

Marinate the tilapia in the marinade for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Use a skillet coated with non-stick spray.  Bring to medium heat, add tilapia and marinade, and bring to a simmer.  Cover for about 8 minutes until fish is cooked and tender (don't reduce heat).  Plate with the extra marinade from the skillet! Served with steamed rice and green beans.

Hopefully I can get more on the Blog because we did just BUY A HOUSE! And we are creeping closer to our FIRST Half Marathon!  Dress fittings are coming up, invites are going out, Bachelorette CRAZINESS is about to go down, the shower is about to be thrown, and we will be MARRIED before you know it!

For now, start cooking! Maybe tomorrow I'll post my favorite Wedding Workouts from this past month!

Good Friday

Happy Good Friday!

I've noticed over the past month how much happier and easy going my life has been with my new job.  I'm less stressed out and really getting into the rhythm of a routine!  Once you are into the working world, people tend to get into some sort of daily routine with their job and home life (your routine may be different on a Monday, than it is on a Wednesday, but none the less you have a daily routine).  I feel as though daily routines can be very healthy, especially for me. But for some people, they are unhealthy due to following the same unhealthy habits that they first laid when starting their routine.  Habits include anything from the thoughts you possess to the actions your exert.  Unhealthy habits can actually harm your over all happiness which will bleed out into your routine everyday.

 

There are electrical impulses in your brain that turn into chemicals in your body, negativity can actually turn into negative chemicals in your body, which can harvest around your organs and actually harm you.  Destructive, negative thinking won't allow you to be constructive with yourself and your life.  So how do we become positive?  We have to break that unhealthy habits. 

First of all Motion can create Emotion.  Releasing your endorphins can create positive electrical impulses, which in turn create positive chemicals in your body.  Not only will you sleep better, you'll have the desire to eat healthy!  Make little changes to your routine at a time, don't over load yourself and get frustrated, keep a positive outlook on a small task and over come one bad habit at a time.

Caitlin is such an amazing fitness expert, check out her website for some great tips on getting active, staying active, and eating healthy!

A hard concept to grasp out of college is keeping up with your friendships!  It's not as easy as walking downstairs or across the hall, it takes effort and understanding.  I try to make a point to let my friends know that I do miss them and schedule those important one on one times with them to actually listen to what is happening in their hectic and exciting life.  Even a 5 minute phone call or a quick text to let them know you were thinking about them is all someone needs sometimes.  You never know, you may have created the moment that turned their whole day around.  I know I don't always say the right thing, but I'm working on it, if they are really your friends and loved ones they know you are going to have good moments, bad moments, even moments where you want to put your foot in your mouth and chew on your leg for a little while, but they won't hold you hostage to these moments because they think of you as highly as you do of them. 

I'm working on the core of my belief system now, I know that the things I did in the first quarter of my life are not what I'll be doing here in the second quarter, so I have to continue to work on myself because overall happiness can show in your emotions and actions everyday.   Make an effort today, you can't move back in time, you can only move forward.  I challenge you to look at your routine and focus on creating three positive habits for every negative habit you have. This balance will create your healthy routine!

On a VERY Exciting Note, we are having our engagement pictures taken tomorrow by a friend I met through a referral of my sister's wedding photographer.  Lauren Gay is so talented and such an absolute positive JOY to be around!  Check out her work and check back for the preview after she does our shoot tomorrow!

MelanieJeanne

Welcome to my blog!  I've been wanting to start a blog for awhile.  I wasn't too sure what to call it or what to talk about.  I originally thought I'd write about my new engagement and the joys/stresses of planning a wedding, but didn't want to keep it strictly to that (more to come on the engagement later).  The past two years out of college have been so eventful that I figured I should share my adventures of joining and contributing to society… So here goes nothing :)

I'm Melanie, a 25 year old who thought she had it all "figured out"… and to some degree I think I do, but I really am clueless about a lot of things and believe that’s O.K. for a 25 year old :) I was one of the few in college that "knew" exactly what I wanted to do when I graduated.  I went to school for Health Sciences, hoping to get into Medical Sales and make a killing selling what I actually believed in, the well being of every human individual.  Well let me tell you, sales is sales, no matter what field your in, and at the end of the day/month there is a number to be met.  The number, I'm fine with, the way you try to get to that number and the sleepless, anxiety filled nights at the end of the month are what I started to disagree with.  It took me two years and two different companies to understand that sales was just not for me. 

So, here I am with a college degree, clueless about what I actually want to be "when I grow up."  I recently resigned from company number two and took an Admin Assistant Specialist job with MITRE in hopes of going back to school and eventually move to their Health and Human Services Sector (doing what? I'm not sure).  In the mean time I'm completely enjoying the semi-stress-free environment and feel a sense of accomplishment everyday leaving this campus knowing that I have kept all the balls in the air for my department.  There really is so much that goes on behind the scenes of  corporate departments and if managed successfully no one should even notice how half the things I do get done because it should all run so smoothly.  I leave work at work and that feels amazing.

So what DO I have figured out?  His name is Adam and he is my Best Friend and the Love of my Life.  Adam and I met through mutual friends and have been dating for 4 years.  Christmas Morning 2010 he got down on his knee and asked to spend the rest of his life with me.  Of course I said Yes <3 We set the date 11.12.11.  Most of the planning is done and I promise to have a blog on this once we get the save-the-dates out in the mail (Early May)!

We have a Chocolate Lab, Moose, who is 1 year old and quite the attention seeker!  Though most people don't see this side of him, he is such a lover and the best running partner!  Plan on hearing about him at least once a blog :)

Adam and I are house hunting this summer and I plan on sharing the joy/stresses of this adventure as well!

My friends and siblings are the best and I think we are all starting to establish ourselves as individuals.  When any of us are able to get together it is sure to be a good time!

So join me on my adventure of "figuring it all out!"  I hope you enjoy the ride and I leave you today with my inspirations for starting this:

Lisa started a blog first, originally called Treadmill Runner it documented her experiences training for her first marathon! Now called the Healthy Hokie, Lisa talks all about living healthy while juggling life.  I plan to share my own tips here and there, but Lisa will give you constant updates on how to be healthy everyday and how to attempt to look as amazing as she does :)

http://www.healthyhokie.com/

Meagan is the "Ultimate Martha Stewart, meets Betty Croker, meets Super Nanny."  She inspires me in so many ways, successful career, loving marriage, gorgeous baby boy (Jack), and a beautiful home.  On top of it all, she is one of my bridesmaids and has time for her friends whenever they call on her.  Read how she fits it all in, and makes it look so easy :)

http://mrsmeaganhawkins.blogspot.com/