DIY Grocery Bag Holder

I am going DIY crazy this week! I feel so pumped up to make some really cute stuff for not only myself but for my Etsy store too. 

This one I am keeping for myself but I know that I will make more. The only reason I'm keeping it for myself is because I really confused myself while sewing this one. I also don't use a ruler or pattern of any sort so it is a weird size. Guessing size really isn't my thing either.

The good news is the ladies at Phat Quarter have a great tutorial that I promise won't confuse you! Pinky promise. 

It is also a great time for spring cleaning! So I'm sure that I will be posting more projects that will help me be more organized this year.

DIY Infinity Scarves

Spring is the perfect time to add a light weight scarf to ANY outfit. I wear my scarves all the time.

These scarves are super easy to make and just take about 30 minutes to make two of them.

Don't have time? Check them out in my Etsy shop HelloBrownlow!

 

Start with 1 1/2 yards of light weight or knit fabric. Length wise, cut down the center to make two long strips of fabric.
Take one of the strips and fold it lengthwise with the right sides together. Sew down the long side. Turn right side out.
Once right side out, place the ends together and sew into a loop.
And you're done!!

DIY Baby Onesie Dress

Calm down people. I'm not having a baby. Just all of my friends are. Which is totally cool but I do have to stare and drool over all the pictures they post on Facebook. Fresh babies are just too stinking cute. TOO CUTE.

Anywho.

My lovely coworker had a baby girl recently so I decided to make her and little baby Ember a cute and non-fussy onesie dress. And let me tell ya'. The little thing looked so cute in it the other day!

See? Super adorable.

Now... you all are probably expecting a tutorial on how to make this thing, right? I am sorry to announce that all my picture from that day were completely terrible. Most of them were of my cat being a little too interested in what I was doing.

exhibit A

But have no fear! Here is a link to the best tutorial I could find! 

I also made a set of Thank You cards for her baby shower. (I gave them to her with the stipulation that I had to receive one back from her saying thank you for the Thank You cards. Weird, I know.)

You can purchase these cute and simple Thank You cards and much more on my Etsy store HelloBrownlow.

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DIY Flower Monogram

I planned on doing this project about two months ago when the leaves were first turning colors and it was still fall. I made this when it was sleeting last week. I'm a little late but you can make this with festive holiday flowers as well. 

I first saw this project on Pinterest (of course) and fell in love. The good folks over at Urbanic Paper did a much better job that I did. Take a look at their tutorial. And if you aren't afraid of an xacto knife like I am, you will have much better luck than I did. 

I first took a bunch of fall-ish flowers and cut the long stems off so that these were short enough to glue or stick into my cardboard letter. 

I then cheated and instead of cutting completely off one side I just punctured holes in it with a pair of scissors. I bent what was left of the wire stemming from the flower and bent then hooked it on the inside of the "B". 

Progress.... I probably should have painted the letter if I was going to do this but I didn't plan that far ahead with this one. 

Finished product! It looks really good against the snowy background doesn't it! It will better when fall comes back around next year BUT this would be really cute to have all of the seasons done. 

Pigs in a Blanket

The holidays are near and that means office Christmas parties! While I disliked the Christmas parties while I was in college (mostly because the tacky sweater was over done) I have started to enjoy these office parties more and more. 

The first party for my husband and I was his office's party at his bosses house. Her instructions: a five dollar dirty Santa gift and a snack food. For dinner? I don't think so. I need actual food to get through a night. Sorry. 

My husband thought of a great alternative to the hot dogs and hamburgers he was originally expecting: pigs in a blanket.

Now, I don't know if you've heard or not but it is FREEZING COLD in Oklahoma so getting out of the house more than once a day is a tough deal for us. And, inevitably I didn't have any canned cresent rolls to rap these piggies in so I made my dough from scratch and it was awesomely easy!

Pigs in a Blanket

Ingredients:

1 - 2 large packages of hot dogs

4 - 5 cups flour

1 1/2  tbs yeast

2 tbs honey

1 tbs salt

2 tbs oil

2 cups warm water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine and whisk together water, yeast, and honey. Continue to whisk until yeast and honey are dissolved. 
2. Add in slowly oil, salt, and 4 cups of flour. This will for a soft dough. It should stick to the bowl in a few spots but should not stick to your finger when you press on it gently. Let dough rest ten minutes.
3. Place dough on a floured surface and knead several times. If dough stick to your hands gradually add flour to it. 
4. Roll out to make an even sheet of dough. 
5. Cut hot dogs in half and measure the size of dog on the dough and cut the dough accordingly. 
6. Grease a cooking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
7. Roll your dogs in the dough and place the seam side down on the baking sheet. (I had to use two pans)
8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Let the little piggies rest on the pans while the oven preheats. 
9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the bottoms are browned and the tops are golden. Let sit 5 minutes before serving or packing.

If you are bringing these to a party make sure that you line your container with paper towels to absorb condensation.

Makes 15 - 20 half hot dogs or true little pigs in a blanket. 

Chili

I (luckily and for once in a very long while) had an actual day off. Like a wear your PJs and watch six episodes of Dexter in a row kind of day. IT WAS AWESOME. But at about two o'clock, I get a text from my husband: "You know what sounds really really good???? .... Chili!"

Oh gosh. I hated chili growing up. I mean, don't get me wrong. My mom has one of the best chili recipes in the world (she may have a fan club) but I just never liked it. But then again, I am a very picky eater. 

So, I respond to my husbands begging text with a "Let me get on Pinterest." By the time he got home that night there was a steaming bowl of chili on the table waiting for him. Surprisingly he loved it. Surprisingly  I loved it. It also helps that I had everything I needed in my pantry already. That makes me love it even more.

Chili

For four servings. Feeding a crowd? Double it. 

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat

1 1/2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 to 1 onion diced

1/2 green bell pepper diced

1 tbs chili powder

1 tbs garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic minced

1/2 tbs oregano

pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown meat along with the onion and green pepper. Add spices. Drain if necessary. 

Transfer meat and veggies to a large pot. Add in tomatoes and sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Cover and let cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour stirring occasionally. 

In the mean time, prepare your toppings like corn bread, crackers, cheese, etc. 

Spoon into bowls, top, and serve!

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Cranberries. These bad boys are normally on my list of things to buy at the grocery store (mostly because I can never find them). But you know me; I had a craving one day for cranberry muffins. A craving that wouldn't go away.

So, off to the store I went with one mission in mind: cranberries. I'm just kidding. I walked into the store, forgot what I came for and almost walked back out to my car until I saw them in the produce on my way out. Oops. 

I almost missed out on these delicious and filling muffins!

Don't these beauties look divine (minus the poor picture quality)?

The answer is yes, yes they do.

On with the recipe!

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 cups flour

2 tbs baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup granulated white sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla 

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

1. In a food processor, pulse cranberries until broken down and coarsely chopped. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. 
3. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
4. Once throughouly combined, add in the flour mixture. 
5. Fold in cranberries and chocolate chips. Do not over mix. 
6. In a lined or greased muffin tin, spoon in batter to fill the cup 3/4 of the way full. 
7. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until top are golden brown and a tester toothpick can be inserted and come out cleanly. Let cool 5 minutes before placing on cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

I definitely felt like Ree Drummond last night cooking up my chicken and dumplings. Seriously. I don't normally make things like this (especially from scratch)... my husband does. He is the one who makes most dinners. But not last night!

My triumphant meal was warm and comforting against the crazy cold wind and plummeting temps.  

It was super easy too. If I can make it - you can make it.

Chicken and Dumplings

(serves aprx. 4)

Ingredients:

2 cans chicken stock (or one box)

1 can cream of mushroom 

4-5 large chicken breasts

1 bag mixed frozen veggies

2 cloves minced garlic (I used garlic powder)

Pepper to taste

2 cans of biscuits (I used Bisquick to make them)

Directions:

In a large pot pour in the chicken stock and set temperature to high. Place chicken in the pot and boil until cooked through. 

Set chicken to the side as to not over cook. 

Put veggies in the pot along with the cream of mushroom soup, garlic, and pepper to taste. Let stew for 15 minutes.

Open canned biscuits and cut in halves (or if you like them smaller, quarters). Slowly drop biscuits into the stewing veggies. Let cook until biscuits are cooked through (about 25-30 minutes). Make sure to not OVER cook. 

Once the biscuits are cooked through add the chicken back in and serve immediately!

Caution! These dumplings are hot and delicious! :)

Bubble-Up Enchiladas

This is by far the easiest, most fantastic version of enchiladas that I have made to date! I'm serious ya'll. 

This is like my own little Mexican comfort food without going to a restaurant and without putting in too much effort.  Easy. Not only is it husband approved, our friend John approves it too! :)

Bubble-Up Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 8-10 oz can enchilada sauce

1 lb ground turkey

1 can refrigerated biscuits

1 1/4 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese (or pepper jack)

Directions

Brown turkey meat. Drain if necessary.

In a bowl, combine enchilada sauce, tomato sauce and ground turkey. Mix together.

Cut biscuits into fourths and mix into turkey. 

In a greased 9x13 pan, pour mixture in and level it out.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Let set for 5 minutes and serve!

My new (and old lady-ish) hobby

You guys...


I know that I haven't blogged in over month.  WHAT?? I started a new hobby. 

What's my new hobby you ask? 

Couponing. 

At first I was like "I'll just buy one newspaper and clip some coupons, read some blogs." You know? But then I got addicted. I would go to the grocery store and only spend ten bucks on fifty bucks worth of product. I am high on savings.

It's kinda sad though... My mom calls once a week to make sure I only have one cat. She thinks that I am some sort of crazy cat lady! Which I most certainly am not! (If you don't count the hundred pictures of my cat on my phone...)

So now that I have gotten a taste of only spending fifty dollars on a month's worth of groceries I can't stop couponing. I now buy at least three newspapers a week and spend at least ten hours clipping, organizing, and reading the blogs. If you haven't looked into couponing you should. You might think it's stupid (which in reality I get looked at like I'm a crazy person when I shop) and think that it isn't worth while, but trust me, it is!

Here are some of the blogs that I look at regularly.

Consumer Queen (for Oklahoma specifically)
The Crazy Coupon Lady
Totally Target
Wally World Woman


I hope you all find this useful!

Vegetable Tian

Now ya'll might be wondering what the heck is "tian"??  According to A Spoon Full of Thyme: Tian is a French word that describes an earthenware square or rectangular casserole dish.  A tian can be a variety of dishes but originally referred to a Provencal-style mix of vegetables that are cooked, baked or roasted in a gratin style. 

sorry for the poor picture! 

Uh huh. 

So basically you bake veggies in a square dish. Easy? Yes.

Vegetable Tian

Ingredients:
Seasonal Veggies such as squash, zucchini, potatoes and tomatoes.
1 Sweet Onion
1 Clove Garlic
Salt and Pepper
Italian Cheese
Olive Oil

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. 
Finely chop the onion and in a sauce pan, sautee the onion until tender with a little bit of olive oil. Spread in the bottom of the dish. 
Thinly slice your vegetables into rounds and start stacking them in your square dish vertically. 
Once all the vegetables are in your dish, lightly drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on your salt and pepper. Grate the garlic over the dish. 
Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes. 
Sparingly place cheese evenly over the entirety of the vegetables and bake again uncovered for another 15-20 minutes


Voila! 

Now, in my dish, I didn't have Italian cheese, so I used cheddar (that's why it looks yellow) and it was NOT the best choice. I should have subbed just regular Parmesan cheese instead. I also did without the onion the second time I made this and it still tasted great!

DIY Pillow Covers

You can see from the following pictures that our pillows are quite ugly. like UGLY. Our couch is that pattern too... Lucky us. Solution? Pillow covers made from fabric that was left over from various project and an old sheet that my husband somebody ripped.

The first step in all of this is to wash, dry, and iron your fabric that way everything measures like you want it and the first time your husband spills salsa on it, it doesn't shrink. 

I laid our my fabric and placed the pillow on top. The pillows aren't all the same size (which sucks) so I did it for each pillow rather than cutting one and tracing around it. I cut one piece to cover the entire front then two back pieces that will over lap by 2 inches. 

I didn't take pictures while I was attempting to sew because I'm accident prone like that. BUT the first thing I did was hem the two overlapping piece by half an inch on each piece. 

The second step is to pin together all you pieces, right sides together, the back pieces over lapping. Sew together and turn right side out.

MUCH better than granny floral!! And my cat likes them too. She even posed for the picture. :)

DIY Chevron Letter

As wedding season draws to a close, here is a great gift you can give to the newly weds!

My friend from church got married this past weekend and every single thing she registered for was chevron print in gray, black and silver. I didn't want to spend 20 bucks on something I couldn't customize for them. So I spent $3 on the letter and a little bit of time creating something that was unique for them. 

I printed off a chevron pattern from online and cut it out. I then traced it as many times as I wanted down the face of the letter.

I filled it in with some silver paint and voila! Easy enough.

DIY Magnet Board

It's my mom's birthday (almost) and she recently moved within her school to teach another age group meaning that it was time to decorate a whole new class room! I asked her what she wanted to decorate her room with and she said that maybe a magnet board and a mod podge letter. Maybe? Just maybe? I had to fix her maybe.
I turned dollar store kitchen ware and clearance fabric into something so cute that she will love to hang it in her classroom!

These are the supplies! Fabric, coordinating paint, ribbon and a metal cookie sheet. (Not pictured: a drill - girls can use power tools too!)

What I did first was drill two holes in the top center of the cookie sheet in the way that  I wanted it to hang. It took some time to make it all the way through it, but it wasn't bad or scary. I would recommend doing it over a sink so you don't drill into your counter... oops. 

Next I took some paint and blended it together around the edges of the sheet. I then cut and covered the center with fabric. I used spray adhesive to glue it down, but mod podge would have worked. I then covered the top of the fabric with mod podge to give it a more finished look. I put some ribbon through the holes and viola! Magnet board!

Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies

I had never made anything with jello before other than... jello. And of course, on Pinterest a round of "jello cookies" and "pudding cookies" surfaced and I had always wanted to try them out. Except for I never EVER put jello on my shopping list (nor do I remember) but it was on sale this week at the grocery store! The bonus is that they are super pink with no food coloring!

Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies

adapted from lilluna

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 TB raspberry jello
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 3.5 oz. box instant white chocolate pudding
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 bag white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream together butter, sugar, and jello. Add in eggs and vanilla. Continue to cream until well blended. 
3. In a separate bowl, add together pudding, flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add into sugar mixture. Gently stir in chips.
4. Spoon onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. 

DIY Hanging Dish Towel

      Happy Fourth of July! I've been very crafty over the past week or so since my husband has been away on business and I was  very bored. One thing that I had been meaning to make for quite some time was a hanging dish towel to go over the bar on our oven. The husband likes to carry dish towels over his shoulder when he cooks then just throws them wherever on the counter. That's not happening anymore!    

     This project took maybe thirty minutes to complete. And the bulk of the time was spent trying to re-thread my sewing machine... oops. 

The finished project!

   

I bought a dish towel from Target and cut it in half. It was too bulky to have it all on one thing. (One for you and one for a friend!)

I then cut a pattern of how I wanted the fabric top to look. I cut out the fabric, ironed it, and hemmed the bottom edges. 

The I sewed around the edges of the fabric with the face sides together. I couldn't get a good picture of sewing in the towel, but after you have sewn the fabric panels together and have turned it right side out, pin the cut side of the towel into the opening of the fabric creating a sort of ruffle while you pin it. Sew it down!

I then added velcro to the skinny part of the fabric and to the rounded part as well. (Just the stick on kind).And done!

DIY Framed Initial

I love my mom. She's so cute. She gets on Pinterest and pins stuff that she wants. So when she pinned this from Etsy I had to make it for her birthday that's coming up. Not gonna lie, it's pretty cute. 

I gathered my supplies: wooden letter, frame, and accent pieces as well as some new paint. You will also need a poster board of sorts, a paint brush, and hot glue.

First I painted the frame, letter and little accent pieces and let them dry. Warning! Craft wood is super absorbent and it took me three coats of paint for  each piece.

I then cut and painted the poster/foam board to fit the frame and where none showed in the cut out parts of the frame.  

Then I carefully hot glued the letter to the board and then the board to the frame. I let it cool. But when it sat overnight the board had warped and I hot glued it again and now its really stuck!

**UPDATE**

I am now selling these in my Etsy shop HelloBrownlow!! I customize them just for you! :)

Happy Father's Day!

I have the ABSOLUTE BEST DAD EVER. He has always been very supportive of me growing up and he still is. I'm pretty sure I've already bought him a tie in every color and too many gift cards to Bass Pro, so a unique card was the only way to go. 

And he loved it. 

Love you Dad!

I found it on Pinterest, but they had blocked the link because it was spammy. :( But in theory this is the blog it's from.

DIY Sharpie Mug

Every other person that I follow on Pinterest has some sort of variation of the DIY mug. Most of them have mustaches or funny faces on the bottom of them but what about a mug for the twenty-something bookworm?  It's super easy to do. I bought a mug from the dollar store, drew out what I wanted on it and drew on it! You just bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes. Done!  

Now it't time to brew some herbal tea and settle into a good book. :)

Chicken Taquitos

Sundays are the only days that my husband and I both don't work. So for the most part we stay in all day or we go do something fun. Well... today we stayed in and cooked. I cooked for about two hours (mostly because I didn't know what I was doing) and the outcome was delicious.
Normally I don't like the taste of corn tortillas (I'm weird, I know) but today I just had to use them to see. My taquito recipe is inspired by this one from The Kitchn. We also served it up with a side of Spanish rice.


Chicken Taquitos

Ingredients:
3 large chicken breasts
1/2 cup shredded cheese
2 tsp of each: garlic powder, chili powder, cayene pepper, SW chipotle seasoning, paprika
1 pkg of small corn tortillas
butter
sour cream (for serving)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Boil chicken breasts in large pot until cooked thoroughly. Shred chicken. Place the shredded chicken in a large mixing bowl. Toss with cheese and spices. Add spice to taste.
3. On the stove heat up a medium pan. Butter and heat tortillas through
4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. One by one, lay the tortillas flat and place chicken mixture on one side. Roll tightly and place the taquito seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping each over half way through. They should be crispy.
6. Serve warm with a side of salsa or sour cream with lime zest

Southwest Pasta Salad

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer. With summer comes trips to the lake, the pool, and road trips. Have a fun picnic this summer with a cool yet spicy pasta salad. This isn't your boring Italian dressing and some pasta pasta salad. NO SIR. This is a spicy pasta salad. A southwest pasta salad if you will. 

Ingredients:

1 box of tri color rotini

mini pepperonis 

shredded cheese - I had the fiesta blend from Kraft

Cesar dressing

spices - paprika, chipotel  powder, garlic powder, black pepper, chili powder

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions on the box. Season the water with pepper and garlic powder while bringing to a boil. Cook to al dente.

Drain pasta and pour into bowl. Pour a fair amount of dressing on the pasta but not enough to drown it. Lighter is better. 

Season with the spices and mix together. Add pepperoni and cheese.

Chill in fridge.

You could also sub the pepperoni with grilled chicken!

Peppermint Foot Scrub

Pedicure are expensive. Let's be honest. I work full time, my husband works full time and I can STILL not afford to get one as often as I like. I mean, how awesome would it be to get one every other week, shoot, every week?

I like to treat myself to some pampering-me-time about once a week. I don't even leave my house to do it. I give myself a nice foot soak and scrub and paint my toe nails. And that's about all I have time to do or I just get super distracted. 

This foot scrub is not only soothing and invigorating but cost effective too. All you need is a jar, sugar, oil, food coloring, and some peppermint essential oil. Bam. Done.

I used about two cups of sugar to start with. I guesstimated that based on my jar size. I added in olive oil to get it to the right consistency, you'll know it once you feel it. It came out a strange yellow color because it was olive oil so I added a few drops of red food coloring. You can use mineral oil or coconut oil to not have a discoloration to your sugar. I added in enough peppermint oil to make it smell good but not too strong. And that's it! Easy peasey.

Memory Frame

     In light of Mother's Day and the recent tragic disasters in Moore, Oklahoma preserving memories captured through photographs becomes increasingly important. To those who lost everything in the tornado, even their loved ones' lives, our community is pulling together and praying for you.

    Photo box upon photo box can be found in my parents' house. Most of these boxes I had gone through while I was still in high school and were scattered and tucked away in my bedroom. Mother's Day weekend I spent hours finally cleaning out my room so my dad could have a "real" office free of all the girly decor I had left behind. Among my things that I shoved into drawers, I found these pictures of my mom's parents. One of my granddad and me and one of my grandmother and me. Mother's Day was also my granddad's 85th birthday! WoooHoo! He is old and opinionated but I think that's allowed. What made finding these pictures even more touching is that my grandmother died 9 years ago this year. I wanted to preserve the memory of her so that my future children can know who she was.

   To create this frame, I bought a picture frame from the dollar store and took out the happy smiling family and used them as a stencil. I traced out the size of the frame on scrapbook paper. I went online to find a quote about grandparents but all I found were so-so. So I made up my own kinda-sorta.  I printed it on another piece of scrapbook paper and cut it out from a stencil. I tacked the photos and the quote down with photo glue. On the quote paper I put brads on either end. I also painted the frame a different color because an ugly brassy color is never cute. 

    While I could have done more in the ways of decorating it, I think that the simplicity of it rings true to how my grandparents lived their lives. They are simple people who would rather spend a day with their grandchildren then spend a day buying lavish things. While my grandmother has passed, I see a lot of her in my mother. She is the inspiration for how I live my day to day life. 

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.