Holidays in Review

Yeah, yeah...I know this is way overdue, but better late than never right? With traveling over the holidays and then coming back to a busy life, lots of laundry, and getting back into a routine, now I am finally getting to Christmas pictures.

My brother has been living in Montana for the last 7 years and I am only now finally getting to visit him. He originally moved out there because of my aunt and uncle. Now they have three adorable children-my cousins, who I rarely get to see. So it was time Andy and I made our way out to Montana for the holidays...and what an awesome time we had!

Christmas cookies. It's not Christmas without them.

Going sledding with my cousins Christmas morning. They got sleds for Christmas!

My Dad and his crazy hair! The cabin lodge where we went cross-country skiing.

A beautiful rainbow viewed from my aunt & uncle's house one morning.

Big Sky Brewing Company. Just one of many breweries we enjoyed.

Myself, my brother, and Andy hanging out in downtown Missoula.

Window Phone

(source)

Now this is an interesting new concept. This cell phone is called the "Window Phone". It is called this because it acts like a window does in certain weather conditions. When it rains you get droplets on your phone, when it snows you get frost on your phone. The other interesting thing is that you blow hot breath on your phone so that you can use it. Just like a window, when you put hot breath on it, it steams up and you can write on it. The same works for this phone when you want to call or text someone. Pretty crazy eh? I'm not sure how practical it is, but it is definitely an interesting idea. This phone was created by Seunghan Song.

What's cooking?...Doughnuts

Easy 10 Minute Doughnuts!

Doughnuts have long been a Christmas tradition of my family. They go back as far as I can remember. My mom usually makes the 2-day kind with mashed potatoes in them and lets them rise for a whole day. They taste awesome, but few people have that kind of time. One Christmas my mom decided she was not going to make doughnuts, so my younger brother set out to find his own simple way of making doughnuts for the family...and he did just that! These literally take 10 minutes per biscuit container.

1.) Start with a can of biscuits. They can be any kind. If the can says 10 biscuits, it will make 10 doughnuts...simple!

2.) Use your thumb and forefinger to make a hole in the biscuit and stretch it apart so that it resembles a doughnut.


3.) Fry the doughnuts in an inch or two of any kind of oil. I think we use canola or vegetable oil.


4.) When the doughnuts are browned on both sides take them out of the oil and let them drain on some paper towels.


5.) Decorate your doughnuts as you please. A simple glaze can be made of mixing powdered sugar with milk until you get the desired consistency you want. Cocoa powder can be added to that mixture, or any other flavoring that you like.

Biscuit Doughnuts are a fun easy thing to do with kids! My brothers and I always loved decorating doughnuts as we were growing up, and now we let our little cousins take over the decorating.

Old Photo Thursday

This is my dad's second grade class. Unfortunately he is not in this picture because he claims that he was sick this day. We found this picture at my aunt and uncle's house over Christmas. It has become a favorite picture of mine because you can see the difference from then to today. They are all well groomed and smiling nicely. Most of the girls have collars on their shirts and some kind of curl in their hair. How classy! My personal favorite is the girl in the center of the picture with the wing-tipped glasses. How cute is she?! And the boy next to her has some dreamy eyes like he was in love with the photographer or something.

A colorful year

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Oh color, I love it! Ever since I was a little girl I have loved color. A favorite shirt of mine in the second grade was a bright green shirt with patches of color all over it. I would have worn that shirt every day if my mom would let me. When I found this picture I was floored, it is perfect. Pink and red and blue and brown, oh my! It just doesn't get better than that. This year I am promising myself that I will use more color in my wardrobe. Black, gray, and jean are so easy to wear, (especially in DC) but color is much more fun. One easy way to add color will be with scarves. I have far too many scarves and they always help to add a pop of color. Here's to a colorful year!

My Projects: Pallet Table

Pallet Table

I have been obsessed with pallet furniture for a while now...even before it went mainstream. Pallets are such simple constructions that can be found almost anywhere because everyone uses them. Granted, most pallets are not very nice. They have been thrown together out of crappy scrap wood, treated with chemicals, and then thrown around. Because Andy works for a solar company I have been begging him to get me some free pallets. His answer is always that the pallets they use are no good. Boohoo! Finally, he came through in December and brought home some pallets. I was like a girl on Christmas morning, giddy with joy! These pallets were huge, sturdy, and in great condition.

The pallets started about twice the size as they are pictured on the left above. So Andy cut them in half for me. We then nailed them together as you can see in the picture. I spent a few hours one day sanding them so there weren't any rough edges or splinters. Then, I lacquered the whole thing to make the wood look nicer. We debated on letting it sit flat or putting wheels on it, but after realizing how heavy it was we decided on wheels. I love it! It came out so nicely. Now we can store books in it and move it around easily.

Costs:
-2 wooden pallets: Free
-sandpaper: $1
-lacquer: $5
-wheels: $4 each, $16 total
Total: $26

Happy New Year!

This is a picture of Andy and me and how we spent New Years. I have to admit though, the picture may be deceiving. We had just flown back from our Christmas spent in Montana that day so we didn't feel up to going out. We spent our New Years doing typical things like unpacking, laundry, cleaning...etc. Because it was New Years though, we decided to get dressed up near midnight and do a little photoshoot before we popped our bottle of champagne. It was probably the most relaxing New Years Eve we have ever had. Here's to a fantastic 2012!!