Trash to Treasure... Literally.

As I have stated in a previous post, we lost my great grandma Channels in December of last year.. 2 days before Christmas. As a result, I inherited her sewing machine. My grandma spent many hours sewing and quilting, and taught me to sew on that machine. We even made a small quilt together- one that I will treasure forever. I was always intrigued by all the pretty patterns of all her quilting squares, so it goes without saying that I was beyond thrilled when she decided to help me make that little blanket. I'm sure it was with some resistance- one of those situations where kids get really annoying so you do something to keep them busy awhile- but I would have never known it. She was always the sweetest, & she always will be.

So you can imagine my delight when I brought home my brand new 25 year old pristine sewing machine. Seriously, pristine. Warranty & receipt still in the manual.. which I'm SO thankful for because I turn to that thing regularly. However, I was sad because I had no place to put my new toy. But alas! (I'm not sure where that "alas" came from)- it's moving season here at Heritage Apartments! While taking out the trash, hesitantly, my lovely fiance discovered a solid wood desk sitting beside the dumpster, and it was in acceptable shape! Woo! SCORE. Trash is pretty great sometimes. I proudly carried that thing inside... just kidding, I made Frankie carry it, but I held the door & immediately got to work!

Now, this thing had been painted a good 3 times. First with latex paint, then latex paint, then oil-based. What a mess! The paint was peeling, uneven, and to be honest, a really ugly color.

  See, cute, but ugly all the same. That little pile of stuff on top is the oil-based paint that was peeling off. I thought this would be an easy task- just scrape off the top paint & repaint. But nope, of course not.

P.S. That's Missy.. My first fur-baby. Me & my childhood best friend found her in a tree.

 

So I started by popping off the hardware that I knew I had to completely replace & began scraping. As you can see here- The second layer of paint was white. I couldn't get all the top paint off, so I next went with Paint Stripper.

Post stripping... OH MY GOSH what was I thinking. I decided to strip this on the hottest & most humid day of the year. I was thoroughly convinced I would die before this thing was finished. But as you can see, there was some blue paint under there too!

The desk-top post-sanding. As you can see, I didn't even come close to getting all the paint off, but that would have destroyed the wood. Some 80 grit sandpaper & a lot of motivation got this thing sanded down good enough for me.

As you can see.. Sydney, my second fur-baby, is slightly disapproving. She says, "Mom, these drawers are sanded nice & smooth, but they are so ugly. Please fix ASAP."

Okay Syd, I hear ya.

  

I really hope this is better, Sydney.

I went to Lowe's & went straight in to the mistint paint cart, because let's be honest, I'm a poor college kid. & I'm also cheap- hence the garbage desk. I found a gallon of Paint/Primer in a "Ice" color. You can't really tell the color here, but you can on the finished product. It's an eye-catcher! But I understand the return.. Definitely not a wall color I'd want.



Ahh, much better. Perfect? Heavens no! But this was my first project that I did ALL by myself. I even purchased all the necessary stuff from the hardware store all by myself. (Okay, I asked Frankie 40 questions first, but that still counts). Woo again! She's almost done!

But alas! (I'll stop "Alas-ing!" now) It looks pretty boring, huh? Obviously this thing needs some decoupage lovin'.




I apologize for the quality of these pictures. I live in what feels like a dungeon at times... 2 windows in the whole place. I also have no idea why the top of this thing looks so warped. That's my photography skills for ya..

Blue polka dot scrapbooking paper, mod podge and some new hardware (also a dumpster find), and she's all finished!







 I already finished my first sewing project on this thing but I can't share what that is yet. Its a surprise!

All Around the Mulberry Bush...

Genetics have blessed me with an inability to allow things to go to waste. It's only getting worse. Its quite concerning honestly. I once saved grapefruit peels because I knew you could candy them. Why would anyone want a candied grapefruit peel, you ask? They wouldn't. Literally no one would want them, but I held onto those peels (from grapefruits I got for free mind you) because I just couldn't let them go to waste! What does that have to do with Mulberries? Not much, other than the fact that when passing by a tree laden with juicy purple berries, I couldn't help but wonder why everyone always lets those things go to the birds! After a simple google search, I realized there was no rhyme or reason for it, other than mulberries being difficult to store. Otherwise, they're delightful little berries!

Mulberry trees are so common in my hometown. My grandma has a huge one in her own backyard! But she's 2 1/2 hours away, so I resorted to picking with my fiance, Frankie, at the Ohio State Waterman Farm (where he works). So here's what you need to know before you go picking:

1. Mulberry-Morus rubra. (I had to include this. The plant people I work with are getting to me haha)

2. Mulberries are the picture of health in a berry- They're a good source of minerals like potassium, manganese, and magnesium, and an excellent source of iron. They're rich in B-complex group of vitamins and vitamin K. The list goes on. Check it out --> http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/mulberries.html

3. Peak season is May through August.

4. Mulberries spoil rather quickly. They will get moldy quickly & nobody likes moldy berries. Store them in a sealed container in the fridge for ~ 3 days. P.S. This is why you rarely find them in stores.

So what the heck do I do with these berries? Eat them! In cakes, cookies and muffins. On ice cream, oatmeal, or cereal. Make jams, smoothies, or sprinkle in yogurt. OR make Almond Lemon Cheesecake with Mulberry Sauce. Do it. I dare you.

I don't have a lot of pictures to go along with mine because I got in a fight with Frankie's camera.. and well, you can guess who won. I took a few after pictures once he got home and put that thing in its place.




 (Insert Jeopardy Music Here)






You're probably wondering where the recipe is, huh? Well I'm not telling! This recipe will stay in my vault til I can perfect it.. and then I'll share it with you, at a cost of $3 per cheesecake bite, or something like that. Sorry guys, but if I shared every kitchen break through I had, ya'll would own the bakery, and I would be fat and broke, and that's not okay. But I encourage you to branch out and try your own recipe! Don't let the fruitfulness of summer go to waste.. It's far too tasty. Happy baking!

Virginia

Two weekends ago, I spent a couple days at home with my family. Nothing is more refreshing than leaving school for a bit and spending a few days laughing to the point of tears with your best friends. I can't even begin to stress how true it is when they say you always find your way back home. I've only been gone two years and I look forward to the day when I have the freedom to go back whenever I want.

Since I've been gone for the past 2 years, I haven't been able to see family as much as I wanted, but probably a lot more than some. It's a blessing and a curse. Included in those who I haven't seen is a little lady named Virginia Channels- my great grandma. I spent a few hours at her house Saturday, but it didn't really go how I wanted it to. You see, ideally, I would have liked to stop by for a visit, played a few games of Skip-Bo or Boggle, and ate a lunch that was no doubt pulled from a freezer- maybe even the same frozen waffles I used to often eat for breakfast. I would have preferred sitting in the rocker across from grandma's and spending hours listening to her talk about her latest puzzle, or stories from the past, all of which I'd probably heard 100 times, while taking in the smells around me- the smells of moth balls and the distinct scent that always accompanied her house. Ideally, I would have spent the time shouting at her, wondering why she refused to turn up her hearing aids (or use batteries that weren't older than she), but sharing laughs all the same. I might have stolen a cookie from the third drawer down in the cabinet next to the sink, or glanced over her stamp collection with her.

But grandma wasn't there. She had to leave, and I can't help but think to myself "how rude of her to leave us like that." Instead of getting to do all of those things I would have liked to do, I spent my time at her house going through her belongings, hoping to find those items I could hold in my hands and remember her by, because as I went room to room, finding my memories scattered around, I had no choice but to realize grandma wasn't coming back.

I walked to the back bedroom (the red room), and picked up a seashell. It was the one she had specifically left to me. I vividly remember a time when I was younger that I asked grandma if I could have that seashell, and she said no, but reassured me that when she died, I could have it. That was probably a dozen years ago, but she remembered. I walked downstairs to search through her quilting supplies to find the little squares she let me choose from when she helped me sew my first "quilt." I feel overwhelmingly blessed to have that little blanket. There on the table sat her sewing machine, which probably hadn't been touched in entirely too long, but it was there that she taught me to sew, an art I feel would soon be lost if it weren't for grandmas passing it on.

We all continued through the house, each finding different things that were reminiscent of time past, and making little piles of those things that reminded us of both grandma and grandpa. They left those items behind for us, mostly because they couldn't take them with them. Why would they want to anyways? Because although I felt so broken both when my grandpa, and when my grandma passed on, I don't blame them.

At 92 years old, my grandma confidently passed into the arms of her Savior, and I find peace in knowing she was ready to go. Everything in the house labeled, her diaries full of entries from as early as 14, and an obituary written and ready in the drawer. Along with her obituary was a list of everything that needed to be said, and sung, at her funeral. Gosh how incredible it is that she was so confident in where she was headed that she planned her own funeral.

So not only did grandma leave us all the great memories, but a lifetime to learn from. One of grandma's favorite things was butterflies. She requested they be included on and in her casket. She felt that butterflies portrayed her transformation as a person when she accepted God as her Savior as a teenager. I can't help but laugh if I think of my grandma as a catepillar, which is honestly just a little strange, but as for a butterfly- I don't think there is a better of God's creatures that could be used to represent her and her beautiful soul.

These words probably mean nothing to someone who never met her, but for those who did, what a blessing I'm sure (I hope) it was. I know that in part because of her influence that when my time comes, I too will go to the indescribable place she is now, and I hold tight to that thought and find peace.

"Butterflies Hover and Feathers Appear whenever

 Lost Loved Ones and Angels are Near."

Healthy Pancakes

I don't know about any of you, but I'm one of those people who eats pints of ice cream all winter then attempts to lose all the weight 3 days before the pool opens. But not this time! I'm starting a couple months in advance ;) I've seen so many recipes for "healthy" pancakes but never really decided to try one until now! These are seriously so easy it's not even funny. Plus it's a great way to get all your macro nutrients in every morning! (by macro nutrients I mean protein, carbohydrates and fat)

All you NEED is 3 ingredients:
Eggs, Banana, and Baking Powder- and the baking powder isn't even necessary!

 Ingredients: 2 eggs, 1 ripe banana

 Mash your banana til there's almost no chunks. It needs to be super smooth. You can do it in a real bowl, or Tupperware- I'm gonna assume your dish of choice will directly correlate with whether or not you are a college student.

 Crack those eggs in there. In the picture, you only see one egg yolk, and that's because I only used 1 whole egg plus the whites from the other (this cuts down on a good bit of fat). Two whole eggs will work fine though. Also throw in a pinch of baking powder. This isn't necessary, but it'll make your pancakes a little more "pancake-y."

 Cook your pancakes like you would any others. I only use ~2 Tbsp. batter per pancake.. That way I get to have like 8 of them. *Note* These stick to the pan badly. I used a non-stick pan but still needed to spray it with cooking spray.

 Voila! Pancakes! I topped these with sugar-free syrup and enjoyed!

 

 Just look how delicious that "massive" stack of pancakes looks! I have to say they don't taste exactly like cracker barrel hotcakes with real maple syrup (they're my favorite), but they're pretty darn good for healthy food! I don't like eggs (I know, I'm inhuman), but I love these! They're so moist you totally don't even need syrup, but it's a positive addition (Isn't it always?).

Banana Pancakes

Yields: 8 "Silver-Dollar" Pancakes

What you Need:

1 Banana             Pinch of Baking Powder

2 Eggs 

Other ingredients that could be added:

Handful of berries (Blueberries are delicious)                 Cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

Mini Chocolate Chips (Chocolate Banana, yum!)           2 Tbsp. Peanut Butter

2 Tbsp. Applesauce                                                      Anything you like in pancakes!

1. Mash banana

2. Thoroughly mix in egg and baking powder

3. Mix in other additional ingredients you might want (I strongly suggest it)

4. Cook in medium-low heated skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray until browned on both sides. Note: These do not "bubble" like regular pancakes when they're ready to flip. I'd say they only take +/- 1 minute per side.

5. Devour aggressively.. or enjoy slowly. You decide. 

  

Couponing

Okay, so I've already gotten a lot of questions about my couponing, even though I'm brand new to the scene. I figure the best way to share with you all though is through my blog. I, for the most part, am not the brains behind the operation. My fabulous cousin, Kayla, introduced me to a site called KrogerKrazy.com. Kroger is where I do most of my shopping because there's one practically in my backyard here in Columbus. So here's what I do:

1. Check krogerkrazy.com every day. She posts all the deals, where to find the coupons, and the price you can get the items for. She also has coupon databases linked to her site, and pretty much everything you could need to get started.

2. For my biggest haul to date (which was yesterday lol), I used a coupon from coupons.com. It was for $2 off any three packages of Mars/Wrigley jelly beans. The coupon was a bit of a fluke, because it didn't list a size requirement for the product which is a couponers best friend! So instead of purchasing $3 bags of jelly beans, I used it on the $0.50 bags of single serving jelly beans.

3. So, 3 bags of jelly beans * $0.50 = $1.50. The coupon was for $2, so that gave me a $0.50 credit on every coupon I used. I was able to print 49 coupons because I have access to computer labs at school. You can only print 2/computer using most online sites, so that significantly cuts down on your coupon printing abilities. However, I suggest you print from every device you have access to, and also all your friends houses. (Just promise them free food).

4. I have 49 coupons * 3 bags of beans = 147 bags of jelly beans. WOO!! I also earned $0.50 on every coupon, so 49 coupons * $0.50 = $24.50 in free grocery credits. Now if I were actually good at this couponing thing, I would have taken that as an opportunity to coupon for a lot more free stuff! You can purchase a lot for $24.50 if you do it right. However, I am not that good yet, so I purchased 28 boxes of Jiffy Mix ($0.50/each) and 2 lbs of coffee because I was out. I could have purchased 122 pkgs. of Ramen noodles instead.. but that seemed a bit excessive.

And that's it! I plan to donate my jelly beans and jiffy mix because I do not need to stock pile jelly beans, however, for those who do not coupon on such a ridiculous level, it'll be the perfect amount for you.

For example, if you can get your hands on 4 coupons * 3 jelly beans = 12 bags of beans (perfect for your kids' Easter baskets or your own personal consumption). You'll also earn $2 in credit so you can buy yourself something nice, like ice cream, and it'll all be free!

I think my biggest piece of couponing advice is to not think you're going to get $800 in groceries for free all the time like they do on TV. (Despite popular belief, not everything you see on TV is totally accurate). If you manage to save $5 on your groceries, be happy!! That's $5 you were prepared to spend but didn't have to. That means you can throw that $5 in your vacation jar, or buy a cheeseburger.

I will continue to post my couponing experiences as I go. Stay tuned for more deals.

Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake

I'm going to open this post up with a disclaimer..
*DISCLAIMER*- I have no idea what I am doing 95% of the time. The other 5%, I have minimal idea. This reflects in my baking (& pretty much everything else I do). Proceed with Caution. :)

For whatever reason, my favorite time to research new recipes is when I have about 12 other important school assignments I should be working on. Nothing gets my creative juices flowing quite like a desire to do anything except what I should be doing. As a result, I have now created a recipe for Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake (or bread, or something. I'm not so good at this classification thing). Here we go...

If you trust me, and my recipe building skills, this will be your finished product. A SUPER moist, and lemony-fresh zucchini cake. I not only made a dozen muffins, but also a small loaf with this recipe, so its probably just about enough to make ~16 good-size muffins.

First thing you want to do is gather your ingredients. I like to do this first because I'm a goon and often forget to add things if I don't. I also often to forget to add things if I do. The trend here seems to be that I'm forgetful. I forgot to add baking powder instead of baking soda and originally forgot the blueberries too.. So this picture is a terrible representation of what ingredients you actually need. Don't be an Annie, or a typical man.. read the instructions listed at the end of this before you start.

Step 1 is to grate some zucchini. Pictured here are 3. Do NOT grate 3 zucchinis, unless of course you really enjoy grated vegetables. In that case, grate away. You will only need 1 small squash (Yup, zucchini is a squash).

Exhibit A: 2 leftover zucchinis, and plenty of the grated stuff. My zucchini was probably about 8 inches long, and that'll get you more than enough. If you wait til summer to make this, and use your garden behemoth zucchinis, you're on your own there. These things are tiny ones from Aldi.
*IMPORTANT* Spread the zucchini out in a thin layer between some paper towels and squeeze out a ton of the water. The more water you squeeze out, the better. Too much water will cause your finished product to collapse.

You're also going to need some lemon zest. The zest of one lemon will do. I don't care what kind. Also you're gonna need the lemons, so don't throw those out, not that you would anyways.

So, once you follow all the directions listed below, you'll be ready to pour your batter in the cupcake liners. You can use your batter dispenser as shown above... Oh, you don't have one of those? Hmm.. You should probably find yourself a fiance as sweet as mine then (just not mine, then we can't be friends.) But really, just use an ice cream scoop, or spoon, or whatever floats your cake batter boat (Say that 3 times fast).

Pictured here is the result of my 11th silly mistake in this process. I didn't mix the blueberries into the batter before I poured it, soo I sprinkled them on top. This does not work as well, so please mix them in as stated in the directions.. which you should follow.

And again with the final product. I ate entirely too many.. probably because I convinced myself that zucchini, lemon, and blueberry were perfectly acceptable excuses. Don't do this to yourself. You WILL regret it. Sorta.

Here are those really important instructions:

Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake  

Yields ~ 16 Muffins

What You Need:
2 C. Flour                    2 Eggs                                           Zest of 1 Lemon
2 Tsp. Baking Soda     1/2 C. Canola Oil                           1 C. Zucchini
1 1/3 C. Sugar             3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice (~1 Lemon)   1 C. Powdered Sugar  
Pinch of Salt                1/2 C. + 1 Tbsp. Milk                  ~1/2 C. Blueberries            

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place liners in muffin/cupcake pans.
2. In one bowl, whisk together Flour, Baking Soda and Salt until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together Sugar, Eggs, Oil, 2 Tbsp. of Lemon Juice, 1/2 of your lemon zest & 1/2 C. Milk. Save the extra milk, lemon juice & zest for the glaze.
4. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients mixing while pouring. Continue to mix the batter til there's no clumps and it is well combined.
5. Mix the Zucchini and Blueberries into the batter, just until evenly dispersed throughout. (Don't be like me and forget to do this. It won't work out in your favor.)
6. Pour your batter into lined cupcake pans (or a cake pan or bread pan if you prefer). Fill 3/4 of the way to make sure you get bigger muffins. (Bigger is better).
7. Bake your muffins for Approx. 15 minutes. Times WILL vary. If you dried your zucchini really well (i.e. Salad Spinner), it probably won't take as long. If you use one pan instead of muffins, it will take longer. Watch the cake from outside the oven as much as possible. When the tops of them finally dome like they're supposed to and they're golden brown, they should be about done. A toothpick test will confirm!
8. While your muffins are baking, combine Powdered Sugar, Lemon Juice, Zest, and Milk in bowl to create a glaze. It should be pretty thin. If its not, add a little more milk.
9. When your  muffins are done, pull them from the oven, and drizzle glaze on top while they're still warm.
10. Bon Appetit!

Gone Fishin'

I remember one summer, when I was much younger (so that means ~8 years ago), I was spending most of my free time at my grandparents' house. That's when we still lived next door to them, so it was pretty easy to just run over there during the day while my parents worked. It was decently hot out. I guess I should say it was as hot as it gets on a normal Ohio summer day. So who knows, it was probably 32 and snowing. Just kiddin'.. Kinda. Anyways, my grandpa decided we were gonna go fishing. I was so excited, seeing as though I really hadn't done much fishing in my life. My dad was a city boy, born and raised in New Albany, and my mom was practically born in a barn (sorry mom), but she was no fisherman, or woman. I remember my first thought was to immediately run out and collect worms. It probably hadn't rained in a week, but I was bound and determined to find some stinkin' worms. I think I turned over every rock, log, stump, and pile of leaves from their house to the neighbors down the street, and I got nothin'. Well crap.. How can you fish without worms? My grandpa, a man who had a solution to everything, went downstairs, and grabbed a can of corn- those were definitely not in short supply in their "grocery store" as we often call it. Off we went to state lake, corn and fishing poles in hand.

Ever heard that Trace Adkins song, "Just Fishin?" That's about how this afternoon was going. Apparently fish don't like corn.. I really never thought that corn was a normal staple in an aquatic creatures diet, but hey, grandpas know everything. Needless to say, I was getting rather discouraged. Honestly, the discouragement had probably set in after about 4 1/2 minutes without a fish, not that I had any idea what I would do if I had caught one.

We had just about decided to give up, and we were about to pack up our stuff that was sitting on a picnic table. Also on that picnic table was a fly. Of course, we spooked that fly when we approached it and it took off. However, without hesitation, or even 2 words, my grandpa snatched that fly right of the air with his bare hands before it could get away. I think my reaction was nothing short of "WHAT ON EARTH?!"

Yup, my grandpa was officially as cool as Mr. Miyagi, minus the chopsticks and the bonsai. So we put that fly on a hook, cast out one more time, and what do you know, we still didn't catch anything. 
At the time, that whole adventure was nothing but just that, an adventure. And also a really cool story to tell people cause I don't know many people who grab flies out of the air.

So, what's the point of my telling you this story now? Cause other than that fly part, it's really irrelevant to all of you. Well, now that I look back on memories like this, especially since the loss of my grandpa, I see the events play out a little differently. Sure, its still a great memory of the time my grandpa took me fishing, but its also a lesson.

Sometimes, in life, things don't go according to plan. We aren't always the bird that gets the worm, early or not. Sometimes the methods we use to achieve something just aren't meant to be. Often, we have to resort to plans B-Z in order to find a way to get through the obstacles life puts in our way. But the most important thing is to try one more time even when you think its finally time to throw in the towel. Often, that last resort is the most difficult to put into motion, but often its worth it. We didn't catch a fish with that fly, but if my grandpa had given up and packed in when the first 2 attempts failed, I wouldn't be here telling you this story today. I can't stress enough how important it is to give it, whatever it may be, everything you've got, and when you run out of steam, pause, and give it some more. You can do it.

May 3, 2013- Just short of 2 months before we lost Grandpa

Sometimes we get the fish, sometimes we don't. Either way, there's always a reason things happen the way they do. I think grandpa would be proud.