Barefoot and Crazy

With spring almost upon us and the Colorado weather teasing us with several beautiful days my mind has natural turned to when it will be even nicer. I long for lazy summer days and crazy summer nights. In an attempt to prepare myself for the summer (I know it is several months away still but I really can't wait!) I made a  beach bag. I used Lily's Sugar and Cream cotton yarn and the pattern for this hobo bag from Sarahndipities.  It is an easy pattern to follow and works up really quickly. I made one change though. Instead of sewing the strap to the bag I used five or six single crochet stitches to attach it. I feel that this is makes it slightly more secure.

I also decided to dye the yarn with tea. The yarn was an off-white with colored strips but I didn't particularly like it so I made it slightly darker. I brewed two tea family sized bags and then added enough water to submerge all of the yarn. Wet the yarn first and the place in tea. The longer you let the tea brew or leave the yarn in the tea the darker the color will be.

It Might As Well Be Spring

Oddly enough, Monday's are starting to become one of my favorite days. I don't have to go into my internship until 10 am (that extra hour is spectacular) and I haven't been working at Beau Jo's either which means my afternoons and evenings are free. I have been spending the afternoons cleaning, crafting, napping and playing with the puppy dog and kitten!

My roommate and I are kind of starting a tradition were we go to Whole Foods and buy food for the week and then make a nice dinner. This Monday's was an amazing spring inspired meal to match the beautiful weather we have been having!! Our meal consisted of chicken and apple tostadas, strawberry shortcake and chardonnay with strawberries. Yum!!!

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The tostadas were inspired from my Gourmet Every Day cookbook by Catherine Bergen. But we made a few changes. Instead of the marinade they suggested we modified one we found at the store and added a few ingredients

Ingredients:


Chipotle and Lime Marinade
Apple Jelly
Cilantro
2 Granny Smith Apples
2 Chicken Breasts
Green Onions
White Cheddar Cheese.
Tortillas

Boil chicken breasts in medium sized pan until well cooked.  Let cool in the fridge and then shred with a fork. We were also thinking you could cook the chicken in a small crock pot on low with a can of chicken broth all day. .

Core and Slice the apples in small bite sized pieces. Combine with shredded chicken. Add about 3/4 of a cup of marinade and 3(ish) tablespoons of apple jelly and just a dash of cilantro. Use more jelly if you like a sweeter sauce.

With the oven set on broil place tortillas on a very lightly greased baking sheet. Bake until light brown (45 seconds to 1 minute) turn over and repeat.

Place chicken/apple mix on top of tortilla. Top with diced green onions and cheese. Bake until cheese has melted.

Top with cilantro if wanted and enjoy.

Kelly eating off her new TV tray with the animals begging.

The strawberry short cake was an angel food cake from Whole Foods and fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I know it would have been spectacular to make it from scratch but there is something so nice about not having to do all the work and cleaning.

The chardonnay we are drinking came from the Whole Foods Liquor Store and is from a vineyard called Three Wishes. They use less glass than a standard wine bottle. For costing $2.99 a bottle it is a surprisingly good wine, at least as good as Barefoot, Yellowtail or many house wines I've had. And really for $3.00 you can't beat it for a cheap, everyday wine.

All in all a great Monday!

The Glitter Paiges

Well everyone, I have officially come up with a new name for this blog. Drum roll please.... 

The Glitter Paiges

I think it is pretty self explanatory, the Paige is in reference to me and the glitter because of my deep love all things glittery/sparkly/shiny! As my roommate and I say: "we have a bad case of glitterhea in our apartment."

In honor of the new name, I decided that I needed to do a glitter project. I have had this one stewing for awhile. A glitter piggy bank! For the last year, I have been keeping all of my spare change in an old water bottle. Not the best looking container.

I bought this ceramic pig at Michaels for $10 and then used the same technique as my glitter pumps (seen here and here) to get him nice and sparkly. Then I simply glued two rhinestones on as the eyes and used puffy paint for the nostrils.

A couple of notes: make sure you take the stopper out of the pig so it doesn't get glued in place but be careful when you put it back in otherwise it could end up inside of the pig. This happened to me and I had to use some material and duct tape to make a new stopper.

Home Sweet Home

I don't often travel to my parents house in Montrose, CO but when I do I try and make it as relaxing of a trip as possible. This weekend has turned out to be just that.  Montrose is a small town nestled in the Western Slope. I tend to have a love hate relationship with the town. Coming home I am always flooded with memories and the feeling of returning to something comfortable and old. It is a beautiful place and I am glad that I grew up here but I won't deny the fact I was very glad to leave after high school.

Taken in the spring near my parents home

One thing that I do love about Montrose is how convient it is to head to the mountains and go skiing/snowboarding. Crested Butte, Powderhorn and Telluride are all less than an hour and half away. In high school I spent countless weekends up in Telluride and it is still my favorite mountain but it is also one of the more expensive places. Instead of spending $110 on a lift ticket at Telluride, my dad and I headed north to Powderhorn which is half the price. It is fun little mountain with only a few lifts and small crowds (I think we waited two minutes tops to get on the lifts). This was the first day I have been out this year and it was perfect: good snow, no crowds and sunny!

My Daddy and I  taking a break at Powederhorn

View of the the Grand Mesa from one of the trails

Overall, it was a good break from the Boulder bubble. Between sushi, snowboarding, a Harry Potter weekend and Sharks hockey it can't get much better.

¡Feliz Día de San Valentín!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!

I hope you are all able to spend some quality time with those you love, whether it is friends, family or a significant other.

Unlike a lot of single girls I know, I don't have any problem with Valentine's Day. While it would be nice to have someone special to spend my day with I won't let that get me down. I try to make a point of spending it with my friends or family. This year since I have to work in the evening, my roommate and I had a mini-mexican celebration the night before. We ate burritos, drank margaritas and watched Valentine's Day on Demand.

I am kind of known for making pretty darn good margaritas so I thought I would share it with you all. Even though I Bartend I don't have a set in stone recipe for this drink, unlike the ones I make at work. I kind of do everything by eyeing it and taste but here is an attempt to quantify it.








For one Margarita

1.5 oz tequila
1 oz Margarita Mix
A large splash of frozen limeade
large scoop of ice













Blend all ingredients in blender. Coat rim of glass with salt or sugar (I prefer sugar). Serve with a lime.

Of course I never make one margarita at time but instead an entire blender full which is approximately 4 drinks. Like I said before this recipe is not set in stone, adjust it to your own taste, more tequila and margarita for a stronger, more sour taste or more limeade for a sweeter one.

I have also been working on a set of tea towels and I just finished the first one. It seems to tie in very well with the theme of the night.

Finally, I also made a few home made Valentines Day cards for a few friends. I pulled out some of my old Origami skills to make hears out of some scrapbook paper I've had for ages as well as some old playing cards.

Hockey, Dave and Busters and a New Name

Wow, what a crazy, jam packed weekend this has been. So much so that all I want to do is sit on the couch and do nothing.

Friday evening, the girls and I went up to Denver for the Avalanche game. What a crazy game! The Avs came back twice to win it with seconds left in overtime.

Even though we were in the nosebleeds it was still and awesome game to watch.

You would think that a hockey game would be enough excitement for one night but no after the game I headed to Dave and Busters in Westminster. The restaurant I work at was having our holiday party there so I had to go hangout with all of my coworkers. It is always and adventure when I go out with that group.

I have spent a good portion of the last few days recovering from that epic night of fun but now its back to reality.

I have decide that this blog needs a new name/address. I originally started this blog over a year ago with absolutly no idea what I was going to write about. I had lofty aspirations I think and hence the lofty name. Alis Volat Propriis is Latin for she flies with her own wings. In the address Ad Astra means to the stars. While I still love the Latin and feel like I can get away with it (I did study Latin for 2 years in college) it doesn't quite work with how this blog has turned out.

So I am on the search for a new name. I am thinking something to do with glitter, books, teal, sharks, baking,crochet my name or some combination of those. I don't really know. If anyone has some suggestions I would love the input.

Oh and Amy Mae if for some reason I ever have a sports blog...or you want to start one I know the perfect title: Sharks Swim Together :) I hope you get the Mighty Ducks reference.

Shark Attack Hobo Bag

I picked up this teal Caron Simply Soft yarn ages go because it is the exact color the teal on my San Jose Sharks Jersey but I haven't been sure what I wanted to make from it. I had started several different scarves but none of them felt right. a couple of weeks ago I came across this pattern for a bag and completely fell in love with the texture. I actually am very infatuated with the basket weave pattern as you can see in my here, in my Snow Day head band.  I hate all the extra decoration on the pattern a decided to keep it simple (like the sharks need to do with their hockey game!) The pattern is really simple to follow and once you start it goes pretty quickly.

The bad did end up turning out bigger than I thought it would especially once I put  a few books in it and stretched it even longer. However, I love big bags so I don't really care.  I did make the handles slightly longer than the pattern calls for.

I finished the bag while watching the Sharks/Flames game last night and therefore had to model it while I was in my Jersey. Since I live in Colorado, I don't get to watch many games and only get to wear my jersey a few times a year. Therefore, I when I do get the chance to wear it, I do!

It is a good thing I finished the bag in the first period before the game got to stressful otherwise I would probably still be working on it.

Now the big question is: What should I make next?

I took this picture of Kingston and just had to share. Isn't he so cute!

Organized Chaos?

I have always said that I live in organized chaos. There is a system to the piles of stuff that I have lying around and I can usually find what I am looking for. Yet, the older I get the more I realize that this probably  not the most effective way to live. Actually, I probably save time and effort by having things organized and actually putting things back where the belong. (Mom, if you are reading this please stop thinking "I told you so"). And it is nice to come home to a clean apartment.

In an attempt keep my place clutter and mess free, I have been working on a few ideas to help me in this process of staying organized. A few days ago I posted about a thrift shop find to get my makeup up off the counter. The vases/dishes can be seen here.

I also use a small box for my the rest of the make up I use frequently as well as a drawer filled with stuff.

Over the next few days, I started thinking about what else I could do to organize my vanity.

I already have a couple of awesome things for my jewelry: an umbrella earring stand, a cute little rack I got in Paris years ago perfect for necklaces I wear frequently, a soap dish that matches my soap dispenser and toothbrush holder and a pocketed jewelry holder I picked up at Michaels.

Jewelry Holder From Michaels

Jewelry and makeup were organized. That only left my hair supplies, more specifically my hair brushes/combs hair ties, blow dryer, curling iron, and flat iron. I don't have a lot of space on vanity counter so I needed something on the wall.

So back to the thrift store. I found three metal mesh pencil cups
from Office Max and small black metal basket. To spice them up a bit and make them a little more me I tied a sparkly ribbon around them. I hung the three pencil cups to the wall. This was a little tricky because I wasn't actually sure how to hang them. the first cup I screwed to the wall just using the head of my screw driver but this took forever. For the other cups I attached several pieces of wire to the them and then hung the wire from the nail. You have to make sure the wire is taught between the cup and the nail, otherwise the cup will move.

For my hair ties, I rinsed out an empty bottle of wine (Mirassou Merlot incase you are wondering) and put the a hair ties around them. I'd like to come up with something clever for the rest of my hair accessories (bows, headbands, clips, etc) but I don't really have the space now. Guess they will just have to live in a drawer for now :(

Finally,  I placed three wash clothes in the small metal basket so they are much easier to access than hidden under the sink.

Overall, I am very happy with how my vanity is now. Getting ready is much more convenient and hopefully it will be easier to keep clean and organized.

Brownies and Cookies and Cream... Oh My!

A couple of weeks ago I came across a picture of these amazing looking brownies on Pinterest
I have been craving these brownies ever since. On my night off I decided that I NEEDED to make them. However, the link to the original recipe wasn't working. After looking at a couple of different versions, I combined them to come up with my own version.







Ingredients

Brownie Mix (what can I say I'm lazy)
Oreos ( I used double stuffed)
Cream Cheese Frosting (once again I bought this but you could easily make it yourself)
Muffin Tins











Instructions:
1. Make the brownie batter according to the instruction on the box.




2. Crush about 1/2 of the package of Oreos. Originally, I tried putting the cookies in a ziplock bag and smashing them with a rolling pin but that didn't work to well. I threw the cookies into the slap chop instead and got perfect crumbs!


3. Combine cookie crumbs with brownie batter.

4. Pour batter into well greased muffin tins filling them about 3/4 of the way.

5. Bake for 12-15 minutes until done.





6. If you want to top the brownies with half Oreos cut them now. I cut a bunch and used the best looking ones as toppers. Crush the not so pretty ones to use for the  frosting.

7. Crush the rest of the Oreos not used as toppers and combine with the frosting.

8. Once the brownies have cooled generously frost the brownies.

9.Place half an Oreo on top.

10. Enjoy!

Snow Day!!!!

Sorry that I look slightly crazy in this picture. I hate taking ones of myself.
Anyone want to model my stuff?

Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Boulder were very snowy days; as in 20+ inches of snow. On days like these there is simply nothing better than curling up by the fire, drinking hot coco with Kahlua and watching movies. Since I don't really like just sitting I thought I would make a snow day project, something quick and easy. I started making a headband but for some reason I just wasn't in love with the pattern I was using, so, I created my own. I am currently in love with the texture of basket weave (I am working on a purse using it) and decided that is what my head band would be. Now I have a cute and functional headband!







Materials: 


Carron Simply Soft Worsted weight Yarn
J hook (although I think I might actually use a smaller hook next time)

Special Stitches :

Front Post Double Crochet
Back Post Double Crochet

Pattern:  
Chain 57, join with slip stitch to from a ring

Row 1: Chain 2, HDC in  each chain join with slip stitch in Chain 2,

Row 2-4: Chain 2, *FP dc in first 3 HDC, BP dc in next 3 stitches, repeat from * until you reach the end. Join with slipstitch in chain 2,

Row: 5-7: Chain 2: *BP dc in first three stitches, FP dc in next three stitches repeat from * until you reach end.

Row 8: Chain 2 Hdc in each stitch until end, join with slip stitch, fasten off and weave in ends.


Voila. A warm and stylish head band.




A few notes:

You can change the size of the headband by decreasing or increasing you original chain (just make sure that it is a multiple of three)

This is my first written pattern, so please let me know how things go.

This pattern is also untested, please let me know if there are any mistakes.

Kingston gets cold ears too! And looks much better in it than I do