And I Was Kung Fu "Pin"spiiiiring!

So I have 3 "Pin"spired projects(-ish) I just completed, wanna see?

1. Hanging Jars

So I pinned these, knowing full well that I would never make them exactly like Good Housekeeping did. Because I currently have no babies in my house, and therefor no baby food jars, and there was no way I would buy baby food just for this project. And I would have to attach wire and I really, really dislike working with wire. 

And then I saw the cutest little hanging jars in the Target Dollar Bins. $2.50 for 3! They're sweet, right? All rocking the Fleur de lis, and colorful, and already equipped with hanging wire. I bought 6. I should have bought many, many more. But when I went back to Target they were sold out and I haven't seen them since. 6 will have to do! I filled them with super colorful springtime flowers from my garden that I grew myself (read: I went to Michael's, bought some cheap fake flowers and added them to some Dollar Tree fake flowers I already had). 

I strung them with ribbon and hung them from white hooks. I did not hang them from the bright green tack you can see on the right hand side down there. Because the jars were too heavy. What!?! Doesn't everyone leave their bright green tacks stuck into the wall randomly around their homes? Well, they should.

I hung them in my dining area. Because you KNOW I like to hang crap there. Like these Stained-Glass Hearts and these Snowflakes and Paper Hearts. I'm a sucker for crafty, inexpensive window treatments. They catch the light and they're so happy and Spring-y. I love them! And they don't die and I don't have to replace the water when it gets old and nasty and has little tiny bugs floating it it like I would have to do if they were real flowers. So there.

2. Makeup Vases

I pinned this cute little makeup brush holder. I used dollar vases from the Dollar Tree and dollar rocks from the Dollar Tree. And now I'm fancy as All Get Out - not like the Dollar Tree.

The vases in the back are a little taller than the front vases. I really like that they are not all the same. The back vase on the left holds face makeup. The back vase on the right holds eyeshadow. The front vase on the left holds mascara and eyeshadow brushes. The front vase on the right holds foundation and blush brushes. I don't feel like I have a lot of make-up supplies. Do you have more? Less? I don't even store my lipstick here because I own exactly 3 shades and I keep them all in my purse. So I guess I'm not all that fancy, but when I look at this, I feel very glamorous.

I put all the vases on a mosaic tray I made long, long ago. Along with some Ikea bamboo, my favorite body spray of all time - Cucumber Melon, and a gold bird from Hobby Lobby.

I'm slowly redoing my master bath in a spa-like theme - white, black, bamboo-light-brown, green, and gold. The rocks and clear vases are perfect. And the tray makes it all seem more deliberate. 

I love this!

3. Enchilada Casserole

I pinned this recipe because I love All Things Mexican Food. I changed only a couple of things. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. I hate doing that, but I do it anyway because it's more healthful. And boring. But the casserole was still yum yum delicious! Oh, and I also used corn tortillas instead of flour because I disagree with flour tortillas in casseroles. That's right. I said it.

Oh, and it definitely isn't in the directions, but having a Storm Trooper spatula definitely adds to the happiness factor while serving the casserole. I know. He's awesome.

Serve away, Storm Trooper. Serve away.

And then I had to smother that thing with all my favorite Mexican Food toppings - cilantro, shredded lettuce, green onions, avocado, tomatoes, sour cream, and Tapatio! I like the extra freshness and texture it all adds. Plus, this way I don't have to serve a salad or vegetable on the side. As if I would ever do that anyway. 

And, just as a side note, you can't just say Tapatio in my house, you have to yell it. Like this: TAP A TIOOO! Do it. You'll like it. It's totally fun. 

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Don't forget the jalapeños!

Seriously delicious.

3 projects down, 5,000 to go. Take that! And that! And that! Yes, I do still have the karate skills from the class I took when I was 5 years old.

Way to go, Pinterest. I love you.

Fish Aquarium Classroom Kit

I wanna rock right now

I'm a Fish Aquarium and I came to get down

I'm not internationally known

But I'm known to rock the cool classroom.

That totally does not rhyme.

Hit it!

That song NEVER gets old. Picture me dancing like Elaine on Seinfeld while I rock it out and you've got yourself the real life visual.

Except when I said I'm not internationally known, I really meant that the Fish Aquarium Classroom Kit is NOW OFFICIALLY INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN.  As in there is a classroom full of kids on an American Army base in SOUTH KOREA who are currently creating 14  Fish Aquariums using the supplies of this super awesome classroom kit. 

This teacher only has 14 students in her classroom, but I can make a classroom kit for as many students as you have.

All the supplies are packed up in this reusable scrapbook paper box. You can use it again and again. Store your leftover art supplies in it. Or your calming aromatherapy oils. Or your candy and cookie stash. I used to be a teacher. I don't judge.

Want to see inside?

Ooh wee T-Shane! That's a lot of stuff! 

Paint and glue and paper plates and preprinted fish parts (that the students will cut - it's great scissor practice!) and sand and shells and crushed shells and seaweed and the list goes on and on! All you need to supply is scissors. Easy peasy!

Hey parents! You know what? Even though this is a classroom kit, you could also use it for a party craft. Super fun. Super cute. I do all the work. You get all the credit. Superstaaaa! 

And see how those little bags tell you how much of each supply to give each kid? You could do this in your sleep! Which is good, because if you're a teacher, you're probably not getting much sleep anyway.

Bonus! I've included lots of extra scrapbook paper fish parts so that the kids will have a variety of colors and patterns to choose from. If you want to actually let them choose, well, that's up to you. :)

Did I forget to mention that I wrap it all up with some yarn? Eh? I KNOW! Totally amazing.

Happy classroom crafting!

You Totally Want To See My Vacation Photos

So here's what we did.

We drove a gazillion hours:

                                      

And then we went through this tunnel:

And then we saw this:

YOSEMITE!

Half Dome:

Dogwood flowers:

They're so pretty!

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls:

Lower Yosemite Falls:

The Merced River:

Happy Isles:

Bridal Veil Fall:

Where you can get soaking wet!

And you'll never believe it, but this is where we camped:

So, so beautiful!

I've never been the biggest fan of camping (or a fan AT ALL for that matter), but this... 

This I love.

Especially since I got to be there with my family. 

But not just my little family. 

My family AND my mom and her husband, my brother, sister-in-law, and their kids. 

It was a big, fun group!

Bonus! We even got to see this little sweetie as we began to drive home:

The perfect ending to a wonderful camping trip! 

Morning Glory Muffins

Yeah. So ummmm... Morning Glory Muffins.

Have you heard of these things? Because I saw them on pinterest and when I googled them to investigate a little further it turns out that everyone AND their grandmothers have been making these muffins since the dawn of time. How have I never heard of them? I like muffins! I want to eat muffins! Why am I not in the MORNING GLORY FREAKIN' MUFFIN LOOP? WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND HERE? I guess I'm a gonna have to find my own way around from now on. I feel so ALOOONE! That's okay. I don't need anything! Except this! All I need is this ashtray. And this paddle game. And this remote control... That's all I need! Not one other thing! Not one...I need this!

And I need these these carrots. And this apple. And this crushed pineapple. And this coconut. And these walnuts.

Anyway. Morning Glory Muffins. I made them. I loved them. I changed the recipe a bit to make them a little more healthful. I STILL loved them. And there you go.

Morning Glory Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cups white sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

1 large apple, cored and chopped (peel it or not, who cares?)

1 cup (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

2 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

3 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

A note about the ingredients:

If you don't like something, leave it out. They'll still be really good! Unless you don't like flour. Or eggs. You kind of need those things. Or baking soda. Or...

You get the point. Most of the Morning Glory recipes I found had raisins. I don't like raisins. Mine don't have raisins because I like to boss my muffins around.

Maybe this is why no one ever told me about Morning Glory muffins. Because I'd start messing with stuff. 

Oh, and I ran out of vanilla last time I made these, so I subbed in rum extract instead. Delicious. 

Hand grating carrots takes FOREVER. So if you decide take the trouble to bring out your food processor with the grater attachment to speed up the grating, you might as well use it to grate the apples, too. No one will know!

Make It:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

Stir in coconut, apple, pineapple, carrots, and walnuts. 

In a small bowl whisk together eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.

Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

Makes 18 muffins.

Seriously. How cute are those cupcake liners? I KNOW! I got them at Michael's. For cheap. 

Ooh! Do you want to see the inside? See that huge walnut piece? Fantastic!

Might as well do it the right way. 

With butter.

OH TO THE YUM.

Enjoy!