DIY: Gift Wrapping

I think I had too much fun wrapping Adam's Christmas presents. This was my first year having plain brown postal wrapping, and I loved having a clean slate to work with!

My goal was to make each gift look different while still keeping them all coordinated - and not letting any of the scraps of paper go to waste!

Supplies:

Brown Postal Wrapping Paper
Baker's Twine 
Metallic Wrapping Paper (ours is from Costco)
Acrylic Paint
Paint Brushes
Sharpie
Tape

* Wrapping Inspiration


I can't wait to wrap the rest!

Happy (Almost) Halloween!

This past week has been filled with all sorts of Halloween festivities! It has been great. Pumpkin bread, a costume party, candy (I promise that we will try to save some for trick-or-treaters), pumpkin carving, and fresh roasted pumpkin seeds - And it's not even Halloween yet!

Adam's jack-o-lantern

And my lady pumpkin!

Now not only do we have decorated front steps, but yummy roasted pumpkin seeds, too!

Although it is now long gone, this chocolate chip pumpkin bread I made earlier this week was amazing and a big hit! I want more. There is a good chance I'll be making another batch in time for Halloween.

Adam and I had a costume party to go to last night, so earlier in the week I made a peacock tutu and headband. I bought wayyyyy more tulle than I needed. I guess that's what you get when all of the tutu tutorials are for little girl sizes. (Note to readers: If you are anywhere near my size you do not need 25 yards of tulle for this project. Ha.)

This sexy beer maiden here is my husband. I'm so lucky.

Like his braids? Those beauties are what a roll of yarn, an old headband, and a hot glue gun turn into when placed in my hands. Ignore the uneven bangs and the fact that the front and back of his hair still shows... They still had the desired effect.

Like I said before, I am a very lucky girl.

DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice & Spice Labels

I can tell it is Fall when I want everything to taste like pumpkin spice. Latte... Check. Costco muffins... Check. Another latte (or a few)... Check, check, check. Pumpkin Whoopie Pie? Ohhhh myyyy.

I will be making those here very soon, but seeing the ingredient list inspired me to make my own Pumpkin Pie Spice first. It is one of those spices that can trick you into thinking you need to pay the extra money for it, but chances are you already have all of the ingredients in your cupboard! Instead, take a couple of minutes to mix up your own and save your money for more crucial expenses... Pumpkin lattes, obviously.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe: 1 t. ground cinnamon, 1/4 t. ground nutmeg, 1/4 t. ground ginger, 1/8 t. ground cloves

I made a quadruple batch to get me through the holiday season (maybe) and stored it in one of my adored magnetic spice containers.

Trying to tell the difference between all of these brown-ish, red-ish ground spices also convinced me that it was time to finally label them. My labels were inspired by a similar project on A Beautiful Mess, one of my new found favorite blogs! I hope someday to have most of my spices stored like this - They are stylish, not to mention how much kitchen space they open up!

I Heart Coffee

I confess, I wish that I had worked as a barista at some point. Not for the tips, although that would be awesome, but so I could make myself awesome, elaborate coffee at home. I need a serious coffee-making lesson! My Keurig does the trick most of the time, but there are those days when plain coffee and vanilla creamer just are not enough. Since getting married and moving, I'm trying to break my delicious-but-terrible habit of frequenting coffee shops (I miss you Coffee Barn!!!). I have really been missing my German Chocolate Mochas, Irish Hugs, and coffee outings with my mom... So it my moment of desperation I decided to mix things up a bit:

When I made my morning coffee yesterday, I simply made a second cup and poured it into these adorable heart ice cube trays I had on hand,

And let them freeze thoroughly!

Awe, so cute.

I blended several of the cubes with some milk, a small handful of chocolate chips, and a little bit of ice cream (shhhhh). The end product!

They are also a great excuse to use these awesome paper straws left over from our wedding! I love them.

It was actually really delicious! I'm excited to try out some different flavor combinations and making iced drinks that keep the heart-shaped ice cubes whole. 

Any drink tips or suggestions?