Look Alike Chan Lou Wrap Bracelet

Since it is summer, I have had more time on my hands. I was on pinterest looking for crafts to do and I saw a bunch of things for jewelry and it made me think of christmas and presents. Yes I know it is kind of early to be thinking about that, but somehow I am always feeling stressed about getting people gifts. So I thought that I would start making some... for the woman in my family. I came across look alike Chan Lou wrap bracelet. Later that day I went to michaels and got all the supplies I needed. Lucky for me there was a big sale on the beads. I bought bigger beads than the instructions told me to, but I like making things different than the instructions. I have made three so far. Each one is getting better than the last. Practice really does make perfect. Here are some pictures of the ones I have made.

I didn't get a picture of the third one since I already gave it to my sister as a gift. The one I gave her though is definitely my favorite.

Almond Meringues

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for an easy dessert that wasn't too many calories. After a long time of searching on pinterest I found Chocolate Dipped Almond Meringues. This was my first time ever making meringues and first time eating homemade meringues. So this was a real gamble since I had no idea what they would taste like. They were not difficult to make at all and they were very delicious. Here is a picture of them... this is a picture from the website I got the recipe. The only difference from these and the ones I made is mine weren't sipped in chocolate.

String the Heart

Lately I have been in a very crafty mood which has been great since it was a birthday filled month. For a while now I have seen where you get a thin piece of wood, hammer nails to make a boarder, nail a shape or point in the middle, and get string and wrap it from the boarder to the center until filled. It was my cousins birthday and I thought that would be a cute gift so I made it. I thought it ended up being pretty cute. The one I made was smaller than all the ones I have seen, not everyone has room for a big piece of wood in there room. I gave it to her Friday and she loved it... thank goodness! hahaha Here is a picture of it. 

Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

MMMM... the smell of fresh baked muffins is roaming around my house. Tonight I made blueberry lemon poppyseed muffins and oh my oh my they are delicious! We had a lot of blueberries in the fridge and I don't like to eat blueberries by themselves. The texture of blueberries just gets me. I went on pinterest to see what I could make with them and I saw that you can combine blueberry muffins with lemon poppyseed muffins. Those two are my favorite! Once I saw the recipe I knew I had to make it. Let me just say that I now have a new favorite muffin :) Here are some pictures I took before and after I put them in the oven. Sorry that the pics are kind of blurry... my camera phone likes to make me frustrated. 

Here is the recipe: http://www.garnishwithlemon.com/blueberry-lemon-poppy-seed-muffins/

Instead of using a cupcake pan and making twelve muffins, I used a muffin pan and made six amazing muffins. If you make them the way I did remember to bake them a little longer. Do the toothpick test to find out when they are ready.

Baked Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Tonight I thought I'd help my mom out with dinner... well really that was an excuse to try a new recipe :p This recipe has been something I've been wanting to try since it looked so easy and delicious and finally I remembered to make it. It was baked garlic brown sugar chicken and it was super yummy! Here is a picture (this is not mine, I got it from the website with the recipe http://www.daydreamkitchen.com/2012/08/baked-garlic-brown-sugar-chicken/)

On the side I made asparagus and microwaved a potato. It was all incredibly easy and our tummies are very happy. I urge everyone to make it! You will not regret it. 

Have A Cream Puff... Or Two.

Some Tuesday nights I join my mom and her friends for dinner, dessert, and sometimes a craft. We make something new each week. This something could be a dinner, or a tasty new dessert, or even a craft or project. Going to this ever so often has been really nice. All the ladies there are super sweet. I am happy to call them my family now. These Tuesday nights have been my adventure outside from being stuck inside all day and sometimes daysssss. So this week we decided to make a dessert and craft together. Well it was my job to figure out what dessert we should make and immediately I thought CREAM PUFFS! Who doesn't love cream puffs?! I made them before for mothers day this year and it wasn't too hard... for me at least. I decided that I would make the pastry puff at home before we go over and we can make the cream together then fill all the puffs. Let's just say that there were hardly any left. :) I got some pictures of our creation process... here they are:
                                                             This is just the puff-

 

Here is the cream filling-

And here is the end result-

Last time I made them I covered some in melted semi-sweet chocolate... SO YUMMY