Vitamin C to the rescue!

After spending 5 perfect days with my family, on which I can fairly call one of my favorite getaways of all time, I wake up this morning to find that I have a sore throat. To be honest though, I’m not surprised. I feel like my body is angry at me for leaving Depoe Bay, OR… and rightfully so. Who wouldn’t throw a temper tantrum after leaving this perfect place:

To say the least, I have officially become obsessed with lighthouses, and have decided that God must have spent a little extra time shaping each perfect grain of sand and blade of grass that is the Oregon coast. I’m in love.

That being said, I was sad to leave, and I don’t blame my body for being sad too.
But, instead of popping a Vitamin C supplement, I decided to take this time to try a tasty and easy recipe that I found a while ago.

Broiled Grapefruit:

Sounds a little strange I know, but this easy-peasy sweet and tangy treat  is so soothing on a sore throat and is a yummy way to get your Vitamin C and dessert in one sitting! :)

Ingredients:

• Halved grapefruit
• brown sugar
• 1/2 T. butter (melted)
• cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice (really, it can be any tasty spices you desire!)

How to:

• Turn on your broiler.
• Halve and segment your grapefruit.
• Mix butter brown sugar, and desired spices until they form a thick paste.
• Place grapefruit halves in a broiler-safe pan and smear the butter/sugar paste on top.
• Broil grapefruit halves for 5-8 minutes, watching them for the sugar to caramelize just a bit.
• Remove from oven and serve right away.

The sugar was just a little caramelized and the juice was warm and soothing, and the tanginess was just perfect for a sad throat.

P.s. You don’t have to wait to have a cranky throat to try this. Try it on a cold morning or paired with a muffin… or something. It’s gooooood :)

My Family Rules (No, really… we’re awesome).

Please ignore the cheesy title. I wrote this after a run in the cold and my funny wasn’t at full capacity right then. SIDE NOTE: It was July 3rd. I should not have to say that I just went for a run in the COLD. Sheesh, Seattle :(

Today I’m sharing my first attempt at sign making. This is by far the easiest way to make clean looking lettering on a homemade sign without paint or stickers.

You need:

• Wood (Duh). Make sure it’s smooth, and it helps if it’s just a little bit soft. They have bigger sizes like the one I chose at Lowe’s, and smaller crafting pieces at Michael’s.
• Paint. I really loved working with the new Valspar samples that come in those nifty little plastic containers with a cap that you can seal. Way less mess, super cheap, pre-mixed and it goes a loooooong way!
• Printer paper (the thinner the better) with your desired font and phrase/design printed on it.
• Heavy permanent marker. (Once again, Sharpie let me down, and ran out really quickly… I recommend using a heavy duty dark marker, like this one.)
• PATIENCE :) This process is easy but time consuming if you want it to look right.

How to:

1. Choose the saying/word/lettering that you would like to have on your board and the desired font you’d like it to be. Type it out, and print using regular printer paper, nothin’ fancy :) (Although cheap, thin paper would probably work best!)
2. Take your block of wood and give it a good thick coat or two of paint! Let it dry, thoroughly.
3. Lay out your paper in the exact spots where you would like to have the lettering on your sign. tape it down for good measure!
4. Grab your permanent marker and begin to draw exactly over the printed lettering. This is where the process will take some patience (I chose to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s while doing this).
5. You should be pressing hard and writing slooooowly, letting the ink soak through the paper long enough that you will have a clear outline copied onto the wood underneath the paper. Peel back the paper as you go if you’d like to double check that it’s working! All you have left to do is use the same marker to go over the outline thoroughly now, and you’ll be left with clean lettering without the paint mess.
6. Hang it somewhere for everyone to see! :)

Hello friends!

Welcome!

I’m Amanda. A 19 year old college student home for the summer with nothing to do and no luck finding a job (anyone else!?! So frustrating ): Oh well). After weeks of wallowing in my broke-ness and free time I decided that I might as well take this empty schedule as a blessing, and use this time to finally make all the food I’ve wanted to try, finish all the projects I’ve started, and begin new ones! And because I’m better at the starting part than I am at the finishing part, I’m documenting my progress here… as a sort of digital accountability partner, and journal to see what I can accomplish! So while this is mostly for me to actually do what I say I will, you are welcome to share in creations, and share some of your own! (:

I have another blog, (here: http://amuchmore.wordpress.com/) that you are welcome to read through if you’d like to learn a little more about me. This blog you are currently visiting is centered around the joyful crafts and tasty treats that I hope to create (hence the title!), while my first blog was started so that I could more or less write down those hard questions or thoughts that just won’t leave your head until you do something about them (Hopefully you know the ones? haha).

Anyways, thank you for checking this out! Happy reading & creating! (:

~Amanda Muchmore

Pick a Stick, Make a Date

So, I realize that this has been done before. BUT, just in case there is some poor soul out there who hasn’t had the chance to scrounge through every single pin ever pinned on pinterest (PINPINPINPINPIN… sorry), here is my version of the popsicle-stick idea jar.

This is the easy-peasiest  project ever, especially if you are doing it with someone!

You need:

• Popcicle Sticks (or “Pocket-Pickle sticks” as a good little friend of mine, Brian (5), happens to pronounce them).
• Somethin’ ta put ‘em in. I used a restaurant style sugar shaker from Fred Meyer!
• A pen. I’d recommend a very thin marker, or a simple ball-point pen. The ink from a thick marker (Sharpie, ahem!) will most likely bleed small writing together.

How to:

• Brainstorm what you’d like to put in your sticks.

-Date ideas, dinners for the days when you just can’t think, activities to do with kiddos… etc!

• Take your pen and write them out!

- My man & I actually made a date out of this & went to a fun coffee shop to make these! We took turns thinking of things so that we both contributed things that we would enjoy :)

• Put your sticks in whatever container you’ve chosen and Voila! You’re done!

Put these away for a day where your thinking cap isn’t on quite right and you need a little help, and you’ll have 50 great ideas waiting for you!