Hobby: Food! Halloween/Fall Treats

Here are a few things I whipped up to take to a party tonight! It wasn't a costume or strictly "Halloween" party, so I chose a mix of Halloween and Fall desserts and appetizers to bring. All were easy AND yummy, can't beat that!

Halloween Brownies
I used a box mix, but made some homemade frosting and added candy corn & sprinkles! The frosting recipe is from a family friend - she used to make these brownies for basket ball games and sell them at the concession stand when my husband & I were in High school. They were always a huge hit and never lasted long!
Frosting
1 Cup white suger
1/2 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Cocoa
2 Tablespoons butter
Mix together and boil 1 minute. Remove from stove to cool and beat until it has thickened enough to spread. If you are putting any sprinkles on, do it right away - frosting sets quickly!

Homemade Easy Apple Pie
I found this Easy Apple Pie recipe on Your Homebased Mom blog. Apple pie is a fall staple, so I thought it would be a great addition to the dessert choices. My house smelled amazing while this was baking! Andy says this is his favorite Apple Pie recipe from now on!

Cream Cheese Roll-Ups
I used the famous Vawter Cheese Ball recipe for the spread on store-bought sun dried tomato tortillas. Rolled them up, sliced them, and stuck them with a festive Halloween toothpick!
Cream Cheese Filling (mix altogether): 
1 box Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Bag Budigs Corned Beef
1 Finely minced Shallot
Salt & Pepper to taste

Taco Dip
I modified two of my current layered dips and took a tip from a co-worker about the spider web design.
Here's the dip recipe I used:
Mix together, then spread as the bottom layer of the dip:
1 package softened cream cheese
1 Cup sour cream
3/4 package of Taco Seasoning

Add one can of refried beans (stir this before spreading) as the next layer.
Spoon 1 Cup salsa around the outside border. Then add shredded lettuce over the salsa,  then shredded cheese, then black olives. Cut a small hole in the tip of a ziplock bag - spoon 1/2 cup of sour cream into the bag. Make your web design by piping sour cream and dragging a knife outwards from the center to help create the design. Serve with tortilla chips!

Candy Corn Cookie Bark
I didn't get around to making the Candy Corn Cookie Bark because I was all sugared-out, but it looks amazing! Check it out, also at Your Homebased Mom blog.

Hope you enjoy all your Halloween & Fall Festivities!!!!

Hobby: Sewing! Adding a little "flare"

Several months ago I stumbled upon a remarkable discovery: If I couldn't find a piece of clothing that was exactly what I was looking for, I could make it myself! (I'm talking within reason - I am NOT a master seamstress by any means!) I prefer to modify items to my liking, not create them from scratch...but I am learning!
Here are a few shirts that I've created lately. 1. Start with a shirt you like. 2. Then decided what "flare" you'd like to add...a trip to your local fabric store might provide some inspiration! 3. Pin it in place if you'd like, then turn on the sewing machine and you've got yourself a custom design all your own!!

Hobby: Baking! Pumpkins & Acorns

Here's a fun and easy fall treat! Turn cupcakes & mini cupcakes into pumpkins and acorns!
I used pretzels sticks (the thicker of the two sizes) for the stems. Use a toothpick to make the indents on the pumpkin cupcakes. I added yellow and red food coloring to make orange frosting (see recipe below). And I added cocoa to make chocolate frosting for the acorns.
To save time, you could use box-mix cake mix and tubs of vanilla and chocolate frosting. I used a box mix for the cupcakes, but made my own frosting. I added some sugar crystals for the frosting as the last step (do this right away before it starts drying!)- press it in a little if need. Be sure to share with friends!

 Easy Buttercream Frosting: 
1 Cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature
1 tsp pure almond extract (or vanilla extract)
1 lb box powdered sugar
1-3 teaspoons milk (if too thick)

1. Using a mixer, cream softened butter and almond extract until smooth. Add sugar gradually. Add milk a little at a time if frosting is too thick. Use food coloring or Wilton's icing colors - adjust colors to your liking!

 

Home: Indoor Projects

In the four years that we've live here, we've also done several indoor remodeling projects. Besides painting all the rooms, replacing all the light fixtures and doorknobs, we've done some other major home improvement projects!
I hate to say it, but there is one room in the house that I have painted three times now -- it has been a dining room, media room, and now an office - it is finally just how I like it!

The Fireplace was a recent project. Based on the odd layout of our living room, it became necessary to get a flat screen TV and get rid of our armoir to provide more wall space. I know, a tragedy. Andy built the wall out to make more room and hide the cables. We chose a tile pattern and got to work (well, Andy did anyways!)

Our dining room had carpeted floors originally, so we put in hardwood floor:

 

The Kitchen was another big and progressive project! When we moved in it was white linoleum floors (showed the dirt!), white laminate countertops, and royal blue tile backsplash. Andy tiled the floors, counters, and backsplash-this was kitchen remodel #1 in the summer of 2008. For Christmas 2010, we were able to get granite counter tops and we re-tiled to backsplash - for kitchen remodel #2. The pictures show the progression :

Original Kitchen - Blue tile!

Kitchen Remodel #1Finished- Tile countertops

Kitchen Remodel #2 Finished - Granite counters & new backsplash

 Our Master Bath was also in carpet, so out it went and in with the travertine tile:

Home: Outdoor Projects

Since moving into our house nearly 4 years ago, we have been pretty busy with projects and updates. Home-ownership brought out the handyman in Andy, and the designer in Amie! We love mapping out our plan, finding good deals on materials, and seeing the end result Below are are few of our outdoor projects -check out our before, during and after shots:

Front Landscaping Stone: This was one of our first projects. Found the stone on Craigslist for a great deal!

 

Outdoor Grill Station: Bought the Stainless Steel Grill off Craigslist for next to nothing! Built the frame for the side counter station. Bought the stone at a local discount stone location, made the concrete countertop!

Deck: When we bought the house, the backyard was a blank slate - literally! The previous owners did leave us a few large flower pots -that I've put to good use- but that was about it! Andy built the deck with the help of his friend Jeff.

 
Flower box planters: I wanted a place to plant some herbs, so Andy built me some planters. Texas winters are so mild, that some last the winter and also come back next spring!

Fence: Our fence was starting to fall over - no thanks to the neighbor's dog jumping on it all day long -- so Andy tried his hand at fence building - turned out pretty awesome for a first-timer! The steel posts make it neighbor-doggie proof too!

Pergola: The Pergola finished off our backyard projects. Andy built it during his summer vacation. I'm sure he was glad to be done with that one! It was a pain to stain!!

Myla Rose

This weekend we decided to take the plunge and get another pug! We've had our precious Izzy for nearly four years now and we thought it was time to find her a playmate. This time around we decided to adopt a Pug from the DFW Pug Rescue. We have been keeping an eye on their website for quite some time now, and recently there were a large number of Pugs rescued from horrible conditions at a puppy mill in Marlow, OK.
Myla was one of the three dogs who were pregnant at the time of the rescue. So, they had to take care of her and her puppies before she could be adopted. Because she is only two yrs old, and should not be having litters yet, only 3 of her 5 puppies survived. She also had not been receiving any nutrition to support her or her puppies, so she was malnourished and was losing her hair.

Because of her unfortunate beginning, Myla is very shy and is still learning to trust humans. She loves Izzy and they get along great! She is still getting used to the idea that she now has her own toys & bones, her own bed, and her own food to eat! She is a sweetheart!