appetizer season has sprung.

its on.  football, that is.

i have not always been into the actual game, getting there, but more so the events and promise of fall.  bring on fantasy football, fun with friends and FOOD!

hostesses; start your engines!
here is one of my favorite, finger friendly, finds (gah.. whats up with all the 'f' words lol).  keep in mind.. this is my recipe.  i had this once, years ago, and made it to taste.  experiment and make it your own!
oh yea, its not a football shaped cupcake or themed colored cookies, but all will love this being a change of the norm.

my specialty bruschetta 

grab it
french bread - i grab mine from the nearest grocery bakery
tomato  1 large tomato chopped (2 or 3 small)
FRESH basil  as much as you want! i use about 5 leaves (+/-).  however, add at will
olive oil  2 tbsp
balsamic vinegar  1 tbsp
minced garlic  1 LARGE spoonful (more if you like, i most always add more)
parmesan cheese  (or mozzarella)
salt and pepper to taste

bake
cut the french bread at about every half inch.  lay on a cookie sheet and brush with olive oil.  cook at 350' for 5-7 min.   keep an eye on them. you want them to be crouton like

combine
tomato, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and s/p.  stir and taste.  YUM!

eat
take a piece of bread add a spoonful of your mix and top with parm.

 i literally make this for most all my events.
not only do others ask for it, but i now seriously crave it.
WIN WIN.

its always pumpkin time.

its been a while since i posted something healthy (well kinda) to snack on.  i love all kinds of bread, pasta, and ...bread.  well when loosing weight and trying to stay healthy i wasnt about to kick EVERYTHING so i altered some of my favorite things.  

the most moist and flavorful (not to mention cheap!) quick pumpkin bread in a box is actually krogers.  always found on the top shelf, where all good things are hidden.

the box calls for 3 tbsp vegetable oil and 2 eggs
in my healthier version i sub in 3 tbsp of natural apple sauce and  3 egg whites

taking out the oil AND the yolks will make the bread a bit more spongy but, hey, i still get to eat it! ENJOY!

TIP if you don't like the texture change just sub in the egg whites OR the apple sauce.  

dead space turned book nook.

when apartment hunting the best thing you can come across is a built in book shelf or a cute NOOK.  <3 nooks!  ok, i actually have a built-in already but it wasn't BIG enough. so i put all my spill over books in that area above the kitchen shelves. c-l-u-t-t-e-r.

i caught the inspiration bug
at my aunts house last saturday, i noticed that she had taken the cabinet doors off the end part of her kitchen shelving and piled some books in.  all i could think was i want to do that.  i NEED to do that!  after about 2 SECONDS it was logged as a TODO.  apartment, shpartment....  they wont notice.  DOWN WITH THE DOORS!

have: UN-useful ugly cabinets

get:
screwdriver - *apartmenters; tape screws to cabinet doors bc they will have to go back on when you move out
paint brush

paint  

after almost no deliberation, i wanted the shelves to look like they were intended to LOOK like book shelves. bring on the paint.  already had some white base paint on hand (thanks big.box.store oops paint section). 

almost done.

the first coat ended up being BRIGHT white.  grabbed some old brown paint and mixed a dab in with the white.  made a nice off white to match the originally white trim haha

looks gray in the pic (i thought so too), but dried to match perfectly! 

  BEFORE. kinda

AFTER.  

added my candle holder (hanging) birthday present too - dont think its meant to hang but  the area above the shelves is so big the candle holder almost looked small.

yup. this'll do :)

the option:  i ALMOST took my warm green paint and went to town but apartment people might notice that.  grr.  you know your apartment. be brave at will.
homeowners - TAKE ADVANTAGE and make it your own. 

and now, i seriously just want to sit in front of this area and just be HAPPY.  it used to be where things went to die, now its so accessible! 

from 24 to 25!!

last time i posted i was 24 yeas old. as a now wiser 25 year old, for the first time i'm REALLY thinking, "whoa, 25 sounds old".  all the stigmas that you told us came true... gained the freshman 15, time seems to be passing by faster, hang-overs last a MINIMUM of 48 hours and friends are getting harder and harder to stay in touch with (even with facebook).  getting on with it, i do what i can to keep in touch and those of you who know me know i like to throw a good party.. those that do not, i throw THE BEST parties.  haha

when i am not throwing the parties i am clicking away at my camera.  yup, with old age comes, more like GOES, your memory.  therefore, making stories from my photo albums to remind myself, and tell others, of the fun that was had becomes a necessity.  well, HELLO old age.. my party was a day before my birthday, july 1st, and i forgot, that's right, FORGOT to take pictures.  all that planning and cute, vintage, colorful, cleverness going on and not one picture... well, of usefulness to the contents of this blog ;)

however, for those who could not make it, here is a little gathering of the decorations i used.

THINK: buffet table colors. pale yellow table cloth, pale blue, mixed with a splash of orange and a drop of red. 

menu:
.bite sized pigs in a blanket (wrapped weenies)
.3 glass milk carafes filled with kettle popcorn, stick pretzels, and banana chips.
.balled watermelon *with the half watermelon scooped out and then refilled with the balls - looked awesome!*
.a wood tray pained red lined with brown paper bag and filled with crumbly brownies.
.fresh carrots, celery & chips with veggie dip.
.a friend make the MOST yummy deviled eggs and another brought fresh fruit salad, strawberries, cantaloupe & bananas.

it opens?!  cute, right.   and this sucker to our right was filled to the top with our late night surprise; WATER BALLOONS. 

                     

  

oh, did i mention that it was a "beer olympics" party?  all along the perimeter we put up 36 mason jars with tea lights a tiki torch at each game table.  the back yard was decked out with tables for beer pong, flip cup, my thumb war and arm wrestling station, robo pound, and corn hole!
of course you have to have a championship for beer pong.

made the frame with a bit of white paint, red spray paint,
ply wood cut to shape and black board spray paint.  clever! 

Christopher Peterson was our 2011 BEER PONG CHAMPION!  

all and all it was probably the best birthday i have had.  thanks to a special few for helping with all the preparations, and everyone who came out start preparing for next year.

so. did you get any good ideas?  good - now go throw a party.