Apple Crisps

I'm not sure if the label "Craft (s)" is applicable to this post, but I'm doin it

I decided to make apple crisps, the other day. It felt perfect for fall

Hubster hasn't been feeling well & work was miserable for him, so I got in the kitchen

I posted pictures on Instagram and Facebook & some were asking how I did it

I don't have a dehydrator, but I know now I want one.

Anyway

here's how I made the apple crisps:

Pre-heat oven to 350

Slice two Granny Smith apples, into small (thin) slices.

Each slice should have this design in the middle (as shown in below photo). That's how you know you sliced them the right way :)

You may have to poke out the seeds with each slice. I know I did!

photo taken on my iPhone

I (then) soaked the apple slices in a few cups of Apple Juice

(you may have to get a large mixing bowl for this)

I (also) added Cinnamon 

Let apple slices soak for 10-15 minutes then put on a baking rack 

You can (then) put the apple slices in the oven, to bake for about 25 mins.

Depending on how thin you have your apple slices, some slices may burn

(I definitely experienced this!)

Some slices may fall beneath the baking rack. That's okay

Place a baking sheet underneath, just to make sure. It works perfect!

After the slices are done baking, I turned off the oven and took out the slices

After the slices cooled for about ten minutes, I put them back in the oven

Remember: Your oven is off. The slices are just sitting in the warm oven

After the slices sit in the off oven for a few minutes, they were ready to enjoy! YAY

Yes, it's that fast. That easy. AND without dehydrator 

I used my favorite accessory, to store them in. A mason jar.

Yes- These are my favorite and have been for the last year or so

I'm obsessed w/mason jars. They are good for so many things and more!

I crafted up my jar a bit and Wa la! It was ready to be delivered to my honey

Photo taken on my iPhone

I always have extra mason jars lying around. I (also) have extra scrap pieces of material, so I can (pretty much) craft at any time. Ha (maybe this isn't a good idea?) Twine is always good to have on the side. Scrap paper also. Man- I have too many bits and pieces, odd and ends, here and there. If you looked in our spare room and or my craft hall closet, you'd think I'm crazy for storing all these odds and ends. But trust me- They always come in handy. Always. (hello- perfect example above). I did not have to purchase one thing the day I made these apple slices. The apples were already bought, earlier that week, from grocery shopping. We have gallons of apple juice on hand (because I'm addicted- no really). Cinnamon is a basic baking essential (in my opinion), so really- all these things should naturally be lying around one's home. 
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Right?!?!     (enjoy)

home is wherever your something special is

We've been hanging out a lot at home lately, due to my husband's health

so I decided to warm things up a bit and make it feel more homie

ya know

There's the saying "Home is where your heart is" but I've learned...

home is wherever your "something special" is

For example: Your husband, dog, etc.

Home is where my husband is. And any house is a home

even an apartment

so

There was this shelf. In our kitchen. That I had hubby & his brother hang for me.

Awhile ago too, might I add

So this shelf. Didn't have anything on it. At all

I would try to put something on there

then I'd leave and walk away

then I'd come back and hate what I just put on there

Then I'd switch it again and... Anyway. I just wasn't happy with it

Maybe because there was no color? I always had just black & white items on said shelf

Why black and white? They were safe colors. I always know I can accent anything w/it

HOWEVER; This was not okay with me. I'm done with playing safe. Just done

I've had red and black plates, in our kitchen, for awhile now. Love

I bought a red shag rug, for doing dishes by the sink. Love again

I even commit to painting our knife block red. Love again 

Obviously red and I have a relationship

It's nice and classy and I know it'll never go out of style. Red, that is

All the other colors (Tiffany blue, white, etc.) will soon come to an end

and I can't afford to keep changing things up (although I do like the sound of it). I can't

I know red and yellow are really in right now and I can change that at any time, with these things I made

which makes me feel good, since I obviously have commitment issues 

here's my touch of red:

This was really easy to make BTW

total cost: like $3 

no joke

I went to Hobby Lobby (my go-to craft store) and bought a wooden oval

just a plain wooden oval

then I took my wooden oval home and painted the outer ledge, black

(to make it look like a frame)

then I Mod Podged the red & white striped paper on the wooden oval 

(I traced around the inner side of the oval first, then cut it, obviously) 

Then I drew my version of California (the state where my husband and I are from)

(I wish this drawing were more accurate, but I had no patience and just wanted this done)

The drawing of California was on a different piece of paper, obviously, for contrast

Then I Mod Podged the state onto the red and white striped paper. Wa la!

I also added a little red heart, where our home town would've been. Aw

There's a lotta red goin on in this craft. I just realized 

these next few pictures are of items I just added to the black said shelf for color

I already had this clear glass. It was supposed to be a candle holder

so done with that idea

Since I was going for red & yellow themed colors, I added lemons to this jar

The lemons came from Hobby Lobby as well. They're obviously fake

I figured lemons gave the kitchen that fresh, clean look. And you can switch them out w/anything else, if one has commitment issues (cough cough- ME!) and wants different accent colors

Lemons are a perfect accent color/decor; Especially for the kitchen

This is a home-made pasta holder made out of a Pringles container

no joke guys

I just Mod Podged scrapbook paper (that would match my kitchen) and Wa La!

I keep all the vases my husband has given me flowers in. I know right?

This is one of the vases and I just used paint (for glass) to paint it yellow!

It just spices up a clear vase and adds color! It also hides flower stems

Oh yeah- The flowers came from HL as well

I hope my wedding flourist (and good friend) Ashley, would be proud! 

When everything is all done and comes together, it looks like this: YAY

Yes. It looks like YAY

The "home" sign was given to me (by my mom) a couple years ago (with a few other Christmas gifts). I just never knew where to put it, 'cuz no place ever really felt like "home" with room mates and cheap, random decor (ya know). So I decided to add this little guy to said shelf. I'm not sure if it would've been better on a living room shelf, or in a hallway/walkway, but I felt it was best here. It was hard enough (for me anyway) to decide what was okay to go on a kitchen shelf, and what wasn't. 
I've learned you want to keep things clean, and simple. So keep that in mind when you're picking colors and or patterns for one's kitchen. 
Also, just because this is a shelf DOES NOT MEAN IT'S OKAY TO PUT BOOKS ON HERE unless they're recipe books of course. (I originally had some old vintage lookin books on said shelf, and it just wasn't working- Hence why they came down). You want things to be nice and warm and clean looking, so one won't lose their appetite while eating in your kitchen.  
I plan on adding two somethings to both sides of the shelf. I'm not sure what, yet, but something will be going there, just to warm it up a bit. Maybe mirrors or some frames painted w/chalk board paint? I'm not sure. What do you think?

First day of Fall

Since today's the first day of fall, I thought I'd post my fall decor

I didn't want to paint, or glu on these letters (as seen in below photo), because I thought it'd be best to reuse this banner for multi purposes.

I can add, or take away the triangular pieces, and add whatever letters I need.

The letters came from Hobby Lobby and were just a cardboard brown color, so I painted them black.

The triangular pieces (also) came from Hobby Lobby (pack of three), so I bought two packs. 

This banner hangs in our front entry way. I love it!

This pumpkin (also) came from Hobby Lobby. They have already pre-made vinyl lettering there...

All of Hobby Lobby's fall decor is 50% off right now 'til I dunno when

I've had these (plastic) little guys for awhile now. They just sit by our entertainment center on the floor

I made this wreath awhile ago and have had it hung since. It just screamed fall a little bit

This wreath was so easy to make. Cheap too!
I didn't even glu the strings of beads. I just poked them through the wreath :)

I love fall weather. It's not too warm, and not too cold. It's just right. The reds, oranges, yellows, and browns, are so bright and warming to me. I love pulling out my boots and cardigans, and can't wait for a drive in the Alpine Loop, to see all the pretty leaves! My Scentsy warmer is decked out for fall too. I've had a fall scent (Amber Road) going for awhile now, and it smells wonderful around here! Happy first day of fall everyone! 

Keys- craft

This summer has been full of crafts. No really. 

I'm okay with it. I love crafts. They keep me sane

And I enjoy looking around our home, admiring things I've made. 

I made a holder, for our keys. I got the idea off Pinterest so I can't take full credit

If you're anything like my husband, you like to set your keys down as soon as you get home. Argh 

I knew I had to make something by our entry way for him

I realize you all might have seen this on Pinterest, but thought I'd post my own version w/step by step instructions

here we go:

I started out w/four little block squares from Michaels

I borrowed some Liquid Nails from my brother-in-law

If you don't have Liquid Nails, wood glue works just the same FYI

On the Pinterest link, it says you can buy ABC blocks (that already have the letters on them), but I had trouble finding those

so I made my own

I bought pre-cut out letters from Michaels

sorry for the unfocused picture

I glued the letters (individually) onto the wooden blocks from Michaels

I guess you could make it so it spells out anything

but in this case, I wanted mine to be clear that this was for keys

After the above photo dried, I screwed in (little) silver hooks from Lowe's

The hooks were gold, but you end up spray painting them anyway, so it doesn't matter

I then spray painted everything. The letters on the blocks, and the screws

Then I glued the wooden blocks onto a bigger block of wood

I actually already had this block of wood, from a previous craft. Recycle right?!?!

Here's the finish product. Wa la!

As you can see, this block of wood is not that thick. Anything should do

Oh yeah- I painted the block of wood (red) before I glued on the (four) individual blocks. You can paint it any color, but red matched our living room and or kitchen, so I figured this was best for my craft. 

I (also) took a piece of sand paper to it, to rough up the edges and give it that rustic look I love. 
I hung it on the wall, by using 3M Command Velcro Strips. I always have these in my craft hall closet. They come in handy. You can purchase them from Wal*Mart, Target, or Lowe's or Home Depot (I believe). 

ENJOY! 

Utah State Fair

Last weekend Jake and I went to the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake before it left

I love fairs. The people, food, sound, smells, and lights

Seriously- People watching is amazing and I love taking pictures at dusk!

We watched the divers dive into a ten foot swimming pool. Talk about shallow!

Here are some photos that summed up our night:

We ate delicious corn dogs for dinner. Mmmmm

We walked around aimlessly trying to find my friend Aly and her little fam

We had a funnel cake before we left. Yummy!

We walked around all the exhibits. My favorite!

And we (of course) looked at all the animals. Jake's fave

I guess I'm a huge fair person. I never thought so before, but I think I realized it when we were at the fair on Friday. I had to take pictures of everything and I had to thoroughly look at all the food, to strategically organize how/what I was going to eat that night. There's just certain things that must be eaten at a fair! I also love looking around at all the exhibits- The collections, the things hand made, and most importantly the photography. I just really soak up the whole atmosphere and love it! We met up w/Bryan and his date for that night and had a lotta fun walking around, watching them get henna tattoos. We (also) ran into some of Jake's old mission buddies. Usually it's me who runs into random people, but this time it was Jake. Seriously- He was Mr. Popular from the second we walked into the fair. He received a text message from someone who served in his area (Jen) saying, "Hey, are you at the Utah State Fair in SL right now???" Jake was really confused and figured she must've spotted him! We ended up meeting up w/her and her cute 'lil boy, and her friend. It was a lot of fun, and I always enjoy meeting people Jake served his mission with. It's (also) always fun running into people (who I've already met) who he's served with. 
Utah State Fair- You were great to me this year. I'm glad Jake finally got to experience this great place. Until next year :)

Layb Yourd Aye

Last weekend we went to Scofield for the Labor Day weekend

Our friends (Jon & Ashlee) came up from Vegas and invited us to go to their cabin

Well... It's Ashlee's family's cabin...

The boys didn't waste much time. They got to fishing right away

This was Saturday at the dam

Photo taken on my iPhone

Look at Jon blendin' in 

  

After fishing (Saturday night) we ate a delicious dinner then played games

We played Mad Gab, Things, and Catch Phrase

Mad Gab always makes me laugh. People talk so funny!

Jake always says the word/phrase perfect & doesn't even realize it!

Ashlee was a whole different story! Ha :)

Things is a came that J + A brought that we'd never played before

It kinda reminded me of the game Apples to Apples

You (basically) just have to try to guess who said what. I won :)

I guess I just know my husband really well. Either that or he's predictable. 

I (pretty much) called him out every round. My answers were hardly guessed! :)

Some people's answers really threw us off. Like Ashlee's grandpa

Jon's answers were always a dead give away

ie- Things you don't write in a Valentine's Day card

Jon's answer: I pooped my pants 

Ashlee's grandpa's answer: Love your BFF forever

We thought for sure one of Ashlee's younger sisters wrote that. Nope!

Catch Phrase always stumps people. No one can ever work under pressure :)

Just a blank face on some people. Or skipping three or four times for others :)

all of these games had us rolling every time

It was so nice just sitting and enjoying one another's company. Loved it!

view of the lake in the evening

Photo taken on my iPhone

On Sunday, we decided to take a mini tour of Scofield 'cuz I've never been there 

Oh man. Creepy little ghost town. I was intrigued the whole time

There was this one little shop. Closed down of course...

This is what we saw when we looked in the window (s). Creepy right?

Photo taken on my iPhone

Jon & Ashlee also took us to the cemetery. So cool and super old

there was a mining accident in the 1900s so that's why it's kinda creepy

after the little tour of the little town, we went for a ride in this!

Photo taken on my iPhone

Photo taken on my iPhone

Of course there was more fishing on Sunday

Photo taken on my iPhone

Photo taken on my iPhone

After fishing at the docks and having no luck, Jake and Jon wanted to move

So we went back to the dam. Except we were on the OTHER side this time

SUCCESS! Jake caught a fish. Pretty good size too

We had so much fun at the cabin w/you guys. It was so much fun and full of laughter. Seriously- I've never laughed harder, when playing games with a group of people. We always have a good time with J + A and this time will not go unforgotten. We love building friendships with you two and look forward to many more good times together. Can't wait to come down to Vegas soon. TEMPLE TRIP!!!!! :)