December 29, 2013

Deck the Halls with Boughs All Nerdy


I'm always an advocate for being yourself, for letting your nerdy flag fly high. I apply that code to my life, my writing, my cooking, and my decorating -- even my holiday decorating! What's the point of decorating if it doesn't feel like it is comfortably "you".

This drive has developed into a bit of a theme on our Christmas tree. Perhaps this handful of ornaments just might amuse you. Care to take a little tour?

December 22, 2013

Salted Dark Chocolate Figs


Serendipity is finding the right Pinterest inspiration on a day when you can actually use it.

Every year, instead of Christmas cookies, my family has the tradition of making chocolate-covered candies.

While gathering ingredients and preparing a batch for dipping (read as: procrastinating on Pinterest), I stumbled across a picture of gourmet figs covered in salted dark chocolate. 

Why order a box, when I already had chocolate ready for dipping! 

December 14, 2013

DIY Our First Christmas Tree Ornament

DIY Wood-Burned Christmas Tree Ornament

In a budding relationship, there are so many important little moments to remember: the first date, the first dance, the first holiday. In all the hustle and bustle of such life-changing events, I love finding little momentos to cherish and save the story behind the memories.

On our first Christmas as a married couple, my husband and I joined my parents and my brother's family for a tractor ride out to Strathmeyer farms, braced against the cold with the comfort of free apples, to search for our first Christmas tree. We made our cuts and waited for the tractor's return to carry our trees back, as my little nephew helped by carrying his own little evergreen branch. My husband marked the trunk with his initials, now a part of my initials, so that our tree would not be lost among the others on the back of the wagon. When my husband trimmed off the bottom of the trunk, I saved the little disc with his initials and turned it into a Christmas tree ornament to commemorate our first tree.


December 7, 2013

DIY Stuffed Hobbes: The Rebirth of A Childhood Friend


DIY Stuffed Hobbes tutorial and tips | Tried and Twisted

How ever were children of the 80's and 90's to learn a good dose of fantasy, sarcasm, and an impressive vocabulary without the stories of Calvin and Hobbes?

Great quotes from Calvin and Hobbes
Hobbes was a part of so many of our lives growing up, and that homocidal psycho jungle cat is just as cool now as he ever was.

As children, my brother collected all of the books, and together we mourned the tragedy of the comic's discontinuation from the local funny papers.

Now that my brother has little sons of his own, I felt the time had come for them to have their own adventures with dinosaur-flying spaceships and suicidal snowman while accompanied by their new best friend Hobbes.

However Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, chose not to license his characters for distribution, so you won't find a Hobbes doll sitting on the shelf at your local toy store. So the best option is to make your own*.

November 27, 2013

Harvest Apple Cranberry Slaw Recipe Review


Harvest Apple and Cranberry Slaw Recipe Review



As a long time proponent of the carnivore lifestyle, Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday of mine, in all of its meaty goodness.

There's the meat, the gravy (made of meat juice), the stuffing (pulled from inside the meat) -- really the meat is the star attraction!

It wasn't until much later in my life that I realized that vegetation can be pretty tasty too when it's not unflavored or boiled beyond recognition.

This harvest slaw recipe, with the great pops of color, is one of those good looks for vegetables. Like putting your cat in a really spiffy tuxedo suit; it looks fancy and tastes great too! Wait...maybe that cat analogy wasn't so great after all.


November 16, 2013

Geronimo! Or Should I Say GeroNaNoWriMo!

November means a lot of things to different people.

For some, it is No-Shave November. For others, it is all about Christmas: the Prequel. But for the writing community, it is all about NaNoWriMo.

There is no Doing without first Trying
 National Novel Writing Month exists as a month-long pledge for aspiring novelists around the world that for once, they won't get distracted, they won't procrastinate, they won't stop. They'll keep going until they have a full 50,000 word novel saved to their harddrive. Or notebook. Or roll of toilet paper...whatever your medium.

The combined encouragement and peer pressure from friends, chat forums, and famous writers alike pushes writers beyond the wall of writer's block. Rather than worrying about writing the best novel ever, the experiment of NaNoWriMo is to just write. It is daunting, but liberating to just get the words down on paper and edit later.

For years, I've watched while my fabulously talented writing friends completed one novel after another. I'd contemplate joining, but could never quite commit out of fear of failing to reach 50,000 words. Let's face it, that's a lot of words.

Then consider that out of all of the months of the year, NaNoWriMo happens in November, which is one of my busiest months as I buy gifts, make stocking stuffers, plan parties. It always seemed like way too much to take on in one month.

But then I had an epiphany.

I started this blog as a sort of New Year's resolution dare to myself. I wasn't doing nearly as much writing as I used to, and I wanted to challenge myself to get back into the narrative habit, to keep those writer's muscles flexing.

While it started as a resolution, it has really developed into a fun challenge for me. Do I succeed in publishing a post once a week? Not always. Do I always polish up my photos to that high-gloss magazine finish? No.

But you know what, I am writing. And that alone is the victory.

With resolutions, we so often get blinded by our high goals that anything less is tempting to call a failure. But just like with learning a new skill or eating properly or going to the gym, every day that I try is a victory.

Every day that you're not wasting on the couch is a victory, even if you're not finishing first for that 10-mile run yet. To try is still a victory.

Have I reached 26,000 words yet in my first year of NaNoWriMo? Not quite. But I am writing a novel that I have neglected for the last eight years, and that alone is cause for celebration.

So with all due respect to Yoda, there is a try, and it is the first step to doing.

November 8, 2013

What to Do with a Failed Carrot Crop

Juicing Carrot Greens | Tried and Twisted

Gardening is a lot like gambling. Even when you know the rules, you don't have any guarantee that you'll actually win a salad bowl filled with fresh healthy greens.

I've dabbled in gardening now for two years and I just now think that I might know what I'm doing enough to know that knowing what I'm doing doesn't always help.

Take carrots for instance. They are a cooler season crop that are supposed to be pretty hardy. So I first planted them two years ago. Sad little crop. I researched and found they like sandy soil, so I worked in some organic matter into our clay soil and waited for a better harvest this year.

November 2, 2013

Inverted Reese's Peanut Butter Macaron


Well...that was the idea for today's post anyway. Conceptually, I loved the idea of flipping a Reese's peanut butter cup inside out in macaron form -- chocolate on the inside and crispy peanut macaron shell on the outside. Then for a final touch, dip the macaron sandwich in smooth chocolate.

While the final result was absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself, I don't think it completely captured the peanut butter cup flavor. The chocolate ganache recipe that I chose had a fudgey consistency and sweetly dark flavor, and while that is delish, it's not quite the smooth milky chocolate used by Reese's.
So the search continues. I'll just have to try the inverted Reese's another time...oh how will I ever eat all of the rejects?  

So for today's post, I give you...Peanut Macaron & Chocolate Ganache!

October 24, 2013

Raven Feather Halloween Decoration

Raven Feather Halloween Mantel Decoration | Tried and Twisted

Hello all of you lovely people! Time certainly flies when you're having fun.

What holiday is it anyway? If the freezing weather or the Christmas displays outside of Lowes are to be believed, we must be in December. But according to the calender, Halloween is just around the corner.

I wanted to bring a touch of macabre to the house with a little Halloween display. Enter this simple decoration. An old black wicker basket, a few black feathers from Jo-Ann Fabric, some fabric flowers, and a pumpkin turned my bookshelf instantly spooky.

Raven Feather Halloween Display | Tried and Twisted

This is a super simple DIY that doesn't even require glue. Simply stuff the feathers and flowers into some stuffing or foam inside the basket and tuck it around until it looks just right to you.

What decorations are haunting your home for Halloween?

Linking at: Chic on a Shoestring, Give Me The Goods,

August 16, 2013

DIY Dining Chair Makeover


Dining Chair Roadside Rescue | Tried & Twisted

The garbage, it's not just for raccoons and feral cats anymore.

Let's face it. It's generally easier to throw out furniture and decorations when they go out of style rather than renovate it or even bother to sell it. Most sane people just don't want to be bothered with all of that work.

But there is a lot of hidden potential hiding in yesterday's decoration.

All it takes is a little creativity to take curbside rejects and turn them into something brand new and beautiful.

Visiting Tried & Twisted today is my talented mom, "The MommaBar", who recently put a little time and effort into a lucky roadside find to make a spectacular new chair for her sunroom.

July 25, 2013

Blackberry Lime Bars: Pucker Up!


Blackberry Lime Bars | Tried & Twisted

What tastes like a pie, but is not a pie? What looks like jello, but is made of real fruit? And how is a raven like a writing desk?

The answer is a berry bar.

Well, that's the answer to the first two questions anyway. The answer to the third question haunts me still as one of life's great mysteries, right up there with the question of how did that horse make that woman go to college? But I digress.

I initially noticed this dessert's bright color and promise of fresh summer fruit flavor on Pinterest from places like ImprovKitchen and Sophistimom's recipe. I had never heard of berry bars like this before, so I had to give it a try.

July 19, 2013

Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Pie | Tried & Twisted

My first introduction to rhubarb was at the scenic home of a South African professor with a classy accent. He welcomed our writing club to his countryside home, complete with honey bees, nature walk through the forest, and flower-covered gazebo. While we worked, he supplied scones, pie, and coffee from a real French press. He was a one of the really good professors.

So when he handed me a strawberry pie that appeared to contain some kind of celery, I wanted to prove myself sophisticated, worldly, and knowledgable and not reveal my ignorance as to why anyone would put a vegetable in a fruit pie. Maybe it was a South African tradition, I thought.

July 12, 2013

Dairy-Free Pie Dough


There's one in every group people who can't eat food.

It's a tragic fate, but genetics is a cruel master.

Living in a family that has experienced more than its fair share of dietary limitations has allowed me to see how frustrating and limiting special diets can be. Especially at parties. Especially at the dessert table where nearly everything is made with dairy, or gluten, or nuts, or eggs.

It's easy to give up hope in ever having a good dessert again and to go diving elbow-deep into the nearest pudding pie, to hell with the allergic reaction!

But happy news! Good, tasty, delicious food within special diets do exist.

For instance, you can make a healthy and tasty pie that's completely dairy-free.

July 1, 2013

DIY Antique Framed Memo Board

DIY Antique Framed Memo Board | Tried & Twisted

A lot of great creative projects start with a challenge. And my challenge how to hide that hideous phone jack on my kitchen wall?

Due to the limitations of living in a rental, I couldn't tear the jack out, so I resorted to hide and seek. What do you think of my solution? The phone jack hasn't been found since!

June 28, 2013

Before and After Envy Series: Basement Blues

Basement Makeover: Before & After Envy Series | Tried & Twisted

Oil to Fireplace...

Welcome back to the final Before & After Envy series post for this month!

I've had so much fun sharing all of these talented home makeovers that I would like to extend an open invitation to any other readers and bloggers out there who would like to show off their renovations. The Before & After Envy series can be an ongoing series whenever new rooms and makeovers are available. Contact me if you're interested in joining the party. Because every home makeover deserves a little chance to be envied.

Today's post comes from my sister-in-law, Lisa, and my brother's basement renovation inspired by an energy bill crisis and developed into a gorgeous, comfortable family room.

***

June 27, 2013

Getting Social & BlogLovin' Pros and Cons


{ANNOUNCEMENT}

Tried & Twisted is celebrating its 6-month anniversary!

I've had a lot of fun sharing my crafty and baking experience with you all, and I've been thrilled to meet so many fun and inspiring ladies and gents from literally all corners of the globe! 

Let's Get Social!
So to celebrate this little milestone, I've added social media buttons above my header (courtesy of Carrie Loves) to make it easier to connect and get to know all of you fantastic people who stop by...boring people can wait at the door.

You can find me at:
Google Plus Pinterest BlogLovin RSS Feed     Email
But wait, there's more...

June 24, 2013

Hanging Salad Garden


Last year, I began a quest to turn my black thumb into a green thumb, or at least an evergreen shade of black.

This would take some time. Time to earn the plants trust again, to prove the dead philodendron was a fluke of bad lighting or that it wasn't my fault that I forgot to water that peace lily for three weeks.

So far, my efforts at greenery whisperer have started to pay off. For the first time in my life, I gardened. I was the grower of my own food, and it was glorious!

Everything tastes better fresh. Even my least favorite veggie was so tasty that I found myself pacing the garden in the backyard, watching, waiting for that moment when it would stop being a plant and start being food.

Since last year went so well, I got ambitious and expanded the garden by adding a hanging salad garden.

June 21, 2013

Before and After Envy: 5 Tips for Home Renovation


The Classy Man Cave...

Welcome back for the next entry in the Before & After Envy series, where I stare admiringly at the amazing renovations my friends have pulled off in their homes. Last week, Shannon talked about how to update a half bath from the 80's look to a very modern style.


This week, April will be joining us to share 5 tips she has learned while updating her basement into a lovely, casual family room and Penn-State-themed man cave with her husband. April reminds us that on home projects, your mindset and expectations can be just as important as the hammers and nails.



***

June 18, 2013

Blue Moon Cupcakes: Recipe Face-Off

Blue Moon Cupcake Recipe Face-off | Tried & Twisted

What could make dessert better, but the addition of beer!

The Blue Moon cupcake has been circulating around the interwebz long enough to become a new classic, so dozens of versions of the recipe are floating around. How to know which one to pick?

Well, I don't mind taste-testing cupcakes, so I've tried a few and would like to share my review of two opposite approaches to the Blue Moon cupcakes: one recipe from scratch and one recipe for speed!

June 14, 2013

Before and After Envy: Half-Bath Remodel

Half Bath Makeover | Tried & Twisted #beforeandafterenvy

The Ugly Duckling...

When decorating a home, there is always a risk that your look will one day become dated. This problem is only made worse if those decisions were made by the previous home owner and if those decisions involve white ducky wallpaper.

Today, we're joined by my friend Shannon Hemauer as she shares her journey of ridding her half-bath of the dreaded duckies.

June 7, 2013

Before and After Envy Series

Before & After Envy Series | Tried & Twisted

You may not be all that surprised to hear. It is a common affliction among us late twenty-somethings after all.  I have a case of house lust.

My husband and I live in a cute little rental with our very own garden and creek in the backyard, which certainly could be all we need in life, but I can't help longing for more.

It's not just because I want more space or because I want to invite more than 10 people into our house at a time without ticketing them at the entrance. I really long for the house projects.

Month-long DIY projects gone awry with floorboards torn up, drywall spackled, paint splattering everywhere! (Did I mention that some people find me odd?)

You see, I have helped family members and strangers alike to renovate, redesign, and rip the ever-loving pieces apart of their homes to remake it into the masterpiece that suits their needs and their aesthetics perfectly. Living in a rental where we aren't even allowed to paint the walls gives this level of freedom a fuzzy optimistic glow.

While I'm sure the suffering of tip-toeing through storage boxes, wading through dust, and driving to the nearest friend's house for running water aren't nearly so glamorous as they sound, renovation still has the appeal of brave trial and error, experimentation, and a side of practical, creative expression that I very easily obsess over.

So while my house lust may not be satisfied for a few more years, I can still dream and drool over what my creative friends and family have done to their homes.

Which brings us to this month's series: Before and After Envy, featuring people I know and the beautiful ways they've destroyed and recreated their homes! Join every Friday this month for a little featurette of their before and after.

June 6, 2013

Strawberry Sangria, or how the Happy Hostess taught me to love sangria

Strawberry Sangria | Tried & Twisted

Sangria and I met on rocky terms.

Extreme heat, dehydration, and nerves for an early date with the man who I later married were not the greatest settings for my first introduction to sangria. The slimy fruit, watered-down punch served at that fair was not forgiving.

Years later, my dear friend Cate was visiting from out of town. During our college years together, she had earned the nickname Happy Hostess for her great skill at feeding and encouraging frivolity among our writing club. While other college students went rushing out of the dorm for the weekend, we gathered around the couches with our poetry and short stories in hand, laughing until our stomachs hurt and carpe-ing that diem. 

In all those meals and hangouts, the Happy Hostess always delivered tasty goods, so when years later she pulled a pitcher out of the fridge, who was I to refuse?

Only the persistent charm of the Happy Hostess could show me how fantastic sangria could taste. The sweet strawberry flavor and deep merlot are rich and complex flavors overtop of the rum. 

June 4, 2013

DIY Manly Gift Bucket

Manly Gift Bucket: a new kind of gift basket | Tried & Twisted

 

If you are looking for a gift basket idea for a man in your life, perhaps even for Father's Day, might I suggest the Gift Bucket

I admit they can be a little corny and cliché, but sometimes a gift basket is still the best option for a personalized gift for an occasion somewhere between a simple gift card and a new car.

Recently, my big brother turned 30. Gasp! We are, like, almost adults now or something!

My brother already has pretty much anything he could want, right down to the last Tiki mask, and our family doesn't traditionally give gifts on birthdays, so I was a little out of practice finding that one perfect thing.  It was too much pressure putting all of my bets on one gift.

Enter the gift basket. Tons of random things! Some he may enjoy and others he may feed to the cat, but at least I double my chance of an enjoyable gift.

Gift baskets weren't really designed to be "manly" though, so my hubby and I headed off to the hardware store to find a new solution.

May 31, 2013

Myth or Miracle Cleaner Series: Scrub Your Bath Tub Like Martha

Homemade Bath Scrub Myth or Miracle Cleaner | Tried & Twisted

I grew up in the generation that associated Martha Stewart less with domestic perfection and more with Saturday Night Life sketches and jailbird punch lines. I'm thinking that I may perhaps owe her an apology...

At the beginning of the month, I asked for suggestions for a Mystery Homemade Cleaner to be featured at the end of the month and Kim Vealy from the Soliloquy of Food & Such was good enough to suggest a bath tub scrub made from baking soda that she learned from Martha Stewart

Since I had unfinished business with my old rental bath tub with 20-some years of stains that weren't quite eliminated by a basic homemade cleaner, I thought I'd give this heavy hitting bath scrub a try.

So, I put Martha's scrub to the test to see if I can't clear away that yucky stain without calling an exorcist...it was considered my final option.

Myth or Miracle Cleaner Series: Shower Head De-Clogger

Homemade Shower De-Clogger Myth or Miracle Cleaner | Tried & Twisted

Little problems are sometimes the most annoying. Noisy neighbors, a spot of mold growing underneath what was a perfectly good head of lettuce, clogged shower heads

Keeping it in perspective, most little problems come with an easy fix. While a clogged shower head certainly isn't a dire problem, there's no reason not to remove the little annoyance of errant water streams sputtering into my face interrupting a relaxing shower when the fix is so easy.

For this next post in the Myth or Miracle Cleaner Series, where I give homemade cleaners a try to find out if they are too good to be true, I'll tackle my sputtering, clogged shower head with a soaking method suggested by Frugally Sustainable. Let's give it a try!

May 24, 2013

Myth or Miracle Cleaner Series: Clean Dreaded Toilet with Baking Soda

Homemade Toilet Cleaner Myth or Miracle Cleaner | Tried & Twisted
Welcome back to this month's series on Spring Cleaning using ingredients and supplies in your kitchen cupboard.

Cleaning the house with baking soda, vinegar, and other items from the pantry claims to have the advantage of saving money from all the household cleaners you won't need to buy and to be greener and more environmentally friendly than the toxic chemicals found in the average cleaner.

While most of the all-natural cleaning methods worked wonders, today I'll share about a dud: cleaning the toilet with baking soda.

The claim, according to blogs like Life Hackery, is that you sprinkle 1 cup of baking soda in the inside of your toilet and voila! It's shiny white, clean, and odor-free. With no scrubbing, you'll be able to wash away stains, grime, and dirt.

Such a claim just had to be put to the test!

May 17, 2013

Myth or Miracle Cleaner Series: Shine Your Stainless Steel Sink with Baking Soda and Vinegar

Homemade Sink Cleaner Myth or Miracle Cleaner | Tried & Twisted

Step 1: Remove all dirty dishes so you can actually see your sink.
Step 2: Shriek at the grime and mess in your sink!
Step 3: Return all dirty dishes to the sink and walk away. Perhaps open a bottle of wine and pretend you don't have a sink anymore.

The kitchen sink is like the eyes to the soul of the kitchen and shows a very public face for guests. It should give a good first impression.

But evil things grow in the sink.

The kitchen sink takes a lot of abuse and if you have an older stainless steel sink, this abuse is very evident with smudges, hard water deposits, coffee stains, scratches, and sometimes rust stains that make you want to run screaming from doing the dishes to update to your tetanus shot. You don't have to call an exorcist, break out the bleach, or even buy expensive cleaning products to chase away the demons.

Today, I tried out a recipe for a DIY homemade stainless steel sink cleaner that claims to buff and shine the steel like new. Our sink has seen better days, since our older rental hasn't always received TLC, so it will be the perfect guinea pig to test out The Happy Home's tutorial for cleaning and bringing the shine back to a stainless steal sink.

May 10, 2013

Myth or Miracle Cleaner Series: Clean Your Bath Tub with Vinegar

Homemade Bath Tub Cleaner Myth or Miracle Cleaner | Tried & Twisted


Hello, my name is Sara. And I am a Pinterest addict.

Pinterest lists tons of cleaning shortcuts and homemade remedies: dozen uses for vinegar, clean your kitchen with baking soda, etc. I've often wondered if these DIY cleaning methods work, if they are better than store-bought cleaner, and if it's worth the extra effort for a little savings in money.

One of my goals here on Tried & Twisted is to test out new projects and to share if it's worth your time and effort. This month's series is all about DIY cleaning methods.

The first challenge for my Spring Cleaning series: Homemade Bath Tub Cleaner!

You may have seen a graphic floating around on Pinterest promising dramatic results by a simple cleaning method of combining vinegar and dish soap. Just spray on, spray off, no scrubbing, and the shower is instantly clean. It will even take soap scum off of shower doors, so it claims. Let's see how that theory works out in practice.

May 6, 2013

Myth or Miracle Cleaner: A Series for Spring Cleaning


Myth or Miracle Cleaner? DIY Cleaners | Tried & Twisted

Life doesn't always work out the way you'd like. There are disappointments, broken expectations, dashed dreams.

Much like cleaning products. The infomercial promises amazing results, the before/after images astound, and then you try it on your own house and it doesn't quite work out like that.

It's disappointing experiences like this that cause trust issues.

Being a skeptic has made me curious about the all-natural, money-saving, DIY home cleaning methods which circulate on blogs and Pinterest like a good meme. They promise a simple process of mixing together a few common items from your cupboard to create an instant clean!

Do they work? Are they better or more convenient than store-bought cleaners? Can you actually save money in the process?

This month's series is all about DIY cleaning methods. Not a glamorous series -- certainly not as appetizing as macarons or as pretty as a craft. But part of the purpose of my Tried&Twisted blog is to test out new projects and to share if they are worth your time and effort.

So in preparation for Spring cleaning, allow me to test out these "great" ideas for you so you can save your own time, money, and a little elbow grease.

Check in with me every Friday this month as I put a new DIY cleaning project to the test.
You may have noticed that I listed a mystery post. Here's your chance to get involved -- tell me what DIY cleaner you've seen on blogs or Pinterest that you'd like to see tested out. I'll pick a tutorial from your suggestions for the end of the month.

Update: The winner for Mystery Topic is Bath Scrub!

See you on Friday!

May 2, 2013

DIY Custom Etched Glass Gift: Invite Design to Wedding Gift

DIY Custom Etched Glass Gifts for Weddings: Part Two | Tried & Twisted

Creating Unique & Personalized Wedding Gifts Thru Etched Glass: Part Two

Yesterday, I shared how my friend Suzanne introduced me to DIY etched glass gifts with a unique twist. For a more traditional wedding gift, the bride and groom's name and wedding date are often etched into glass.

To make the gift even more special, why not incorporate elements of design from the wedding invitation? The bride and groom put in a lot of effort picking out the invite or designing it themselves, so it deserves to be commemorated and, luckily, you already know it is an embellishment they'll like!

May 1, 2013

DIY Custom Etched Glass Gift: The Baron Samedi Rum Bottle

Custom Etched Glass Gifts | Tried & Twisted

Creating Unique & Personalized Wedding Gifts Thru Etched Glass: Part One

April showers bring May flowers and wedding season! If you're an average twenty-to-thirty-something woman and not a hermit hiding in a mountain cave, then chances are that you know someone getting married this year. The odds are in your favor.

Searching registries for the best gift becomes second nature, but after a while, all the matching towel sets and Pyrex blur together and I become bored with my own gift. Which is a sad predicament, indeed, because I want to give something that screams my enthusiasm for their important day, rather than yawning like a pair of Christmas gift underwear. 

So I'm often torn between my desire to give the bride and groom something practical that they need, but also to give them something memorable, so they can laugh at our inside jokes and know that we cared to add a special touch just for them.

Lately, my solution to this dilemma has been custom etched glass gifts. I was introduced to this craft on Make It & Love It. By adding a creative element to a practical gift, no piece of glass is safe! Any bottle, vase, or Pyrex can become classy or hilarious in less than half an hour.

April 26, 2013

Frozen Mixed Berry Smoothie

Super Simple Mixed Berry Smoothie | Tried & Twisted

Life doesn't always have to be complicated. Sometimes, the simple things can create dramatic results.

Spring season is here and winter hibernation is over. As soon as the winter gray leaves, I crave healthy delicious salads, fruit, and long runs at the park. Such little changes really add up and shave off the lethargic winter body. Each quick change adds up to a big difference.

One quick little recipe to keep trim and fit while not wasting any time is this Super Simple Mixed Berry Smoothie. It only takes four ingredients and five minutes for a refreshing icy treat that really hits the spot after a long run. 

April 15, 2013

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

Easy 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge | Tried & Twisted

Fudge. It's one of life's simple, pure, unadulterated pleasures. While I covet the precious magical dessert, I had never attempted to replicate it myself. 

Perhaps it was intimidation. After all, how can anyone compete with Grandma's recipe? Perhaps it was a lingering suspicion from my childhood that perhaps the fudge was magical, like in the book No Such Thing as a Witch by Ruth Chew, and if I dappled with the delicate formula, I would end up becoming a mouse.

Whatever the reason for my hesitation, I put it all behind me to attempt a batch because my husband had the craving and because I had all the ingredients I needed. This recipe is so simple, there's no reason not to make your own too.

April 13, 2013

Focus on the Light

Tragedy strikes, but learn to focus on the light

My camera and I have been through a lot together. My little Canon PowerShot has scaled mountainous waterfalls, darted between the waves of the ocean, and explored an abandoned coal breaker in search of adventure and the perfect angle. My little Canon has put up with scratches, dirt, and drops without a single complaint. Until now...

April 8, 2013

DIY Flower Pot Wreath


DIY Flower Pot Wreath | Featured on Tried & Twisted

Last month's feature series was all about baking macarons and, after so many recipes, I nearly forgot that I also share crafts here on Tried & Twisted. It was my ambition to have a grand craft ready to share with you all today.

But as is often the case here on T&T, expectations don't always work according to plan. Some technical difficulties arose after dropping my camera in batter. Oh, the troubles of a food blogger! My latest craft is now locked in limbo, like jpegs in purgatory.

Wait, don't leave yet! I have a volunteer from the audience. Today's craft comes from Faye, my Momma and crafting sensei. She just finished a new wreath for her front door which is perfect for springtime and surprisingly easy. Let's take a look!