Platter for a Par-tay!

In my last post I mentioned that I made a platter for some of the appetizers at my party. This was super simple, cheap but looks really classy! I purchased all of the supplies for about $5 (except the glue which I already had on hand.

Materials

E6000 glue
2 plates
2 Dollar Tree candlesticks
1 bowl*

*couldn’t find the link online to the one I used, but I bought it at Dollar Tree. It matched the plates and had a lid.

Super Simple Directions 

1.       Lay one dish on your work surface. Line the bottom base of one of the candle sticks with glue and place in the middle of the plate (these plates were great because there was a circle in the middle to help guide)

 

2.       Line the top of the same candlestick with glue, place a plate on top. Repeat step one.

3.       Repeat step two, but place the bowl on top.

4.       Let dry for several hours.

5.       Voila! Elegance on the cheap.

 

 

 

Girls' Game Night In!

This weekend I had some girlfriends over for a Girls’ Game Night In! I’ve had this on the calendar for about a month now, but per usual I didn’t really start getting to the meat of the planning until a few days before. The party turned out great and I can’t wait to host another one, perhaps with a different theme. 

In my head I envisioned us playing a bunch of board games from our childhood: Monopoly, Mall Madness, LIFE (P.S. I was obsessed with this game as a kid and never owned it) and so on. We ended up playing Apples to Apples then got half way through Taboo before giving up (in our defense we did have 5 people so the teams weren’t even) and playing two rounds of Cards Against Humanity (BEST. GAME. EVER). After we polished off the apple cinnamon sangria, we decided to play Clue which was a lot of fun!

Here are some pictures from the festivities followed by recipes for the food and drinks I made.

  

 

That is detox water and apple cinnamon sangria you see there.

 

 

Food. Glorious food!

 

Pear, Fig Jam, Goat Cheese Cruistinis with shrimp cocktail.

P.S. I made this platter, blog on that coming soon!

 

Thank you, Pinterest. You have changed my life for giving me the brilliant idea of inserting a martini glass into a large bowl to serve chips and dip! (in this case peach salsa and red pepper hummus - store bought not homemade).

 

My delicious trifle.

 

Cards Against Humanity. A game for horrible people.

 

 

Apple Cinnamon Sangria

Yields approx 3 liters

3 bottles of white wine (I used Seaglass Sauvignon Blanc)

10 ounces pure 100% apple juice

1/2 Fireball Whiskey

Diced Apples

 

Detox Water

1 sliced cucumber

2 sliced lemons

1 tablespoon grated ginger

2 hand fulls of mint

 

Pear, Fig Jam, Goat Cheese Cruistinis

1 large baguette

2 pears (cubed)

Fig Jam (I used Dalmatia Fig Spread. You can find it near the gourmet cheese at Publix)

Crumbled Goat Cheese

 

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the baguette into 1/4 inch slices. Toast in the oven for around 20 mins or until they start to brown. Let cool. Spread fig jam on each crustini and then top with crumbled goat cheese and cubed pear. Voila! Everyone raved about these!

 

I also made a few of these without the baguette for my friend who eats gluten free. Basically I just sliced the pear and then top with fig jam and goat cheese.

 

 

Strawberry, Blueberry Cream Trifle

Sorry, I'm not sorry - I sort of threw this together on intuition and what I had in my fridge. I didn't measure anything. That's generally how I cook.

 

1 loaf of angel food cake

2 packages of sugar free vanilla pudding

2 1/2 cups of almond milk

1 package of fresh blueberries

1 package of fresh strawberries (sliced)

Toasted Coconut Almonds

Cream cheese

Whipped topping

Greek yogurt

 

1. Crumble the angel food cake into small pieces. Line the bottom of the trifle dish.

2. Prepare the pudding according to directions. I used almond milk which makes it thicker than normal. I learned that lot of health bloggers have tried this and not liked pudding this way. For me it didn't matter since it was being combined with a bunch of other yummy things. Let the pudding cool and then spread a layer over the crumbled angle food cake.

3. Top with blueberries and strawberries.

4. Add more crumbled angel food cake

5. Combine cream cheese, whipped topping and Greek yogurt. I didn't measure any of this, I just added what I had left on hand. I guess just do this according to taste! Spread the mixture over the angel food cake for the next layer.

6. Top with sliced blueberries, strawberries and almonds.

7. Serve! There is no delicate way to serve a trifle. Dig in and scoop out! Again, everyone was skeptical about this concoction but ended up LOVING it!

 

 



 

You Only Live Once, but If You Do It Right, Once is Enough

Confession: I didn't travel by plane until I was 22 years old.

In fact, I had moved out into my own apartment by the time I took my first trip. Growing up we only took car rides and always to see our family, all of which lived in the South or Texas. My very first plane ride was to Italy. After that trip I was hooked on traveling. I've been very lucky to visit several places around the world, but there is so much more I want to see.

I've always wanted to create a Bucket List to remind me of all of the things I still want to accomplish or do and to remember all of the amazing things I have done. Although a lot of my desires are to explore the world, I also have many skills I want to learn, or events I want to attend, or things I've always wanted to try. I will continue to add to this list as I think of things or complete things on my list as this is no where near complete.

 

• Visit Greece
• Learn to play the guitar
• Go Lobstering
• Go Scalloping
• Take a train ride
• Learn to Scuba dive
• Surf
• Swim with dolphins
• Hot air balloon ride
• Go to MudFest
• Go to the Indy 500
• Go to the NASCAR All Star Race
• See Mariah Carey in concert
• Travel the US in an RV
• Go on an Alaskan Cruise
• Start a small business
• Own a brand new car
• Buy a stranger coffee 
• Meet the Backstreet Boys 
• Visit Australia 
• Visit New Zealand
• Visit Ireland 
• See the Grand Canyon (TRIP PLANNED MARCH 26!)
• Ring the NASDAQ Bell (May 23, 2013)
• Visit New York City (May 2013)
• Visit Paris (March 2010)
• Visit Rome (October 2007 & December 2012)
• See Niagara Falls (October 2012)
• Daytona 500 (2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014)
• Buy a house (October 30, 2013)
• See where my grandparents lived in Slovakia (October 2012)
• Live on my own, pay all my own bills (Dec 2006-present, but had a roommate by choice for a few years)

My New Obsession with Staining

Thank you Pinterest for introducing me to stain! In the weeks leading up to purchasing my house, I obsessively browsed Pinterest for decorating ideas.  I came across this gem on the blog Monica Wants it All and was ecstatic that I could update my bathroom cabinets with some stain.

This is what I was working with.

 

Two lessons that I am slowly learning about DIY projects are that you really have to read through every word in a tutorial before undertaking it AND also don’t always assume that your shortcut will be wise.  In this case, it was the first lesson that came back to haunt me during this project. 

Something you need to know before you start this stain project:  You will need to devote up to two weeks to complete this! So if you have guests coming into town or any important events that are coming up that you require use of said furniture being stained, hold off until you can deal with a mess for two weeks.

Another thing you need to know (AKA that I ignored): Wear gloves. The stain seeps through the sock and removing stain from your fingers isn’t fun or pretty ;)

 

 

Things you will need:

• Something to cover areas you do not want stained. I used blue plastic table clothes (I have a huge box of them)
• A sanding block
• GLOVES
• Tape (masking or painters)
• General Finishes Java Gel. Everything I read said this is the ONLY stain that works. I bought mine here.
• Screwdriver
• Men’s sock
• Satin poly coat (either order with the General Finishes stain of just any poly coat will do)

Step 1: Remove all of the doors and hardware. If you have a small bathroom/work space like me, then take the doors to a different area for staining.

Step 2: Prep your area. Lay down your cloth/stain shield and tape areas that need to be taped (like walls, floor, under the counter top).

Step 3: Lightly sand the surface. No need to scrub. It took me all of 10 minutes to do this.

Step 4: Wear a glove under your sock! I didn’t read the tutorial very well and applied the first coat sans glove. I had to scrub a layer of skin off my hand. Also, if you’re like me and you start this project without a glove, then wrapping your hand in a plastic bag also works.

Step 5: Apply a thin coat of General Finishes Java Gel to the surface of your furniture. Wait at least 6 hours. BREATHE – it will look better. The first coat is always ugly. Apply another coat. Wait 12 hours.

Stay away from the liquor – it really will look better.

 

Apply another coat. Wait 24 hours.  See, it looks good doesn’t it? Most tutorials I read said to wait five days before applying a the poly coat. Personally mine dried faster, but to be cautious I waited five days, applied the poly coat. Wait a day in between poly coats. I did two coats. I think it’s a bit too shiny, but it doesn’t look bad. In other words, you may just want to do one coat.

Step 6 – Wait a few days and then put the doors back on and admire your beautiful new, modern cabinets.

Final product!

 

FYI - I have since fixed that bathroom mirror situation over my sink as well as the medicine cabinet. Post to follow soon!

Tips, Tricks & Other notes

• The Lysol Dual Action Wipes are AMAZING. They removed dripped stain seamlessly.
• Buy latex or rubber gloves (I can’t stress this enough)
• Painter’s tape refuses to stick to anything. Unless it’s wet paint/stain. Be careful.
• My cabinets are not real wood. From what I read this method doesn’t work on bare wood – so score for those of us with cheaply made furniture.
• Use a new sock (or a unstained part of the sock) for each coat, including the poly coat.
• Enjoy the beauty of your work!

Welcome to Spackle & Sparkle!

Welcome to Spackle & Sparkle! I'm using this blog to document the transformations I am making in my first home, which was purchased in October 2013. It is an approximately 1,100 square foot townhome with two bedrooms and one and half bathrooms. I also have a small enclosed patio in the back. Sharing this space is my almost 10 year old son chihuahua who is named Machismo. Although I'll focus on my home and DIY projects, from time to time I'll also post my favorite recipes, beauty product & reviews on other lifestyle-themed topics. Enjoy!