GIVEAWAY...A few of my favorite things... {w/ gifts}

**Giveaway Closed**

If you were brave enough to go shopping yesterday morning - my hat's off to you. I stayed inside, worked on a few crafts, and pretended not to be home when people came to my door to sell things {did I just admit that? (In my defense, I'm a bit paranoid and never answer the door when the husband is out.)}.

So whether you got up at oh-dark-thirty yesterday to shop, or stayed home like me, here is a way to get a steal of a deal without leaving the house.

In celebration of 50 GFC followers, I am hosting a little giveaway to show my appreciation.

I've put together a few goodies that are sure to come in handy this holiday season...

1.Food Made Fast One Pot meals by Williams Sonoma. This small, hard cover cook book has tons of great meal ideas that are easy to make, and use one pot (easy cleanup, hurray!).

2. I don't know about you, but I am in love with all those cute little paper straws I've seen on blogs and around Pinterest. These red and green striped ones will be perfect to celebrate in style this holiday season.

3. Brrrr! It's cold out there. Cozy up to the fire with this retro hot cocoa mix. I LOVE the Rudolph movie and couldn't resist this cute little tin. 

4. Lastly, in the true nature of this blog, I had to include something baking related. Considering my latest party go-to has been cupcakes, I found these adorable snowflake and reindeer cupcake liners and little flags. 

Keep everything for yourself, or give something away, it's your choice. I have no qualms with re-gifting :) 

Here are the deets:
There are up to 4 entries available per person. Leave a separate comment for each entry. I will use a random number generator to get our lucky winner.

1. Follow w/milk & sugar via GFC.
2. Like w/milk & sugar blog on Facebook.
3. Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter.
4. Mention and link this giveaway in a blog post, tweet, or on your Facebook page.

This giveaway will end Wednesday, December 5th. 

A winner will be announced below and contacted by email. 

** This giveaway is only open to US residents of the 48 contiguous states. 

Apologies to my friends living outside those boundaries.**

Good luck! And again, thank you so very much! Reading comments and getting to know fellow bloggers has made this whole experience so much more fun. I didn't expect that when I started. I thought I would photograph my projects, write a little blurb, and be happy knowing that I had cataloged my domestic adventures. I never imagined the sense of community I would feel. It's been incredible.

UPDATE: The lucky winner is Karri. I will be emailing you for your address tonight :)

Afternoon Snack - Brie Cheese w/ honey and thyme {w/ recipes}

You know that tiredness you get after a long, fun weekend? That “my body aches and my mind is jello” kind of tired?

That is me today.

I spent the weekend in Big Bear - hiking, Alpine sliding, wine walking, kayaking, and soaking up the sun with my best friends. And even though I’m exhausted, it is a great feeling -to be tired for good reason. So I will gladly pay the price for all the fun I had.

Oh how I wish I was still there. Floating on the lake in a kayak, getting rocked by the waves from passing boats.

This afternoon I think I’ll go home, sit on my back deck, and reflect on my fun adventures. Maybe I’ll prepare a little afternoon snack. I think I have some brie cheese in the fridge, and the rest of a baguette from the weekend. I’ll slice the baguette, top it with cheese, and drizzle a little honey over top. I’ll grab some fresh thyme and sprinkle a little on top.

 

Maybe I’ll toast the bread first so that the cheese melts ever so slightly on top. I may get thirsty, so I’ll grab some sparkling lemonade and add a little lavender syrup to bring out the floral tones of the thyme.

 

I think I’ll enjoy this snack.  

And what about you my friends? Are you tired from a fun weekend? I sure hope so. 

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A Little Garden Update {w/ gardening}

hello folks.

Well, my garden has been growing like crazy. And I'm not even sure how. It seems like just yesterday I planted a few seeds and hoped for the best. Now I've got a jungle out there! Just water, SoCal sunshine, and a little plant food. I used EB Stone Organics Tomato & Vegetable Food and mixed it with the soil before sowing, and sprinkled a pinch in the hole for each seed. Now every week or so sprinkle a little around the base of each plant as I water.

In full disclosure, these photos were actually taken a few weeks ago. Everything is even BIGGER now. I will post some photos I took this past weekend in a few days, but wanted to show an update to give you a middle comparison step. Remember how everything looked a few weeks ago?  You can find the post here.

I added a small cucumber plant a few weeks ago (right after I first posted on my garden). This particular type of plant is supposed to do well in a container... fingers crossed.

See all that green in the top left and bottom right pictures below? That's my baby spring greens mix. It's already given us a handful of fresh salads. And the zucchini? Yep, they weren't kidding when they said they'd get huge. I still can't believe it came from a small seed.

So far only a few carrots have popped up, despite planting nearly 2 dozen seeds :(

I added some marigolds and pansies for color - plus I've heard marigolds are a natural insect repellant. Speaking of ... I've found a few snails lurking near my plants in the early hours of the morning. So far they haven't devoured much, just a few bottom leaves of my zucchini. The other bugs have been helping themselves to a small salad everyday (how rude!). 

The tomato plant has surpassed all my expectations. I've done tomatoes before, but only in containers. They've always been small, and only given a handful on tomatoes. Well this one has taken off. It started as a 6 inch tall seedling and has exploded. I had to get a larger cage to wrap around the plant for added support. I've been trimming away the sucker stems based on a tip from Life On The Balcony. Even after all that I've trimmed, it is still out of control... in a good way.

See that little baby tomato? Someday soon it will grow up and be so yummy in a caprese salad.

Do you garden? If you don't, what would you grow if you did?

Mediterranean Garbanzo Bean Salad {w/ recipes}

hi friends. here's another "pinned it & did it" for you today.

***

There were a few reasons I decided to start this series. One being that Pinterest is a great way to find new projects, ideas, and recipes, but it lacks a call to action. I'm relatively new to the site, but I've already pinned 367 items (and counting). Let’s be frank. I have not tried 367 new things. Not even close. While some of the items have served as inspiration only {see my For The Home board. As much as I wish it, my house will not turn into these dream homes any time soon.}, many are things that can be done now. But like many other bloggers and pinners out there, it is much easier to say I’ll do something than actually do it. I’m trying to change this. And so this series is a way to hold me accountable to that.

Another reason to start this series: to act as an objective reviewer.  I hate to be a critic, because I know (from experience) how much hard work goes into creating/modifying recipes. But let’s face it: there are millions of recipes and projects floating around this place we call the internet and not all of them are good. Of course, they do work for some people, or else why would anyone bother putting it out there for others to use? But each of us has different tastes and preferences. It’s why I prefer recipe sites with comments. Whenever I find a new recipe, I always look to see what others said. A lot of times it is a simple adjustment that puts the finishing touch on a recipe to make it complete.

“not as much sugar”

“add more salt”

This feedback is important.

***

I found this recipe on Pinterest a few months ago. It is a Mediteranean chickpea salad with Kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, and cucumbers with a lemon/olive oil/cumin dressing. Everything sounded delicious. It’s rare for me to think a recipe like this is perfect as is. Not that I am a picky eater, but I enjoy making my own modifications to recipes. It is a way for me to be creative and experiment with new flavor combinations.

However, this time I followed the recipe to the T. Luckily they were all ingredients I had readily on hand - a lemon from my tree, fresh parsley, 2 cans of garbanzo beans, cumin, olives, sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil, and garlic. Looking at the ingredients, it seemed like a lot of BIG flavors. It also called for a tablespoon (not teaspoon) of cumin. That's a lot of cumin. Regardless, I followed the recipe. 

The result was full of flavor, but maybe a bit too much. The ingredients were competing with each other. I left out the feta cheese, as it was optional, but still, this little salad packed a lot of punch.

The recipe suggested making it a day in advance, presumably to let the dressing marinate the vegetables. This is when it unfortunately went down hill. When I tried it the next day the flavors were much too much. 

I will try this recipe again, but there are a few alterations I will make. 

1. Skip the garlic. I don't say this often {read: ever} but in this case, it was an unnecessary flavor. 

2. Prepare and enjoy on the same day. These flavors are enough on their own, you don't need 24 hours for them to get stronger. 

3. Keep a light hand with the cumin. A tablespoon is fine, but a teaspoon or 2 would work just as well.

4. Don't use all of the dressing. Add it to the mixture slowly so that there is just enough. I used all of it and it ended up soupy. 

Hope you find my experience helpful. Here is the recipe with the changes. 

Mediterranean Garbanzo Bean Salad {serves 4}

adapted from With Style & Grace

Dressing

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 c fresh lemon juice

1 t cumin (more to taste)

Salad

2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 English cucumber, chopped

1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 c drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced

1/4 c Kalamata olives

1/4 t dried crushed red pepper

1. Whisk together dressing ingredients. 

2. Combine all salad ingredients and slowly add the dressing to taste. 

3. Enjoy the same day.

Upcycled Gift Bags {w/ crafts}

hello world.

***

The last few weekends have been filled with children's birthday parties. It's been quite fun actually, lots of cake, baloons, and laughing children. For my second cousin's first birthday I decided to make a personalized gift bag. I'll start by saying that am relatively new to the crafting arena. Luckily this project is very simple and easy, plus it is a "green" way to show you care.

Start with a plain gift bag. I love how Anthropologie uses high quality bags when you make a purchase. There's something about the sturdy paper and soft fabric handles that gets me every time. It's the same feeling I get when I eat out of my favorite floral print bowl and drink out of mason jars. I feel pampered.

I used simple brown paper wrapping and cut it into 2 rectangles to cover the Anthropologie logo on each side and to serve as a background for my letters. I attached it using double sided tape.

I free-handed the letters and then cut them out with an exacto knife, but you can easily use scissors. {and for more precise letters, a stencil}  

I spaced out the letters and taped them down.

The result is a simple, homemade creation.

Easy DIY Shelf {w/ style}

hello friends. how are you today? thought I'd share on a recent project from around the house.

***

Have you ever hit a wall when it comes to home decorating?

When we moved into our condo nearly 4 years ago, I wasn't too concerned with decorating. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to be concerned, but there were more pressing matters. Like putting up drywall, or having a kitchen.

Our DIY home renovations quickly snowballed, leaving us with our refrigerator in the living room and the microwave on the fireplace. Needless to say, it took a few months of heavy remodeling before I was ready to hang picture frames.

But once the dust settled (literally) I set about to decorate. I picked frames, hung decorative shelves and sconces, and bought wall art - all on a limited budget. I've been quite happy with our home decor over the years, and perhaps because of that, I stopped decorating. Which, in a sense is a good thing. I didn't want to keep adding more and more stuff and end up on an episode of Hoarders. But I became stagnant. Which is not a good thing. I stopped browsing through stores, flipping through magazines, looking for new decor ideas. Because, in my mind, there was no use for that. It would only make me want something I couldn't have. Oh the lies our mind tells us sometimes.

Enter the world of Pinterest and blogs. So many amazing ideas. I was inspired. Almost immediately I caught the bug. The design, change, renew, reuse, refashion bug. It's been a good thing. It's challenged me to look at things with new eyes. Instead of "this is the way things are", I now think "how could they be?" And, not to get too philosophical on you, but shouldn't we have this outlook on other things in life as well?

So... my dining room wall. It's been seriously lacking in design for the last few years. I hung some cheap wall art, a few sconces. It's been driving me crazy for the last year. But I didn't know what to do.

My overall interior design style is classic with clean lines. But lately I've been loving the juxtaposition of clean lines with a more earthy feel and some rustic pieces, a la Pottery Barn. I decided to build a shelf out of a 2x6 piece of wood, and apply the vinegar stain used in this project to make it look like reclaimed wood.

I picked out a piece of wood from one of the extras in our garage and the hubby cut and sanded it to the right size. I applied the vinegar stain using the same technique as before.

We attached them to simple brass shelf brackets and then attached it the wall. Voila!

An instant new vibe to the same space. I kept the same wall sconces and added some candles, books, and framed these prints from Vintage Printables.

I also added a mini Martinelli's apple juice bottle that I've been using as a vase to hold clippings from my garden.

Favorite Herbal Tea {w/ reviews}

good morning friends.

***

Thought I'd share my current favorite herbal tea, Yogi Throat Comfort. This blend of wild cherry bark, orange peel, cinnamon, cardamom, licorice {and more} is perfect. It is naturally and organically sweet, with a rich combination of flavors.

The name fits the bill - this tea is the best when I've got a sore throat, or feel like one may be coming. The tea coasts your throat (as the name says) and provides instant relief.  

Butterfly Cupcakes and a very blessed week

happy friday friends!

***

I made these cupcakes for my coworker's birthday this week. I love to bake! It always seems to put me in a good mood. And it was so fun to make these butterfly and sunny flower decorations.

I used a box of red velvet {PTL for cake mixes} and made my own cream cheese frosting. No matter how busy you are or how limited your time is, I think you should always use homemade frosting. It's a lesson I hope to one day teach my daughter.

Boxed cake mix plus homemade frosting still equals homemade.

The decorations are fondant, cut out with a mini cookie cutter borrowed from Steven's mom.

I thought I would link up with Molly from Urban Nester this week and share my Unfortunates and Fortunates. I'm very blessed that there were far more fortunates this week.

unfortunate

-Not seeing my husband very much L Our work schedules were not conducive to spending time together this week. But thank God for overtime pay J

-Cloudy gray weather at the coast. They kept saying it would warm up in the afternoon. It did not.

fortunate

-Cinco de Mayo celebrations with two of my favorite ladies – chicken tacos, salad with chipotle dressing, and sangria. Yum!

-Birthday celebrations – dinners, ice cream cake, lemon meringue pie, and presents. 

-Watching my little god-son Trip and god-daughter Kaylin swing at the piñata for their birthday. And watching Kaylin run away screaming when she got silly stringed {I felt bad, but it was so cute!}. And hearing little Trip exclaim so emphatically that his “laser gun is bea-u-tiful”.  

-Getting scared by one of my high school girls jumping out of a trash can. Yes, you read right. They lured us out into the street and got the whole thing on video. It was awesome J

-Running the last 200 feet of my 4 mile walk by the beach. I felt so empowered and strong. Then I felt tired.

-Juicing! Hubby got me a juicer for my birthday. So healthy and yummy. I'll share recipes soon. 

How Does Your Garden Grow?

hello world. How are you on this fine Spring day? I am doing splendid, so happy that I get to share some of the progress on one of my favorite pastimes: gardening.

A few weeks ago the hubby built me a raised garden bed in the backyard. It's the perfect size for our little outside space, and large enough to have quite the harvest come summer.

I'm still trying to get the hang of this gardening thing. I've become quite an expert at growing kitchen herbs (basil, rosemary, thyme, etc) and last summer I had some potted tomatoes and jalapenos that did very well. But now I'm transitioning to an actual garden. An in the ground, from seed packets, garden. It's kind of scary.

I sowed the seeds a few weeks ago (zuchinni, mesclun lettuce, and carrots). I was so nervous they wouldn't pop up that I planted more than I should have, with the intention of pinching any extras. I also purchased an heirloom tomato seedling and planted it at one end.

Well, it's only been a few weeks, but so far so good!

The mesclun lettuce popped up right away! Mesclun refers to the spring greens mix that are harvested young (also called baby greens). This type of lettuce is "cut and come again" meaning it will continue growing once you harvest it. I decided on mesclun lettuce after reading a post on it here. I've been told it is easy to grow, and given that I am definitely a beginner, thought it to be better safe than sorry.

The zucchini took a bit longer, but they sprouted soon after. I was so happy! I decided to make my own garden markers with left over wine corks and copper wire from this idea on Pinterest.

They've started to take off. I've heard that zucchini's will get HUGE {several feet wide} so I need to reassess my organization of them, considering that all of my seeds sprouted.

The carrots are taking a bit longer, but I've been told this is to be expected. There are a few green sprouts in the area I planted the seeds, but they rather look like weeds. I'll just have to be patient and wait to see which are carrots and which are not.

Anyone have any experience they'd like to share? I'd love to hear your tips or tricks on how to have a green thumb. Please tell me, how does your garden grow?

Overnight Oatmeal

good morning friends.

Are you a morning or a night person? I'm not quite either. I wish I was a morning person, but truth be told it is a struggle to get out of bed at 6am for work each day. You'd also be hard pressed to find me up after eleven on a week night. I guess I just need my full 8 hours.

Despite not being the classic "morning person", I do enjoy the early hours of the day. And although I'd prefer them all to be like Saturday morning - where I can sleep until I naturally wake up and lounge around until I feel ready to actually get up and start my day - I try to make the most of my weekday early mornings. Which includes eating a good breakfast.

I found this recipe idea on Pinterest a few weeks ago. The website has several different flavor combinations all based off a simple combination: oats, milk, chia seeds, and Greek yogurt.



I had fresh blueberries, but no real maple syrup (as suggested in the recipe), so I substituted with brown sugar. I also added flax seed for some added healthy goodness.

The result was wonderful! A super easy, make it the night before, breakfast. It is perfect for rushed mornings and lazy ones alike. Plus, I'll admit that I am totally on the mason jar bandwagon. How cute are they? Not only is this recipe healthy and delicious, it is adorable!

A couple notes from my experience:

• the recipe said to put the lid on and shake the jar to combine the main ingredients, but I didn't. In fact I think it would be messier and much more difficult that way. Instead I just used a spoon to mix the ingredients.
• I added a bit more oatmeal and yogurt to fill up the jar
• recipes are great guidelines, but as with my philosophy for nearly all recipes, they are just that: guidelines. By all means add and subtract ingredients and do what you want to make it your own. 
• I also tried the raspberry and vanilla combination but ate it before I could snap any pictures. The recipe called for raspberries, raspberry jam, and vanilla. I went jamless but it was still great. I mashed the raspberries throughout the mixture so the flavor was in every bite - no sweetener needed!  

Blueberry and Brown Sugar Overnight Oatmeal {serves 1}
adapted from The Yummy Life

1/3 c uncooked old fashioned oats
1/3 c milk
1/4 c Greek yogurt
1-2 t chia seeds
1 t flax seeds
2 t brown sugar (to taste)
1/4 c fresh blueberries

1. Combine oats, milk, yogurt, seeds, and brown sugar in a half pint mason jar. Carefully stir to incorporate all ingredients.

2. Add fresh blueberries and gently mix so that jar is full.

3. Refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.

Enjoy!

Bookcase Restyling

hello world. I hope you're prepared, this post is a long one.

***

This project has been a long time coming.

You see these bookcases have been calling my name, begging me to make them pretty for months now.

I found them at Target about 3 years ago when we had just started to settle into our place after nearly 6 months of heavy remodeling {will post more on this later}.

Needless to say, the bookcases were my attempt to fill a large empty space and store everything from books to photo frames to candles and knick knacks. Here are the "before" pictures.

They were a quick fix, and I do love how they fit perfectly right beneath the stair rail and leave little pockets of the wall as a perfect showcase for special photos.  But, over the years they've gathered more and more STUFF and turned into a black hole of sorts. They are a bit heavy looking, and much too dark for our small space.

I've been "pinning" different inspirations of bookcase stylings for the last few months, trying to figure out what I'll do with them.

I decided that first things first, I needed to remove the backing. The bookcases are particle board, which doesn't look that bad except for the backing. It is that fold down the middle, half a centimeter thick, barely wood, type of wood backing. Once I unscrewed the back board and left it open to the wall it looked so much better! It's a wonder what a little subtraction really adds sometimes.

Next, it was time to get rid of all that STUFF. I have dozens of books, some from school, others for personal reading, and others I haven't even read (awful, I know!). I tend to keep things for a long time, but once I get the urge to purge I just go with it. I become the most indiscriminate organizer ever. I will get rid of everything. Even things I once considered sentimental. But for this project, I didn't intend to really get rid of that much, just decide what should be displayed and what can be in storage.

Even though I wanted to clear out a majority of the books and trinkets, I still wanted to add some new items to bring everything together. I've been looking for some decorative items to display for the last few months. I've searched high and low at thrift stores, craft fairs, etc, trying to find unique items that would add some intrigue but still go with our style. I've had no such luck. It doesn't help that I'm a bad shopper. I desperately wish I could have that eye for shopping, to find the one unique piece of beauty in a pile of junk. Instead I usually buy front of the store items, the ones on display and styled the way I like. They are also more expensive.

Since I couldn't find any one of a kind, vintage items, I headed to Michaels for some help. They were having a great sale and along with my 40% off coupon I found some great deals. Steven was surprised when I came home with these ceramic birds. We recently started watching Portlandia and since then always make the "It's a bird, it's art" joke. If you haven't seen the show, be advised, it's definitely on the weird, out there side. But we found it hilarious at times, especially since we both love Portland.

So here is how the bookcases look currently. I'll probably be updating it little by little over the next few weeks. I still have a couple ideas for items I am keeping my eyes open for.