First House Key's DIY Project

Some businesses will frame the first dollar they made.  Some actresses will frame the title page of the script of their first professional acting job.  And some homeowners will frame their very first house key.

Now, I should point out that this project is hung up in an area very, very far away from any possible entrance.  The last thing you want to do is hang up the key in an area where someone might be able to get their hands on it.

So,  really, finding a place for the project that won't entice burglars is probably the hardest part about this project.  All you need is a frame, some pretty paper or cardstock, a key, and paint.  I decided to hand brush the key, but you can always use the hooked top of a coat hanger and dip the key in.

You can also use a page of a book for the background as well -- or the corner of a newspaper with the date you closed on the house. The possibilities really are endless.

It's hard to believe that, around this time last year, the original owners accepted our offer on what is now our humble abode.  We didn't officially close until the middle of July -- we had to do that whole "cross-country roadtrip" thing -- but the date is still worth noting.  A lot has changed since then, both in and out of the house, which only makes keepsake projects like this all the more important.

Sponge-Painted Letter Wreath

I hope everyone is having an amazing Memorial Day Weekend. This little project turned out to be a bit red, white, and blue -- just enough to motivate me to finally share it with you guys =)



All you need is a sponge, two colors of paint, ribbon, and a wooden letter. Paint the wooden letter -- front and back -- with a few coats of one color (a good rule of thumb is whatever color is lighter, but I can see the reverse working). I went with white for my base, and blue as my "sponge" color.


Squirt out a very tiny amount of paint of the second color onto a paper plate. And then, lightly -- oh, so lightly -- dab a sponge into the paint. You might want to press the sponge into a paper towel or a dry part of the plate to avoid any over-painting.


And then - dab away!



Loop a ribbon through your letter (or, if your letter is sans loop, staple or glue to the back) and you're done! It's a nice change of pace from the standard wreath.

Writer's Wednesday: Where the Hell Have You Been?

I don't know if I have been a great blogger or a shitty one.


On this blog, I've been terrible: I pride myself on doing at least one entry a week, maybe more, and I have been letting that fall by the wayside. I can't even blame it on not doing any more crafts: I have four finished projects just waiting to be written up, but the pictures stay on the camera and off this blog (two of those include upcycling various items into yoga bags. Hey, what can I say: you craft what inspires you and yoga is currently my main source of inspiration).


However, I've been making some great headway with my 365 Blog. I'm now less than 80 entries away from completing it. I can probably blame this project more than anything else; kind of hard to do a craft write-up when you're busy writing pseudo-essays every day! But I'm so happy I've kept up with it. It's been the driving force behind my essay writing: gone are the days when I think up an idea or craft an opinion and let it fall by the wayside. Since I have to write about something every single day, why not write about that? Those entries eventually become rough drafts, which become second and third drafts, which eventually get submitted to various websites.



Usually, these websites reject me. And sometimes, they don't. Primarily Thought Catalog, where I've been a fairly consistent contributor for almost a year now.


Every once in a while, another website picks up on my stuff: you can check out my essay on redefining a morning practice on Elephant Journal, my opinions on being "an un-noble yogi" here at Rebelle Society (although -- prima donna writer moment -- I have to mention that the editors had final say on the title and the formatting of the essay in general for both of these essays).



You can also check out an essay about strength over skinny on Literally Darling -- and keep an eye out for my Foolproof Guide to Planning a Wedding on that website next week.



And have you bought my book yet? It's now available across the board on all digital formats: got a Nook? You can get it on the B&N website? Kindle? Amazon, baby. iPad or iPhone? iBooks! Got a smartphone? Android market! And don't forget Kobo, if the aforementioned websites don't suit you.


So, yeah, things have been a bit busy! Combine this with my yoga teacher training and finishing up my third manuscript (which is actually coming together -- I'm only two chapters away from completing!) and it's not hard to see why this blog has slowed to a standstill.


But I promise to make a better effort with this blog -- but if this blog keeps silent, at least you know I'm not dead ;)

How to Get Rid of a Wasp in the House

...without spraying the inside of your house with Raid.



There is a wasp nest somewhere on our property, and it's resulting in wasps getting into the house. I've probably had to kill four or five wasps within the last two weeks. As much as I love spraying Raid and Wasp Killer outside, I can't exactly be running around the house spraying it, especially with a bunch of small mammals living in the house (let's not forget that Raid is a neurotoxin).


So what do I do? I use hairspray and thick-soled shoes.


From as far of a distance as I can get, I spray a generous amount of hairspray on the wasp. This causes their wings to become sticky and heavy, forcing them to eventually fall to the ground and attempt to clean the hairspray off. When they fall to the ground -- while wearing my shoes -- I stomp on them with everything I've got. The extra force is necessary; wasps seem impervious to the traditional methods of insect-killing (fly swatters et al) and -- trust me on this one -- you don't want to just *injure* a wasp. Wasps are incredibly aggressive and have zero issues stinging you to prove a point.


And remember: the hairspray alone will not kill them. It might take them a while, but they can and will clean the hairspray off and be perfectly fine.


For someone like me, who uses so little hair spray that she still owns hair spray from her days going to high school dances, this is perfect. Actually, what would be perfect is to not have any wasps near or in my house, but we can't have everything.

Cleanliness Tip: Martha Stewart Can Shove It

Source: Hyperbole & A Half


Keeping any abode clean is a full-time job in and of itself. The bigger that abode gets, the more of a job it becomes. Martha Stewart suggests instituting a "tidy room" clause: whatever room you enter, you are not allowed to leave until everything is put away. Basically, if you enter a room in your house that is all sorts of disorganized and messy, good luck making new plans anytime soon. She even suggests giving clean rooms a once over to make sure everything is in its rightful place.


And to that I say: sure, just as soon as a adopt a brand new personality.


I'd love to be that type of person who never lets anything accumulate for long (especially if it's a room I go in). It would be great if I had the mental fortitude to make sure every room I enter is clean before I leave it. But I'm not. And if I tried to implement that rule, I know I'd burn out (and my husband would follow it exactly once). I'd last a whopping week or so before I become like the Hyperbole and a Half girl, meekly asking if she really has to clean all the things.


So I have a new rule in place: the "one item" rule. This is especially true for rooms that seem to get way too cluttered for their own good (like my dining room table). Essentially, before I leave a room, I make sure at least one thing is put away. Usually that thing is whatever I was using at the time. Sometimes it's not. And sometimes that one bit of tidying is enough to get me to tidy up a lot more than just one item (apparently even housework isn't spared from the laws of physics. An object in motion stays in motion...).


This really works for someone as scatterbrained like me, who will enter a room and forget why she went in there. I might not remember why I went into the bedroom, but that pair of jeans is now in the hamper, so the trip wasn't completely for naught.


I might not have all my baseboards scrubbed and shelves dusted by 9 a.m., but I am keeping my head above water when it comes to keeping the house nice in the midst of school and work (and my delusions of making it as a writer). And that's really all anyone can ask for.

Try it Tuesday: Sugar & Oil Lip Scrub

I don't know if it's because I have big lips or just a tendency to have dry skin, but chapped lips are a huge issue with me. It doesn't matter how much chapstick I wear: within the hour, I have flakey skin.


A makeup artist I worked with recently gave me this little trick, and I'm honestly in love. It's as simple as equal parts oil olive and sugar. I keep the mixture in a small snap-lock container and stored in the fridge.


The sugar exfoliates; the oil moisturizes. The only hard part is wiping off the lip treatment (instead of just licking it off -- oil and sugar has no right to be as delicious as it is!)

Photo Friday: The Lowell Esplanade

Now that we're finally thawing out, I figure I should dust off a second folder of old pictures. These are from October, when I decided to hang out on the Lowell Esplanade.

Olive Garden at Home: Homemade Zuppa Toscana & Garlic Bread

The Olive Garden has a special place in my heart, the heart of my husband, and the heart of my in-laws. Going to the Olive Garden means tomfoolery and cheese chicken and enough laughs to last a year. The food itself is a huge guilty pleasure of mine: yes, it's about as authentically Italian as Taco Bell is authentically Mexican, but damn is it good (sidenote: I also love Taco Bell). But unfortunately, Olive Garden, much like Taco Bell, isn't exactly good for you. Like, not by a longshot is it even remotely good for you. Thankfully, I found a few zuppa toscana recipes and, after a little bit of tweaking on my end (read: tweaking, not twerking), I'm in love:


FOR THE SOUP You will need:
16 ounces chicken broth
1 1/3 cups water
1 pound sausage (I'm partial to Jimmy Dean's Hot Breakfast Sausage, but, really, go with your preference)
3-5 medium-sized russet potatoes
1/4 cup bacon bits
5 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 cups kale, chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt and pepper as needed


Fully cook the sausage. While it's sizzling in its pan, cut the potatoes into quarter slices. You want to keep these slices fairly thin. The easiest way to get these shapes is to make two perpendicular cuts lengthwise down the potato before slicing it up.



In the crockpot, mix in: chicken broth, water, sausage, potatoes, bacon bits, and garlic. Set the crockpot to "high" for 4 hours (or "low" for 8 if you want to prepare this before you leave for the day).



After four hours, add the kale and return the lid for 5-8 minutes. If you prefer a slight crunch to your kale (or if you are using a less-crunchy green), set the slow cooker to low when adding the kale. Mix in the whipping cream and enjoy! Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese for that extra kick.


--


FOR THE BREAD You will need:
1 Package of Focaccia Breadsticks (Or, if you're so up to it, make it yourself. But don't look to me for that recipe! My Betty Crocker abilities only go so far)
Butter
Powdered Garlic
Salt


This bread is incredible. It's nothing too special: you should be able to find it at the bakery section of any grocery store. Ten minutes in the oven and you have delicious break-apart bread.



This is so simple, it almost hurts: slice lots of thin butter pieces, cut said slices up, place it on the bread, and sprinkle as much (or as little) garlic and salt as you'd like. My husband and I have an unhealthy (literally unhealthy; be still my arteries...) obsession with garlic butter, so our bread got a nice dusting of garlic and salt. Place them in the oven for however long the bread package requires.



Add in a simple house salad and you've got your Soup, Salad, & Breadsticks meal right here. And you don't have to risk running into us smacking each other over the head with breadsticks and refusing to say, "when," when they grate Parmesan cheese on our meal.

Me? Write a book? Surely you jest!

IT'S HERE. It's here, it's here, it's finally here. After essentially keeping mum about this project since November (only to slowly unravel and let the cat out of the bag in 2014) it is finally here. My essay collection has hit the (e)shelves thanks to the wonderful people at Thought Catalog.


What is this collection of essays about, you may be asking. It's about 100 pages long *badumching*.


No, but, seriously: I'm Just Here for the Free Scrutiny details some of the more absurd, silly, and downright heartbreaking moments in my modeling career. From the time I found myself essentially auditioning for a role in a commercial that was two steps away from being a sex phone operator to my lucrative career as a pseudo-mom and child bride. From the time I bombed my first movie audition to my experiences with the infamous Runway Moms. Be ready to laugh, to cry, to reevaluate your entire stance on life.


Or something.


If you're curious about one of the more serious essays, you can check out the freebie excerpt here. If you're curious about my writing through Thought Catalog in general, you can go here.


Go to the Thought Catalog page for all the various places you can download it. Have a Kindle? Download my book from Amazon! Own an iPad? Get that shit on iTunes! Android user? Google play, bitches! Have a Nook? Well, you can sod off for now. But only for now: I'm Just Here for the Free Scrutiny will be available at the Barnes & Noble website in a few weeks.


In the words of Georges St. Pierre: Buy it. With your money.

Photo Friday: Abandoned R&R

The coolest thing about being barely a 10-minute drive from the tiny, tiny towns of New Hampshire is that you can easily find some really interesting ghost areas. Places that have gone out of business upwards of a decade ago, leaving everything to slowly decompose. (To digress: there's a collapsed farm about a half hour from my house that I'm just itching to photograph.)


This place used to be a convenience store, once upon a time. The problem is, with a tiny town like Candia, "convenience" isn't exactly a high priority. I took these pictures sometime in November, before the majority of America went into the Deep Freeze. I figured it's time to finally wipe the dust off this folder and pick a few to share with you guys: