The JamPak

I moved into a little place called the JamPak with 3 other girls (5 if you count the two living in the basement, I usually don't). The name is a combo of the landlord's (aka 2 of our pastors) first names. Anyway, we have come to love the name. So part of my nesting when I moved in was a craft project involving the name. 

Recently (and by recently I mean back in September when I first started this project) I have seen a lot of pinterest links of yarn wrapped letters. And it has become sort of an obsession. Thankfully the roomies were on board. So one Monday night, during our weekly house watching of Revenge, we each wrapped a letter. 

First, I attempted to practice the yarn wrapping with an old idea vase and some hot glue. 

It was an utter failure.

 I decided less glue was better. So I laid out the letters on the ground (had to figure out if I like the look of all different letters...I did).

So for 43 intensely suspenseful minutes, we wrapped our letters. Some of them were harder than others and we didn't really every figure out the best way to do it. I think if i were to do it again I would wrap all the tricky parts and the ends first using lots of hot glue, then go over it all to give it a cohesive look. I'm pretty happy with how my "a" turned out though.

And the LOVE the look the of the finished letters!

 And now our house has a name! We even moved the letters to the fireplace mantle and I think they look great! (This pictures gives you a sneak peak of some of the other craft projects that I'll get to soon!)

Christmas Presents

Since living with Martha Stewart my senior year of college, I learned of number of great cooking/sewing skills. I have decided to put those skills to good use this year and make most of my Christmas gifts.

So what have I been making? Flat Iron/Curling Iron cases and matching Cosmetic Bags.

Read: Necessities.

I am in love with the final product, especially the one for my lovely roomie.

I'm in love!

So I used the same material you would use for a hot pad to create a Flat Iron/Curling Iron case.

Flat Iron Case open.

I decided to go with a black and white polka dot fabric for L since that is totally her.

 

The Flat Iron case closed. 

Then I created a matching Cosmetic bag.

Matching Cosmetic Bag

For L's I used a black and white gingham as the lining. I usually just use the same fabric though.

I also made one for my little cousins, mom, and sister, but each with a fabric that fit their personality. I love this type of gift because they can be really personal. For L's, I added her initial to personalize it a bit more.

I think they look so great together.

I also bought some Kate Spade earrings so her gift wasn't just a homemade craft that cost under $10...

 

I put the earring box inside the Cosmetic bag when I wrapped it. Here you can see the inside lining too.

 

Here it is all together! I am so happy with how it all turned out. I think she's gonna LOVE it. I hope so at least. 

The Final product.

I used the Kate Spade tissue paper to wrap it in a box and then wrapped the whole thing in my new argyle wrapping paper.

Oh how I love the holidays!

Roommate Dinner: Spicy Sausage and White Bean Stew

I think I liked this meal. It resulted in dinner for me and L as well as lunch Wednesday and Thursday for me.

I used a Chicken Sausage instead of regular sausage to make it a little healthier. It was still 10 points though.

I love making things in the crock pot, it really does make life so much easier.

I sauteed the olive oil, garlic, onions and sausage on Monday night then threw it in the crock pot along with the chicken stock, white wine, rinsed white means, and dried thyme and put it in the fridge overnight. So when I got up in the morning, all I had to do was put the pot back in the crock (is that what they are even called?) and turned it on low.

When I got home and we were ready to eat, I tossed in some spinach and stirred it just long enough for the leaves to wilt.

While it didn't look that appetizing, it sure tasted good. I might try this one again, but maybe try a different kind of sausage.

Seriously, it tastes MUCH better than it looks.

RECIPE (from learnvest.com):
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup leftover white wine
Two 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups tightly packed spinach leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Christmas in DC!

So last year was my first Christmas in my own apartment (as opposed to dorms and such) so my roommate and I got a tree and lights and wreath and all sorts of decorations. The works. That was actually the first real Christmas Tree L had even gotten in her entire life! Can you imagine, never growing up with a real tree? You miss out on the smell and the mess and the whole real tree thing. So we decided to go to Home Depot and shrink wrap a tree to Frank (my Sonata) to drive him home.

This year we went the more expensive but easier route. We walked the mile to Eastern Market to pick out a smaller tree and carried it all the way home. That's city life for you I suppose. Anyways, the tree was $40 and personally I think it would have been cheaper/easier to just go back to Home Depot but I guess this is all part of the experience of living on Capitol Hill.

So we got the tree set up, added the lights and ornaments we got last year. Hung up our stockings, put lights around the spiral staircase, listened to some Christmas tunes, drank hot chocolate and baked Christmas cookies (that did not really turn out so well.) Needless to say it's going to be a very festive Christmas yet again. I'm looking forward to enjoying all of this for another month still!

Our little tree.

Ornaments. Our theme is gold and read-clearly.

Our initialed ornaments.

The finished product!

Our front door. I think it's pretty welcoming.

 Merry Christmas! You are welcome to stop by anytime!

Healthy Comfort Food - Roommate night

What is the one thing I know I can cook for my roomie and it will never fail? Grilled Cheese and Soup. We are both definitely Midwest girls through and through. We love all things warm and comforting, not to mention full of carbs and cheese. While I never ate Tomato Soup growing up (we always did Chicken Noodle Soup with Grilled cheese in my house) I have learned to love it almost as much as L does.

So after a weekend stuck in bed and still not feeling in top form (did I mention it was raining?) I tossed around a few ideas of fairly simple things to make. I finally settled on the no-fail Tomato Soup and Grilled cheese. Now, there are probably HUNDREDS of recipes for tomato soup out there, most of them are delicious I'm sure. But since we don't have a blender or any way of turning tomatoes into soup, I wasn't sure how this would go. (Last year I tried making it and while it was delicious, putting individual portions of soup into the Magic Bullet to try to get the right consistency did not work so well). By the time 5oclock rolled around and I was leaving work, I still hadn't decided what I was going to do.

Thankfully, Harris Teeter made things nice and easy for me. Soup was BUY ONE GET ONE FREE. That's right. Fresh (no preservatives) Tomato Basil soup, 2 for $5 (each cup has 2 portions, so one for dinner, one for lunch this week!). With the soup all ready to go, all that was left was the trimmings. Now I'm a big fan of dipping my celery in tomato soup (Like a Bloody Mary but sans all the empty calories) and L could eat celery like its her job. So that was a must. And I was tired of Roasted Asparagus, so when Skinnytaste posted a recipe for Roasted Parmesan Green Beans, I knew I had to try it. All that plus a Grilled Cheese = the perfect winter meal.

I decided to do something a little crazy with my grilled cheese this time. I had found some recipes that talked about making Grilled cheese croutons, but that required day old bread, something I could have had if I had planned this meal more than 2 hours in advance... I wanted to do something that would help prevent the bread from getting too soggy when I dipped it in the soup. And I found the jackpot of solutions when I found the Caramelized Cheese Covered Grilled Cheese Sandwich. My mom always used to cook burnt cheese for me when she would make a grilled cheese or scrambled eggs, so I thought, why wouldn't it work to just add it to the outside of the bread? It would add some crunch and some texture and hopefully help prevent the bread from getting too soggy.

Honestly, it was DELICIOUS. Now, it wasn't pretty. But it was SO GOOD. I don't know if I'll ever eat a regular grilled cheese again after eating the Holy Grail of grilled cheeses. But all around I'd say it was a pretty good meal. I might make it again this weekend!

Sadly, I didn't take any photos (like I said, not pretty). But I'll do my best to make it look good the next time I cook it so I can share. Because believe me, this will be a recipe that get's made again.

Roommate Dinner: Pork Loin Chops with Cinnamon Apples

Last night I cooked the Pork Loin Chops with Cinnamon Apples and sides of roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes with a Cabernet Sauvignon. It was quite the elegant and classy meal. The pork was a little dry, but I liked the contrast of the sage on the pork with the sweet cinnamon apples. It could have been a little bit more saucy though. Maybe if I had added some apple cider to the apples or some apple sauce or preserves? I'm not sure. I'll probably try it again sometime. It might even work with chicken, I think chicken gets less dry than pork when you pan fry it. Or I wonder how this dish would taste if I made it in a crock pot? Lots of things I could try I guess.

Mashed potatoes were bland. And overcooked. And the wrong kind of potato. So all around, this dish did not work.

The asparagus was great though. I marinated it in olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper for about an hour before I cooked it. I usually like to do it overnight, but I wasn't prepared enough in advance. Still, it turned out and was cooked perfectly.

At least it looked good. :)



Make again? I'd say yes. Although scrap the mashed potatoes.

The best part? Leftovers.

Dinner Preparation

So I've found the recipe I'm making for next Roommate night dinner, and I am SO excited!

Pork Loin Chops with Cinnamon Apples.

Still trying to figure out what I'm going to make to go with it. I'll check sales this weekend, I'm thinking a good salad or asparagus or possible mashed potatoes? And I have to figure out which kind of wine is best of course.

Roommate Dinners

Since L and I first moved into our apartment in May of 2010, we have had weekly roommate dinners. Each week, one of us cooks and we catch up on life. It has definitely been one of the highlights of my life post-college. When it first started, we were diligent about taking pictures of each meal, capturing proof that we could indeed cook and therefore were real grown-ups. I think we had intended to do something with them, but instead, I have about 50 pictures of random meals on my phone, and I honestly couldn't tell you what half of them were. I recently started keeping a spreadsheet of what we make, where we found the recipe, and whether or not it's a keeper (because some of the meals I've made should definitely NOT be repeated.)

For now, I will let you view some of our most beautiful creations (you might notice a theme: a LOT of chicken and pasta...)

An All-time Fav: Homemade Tomato Soup (thank you Magic Bullet) with Grilled Cheese

We honestly have had a large variety of foods. From summer salads to comfort foods like Mac and Cheese and Pot Roast, to Chicken and Pork and Beef with sides of Soups and Salads. I don't know what we would do without our Crockpot, it definitely comes in handy during the winter months.