Looking Back: 2015

I’m not sure how it’s the end of the year already, but 2016 is almost here.  Each year I take some time to reflect about the events of the year and my goals for the future year.  2015 had some big changes.

In February I said good-bye to my Alero of 12 years and bought a crossover.  My Alero had seen its better days but I’m a VERY sentimental person and may have cried a bit as I bid my car goodbye.  I love Betsy though (my crossover), I’m a bit obsessive with her being clean ALL the time.  I’m still excited that I get to drive her and haven’t quite got over the shock.

To celebrate our anniversary we took a much needed long weekend in Santa Barbara.  I’m not sure how long it had been since our last vacation, but it was far too long.  The trip ranks in my top 5 of all times and I quickly fell in love with everything about Santa Barbara.  We were able to walk everywhere and felt like locals by the time we left.

In June we committed to going completely added sugar/sweetener and refined-grain free for a couple months.  We’ve continued this and are super selective now, but I can’t imagine going back to the way it was before.  I don’t miss sugar/sweeteners, I have more energy, feel much healthier, and I’ve lost 30 pounds which I’m pretty darn happy about, especially since it was in a healthy, sustainable way, something I’m very passionate about.

This is the year I become obsessive about my tea.  Water, tea, and wine are my jams now.  I’m not joking about this tea thing; a day without tea is no day at all.

I turned 30 this year and am still moving along.  It was a really big birthday to me; I guess it was the age where I thought I should feel like I had my life together.  I don’t have all the answers but I certainly feel much more like an authentic grown up than I did last year.

We finally decided to officially put down some roots and bought a house in September.  It had been our home for a bit, but it’s a pretty great feeling knowing that it’s really ours, or will be after our next 278,987 payments (it feels that way anyhow).  That being said, the process was long and one of the most stressful things I’ve dealt with in awhile.  I’ve said that we will be living in that house for the rest of our lives so we never have to go through that process again.

The home buying process was so stressful that we decided to go back to Santa Barbara for my b-day to celebrate, but the closing date changed weekly and it was hard to plan.  In my mind we would recreate the wonderful trip we had taken in February, but by the time we knew what was going on we weren’t able to book reservations early enough and there was literally nowhere in Santa Barbara to stay unless we wanted to pay $800 a night.  Contrary to popular belief, working in public service doesn’t really pay well enough for that.  We decided to still go to Cali but stay somewhere else.  Almost everything for the entire trip was a mess and it didn’t turn out AT ALL like we had planned, but it reminded us that even when things are messy we still have each other and needed to make the best of it.  I think I would have been okay having missed out on that lesson and having things just work out.

Mr. C and I took on quite a few big projects around the house after our house closed.   I was very happy with the house before, but I love the changes and I feel like it really reflects our personalities.  I wouldn’t have said we were the handiest people, so I’m very proud of what we’ve done.  I’ll be blogging about the updates and posting pics so I won’t say too much, but we spent hours at Home Depot (literally HOURS), got our hands dirty, bought a lot of new tools, and somehow made our house even more of a home than it was.

This was my first full year in my current position and I’ve finally settled in.  I feel like I’m where I belong and I only wish I would have made the change earlier, although I still believe it happened at the perfect time.  I have more work but I wouldn’t change it for anything.  I am really thankful to work in an amazing organization I believe is truly changing the climate of post-secondary education.

This year we were fortunate enough to have some visitors this year.  One of my best friends and his boyfriend came to visit earlier in the year.  They’re the kind of people who are perfectly content playing games, checking out our favorite restaurants, and shopping, so it was a great, low-key time. 

My parents recently decided this was the year they were going to try to become some sort of snowbirds and will be a walk away from our home.  To commemorate this, they hosted Thanksgiving in AZ and for the first time in 12 years I was able to spend Thanksgiving with my cousins, aunt, uncle, parents, and Mr. C’s parents, brother, and uncle.  It was truly amazing to have everyone together in one place and amazing to have a home full of people we love.  My parents will now be spending part of the year down the street for us and I’m so thankful to have them close. 

What were your highlights of 2015?  I’m excited to see what 2016 has in store for us!

Hearts and flowers

I’m not quite sure how it’s February already but apparently it is.  The Centner house is full of pinks, reds, and lots of hearts this time of year.  After the Christmas decorations are put away it typically looks like we’ve been robbed because everything is so bare.  I’m always so thankful when I’m able to decorate for another holiday and Valentine’s Day is such a happy holiday!  Our anniversary is a week after V-day so the lovey decorations double for that as well.

I love decorating the shelves in our living room with whatever I can find around the house to tie in with whatever holiday is coming up.  I positioned some hearts into our greenery, strung some fabric garland and lights above our TV, and put some wedding momentos on the living room shelves.

Here’s a few pics of my favorite area, our mantle.

I have a pink and red heart runner on our kitchen table with a couple candles and some flowers.  These stargazer lilies are my absolute favorite flower and I can’t get enough of their sweet smell.  After a week of having them in the house I still remark how wonderful they smell everytime I walk by the table (I think it's driving Mr. C crazy).

Do you decorate for Valentine's Day? 

Chocolate Chow Mein Clusters

Happy December!  I feel like I blinked and the last month flew by!  The week before thanksgiving I was able to experience food poisoning which ended up being E. coli.  I never understood why all these people ended up hospitalized during E. coli outbreaks but now I totally do.  It’s not fun and I hope it’s my one and only experience.  Then just as life was starting to return to normal I got hit with a cold that turned into a sinus infection.  First one in 2 years, it must have decided it would kick me when I was down.  I’m was back to normal  just in time for all the holiday festivities, but then life got a bit crazy for awhile so I'm finally checking in.  I've been working hard on some Christmas gifts and counting down the days until Mr. C’s responsibilities die down so we can watch some cheesy Christmas movies in front of the fireplace (yes, we totally use our fireplace in AZ).

I was going to give you a healthy recipe today because with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season it’s the time of year that we tend to eat out more or munch on all those holiday goodies.  I was going to give you a healthy recipe, but I have an easy dessert item that you can add to your holiday baking and I decided that won out over a soup with lots of veggies.  Chocolate always beats veggies, right?

This is about the easiest thing ever.  I have no idea where I got the recipe: I say it’s from my mom but my mom calls it mine, so clearly one of us is confused (I think it’s her….)

Chocolate Chow Mein Clusters

1 c. chocolate chips

1 c. butterscotch chips

1 c. hard chow mein noodles

1 c. salted peanuts

(if you haven’t noticed, it’s equal parts of everything, so it’s super easy to adjust as needed)

Line a baking pan with parchment paper or waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips in the microwave in 30-45 second intervals, stirring well between each interval.  Once melted, add in chow mein noodles and peanuts and mix until well coated in chocolately goodness.

Drop by tablepoonfulls onto lined baking pan and put in refrigerator to set.  Once clusters are set, remove from pan, but it’s best to keep them refrigerated.

That’s it, easy peasy!

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season.  I can't believe it's less than one week away!

Halloween Mantle Scarf

I saw this mantle scarf at Pier One and knew it would be the perfect addition to my Halloween mantle, however they were out of stock when I went into the store and I thought I could probably make my own.  My fabric was all on sale and although I'm not sure of my final project cost, it was definitely cheaper to make.  The time invested was more than I thought, but I love the outcome and loved that I was able to pick my own colors/patterns.

Photo Source: Pier One

Let me begin by saying that I am definitely not a sewing expert.  For most of the things I do I don’t have much of a pattern except what I make up, and I just make things up as I go.  I’m sure there’s an easier way than this, but it’s seemed to work well for me.  So, if you’re expecting technical sewing terms you definitely won’t find any in this post!  But, if I can do this, then anyone can!  I will say that the triangles look great, but the part on the mantle definitely has a bit of a homemade look, but that part is hidden and I figure perfection is overrated :)

Here's what you need:

-sewing machine 

-1/4 yard of 3 fabrics of varying color/patterns

-1 yard (or so) of a solid color fabric for 2 triangles, backing, and the section that sits on the mantle

-black thread

-cutting mat and rotary tool (scissors work too, but the rotary tool is amazing)

-pins

-iron

For my triangles I chose to do 2 sparkly orange with a web pattern, 2 sparkly purple, 3 black with orange polka dots, and 2 plain black. 

I began by cutting my triangles and black backing by using the following measurements

Smaller triangles (orange and purple) - 8" wide x 14" long

Medium triangles (black) - 8" x 16"

Large triangles (black with orange polka dots) - 8" x 18"

***remember to cut backing of the same size for all of these**

I then pinned each triangle to the backing of the same size.  You want the "good" sides of the fabric facing inward so it looks like the triangle is backwards.  Pin.  Somehow I managed to not poke myself with a pin during this entire project.  That's a miracle in itself.

Now it's time to start sewing.  I sewed the angled sides and left the top of the triangles open.  After sewn, turn them inside out (which brings the "good" fabric on the outside).  I had to use scissors to push the ends of the triangle out.

Then I ironed the triangles so the edges were crisp and wrinkles gone.

Then I lined up the triangles in the pattern I wanted and cut a plain black piece of fabric a couple inches longer on each side (I don't have an exact measurement for this since it will depend on the pattern you lay out).  I then measured the width - my mantle is 7” wide so I cut the black piece of fabric about 6” wide, but again this depends on your personal preferences and mantle.

Hem a long edge of the fabric.

Then I pinned the top of the medium and large triangles onto the hemmed side of the fabric and sewed them on in a line.  

I added the second row of the small triangles, pinned, and sewed. 

You could just finish the ends of the black piece and be done, but I ended up folding the other unhemmed edge under so it met the edge of where I had sewn the triangles, turning the corners in, and sewing that all together.  Everything looked more finished this way and the part on the mantle was a bit sturdier. 

Here’s the end result!  I love it!

And here’s my favorite little painted pumpkin.  It still makes me smile everytime I see it!

Did you decorate or paint any pumpkins for Halloween? 

Polks dots and Pumpkins

Last year I had this wonderful idea of decorating our entryway with a huge spider web, little spiders, and pumpkins.  I saw a chevron painted pumpkin on pinterest and it looked easy enough.  I decided to make it and blog about it.  Do you all remember that blog?  No?  Well, that’s because it never happened because it was so horrible!  I taped my pumpkin and went a bit crazy with the spray paint.  I didn't quite understand the concept of many light layers and instead sprayed a lot all at once.  The result was a sticky mess of a chevron wannnabe pumpkin.  I ended up painting the entire thing white to disguise the failed chevron and a couple weeks later we started noticing a horrible smell.  It was the decaying scent of my white pumpkin.  I think it decayed so fast because of the very thick coat of spray paint combined with the sun.  I wrote it off as an epic fail and gave up on my Martha Stewart-like front porch.  I had also put up lights and the web but I just wasn't feeling it.

This year I decided to have another go at it, but without a chevron pumpkin.  Over the course of a week I collected a bunch of different types and sizes of pumpkins.  On Sunday Coconut and I went outside armed with glue, glitter, paint, and our pumpkins.  I've seen the mess glitter makes and I figured the outdoors could benefit from some extra sparkle. 

I painted polka dots on various pumpkins using Martha Stewart’s rose gold paint and foam pouncers.  Gold and polka dots have been catching my eye so I was smitten with these. 

This one was so pretty I put it on our coffee table.  I think it’s so pretty with the long stem too.

And then came the messy part.  I glittered some pumpkins, starting with gold glitter and moving on to a greenish glitter.  I used Martha Stewart glitters as well.  I love how fine the glitter is and the colors are really beautiful.  If you haven’t caught on yet, I really really like most of the Martha Stewart crafting products and it seems like every store is selling them these days.

I glittered some stripes using the pumpkin’s natural lines.

Tried an ombre effect that didn’t quite pan out due to sticky glue fingers.

And just covered others.  This green one is Mr. C’s favorite.  I think it’s because of the color and not because of all that glitter.

This one to the left of the pot was lightly brushed with gold glitter and a touch of gold paint.

And here’s the end result!  It’s exactly what I wanted!  We strung some purple, orange, and white LED lights around the door, put up the biggest spider I've ever seen (scared me to death when I forgot and opened the blinds), strung the web in a more fitting spot, and I hung up the wreath I made last year. 

Sources: Orange metal pots- Marshalls, Large spider, Large spider web, and other spiders- Pier One, Wreath- DIY’d, Hay bale- Joannes, Lights- Target.