Living with Annie

Peeps and Up!

2011-04-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

A Peep Diorama - I kid you not.

A real-life Up house!

2011-03-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

The amazing folks at National Geographic have managed to float a house using balloons just like the movie, "Up!"

Check it out- pretty incredible stuff.
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/03/up-inspired_flying_house.html
http://blog.craftzine.com/NationalGeographicChannel7.jpg

New Wedding Blog - Planning with Annie

2011-03-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited to announce I'll be shifting gears to a new blog all about wedding planning. Bridal magazines, beautiful blogs, crazy DIY ideas and more are dominating my mind these days so I figured I might as well share them with you. Hop on over if you're so inclined.

{http://planningwithannie.blogspot.com}

I'll still update LwA from time to time but for the next year or so- my heart's with my fiance and planning our big day! Here's hoping that Gus doesn't mind a year of intense crafting and ensuing craziness.

Too good to be true

2011-01-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Lately, I've had so much to celebrate and be grateful for in my life. This past weekend, I've become even more incredibly lucky.

For those of you who enjoy a great surprise proposal, I invite you to check out what I've been up to lately and the latest in my life via the video below!

Cookie Dough... Dip

2011-01-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

Scientists have done many important things, admittedly, but their latest discovery is one I wish I'd thought of long ago - CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH DIP! All the great things about cookie dough - the texture, the flavor, the sinfulness - without all the health hazards of cookie dough - i.e. raw eggs and wheat flour (for Gus)!

I stumbled upon this recipe while perusing Tastespotting and made my own modifications. Create, enjoy, improve and mangia people! This is some deliciously awesome stuff.

Ingredients:
- 1 pkg of cream cheese (8 oz)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup big granule white sugar (if you have it, otherwise increase powdered)
- 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Any additional mix-ins you'd like!

Directions:
1. Melt butter on medium-low heat in a skillet. Add brown sugar and stir until butter browns and has a nutty aroma (you're creating brown butter).
2. Set butter and brown sugar aside to cool. Combine cream cheese and remaining white and powdered sugar.
3. Add butter/brown sugar mixture to the cream cheese mixture. Combine and add chocolate chips/any other mix-ins.
4. Serve with sliced granny smith apples, graham crackers, or even a bagel! Hey, it's basically Cookie dough cream cheese after all! Nom!

Om Nom Pumpkin Chip Cookies

2010-12-30T08:49:00.000-08:00

Hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season! I've got a few treats in store including the news that I now have a blog-worthy DSLR camera to capture all my memorable moments.

For Christmas Day this year, we managed to make some pretty amazing and somewhat healthy (cough, cough) cookies that were both gluten-free and DELICIOUS. They're very cake-y and moist and stay that way for days on end! The pumpkin flavor isn't too overpowering either. I mixed cinnamon chips in half the batch, chocolate chunks from Ghiradelli in another. Om nom, indeed.

Here's the recipe if you guys want to make these- I've adapted it slightly from this one at All Recipes and it can be made gluten-free or with regular wheat flour. I didn't make the icing glaze- it didn't need it!

Another great thing to note- these cookie did not spread when I baked them! So feel free to shape em how you please and they won't get all thin and run into one another all sloppy like.

Happy Baking!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
(or gluten-free flour mix that has xantham gum in it)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, spice, and salt; set aside.
2.	In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3.	Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup of cinnamon chips or chocolate chips (your choice or mix-it-up!)

How to: Make your own Bunsen and Beaker

2010-10-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for their great comments on our costumes this year! It's definitely been a great Halloween season thus far and I can't wait to make another homemade costume for next year.

In the meantime, in case you're wondering how we put these together - here's a quick DIY rundown in case you want to get in touch with your own inner Muppet before this weekend's festivities.

Beaker:
(Instructions translated from meep meep language)

Supplies:
(Head mask)
- 24" tall piece of foam that is long enough to be circled around your head like a cylinder and meet itself on the other side (found this at Jo-Ann Fabric)
- Needle and thread
- 1 yard of flesh colored fabric
- 1 large styrofoam ball
- 2 smaller styrofoam balls (identical)
- Blash mesh fabric (about 12"x12")
- Orange felt (large enough to cover the large styrofoam ball)
- Glue gun
- Black sharpie
- Scissors
- X-acto knife
- Orange tissue paper (found at Party City)

(Body)
- Tie
- Dress shirt
- Slacks
- Furry gloves
- Lab Coat (found at Party City)

Instructions:
1. Begin to make your head mask by sewing the tall piece of foam into a cylinder. I just did a loose stitch all the way up (so the mask can give and take a little when you slide it on and off but it's still snug.)
2. Once your foam is sewed into a cylinder, slide the mask on, stitched side facing the back/center of your head and have a friend help you mark the eye holes on the mask with a sharpie.
3. Slide the mask off and draw the beaker mouth shape around the eye holes (ensuring you'll be able to see through the mask!)
4. Carefully, slice the shape out of the foam using an x-acto knife (the foam should cut cleanly and quickly).
5. Using a glue gun, cover the cylinder in the flesh fabric. It helps to have a friend hold the fabric taught and to roll it the mask over the fabric to secure it. Tuck the extra fabric at the top into the cylinder and secure with hot glue.
6. Carefully, cut the fabric away that covers the mouth hole. Carefully hot glue the fabric beneath the mask to it makes a clean seam around the mouth.
7. Cut the black mesh to fit behind the mouth and secure it with hot glue. If you can't see through it yet, don't worry - you can slice holes in it to see better and no one will be able to tell.
8. For the nose, cover the large styrofoam with orange fleece (using hot glue). When it's covered, secure it with hot glue above Beaker's mouth area.
9. For the eyes, use a sharpie to add the eyeballs to the smaller styrofoam balls. Secure the eyes with hot glue directly above his nose.
10. For the hair, cut a zig zag pattern into layers of tissue paper and affix using hot glue at various lengths.
11. Complete your outfit with the body materials and you're ready to meep meep meep!

Bunsen Honeydew:

Supplies:
(Head mask)
- One bouncy ball (Target)
- Sponge brush
- Regular brush
- Modge podge with a little bit of water mixed in
- Citron green paint (Michael's)
- Stiffened black felt (two pieces)
- Scissors
- X-acto knife
- White paper torn into small pieces (at least 30 pages)
- Black mesh fabric (12" x 12" or less)
- Playdoh ($1 at 99-cent store)
- 1 large bowl covered with plastic wrap
- 1 shallow dish covered with plastic wrap

(Body)
- Tie
- Dress shirt
- Black vest
- Lab coat (Party City)
- Green gloves (Target for $1)

Directions:
1. Begin by setting the bouncy ball on a bowl covered in plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will hold the ball in place for you.
2. Mix modge podge with a bit of water in the shallow dish covered in plastic wrap. Dip pieces of torn white paper (both sides) into the modge podge, slide it against the side of the dish to drain excess, and place on ball. Cover the entire ball with pieces and make sure to get at least two layers of paper on it. Let dry.
3. Once dry, use play dough to shape Bunsen's nose and ears. Cover all the new pieces with modge podge and allow to dry.
4. When dry, paint the entire mask with green paint. Let dry.
5. Cut glasses frames and glasses sides from the black stiffened felt. (It helps to fold the felt in half to cut even frames, then stick it under something heavy to make it lay flat again). Attach to mask using a hot glue gun.
6. Slice into the ball and let all the air out
7. Draw the shape of Bunsen's mouth then, using an x-acto knife, carefully cut through the paper mache and make sure not to cave in the mask itself.
8. Similar to the Beaker mask, attach black mesh to the inside of the mouth with a hot glue gun.
9. Pair with your body materials and you're ready for the lab!

Happy costume making all!

You can do this!

Meep meep meep... meep! The Reveal

2010-10-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

Dun dun dun... introducing - straight from Muppet Labs -

Bunsen Honeydew and his loyal assistant Beaker!

As you know, I'm a giant Muppet nut and I actually got this idea for a couples costume shortly after last Halloween. It's completely hand-made (aside from the lab coats - thanks Party City). I had a very understanding roommate and very supportive boyfriend to help this costume come to reality.

See? He's so understanding.

We went to our first Halloween party this past weekend and followed it up by going to a California institution - In N Out! Needless to saying, going as Beaker to In N Out is definitely one of the most fun experience I've ever had out here - definitely the most fun I've ever had in a fast food joint.

I'll post a DIY post later this week on how you too can get in touch with your inner Muppet by making these costumes with simple stuff - foam, paper mache, paint, etc. Stay tuned and til then - happy costume prepping to you and early Happy Halloween!

Linking up to the DIY Show Off!
Click here to check out the Halloween Link Party

Halloween Costume reveal.. tomorrow!!

2010-10-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Gus and I have already had numerous adventures in this year's COUPLES Halloween costumes! For that reason, I'll do the big reveal TOMORROW! Stop by to see Halloween 2010 awesomeness.

For now, here's another sneaky preview pic!

A Halloween Cardboard Cemetery

2010-10-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

I hardly ever stop my car to take a second look at something I've driven past. Last week, I simply had to after driving through a local neighborhood and spotting a home with some terrific Halloween DIY-ingenuity.

Here's a simple project that most anyone can afford - cardboard, black and grey paint, and scissors/box cutters - which can yield surprisingly witty and awesome results. The instructions are pretty self explanatory ;-)

The Creative Cardboard Cemetery

bury your favorite fictional (or non-ficitonal) characters on your lawn in time for Halloween

Halloween Costume 2010 - Sneak Peek

2010-10-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

This year, I'm tempted to do more than one sneak peek of my homemade halloween costume(s). Here's a quick look at the early stages of this year's beauty. Stay tuned to the blog for more hints...

Here's last year's costume if you want to see:

How to make an Up! Flying House Costume

Hello apple pie, Goodbye gluten

2010-10-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

As you have probably noted by now, I'm trying to do a lot of gluten-free cooking and baking as my sweetheart has developed an allergy to gluten (i.e. wheat) so all delicious things made with wheat flour are off the table. I'm starting to get relatively good at making meals but the big challenge with gluten-free cooking is getting things to taste "chewy." Gluten basically provides that in things like bread, cake, muffins, and it's pretty hard to replicate if you haven't practiced and aren't using the right ingredients.

Gus and I recently got a major yen for apple pie and I decided I was up for the challenge. So we googled, and huzzah, made a delicious gluten-free Apple Pie with a crust that tasted like a sugar cookie!

I urge you to make this, even if you and wheat are BFF. You'll love it.

Awesome Gluten-free Apple Pie with Crumb Topping
adapted from food.com

Ingredients

Pastry Crust Makes Two Crusts

1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour ( Bob's Red Mills All Purpose Gluten Free Flour, Avail at Kroger & online)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon xanthan gum ( Bob's Red Mills)
8 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 large eggs
1 tablespoon gluten-free vanilla extract ( Available online at the Gluten Free Pantry)

Apple Filling

4 medium apples, peeled, cored and very thinly sliced. Use mildly sweet to tart very crisp apple ( such as Granny Smith, Braeburn, Cortlands)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie spice (or nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Crumble Topping

3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup gluten-free flour ( See above)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice)

Directions

Pastry Crust Instructions.

In a mixing bowl stir together the flour, xanthan gum and cornstarch.
Then add the sugar, butter, egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
Remove dough from bowl and knead and fold on a surface dusted with GF flour until well well combined.
Divide into two pieces and wrap in plastic wrap, place one in the refrigerator to chill and place the other in the freezer for later use.
--Go ahead and make Apple Filling while the Pastry Crust is chilling.
After approx 20 minutes, remove dough from refrigerator and roll into a ball.
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out on a lightly GF floured surface until it is the thickness of a normal pie crust.
Place crust in a 9 inch glass pie dish that is lightly sprayed with non stick spray.
Using a fork poke a bunch of holes in the sides and bottom of the crust.

***Apple Filling Instructions***.

In a large bowl mix apples, sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
Set aside and let the juices mix.

***Crumble Topping Instructions***.

In small bowl mix together brown sugar, GF flour and cinnamon.
Next mix in the chilled butter and cut it in with a fork or other tool until you have a course crumbly mixture.

***Assembling your Pie***.

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Spoon apples into your pie crust, mounding in the middle and pouring the sugary juices over top.
Sprinkle your Crumble Topping all over the top (use it all).
Use tin foil to cover edges of crust as it will burn easily.
Bake for approximately 35 minutes, topping will be lightly browned and filling will be bubbly.
Let cool for at least an hour before serving.

Spotted: A Nursery with Style

2010-10-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

I was giving a friend advice recently about where to find great baby info on the web and realize that I oddly knew of a ton of sites to send her in the direction of - ohdeedoh.com, younghouselove.com, etc. Where did I, 25 year-old with no babies aside from her Pook-a-Looz of Kermit and Fozzie, become a semi-expert on some things? Strange the things that blogging will teach you.

Today, I'm happy to show off a great nursery makeover on the blog. These photos are from my friend Erin's nursery. We met in my old position for Disney Feature Animation. Without further adieu, her nursery for her gorgeous baby Alice is below. Hope you enjoy- I was totally inspired!!

For more info on Erin's incredible giraffe-inspired transformation, head over to her blog - Growing up Senge.

love the simplicity of the name art. totally gorgeous.

Extreme Makeover: Your Home Edition

2010-10-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

(source)

Say it with me everyone - Move.. that.. BUS!

Okay, sorry, no bus here to move but did recently discover that along with all the amazing good the show, Extreme Home Makeover does on a regular basis, they're also doing the humble DIY'er good too! Apparently they have a huge gallery of DIY projects from their episodes for you to make in your own home.

While some may not tickle your fancy and others don't have extremely detailed instructions, the inspiration alone is worth pointing this online gem out to you guys.

Here's the main link and below are a few of my favorite potential projects.

(source)

Family Collage Wall with Structure

(source)

Pallet coffee table with pizazz

(source)

Possibly came from Pottery Barn but it didn't cause YOU made it Branch Chandelier

Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Cake

2010-10-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

Yes- this post is exactly what you think it is, you lovers of all things chocolate and wafer. My boss is a big fan of the red wrapped treat - KitKat. So much so, that I've stashed away his favorite treat, frozen as he prefers, and he often asks me to grab one for him when the day's just getting too stressful.

His birthday is in about 10 days but he'll be away on a business trip then a vacation. Last Friday was our last opportunity to catch him for the big day and I figured what would be better to celebrate his love and celebrate my one year of blogging with a most delicious KIT KAT CAKE!

With that my friends, here's how to make your own slice(s) of heaven. This cake was inspired by others I found on the web but hey, I love a great baking opportunity and wanted to pass it along to you.

Ingredients and Supplies:
- 1 pkg Triple Fudge Chocolate Cake Mix (any chocolate cake mix works, even Gluten-Free)
- 1 8oz tub Real Creamy Cool Whip
- 1/4 can of chocolate frosting
- 1 large package of Reese's pieces or your favorite chocolate round candies (M&M's, etc.)
- Approximately 24 KitKats (regular size)
- 1 long white ribbon - at least 24"
- 2 9" round cake pans
- Pam
- Large plate
- Serrated knife

Directions:
1) Prepare to make and bake cake mix as directed. Divide batter into two Pam-greased 9" in round cake pans.
2) Bake cakes as directed on your cake mix packaging.
3) After the cakes have cooled, slide one layer onto a large plate. Use a serrated knife to even out the top of the cake if it rose while baking.
4) Top that first layer with approximately 1/3 a tub of cool whip.
5) Slide the second cake layer centered on top of the cool whip and first cake layer - forming a delicious cake sandwich. Yum!
6) Use the serrated knife again to level off this top layer- this will be your base for the 'barrel' insides where your candy lays. You'll want the cake layers to come up no higher than 2/3 the height of your kit kats. Feel free to open one to use it as a measure.
7) Once your cake sandwich is level, top the second layer with a thin spread of cool whip. This will act as your glue, making sure that the candies stay somewhat on top of your cake when you slice into it.
8) Now, for the Kit Kat border! To "glue" your border to the edges of your cake, use a thin layer of chocolate frosting. Then have a friend (in this case, my sweetheart) help you unwrap 24 kit kats!

9) Attach the kit kats with the kit kat logo facing outward around the cake, using the frosting to help it stick to it.

10) Take your white ribbon (or whatever color ribbon you like) and run it around the middle of your cake - tying a secure but pretty bow at the front.
11) Last but not least, pour your bag of Reese's pieces or candies on top of the cake - spreading them out evenly, and filling your brand-new Kit Kat cake bucket :)

I was blown away by one - how easy this cake was and two- what a big hit it was! We were worried about surprising my boss since his last day in the office had been incredibly stressful. The day was dwindling down to a close when amazingness happened and he turned to me and said simply, 'Annie - Kit Kat.'

This was the moment! I raced to the fridge and rounded up the office and presented him with 24 kit kats + a cake. Suffice it to say, it was momentous.

And that's kinda how I feel returning to blogging. I've been stressed, distracted, pulled away by other interests and lots of new changes - but at the end of the day - well, end of this year- I've realized it's time for a kit kat. Time to cut lose. Time to get creative again. Glad to be back and thanks for all your support thus far - happy one year blogging anniversary to me!

In anticipation of my anniversary

2010-10-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

sup?

Tuesday, October 5 will be my one-year blogging anniversary!

What better way to celebrate by getting back in the swing of writing regular posts? I've been up to so, so many things including a brand new apartment to decorate and lots of other exciting things to update you on.

Here are some things to look forward in the coming months -

New recipes

New DIY projects

New Roommate (!) who's living with Annie

This year's Halloween Costume

& more!
I'm pumped. I hope you are!

Hi there

2010-07-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

Gus and I doing field research for work while at Disneyland. Not officially working, but I look to think analyzing the parks as I ride all the rides could potentially help my job.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your patience as I've stepped away from blogging for a few months to focus on my new job. As some of you know, I had been laid off, spent weeks looking, only to land in an even better, more exciting role with the same company (Disney).

I have a few things in the can to share on the blog soon and will try to post something this holiday weekend or directly after. In the future, I doubt I'll be able to return to my 5-post a week schedule but I'm going to make more regular appearances here.

Thanks for staying tuned- have a wonderful fourth of July everyone!

Annie

Friday Reveal: Living Room Loveliness

2010-04-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

Ooooo.. the reveal appears a few hours early! A prize to anyone compulsively checking my blog for the reveal update. :)

I've been hard at work on my living room lately and after months and months of frames sitting in my closet, I finally broke out the hammer and nails!

Here's the state of my lovely living room these days, complete with new Calvin Klein table runner ( a steal at $5 from Macy's) and artwork (above the desk) for $20 from Marshall's. Other than that, all other additions were stuff around the house, repurposed or hung up for the first time - hurrah!

A short reminder of a few months ago:

and the uber awesome now...

Interested in the evolution of the living room?

Here's a few posts of what led to this point.

Color Scheming - Choosing the new color scheme from a Pottery Barn pillow

Dun dun dun office space! From design to execution

Wall of Awesome - the big reveal! How those stripes got there

Have a great weekend :)

Friday Sneak Peek

2010-04-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

I was a busy decorating bee this weekend. Here's a small sneak peek of what I've been up to in the living room. This is a table runner from Calvin Klein - originally $60 (are you kidding me?) - got it at Macy's for $5! Can't beat that.

Stay tuned for a Friday reveal of serenity/my newly lovely living room.

A Very Muppet Marriage

2010-04-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

Spotted these today on a wonderful blog for cupcake bakers, Cupcakes take the Cake. Muppet WEDDING cupcakes! I am about dying right now. Kermit and Piggy forever <3

Check out more, here. Happy weekend!!

Announcement

2010-04-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

Maybe it was good juju that I posted about looking for a job... as it turns out, I just got a new one! And it's pretty awesome, and I still work for Disney on top of it.

Hope to be back in the swing of blogging soon. Thanks for your patience!

Beautiful Prints for your home... alert: Young House Love's sponsoring a giveaway featuring a vendor called Vol. 25. I'm totally in love and you will be too - check out Vol. 25 by clicking here.

Color Scheming

2010-04-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

Frustrated by a lack of cohesion with my living room, I've recently turned to a favorite source: Pottery Barn to solve my latest decorating dilemma. I have not been able to decide on any color scheme I truly love! For awhile, it was warm beige, black, white, with pops of red. Snore. I got tired very quickly. I've read that a great place to start for color inspiration is with a rug but I have yet to find a rug I'm truly in love with either (that doesn't cost an arm and a leg). I recently tried to shake things up for Spring in this post but it wasn't quite right.

In pondering this question, I remembered that my bedspread in my bedroom is a print from the 'Barn and I've absolutely loved having it and working with the colors in it. I got to thinking that perhaps I found a print I loved for the living room, I could just use that to guide my color scheme for accessories, pillows, etc.

And that, ladies and jellyspoons, is exactly what I've been up to in the living room. A new color scheme of greys, neutrals, light blues, and small subtle pops of yellow (still adding those). Here's a few befores and the (still in progress) after inspired by Pottery Barn's Sydney Palampore fabric...

BEFORES

AFTER

Mmm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2010-04-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

One of my restaurant faves the past few years has been Spinach & Artichoke Dip. I often get it as a meal instead of an appetizer and it is equally delicious with flatbread, garlic bread, or tortilla chips!

I've been meaning to make my own version for Gus and I to enjoy on the cheap (sans giant restaurant bill). So here it is, deliciously cheesy Spinach and Artichoke Dip for your home table...

Ingredients:
- 3 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and chopped finely (fresh can work too)
- 1 10oz. can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped finely
- 3/4 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- Dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper

Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Combine spinach, artichokes, mayo, most of the mozzarella, spices, and half the parmesan cheese until well blended.
- Place dip in greased small glass pan and top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
- Bake until cheese turns golden brown and you can see the dip bubbling.
- Serve with chips, croutons, forks.. anything you want! Enjoy!

Author's Note:

Just an FYI to fans who miss my daily posts. I lost my job a few weeks ago and have been interviewing like crazy to find a new one. Since this doesn't leave me much time or resources to blog, I've been writing sporadically.

I hope to be able to post more regularly again soon. Thanks for stopping by as always!

Piccata in a Pinch

2010-03-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

The other night, Gus and I were hoping to make Chicken Piccata with our trusty Chicken Piccata sauce from Trader Joe's. We were stopped in our tracks when we realized our open bottle of Piccata sauce was wayyyy too old to eat! Solution number two: Trader Joe's Cacciatore Sauce! We had a brand new bottle we'd been meaning to try.

We pop that open and my happy smile falls.... I smell red peppers! Aaaahhh, there's a few things I really don't like, especially in tomato sauce - and red peppers is definitely one of those things!

So here we are, chicken with onions and pasta cooking away.. and no sauce!

Dun dun dun.. the birth of a new recipe: Piccata in a Pinch! Enjoy this when you're in the mood for a lemony, wine, butter sauce full of deliciousness. Chances are most of this stuff is on hand in your pantry already.. it was in mine thankfully!

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
- 2 large chicken breasts, diced into medium pieces (cooked- We put ours in the crock pot on high for 2 hours when it was originally frozen)
- 1 lb of your choice of pasta, cooked and drained
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic gloves
- 2 oz. of cream cheese (reduced fat works great)
- 1/2 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 cup of white wine
- 2 large pats of butter
- Dash of basil, parley, salt, and pepper

Directions:
- Cook pasta separately while making the chicken with sauce.
- Saute onion and garlic with olive oil over medium heat.
- After a few minutes, add chicken pieces to the mixutre and continue to cook until the chicken browns just a bit.
- In a small bowl, combine italian dressing, lemon juice, cream cheese, wine, butter, and spices. Add this mixture to the saute pan with the chicken.
- Simmer sauce for at least 5 minutes. It should smell awesomely like butter and wine.
- To finish, top pasta with sauce and enjoy! Yum!

The Best Bouquet - a Gift Card Bouquet

2010-03-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you searching for a new twist on the bouquet of flowers gift... I've got a great DIY for you inspired by a gift I received from my friends Melissa and Harper.

Everyone loves getting flowers but they die a week or two later.. Why not give flowers and some amazing gift cards- the gifts that keep feeding your shopping addiction!

For my 23rd birthday, Harper and Melissa surprised me with a bouquet of lovely flowers and several gift cards (for small amounts) peppered in with those plastic note holders that come with bouquets. Here's how to make your own:

Supplies:
- One nicely sized bouquet of beautiful flowers
- 4-5 gift cards that your loved one would love to have, in amounts that work for you (with or without envelopes, your choice)
- 4-5 plastic note holders for flower arrangements

Directions:
- Place gift cards in envelopes or skip envelope step. Attach each to a plastic note holder and stick into bouquet.
- Present to your delighted loved one! Huzzah!

Happy gift giving everyone:)

Weekend Kitchen Nightmares: Rubber Lemon Cake

2010-03-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

So I got it in my head that I woud make lemon cake for Gus and be super awesome by using rice four and xantham gum as a replacement for all-purpose flour. I used a tried and true cake recipe and only subbed the flour ingredients.

Yeah.. should have done a little more research into gluten-free baking. What I ended up with is something I've never quite seen before. It is almost a dense, rubber-like consistency that has the appearance of a very deep dish pizza crust. The good news is that it's kind of tasty with buttercream frosting on top (what isn't though?) and Gus likes eating it with a cup of tea.

I'd post the recipe but I doubt any of you want to serve rubber lemon cake to anyone, ever.

For now, I'm sharing just to demonstrate that we all have our kitchen disasters. The last one I had were chocolate chip cookies that spread so much, I had to put them in muffin tins to bake them.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

Friday Fun with Spray Paint

2010-03-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

So I finally got the nerve up to bust out the white spray paint I bought a year ago to transform my old clock/bookcase I got at the thrift store. I didn't anticipate the breeze yesterday and it turned out to be quite the adventure- ending with me inadvertently spraying my black shoes AND my cell phone!

Fortunately, both washed off relatively well and the clock turned out might fine too...

Here's the oddly yellow before -

The super white and lovely after...

Have a great weekend all! :)

Easy and Delicious Baked Ziti

2010-03-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Gus has been asking me to make baked ziti for ages - even before he developed a gluten allergy this past summer. Even though now he can't eat gluten, we finally managed to make a delicious baked ziti that's easy, gluten-free, and yummy for everyone!

Here's how to make your own amazingness tonight...

Ingredients:
- 1 lb of gluten-free ziti/penne noodles or regular wheat noodles (if you can eat 'em)
- 3 and 1/2 medium sized mild sausages, grilled then sliced
- 1/2 large white onion, chopped
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 26oz jar of spaghetti sauce (we used Classico Tomato and Basil)
- 1 8oz pkg of reduced fat cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 12 slices of Provolone
- 4 slices of Mozerella
- 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan
- Garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

Directions:
- Grill sausages and slice into small discs. Set aside.
- Set water boiling in a large pot for the pasta. Saute onion and zucchini with a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic powder on medium heat until mostly cooked through.
- Add the sliced sausage to the mixture. Stir for a few minutes, then add your spaghetti sauce and turn heat to low.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Mix the sour cream and cream cheese together.
- When water boils, cook the pasta for a little more than half the normal cooking time then drain it. It'll cook the rest of the way in the pan with the sauce.
- Once your pasta is ready - here's how to assemble:
-- Use pam or olive oil to coat a 9 x 13 glass pan
-- Place half the ziti noodles on the bottom of the pan
-- Place 6 slices of provolone as a layer
-- Spread half the cream cheese mixture over the provolone slices
-- Top the cream cheese mixture with your sauce
-- Repeat once more (rest of ziti, provolone, cream cheese, remainder of sauce)
-- Top sauce with torn pieces of your mozerella slices and your shredded parmesan cheese
- Bake for 30 minutes and allow to cool for 5-10 before eating. Mangia!

My salt and pepper bird shakers are like... "Dude that looks nom, right?"

QuickFix: Living Room Makeover from a Pillow and Picture Frame Switch

2010-03-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Spring is here (and we're all a bit sleepy from losing that extra hour this weekend.) As much as I love my classic living room with it's black and white framed photos, it's not very welcoming and friendly. This weekend, I wanted to change my look but I gave myself an important rule: No buying more STUFF! I have plenty of it lying about this place.

In ten minutes, I was able to completely transform the room by subtracting and adding only a few items! (Note: not counting my lovely striped walls... these photos were how the bookcase and couch looked up until yesterday and the walls were painted in December).

Here's the quick makeover and how I did it...

BEFORE

a very soon after... AFTER

Here's what I did:

- Removed all the black and white frames (will be repurposed in my bedroom and bathroom shortly)

- Added the green pillow from my bedroom and a leaf pillow I got as a steal for $3.00 at a flea market

- Moved the lamp from my desk to the bookcase

- Brought in my three white Ikea Ribba shadowbox frames in place of the black and whites

- Added a champagne colored frame from Michael's leftover from my old apartment

And huzzah- a new place to Spring forward in!

How bout you guys? What can you accomplish in 10 minutes with things already in your home? Link up your quickfix makeovers below until March 18 at 11pm CST.

Rules for linking up below:

- Please link this post at LivingwithAnnie in a new post on your own blog and/or on the post you are linking to below

- Please only post Before/After home decorating posts (preferably ones you did easily with items on hand)

- Any posts not linking back or posting unrelated material will be removed. There will be more linky's in the future so hold on to unrelated stuff for then!

Thanks,

Annie

Fun free apps for writers and anyone who wants to organize their life

2010-03-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this article yesterday from OnlineUniversities that shares a fantastic list of 100 free online apps for writers. As I flipped through, I found tons of great sites I'd never heard of that I think could help anyone.

Here are some of my favorites but the entire list can be found here.

Wridea (www.wridea.com)
I'm someone who's constantly having ideas for stories, movies, projects, etc. Usually I throw these ideas into my Gmail drafts where they live for all-time. Wridea has a great little free program on the web where I could be storing my Gmail draft-bound thoughts. Definitely a wonderful tool for anybody in the business of collecting inspiration.

HTML Book Maker (here)
This freeware will allow you to make your own e-book to share with friends and family. Could be potentially awesome for turning your own blog into something marketable and book-like.

Emurse (www.emurse.com)
Emurse is an intuitive online resume creator. You can create a clean, streamlined resume then share it online with anyone- assured it will display properly on their computed since it's hosted online.

Elance (www.elance.com)
Interested in freelancing? This site will allow you to view jobs and bid on doing them. Lots of opportunities appear - everything from resume critiques to book writing.

And one not on the list but I love it -

Todoist (www.todoist.com)
I started using Todoist in college to organize an event I was planning. I love it's simplicity and recently installed the sidebar for Firefox so I can always keep my to-do list in easy reach. In sight, on mind.

Update

2010-03-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

(What's this pic from?)

Hi all,

Apologies for no regular updates this week. I'll be hoping to post something today and/or tomorrow but I've been majorly busy this past week job searching and going on interviews.

Thanks so much for your understanding and support. Here's to the crazy DIY's, lovely recipes, and more I've got cooking and hope to share with you all soon!

xo

Annie

All about Oscar

2010-03-08T09:26:00.000-08:00

As most of you know by now, my foremost passion and profession (usually) is in the film industry. Last night, for the first time in many years, I actually sat down and watched an entire Oscars telecast AND was completely delighted with it overall. I wasn't even upset by who won which award.

Fresh off the heels of last night's red carpet (upon which I someday hope to be), here's my rundown of the BEST and the WORST of Oscar Night 2010.

BEST FASHION

Anna Kendrick, Nominated Up in the Air

Sandra Bullock, Winner (!) The Blind Side

She looked like a lovely Oscar! Oh, heart Sandra Bullock.

WORST FASHION

Sarah Jessica Parker, Presenter

Don't get me wrong- I'm a big SJP fan but this dress just looked like a big bag on her (to me). Nice to see her on the red carpet with her hubby Ferris/Matthew Broderick.

Jennifer Lopez, Presenter (I was wondering what she was doing there...)

Was it me - or did this dress look like it was made of bubble wrap or something? Not my favorite.

BEST and WORST FASHION IN ONE DRESS

Zoe Saldana, Presenter/Na'vi Representative

So I fell in love with the top of her dress... and really couldn't stand the bottom. Best = the top, Worst = whatever is going on in this skirt. Oh and her hair and make-up were equisite.

THE HOSTS

I've loved Steve Martin pretty much since the beginning of time and Alec Baldwin's resurgence has endeared me to him. I really enjoyed them as hopes but wasn't quite sold on Neil Patrick Harris starting the show. I love NPH too, but Steve and Alec are my old school stars for the night.

THE BEST JOKE

Okay, maybe it's because I'm Jewish but I seriously lost it when Steve Martin told Christoph Waltz (the Jew Hunter in Inglorious Basterds) that he had found the motherload of Jewish people in the Kodak Theater. In stiches. Heart Steve Martin.

THE WORST JOKE

Whatever Sean Penn alluded to in his presentation of Best Actress that made absolutely no sense.

BEST ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

Without a doubt, Sandra Bullock topped my entire night. My favorite movie of all-time is While You Were Sleeping so it was definitely a Julia Roberts-finally-won moment for me. Everything from her going to thank Merryl Streep then turning away, to her heart-felt self-deprecating speech that ended with her calling Merryl her lover... it was amazing. Kudos to her. You can enjoy part of the speech here - Highlight's from Sandra's speech.

WORST ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

Sandy Powell, AKA the woman with the weird hat who won for best costuming. Literally the first words out of her mouth were, "Wow, I already have two of these..." She then proceeds to half-heartedly thank other costumer designers who don't win Oscars like she has. Maybe it was an attempt at dry humor but man, I wanted to rip the Oscar out of her hand.

BEST WIN

Kathryn Bigelow for Best Director and The Hurt Locker winning Best Picture. No better way to stick it to your ex-husband by beating him twice and having two gold men to show for it. I'm sorry, Avatar's prize is it's the highest grossing film of all time. Jim Cameron can have that victory but I'm so glad I didn't have to hear him give a speech last night.

Double awesome points for the first woman director to win an Oscar and Kathryn receiving it from fellow film director Barbara Streisand.

WORST OSCAR SEGMENT

It's a tie! Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner speaking/doing anything at the Oscars - The Horror Movie Montage - The dance to original score segment! Really? Dancing to the score from The Hurt Locker? And not performing the original songs in favor of it? Craziness, sheer craziness.

IN CONCLUSION

Was it the best Oscar's ever? No, not really. Was it satisfying, were there beautiful dresses, were there ample close-ups of Clooney? Yes, yes, and yes. And for that, and Sandra Bullock getting a standing ovation and appreciation for what she's contributed to movies thus far, I say thank you to the Academy for Oscars 2010.

What did you think, my fellow film fans?

The Style Files: Organizing your home inspiration

2010-03-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

(source)

Recently, I've devised my own little system of logging all the great inspirational home decorating pictures I find on the web. I've made an "Inspiration File" as a Word Document in Microsoft Word. When I find a great staircase or a kitchen I love, I copy the picture and paste it directly in the Word Doc. I'm always careful to save constantly.

Before, I was just throwing photos in a Gmail draft but that wasn't too easy on the eyes or easy to print if I need to. With my inspiration document, I can literally print out a book of all the things that have me thinking creatively about my home.

My way of organizing my favorite home decor across the web is just ONE of the many out there. Take these for example if you're still wondering how best to keep yourself ready to create:

Young House Love

www.younghouselove.com

In this post on their site, John and Sherry describe how they keep their thoughts straight by creating an actual physical catalog. They literally rip out pages, slide them in clear page protectors, and throw them in a binder for easy perusing later. Read more for their extra tips here.

Craftgawker

www.craftgawker.com

This recent addition to the Gawker Family (along with WeddingGawker.com and FoodGawker.com) is a visual search engine of crafts, including art for the home. If you register with them, you can favorite any of the posts to keep them handy. However, this is obviously limited to whatever photos they have and not the entire interweb. Same goes for Etsy which will allow you to favorite items and sellers. I prefer to favorite sellers as items disappear the minute they are sold!

Houzz

www.houzz.com

I used Houzz to pull together my office space inspiration and I really love it as a design inspiration gatherer. They've got an easy to use interface, great search, and best of all a quick way to add any picture to your own "ideabook." You can make several, divisible however you'd like. This is also a great option for inspiration you can get to from any computer.

Apartment Therapy

www.apartmenttherapy.com

In a reply to a reader who's amassed hundreds of scanned photos and online ones, AT suggests the option of getting a specific small USB drive to store the photos and printing yourself an ideabook once a year through a site like Shutterfly. For more of that post, click here.

AT also recommends these 11 other options for storing online inspiration. Some are traditional (printing out and organizing by hand) and some are very creative such as using Flickr.

No matter how you organize, the trick is to find a system that works for you and gives you an easy way of creating and USING your style file.

Congratulations to our Giveaway Winner!

2010-03-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

Who's the chef ready to take on the Queen o' Butter and the WINNER of LivingwithAnnie's first ever GIVEAWAY!

Google Follower CHERYL WILSON! Congratulations Cheryl. I'll be contacting you shortly to claim your awesome cookbook.

Thanks to everyone for participating. I used random.org to generate a random winner and gave everyone who was also a Google Follower an extra entry.

This giveaway was such a success, I'm definitely plotting another one soon (perhaps with Disney swag!) so stay tuned and get excited for your time to win next time!

PAULA DEEN COOKBOOK Giveaway! Enter now!

2010-03-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

Hello all my lovely blog readers, today is the glorious day you can comment and enter to win this gorgeous tome of deliciousness....

How do you enter?

Leave a comment for me letting me know what your favorite Living with Annie post has been so far. I'd love to know what you guys are enjoying so I can put more of it out into the blogosphere.

You have until tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9pm PST to leave a comment.

BONUS ENTRY - If you leave a comment AND are a Google follower, I'll give you a double entry in the giveaway.

The winner will be randomly chosen but it doesn't hurt to have two votes in there for your future cooking needs. Just make sure only to follow the blog if you actually are interested in following :)

Please leave contact information or check back on the blog on Thursday to see if you won. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize, after which I'll determine a new winner.

Much thanks to CSNStores.com and AllChildrensFurniture.com for sponsoring today's giveaway. They have a great selection of home stuff, accessories, and even kids bedding. Check out the bazillion things they have to offer here.

Good luck everyone and happy cooking!

Giveaway Postponed til Tomorrow (Tuesday)

2010-03-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hi all - I'm sorry to announce that the Giveaway for the Paula Deen cookbook will start TOMORROW, not today as originally planned. Thanks for your understanding and see ya tomorrow for giveaway awesomeness!!

Friday Reveal: Bedroom Stencils

2010-02-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

My bedroom has sorely been in need of some color or visual interest on the walls. It's also been in desperate need of beautiful matching lamps to sit on those new nightstands.

This past weekend, I solved both with a trip to Pier One (for the Serena Accent Lamps) and a crafty easy DIY project to liven up the space!

Here's the before:

And here's the AFTER:

So how does she do it?
She does it cheaply and quickly, and you can too.

DIY Contact Paper Stencils

Supplies:

- Roll of contact paper, any color (I used white)

- 1/4 quart of paint in your color choice (This is Dutch Boy Durham Beige in Flat finish)

- Foam brush

- Scissors

- Pencil or pen

- X-acto knife

- Drop cloths or other means of covering your floors and other objects

Directions:

Lay out your contact paper and draw your design. I used my bedspread as inspiration and drew larger versions of elements from it to tie the whole room together. As you draw, decide which places you'd like your paint to appear and make sure you've cut those spaces OUT using a scissor x-acto knife. Be careful to keep your designs simple or you won't be able to keep the stencil from sticking to itself once you remove it from the protective backing of the contact paper.

Once you have your design and you've cut out the spaces where you'd like the paint to appear, pull the remnants of the contact paper away from the protective backing (so you've made yourself a giant sticker). Place said giant sticker on the wall and prepare for painting.

Smooth your hand over your stencil as you adhere it to your wall. Do not worry, it will not take paint off your walls (at least it didn't at all with mine). Use a foam brush to paint on top of the stencil and fill in all your spaces.

Immediately pull the contact paper stencil away from the wall and you'll have a gorgeous, crisp design ready to go. If your stencil isn't too wet at this point, you can do what I did and reuse it on another part of the wall. Tip: You can also use the remnants from the original stencil (the stuff you cut out to make a space for the paint) to make an inverse design. I did this and alternated on each wall.

If you are wary of free-handing your own stencils, you could always trace a design onto contact paper using carbon paper.

This whole project took about 2 hours and cost about $5 worth of paint + contact paper. I am incredibly pleased with the results and even more happy because I won't have to paint all that much back when I move out!

Now, all I need is curtains. Stay tuned for the further evolution of Annie's bedroom makeover.

Submitting to today's DIY Showoff! Submit your favorite DIY show-off projects here.

Living with Annie's First GIVEAWAY! Enter this Monday

2010-02-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hello one and all! I'm delighted to announce that the folks at CSNStores.com and Allchildrensfurniture.com are partnering with me to bring you my first ever BLOG giveaway!

On Monday, you'll have a chance to win...

This amazing cookbook from Paula Deen. I really enjoy Paula's incredible love of all things majorly delicious, the amount of butter be damned!

Since I've never done a giveaway before, I wanted to give all my readers a quick heads up. You can enter beginning Monday, March 1-Wednesday, March 3 at 5pm PST and all the details for entering will be announced on the blog on Monday.

Followers (via Google Connect) will be given an extra entry so if you enjoy the blog and would like to join the followers ranks- please go ahead and do so! There could be deliciousness from Paula Deen awaiting you.

Also, don't forget to stop by tomorrow to see what craziness I've been up to in my bedroom. Check out the cryptic hint from Monday here.

Annie's Baked Potato Soup

2010-02-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

I have done it! Another original recipe - this time for baked potato soup. I'm a bit of a starch fanatic and potatoes are definitely one of my dearest food loves. When I get baked potato soup at restaurants, I'm always a bit put off the base is more "cream of potato" and less "delicious cheddar." On that note, please enjoy this Annie recipe for the slow cooker!

Ingredients:
- 2 small cans of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup
- 1 16oz. can of Chicken Stock
- 1 small can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom
- 6 medium sized russet potatoes, diced in medium to small pieces (the bigger the pieces, the longer in the crock pot)
- 1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
- 6 strips of bacon, crumbled into small pieces
- Green onions (Optional)
- 1/4 cup Colby Jack Cheese, shredded (Optional)
- 1/4 cup White Cheddar Cheese, shredded (Optional)

Directions:
Combine the following ingredients: all of the soups, the diced potatoes and onions, and 3 strips of bacon in a crock pot and set to cook for 5-6 hours on HIGH. The potatoes will take a long time to cook, fyi.

With about an hour left to go, add most of the colby jack and white cheddar to the crock pot mixture. Set the rest aside as a topper.

When you're ready to serve, sprinkle green onions, crumbled bacon (from the 3 remaining strips), and the remaining cheese on top. Voila! Awesome in a bowl.

Friday Reveal Sneak Peek

2010-02-22T09:06:00.000-08:00

I got wonderfully busy decorating this weekend and will reveal all of the amazingness this FRIDAY.

For now, here's a sneak peek to get excited/confused about...

What the hey could that be?

One-Sentence Dinner: BBQ Crock Pot Chicken

2010-02-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

There's nothing Gus and me hate more than dealing with defrosting then cutting raw chicken! Grrroosssss... That's why I love this recipe I'm going to share with you today. It's delicious, easy, and best of all- you can use frozen chicken to achieve awesomeness!

Here's what you need to do in one glorious sentence:

Combine frozen chicken breasts, 1/2 cup of Italian Salad Dressing, 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce, and 12 oz of your favorite bottled BBQ Sauce and cook in crock-pot for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

Here's the ingredients listed for ya:
- 3 Frozen Chicken Breasts (or Fresh, whatever ya like)
- 1/2 cup of Italian Salad Dressing
- 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce
- 12 oz. of your fave BBQ Sauce (Trader Joe's... amazing)
- Veggies to slow cook (if you want) - we added cut up yukon potatoes and sliced onions

When everything is done cooking, shred the chicken (it will shred super easy) and it'll soak up the delicious, somewhat spicy sauce. I originally found this recipe on AllRecipes here.

Happy chicken cooking! Have a wonderful weekend all.

Decor Alert - Reimagined Movie Posters

2010-02-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I'm a big movie nut. One of my favorite pastimes has been the art of movie posters. I used have several framed in my bedroom in fact. A few months ago, I did a post dedicated to posters chic enough for adults to have in their homes.

Today, I'd like to share with you some incredible "alternative" movie posters that are out on the internet these days. Artists have taken their favorite movies and put their own amazing spins on them. Enjoy and happy shopping my fellow film/art aficionados!

OLLY MOSS

21 year-old UK Artist

www.ollymoss.com

JAMIE BOLTON

Graphic Designer

http://www.shoottheglass.bigcartel.com/

MICHELE ROSENTHAL

"The Breakfast Club" Prints available for $10.00

http://themuststash.bigcartel.com/product/the-breakfast-club

BRANDEN SCHAEFER

"The Dark Knight" and other prints available in several sizes, from $24.99

http://www.inprnt.com/details/1921/

ERIC TAN

Pixar-movie inspired prints

http://erictanart.blogspot.com/

Reader Paper Portrait

2010-02-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Laura made a special valentine's gift for her Valentine this year. It's inspired by LivingwithAnnie and Paul Overton's DudeCraft. Check out the most amazingness below! I love her choice of photo. These portraits tend to work best when you use close-ups!

To check out my paper portrait projects, click here.

Quick Bedroom Makeover - Adding and Subtracting Furniture

2010-02-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

My dear Valentine reminded me this weekend that I need to get back into the swing of home decorating for the blog. With that little nudge (and a little help from Wishpot), I began a long dormant makeover of my bedroom.

Here is the dreaded, incredibly messy BEFORE...

Now let's subtract Lovely Little Nightstand and the $10 Nightstand, clean, fluff, and add TWO beautiful accent tables on major sale at Target...

AFTER

Literally, the only thing I added/bought for this room were two accent tables from Target, marked down from $60. They each have two small dings so I was able to get them for $40 minus 10% off.

Ah, the power of a little cleanliness and some gorgeous flowers from my Valentine.

This is just the beginning for this room but it already feels sooo much more relaxing. I don't dare show you the other side of the room - that's where the giant mess is hiding! I'll keep you posted on the progress but at least this is a sweet step in the right design direction.

Did you know this about Target?

2010-02-15T13:04:00.000-08:00

Happy President's Day/3-Day Valentine's Weekend to all :)

Tomorrow, I'll be posting the beginning of my bedroom makeover. I'm pretty excited about the initial results. For now, I want you Target-shoppers to know the following...

If anything you want to buy at your local Target is damaged or the box it comes in is a bit damaged, the cashiers will easily give you 10 or 15% off depending on the level of damage. (Wahoo!)

Remember this accent table from Friday's post? Thanks to small dings I'll never care about on two of them, I got each or $40 then 10% off of that. Not bad for something that's only temporarily marked down from $60.

Stay tuned tomorrow to see how this one purchase has totally begun to transform my lovely little bedroom.

Dreams do come true thanks to Wishpot

2010-02-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

Apologies for anyone who checked in for a post yesterday- I was home sick and couldn't bring myself to do anything other than weep at the end of Sleepless in Seattle for the billionth time. Today I'm feeling much better and have decided to share with you the awesomeness that is - WISHPOT!

I woke up this morning to a delightful email from Wishpot (wishpot.com) alerting me that this table I'd been crushing on at Target was now $20 cheaper! How's that for good news on a Friday? Perhaps two of these are in my future for my bedroom as the perfect nightstands.

Wishpot has a lot of useful features- my favorite being that you can install a button on your Firefox browser. When I spotted this baby on Target.com, I was able to hit the magical wishpot button and add it to my wishpot registry. I could specify the priority of the item and if I wanted the most awesome feature ever - PRICE ALERT! I selected this accent table over a month ago and wishpot took the place of compulsive Target checking. I highly recommend it for anything from tables to shoes to stuffed pandas!

Happy shopping and here's to a great Valentine's Day weekend!

The art of the heart

2010-02-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

Houzz.com

I'm sure most of you are in the midst of your Valentine's Day planning (or planning to avoid Singles Awareness Day all-together). Personally, Gus and I are planning a day trip to Santa Barbara and probably skipping the presents this year in favor of the gift of spending time together and reflecting on our relationship.

If we were doing physical gifts, I think I'd want to do some kind of Valentine's-inspired art or make something "from the heart." I found some great projects/inspiration across the web for this so if you're looking for that idea light bulb- hopefully I can spark it today! Enjoy :)

Rose Petal Art

You could do this on a ceramic plate, a plank of wood painted white, cardstock, whatever ya got

Also Houzz.com

EcoBites has a long alphabetized list of DIY Valentine Gifts that are worth investigating
Check out Chocolate Lip Balm :)

Hand-sewn Valentine's Postcard
Featured at Curbly.com

I've also done a number of projects that I think would be fabulous as Valentine's / From the heart gifts. Here are a few links if you're interested. Please send me photos if you make anything - I'd love to showcase your projects on the blog!

Paper Portraits
Vector Paintings
How to make your own board game
Personalized Wall Collage
Thinking of You Puzzle Postcards (Great for long-distance Valentines)
Easy Framed Art Project

Home Decorating... by the numbers

2010-02-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

from Houzz.com

I've been contemplating doing some DIY decorating projects involving numbers. If you've been in Pottery Barn recently or drooled over their website, you may have noticed a large influx of numbers being used in design. Today, I'm pulling together some of my inspiration and maybe soon I'll be posting a great project or two involving seriously awesome numerals.

Plates with Numbers - Easy peasy!

from the Old Painted Cottage at Houzz.com

I forget where this is from but how gorgeous and simple are those plates?

Pottery Barn Pillow Covers - $29-39 available now in stores

Queen of Numbers DIY - Lisa @ Pickles and Cheese
Drawing major inspiration from everything Lisa has dreamed up! Check out these projects and more on her blog - Pickles and Cheese.

Have you spotted any Number/DIY greatness in the home decorating world? Please share.. I'm brainstorming as we speak!

Living with Annie featured on Better After

2010-02-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

I'm back and better than ever from my short vacation. Today's post coming shortly but to tide you over, just a heads up that I was featured on BetterAfter! Click the button or the highlighted text to check out the post.

Stay tuned!

Living with Annie Update

2010-02-03T16:53:00.000-08:00

Hello friends. Starting early tomorrow morning, I am going home to visit my family in North Carolina for a few days. As a result, I will be away from the blog until bright n early Monday morning. I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xo Annie

The Internet for Bakers

2010-02-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

Those of you who read this blog often, may have noticed that I really enjoy baking. I've even considered opening up my own side or full-time business devoted to it. I love how relaxing it can be and the deliciously creative results it can yield. All of the recipes for the above photos can be found on the right-hand sidebar, just go to "Living with Annie Recipes."

For today, I'd like to share with you some of the best internet baking inspiration I've found. I highly encourage you to follow these sites if you share my passion.

Tastespotting and FoodGawker

Like Google for food, but fantastically better. These are two visual search engines that usually contain links to great blogs and recipes. You can even submit your own!

Bakerella

Cake pops, cake pops, cake pops (see Mickey and Minnie versions of mine above)! Her photos are just as gorgeous as her innovative baking and decorating ideas. She never fails to amaze. Follow this one if you aren't familiar, you'll be very glad you did.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ree Drummond, aka Pioneer Woman, is on the rise as an entertaining cook that posts fantastic pictures and equally fantastic recipes on her food blog. She also just released a cookbook.

Cupcakes take the Cake

One of my passions is the universe of cupcakery. A trio of bloggers on this site works diligently to keep you up to speed on cupcake trends all across the country.

How bout you guys? Any great baking sources I should start following?

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards

2010-02-02T09:25:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Disney-Pixar's Up for being nominated for both Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Score, aaaand Best Picture!

To view the entire list of nominees, click here. They were announced today by Anne Hathaway in Los Angeles. I must say it's also great that Princess and the Frog was nominated for Animation and for two of its amazing songs. The winners will be announced on Sunday, March 7 at the ceremony hosted by two equally incredible actors- Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

My picks for the top 10 films of the year can be found here - though as caution, I haven't seen all of the films nominated for Oscars today. I'd also like to add (500) Days of Summer to the list because I saw it recently and it really impressed me. Definitely worth a netflix!

Make these cookies

2010-02-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies... nom!

I spotted this recipe over at Artful Food Blog and knew it was something I had to do on my Sunday morning (Brunch, you are so last year.) I was pleasantly surprised when the "browned butter" tasted and smelled almost like caramel and gave these chocolate chip cookies the most rich and incredible taste!

I highly recommend you giving the recipe a try. The author suggests refrigerating 24-36 hours but I baked almost immediately after a few minutes in the fridge. They looked too good. I think this is probably why they have flat edges but hey- they tasted amazing!!

The only other substitution I made was omitting the walnuts. These babies were great on their own. Happy Baking!

Birthday Buttons!

2010-01-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is my friend and co-worker John's birthday. To celebrate at work today, I initially thought of making t-shirts for people to wear and embarrass/show their love for him. However, t-shirts and iron-on transfers can be pricey and time-consuming. And so, out of frustration, was born a super EASY, quick, and cheap way to embarrass your co-workers on their birthdays - Birthday Buttons!

Supplies -
1) Self-adhesive pin backings (available in the Jewelry making section at Michael's, $2.99 for 26 pcs)
2) Wooden circular disks (I found soccer balls and beach ball wooden circles on clearance at Michael's, $.29 each)
3) Printed images of your buttons the size of your wooden circular discs (I used the exact size of the image at the top of this post)
4) 3M Re-positionable Spray Mount (this stuff is AMAZING)

Directions -
1) Cut out all your circles so they're ready to go.
2) Remove sticky backing from your pin backings and attach to the middle of the side you don't want to show (i.e. I put mine on the soccer ball side)
3) Spray the spray mount on the back of your paper circles.
4) Quickly adhere the paper circle (careful to align it upright with how the pin backing is attached - so it will be easy to pin on) to the OTHER side of your wooden disc.
5) Repeat and presto! Birthday buttons.

100 Posts and Counting

2010-01-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

Holy buckets Batman! I made it to 100.

This past week, I've definitely reached the first blogging milestone - 100 posts. When I started this blog in October 2009, I wasn't sure I'd make it this far. In fact, I made myself make a list of 30 post ideas BEFORE I would let myself start a blog. I tend to go after things pretty hard then refocus on something else after awhile and I didn't want a blog to be a fairweather thing.

I must say that I'm quite proud of all that I've done with and for the blog and the inspiration it's given me to start and keep writing. Thanks so much for reading, commenting, and supporting me along the way!

In honor of 100 posts - instead of the top 100 things about me, here's 10 you may not already know:

1) I had a talent agent when I was a kid.

2) I completely ripped off Disney's Hercules as a stage musical for my high school and conned everyone I knew into being in it. I later got to tell this story to the directors of Hercules, John Musker and Ron Clements when somehow- I magically ended up working at Disney Animation.

3) I've been on NPR twice for my work on audio documentaries.

4) I strongly prefer gummi worms to gummi bears, and mostly only the yellow, green, and orange varieties.

5) I will one day have my own cupcake bakery. That day may come sooner than later...

6) I once mistook Jason Mraz as a Jason Mraz cover band. I told him that and he later used it as his own joke at a concert at Duke. I heart Jason Mraz.

7) My secret dream job aside from movie mogul and cupcake baker is wedding planner. I'm especially into these sites: Southern Weddings, 100 Layer Cake, and Style Me Pretty.

8) My all time favorite movie is While You Were Sleeping. I watch it at least twice a year.

9) I was a cheerleader Senior Year of high school. This is widely regarded as a silly decision given my personality and is usually the most surprising thing I can tell people about me.

10) Writing this blog has given me hope and kept me from quitting Hollywood when the going's gotten tough! Here's to more writing, and more inspiration in 2010.

xo Annie

Design QuickFix -Hanging a cheap Target shelf

2010-01-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

Oh shelf, you were such a pain in the butt to hang.

This is another post brought to you by the incredible love and brilliance of my boyfriend Gus. As part of my office space creation (photos here), I thought I'd try to install this humble little white shelf from Target on my own.

Two large holes in the wall - I realized I had been too brave and also made two fairly large holes in my wall. The holes were just slightly too far apart for the spaces on the back of the shelf - even though I'd measured. Gus came over, I made sad puppy eyes, and he put his much more handy mind to work on the problem. We adjusted the holes BUT found that we couldn't get the shelf to lay level because the hanging spaces on the back had way too much wiggle room for the hardware.

This is the part where I would have probably given up and placed a picture frame over my newly created mess.

Gus, however, remembered the self-adhesive felt I had leftover from hardwood-proofing the bottom of all my furniture (from this QuickFix). Using a nail, he forced small pieces of it into the hanging holes to fill them up and make the fit more snug. With a little trial and error- perfecto!

Now, I'm not planning on putting anything major on this shelf (and it's not exactly 100% level) but hey, it's on the wall! I suggest you give this a whirl the next time you're dealing with a cheaply made shelf. For my own part, I don't think I'll be drilling into the wall without Gus's supervision for forseeable future.

Easy Dinner - BBQ Pork in the Crock Pot

2010-01-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

Recently, I created my own amazing Steak Marinade. Continuing on my marinade roll... I give you - BBQ Pork in the Crock Pot ala Annie... (the title is still under construction). Anyway, this is pretty simple, very delicious, and very easy.

Ingredients:
- 1 pork tenderloin (I used prepackaged from Costco; you could also probably use other cuts of pork that are cheaper)
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
- Dash of red chili pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard (I use Trader Joe's Garlic Mustard Aioli)
- 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1/2 or 3/4 of a cup of your favorite barbeque sauce (used Trader Joe's)
-1/3 cup of ketchup

Directions:
Place the pork in a large crock pot. Combine all of the other ingredients and mix well. Pour over the pork and set to cook on low for 5-6 hours. When it's done, the pork will be falling apart deliciously.

Hope you enjoy! As much as I've enjoyed marinade making, I recently made some amazing cookies so I'll be sharing that recipe in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

The importance of dropping your pants

2010-01-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Spotted this a bit ago and though it's a bit kitschy... the last part of the sign really sold me on it. I have just a closet/hallway area for my washer and dryer and this was the perfect way to easily decorate it. Also, I gotta love that much for $15 from Marshall's.

How do you decorate your laundry area? Would you ever entertain the notion of a sign like this? Usually, I'm not much for wooden signs but this was too awesome to turn down.

Dun dun dun - Office space!

2010-01-22T09:18:00.000-08:00

Hinted at on Tuesday, inspired partially by last Thursday, driven by my growing need to have a place to create awesome in an official capacity - I give you, my new office space!

THE BEFORE

THE AWESOMELY AFFORDABLE AFTER

Oo. Storage, score.

I know, I know- I kind of told you guys that I'd be squeezing the office into the entryway nook. In the end, I pushed my dining table forward a bit and now my office is all part of the main hub of my place and I'm really enjoying that.

Want to know the best part about this office? Not counting my lovely computer, this space cost approximately $100.00 and everything, aside from the computer, is available for you to purchase right now in the places I bought them from.

I'll provide links on Monday - til then, here's a breakdown. (For me, the best part of this actually was the fact I used all holiday gift cards so my office was basically free to me, huzzah!)

Black and white picture frame (Already owned but from Ikea) - FREE

Pens, Pencils, Scissors (Already owned) - FREE

Storage Hat Boxes (Came as 3, two are pictured, Ikea) - $9.99

Glass Jar for Pencils (Ikea) - $2.99

Small greenish glass bottle and small greenish glass cup (Part of bathroom set that came with two other pieces, Ikea) - $2.99

Black Ceramic Lamp Base (Target) - $19.99

Black rimmed Lamp Shade (Target) - $9.99

Stem of White Flowers (Target) - $1.99

Magazine Rack (Using for Screenplays mostly, Ikea) - $19.99

White Shelf Ledge (Target) - $10.99

Desk ($3.99 Table top plus $4ea. legs, Ikea) - $19.99

Chair (from Dining Table) - FREE

Pack of 3 Clipboards (Staples) - $4.99

-----------------------------------------

Total - $103.90

Have a great weekend folks! I'm hoping to create some incredible things in my office space between now and Monday. Happy decorating to all! Love to hear what you think of the space.

-Annie

For anyone interested in knowing more about screenwriting

2010-01-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

So as you may have noticed from my blog, I have a passion for writing AND for filmmaking. In keeping with said passion, I have started a regular column on Examiner.com as their National Screenwriting Examiner.

I know a lot of readers dig my home decorating and baking posts, but for those of you interested in knowing more about screenwriting and how movies are written, I welcome you to also follow my column at Examiner. I will also be continuing to write Living with Annie to please all the decor-loving masses :).

Link to Annie's Column at Examiner

From now on, there will also be a button on the side of the blog if you'd like to check out the column periodically or simply when you're bored-out-of-your-gourd.

xo, Annie

Guest Blog: Ooroo and the T-Shirt Quilt

2010-01-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

I've already posted Laura's awesomeness in previous posts, but today I'd like to properly introduce her.

She is one of my closest girlfriends from college and one of the most incredibly fun people you'll ever meet. We met Freshman year and though she's a self-proclaimed science geek she also has a passion for creativity and crafting that knows no bounds.

She is the pioneer of the coolest gift I've ever received from a friend: my t-shirt quilt! It's a quilt made completely from all the t-shirts I got over the course of four years in college. It's a lovely (and cozy) reminder of all the memories we made together and one of the most thoughtful gifts ever.

Want to make one? Without much further adieu, let Laura (aka "Ooroo") show you the way in this DIY tutorial.

T-Shirt Quilt How-to From Ooroo

(modeled by gorgeous ladies - Tracy, Annie, and disembodied head - Chrissy)

Everybody loves a free t-shirt…including myself. But if you are like me, after awhile it is no longer fun to have half of your dresser dedicated to t-shirts, especially when you can no longer wear jeans and t-shirt everyday. One crafty way to get those shirts out of your dresser drawers but keep them as memorabilia is to turn them into a comfy quilt. I got this idea from a book called “Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt” by Megan Nicolay. http://www.amazon.com/Generation-108-Ways-Transform-T-Shirt/dp/0761137858 Here’s the details on how I make my t-shirt quilts.

To make a one-sided quilt of t-shirts in a 5x7 pattern (35 squares) requires the following materials:

· Front: 35 t-shirt panels (this means anything from 18 to 35 t-shirt depending on how often you want to make two panels from one shirt)

· Filling: Full or queen size batting (choose your own thickness) – full is 2” short for the long edge, but that’s what I typically use. Alternative: a (old) full size blanket.

· Backer: 1 queen size flat sheet (or a piece of material at least 70”x98”)

· Thread that is generally matches the color of your shirts

· 14”x14” square piece of cardboard

· Scissors

· Double-sided tape

· Thick embroidery thread

· Embroidery needle

Before starting make sure to wash and dry the sheet and all of your t-shirts (if they haven’t been washed). You want to make sure the material won’t shrink after you’ve put your lovely quilt together.

Make sure the 14”x14” cardboard square is perfectly square, this is your stencil. Use the double-sided tape to adhere the stencil to the shirt. Remember not to put the design you want too close to the edge, otherwise it might be partially masked by a seam (1/2” seams). Cut out the t-shirt panel. After cutting a few panels, match the panels up with each to make sure that they are square and the same size; trim any excess edges if necessary. After you’ve cut out the 35 panels, lay them out to decide how you want your quilt to look. You may do this before you cut out the panels if you are going for a balance of colors or deciding which shirts to include.

I usually go about making the quilt row by row. Place two squares such that the two “right sides” face each other and pin the edge with straight pins perpendicular to the edge you want sewn. Then sew a seam on the wrong side, a ½” from the edge. I usually pin a whole row at once then sew each individual square to the next until I have a nice row of 5 squares. I do this until I’ve made 7 rows. Then pin two rows together (“right sides” facing each other) and sew just as you did before. In this way, you will assemble the front of your quilt with 7 rows and 5 columns.

After you’ve assembled the front of your quilt, iron the back of it to make the seams flat.

Now, the whole quilt needs to be assembled. Lay the batting on the ground, then the sheet, and then the t-shirt panels “right side” down (i.e. facing the sheet). Make sure to smooth out each layer as you add it and then pin around the edge of the t-shirt panel. Trim off any excess batting or sheet material, leaving about ½” around the edge. Sew around the edge of the quilt ½” from the edge, but leave one square edge open. Through this opening you need to turn the quilt out so that your quilt will actually have the correct sides facing out: batting sandwiched between the t-shirt panel and the sheet. Close up the open edge by hand.

At this point you can quilt however you like. I typically use thick black thread and tack the front panel to the back panel with a simple knot at the corner of each square.

If you really have a lot of shirts, you can make a second panel of 35 t-shirt and use this instead of the sheet.

Voila! Now you have a comfy quilt made of your old t-shirts.

Target's Sex and the City Collection

2010-01-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, so they don't really call it "The Sex & the City" Collection, but I think they should. Over the 3-day weekend, I discovered a multitude of gorgeous and affordable (!) decor elements at the local Target. Below, I've included my pics for the greatest value and level of chic. Here's a hint for Friday, I definitely picked up a few of these items for my office... I couldn't resist.

The Duponi Fret Work Pillow, $19.99 each

An affordable Zebra rug! 3x5", $19.99

Set of two Hurricane Lamps with NY Skyline, $19.99

(I have one of these with branches, super cute with a candle in them)

Mirrored Tray, $29.99

That's the round-up from me. Target's running a great event where you save 10% when you spend $100. Have fun swankifying your place with these picks!

Friday Reveal Sneak Peek

2010-01-19T09:03:00.000-08:00

The 2nd book is "Start and Run a Home-Based Food Business." More on that endeavor later. :)

Check back on Friday to see the office space awesome.

This week at Living with Annie

2010-01-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hi all! I'm hard at work on my latest decorating project. There'll be a sneak peek early in the week and a big reveal on Friday. :)

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy your 3-day weekend and are excited for this week! I have a great DIY project from my friend Ooroo, a new recipe, and as mentioned- a big, exciting (hopefully) reveal! Stay tuned.

An original steak marinade

2010-01-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

I have done it! After many other recipe tries and never finding the 'one,' I concocted a new favorite for Gus and me's culinary adventures: my own steak marinade. Since I like to share the awesome on this blog - here it is for you, in case you're planning to make any delicious steak over the holiday weekend!

Ingredients (enough six small boneless tri-tip steaks):
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worstershire Sauce
1 tablespoon garlic cloves
A dash of dried red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard (I like Trader Joe's Garlic Mustard Aioli)
1 entire packet of Lipton's Onion Soup Mix

Directions:
Combine ingredients above in a cup or other pourable container. Place steaks in a deep pan. Cover steaks with marinade and refrigerate for at least an hour before grilling them. Marinating for 24 hours is the most yummy way to go.

Happy cooking!

Lovely Day for a Picnik

2010-01-14T09:30:00.000-08:00

While making my recent paper portraits, I stumbled across a lovely site - picnik.com. It's like a junior version of Photoshop but free and super easy to use. You don't even have to register if you just want to play around with one or two photos.

Remember my post on Mickey & Minnie Cake Pops? Thank you Polaroid feature on Picnik! In about a minute I took this...

and made THIS!

Spend some time playing around with it - I think you'll fall in love with this great little online site. They have premium features for $24.95 a year but don't worry, there's plenty of bells and whistles to keep you editing for quite sometime even if you only use the free ones! Happy Blogging!

Getting down to work

2010-01-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, as much as I might want to dance around my follower-ness, I have jumped on that "New Year's" resolution bandwagon when it comes to a lot of things in my life. I'm trying not to see these things as resolutions, which to me are normally things I wasn't very good at in years past and want to rededicate myself to.

Instead, I'm seeing the new year as a chance to breathe more life into my life. More passion, more open-mindedness, more craftiness... more, more, more awesome! One of the things I'm kicking my own butt to do (other than the always obvious, exercise) is to get back into screenwriting. I started this blog in October as a baby step in that direction. The goal was to get myself writing and creating on a regular basis. I'm proud to say I'm just a few posts away from 100 total and still adding here! It's giving me the push I need to get back into my original writing passion - writing for the screen.

With that goal for the year in mind, I've decided that my dining table aka work desk solution is just not cutting it. It's time to have a real desk - a place to store my inspirations for my script, my apartment, and my life! I've got a bit of a plan forming but I'm interested in your thoughts. I'm limited by the space of my apartment and the fact that I know I can't put this office space in my bedroom cause I'll never go in there.

Here's the deal and some inspiration from the intra-net... Give me a shout if you've got some great ideas, links, tips, etc. for me as I embark on this quest!

THE SPACE

I'm thinking the only logical place to put the desk would be my entryway (directly across from the kitchen). Any other place in the main room might get in the way of eating/relaxing/playing wii/attempting to do my Jillian Michaels Fitness DVD).

This could work out just fine but my CD Jacket mirror and Suitcase Table may need to live at Gus's for the time being. He is a sweetheart to be cool with babysitting my furniture until I have a bigger apartment or dare I say, house, to put it in.

I'm on the hunt for a desk from anywhere and contemplating customizing a boring piece from Ikea (yay before and afters for the blog!). The space limitations are 42" max wide, 22" max deep and I just have a small mac laptop- not a large, bulky, loves-to-freeze-up PC.

Here are photos of the space -

THE THOUGHTS

Spotted this on Little Bit Funky yesterday and snagged it for my inspiration file (an open Word Document I keep for all things amazing.) The color is bold but I'm kind of digging it, especially with how everything's been pulled together. Also majorly in love with the two picture ledges. Great stuff and pulled together in a small space.

Grabbed from Houzz.com (a great place to pull together tons of home decorating photos and make your own ideabooks aka inspiration files). I like the use of the beige (any soft color really) contrasted with the white furniture. I have so much dark furniture that I'm thinking it'd be fun to do something different/lighten things up. Also not opposed to some shelving like this, making my office area look more built-in.

Also from Houzz.com, loving the shape of this desk with the x's. Also enjoying the shape of the lamp and the use of the memo board to frame out the space. The backdrop (i.e. the dark brown) is way too dark but still, loving the other details here.

I have always really liked the idea of having a series of clipboards. I'm always thinking about and working on several different projects so I think I'd really enjoy having some cute order to my crafting and writing mania. To boot, I've totally spotted clipboards at the dollar store. Score!

In addition to these photos, I'm also toying with the idea of doing some chalkboard paint and/or incorporating beadboard in some way. I may go to Ikea tonight and surrender 3 hours of my life to perusing the shelves. It's okay- it's all the in name of New Year's and new beginnings...

Chime in with your thoughts, please and thank you!

xo Annie

Paper makes it possible

2010-01-12T09:23:00.000-08:00

Recently, I've gone on a blog following-rampage of sorts (don't worry, not violent in the least). In my quest to discover all the awesome that's out there in the home decorating, baking, and crafting universe, I discovered Paul Overton's DudeCraft. It's a very entertaining read and includes lots of tutorials, including one for Paper Portraits. I loved what Paul created and decided- yes, this will be a great present for Gus!

The above paper portrait (2nd photo) I created as a tester for the one I did for Gus. I made it for a friend of mine at work who worships Angelina Jolie. The original photo came from a snapshot of her looking at a photograph at the MOMA in LA.

The process for doing paper portraits is fairly simple and straightforward - just make sure you have a great x-acto knife and re-positionable spray mount. I encourage you to check out Paul's blog and tutorial linked here to make your own magic with paper. As you'll see from the one I did for Gus, the cutting can become complex if you use a complex photo - so be careful when choosing your first subject.

Without further adieu, may I present the actual present for my Gus Gus on his 24th birthday - a salute to our song, "You've Got a Friend in Me."

ORIGINAL PHOTO

POSTERIZED PHOTO (thanks Picnik)

BEAUTIFULLY AWESOME PAPER PORTRAIT

Framed in a 12" by 12" Record Album Frame

Yay paper portraits!

Linking up to

A-Flix - My Top Movies of 2009

2010-01-11T08:56:00.000-08:00

I work in the 'biz and am a bit of a movie buff so I couldn't resist making a great list of 2009. Mainly I'm doing this for my own benefit, but I hope it inspires you to check out some wonderful movies from this year.

ANNIE'S TOP 10 (in order, best first)

Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince

The Princess and the Frog

The Brothers Bloom

Up in the Air

Avatar

Away We Go

The Proposal

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Sherlock Holmes

In making this list and perusing EVERYTHING that was released this year, I realized a few things.

1) There weren't a ton of notable movies, for example, I never thought I'd put The Proposal on my list but really, it was a lot better than most of what was released this year.

2) There are still several films that have major buzz that I've yet to see and are therefore not included above: Invictus, Precious, and The Hurt Locker just to name a few.

3) I think it's kind of funny that I thought Sherlock looked terrible but ended up seeing it AND liking it enough that I added it.

4) Avatar is only on the list because it was too important to filmmaking visually not to include it.

5) Probably the most important lesson of all, while Princess and the Frog is a Disney classic in my eyes and particularly special since I was working for Disney when it was released- Up is most definitely the best movie made in 2009. Not just animated movie, but movie overall. One of the most heartfelt, genuinely funny, and captivating movies ever - Up has convinced me that Director Pete Docter is truly onto something brilliant and I can't wait to see what he does next.

So how bout you? What made your list this year?

A Wall of Awesome - the big reveal

2010-01-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

Back in college, my roommate and I started a "Wall of Awesome." Basically, this was a huge white wall that we had no idea how to decorate so we solved that problem by inviting our dorm to submit "awesome." There were some simple rules for our wall: we decided what was awesome AND nothing that was once alive or is currently alive (we got a surprisingly large number of requests to post animals). Anyway, I'll have to show you what "The Wall of Awesome" looked like another time... because today is time for another kind of wall project... the first major undertaking of my life in the new apartment!

THE INSPIRATION

Mostly Sherry and John and their brilliance at Young House Love

with some noted extra ideas from all the bloggers mentioned in my earlier post, Style through Stripes

THE PAINT

Valspar Interior Flat Enamel in Churchill Hotel Wheat

THE PAINTERS

(Strikingly handsome AND handy with a paint brush. Gosh, I am lucky he loves me. This wall involved a LOT of measuring and taping.)

THE PROCESS

Supplies: 1 Gallon of the paint, one large paint roller, one small paint roller, one paint tray, one small trim brush, one edger (the greatest invention... ever), one large roll 3M painter's tape, a pencil, a yard stick, drop cloth, ladder/chairs, and a laser level (runner-up for the greatest invention ever for painters)

Measuring: Decided how many stripes I wanted - 6. Using Young House Love's formula of dividing the height of the wall by 11 (dividing the height of the wall by double the number of stripes you want minus 1)- we arrived at 9.5 in. We used a yardstick, pencil, and laser level to mark off 9.5 in. intervals all the way down the wall. Then, we used the laser level to shoot a level line across the intervals and run dashes across the length of the wall. These were our guides to place the tape. Definitely needed two people for this- one to hold the level, the other to mark.

Taping: We taped off each line, careful to place the tape above and below the marks we made depending on where our stripes were supposed to go. For example, at the top of the stripe at the bottom of the wall, we placed the tape ABOVE that line, so that we could paint the stripe below. Repeat for hours and smooth the tape as you go. Thank boyfriend for being amazingly awesome. Measuring and taping takes away 3 hours of our lives - hopefully it'll be worth it.

Painting: Fun! We used the edger on the sides of the lines (that meet the other walls) and at the very top and very bottom. An edger is the greatest tool EVER - we didn't even have to tape off the other walls - everything came out clean. For the rest, we used rollers.

Tape Removal: We did this immediately as recommended. Due to the texture of my wall, some of the lines aren't amazingly super crisp but you can only tell up close.

THE BEFORE AND AFTER (Yeah, you're excited, I know it!)

Yay! On to the next project. Have a great weekend everyone and I'd love to hear what you think of the wall!

xo Annie

Linking to:
Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party (1/20)
and

Spooning

2010-01-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen... may I present my Golden Spoon - the first baking award I've ever received! Shiny, right?

To see what won me this metallic prize, check out this earlier post.

Also- check back tomorrow for my home decorating project reveal!

Martha Stewart Salmon... Seriously

2010-01-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

On one of my recent trips across the country, I indulged in buying an issue of the monthly tome on all things awesome, Martha Stewart Living. I'm sorry folks, I know she's cliche, but she's nonetheless a cliche worth consulting. I don't know how her and her staff keep innovating- but somehow they do!

Over my stay-cation (between Christmas and New Year's), Gus and I attempted to recreate some Martha-awesome with the following recipe for Seared Salmon with Horseradish and Scallions. Our attempt was mucho successful and very decidedly yummy.

You give it a whirl and let us know what you think! Super quick and chic- Seared Salmon with Horseradish and Scallions, courtesy of our lady Martha.

Ingredients:
2 filets of salmon, skin removed (you can use more if you wish, just increase the amts below of other ingredients)
2 green onions/scallions chopped
1 tablespoon of prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Salmon searing in the pan, horseradish side up.

Directions:
PRE-HEAT oven to 375 Degrees. Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper. Spread horseradish on the skin removed side of each filet - enough just to cover it evenly.

HEAT oil in an oven-safe skillet at medium-high heat (careful not to let the oil smoke). Add the salmon, horseradish side up, to the skillet and leave for 2 minutes in the hot oil (searing the other side).

Without flipping the salmon filets, TRANSFER skillet to the oven and bake until the salmon is at your desired consistency. Martha suggests 6 minutes, Gus and I did more like 12 because we prefer salmon cooked all the way through.

SERVE warm and topped with scallions. Total time for this recipe is roughly 15-20 minutes including prep.

Delish! Happy cooking and thanks Martha.

Friday Sneak Peek

2010-01-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

What have I been up to?!

Check back Friday for a big reveal of the first major decorating project of 2010.

New Year, New Recipe

2010-01-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's everyone! 2009 was an incredible journey for me - lots of highs, some lows, and tons of challenges. 2010 looks like it has even more in store now that I've started this blog, am getting back into screenwriting, and am investigating new work possibilities! (How's that for cryptic?)

Anyway, this week should be a good one for Living with Annie. I'll have a few new recipes, a new craft, and a very exciting REVEAL of my Stay-cation major decorating project on Friday!

Today, I'm sharing a recipe recently made by my dear friend Ooroo (also known as Laura). I'm hoping to share more of her crafty work later this week and in the future, so be on the look out for it.

Without further adieu, Ooroo's Mint Chocolate Bark! (Originally found here at meals.com)

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels
1/3 cup coarsely chopped oven roasted or toasted almonds (Laura says to toast them in the oven on 300 degrees)

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 325° F. Line small baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

POUR morsels onto prepared baking sheet. Arrange morsels so they are touching each other in a single layer (roughly an 11 x 9-inch rectangle).

BAKE for 1 to 3 minutes or until morsels are shiny. Remove from oven to wire rack. With tip of butter knife or wooden pick, immediately swirl morsels to create a swirled pattern.

SPRINKLE with nuts. Hold baking sheet 3 inches above counter and drop to settle nuts into melted morsels. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

VARIATION: Substitute broken pretzel pieces or another nut of choice for the almonds.

Minty chocolate-y goodness. Thanks Ooroo for the inspiration!

How to make your own board game

2009-12-30T13:36:00.000-08:00

Fresh off the heels of Christmas, here is a step-by-step guide to creating your own "opoly" for your family, friends, sorority, twitter buddies... the sky is the limit. My game is based mainly on location (Properties become more expensive as you move around the board and are personalized to the people that live in each area) but you can base yours on anything. All the property amounts remain the same and it is meant to be played exactly like Monopoly (except for a few fun twists on the Community Chest/Chance cards).

To see how the finished product comes together in awesome, please take a look at yesterday's post. To get cracking, here are the directions.

SUPPLIES:

Note - all templates mentioned are at the bottom of this post.

For the game pieces -

1) A Black Sharpie

2) A Metallic Sharpie (I used Silver)

3) A pack of small wooden circles (Mine were $3 from Michael's in the wood section)

4) .75" by .75" photos of every person who will be on a game piece

5) Scissors

For the game board, box, and cards -

1) Brand new Monopoly Game ($9 at Target)

2) Scrapbooking stickers (I used a travel themed scrapbooking set for $6 also from Michael's)

3) Raised Scrapbooking Varsity Letters (These were a $5 set in the Martha Stewart Collection from Michael's)

4) Printed panels, Community Chest/Card text, printed labels for the title cards, and printed location titles (nearly all provided as templates below)

5) Neutral-colored cardstock (for the sides of the box and a frame beneath the main board photo)

6) Photo of your entire family (or group) that's at least 4x6" printed on regular paper

7) Repositionable spray adhesive

For the money -

1) Photos you'd like to use of the family

2) Templates for money that I've provided

3) Computer paper and printer

DIRECTIONS:

To make the game pieces -

1) Using a black sharpie, color one side and the edge of the wooden circle completely. Repeat for every game piece you intend to create.

2) Taking your .75" by .75" inch photo of someone, use the wooden circle to carefully cut the photo into a circle that will fit on top.

3) Use modge podge to glue to the photo to the un-sharpied side of the wooden circle.

4) Seal on top with another coat of modge podge.

5) If you desire, on the black sharpied side, use a metallic Sharpie to write each person's name. Once dry, modge podge that side to protect your text.

6) Repeat for every person you are making a game piece for.

To make the game box -

1) Use spray adhesive to carefully affix your scrapbook paper or cardstock to the Monopoly box. The design is completely up to you. I used two pieces of scrapbook picture and added a chipboard "tag" that came with the scrapbook page set I bought.

2) Press on raised adhesive letter stickers to incidate the name of your game.

To make the monopoly money -

1) Use the templates at the end of the post as a starting point. Insert your own photos over them using Microsoft Word or another application.

2) Print in the denominations that correspond to the money that came with your monopoly set.

3) Cut all of the bills out (an exacto knife is very helpful here) then rubber band together for your game.

To make the properties and railroads for the physical game board -

1) Create your own property spaces or customize my templates at the bottom of the post. You can use a location theme like I did or choose not to divide up the board at all. I would recommend keeping the monetary amounts the same as the ones in monopoly so you can play it according to those rules easily.

2) Print your spaces on regular computer paper and cut all of them out (preferably with an exacto... it'll make your life way easier).

3) Using spray adhesive, carefully adhere your spaces to the corresponding spots on the board.

To change the title cards to reflect your new properties and railroads on the board -

1) Use my templates or create your own new title deed labels.

2) Print and cut out two copies of the labels (one for the front and back of each card).

3) Using spray adhesive, adhere the new title to the front and back of each title deed card - thereby covering up the old names for the properties.

To change the Community Chest and Chance Cards (if you'd like to) -

1) Templates are below if you'd like to do this. I did only about 9 cards, leaving the rest just as they are from the Monopoly game.

2) Print your new text and adhere it to your specific cards using spray adhesive.

3) Slide these revised cards in with the rest of the deck.

To further decorate the board -

1) Using neutral cardstock, cut a rectangle that will cover the place where it says Monopoly on the game board and glue it down. (Spray adhesive did not work well with such big pieces).

2) Then glue your photo of your family/group in the middle of the rectangle, framing it in the middle of the board.

3) Use stickers or hand-write the name of your new game beneath the photo.

Last steps before you box it up again -

Make sure you score (cut) lines in the middle of the family photo/the cardstock frame/any properties that run into the creases of the board. You want to be able to fold it so think about where the board naturally needs to break down and score lines in your new properties and the photo to make sure it can be folded down and reassembled.

And that's it! This project took me roughly 4-5 evenings to complete and I had a lovely little Franceschi helper who especially came in handy when cutting out all the money. Good luck on your own games! Hope they'll bring your family years of fun :)

Templates (text from my game included) -

Printable Panels for all the properties and railroads

Printable Title Card Labels for all the properties and railroads

Printable Revised Text for Community Chest and Chance Cards

Money Templates are below - click to view them actual size

Sizes for your own templates if you'd like to create them (all the templates above are sized properly):

Game Board Property, 2"x1.5"

Game Board Railroad, 2.5" by 1.5"

Title Deed Card Label (just covering the text with your new property name), .5" by 1.5"

Monopoly Money, 2.25" by 4"

Other resources:

Wikipedia on Monopoly (Complete with a layout to the current (2008) Edition of the game, complete with property amounts)

About.com on the Money in Monopoly

My Craftiest Christmas Yet

2009-12-29T12:04:00.000-08:00

After being inspired by Angela at a Bushel and a Peck a few weeks ago, I decided to make Gus's parents and family a board game personalized to their awesomeness. There are tons of kits to do this but of course, I dived in pretty much from scratch to make sure I had total DIY control over the look of everything. This, of course, was before I realized just how many bills are in the bank of Monopoly!

Today, the big reveal! Tomorrow, come back for the DIY tutorial, complete with all panel templates and instructions on how to customize your own little version of Monopoly. Enjoy and I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

The game board, customized with properties that were named after everyone in the family. Locations move from least expensive to most expensive, corresponding to where everyone lives in the country (except Firenze, which was a vacation spot)

A few select Community Chest cards are changed to have challenges to get that cash. Sadly, I didn't get to see anyone improvise a family song!

Wooden circles, printed photos, and little modge podge became excellent little game tokens - one for everybody (and two girlfriends, huzzah!)

All smiles from the parents. Hurray, a complete crafty success!

Now, what the heck will I do next year?

See you tomorrow when I'll give the lowdown on exactly how to do this project and create family board game fun for a lifetime.

Baked Oatmeal (in a pinch)

2009-12-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

One of my friends from college makes a great baked oatmeal. It feeds tons of people and is super yummy topped with milk or ice cream. Never had baked oatmeal before? Boy, you have not lived until you have tried it. Imagine something the consistency of an oatmeal cookie topped with baked cinnamon and sugar - nom!

Here's the recipe from my friend (who got it from a friend of his). Be sure to size this down and note my awesome substitute for milk!

Krista's Baked Oatmeal (provided to me by M@)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 C oil
2 1/2 C milk (or French vanilla ice cream which I subbed in a pinch)
2 Tbs cinnamon
2 1/2 C sugar (brown or white) (I like a mixture of both)
2 1/2 tsp salt
5 eggs (beaten)
7 1/2 C oatmeal (dry)
5 tsp baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

Cream together sugar, oil, and eggs. Add oatmeal, baking powder, salt, milk and cinnamon. Put in 9 x 13 in pan that has been greased. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. ENJOY!

I like to eat mine with ice cream... and apparently, bake it with ice cream too. Delish! Happy breakfast.

Annie - the award-winnning baker

2009-12-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

I was hoping this day would come at some point in my life- the day I’d actually win an award for something I whipped up! Indeed, that day has come. Last week, I made my own spin on Bakerella’s cake pops – Mickey and Minnie Cake Pops – for our Charity Bake Sale. They turned out great and much to my delight, I was awarded a Golden Spoon (an amazing wooden spoon wonderfully spray-painted in gold) for “Best Candy.” Yeah, I still got it.

Anyway, here’s a brief rundown and the recipe if you’d like to make your own this holiday season!

Cake Balls are basically just cake mixed with frosting, rolled into balls, then dipped in chocolate. They are a staple of an amazing baker/blogger known as Bakerella. If you'd like more background on them, check out my earlier post- Cake Balls of Deliciousness.

If you'd like to make these scrumptious award-winnng Disney-themed pops, here's what you'll need:

For the cake and cake/frosting mixture -
- Devil's food cake mix
- Eggs and vegetable oil (enough to bake the mix as normal)
- 1 can of Cream Cheese Frosting

For decorating the cake balls -

- One box of Junior Mints
- Red heart sprinkles
- Wilton's (or any other brand) dark cocoa melting chocolate
- Lollipop sticks
- Red sugar sprinkles (optional)

For presentation -
- A long foam block
- Gift wrap

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare cake as directed and allow to cool for at least an hour.

2. Crumble cake into fine particles with your hands into a large bowl.

3. Add an entire can of cream cheese frosting. Mix evenly.

4. Roll the mixture into small, 1 inch balls and place on wax paper. Refrigerate (overnight) if you can.

5. When you're ready to decorate, melt your melting chocolate in a deep bowl according to the directions on the package.

6. Dip the tip of each lollipop stick into the melted chocolate then straight down into the cake balls on your wax paper. You are making cake on a stick here, essentially.

7. Once you've completed that step and the melted chocolate on the stick has been able to set, use the lollipop stick to dip the cake ball into the chocolate. Tap the stick towards the top (towards the cake ball) to drip off excess chocolate.

8. Working VERY quickly, attach two Junior mints as the ears (be sure to press down a little bit into the chocolate/cake ball) then two red heart sprinkles sideways to form a Minnie bow (if you are making Minnie). The chocolate dries in a matter of seconds! If it sets before you can get the bows on (which happened to me several times), dip one side of the red heart sprinkles back in the chocolate and use it as glue to attach. Repeat the same for any ears that might fall off.

9. Allow to dry by stuffing the lollipop stick down into a large foam block. It should hold the pop in place when it dries. Repeat! Just one box of cake mix will literally make nearly 50 pops if you need em so get crackin.

10. To make the display, remove all the pops from the foam block and lay them on wax paper (as long as they have set, they will be fine for the time being).

11. Wrap the box in your chosen gift wrap (I used holiday theme). Then set the pops back down into the styrofoam - and voila, cake pop display!

Alternative: You can also cut out circular labels and poke a hole in the top and bottom for the pop to go through. Great for giving individual pops as gifts!

That's it for me today. Hope you have fun making your own cake pops! Good luck on getting your own golden utensils. I heart mine.

Wacka wacka wacka

2009-12-21T10:31:00.000-08:00

This year, Disney held a "decorate an ornament" silent auction. I barely got my baked goods ready in time for the bake sale on the same day so I wasn't going to participate.

But then, inspiration struck/my desire to contribute overcame me. But what could I make with such limited supplies (sharpies, white out, file folders, and glue) on limited time (mere hours)? The answer was staring me plain in the face- what was the color of the ornament? None other than Fozzie Bear!

This lovely ornament was crafted from nothing other than a brown paper covered ornament, sharpies, white out, glue, and a dark brown file folder in less than two hours. Both the hat and the ears are simply cut outs from the file folder and glued to the top of the ornament. White out stood in for eye paint.

Fozzie faired well at auction and sold for $20 (the starting bid was $5!) Just goes to show you that sometimes inspiration comes when you least expect it and yields very creative and fruitful results.

Wacka, wacka.

A Few Updates

2009-12-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

Ello friends. As we approach the holidays this week, I'd like to let you all know what to expect from Living with Annie and what awesome I have in store.

Today through Wednesday of this week, visit me for some fabulous LwA posts including a new super-cute recipe, exciting award-winning news, and more. This Thursday and Friday, due to traveling to Iowa and you know - Christmas - I will be away on vacation.

Be sure to check back in after Christmas. You don’t want to miss my posts that will finally show off all the creative little projects I did as gifts this year (complete with tutorials!). Post-Christmas, Living with Annie will be back, and better than ever, with new posts on Tuesday, Dec. 29.

Wishing everyone good luck on their last bits of shopping and, if you’re like me, on those massive project/presents you started and need to finish by Thursday!

-Annie

Living with Annie

Peeps and Up!

A real-life Up house!

New Wedding Blog - Planning with Annie

Too good to be true

Cookie Dough... Dip

Om Nom Pumpkin Chip Cookies

How to: Make your own Bunsen and Beaker

Meep meep meep... meep! The Reveal

Halloween Costume reveal.. tomorrow!!

A Halloween Cardboard Cemetery

Halloween Costume 2010 - Sneak Peek

Hello apple pie, Goodbye gluten

Ingredients

Pastry Crust Makes Two Crusts

Apple Filling

Crumble Topping

Directions

***Pastry Crust Instructions***.

Spotted: A Nursery with Style

Extreme Makeover: Your Home Edition

Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Cake

In anticipation of my anniversary

Hi there

Friday Reveal: Living Room Loveliness

Friday Sneak Peek

A Very Muppet Marriage

Announcement

Color Scheming

Mmm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Piccata in a Pinch

The Best Bouquet - a Gift Card Bouquet

Weekend Kitchen Nightmares: Rubber Lemon Cake

Friday Fun with Spray Paint

Easy and Delicious Baked Ziti

QuickFix: Living Room Makeover from a Pillow and Picture Frame Switch

Fun free apps for writers and anyone who wants to organize their life

Update

All about Oscar

The Style Files: Organizing your home inspiration

Congratulations to our Giveaway Winner!

PAULA DEEN COOKBOOK Giveaway! Enter now!

Giveaway Postponed til Tomorrow (Tuesday)

Friday Reveal: Bedroom Stencils

Living with Annie's First GIVEAWAY! Enter this Monday

Annie's Baked Potato Soup

Friday Reveal Sneak Peek

One-Sentence Dinner: BBQ Crock Pot Chicken

Decor Alert - Reimagined Movie Posters

Reader Paper Portrait

Quick Bedroom Makeover - Adding and Subtracting Furniture

Did you know this about Target?

Dreams do come true thanks to Wishpot

The art of the heart

Home Decorating... by the numbers

Living with Annie featured on Better After

Living with Annie Update

The Internet for Bakers

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards

Make these cookies

Birthday Buttons!

100 Posts and Counting

Design QuickFix -Hanging a cheap Target shelf

Easy Dinner - BBQ Pork in the Crock Pot

The importance of dropping your pants

Dun dun dun - Office space!

For anyone interested in knowing more about screenwriting

Guest Blog: Ooroo and the T-Shirt Quilt

To make a one-sided quilt of t-shirts in a 5x7 pattern (35 squares) requires the following materials:

· Front: 35 t-shirt panels (this means anything from 18 to 35 t-shirt depending on how often you want to make two panels from one shirt)

· Filling: Full or queen size batting (choose your own thickness) – full is 2” short for the long edge, but that’s what I typically use. Alternative: a (old) full size blanket.

· Backer: 1 queen size flat sheet (or a piece of material at least 70”x98”)

· Thread that is generally matches the color of your shirts

· 14”x14” square piece of cardboard

· Scissors

· Double-sided tape

· Thick embroidery thread

· Embroidery needle

Before starting make sure to wash and dry the sheet and all of your t-shirts (if they haven’t been washed). You want to make sure the material won’t shrink after you’ve put your lovely quilt together.

After you’ve assembled the front of your quilt, iron the back of it to make the seams flat.

Pastry Crust Instructions.