Package Pals & Updates

Here are the goodies I included in Heather's package.

And here are the goodies I received. Such pretty wrapping!

Fabric, ooh la la!

I'm especially excited about trying the pattern she sent me!

4th of July fun!

We watched some soccer & enjoyed some lovely fireworks.

Colorado Trail hiking!

Have a happy weekend!

The It'll Do Sandwich Recipe

So back in Peru at a delightful restaurant called Los Perros, I had a tantalizing sandwich called the “It’ll Do the Trick” sandwich. I had it my first day I was there & had it about six more times throughout the month. Here’s a recipe inspired by that delicious sandwich.

There are two ways to make this delicious sandwich: cook the chicken yourself, or buy breaded chicken in the frozen section of your grocery store. If you are breading the chicken yourself, you will take the raw chicken, dunk in flour, dunk in egg, dunk in breadcrumbs & fry in some oil or butter (a more detailed recipe found here, which is what I tend to use). For store bought simply cook chicken (or warm) according to the package’s directions. I used a package of General Tao's chicken and baked it without the sauce.

To make four sandwiches, you will need:

Chicken

4 soft hoagie rolls

2 Avocados

2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

1 small jar roasted red peppers

4 pieces of butter lettuce

1 c. shredded Monterrey jack cheese

If you can’t find toasted sesame seeds: place sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium heat. Stir every few minutes until they are light brown in color & you begin to smell them toasting. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare chicken according to directions on package (or fry up your own breaded chicken)

Cut & peel avocados. Place in a bowl & mash with a fork until it’s got a chunky guacamole consistency.

1. Using a butter knife, spread avocado onto both sides of the rolls

2. Add roasted red peppers on top

3. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds
4. Add a layer of lettuce
5. Add chicken

6. Add cheese on top of chicken (be generous)

Place the halves together & viola the yummiest sandwich is now at your fingertips.

Photos from the week & a finished project

Here are some shots from the week. 

Denver, dinners, a speakeasy, night swinging, colorful chalk art, bookstores, games. 

Love. 

Happy summer, everybody!

PS- I FINALLY finished up some curtains in my apartment.

My goal is to finish up another project this weekend: my t-shirt quilt that I started almost a year ago.

What are you up to this weekend?

Back to School

Wait? It's summer? Back to school! We just celebrated getting out of school!

Not me! Getting back to school is actually a celebration for me. See I graduated in 2010 & with two almost-made-it-to-med-school attempts under my belt, I'm taking some more classes to broaden my biology experience.

My first lab was yesterday for anatomy & physiology. And in just one session I learned nearly all the bones and structures in the skull. Holla!

Fresh office supplies make me giddy. Fresh notebooks waiting to be filled. Fresh pens ready to write and doodle. Binders for organizing, books for reading. It just brings back so many good memories from studying in college.

There are few things more fulfilling than learning!

What are you excited about this summer?

Ham Buns Recipe

This recipe is inspired by my guy's love of his mother's cooking. He grew up mowing on these & loves them.

You will need:

Hawaiian rolls, ham, mustard, 1/2 tsp. poppy seeds + a sprinkle on top, 1 Tbsp. mustard, 1/3 c. minced onions, 2 Tbsp. butter + a little extra for the top of the buns, 1 c. cheese (really yummy with Swiss!), and foil

Make a mixture of mustard, melted butter, poppy seeds, and minced onions

Cut the buns in half and with a pastry brush spread the mixture on top and bottom sides of the buns. Reserve some for the top.

Now add the ham in a layer.

Then the cheese.

Top with the buns & spread the remaining mixture on the top.

Place 3-4 buns in aluminum foil & bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes until the cheese is melted and they are warm.

Now, enjoy! Bon appetit!

Tuesday Tutorial: Customized Outdoor Bench Cushions

For a birthday present for my sister's boyfriend, we made him some bench cushions. He made the benches from scrap wood, a project that didn't cost him a dime (it did cost him some sweat, though). The wood was a bit splintered and was therefore not very comfortable to sit on. Splinters + bare legs = ouch!

We made a trip to Joann's, bought some indoor/outdoor fabric (50% off, holla!), sat down on foam in the middle of the aisle, bought the schtuff (40% off!) & went to work. This project may seem like a huge undertaking, but rest assured, this will only take a few hours!

*Photo heavy post!*

[source]

$50 x 3 benches = $150

$29 x 3 benches = $87 at least

Here's how you can make your own customized cushions for less than buying them!

Sew the side just across from the fold and along one of the bottoms. Leave one short side entirely open.

To make the fabric take on a more boxed look, using the fabric from the long sides and the bottom sewn side, fold the fabric in a triangle against the seam. 

See below or here for a more detailed explanation on this technique.

Repeat for the other corner as well.

For finishing, I turned the fabric right side out and stuffed the foam inside. With the end edges, I folded the fabric like an envelope (see below) and pinned Velcro on the inside for an invisible finish.

Pinned Velcro, ready to sew. Notice how the Velcro spans the whole cushion.

 To make sewing the Velcro easier, I pushed the foam down and out of the way.

 I used a zig-zag stitch to secure the Velcro.

It looks something like this.

 To finish, fold in like an envelope, just like you did before pinning the Velcro.

This is what mine looked like finished.

Not even cute! So, we decided to sew some ourselves.

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