Halloween Musicale and...Ballerina Dog!

I'm recovering from my third (yes, third) bout of illness in eight weeks. I am literally tired from spending entire days in bed and canceling work. I'm over the fevers and congestion and vomiting. Yuk! May I please just get back to life? As you can see, I make a poor patient. I'm demanding and downright dangerous when I have too much time on my hands. (Thank you for loving me, family!)

Thankfully I am on the mend, because tonight I hosted the much-anticipated 5th Annual Halloween Musicale! In case you don't know, the Halloween Musicale is a most brilliant combination of piano recital and Halloween party; my teacher from high school and I put this on together each year. It's a favorite with our students. Yes, the students play in costume. And then we eat spooky snacks and play ghoulish games. I bet you want to take piano lessons now, huh?

Notice that furry student on the far right with Wendy?

Why, that's BALLERINA DOG!

Favorite!

(Don't judge. You'd take glamour shots of her, too, if you had the chance!)

Ballerina Dog was a great hostess and greeted each costumed guest. (Which was truly helpful, since I have not recovered my voice!) I am thankful we had the time to socialize her so much as a young pup, because there's very little that frightens her (vacuum is on the bad list still). She stayed with me most of the evening and tolerated her tutu gracefully. May I just say I love my dog? Or was that already obvious?

Happy Halloween week! Have fun and stay safe!

Top Ten Mason Jars Uses

My wedding decor included about 85-90 mason jars. Roughly 75 of those were hanging as lanterns, and others were dispersed around the lobby and reception hall to hold candles and Baby's Breath. One very large mason jar held my bouquet at our sweetheart table. Friends graciously loaned us all their canning jars, but we purchased a good deal ourselves. This has led to discovering creative ways to use mason jars, both pre and post-wedding. Here are my favorites, including some old staples, as well.

1. Green smoothies

I drink at least one, usually two, of these a day. Simply blend 2 1/2 cups water, adding spinach until the level rises to 5 1/2 cups. Add frozen fruit until the level reaches 8 cups. Divide into four jars. Keep for two days.


2. Salads in a jar

Ty and I eat these almost every day. I like to make a whole bunch at one time and keep them in the fridge for the week. They are a quick go-to for packing lunches.


3. Overnight oats

Summer heat hasn't been encouraging me to eat stove-cooked oats, so I tried out overnight cold oats. Refreshing! I keep it simple with 1/2 oats and 1 cup milk. Combine in a jar, shake, and store in the fridge overnight. Sometimes I add cinnamon and PB in the morning. Mmmm. Now if only I had some raisins...

The trio: green smoothie, salad, overnight oats

4. Staining craft!

I was skeptical and thought I'd ruin a handful of jars trying this one out, but it's SO EASY! Have a lot of dye on hand if you prefer a darker stain. (Note: don't use these to store food.)

The jars I stained, waiting to be hung...

5. Hanging lanterns

My friends and I are pros at this now, though, seeing as we made 75 for the wedding. I've decided to make four more with the jars that I stained and use them as dining room decor. My dark blue jars match my fine china.

Here's a glimpse of the reception room with the hanging lanterns (and twinkle lights).

Photo by: K. Linduff

6. Party favors!

I made party favors for the guests at my 4th-of-July-themed bridal brunch using these small jars, Peppermint Patty Pieces, and red ribbon. Super cute and also very easy. (Can't seem to track down a photo of the actual favors at this moment.)

7. Vases

The larger jars work wonderfully as centerpieces! I used a handled jar to hold Baby's Breath in our engagement photos.

Ms. Williams brought me flowers!  Don't think we own a vase. No problem!

Photo by: KT Crabb Photography

8. Bathroom organizers

Saw the mountable version of this on Pinterest, and decided not to make more work for myself (or Ty). We had an extra shelf in the bathroom, so I used our available space. This is so convenient, and I use it every day.

More jars I stained. Considerably less dye made them this color! 

9. Storing alcohol

If you want to open a bottle of beer or ale for cooking and don't need it all, just pour into a mason jar and store away in the fridge. It will stay fresh!


10. Salad dressings.

I use the "baby jars" (same as for my party favors) to store homemade salad dressing. Just shake and pour!


And let's not forget the good ol' fashioned milk glass...

In short, I've been using them for EVERYTHING! I have about 16 jars of varying sizes and styles in my cupboard and about ten more decorative ones around the house. Every single one serves some good purpose in our home!

I want to try this next...

Salad in a Jar

My friend, Amy sent me to another friend's site where I discovered how to make a salad in a jar. Anything with fresh ingredients that I can prepare in advance is worth a try for me! Apparently these stay fresh for up to five days! If you're on-the-go during the day, you could make these Sunday night and eat fresh veggies all week! I had ingredients enough for two, and I tweaked the recipe to fit my needs.

It's important to start with the dressing so it doesn't get soggy.

After the dressing, I added shredded carrots.

Next came the cucumber and red onion. Later I discovered broccoli in the fridge and felt sad that I hadn't included it! I think I would have needed a larger jar for anything else, though!

I didn't have any feta or gorgonzola, so I added shredded almonds and raisins instead.

I put the lettuce on top, and I later added some spinach, too.

I compressed it to fit as many greens as possible!

With my salad in a jar and my green smoothie, I have the dynamic breakfast+lunch duo!

The only downside is that my lunchbox is so heavy! :)

Look Out, Tom!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monsters in Your Freezer

I'm freaking out! Yesterday I played hooky from school, baked, spent time with friends, watched movies, and listened to the rain fall all day.

My kids' Halloween Recital is at the end of the month, and so I took this opportunity to try out some spooky goodies.

First I made this yummy bean salad! Mmmm. I ate it for dinner, too.

Then the party started.

Every good party involves a big mess.

o_O

I found these cute recipes at Better Homes and Gardens. We copied some of their designs and invented others.

Here Ty is showing me pictures of a truck he worked on. I saw this photo of us and thought my hair was getting long, but then we watched Tangled...

Here are some of our creations. Carissa and Ty were laughing at me, because I had a whole photo shoot with each monster. They're just sooo cute! :D

And let's not forget the mice! (Made from a chocolate-dipped cherry, fruit leather, almond slivers, and a Hershey Kiss.)

"It's Mike Wazowski!"

The damage.

Ty said his apartment had never been so messy. I took that as a compliment, and I think he meant it as one, too. The monsters stayed overnight in his freezer. So much for the closet...