Pony beads, and other exciting things!

Pony beads have never really been my favorite. They are great for kids projects but even as a kid I had my eye on swarovski crystals, czech glass and tumbled gemstones. So I havent worked with them much. Until I saw a pinterest project that snagged my attention. I cant find it now but the pin was these super cute hair clips made with melted pony beads. Now thats something I can learn to like. I love messing with things so they dont look the same as they were and I love taking risks. So I had to try it. 

So after Mr. Hubby went to work one night I decided to try it out. I dug out the few that I had arranged them in flower shapes and put them in the oven according to the instructions I found online. 

They turned out absolutely adorable. I just love them. Once I have the opportunity to attach them to bobby pins I will post some better pictures and will have some in my new shop. 

What's that you ask? Some of you know that I made an effort to sell my creations by way of a small shop I called RandomAnn Designs. It had some great moments and I was able to do some cool stuff with it. But I was recently approached by my friend Jen who wanted a partner for a similar shop. So  J & A Inspired Creations was born. 

It's still in the works but we are really excited about it and have lots of ideas. We hope to hit the craft fair circuit this fall and have our online shop up and running by then as well.  I am super excited to have more of an excuse to create again. I am also running the blog for it so feel free to check it out. 

Fix-it Friday - Making a cute shirt cuter!

This post is from a while back ago but I forgot to share it :)


It all started when I got this awesome shirt at the thrift store.

It was cheap ($2) I loved the colors and was in great condition. But I'm not the biggest fan of tube tops. I am always super paranoid they are gonna fall down. But I couldn't pass this shirt up. I loved the colors and there were no stains on it. So I took it home thinking I could add straps to it or maybe take out the smocking and make it into something I would wear.

It ended up being easier than I thought.

I remembered I had some ribbon that matched. and after some messing around I braided a fairly long strap. I decided to sew it in the front center. I used the same color thread as the stitching in the smocking so you cant even see where I sewed it on. I added a bead to the straps so I could either use it as a cinch (kind like a draw string) and left the strap fairly long so could have the option to tie it.

Pardon the messy background. It was a crazy week. 

I was quite happy with it and wore a it on a date with my hubby to Friends too, a local greek restaurant which is my favorite. Paired with my basic white cropped sweater I can even wear it to church! 

I love the colors and the length :) 

Food Faves - Don't read this post if you are hungry.

The last few months I have been lucky enough to eat some of my favorite things at some of my favorite places. And I have an odd habit of taking pictures of my food. Mr. Hubby laughs at me every time. But it makes a fun blog post. Or at least I think so....

Portillos!

Mr. Hubby is a booger and doesnt see how this is better than Arby's. 

He's crazy.

 

Starbucks! love the hazelnut frapps! best thing ever. 

Noodles!

One of my awesomely friends introduced me to this place a few weeks ago. 

I loved it! 

Then I won a little wager and introduced hubby to it. We both got "the Med" sandwich.

Mediterranean inspired food is my favorite. 

Their pasta dishes are amazing. YUM! 

Speaking of Mediterranean. My favorite restaurant ever is Friends Too! a local Greek place with 2 locations. These pics are from when I introduced my lovely friend Becky (who introduced me to Noodles) to it. The middle platter and bottom picture are Saganaki, an amazing appetizer of cheese flambeed  with rum. AMAZING and FUN! 

Wendy's now offers frosty's in waffle cones.

 YES PLEASE!

and a small fry.... 

Last but not least. Taco bell. 

Baja blast slushie. I love slushies and i love Baja blast. this is amazing

Cake Mix Cookies!

Lots of pics in this post. Most just to make you drool...

You're welcome. 

I love these cookies. I tried them for the first time about 7 months ago before this blog and I knew I had to blog about them. And I haven't met a person who doesn't love them. Mr. Hubby loves them. If he is home while I bake them he eats them faster than my tiny oven can bake them. They are super simple, cheap and easy to make. No fuss, no bu-coo bucks and people pleasing all around (which in this case is a very good thing. )
:)

I love them because they are super versatile; they can be as simple or as complicated as you like. The basic recipe is only 3 ingredients and they taste wonderful as is. But you can mix in what ever you like to give them your own spin.

I originally started seeing cake mix cookie recipes on Pinterest and decided to make my own take on them. I was very successful. I baked 6 batches of these yummies last month for 3 different occasions.  

The 2 main ingredients to my spin on it.

 I'm not usually picky about brands but Reese's PB chips are one of the exceptions...

1 box devils food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 bag Reeses Peanut Butter chips

Preheat oven to 375.
Thoroughly mix all but the chips in a mixing bowl. Fold in chips. Batter will be really thick. But make sure it is mixed well.

Drop small spoonfuls on a nonstick cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. They spread pretty far and do rise. They are made from cake mix after all ;)

Cook for 10-15 min. They are ready when a tooth pick comes out clean and/or are springy/ spongy to touch. They are a soft cookie with a cakey texture. The bottoms need to be slightly over done so they hold up. 

DO NOT remove from cookie sheet right away. Let cool on sheet for 10-15 before moving to a cooling rack.They will fall apart if you remove them right away. 

I need to find my camera so I can start taking higher quality pics for you guys.... 

This is just my favorite spin on these. One of the batches I used yellow cake mix with chocolate chips - super easy chocolate chip cookies. I have also seen funfetti (funfetti mix with extra sprinkles mixed in) german chocolate (chocolate mix with coconut and caramel bits), Triple chocolate (chocolate mix with white chocolate and semisweet chips, and a bunch more. It is really simple cause you can used what ever cake mix and what ever mix ins and still use just the eggs and oil. 

I have also seen brownie mix cookies which is a little more involved but I will try at some point. I cant resist brownies though, so it will happen.  

This will probably be the last of the baked goods for a while. Because my fake oven (its a tiny electric apartment oven that is half the size of a real oven) heats up my little apartment to an uncomfortable temperature. Over the next few weeks I am going to transition to more summery items like cool drinks, and salad dressings, as well as including more posts about my crafting endeavors.  

I would love to hear from you guys. Let me know if you try this recipe and what creatively yummy versions you do!