Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Clay Matthews

Well.
Yesterday evening was absolutely the most fun I’ve ever had so far in 2012! I mean, how can you not have an absolute blast when making insanely over-the-top clothing and letting total strangers throw black light paint at you while you come close to freezing to death?!
But in all seriousness, I went to DayGlow with some friends and had an incredible time dancing until my legs felt like noodles. Let me share with you the aftermath of such a night:

About half of the group...

AshBash and I were a bit slap happy by this point...

I'm keeping this shirt FOREVER.

This shirt took me all of about 10 minutes to slice up but it was the most fun piece of clothing that I’ve ever worn. The strips bounce and twirl more than any girl could ever hope for! Wearing this shirt made standing still, even for just a second, impossible.

On another note. I think someone is trying to tell me that I’m a “gone-er” because I’ve found two dean animals outside my apartment in one week. First off, a solidly frozen bullfrog, which should be well into hibernation by now.

He's croaked... har har har

Second deadie was a dead cardinal bird this morning. From a reasonably short distance, it looked perfectly fine… you know, aside from being dead.

Better Dead than Red? How is it to be dead AND red??

If the mob is indeed trying to send me a message, I think the message must be that the economic recession is hitting EVERYONE hard. Any who, I just finished making a dish of cereal bars to have for breakfast this week.

Now, I claim no credit for this idea, as I blatantly stole it from a lovely lady that I met at football party… Yes, I’m telling you that the only think I took away from watching an entire football game was a recipe and the realization that Clay Matthews is quite attractive, if only in a Nordic-Caveman sort of way. I don’t think I would be surprised to see him lumbering around with a club dragging the ground.

Someone get him a loin cloth, a horned helmet and an ax.

Okay! Okay! Back on topic! The cereal bars! No real recipe. They are just Rice Crispy Treats, with Cinnamon Toast  Crunch instead.

6 c. Cinnamon Toast Crunch (or whatever cereal you prefer, I suppose)
2T. Butter
10.5oz. Mini Mashmallows.

Get. In. Mah. Belleh!

Heat the butter and the marshmallows in the microwave for 3 minutes. Take it out and mix in cereal. Quickly pour it into a greased pan and let set. Super yummy! It’s such a quick and yummy breakfast, though not terribly healthy. On that note, I feel as though I should disclose to you that I have two recipes that I will be trying this week, and they are both fatty, fat, fat, fat food. You’ve been warned, but I’ve had a heck of a desire to make sweets this week…

Until then, loves, do take care.

The AVERAGE Woman.

Average: (adj.) AV-er-ij, AV-rij: typical, commonplace, ordinary, undistinguished or uninteresting; without individuality.

The average woman. It’s a phrase that is used with some frequency in literature that is usually meant to make us feel better about ourselves (being a woman, myself).

“The average woman in the United States, weighing in at 162.9lbs, wears a size 14 in jeans.”
‘The average woman will date 24 men before finding ‘Mr. Right’.”
“The average woman will attempt and fail at a diet 8 times”

Women’s view of themselves is so skewed. If you’ve never heard of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, it is a mental illness in which one is unable to focus on anything but a specific flaw or flaws, whether real or imagined. It is most commonly noted in girls who are obviously and dangerously thin and perceive themselves to be disgustingly overweight. I think that the number of women affected by BDD is severely underestimated.

 

Seeing isn't always believing.

 

So here is the reason I am blogging to you about my body mass woes. I found a website that lets you plug-in your stats (height, weight, pant size, shirt size, and body shape) and it brings up photos of real participating girls who have the same stats. It shows you a range of women who are built similarly to you, you know, kinda for perspective.

 

I plugged in my numbers. What I got was a pleasant surprise. The bodies that were shown were quite a bit thinner than I perceive myself to be, and after consult, several people agreed that they were similar to mine.So… of course I started tweaking the stats until I was given pictures that matched the idea of myself that I hold. To get pictures that look like the me in my head, I had to increase my weight by 25lbs, increase my pant size by 3 sizes and double my shirt size. I guess I have a long way to go before I have a healthy body image, but this helped me on a bad day. I hope it does the same for you.

 

Before you go play in the gallery, please let me say this: I have yet to meet a woman who was undistinguished (at least in some little way), uninteresting (there is SOMETHING interesting in every woman), or lacking individuality (we are all unique creatures, formed by our experiences). So I guess that means that none of us are AVERAGE. We’re all beautiful, flaws and all. So here I am raising a glass to all of my stretch marks, dimples, and acne; they come with the nice hair, sense of humor, and rocking legs. I think its time we like us for us. Cheers to thighs that touch at the top, arms that wiggle when you wave, and having room in my schedule to do something other than think about what I shouldn’t eat and living at the gym. Before you navigate away, drop a line in the comment box and tell me the BEST 3 things about yourself. Be brave, you’re beautful after all.

 

 

May I present: The Body Gallery .

 

 

 

Orange You Impressed?

Cardigan Weather broke a reading record yesterday. 113 readers in 24 hours. It made me so happy that I decided to post something fun for you to try in the lull of your Saturday afternoon tomorrow. Happy Friday the 13th, lovely readers:

Did you know that you can make a candle out of an orange? Well, guess what. You most certainly can. Let’s start with clementines… Mostly because the are smaller and cheaper than navel oranges. I tend to mess things up for the first 5 or 6 times, so I decided to start small.

Behold: your standard clementine.

Slice your little clemmy just through the skin all the way around.

Run your finger under the peel, but try not to break into the fruit, all the way around. Your goal is to separate the peel from the fruit without damaging it.Pop the top half of the clementine peel right off, this should be the side where the knob that attached the fruit to the tree appears.

Ta-Da!Repeat the process with the bottom half. Be very careful not to pop the peel off, you need to keep enough of the 'meat' attached to use as a wick.

**This step is easier said than done. It took me 3 tries**

Add olive oil to your bottom half.

Allow your oil to soak up through your wick for 8-10 minutes. While you're waiting move on to the next step.

Cut a hole in the top half of your peel. Yeah. I tried to be a little fancy.

Light it up... but be patient, it take a second!

From the top...

All Done!

I can’t wait to use these as a center piece the next time I have people over! They are super cute and you won’t believe how impressed people will be! Also, they smell AMAZING!

Follow me on twitter for a little advance notice on what I will be making! Share this around, so that people can see what creative interests you have! My apartment smells like a box of Tang powder, and its awesome! Someone get me a bottle of Surge and let’s talk about how dreamy Nick Carter is.

I LOVE them. Mumford is still my favorite after almost 3 years. hmm.

The Evening DIY That Took An Entire Week.

Alright. I think that we all know that I am a person who gets right down to business… Never distracted, and certainly not a dilly-dallier. That being said (however dripping with sarcasm it may be) this particular project took me WAY longer than I thought it would.
       This is a faux-capiz shell chandelier. Supplies needed:
- hanging plant basket, Lampshade with metal ribs, or a random piece of wall art from Target that you aren’t afraid to butcher mercilessly
-Wax paper
-a circle punch, or cutter
-parchment paper
-Spray paint
-Ribbon
*Not Pictured*
-LOTS of ribbon
-super or hot glue
- bolt/wire cutters
-’S’ hooks
-lightweight, decorative chain

Depending on what type of base you decided to use, you’ll need to strip it down. For a lamp shade, cut off all the material, and spray paint it a preferred color. I cut most of the layers of my wall are out, to make 5 tiers off of which to hang my strands of ‘shells’. I painted mine bronze, to take just a little bit of the stark whiteness away.

Once your base is readied, cut your ribbons into either 17″ or 8″ lengths. 17″ if you plan to drape over your tiers in double strands, 8″ if you plan to tie off. I did the double length with a sort of faux knot:

Now you’re ready to make your ‘shells’: on a towel or ironing board lay down a length of parchment paper that is larger than your cut lengths of wax paper. I used 28″ of parchment paper and 24″ lengths of wax paper. Place 3 same-length pieces of wax paper on the 1st piece of parchment, and cover with a 2nd piece of parchment paper. Iron on low setting, just long enough to melt the wax and seal the pieces together. You can reuse your parchment paper once you finish each set of 3-layer wax paper.

You are going to need about a MILLION ‘shells’, so be prepared to be punching them out for the rest of your life.

Start on your lowest tier. Tie or slip-knot all of the ribbons for that layer. YOU SHOULD ONLY ADD SHELLS TO EVERY OTHER RIBBON. I ignored that when I did my first layer. The shells crowd each other and lay awkwardly and all clumsy-like. NOT CUTE. You can overlap or go end to end.

Don’t make all of your strands the same or you’ll end up with a blocky fixture. I wanted mine to be smooth and rounded. So I chose two numbers of shells for each layer and alternated:

This project requires a little patience…progress:

And here we are about half way:

Okay, so before I show you the finished product, please allow me to explain how I got mine to look the way it does:
the wall art I used didn’t have a really extreme DIP to give me the rounded look I wanted. So I shortened my ribbons by one shell one each of the last 3 tiers.
 
Howard does not appreciate me working around his nap space.
As a matter of fact, here is his new command for the month of January:

It's called, "Lay on my bed like it belongs to you, and you do me a favor by sharing it"

 Not. Howard, it’s my bed. I will NOT sleep on the floor again, even if I am disturbing you.

But in all seriousness, I LOVE this chandelier! My favorite view is with my head on my pillow, but let’s be honest… None of you have earned the right to have that view. So you shall have to settle for a close up:

Being a single woman, these DIYs always teach me something. This week it is that safety glasses should ALWAYS be worn when using bolt cutters to shorten chain. Also, having someone in the house who has the grip strength to use a pair of bolt cutters without bruising their palms is a must. I will write that into my vows one day… “in sickness and in health, you do my bolt cutting and I will fold your stained undies without making fun of them in public.” Sounds Reasonable, No?

Song of the week:

New Year’s Ponderings

So last year my only New Year’s resolution was to be a bit more free-spirited and not to put myself under such pressure. Mission ACCOMPLISHED! This year I have a few more on the list. I am under no illusion that I won’t falter on some (if not all) of these. But, hey, it is time my horizons were broadened:

Which will be very difficult while it stays this cold.

1.] I will log 9 miles in my running journal every week.

ZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz.........

2.] I will stop being so lazy in the kitchen! Time to get back to cooking REAL food!

Maybe I'll shoot for something healthier...

3.] I will cook at least one completely new dish every month. (Which brings me to #4…)

Do it. Do it. Do it!

4.] I will stop neglecting my blog-child so cruelly.

*ping* *ping* *ping* *ping*

5.] I will try not to over-think so many things; men are at the TOP of that list.

Hey! I'm already halfway there!

6.] I will complete the Mini-Marathon on April 28, 2012, in NO MORE than 2.5 hours.

Someone buy me some band-aids.

7.] I will complete the sewing projects that are stacked up around my sewing machine.

Eh?

8.] I will visit at least 2 new countries.

nom nom nom nom

9.] No more junk food to be kept in the house. I have no illusion that I will go the whole year without eating any, but SkinnySara will at least make it more difficult for FatSara to have her way.

ugh. I don't want to talk about my feelings.

10.] This one is a little personal; I will tell someone new that I love them. Of the 4 men who have professed their love for me, I have yet to say it back. I think it might be time to stop being so guarded and frigid.

This list is part of that last one. I am very guarded with my thoughts and feelings. I figured that a good place to start being more open was with those of you who deem my thoughts worth your time to read. So go easy on me.

Oh. And Howard says that his New Year’s resolution is to learn one new sign every month. So if you happen to come across a blog dedicated to training deaf dogs… I’d peep it. Love you all, so very, very much.

This particular trick is called Lazy-Blanket-Volcano-Puppy

Cute, But Lazy.

 

Favorite band of the moment, meet The Civil Wars. Band member: Not Johnny Depp, Girl with a lot of teeth.

It’s the simple things.

I got an email from WordPress this week that someone had subscribed to Cardigan Weather. Now, I have a few followers but they are all people that I know. This new subscriber, named hellodany, is not someone that I know, to my knowledge. Hellodany, If you are reading this and I know you, don’t tell me!

The mere thought that a stranger somewhere in the world cares about my ramblings and DIYs, well, IT MADE MY ENTIRE WEEK!

I have some fun things that I’ve made for my Halloween costumes that I will be posting as soon as I can! I am giddy to show you all what I’ve been up to! This blog keeps me sane, sometimes, when I feel like everything else I crashing down. I’m not sure why, but on a bad day I’ll search and search and search for a new DIY or recipe and being able to make it and share it with you all, it makes me happy.

So here is to a happy Wednesday, Hump Day, if you will. Tonight I’m making a clutch and a new necklace, if Michael’s has what I need!

Au revoir, mon amour. Adieu.

I’m going to marry Alejandro Manzano. He doens’t know it, but it’s going to happen. (yeah, probably not, he does have a beautiful voice, though) Go check out the music that he makes with his brothers: Boyce Avenue

Worth 1000 Words.

Okay. So I have some new projects, FINALLY! I found my creativity again this week after a long dry patch. These two projects aren’t the end of it, either! I have several more DYIs in the works that I’m waiting for supplies to come in the mail, and I’m working some with my big camera(NikonD50), who is called Cephus, so that I can do some photo dates soon!

My first project is a copy-cat, of course. I saw a photo of a birthday gift that a friend of mine recieved and I fell in LOVE! So here is my knock off:

Supplies:
-picture frame with no backing or glass
-staple gun/staples (OH NO! I’m getting dangerously close to powertools here)
-small gauge chicken wire (yeehaw!)
-mounting kit
-wire cutters

Cut your chicken wire to fit the back of your frame.

Then…

Staple your wire to the back of your frame.

 

My frame is rustic, unfinished wood, and Whitney's is black with silver embellishments.

I LOVE how it turned out! This project was super easy! The worst part was cutting the wire, which was tedious and pokey!

Now, my second  project is something that has been brewing in my mind for over a year now. I don’t know what has kept me from doing it though. I bought a frame that was the same design as the one that I used for the earring frame. Except that it is HUGE. 27″x38″
I didn’t photograph every step, mostly because my hands were MANGLED from the chicken wire. I stretched wire across the back of the frame, stapled and secured it on both sides, on 5 levels, spaced evenly. After I mounted it on the wall, I clipped photographs to the wires… I keep with the rustic look, I’m going to replace the clips in the picture with clothes pins at my first opportunity!

It's not everyone's taste, but once I get the right pictures in it... bam!

Something to Make You Grateful.

I just ordered First They Killed My Father and Lucky Child by Loung Ung. I’m really excited for them to get here so that I can start reading. I feel like I’m in a terrible rut and I need something to give me a new perspective on my life. I’ve got it pretty good, I know. It’s just so easy to lose sight of that sometimes. It isn’t even time for New Year’s resolutions, but I think it’s really just time to grab ahold of life and get everything I can out of it. I feel really motivated tonight and I just needed to channel that out somewhere tonight. =]

Here are 5 things that I am thankful for tonight:
1. I have an incredible job to provide the things I need and a lot of the superfluous things that I want.
2. I’m smart. You can’t buy that, folks.
3. I have half of a delicious casserole in my fridge to be lunch for the rest of the week.
4. I am 3lbs away from my -40lb mark. If I get there, I get there. If I don’t, I’m still pretty good looking, and I’ll be happy anyway.
5. I’m going back to Dublin in March for the entire week of Saint Patricks. I am soooooo stoked.

Yoga Bags and Barley Stew.

I’m not feeling very loquacious tonight, but I have severely neglected my blog so I wanted to get my latest project out there. I stole the idea for these Yoga Bags from the ever-crafty Amber…  

Cutting Mat, Rotary Cutter, Clear Grid Ruler, Standard Ruler

It was happenstance that my dessert plates are exactly 7" in diameter...

All of my cutting is done!!

 (1) 20×28 for body of bag (2) 2 5×30 strips to be sewn together to make the strap (3) 7 inch diameter notched circle for the bottom of the bag.

So let's grab a quick bite of dinner...

I LOVEEEE cereal… HoneyNut Cheerios rock my world! 

Gap left to sew in the carrying strap.

 Trying to get this right was a pain in my BUTT!

Finished Yoga bag for my Seester!

My Yoga Bag!

See? I told you I wasn’t feeling super chatty! But I’ll Tell you about the barley/veggie stew I made tomorrow!  As a tribute to Amber for giving me the idea I needed to DO SOMETHING here is a Band of Horses song that I’ve been fond of for a while… Thanks Ambro Wright!

[Bullet]proof

So today, being a very sleepy Saturday, was overflowing with creative productivity. I was really bored when I woke up…

… so I set about doing some finishing, tidying touches to my home. For the most part, I got my cleaning done on Wednesday, but, you know, there are always a few things that could be cleaner… In doing my little June Cleaver dance, I found some of the casings from the July 4th family gun range outing… Speaking of… I had never shot a handgun until July 4, 2011, and I must say, I don’t thing I did too badly! All of my shots came from a .357 magnum revolver using either .38 special rounds or .357 magnum rounds at +/- 25yds. Judge my skill level if you’d like, but I’m gonna say that it was a decent first time!

Anywho, back to the point at hand… I found the casings and decided that I would take a trip to the hardware store and gather whatever I thought I could make pretty and get to work! I purchased at Lowe’s Home Improvement some washers of varying sizes, some eyelet screws, chain, and some pliers…

With the bullet casings, I used my low-temp hot glue gun to fill each casing to just above the brim.

Then I used my pretty, pink X-acto knife to take the glue off, flush with rim…

I twisted the smallest eyelet screws I could find into the hardened glue and then arranged them symmetrically on a chain.

 

I’m not trying to go all “Deliverance” on anyone, so don’t cue the banjos just yet. I just wanted to turn a family memory into something tactile. And I won’t even pretend I came up with this idea, but I did do the earrings on my own. I had some spare parts from a while back when I used to make some jewellery for some friends.

The last thing I made today was a necklace with the washers and about 1.5 yds of 5/8″ ribbed ribbon. I tried to get a photo diagram of the way to weave the ribbon, but it just wasn’t coming together right. So if you have any interest in trying it let me know… Here is the finished product:

I wore this one out on a sisterly shopping trip and I’ve got to say: I LOVE IT! I’m going to make a few more in different colors! Eeeeeek!

I’m happy. It’s been a good weekend so far. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get to go have some Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chip Ice Cream… That would make it PERFECT. =)

To end this lovely day of  bullets and hardware I think I’ll leave you with a serenade from a purposely androgynous group from the UK. La Roux means the Red in French, but it is a hybrid of the feminine and masculine versions. Happy listening my loves…