DIY: White board

An essential for the university home is definitely a white board. Now that I'm going into my last year of university, I figured it was time to take a step up from the traditional white board. 

I was lucky enough to have this poster frame lying around the house, so for me it was free but you could easy go to a second hand store or your local VV boutique (aka Value Village, but doesn't boutique sound nicer?) and find a large frame, just make sure there's glass or plastic in it. Next, I went to Dollorama and found some nice wrapping paper... and that's it! Remove the picture from the frame, cover the backing with the wrapping paper reinsert into the frame and voila! Could it really be any easier?! 

The supplies: Frame & Wrapping Paper

Finished Product... Almost!

If you're like me and lose anything that's not directly attached to my body, it might be a good idea to use some velcro strips to attach the markers to the side of the frame... again, very simple. 

Voila! .. Please ignore my spelling mistake. 

Simple Italian Wedding Soup

This is one of the most simple soup recipes I make, and I have my mom and East Side Mario's to thank for it! After devouring the soup, salad and breadsticks combo my mom and I fell in love with Italian Wedding soup, so we asked for the recipe and to our surprise it really couldn't be any easier! I don't use measurements when making this soup, because, well, we were never really given any. If you're stuck on recipes, just relax and remember you can always add more of an ingredient.

What you need: 

Chicken Broth 

Spinach (fresh or frozen) 

Italian Seasoning 

Acini de pipi noodles

Salt & Pepper

Total time: 10-15 minutes

1) Bring your Chicken broth to a boil

2) Once your broth is heated add the noodles and spinach. For one serving I usually add about a handful of noodles, and a large handful of fresh spinach. If you're using frozen spinach I find that 1-2 balls (or pucks, depending how you get them) is enough. 

3) Add your Italian seasoning, about a tsp. Then, salt & pepper to taste. 

4) Let simmer for 5 mins or until noodles are fully cooked

The make shift measurements here are for a single serving. 

Traditionally, Italian Wedding Soup also includes small meatballs. Like meatballs? Add some in when you add the noodles! 

Father's Day DIY Gift: Personalized Mugs

This is probably one of the easiest, cheapest and most personal gifts you can give! They can be personalized with anything you want so they really make great gifts for any occasion.

What You Need

Mug

Sharpie

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees C

2. Draw your design on the mug 

3. Put in oven for 30 minutes

Can it get any simpler?! 

Tips:
 - It's a good idea to draw your design on some scrap paper before you put it on the mug

- Use a pencil to stencil out your design on the mug, it will erase after just be careful not to smudge the sharpie

- You can restart if you mess up! Simply wash the mug with soap and water and it's good as new

- Cellophane and some tissue paper in the mug make great wrapping!



On another Father's Day note, I have to wish my Dad the best of all days! He's always been there for me and I know he's always on my side, even if I don't think so at the time! I know I can call him no matter the hour if I need help with anything, I would truly be lost without him!
Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there :) 

Pinterest Project: Lollipop Cards

I've seen a couple variations of this on Pinterest, most of them only had one sucker but we had two people at each location that we were sending invites to, so it made sense to give each person a treat!

What You Need:

Printed Picture (we used 5x7)

Printed text (if desired for extra info on the back)

Exacto knife

 Suckers

1. Take a picture of the people that will be appearing on your invitations with one hand held up in a fist

2. Edit you picture to add text and a border (you can really design it however you like!). I use Adobe Photoshop CS5. 

3. Get your pictures printed and using the exacto knife cut a line near the top of the person's fist and at the bottom

4. Stick the sucker through the slits you've just cut, and voila! You're done. 

5. We needed to add some more info to the back of the card so we simply printed the details on a piece of paper that was glued to the back of the photo. Make sure you don't put glue on the lollipop sticks! 

Pinterest Project: Beer Cake

I can't get enough of Pinterest, when I find something good I have to try it, so here's my latest project..

Beer Cake 

Pinterest version: 

My version:

I saw the original version of the beer cake here, mine isn't as big but It worked out just fine! There was no tutorial online, so I decided to write up a mini tutorial if anyone else is wanting to try it out. I made this one for my boyfriend's birthday and he loved, I know he'll put it to good use!!

What you need: 

25 cans of beer 

1 bottle of beer 

decorative ribbon

cardboard/wood square, to be used for the base

number candles (optional)

1. Gather your supplies! 

Before doing the project I had no idea what I'd need, in the end I didn't use the Corona tall boys and I added one bottle of Coors light. 

2. Place cans in a circle, glue to base and secure with ribbon

You can really make the cake as large as you want, I opted for two tiers. Although I didn't do it here, you should try to glue your cans to your base. I payed for it later when the cake fell apart during transportation, luckily it was an easy fix.

3. Place a second tier of 6 cans of beer, surrounding one bottle of beer in the middle, secure with ribbon. 

I didn't glue the second tier, I didn't want the lids to be filled with glue, if you're careful you can probably get away without glue-ing them. 

4. Glue candles to the neck of the beer bottle and add some decorations if you want! 

All you need is love.

For those of you that know me, you know that I love the Beatles and the movie Across the Universe. You may also already know that I have a small white ink tattoo that reads "Let it be." on my wrist.The music that the Beatles have made I really find inspiring, and another one of my favourite titles by the Beatles is "All you need is love.". I've often considered getting this one inked as well, but haven't accomplished that yet. I love the quote so much because to me it means so much more that romantic love. If you have love for yourself, for others, for your life that really is all you need. All hapiness stems from love. Here's a few of my favourite illustrations/pictures of the quote, none made by me, all found on Pinterest. 

My love of food.

One thing that you should know about me is that I love to cook, and I love to eat. I recently got a barbeque from my boyfriend (thanks Jeff!) and I've been dying to use it. So I got some friends together, along with some propane, steak, margaritas and beers and we made a night of it. Supper was absolutely delicious, and the drink I found on Pinterest has definitely become a new favourite! I can't think of many things that top good food and good friends, one of the best combinations.

All the ingredients for the drinks

The final product! Tasted awesome too. 

The whole meal.