Applesauce Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

About a week ago I made some yummy apple muffins. I honestly can't remember what recipe I used, but I'm pretty sure it was this one.

They ended up being so tasty that we ate them in just a few days!

Green Smoothie

I LOVE smoothies in the summer, and I really miss them in the winter, so the other day I decided to make a "green smoothie." I have no idea how much I put of each ingredient I put in this thing, but it ended up being delicious, even though it has spinach in it.

There was:

Banana

Handful of spinach

Fresh blueberries and strawberries

Strawberry Yogurt

Orange juice

Ice

It looked really gross but tasted soooo good.

Advent

I really love the idea of celebrating Advent, and someday I will buy a book and read all about it, what it means and where it came from. But this year, we did the best we could, what with moving and packing and finishing school. So here's our little Advent plate. I made the little wreath from our Christmas tree and hot glued the little branches together. This took forever and I will definitely not be doing it that way again, but I didn't have any wire. So here you go, our Advent wreath!

The weather here has been chilly and we woke up to a full frost this morning. So pretty.

I Graduated!

This last Sunday I officially graduated from Nursing School! Woo, all this hard work better be worth it! :)

Niall spoiled me with 2 dozen roses! They are beautiful!

Snow-globe in a Jar!

I keep seeing snow-globes on Pinterest and I knew it would be a super quick project! So I headed to the craft store and bought some glitter and a little tree. I did this project this morning and it only took about 15 minutes!

Here's what you need:

-A few Tbsp white glitter (I also used a little silver)

-Jar with lid (I used a pickle jar)

-Hot-glue gun

-Little tree (I found mine at JoAnn's)

-Honey and water

 

First I hot-glued the tree to the inside of the lid and let it dry completely.

 While the lid was drying, I diluted about a tablespoon of honey into the water. I've seen people use glycerin (so the glitter won't fall too fast) but I figured a little honey would work because I don't have any glycerin. Then I filled the rest of the jar with water and added the glitter.

 Then just screw the top onto the jar and shake it up a little! So fun and wintery!

Chalkboard Window

I FINALLY finished painting my big antique window! I bought two windows at a craft show last summer. Here is what the big window looked like before:

Here is the other side:

The backside of the window had parts of the molding worn away, and I didn't want the glass falling out, so I put some calking to help keep the window sturdy.

(I have not painted the backside, but I don't think it's necessary!) 

So the first thing I did was tape up the glass. And yes, those nursing school books came in handy for something! Ha. :)

Then I painted the frame in a beautiful shade of red.

Once the red was dry completely, I put another coat on. Then I let the 2nd coat dry completely (this whole project took me about 4 days). 

I wanted the frame to look a bit rustic, so I bought some Antique Glazing from Valspar at Lowe's. I thought it turned out pretty cool looking. This stuff is a bit tricky because you apply it (and it's black) then wipe some of it off lightly with a rag. Here is how the glazing turned out:

When the glazing was completely dry I taped the edges and finally put a coat of chalkboard paint on the window!

Here it is drying!!!

And here it is finished! I thought it was finished, but I realized that in the sun you can see through parts of the chalkboard paint, which means I'll have to put another coat of chalkboard paint on before I write on it.

But for now, this is what it looks like! :)

I just had to use it for Thanksgiving when all of our friends and family came over. The chalk tore part of the chalkboard paint, so I will have to give it at least one more coat of chalkboard paint.

But I still think it's cool!